Serial entrepreneur Neal Martin Zeavy divides his time among several executive-level positions, including as the president of not only Zeavy Development, but also NZ Consulting. More recently, Neal Zeavy joined Nic’s Organic Fast Food as an angel investors and a co-owner. The first certified organic fast food restaurant in the United States, this Illinois-based company plans to expand to California and New York.Below are three signs your business is ready for expansion:1. You have loyal customers. No matter what you are selling, a steady flow of customers indicates that there is a steady demand for your product. These customers not only reward your business with a recurring revenue source, but they also promote stability and are a great indicator that you’re ready to grow. Customers may also be requesting that you open another location, thus reassuring you that the successful expansion of your business is highly probable.2. You need extra space. As your company grows, you will need more workers and space to accommodate growing demand. This is great, but it may result in your current space being too small for your operations. If you find that you are bursting at the seams to handle your current volume, it’s time to consider expanding to an additional location to balance the demand.3. You’ve enjoyed steady profits. Businesses sometimes experience sudden surges in profits. While this isn’t necessarily bad, a brief increase in profits does not automatically mean you should expand. Instead, make sure you’ve been enjoying steady profits for at least three years before adding another location. Since these profits are more long term, they are more indicative that your business model is working and that you’ll be capable of recreating it elsewhere.
Neal Martin Zeavy is a co-owner of, and an angel investor in, Nic’s Organic Fast Food, the first certified organic fast food company in the United States. Additionally, Neal Zeavy serves as the president of NZ Consulting and Zeavy Development, the latter of which acquires and develops commercial real estate around the country.For those involved in the commercial real estate industry, 2019 will bring plenty of new challenges and opportunities. Following are just a few of these expected trends:- Brick and mortar will grow in popularity. In recent years, many brick and mortar stores have fallen into obscurity. While larger retailers may continue to go out of business, brick and mortar stores will grow in popularity in 2019 due to the increasing practice of online companies moving into retail spaces.- Federal Reserve will make things harder. Shortly after the recession, the Fed began buying up bonds to increase the money in the market and drive commercial real estate investment. While it still hopes to maintain economic stability, the Fed will start selling its bonds at attractive rates. In turn, this will leave less money for real estate investing. At the same time, the Fed plans on increasing interest rates for investors, a practice that’s echoed by many Wall Street and other central banks.- Suburbia will see more millennials. As an increasing number of millennials reach their 30s, they are showing more of an interest to live in suburban areas. As they shift, trendy retailers and other entities will move with them in an effort to attract talent and reduce rent costs.- Opportunity zone programs will increase. In 2018, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act created what’s known as the Opportunity Zone program, which promotes economic development in underserved communities by offering developers a large tax break for building in such areas. In 2019, the number of these programs will likely increase.
