Should You Hire, Expand or Invest?
When your business is growing, it’s easy to assume that more is better. More people. More products. More locations. More marketing. Right?
But one of the biggest challenges I see business owners face once they hit a certain level of momentum, usually somewhere between $1M and $5M in annual revenue, is figuring out what to prioritise next. Should you hire a new team member? Expand into a new market? Invest in better systems or brand positioning?
These decisions aren’t just about where you want to go, they’re about what your business can support, both operationally and financially.
And getting it wrong can slow your growth or create unnecessary risk.
Let’s break it down by looking at three common choices: hiring, expanding, and investing.
1. Should You Hire?
Case Study: The Overwhelmed Agency Founder
Anna runs a creative agency that recently crossed $2 million in annual revenue. Business was booming, but her team was burnt out. She has been considering whether to hire another account manager, but unsure if the business could afford it.
When we looked at her numbers, we saw:
Revenue had grown by 40% year-on-year
Client churn was increasing
Staff utilisation was beyond capacity
Cash flow was tight, but receivables were solid
Hiring made sense, but only if we also fixed her payment terms and smoothed out her cash flow.
We suggested a few small changes: shortened client payment terms, introduced partial upfront payments for new projects, and staggered some supplier payments. Within a few weeks, her cash flow stabilised, and she made the hire, relieving pressure on the team and retaining several high-value clients.
Key takeaway: Hire when the workload is truly unsustainable and your business model can support the cost. But always assess cash flow before committing to an ongoing expense.
2. Should You Expand?
Case Study: The E-Commerce Business Looking at U.S. Expansion
James had built a thriving e-commerce brand in Australia and was eyeing expansion into the U.S. The market potential was huge, but he wasn’t sure if it was the right time. He had stable revenue, a lean team, and a loyal customer base but international expansion meant logistics, customer service, and ad spend would all increase significantly.
We mapped out a scenario model that considered:
Cost of fulfilment, warehousing, and shipping
New customer acquisition cost vs. lifetime value
Operational complexity of managing two markets
Risk if the launch didn’t gain traction within 6 months
It turned out that while the opportunity was attractive, James’s margins were already stretched in Australia and jumping into a larger, more expensive and unknown market could drain cash fast.
Instead, he decided to test international shipping through a smaller pilot program first. This gave him real-world data and uncovered logistics challenges without overcommitting.
Key takeaway: Expansion sounds exciting, but it’s resource-intensive. Start small, model the risk, and make sure your core operations are solid first.
3. Should You Invest in Systems or Brand?
Case Study: The Coaching Business Stuck in the Weeds
An executive coaching firm had doubled in size over 18 months but was still running everything manually. Proposal templates lived in Google Docs, project tracking happened in Excel, and invoicing was done individually each month. The founder was exhausted and spending 60% of her time on admin or fixing errors.
She started thinking she needed to hire a full-time assistant or other admin staff.
Instead, a better investment would be to implement the right systems:
A CRM to manage leads and automate follow-ups
A project management tool to streamline workflows
Automated invoicing connected to accounting softward
The cost of the tools was less than one month of an admin hire. The result? She saved 10+ hours a week and was able to redirect her energy into business development.
Key takeaway: Before hiring or expanding, ask whether a strategic investment like better systems or process automation could solve the problem more effectively and at a lower long-term cost.
How to Decide What’s Right for You
Here are three questions to ask when weighing these options:
1. Where is the constraint?
Look at your business honestly. Are you losing customers due to slow delivery? Missing sales because no one is following up leads? Burning cash on rework or inefficiencies? Identify the bottleneck before applying a solution.
2. Can you afford the move and sustain it?
Hiring, expanding, or investing all require financial capacity. Run a forecast with the new cost in place. Will cash flow hold up? What happens if revenue doesn’t grow as planned? Never rely on best-case scenarios.
3. What unlocks the most long-term value?
Sometimes the smartest move isn’t the most obvious one. A strategic investment in systems might free you up to land bigger clients. A new hire might protect your reputation and reduce staff turnover. Expansion might double revenue or put everything under pressure. Choose the path that strengthens your foundation and supports your goals.
Final Thought
Growth is exciting but it comes with choices that carry weight. When your business hits a key turning point, don’t rush to do more. Step back, assess your position, and be strategic about your next move.
At Olive Business Partners, we help business owners assess the right time to hire, expand, or invest using financial clarity, operational insight, and expert advice to support confident decisions.
If you’re standing at a growth crossroads, we’d love to help you map the smartest path forward.