Business is slow, but stable. In fact, you’re already looking ahead to long-term growth. Despite the down market, in fact, because of the down market, now is a strategic time to open a second business. According to Unchartered Waters, Setting Sail for a Second Location Can Be a Great Way to Grow a Business, employees will be easier to find, property will be cheaper, and marketing costs will be down.

The key is to keep realistic expectations and stay on budget. This way, even if you open a second business in a location that’s hard hit, you can look ahead toward promising future prospects. Think about it. If you can succeed in these conditions, you’ll be in a great position once business picks up.

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Things have changed a lot in just the last two years, for contractors as well as homeowners. Not too long ago, homeowners had to compete for a contractors’ time, rather than the other way around. In the peak of the recent real estate boom, contractors were busy working on new homes and had to shuffle around to fulfill remodeling requests.

One of the biggest changes today is a lot of the new home work has stopped, making way for smaller remodeling jobs. Even builders are now focusing on remodeling as opposed to construction, just to stay busy. According to a recent Qualified Remodeler article, “Homebuilders Turn to Remodeling,” many homeowners don’t realize that general contractors also do small and simple projects. The good news is that the work for smaller projects is there, keeping contractors of every trade working. (more…)