Growing is the reward for building something that works, and it is also the moment the business is most fragile. Most expansions that fail were not failing businesses. They were profitable ones that grew faster than their cash could carry, and discovered it in month four with a lease signed.

An hour spent on this before you commit is what turns growth from a leap into a decision. It also produces the document a lender asks for, so nothing here is wasted even if the answer is wait.

You are checking five things, and all five have to hold. One weak area is not a veto, but it tells you what to fix first and it is almost always the thing that bites later.

Have twelve months of real figures in front of you. Growth decisions made from a good quarter are how businesses end up over-extended, because a good quarter is not a trend.