It’s an exciting time in any entrepreneurial journey when a second business location is looking like the next viable step.

From tapping into a new pool of customers to being able to offer additional services, a second location could mean scaling your small business far beyond what you ever thought possible.

But before you rush into opening a second location, be aware that managing multiple locations comes with a new set of challenges. Unfortunately, you can’t be in two places at once which means you’ll have to give up some level of control when you expand your business. This can be a daunting prospect for many entrepreneurs.  

Are you ready to expand your business to multiple locations?

With the odds stacked against you, you have built a successful business from the ground up. But is a second business location the right choice for your pet care business?

Evaluate your pet business by answering the following questions:

• Are you always fully booked and have to turn new customers away?
• Are you running out of space and have items spilling out into customer-facing areas?
• Have you been in business for more than a year and weathered the off-season storms?
• Is your business making a profit?
• Do you have the financial resources to expand into a second location?
• Do you have trust in your current staff to look after the first location while you focus on the second location?
• Do you have systems in place to replicate your business in a second location?

If you answered yes to the majority of those questions then it might be time to jump into a second location.

7 Steps to open a second business location.

Opening a second business location can be stressful but by following these 7 steps, you can rest assured that your new location will be set up for success.

Step 1 - Make a list of potential locations.

Choosing your second location will need the same amount of careful consideration as choosing your first location did.

Start by making a list of all the areas you think will be good options. Include any areas your current customers are traveling from to see if there is one common area that keeps popping up.

Consider how close you would like your second location to be to your first location. Are you likely to move inventory and resources between each location and so need them to be within a short distance?

Next, start to think about your ideal customers. Do you have a group of customers that you look forward to servicing and are a pleasure to work with? Do they come from a common demographic that you could target in your next location?

Step 2 - Perform market research.

With your list of potential locations in hand, it’s time to choose the best one through market research. As arduous as market research is to perform, there is a reason why North America spent over $40 billion on it in 2022 alone. The analysis gathered during market research could make or break your business.

To choose the best area for your second location, consider the following:

• Target demographic: Is the second location an area that will attract the target market that you recorded in Step 1?
• Impact on first location: Is there a potential for the second location to cannibalize sales from the first location? If so, you might find yourself with double the overhead but not double the revenue.
• Bigger location vs. second location: Would you be more profitable by expanding into a bigger location than acquiring a second location?
• Market demand: Nearly half of all businesses fail due to a lack of demand, will the second location have a large enough client pool for you to service?
• Additional services: Would you like to offer additional services such as dog training or dog walking? If so, which location is best suited to offer additional pet care services?
• Accessibility: Will the location be easily accessible to all your clients? Would you prefer to be on a busy street with lots of foot traffic or tucked away in a quieter area that your clients will have to drive to?
• Pricing: Will you be able to keep the same prices as your first location or will you have to drop your prices to be in line with the competition?

When you have a good understanding of the best location and size of building you’ll need, you can focus on calculating and gaining the capital required.

Step 3 - Acquire capital.

If your business is currently generating enough profit to expand into a second location, then you might not need to fund the expansion with outside financial resources.

If you do need a loan or an outside investor to expand into a second location, update your business plan to include additional expenses and projected revenue for the second location.

Additional overhead costs of a second storefront can include:

• Rent or mortgage
• Insurance
• Employee payroll
• Utilities
• Equipment

Be sure to list all the overhead costs in your updated business plan so you can generate enough capital to cover all your expenses.

Step 4 - Create a marketing plan.

Now you have the ball rolling on moving into a second location, it’s time to focus on how you will fill it with new customers!

The great thing about opening a second location is that you already have an established customer base to market to. As nearly a third of all consumers prefer to learn about new products and services through word of mouth, asking your clients to spread the word about your second location is one of the best ways to market it.

Other ways to get the word out about your new location include:

• Holding a grand opening event
• Reaching out to local newspapers and media sites to write about the new opening
• Utilizing your social media platforms to post about the new location
• Collaborating with other businesses such as pet stores to post flyers about the second location
• Sending marketing emails to your email list to let them know about the new location
• Offering a customer loyalty program to incentivize new customers to check out your new storefront

Marketing your second location will be easier than your first as you can split your marketing efforts across two locations. Just don’t forget to update your Google Business Profile and website with the details of the second location for local SEO purposes.

Step 5 - Manage the accounting.

The next step in opening your second location includes setting up the accounting. It’s best to keep the bookkeeping separate for each location so that you can see the financial health of each individual location.

