Timing a Business Expansion in an Uncertain Economy
In an economic recession, when should you open a new location? Not even the chairman of the Fed knows what next month will bring. So instead of reading tea leaves, read everything you can find about your desired market. 
“This is a time for caution,” says Jay Weiss, a principal of JGI, a management consulting firm based in Rochelle Park, New Jersey. “But that doesn’t mean that it isn’t a time for opportunity as well. It just means that you have to do a greater level of analysis.”
So, what are those famously healthy West Coasters up to these days? Weiss suggests examining consumer spending and competitors’ performance city by city around the region. Are consumers paying top dollar at raw-food restaurants and supermarkets where the sushi varieties outnumber the snack cakes? Or are they increasingly choosing fast-food outlets pitching bargain menus? Read more:
