Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, kutay tanir


It's something I've seen plenty of with my current employer.

Smart growth even at most established companies these days often means using existing resources, or bootstrapping, at first with the idea that great revenue will allow for growth.

So here, from my own experience, are some tips on how to expand your existing business through bootstrapping:

• Invest time, not money-Don't immediately assume that growth is tied to financial investment. Taking the time and energy to simply divert resources to a new project can sometimes prove much more rewarding.
• Use staff efficiently-Can you add new services or products to your existing business simply by changing the way your existing employees do things? Ask the employee who answers the phone in the office to also field product orders from the website or see whether some additional drop shipped items could be added to your existing goods and services.
• Cut unnecessary expenses-Nothing is more sobering than seeing how unnecessary, or worse yet wasteful, spending is draining your company of the ability to expand. Don't keep spending money on things because that's what you've always done. Resources spent on wasteful, unprofitable projects are the ones best redirected to your bootstrapping growth.
• Try anything. That includes conventional websites, e-commerce and blogs, of course, but also lots of conventional goods and services you haven't tried offering before, including perhaps some that have little to do with the company's core business.
• Believe in results. Track results of your experiments meticulously and believe the message they send you. If something works, don't drop it because you can't see how it fits in with your overall business model. If it doesn't, don't hang on trying to win a clearly lost battle.

Like startups, established companies can often find ways to expand in the most fragile economies simply by using available resources instead of riskier financial investment.

When planning your company's next expansion, consider a bootstrapping approach. Using available resources instead of new investment to fuel your growth is a great way to find out immediately what will work out and what won't without spending a nickel for the learning process.