If you’re an entrepreneur, a businessperson with one successful company already under your belt, there’s a good chance that you’re pretty ambitious. While some people are happy to settle – they’ve made their money back, everything’s ticking along quite nicely, and they have their weekends again – for you, that sounds a bit, well, boring.

If you’ve lit the fire of starting your own business in your belly, and now you’re raring to get your teeth stuck into the next challenge, then it could be time to think about expanding your business and climbing further up the ladder. Read on for some advice on how to know if you’re ready and what to do.

Have you thought about adding new products and/or services into the mix? There are a few steps to follow with this one but it’s the most obvious way of expanding your current business. Make sure you do your market research before you proceed. You already have a loyal customer base, so use them to your advantage. If you send out products or goods, why not include a free sample of something new for people to try? Invite them to go online and give their opinion – never underestimate how much people love to give their opinion. Start a special VIP group online to offer loyal customers and those giving feedback the chance to enter exclusive competitions and prize draws. It’s a win-win – you get to find out what your customers want, they get a little sample of what’s to come.

Don’t forget to include potential price-points in your market research. How much would people be willing to pay for the new product or service that you’re going to offer? What’s the demand, and what will it cost you to manufacture and supply this to your customers?

Before you start planning your new product or service, it may also be worthwhile to look at what you’re already making and see if there’s a more cost-effective way of creating your goods. For example, could you expand your operations with rapid tooling and additive manufacturing? It’s a good idea to assess the ways in which you operate and how you can make a saving. If you’ve been established for a year or so and have loyal suppliers, then can they offer you a discount for repeat custom and paying your invoices on time? Don’t be afraid of asking for money off – if you phrase it politely, the worst that can happen is that they say no. And they’ve almost certainly heard it all before!

Because expansion usually means a bit of an upfront investment, it may be that you need more capital to make growing your business work. Although it’s not usually advisable to invest your own money, there may be times where you take a pay cut in order to ensure the future success of your business. This is quite normal for a start-up, but make sure you set a time limit in which you’re earning below what you’re worth, and stick to it. During that time, there are ways and means you can earn money online with minimal effort and generate a passive income to help tide you over while you’re waiting for that cash flow to start up again.

If you have ideas for new products and services but want to expand your customer base first, this can be a great way to generate some further revenue before you invest in a new product. It can mean either widening your customer base or expanding into new territories geographically. If you’re widening your customer base, this is where technology like Facebook Audience Insights can prove absolutely invaluable. If you’re not already using it for your business, then do some research to utilize this handy little tool to its full potential. One of the most useful things it can do is show you which other sites and pages your current customers have ‘liked.’ You can then see if there’s a theme arising, which might inform you of a target audience you hadn’t thought of before.

Expanding geographically can be daunting, especially in a time where the high street is a difficult marketplace to tap into. If you’re planning an expansion, it’s worth asking yourself some hard questions first:

• Can I afford it?
• Is it good for me and good for the business?
• Do I want to?

If you can answer those questions positively, then it’s time to start putting a plan in place. Remember, he who dares wins. Good luck!