Is your Company Growing? Here are 6 Ways to Expand

Companies are always looking for ways to expand. Whether they've experienced recent success and have additional capital for new products or employees, or have struggled recently and want to sell new products to increase revenue, proper growth can take a company to new heights.

If your company has hit a plateau, consider the following 6 ways to expand:

Offer Franchise Opportunities

Franchising is a great way to expand your brand name without spending a significant amount of operating capital.

Most businesses choose to offer franchises through brokers. Brokers can help seek out interested owners and offer advice on potentially strong markets. This can help increase your company's income while keeping you focused on your flagship store.

Open Another Location

If you feel like you've maxed out the current market, consider opening another location. Perform extensive research on the customers you plan to serve to ensure the market isn't saturated with competition, and initiate surveys of community members to see if you're product will serve them well.

Physical expansion can be costly, so make sure you have enough capital to operate a second store without taking money out of your first location.

Acquire Another Business

If you see a business for sale at an affordable price and feel that you can profit from it, make an offer on it.

Purchasing an already profitable business is a great way to expand while still operating on a lean budget. Because the business is already established, you won't have to spend additional money on products, hiring new employees or putting a deposit down for rent.

Before making this type of purchase, talk with customers, ask questions and perform extensive research to see whether or not you will profit from this type of venture.

Put Your Business On the Internet

If you don't have a web presence, you're missing out on hundreds of potential customers.

The majority of consumers now use the Internet to make their decisions before going into a physical store to complete their purchase. They are constantly connected to their smartphones and tablets, browsing for products that they're interested in.

If you want to reach new markets, building and promoting a website is the way to go. It costs the fraction of the price of opening a new physical location and comes with less stress. Maintaining a website is also a great way to practice lean budgeting. You can also use social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Youtube to promote your website and your business.

Expand on a Global Level

If you have some extra operating capital, consider selling your products on a global level.

While global expansion may seem like a daunting task, a distributor will help alleviate much of the stress. Distributors help find buyers overseas and often facilitate contracts and payments.

Create New Products

Successful businesses expand by diversifying their product lines. If your sales have recently fallen flat, consider offering a new product that's targeted to current customers, or change the way you market your products and who you market them to.

Operating on a lean budget is always important when expanding. Before you decide to venture into a whole new market, ensure you have enough capital to operate for at least a year.