Create More Income Month - Chapter 3

This week I would like to address those of my readers who are experienced in their field, achieved expert status and most likely have been in that industry for a long time. I'm not saying that someone who is in the first years cannot apply these ideas, I only have the opinion that an experienced person is more likely first to be interested in doing this, and second to have more confidence in their ability to go through with the plan.

One idea to make more money in your business is to start a new stream of income by teaching people in your field how to build a business in the field, or people who are interested in getting started in your field of business how to enter the industry.  

I have a friend who is an attorney, and a very good attorney with a successful practice. She came out of the big lay firm to start her own business a little while ago, and her business is growing to the point where she was able to bring in an associate. Besides growing her business in the field she operates in, the law, she has also developed a side business connected to her law firm, where she works with attorneys who are interested in opening their own practice. 

This friend has earned my respect with her business knowledge and acumen. I'm proud of her accomplishments and I feel blessed to be her friend. On top of the success she has achieved in her field, she also wants to mentor others to build businesses in the same field. Her idea to grow her business through this program comes from a place of abundance, where she understands that helping other attorneys build a practice does not affect her business - there are enough clients for everyone.

If you have a good understanding of your industry and know more than a lot of people who are in the same industry, or if you know how to build a business, you can develop a stream of income by teaching others to enter or build a business in your industry. There is no downside to this business endeavor. 

Create More Income Month - Chapter 2

This month we are talking about ways to make more money in your business. After we talked about the way to select ways to develop new revenue streams, we will talk about how to execute on starting and growing those revenue streams.

Let's first list a few revenue streams:
1. Start a new business
2. Develop a new product/service in your existing business
3. Expand in a new market: geographic or demographic
4. Develop partnerships with complimentary businesses and cross-sell
5. Write a book about your expertise

There are other ways to expand your business, so please write some of your favorite ones in the comments. This week we are exploring some ways to implement the strategies mentioned above.

The first step in working on any of these ideas is to write down the ideas you have about starting the business or the revenue stream. Once you list them all in the order you have them in your head, you start arranging them in a mind map, so you can figure out how they work together. This is a great way to make sure that you cover all the ideas that are in your head. Many times we think that the ideas we have will stay in our head - writing them down ensures that we don't lose them.

The second step is deciding what stream of income we are going to pursue first. After it passes the values test and we establish that this stream works with the mission and the vision, we figure out the actions that we need to do in order to start and grow the income stream.

If developing different products/services or expanding in new markets, your business plan is a great way to have a working action plan. The most important thing about a business plan is to use it continuously. It is not supposed to stay on a shelf, it is supposed to be worked on. A business plan is meant to be changed according to the needs of the business.

If your goal is to develop partnerships with complimentary businesses, you can consider business that are in areas that are also needed for your clients. While you can get referrals from your partners and make money from those sales, there is also the added possibility of making money by becoming an affiliate for your partners and making money from referring clients to them. You can also increase your revenue from these partnerships when your partners sell your products/services - while you pay them a commission or affiliate fee, your sales increase.

Many business people share their expertise through books they write, while also leveling up their expert status. This may not be a huge source of revenue but it can bring some money from book sales while also opening doors to new opportunities: speaking engagements, workshops and seminars related to your field of expertise.

These are a few ideas that hopefully will give you some food for thought. Please add your own ideas in the comments and let's exchange some interesting thoughts.