Utilizing a pet care software like PetExec can make accounting across multiple locations much simpler. PetExec integrates with Stripe to make payment processing much more streamlined. You’ll only need 1 PetExec account and 1 POS (point-of-sale) system to manage the revenue across multiple locations.

You can then export your PetExec accounting reports to Quickbooks to make tax season much less stressful.  

Step 6 - Buy the resources.

With your accounting for the second location set-up, you can start to buy all the necessary inventory and equipment you’ll need for your new location.

As exciting as it is to buy brand-new shiny items, it’s a good idea to consider renting the larger pieces of equipment until you are sure the second location will be profitable. Even though you have done your market research and picked the best location, you won’t know how well your second location will perform until you open the doors.

Step 7 - Hire and train the staff.

Finally, the last step in opening a second location is hiring and training the people to work in it. Try to sync up the location’s opening with a time when you are available to train the new staff. You won’t want to open a second location and then jet off on vacation hoping for the best!

Training new staff can be very expensive. Businesses spent an average of $954 on training just one employee in 2023. Therefore, it’s a good idea to have systems and training resources in place that can be replicated over multiple locations.

How to manage multiple business locations.

Successfully scaling your small business into multiple locations is no easy feat. It will require an effective business expansion strategy to be implemented.

Standardize processes & operations.

To maintain the high quality that your customers expect, you’ll need to standardize your processes and operations. This will ensure consistency between employees and locations.

To standardize operations within your small business you can:

1. Document current processes: Start by writing down all of the different processes you perform in your business. From taking payments to gaining reviews, document each task in the process. Create checklists, guides, and flowcharts that are easy for employees to follow and prevent tasks from getting missed.
2. Create SOPs: Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are great for larger operations that involve multiple employees. These are detailed step-by-step guides that include the responsibilities and roles of all the employees involved. How to manage your inventory and retail product sales can be documented effectively in an SOP.
3. Perform training: Having a detailed training program is important for maintaining consistency throughout your business. Different types of training can include, hands-on training, reading the training guides, and training meetings.
4. Use automation: Where possible it’s a good idea to start automating tasks. From sending review request emails to texting appointment reminders, it’s a good idea to use a pet care business software to automate these types of communications. This will not only lead to greater efficiency but will also ensure your brand voice is consistent throughout each location. PetExec includes fully customizable email templates to ensure your brand voice is consistent with every email, no matter the location.    

Attract & retain high-quality talent.

Attracting and retaining employees may be one of the most difficult hurdles you have to overcome with opening a second location. You’ll no longer be around to fix problems and motivate your employees.

As 77% of Gen Z employees report that working for a company that aligns with their morals is essential, learning how to practice corporate social responsibility (CSR) across multiple locations may be what’s necessary to attract great new talent.

Foster good communication & collaboration.

Promoting communication and collaboration across multiple locations will boost morale and increase efficiency in your business. A recent study found that 80% of US employees' workplace anxiety was caused by poor company communication. By having the right communication systems in place, you can better support your growing workforce.

Find pet business software.

If you are not already using a pet care business software at your current location then it is highly recommended to implement one before expanding.

A pet business software like PetExec can help you manage your multi-location business by:

• Managing employee payroll
• Exporting accounting reports to Quickbooks
• Promoting effective communication with pet eScorecards that track feedings and medicines etc.
• Integrating with your payment processing system
• Providing training for new employees
• Saving clients' information in one centralized location to enable them to attend any location
• Sending automated marketing emails
• Reminding clients of upcoming appointments with an SMS
• Preventing overbooking with occupancy management
• Setting prices and packages for services

The benefits of utilizing a pet care business software are endless. Just be sure to pick one that can handle multi-location businesses. Some pet business software are fine for one location but struggle to serve multiple locations.

Other business expansion strategies.

Growing and scaling your pet care business does not necessarily mean you have to open a second location and tap into a whole new market. There are multiple ways to scale your business by remaining in one location.

Scaling your business can include:

• Moving into a bigger building where you have more space to service more clients
• Increasing sales by selling retail products such as dog collars and dog leashes
• Offering more services such as dog walking and dog training
• Ramping up your marketing strategies to get in front of more eyes
• Hiring new staff to service more clients

Final thoughts.

You have reached a fantastic point in your entrepreneurial journey where your bustling business now needs a second location. Before you rush to open your new doors, be sure to pick the best location based on market research. Unfortunately, double the location doesn’t always mean double the revenue!

Learn more about how PetExec can help you manage multiple business locations by booking a free demo today!