Service 01 — 6 Weeks — ¥44,000
Know what a second location will actually cost — before you commit to it
A structured six-week assessment that works through local demand, establishment costs, staffing conditions, and the management load the move will place on your existing team.
What this engagement delivers
A costed plan you can put in front of your board — or use to decide against moving
After six weeks, you will have a document covering local demand evidence, a month-by-month cash view through the establishment period, staffing availability in the target area, and a plain note of the conditions under which the expansion should be deferred. That last part matters as much as the rest.
The goal is not to produce a case for expansion. It is to give you a clear picture of what the move involves, so the decision — whichever way it goes — is made on accurate ground rather than optimistic estimates.
Duration
Six weeks
Includes site visits to the target location
Investment
¥44,000
Fixed fee, agreed before work begins
Suited to
One established location
Considering a second site or new prefecture
The situation most clients arrive with
A proposal that looks sound on paper, with a number of things not yet fully checked
Most expansion proposals begin with a reasonable observation: the market in another prefecture looks similar to the one you are already in, and you are running close to capacity where you are. The logic for a second site is there.
What is harder to establish from inside a business are the specifics. Demand evidence for an unfamiliar market is usually thin. Cost estimates for establishing a new site tend to be first-year figures that do not carry through the period when revenue is still building. Staffing in regional areas is often different from what head counts in familiar cities would suggest.
The management burden is the piece most often underestimated. Running one established location while standing up a second one draws on the same pool of attention and decision-making capacity. Understanding that draw in advance changes how — and sometimes whether — the move gets made.
Demand is assumed rather than evidenced — comparable markets look alike from a distance, less so once you are in them
Cost figures cover year one — not the slower revenue build that typically follows an opening in a new area
Staffing assumptions are drawn from experience in familiar markets, not from conditions in the target area
The load on existing leadership is not quantified — it shows up later as slower decisions and strained operations at the original site
How this engagement works
Four areas examined in sequence, culminating in a costed document
The six weeks follow a fixed structure. Each area informs the next — demand evidence shapes the cost model, staffing conditions affect the management assessment, and all four feed into the final recommendation and the conditions that accompany it.
Area 01
Local demand evidence
We examine what is known about the target market directly — not by analogy to your existing one. This includes reviewing available data on the category in that area, and where data is thin, being clear about what the limits of the evidence are.
Area 02
Establishment and running costs
A month-by-month cash view through the establishment period — not a single year-one estimate. This includes site costs, fit-out, the slower early revenue phase, and what your existing business will need to contribute during that time.
Area 03
Staffing availability
Whether the people needed for a second site are available in that area, at what cost, and what the hiring and onboarding process looks like in conditions that may differ considerably from where you operate now.
Area 04
Management burden on the existing team
An honest account of how much of your current leadership capacity the opening will draw on, and for how long. This is often the piece that changes a decision — not because the numbers are wrong, but because the personal cost had not been laid out clearly.
How the six weeks are structured
What happens in each week — and what it asks of you
| Week | Our activity | Your involvement |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Document review — existing financials, site details, current capacity position | Share relevant documents; one initial meeting with leadership |
| 2 | Site visit to the target area; local demand assessment begins | Introductions to any existing local contacts if available |
| 3 | Staffing availability research; local cost gathering for the cash model | Confirm your current staffing costs and structure for comparison |
| 4–5 | Cash model construction; management burden assessment; draft report preparation | One check-in meeting mid-analysis to flag any emerging questions |
| 6 | Draft shared for factual review; final report delivered | Review draft for factual accuracy; note anything we were not shown |
Total time expected from your team across the engagement: approximately four to six hours of meetings and document preparation.
Investment
¥44,000 — fixed, agreed before the work begins
The fee covers the full six-week engagement and all deliverables. There are no additional charges for site visits or document preparation. If the scope needs to change materially, we will discuss it before proceeding — not after.
What is included
Local demand assessment for the target area, based on available data and site visits
Month-by-month cash view through the establishment period — not a single year-one estimate
Staffing availability and cost assessment for the target area
Management burden analysis — what the opening will draw from your existing leadership and for how long
Written final report including a plain note of the conditions under which the expansion should be deferred
One site visit to the target location, included in the fee
Payment terms are discussed at the start of the engagement. A portion is typically invoiced at the start of the work and the remainder on delivery of the final document.
How progress is tracked
What you receive during the engagement, and what the final report contains
During the engagement
You receive one written update midway through the engagement — not a full report, but a note on what has been found to that point and any questions that have come up. This gives you an opportunity to surface additional information before the analysis is finalised.
The draft report is shared approximately one week before the end of the engagement. You can correct factual errors and note anything that does not reflect your situation accurately. That is the purpose of the draft — not approval, but accuracy.
The final document
The final report is written to be read by people who were not part of the engagement — a board member, a finance director, a lender. It does not require the consultant in the room to be meaningful.
A realistic timeline for the expansion, if it is recommended, is included. Where data was limited, the report is explicit about what that means for the confidence of the figures — rather than presenting estimates as though they were verified.
Our commitment
The report will reflect what we found — not what you were hoping to hear
If the analysis shows that the expansion is likely to be more costly, slower, or operationally heavier than the initial proposal suggested, the report will say so plainly. That includes the recommendation, not only a footnote.
If at any point during the engagement we conclude that the question being asked falls outside what this scope can answer properly — because the situation is more complex or because the information available is too limited — we will say so before delivering a document that overstates its own confidence.
Before committing to the engagement, we offer an initial conversation — usually thirty to forty minutes — to confirm that the question is one this scope can address. There is no charge for that conversation. If it is not the right engagement for your situation, we will say so then rather than after six weeks of work.
How to begin
A short note is enough to start
Describe the situation briefly — where you operate now, the location you are considering, and what stage the proposal is at. We will respond within two working days to confirm whether this engagement suits the question, and to outline what the first week would look like.
Step 1
Send a short note
A few sentences about your situation and the location you are considering
Step 2
Initial conversation
We confirm the scope, agree the start date, and discuss any immediate questions
Step 3
Work begins
Document review in week one; site visit in week two; final report six weeks from start
Regional Expansion Planning
If a second location is under consideration
A short note about the situation is a reasonable place to start. No commitment is needed before the initial conversation, and the conversation itself is without charge.
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