Top 5 Reasons CEOs Should Consider Business Expansion

Business expansion can be the key. Building a strategic expansion plan is an excellent way to remain competitive in a rapidly changing economic landscape. By expanding to a new location, you can solve critical challenges your team is facing, whether that’s market access, talent acquisition or financial woes.

“If you’re a CEO, you should be thinking about business expansion,” says Erin D’Alessandro, Waterloo EDC’s VP of Business Development. “It’s a huge growth opportunity—you open doors to stable, innovative ecosystems and new markets. Creating a smart and strategic expansion plan demonstrates resiliency and an ability to innovate even – especially – in uncertain times.”

Here are the top five reasons why CEOs should consider business expansion:

1. Get access to new markets

A strategic expansion can help grow your business. Let’s say you expand to a location with a strong domestic customer base, an international airport and several global trade agreements.

With excellent market access, you can reach more customers, increase revenue and strengthen business relationships. With an international airport in your backyard, you can easily connect to economic hubs around the world. Trade agreements allow you to tap into global trade networks and lessen the impact of the tariffs you might face in your home country.

A smart expansion strategy will help your company thrive by expanding access to markets all around the world. By gaining access to these markets, your company can become more sustainable and successful, while sharpening your competitive edge.

What Waterloo offers:

• 1,500+ tech companies
• One-day access to 194+ million consumers in the United States and Canada
• Part of the Toronto-Waterloo Corridor, where there are 26,00+ tech companies and 373,600+ tech workers
• Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) is 85km/53mi from Waterloo region and is one of North America’s best-connected airports with 180+ destinations serving more than 40 million international passengers each year
• Canada has trade agreements with 50+ countries that are home to 1.5 billion consumers, representing 61% of the global economy, demonstrating our strong and stable has commitment to free international trade

2. Grow as a market leader

Market leaders are dominant forces in their industries. They’re able to innovate and adapt to changing economic conditions by driving innovation—whether that’s product, operation or technology-focused. If you want to strengthen your market leadership, a strategic business expansion could be the answer.

To grow as a market leader and continue to accelerate innovation in your industry, you’ll want to look at locations with market opportunities, access to investment and a strong innovation ecosystem.

What Waterloo offers:

• The University of Waterloo has been named “Canada’s Most Innovative University” 30 times, and owned the title “Canadian Research University of the Year” for 16 consecutive years
• 125+ total research centres, labs and institutes, 65 of which are research hubs at local post-secondary institutions
• Home to pivotal research centres, like Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, the Institute for Quantum Computing, the Waterloo Centre for Automotive Research, Waterloo AI and Data Institute and more
• Toronto, connected to Waterloo by the 65mi/105km Toronto-Waterloo Corridor, is ranked #1 in Canada in VC funding

3. Access top talent

If you’re a business leader, you already know that talent attraction and retention are essential to smart growth. The problem is that in some places, talent is becoming too scarce, too expensive or both.

Expansion can give you access to a whole new pool of skilled workers who are just as innovative and adaptable as the rest of your team. A strategic location can help you find top-quality workforces and tap into government programs that fuel talent acquisition.

So, how can you tell which locations have a strong pipeline of talent?

You want to look at fast-growing cities with a diverse workforce made up of new graduates, skilled professionals and industry experts. These regions have top-notch educational institutions that work closely with local organizations, and business immigration programs that attract talented workers from around the globe.

By locating your company in an area like this, you can access the best talent to fuel your growth.

What Waterloo offers:

• Ranked the #1 small tech talent market in North America and #7 overall by CBRE
• Fastest-growing millennial and new graduate populations in North America
• 95,000+ post-secondary students enrolled at the University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University and Conestoga College
• Waterloo region’s tech workforce grew 58.2% in the last three years

4. Gain financial benefits

Want to increase your return-on-investment (ROI) and profit margins? Expansion can be a great way to save money in the long run.

It might seem counterintuitive, as business expansion can initially appear expensive. But if you plan strategically, you gain numerous financial benefits in the long term. New locations can allow your company to access new government incentives, while lowering salaries and taxes. By expanding to a financially advantageous location, you can save big on talent, operations, research and more.

What Waterloo offers:

• 60k sq. ft. of commercial space in Waterloo region costs $2.7M less than a similarly-sized space in San Francisco and $3.7M less than in New York
• Payroll taxes in the Waterloo area are $1,230 less than in San Francisco and $1,510 less than in New York City
• By tapping into federal and provincial R&D tax credits, businesses can save up to 66.5% on R&D in Waterloo

5. Join a supportive business environment

Successful growth doesn’t happen alone. It takes a strong network of support to counter instability, overcome obstacles and achieve important goals. Building collaborative partnerships is key to developing a resilient, sustainable and innovative company.

A supportive and stable business environment is ideal for companies looking to expand. If you are located in a business network with government support and innovation hubs, you can make your company more adaptable and successful.

What Waterloo offers:

• Government programs like the Invest Ontario Fund, the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) and the Global Talent Stream are available for companies located in the Waterloo area
• Stable business environment with several international trade agreements
• Home to Canada’s top innovation hub, most productive incubator and #1 private business accelerator

With a strategic expansion, you can expand your market opportunities, gain competitive advantages, access top talent, reap financial benefits and join a supportive business environment. As the leader of your business, you can make a strategic growth move by considering business expansion.