The Competition is Building – Now It’s Your Turn

It might be one of your worst fears coming true as a small business owner. Your competition is expanding and you have to deal with it everyday. The only thing your customers want to talk about is the future of “that other company” and how excited they are to visit it. The construction crew has been there for weeks cutting lumber and building a new addition for the competition. They’ll be ready for a grand opening in a matter of months. It may have you down in the dumps, but why don’t you build yourself an addition and harness some of that excitement for your company. Better yet, you might be able to finish your project in a short amount of time, and be able to better compete with your business rivals.

The best improvement you can make: build a custom pre-engineered steel building. Your competitors may have chosen wood because maybe they saw a lower upfront price tag, but they’re shortsighted and obviously aren’t planning for the future. A quality custom pre-engineered steel building comes with a 50-year structural warranty, 40-year wall panel and paint warranty, and a 35-year roof panel warranty. When it comes down to it, traditional timber just isn’t as durable as steel and could require major maintenance in the future. We all know constant payments for improvement can hurt your bottom line. Speaking of maintenance, steel buildings require very little maintenance, especially when you take the proper precautions in the design process. Rust, weather, moisture, and other issues aren’t a concern when you plan ahead with a project manager.

Whenever I talk about this subject, you’ll hear me talk about the long term ramifications of a pre-engineered steel building. That’s exactly what you’re doing by choosing a steel building over a pole barn or wood framed building – planning for the long term. Apart from less maintenance, strength and versatility, another benefit stands out. Steel buildings are considered permanent structures by most permitting offices because they usually require a foundation. Wood buildings or pole barns might not require a foundation, therefore are not considered permanent structures. Any building not considered permanent will most likely cause the land it sits on to depreciate in value over time, while land with a permanent structure will often times appreciate.

So you look into a custom pre-engineered steel building, and the benefits of steel. Not only will a steel building save you money with its durability, you can easily expand in the future. Steel buildings can be expanded by adding side walls or end walls. A pre-engineered steel building is designed to bolt together – there is no field fabrication or welding on the job site. You shouldn’t be afraid to add on in the future, because expansion is ultimately success. Sure the competition got the jump on you this time by expanding first, but your steel building expansion will allow you to catch up quickly due to short erection time and less delay. Most likely it will last longer, as well. You plan on being around for a long time, right?

A custom pre-engineered steel building is designed to fit your specifications and the steel components are shipped ready to be assembled. A small crew and your construction drawings are all you may need to erect your building in an efficient manner. This efficient erection time usually will allow you to minimize any downtime and save on labor costs!

In the future, don’t wait for your competitor to make the first move and don’t wait “for the perfect moment.” There is usually never a perfect moment to build. You have to take the initiative. Of course, you need to make the proper preparations when choosing to build, but expanding your business will give you the momentum with your competition. You may be able to build in a new market or offer a new feature that he or she can’t. A new market will usually mean new customers, and that means more employees. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, since 1990, small businesses have added 8 million new jobs to our economy. With your expansion, you could add more jobs to the list as well.

What are you waiting for? Find yourself a reputable steel building company and get to work on your future.

Photo courtesy: Peter Craven, USACE

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