Allowing the condition of your business to deteriorate over time is a sure way to fall behind the competition. If you hope to stand out as an appealing option for customers in your market, it will likely be necessary to take on periodic renovation projects.
But how do you know when the time is right? Choosing to renovate your business is not a decision to take lightly, so this article aims to help you make such an important choice with confidence.
What Factors Should You Consider Before Starting a Renovation Project?
In the planning stage, you’ll want to think about a few different elements that are going to play into whether or not you should start up a business renovation sooner rather than later.
The Cost Element
If you can’t afford to perform a renovation right now, none of the other factors will matter in the end. So, first and foremost, do some math and figure out if the cost of the project is going to fit into your available budget. Remember that construction projects rarely stay right on budget, so expect to have some overruns as you plan out what this is going to cost.
Time to Completion
The day-to-day operation of your business is likely to be impacted by the renovation, at least to some degree. Even if you can keep your business open while the renovations are underway, you’ll likely have to adjust how you operate. If your business can’t successfully operate at a reasonable level for the duration of the renovation, you might need to rethink the plan – or delay the project until a point on the schedule that better fits your needs.
What Will Be Gained
It’s also important to focus on what you stand to gain if you go ahead with the project. Everything is about the bottom line in business, so make sure there is something waiting out there as a reward when the job is done. Will you be able to serve more customers? Will you make more money from the customers you already serve? Be specific about how this investment is going to pay off in the long run. We’ll talk more about this below.
Look at Your Available Space
It’s inevitable that a renovation is going to impact your business while work is underway, but some businesses have the flexibility to mitigate those interruptions by using their space creatively.
Do you have any extra space that can be used differently to solve some renovation problems? For example, using a storage area to stage renovation materials and equipment might lessen the impact that the work has on your customers’ experience.
What Are the Benefits of Renovating Your Business?
As mentioned above, it’s important to know what you are hoping to gain by going through a renovation. These motivations are going to vary from one business to the next, but the list below is a great starting point.
Boosting Profits
This is likely to be your primary motivation, and it could come to life by giving your customers a better experience or by expanding the sales area to carry more inventory. You’ll never be able to predict future profits with 100% certainty, but put together some numbers that can serve as projections you can compare to what the renovation project is expected to cost.
Bring In New Customers
If your location is starting to show its age, you might have a segment of the market that simply isn’t going to visit your business because of how it looks. Freshening it up on the inside and outside could go a long way toward expanding your reach. Even if the renovation only boosts traffic at your location by 5%, that could be plenty to increase revenue and cover the cost of the renovation job.
More Efficient Operations
This last point is an easy one to overlook, but it might prove to be the factor that makes a renovation worthwhile. In an older location, the equipment and structure may be rather inefficient – meaning monthly utility bills could be through the roof. With the help of a renovation, you could upgrade the overall efficiency of the building and save money moving forward. When you combine the efficiency gains with potential sales growth, you’ll have a powerful combination.
How Can You Prepare for a Renovation?
If you decide to go ahead with the renovation project, you’ll want to get prepared well in advance so you aren’t caught off-guard when things get started.
Set a Firm Budget
You never want to go into any renovation – residential or commercial – without a clear budget for the project. That budget should account for both labor and materials, along with space for the inevitable overruns that come along with such a project. Having a clear budget that doesn’t stretch your business too thin will help reduce the stress of this process significantly.
Build a Timeline
When talking to contractors who may take on the job, have a timeline in mind and ask for their input on whether or not the schedule you have in mind is reasonable. Knowing how long the work should take will help you understand how the project can fit into your operational plans.
Hire the Right Handyman or Contractor
This is a critical stage of the planning process. Too many businesses wind up hiring a handyman who is not qualified to complete the work, and things can get messy – and expensive – as a result.
While in many states a handyman can do some work without a license, it is often restricted based on the total cost of the project, or certain types of work. If the renovation project you are setting out to do is a bigger project with a big budget, you likely need a licensed general contractor and not a professional handyman. Similarly, most electrical, plumbing, and HVAC work requires licensing as well.
If going the handyman route, only consider a professional handyman who carries the right license and insurance to be working in your business. Don’t accept any excuses on these points – if they aren’t properly licensed and insured, just move on.
You’ll also want to confirm that your chosen handyman or contractor is up to the task of what you have in mind for the project. What kind of work is going to be done? When in doubt, opt for the tradesperson who seems a little overqualified, even if that means spending a bit more on the job. The last thing you want to do is hire someone who will be in over their head shortly after the project begins.
A business renovation can be an exciting project that just may help take your company to new heights. Take your time through the planning phase to get the details right and then start looking forward to seeing the finished product!