I've recently read the book Re-Work by the guys who created Basecamp (project management software) among other things.
I'm not usually a fan of pop-business books, but this book I would like to recommend you. It definitely says something different and being selfemployed myself, I found it very inspiring. Among key takeaways was staying purposely small as a business, but also something that set my wheels in motion, namely selling your by-products.
A byproduct is something that is produced as a consequence of producing your main product. If you have a lumber mill for example, you will get a lot of sawdust, which can be packaged and sold. A pig farmer will collect manure and sell as fertilizer.
When it comes to online business and information business, I've found most people, myself included, don't usually think about selling byproducts - but we should.
For example, if you're in the online business with a webshop, a byproduct is your knowlegde, which can be made into videos or ebooks about how to run a successful webshop. Or it could be a Wordpress or Magento plugin you got developed for your own shop, which others also want. If you write linkbait articles like Tuthmosis and others do at ROK, then guess what, you have a byproduct business selling linkbait content. Maybe you work as a bouncer, you could put that knowledge into a website for aspiring bouncers.
The key as I understand it, is that a by-product does not take away from doing your main business. It is not branching out as such, but rather selling something which you previously didn't consider to have value. To identify processes, knowledge, software, art, experience etc, that went into making your main product and seeing if there was a market for it. Lets take Roosh as an example here. His main product was the Bang books, but his failings along the way became a sideproduct in a Dead Bat in Paraguay (havent read it tho). What you may see as waste moving towards your final product, may be valuable to many more than you think.
I actually think the by-product business may be one of the keys to staying afloat, independent and prosperous in the modern digital economy. It allows us to earn from almost everything, even if it is a failure for the main product.
If you have any ideas about this subject, then contribute, I think there are many opportunities.
I'm not usually a fan of pop-business books, but this book I would like to recommend you. It definitely says something different and being selfemployed myself, I found it very inspiring. Among key takeaways was staying purposely small as a business, but also something that set my wheels in motion, namely selling your by-products.
A byproduct is something that is produced as a consequence of producing your main product. If you have a lumber mill for example, you will get a lot of sawdust, which can be packaged and sold. A pig farmer will collect manure and sell as fertilizer.
When it comes to online business and information business, I've found most people, myself included, don't usually think about selling byproducts - but we should.
For example, if you're in the online business with a webshop, a byproduct is your knowlegde, which can be made into videos or ebooks about how to run a successful webshop. Or it could be a Wordpress or Magento plugin you got developed for your own shop, which others also want. If you write linkbait articles like Tuthmosis and others do at ROK, then guess what, you have a byproduct business selling linkbait content. Maybe you work as a bouncer, you could put that knowledge into a website for aspiring bouncers.
The key as I understand it, is that a by-product does not take away from doing your main business. It is not branching out as such, but rather selling something which you previously didn't consider to have value. To identify processes, knowledge, software, art, experience etc, that went into making your main product and seeing if there was a market for it. Lets take Roosh as an example here. His main product was the Bang books, but his failings along the way became a sideproduct in a Dead Bat in Paraguay (havent read it tho). What you may see as waste moving towards your final product, may be valuable to many more than you think.
I actually think the by-product business may be one of the keys to staying afloat, independent and prosperous in the modern digital economy. It allows us to earn from almost everything, even if it is a failure for the main product.
If you have any ideas about this subject, then contribute, I think there are many opportunities.