What Is It? A FULL Business Opportunity?
Asking the question, “What business am I really in?” and offering goods and services across the full scope of that generic category of business. This expands the range of activities considered to be legitimate by any company in a sector of the economy.

Soap companies are in the cleaning business; book publishers are in the information business; railroads are in the transportation business. Opportunities arise from considering the full range of business you are in. Soap companies can produce items other than soap that can clean, for example.

What Are Some Examples?
 
1. A community newspaper realised they were in the information business. They published a newsletter in addition to their ongoing news-paper.
2. A chartered accountant firm realised it was in the business of financial control. In addition to their regular accounting, they hired a financial controller who acts as the controller for several small companies on a fee for-service-basis. Their rent-a-controller business has been profi-table.
3. A neighbourhood food store recognised that it was in the convenience business. In addition to food, it provided other products and services which would be considered a convenience by consumers. They provided video rentals, delive¬ry service, easy parking, 24-hour service, hot snacks, and an array of other convenient items.
4. Barloworld’s man CEO Gavin Knight in Angola – one sector in which Barlow Equipment is heavily engaged there is power generation. At the top end it provides large, technologically so-phisticated generators to keep banks, factories, hospitals and mines in operation. The other end of the market comprises every business which has any hope of succeeding and just about every home-owner in the country for whom small generators are a daily necessity. It is a potentially lucrative slice of the power-genera¬ting market.
5. Ml Diamond Cutting Works, Msa Mayaba’s business has thrived over the past few years, evolving from a diamond trading operation to mining, cutting, polishing, jewellery and even security activities. It is now also a budding ex-porter, earning hard currency for the country.
6. Well over 11 000 would-be entrepreneurs have signed up as members of Unilever Network since it launched in January 2003, with top achievers earning over $6,000 per month. The network’s training partner provider is QED (Quality Executive Development). Unilever ob-viously asked the question “What business are we really in?” They are in the business of pro-viding business opportunities with their pro-ducts to other businesses and individuals. They have now ventured into network marketing with their products. In network marketing training is vital. Their Unilever Network Academy operates in Johannesburg, Durban, Pietermaritzburg and Cape Town.
7. A local retail outlet selling Harley Davidson acces¬sories was seeing a decline in sales due to the limited number of local customers. Recognising that Harley Davidson is international, the retailer expanded the business by promoting the products on the Internet and offering mail order sales.

How Would I Do It?
1. Ask yourself “What business am I really in?”
2. Look at the services and products you have, to identify which general categories of business they fit into.
3. Take the broad categories and identify other types of services or products in those categories that you could, but are not currently offering.

Key Questions:
• What additional products and services can I offer within that broad category of business?
• What other products or services could fall into the same category? Could I expand my operations to offer these additional items?
• What other products or services would fit with my business that existing customers would buy, or that would attract new customers?
• Is there a market for the additional product or services?

Kasu for example is in the business of helping entrepreneurs, friends, and family document loans, but this also leads to great opportunities for Crowdfunding projects and training of entrepreneurs or personal finances. These are good growth areas for our business in the future. However, the simple version of what we do is at www.kasu.ca, documenting your loans and helping you build crowd funding communities for a cause.