How to Grow to Be as Big and Profitable as Disney

by Andre Bell

Published on this site: June 28th, 2005 - See more articles from this month...

It's summertime and millions of tourists will flock from around this huge world of ours to come to sunny California to visit Disneyland.

For a moment I want you to imagine that you are here standing among the tourists.

Just before you enter the gates of 'The Magic Kingdom' with a heart all pitter patter with glee and excitement you look up and instead of seeing the Disney moniker you see YOUR name high above for everyone to see.

You look around and realize that those millions of travelers are here because they want to be here and because they love you.

In fact, each of them willingly paid hundreds of dollars just to reach this point so they can spend even more money once they enter into your kingdom.

Wouldn't that be a great feeling? Yep.

Far fetched? Not at all.

The problem is, if you are like most business owners you want to grow but do not realize you've unknowingly placed restrictions on your growth. Restrictions that prevent millions of others from lining up to spend money with you.

I am now going to share a Disney secret that if you choose to use can make more money for you through your business than you can possibly spend in your entire lifetime, a secret that Disney has managed to use very effectively and profitably for over 80 years.

To understand this secret you need to ask yourself, where would Disney be right now if Walt Disney had said to himself early on, `I'm in the business of making animated cartoon shorts and that's where I will stay'.

He'd be bankrupt and out of business like other movie studios of that bygone era.

Disney became a multi-billion dollar international conglomerate through one easily duplicable means; diversification.

Walt Disney had vision. He saw beyond cellophane and glass and dreamed of other areas he could move in to; theme parks, feature films, live action movies, licensing, merchandising, real estate, restaurants, and more. Disney saw beyond animated silent cartoons.

You may say you don't have an artistic bone in your body so what does Disney's example have to do with marketing and growing your business?

Tell me, what business are you in?

If you say you are in the business of making money and your product, delivery method, and marketing method are just means to an end you are correct.

But if your answer is limited to your method of marketing or some title you are seriously limiting your growth and income potential.

For example, if you say `mine is an internet business' you miss out on other areas of making money such as direct mail, yellow page advertising, news papers, publicity, networking, radio and television interviews, joint ventures, and 185 other marketing methods.

If you see yourself only as a plumber, accountant, attorney, landscaper, or retailer you are wrong because WHAT you offer is not the definition of your business. It's simply one medium of exchange for growing your business.

This is important to understand because most business owners I've met have narrowly defined how they make money. They've developed erroneous deep-seated beliefs that they can only sell what directly falls under the category of their products or services.

For example, if a pool manufacturer has these self-limiting beliefs the only thing he has available to sell are his pools and service contracts.

But if he thinks like Disney he will realize he can generate additional income from referral sales to landscapers, brick layers, outdoor furnishing companies, fencing companies, and anything else a new pool owner would be interested in buying.

He can diversify his income.

The same is true for every business on the planet.

When you think like Disney you realize that the true definition for what you do is operate a business that is supposed to make money.

Is it ethical to make money from areas beyond your title, method of delivery, or marketing method?

Did Disney do anything unethical by growing through owning and marketing restaurants, hotels, theme parks, children clothing stores, television stations, and real estate?

No. Early on they opened their imaginations and diversified their marketing efforts beyond the self-limiting views of being silent film animators. This has made Disney one of the riches companies in the world.

Where are the competitive silent studios of 1923 who stuck to the idea of only marketing silent films? Dead.

By keeping an open mind like Disney you leave yourself open for income opportunities not available to those who narrowly define themselves by a title or delivery or marketing method.

So let me ask you again, what business are you really in? (hint: your answer better be "the business of making money").

Once you get this right you will be able to grow and imitate the Disney marketing model by finding new business in areas you hadn't thought of before now and you may come to realize that it truly is a small world after all.



Andre Bell is an author, copywriter, marketing strategist, direct- mail promotion specialist and principle of marketing consulting firm Andre Bell Consulting Group. Andre is committed to helping entrepreneurs like himself discover what it takes to maximize profits from every marketing communication and effort. If you are an entrepreneur visit www.AndreBell.com for additional marketing tips and resources.