Explore All Options When 'Expanding'

Babigian says he would normally give a new department two or three years to sort itself out and shape itself up. The problem is that in today's market, you might not have that long. That's why it's important to explore all of your options when thinking about branching out. Diversification can prove to be the best thing for your business, but it could also be the thing that kills it if you misstep.

Dickran Babigian is the president of Navix, a consulting and software firm specializing in financial management programs and systems. Navix specializes in training and software that helps contractors monitor and manage their most valuable resources—time, materials and money—to improve productivity and profit margins. Email dickran@navix.com or call (617) 828-1122 for more information.