When a home business has outgrown it’s garage or home office, it can be both exciting but also a bit of a headache. For one thing, you now need to act like a ‘real’ business might. In other words you have to hire people, move location to a real office, and begin to realize that you are now a small or medium-sized business, not a micro business. Entrepreneurs find that this is the hardest learning phase of their journey in business. You need to be open to becoming a CEO of a potentially very important business, world-renowned brand, and possibly a voice in the industry that people listen to. Not to mention, during this phase when you increase in size, you’ll be getting a lot of media attention. The media love a story of a mom or young entrepreneur working their way out of their bedroom to create successful brands that customers trust and love.
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Firstly, find your location
You’ll be moving from the suburbs to somewhere in the city when you increase in size. At least, this is 90% of the trajectory that home business owners follow. Why? Well, to say that the attraction of operating in a big city is so alluring that one cannot resist is a sound statement to make. However, it’s also because of talent. Young and smart professionals will want to work in the city, where they have amazing opportunities to balance work and life, become enthralled by the urban sprawl and more. Chances are, they might miss out on working for a home business that is increasing in size, if it is based in suburbia.
So surely you have a few cities close by to your home, where you can commute to and from. Don’t just select the largest city, although this is tempting. You should try to balance out the length of your journey, the investment into the city, the opportunities in terms of rental prices and more. If you are based near San Diego, you can go for this city or perhaps Los Angeles.
Which building should you base yourself in?
There are tons of office buildings in any major city. You really are spoiled for choice. Check out these real estate websites to find commercial rental space. You can see how much you will be charged monthly, the square feet of space, the amenities and more. You can of course see what kind of building it is. Very often, brand new offices that have great infrastructure were once apartment buildings in busy neighborhoods. This is a great opportunity for you to move into a large city, give your employees plenty of amenities but not have to pay high prices that you normally find in high-rise buildings.
However, if you find the allure of the high-rise too high to resist, contact commercial real estate agents so they can work with you to find a good office and floor. Usually, you may find that you share office floors with one or more other businesses. Floors in office buildings are huge, easily able to seat 100-200 people. So you may find you are sharing floors with multiple businesses just like you.
Talking to the media
Now that you are increasing in size and moving up from being a home business, the media is going to want to speak with you. How will they find out? Easy. They just keep an eye out for how to enter a medium-sized or small-sized business, the profits, the trend in growth and more. They will find you sooner or later and shove a microphone in front of you or send you emails asking questions for an article.
It can be scary and daunting to talk to the media, knowing that your words will be beamed around the country and possibly the world. So always try and get familiar with the journalist and the publication. You should learn a few tips on how to deal with the media. When you are being interviewed over the phone or in person, always record it yourself. This way you can prove when your words are twisted and taken out of context. Get some media training as well, so you feel comfortable in front of the camera, you’re ready to give responses to sensitive questions, and more.
Becoming a voice that is listened to
When you begin to increase in size, the industry will give you more room to be heard. This is just the way the world works. You have to wait until you are large enough so that they cannot ignore you, even though small and micro businesses should be listened to since this is where the majority of the innovation is done.
What to do with this newfound power? Well, we think that you should be open to sharing platforms with larger brands, talk about the way you are doing business, the sorts of areas you are investing in and which way you think the industry should be heading. It’s now important to note, you are someone that customers will trust and listen to, so be careful with your words and think carefully about what you are saying as people you don’t know will be influenced by you.
You should also do a live stream session every month, with your customers using social media. This means you can connect with the very people who buy from you and want to know more about where you have come from and what you are doing to change the industry. Use this voice to enter into a new realm of responsibility and influence, allowing your ideas to trickle down into customers and start new conversations.
When you increase in size, going from a home business to a small or medium-sized business, the world will take notice. So just remember you have to use your voice carefully, work with media but don’t become too friendly with them, and start hiring and relocating to a business district in a large city.
