All systems grow: you don't have to be a rocket scientist to grow your business. Get ready for liftoff with these 7 expansion strategies

Entrepreneur, March, 2005 by Julie Monahan

For more on franchising your business, see the "Franchising Your Business" section of Entrepreneur's Franchise-Zone at www.entrepreneur.com/franzone/howtofranchise.> 6. Join forces.

A merger or acquisition combines the best of two companies, expands your customer base, increases intellectual capital and delivers operational efficiencies. The trick is finding the right partner. "You have to share the same vision of what it is you're trying to build," says Davis.

Such a step is usually the domain of established companies, but acquisitions are how Thought Equity Inc. got off the ground. When Thought Equity's CEO, Kevin Schaff, started his Denver business providing stock footage and production-ready commercials to media companies, he first acquired a nearly bankrupt company selling similar ready-to-use commercials. "We wanted to [increase] the size of our library and provide a critical mass for people when they came to search our libraries," Schaff, 30, says.

The next target, an advertising agency, supplied the expertise of professionals steeped in TV advertising sales. With this "plug and play team," as Schaff calls the agency, Schaff estimates the company got up and running with its first customers 18 months earlier than it could have had it tried to create these resources in-house. Both acquisitions were completed in 2002, the year Thought Equity was founded. Sales in 2004 reached $3 million.

7. Go global.

Growing markets, rising consumer spending, improved business climate--sometimes the only place to find these things is overseas. Doing business internationally can take the form of exporting, licensing, a joint venture or manufacturing, but whatever form you choose, the same basic business rules of assessing customer demand, gaining legal and accounting assistance, protecting intellectual property and obeying regulations apply.

What don't come so easily are the nuances of cultural differences. In some countries, particularly those in Asia, a local partner is virtually a requirement. Your first stop should be your target country's economic development agency, which can help marshal local resources to get you on your way, possibly with a small financial boost.

Melody Brenna, 48, co-founder and CEO of Milestone Architectural Ornamentation Inc. in Amarillo, Texas, emphasizes the importance of the internet in growing an international business. That's how overseas customers first found out about her construction technology firm, which specializes in historic reproductions. Today, Milestone's international business includes exporting product machinery, materials and molds to Thailand, and deals with other countries are in the works. To streamline service, the company creates a project-specific website with regularly updated project news, photos and scheduling information.

Online access also helps businesses overcome the delays of time zone differences. "If there's something I forgot to tell a client," says Brenna, "I throw it on the web and it's there when they get to work in the morning."