The owners of the Trends & Traditions antique market spent four days helping vendors move their wares from a 7,000-square-foot shop on Walton Way Extension to a 15,000-square-foot store on Washington Road.

"We had 25 booths that had to be moved," Ms. Miller said. "We had to coordinate times on moving and what door they could go out. It was hard."

Moving is rarely fun or easy, but sometimes it's necessary to expand a small business.

"Obviously, if you move to a bigger place, you will have more room to display things," said Reka F. Mosteller, area manager for the Aiken Small Business Development Center.

The Small Business Administration warns against expanding too quickly and lists rapid growth as one of the top 10 causes of business failure. The pitfall is that many businesses cannot generate the cash needed to pay the larger lease and maintenance costs associated with a bigger building and business, Ms. Mosteller said.

The owners of Trends & Traditions are fortunate in this regard. Their business is supported by rental fees that vendors pay for space in the store. Ms. Miller said if the whole store were rented, she would have no trouble paying the lease and utilities. So far, the store is not full.

Moves present other challenges to small businesses.

"It's always nice to have a bigger building, but it is not always good for business," she said.

Many assume customers will follow the business to its new location. But if the new location is too far away or in a poor location, customers may not stay loyal, Ms. Mosteller said.

Ms. Miller and Mr. Shepherd spent six weeks cleaning and renovating the new building. Because of the vendor setup, individual stalls that separate vendors had to be built and painted, and the store had to be wired for electricity.

"We did install all the walls," Ms. Miller said. "It was kind of a major expense."

Another concern is the location of competitors in the area, Ms. Mosteller said. Moving into an area with greater competition can hurt sales.

Still, the new location has its advantages.

The antique shop's old location had become so crowded that it was difficult for customers to remove furniture they purchased. The new location, with its large loading dock, simplifies loading and unloading, Ms. Miller said.

The new store, in the same shopping center as Stein Mart, is benefiting from foot traffic generated by the department store, which has resulted in more sales and happier vendors. Customers also appreciate the easy access afforded by a traffic signal, something the former location didn't have.

"I think everybody's just really happy with the location, and that makes it easier for us because when they're happy, we're happy," Ms. Miller said.

The Place: Trends & Traditions, 2834 Washington Rd (map)