Going Multiple: Adding Facilities North Pole AK

If you add facilities for the wrong reasons or without thoroughly understanding what you're getting into, you may end up with multiple headaches instead of multiplied success.

By Georgina Kajganic
11/1/1998

When Dick Cossette decided to grow his business, Lehman's Garage, Inc., from one shop to two, it wasn't because of looming competition from consolidators, franchises or even the shop down the street. In fact, it wasn't about competition at all.

Frankly, his shop was maxed out. He'd improved it to the limits of its performance, and that still wasn't enough. "From my perspective, the reason Lehman's [expanded] was almost strictly customer driven," says Cossette, owner of four collision repair shops in the south Minneapolis suburbs. "We started with one location and were so busy and turning customers away that we determined we needed to expand ... so we got another shop. A few years later, we had the same situation, so then we expanded to a third and then a fourth shop."

For Cossette, expanding was a simple decision. He had no doubts that he needed to do so in order to serve his customers, and he was right. But the decision isn't black and white for everyone. Growing your business is something that must be examined closely - starting with a close examination of your current business, along with a close examination of yourself.

Why Now?
In recent years, expanding with multiple locations has become more and more common. But why? "I think...