4. Do Be Present and Ask Questions.
Simply travel and be present to get all your questions answered about expanding your business. Talking to other business owners by meeting industry people at networking events and getting insider information about that region allows you to make realistic decisions, which can save you money and time.
— Firat Parlak, Awesome
5. Don’t Expand Before Proving Your Model.
It’s critical not to expand your business before you’ve proven it works in at least two locations. The process is: (1) Find something that works. (2) Replicate it. (3) Scale it. That is, if you are a local e-commerce website, start the business in your hometown. Prove it works. Next, replicate it in another city (preferably with different demographics). If it works, it’s time to scale it quickly!
— Kristopher Jones, ReferLocal.com
6. Do Find the Right Person/Partner, Not Just the Right Place.
Make sure that you align yourself with business partners who fully embrace your passion and mission. It’s vital to choose people first, geography second.
— Kuba Jewgieniew, Realty ONE Group
7. Do Join Networking Organizations Right Away.
Assuming you have no connections or relationships in that business, go out and make them. Make sure you are not pitching yourself around to everyone, though; that’s a turnoff. Instead, ask yourself how you can provide value to every person you meet, and (genuinely) expect nothing in return. In the end, those who give more, end up getting more.
8. Do Use Your Network.
We recently launched an Influence & Co. office in New York, and one thing we did right before the launch was reach out to anyone we know who is in New York. We asked for advice on where our VP launching the office should live, where he should work out of in the short term, and who he should know. He already had a community of support when moving out there, which made the launch a lot easier.