Mistakes to avoid when planning a greenhouse expansion

There are many pitfalls to avoid when planning an expansion of your greenhouse. Your business relies on many factors such as crop deadlines and financing – make sure you are planning your new builds accordingly and make the proper considerations. Here are some common mistakes:

1. Not giving yourself enough time to execute your greenhouse expansion
No matter how good your greenhouse manufacturer is, or how fast your greenhouse construction company is, no one can deliver a turnkey greenhouse yesterday when you are placing your order today. Proper planning takes time, and crop deadlines are important. Discuss this early with your greenhouse manufacturer and they will be able to assist you in putting together a proper timeline so decision on details like, greenhouse structure, heating, irrigation, and the environmental controls can be scheduled to give you the finished greenhouse when you need it.

Focusing only on price when deciding who is going to supply all the components of your greenhouses
We all know that the greenhouse industry, like most industries in North America, has suffered from tough economic times, and it is easy to focus on costs when times are tough. But no one ever saved themselves rich. Cost cutting will only take a business owner so far. Capital investment decisions like building a new greenhouse, investing in hot water heating, or putting in rolling benches and energy curtains requires more than getting the lowest price, it requires a value assessment. Price combined with quality, delivery, after sales service, and ROI make an intelligent investment decision. Don’t be the one to buy something cheap only to find out that you got what you paid for!

Forgetting the importance of your crop sales and marketing
If you build it they will come! This is certainly one of those great movie lines that does not stand in the real world. Expand your greenhouse production to double your size, and you need to double your sales to pay for it. Sure some extra capacity makes good sense, but you need to make a business case for greenhouse expansion, and that starts with the top line of your income statement. Revenue!

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