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CHAPTER 9 GROWING YOUR BUSINESS EMPIRE

Technology has made the world such a smaller place that any
ambitious entrepreneur should aim to make the world his
marketplace. This is especially so if your home country is a
small market like Singapore.

When we first started Adam Khoo Learning Technologies
Group, we knew that Singapore was too small a market for
our company to realize its fullest potential. Our home market
was merely a launch pad and an incubation centre where
we would start, test and refine our business model.

Once we had a profitable business that worked, we started
building a presence into Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Hong
Kong, Thailand and more recently, Vietnam. Our international
expansion continues as our ultimate aim is for Singapore (our
home country) to contribute no more than 20% of our total
group sales revenue.

Overseas expansion of your business is necessary if you want
to achieve double-digit sales and profit growth for more than
five years. In addition, by diversifying into different markets
you are essentially reducing your risk. For example, if Singapore
were to enter a recession or if the market for personal
development programs started declining, our explosive growth
in Indonesia and China should more than make up for it!

When Are You Ready for International Expansion?

Companies usually start to expand aggressively overseas
when they make the transition from the early growth stage to
the advanced growth stage.

So, how do you know when you are ready? I usually
recommend that you start opening your first foreign office
only when your local operations have achieved stability and

SECRETS OF BUILDING MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR BUSINESSES 279