Turning Expenses into Revenue

If this sounds like alchemy, consider the following: Industry specialists estimate Coca Cola spend over $2 billion on advertising globally.

We do not have figures on how much of this is broadcast advertising, but we can safely assume it is a large amount of money. It's rival Red Bull gets paid by broadcasters to advertise its products.

How is this possible? Red Bull's strategy has been to own the events and sports teams it sponsors. It owns its own Formula 1 race team and therefore gets paid by broadcasters.

With its extreme sports events from motorcycling to flying and beyond it goes a step further and owns the event. Having built their profile, broadcasters now pay Red Bull to show these events on TV.

And one does not need to be running a multinational corporation to get into this game. Imagine you run a catering company looking for weddings, you run a monthly wedding planning event costing £20 to attend and charge wedding photographers and venues to advertise on the flyers.

Whilst the principle lends itself best to advertising, it can also be extended to other expenses. A common business strategy for renting property is to become the landlord, securing a lease on a larger property and subletting to other tenants. If you use expensive production equipment, this could be available to hire. As with so much in business, the process starts with having the imagination to see the opportunity.