What All Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Subway

A friend of mine pointed out an interesting move by Subway lately.

They’ve quietly been setting up stores inside Walmarts.

Over 1400 of them in fact.

It got me thinking.

Surely one of the best opportunities to increase your revenues is to sell your products in unusual places, just like Subway are doing.

While you’re competitors slog it out in the same old marketplaces, you could be growing your business in places they haven’t even thought about.

What unusual place could you start selling your services?

It’s worth brainstorming ideas for half an hour.

A health food company might open up stores inside universities .

A caterer might approach an electrician’s association offering discount lunches for all their members.

A lawyer might do a joint venture with an insurance company to offer legal services to their clients.

A book publisher might seek to sell their cooking books in food supermarkets across the country.

A meditation teacher might open a branch inside the Los Angeles Police Department.

When you start thinking about it, it’s easy to think of unusual places to sell your goods and services.

And there’s plenty of reasons why you should:

You’ll have very little competition (Usually none).

You won’t have to discount your products.

It will be easier to expand than via traditional avenues.

So next time you’re thinking about how to grow your company, think outside the square.

Be lateral. Even a little crazy.

It’s that kind of thinking that has made Subway the number one food franchise in the world.

And can make you number one in your field too.

– Siimon Reynolds