If you’re in business, you want it to do well right? I love to see businesses grow, but better still I prefer to see them multiply!
One of the greatest biblical concepts is the principle of multiplication. In business most people just focus on addition, such as increasing their revenue by 5%. But to create a business that multiplies you need a business model that operates based on that principle, a number of which I outline below.
Let’s look at an example of business multiplication in action using a web-based business:
• You tell 10 friends about it. 1 x 10 = 10
• They like it so they tell 10 more each. 10 x 10 + 10 = 110
• Those 100 now tell 10 more each. 100 x 10 + 110 = 1110
• Those 1000 people now tell 10 more each. 1000 x 10 + 1,100 = 11,100
• Those 10,000 now tell 10 more each. 10,000 x 10 + 11,100 = 111,100
• Those 100,000 now tell 10 more each. 100,000 x 10 + 111,100 = 1,111,100
• Those 1,000,000 now tell 10 more each. 1,000,000 x 10 + 1,111,100 = 11,111,100
• Those 10,000,000 now tell 10 more each. 10,000,000 x 10 + 11,111,100 = 111,111,100
• Those 100,000,000 now tell 10 more each. 100,000,000 x 10 + 11,111,110 = 1,111,111,100
What do you have? Facebook. Sure, most of us are not going to create the next Facebook, but you can grow a radically successful online business adopting the multiplication principle.
Therefore my challenge to you is to start thinking in multiples. You either believe in a supernatural God or you don’t. So let’s look at some of the areas we should be considering multiplying our business:
Franchising – is a multiplication strategy whereby the franchisor enables a franchisee to use their brand, product, skills and processes to replicate their business. In return the franchisor receives a percentage of the turnover. Many fast food outlets work on this model. Consider McDonalds that now has more than 36,000 stores across the planet.
Licensing – is a strategy where you can allow a licensee to use your brand or intellectual property for a royalty fee. Think of a sports team baseball cap. The company that makes the cap pays a license fee to use the sports teams logo and brand and as a result sells a lot more caps!
Cross-Selling – if your business has multiple divisions with different but complementary products or services, do they talk to each other? Do they send each other business? Most banks offer multiple products and services and they incentivise their staff (often financially) to refer work to each other.
Affiliate Marketing – organizations like Amazon have affiliate programs. You send them customers, by recommending their books and in return they give you a share of the revenue. This is a great strategy to get others talking about your products.
Partnering – often partnering with competitors can bring in new business. Most of the best internet marketers promote each others products because they realize that by combining their efforts and promoting each others services they enlarge the overall pool of customers.
Internet / Social Media – the internet is a fabulous tool to build a worldwide audience. Never before in human history has it been so easy to have customers across the globe without even having to visit these countries.
Referrals – creating a referral process where you get your customers talking about you is still one of the best ways to grow many businesses.
Naturally there are other multiplication methods. Their success will depend on the type of business you have and your ability to execute the strategy.
About the Author: Alex Cook
Alex Cook is the Founder of Wealth With Purpose. He recently sold his successful financial planning business to pursue his passion of helping people like you to take control of their finances and future.
