GET CONNECTED: According to Carol Jeske, the marketing manager for Kootenay Knitting Company in Cranbrook, B.C., making good contacts and keeping in touch with them is the most important part of marketing a business.

When your business reaches a point where you have to expand your capacity to meet market demand you can celebrate! You’ve just achieved an important milestone in moving your dream from survival to growth. But now you’re faced with a whole new set of questions.

Is the demand permanent or temporary? If you need to improve your capacity, what does that mean to your role as owner? Have you started your transition from "do-er" to manager to strategist? Do you have the processes and operation manuals in place that will direct the people you hire or recruit to do things the way you’ve decided they should be done?

Many entrepreneurs are so busy doing they hardly ever take the time to plan for their success. Even if you aren’t at the stage where expanding capacity is necessary, having an idea of how you will do it when the time comes is an important ingredient to your business planning. Take time to consider your resources in advance and it will boost your confidence because you’ll feel more in charge of your business destiny.

The Kootenay Knitting Company in Cranbrook, B.C., has developed from a home-based business to the producer of sweaters and hats for the CBC and other corporations for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Soon after this conquest, Kootenay Knitting expanded to 24 production employees, producing colourful sweaters, vests and tuques with 15 sales representatives in Canada and the United States, plus an Internet site.

Carol Jeske is the marketing manager for Kootenay Knitting and is also the woman responsible for the company’s CBC sports contract.

“Picking up the phone is the first step,” said Jeske. “Make good contacts and always keep in touch with them. It’s the most important part of marketing your business. Make it personal, get to know them and don’t be afraid to let them know who you are.”

Jeske’s strength is in the development of strong alliances. Part of Kootenay Knitting’s high growth rate has been due to their ability to cultivate a variety of collaborative relationships. Another of their alliances is with a manufacturer who produces a similar product but uses a different weight and fiber. Working together, the companies have opened up new markets and are able to fill larger orders that neither could fill alone.

As a female business owner you may have your first tool for expansion capacity waiting in your personal support group. Consider asking for a little temporary assistance from them, your friends or family as you ease through business growing pains. Offer a formal payback plan and stick to your schedule to make your expansion permanent.

There are other ways to plan for expanding capacity in advance.

If you run your business from home, think about the space and equipment you’ll need to grow. Consider sourcing space you can rent or lease before you need it. Look for flexible or short-term alternatives to hiring staff as well with options like the following:

Temporary help. Temp agencies can provide staff and they will handle staff paperwork and payroll. That way you can keep your hiring practices flexible. Check government-sponsored hiring programs in your community. You may be able to hire business students and offer them practical training at the same time.

Contract positions. Other women in business may provide the services you need under a seasonal or specialized contract basis. Always be sure the job you offer would be considered contract work by B.C. Employment Standards and be sure the person you hire has a clear understanding of deliverables.

Intentional part-timers. The help you need to expand capacity may be waiting among women looking for challenging part-time work. The same goes for students. Being able to work with their schedules could give you access to high-quality help.

Outsourcing some functions of your business can be a viable alternative too. Perhaps you can contract out parts of your production or delivery processes. Are there business support services you can use for duties like marketing and sales?

Technology can also provide you with the efficiency you need to improve your capacity and you don’t need to be an expert. Look for technical solutions that provide support so you can avoid putting someone on the payroll for that purpose. Software template solutions that fit with your business model can save you the expense of custom work, and specialized software platforms are available that can often be customized for your needs.

Finally, if you already have staff hired, consider their job functions and yours. Have you let go of enough control of tasks that your seasoned staff can handle effectively?  Perhaps you can realign duties and add entry-level staff to give your existing employees more time to take on new challenges.

In the process of planning for your capacity expansion, think about the training requirements you’ll need to be efficient when the demands increase on your business.  Maintaining a regular performance review schedule will often highlight exactly where staff skills can be improved with training.