Expansion 101: How to Successfully Open Your Next Location

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Opening your second (or third) location is one of the most exciting milestones in business growth, but also one of the most intimidating. 

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You’ve proven your business model works. You’ve built a loyal customer base. Now you’re ready to scale. But opening a second location for your swim school, dance studio or fitness centre isn't simply about duplicating what you've built. It's about strategic growth that amplifies your success rather than diluting it.

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Let’s take a peek at what successful expansion actually looks like. 

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Step 0: Recognising When You’re Actually Ready

Before we get into it, we need to determine if you’re ready. There's a difference between wanting to grow and being ready to grow. Consider these readiness indicators:

• Your current location consistently operates at 85-90% capacity across most time slots.
• Your team runs smoothly without your constant presence. (Can you take a week off without daily crisis calls?)
• Your systems are documented, not just living in your head. Class structures, administrative processes, and operational procedures all exist in formats others can follow.
• Your brand has strong recognition in your current community. People know who you are and what makes your approach special.
• Your finances aren't just stable—they're thriving. You've maintained healthy profit margins for at least 12-18 months.

Pro tip: If you're feeling overwhelmed at your current location, expanding won't fix operational problems—it will amplify them. Strengthen your foundations first.

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Step 1: Choose the Right Location

Finding the right spot for your second location blends analytical thinking with business instinct.

Think about your existing students first. Where are they travelling from? Creating a simple map of current client postcodes often reveals surprising patterns and potential untapped markets just beyond your current reach.

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Now consider the competitive landscape. Is there an area with growing families or your target demographic that's underserved by quality class-based businesses like yours?

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The most successful studio expansions often happen in locations that are:

• Far enough from your first location to tap new markets (usually 15-30 minutes drive time)
• Close enough for you to travel between sites efficiently
• Similar enough demographically that your current business model will resonate
• Different enough that you're not cannibalising your own client base

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Now that you’ve narrowed this down, there are other key factors you need to consider:

• Demand: Is there a need for your services in this area, or is the market saturated?
• Competition: Who else is offering similar programs? What’s their pricing, reputation and enrollment capacity?
• Local demographics: Are there enough families with children in your ideal age group and income bracket?
• Accessibility: Is there convenient parking, visibility from main roads, and good transport options?
• Operating costs: Does the rent, fit-out and staffing budget match what you can realistically afford?
  
  

Pro tip: Use tools like Google Trends, competitor research, council population data and even your own customer postcode reports to validate the area before signing anything.

Choosing the right location isn’t just about geography, it’s about long-term sustainability and fit. When done right, it sets the foundation for everything that follows.

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Step 2: Financial Planning That Goes Beyond Simple Multiplication

Here's where many experienced business owners stumble: assuming the financials of a second location will mirror the first.

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Your initial location likely took time to become profitable. Remember those early months of building awareness and gradually filling classes? Your second location will have a ramp-up period too (perhaps shorter, but still requiring runway capital).

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Create a specific expansion budget that includes:

• Leasehold improvements (often higher than expected)
• Equipment purchases
• Marketing specifically for the new location launch
• Staffing costs during the pre-opening and initial operating phases
• Technology systems that work across multiple sites
• Your time investment (often overlooked but critically valuable)

Factor in at least 6-12 months of operating capital beyond your setup costs. This gives your new location breathing room to find its rhythm and reach profitability without creating cash flow stress across your entire business.

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Want to take your expansion planning from good to great? Develop three financial scenarios: conservative, expected, and optimistic. This mental exercise forces you to consider various growth trajectories and prepare contingency plans.

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Step 3: Operational Systems: The Unsexy Secret to Multi-site Success

You know what separates struggling multi-site businesses from thriving ones? It's rarely about location or even market demand. It's about operational systems that scale elegantly.

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If your current business runs on sticky notes, spreadsheets and your own mental checklist, expansion is going to be rough. 

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Think about your daily operations right now. How many processes depend on your physical presence or direct oversight? How many decisions require your personal input? Each of these represents a potential breaking point in a multi-site operation.

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Before expanding your dance studio or swim school to a new location, invest time in:

• Creating comprehensive operations manuals that anyone could follow
• Implementing management software that provides real-time visibility across locations
• Developing clear communication protocols between sites
• Establishing consistent quality standards and measurement systems
• Building redundancy into key roles so illness or turnover doesn't create chaos

The studios that thrive with multiple locations aren't necessarily the ones with the most talented instructors or the fanciest facilities—they're the ones where someone took the time to create processes that hold up when real life happens.

"I know how important systems are, so we knew right from the beginning that we wanted to invest in a swim management system," says Vicky Rope, Co-owner of Dolphin Academy. "It was a no brainer really - you're only as good as your system."

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Step 4: Build (and Trust) the Right Team

You can’t be in two places at once. That means delegation isn’t optional; it’s essential. 

Start building your leadership pipeline early. Train your existing staff to take on more responsibility and make sure new hires align with your values and standards.

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Key hires might include:

• A site manager or team leader
• An admin or customer experience coordinator
• A head instructor or curriculum lead
  A marketing coordinator (especially for launch)

Remember: Culture doesn’t scale unless you intentionally build it into every hire and process.

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Step 5: Avoiding the Common Expansion Pitfalls

Let's be honest about the challenges of multi-site growth so you can navigate around them:

• ‍Underestimating timeline and costs: Did you know that only 31% of all projects come within 10% of their budget? Plan ahead for this. ‍
• Neglecting your original location: In the excitement of the new, your first location can suffer from attention deficit. Schedule specific times to remain visible and engaged at your original location.‍
• Inconsistent experiences between locations: Students should receive the same quality experience regardless of which location they attend. This requires thorough staff training and clear standards.‍
• Technology disconnects: Ensure your booking system, customer database, and financial tracking work seamlessly across multiple sites before you open, not after.‍
• Culture dilution: Your unique culture and teaching philosophy can get lost in translation. Deliberately design how you'll maintain and cultivate your special sauce as you grow.‍
• Hiring too quickly: Rushing to staff your new location often leads to compromises on quality and cultural fit. Start recruitment earlier than seems necessary.

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Your Next Chapter Begins With Intentional Planning

Opening a second location for your class-based business represents more than just physical growth. It's the evolution of your vision and the impact you can have in your community.

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The most successful multi-site business owners approach expansion with a careful balance: structured enough to maintain quality and financial health, but flexible enough to adapt to new market realities.

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Your current success didn't happen by accident. It came from your passion, expertise, and countless hours of refining your approach. Your expansion deserves the same intentional planning.

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When done thoughtfully, that second set of keys can unlock not just another door, but an entirely new level of business success that supports more students, more instructors, and ultimately, more of the transformative experiences that made you start your business in the first place.

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Looking for class management software that grows with you?

Udio helps multi-site businesses streamline bookings, payments, communication and reporting, all from one centralised platform. Read our case study how State Swim juggles their 17 sites using Udio. 

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