Early on, I actually tried my hand at being a stylist when business was slow, because a few people asked me about doing it. I stopped because there are an ungodly number of fashion blogs out there to keep current on — and if you are one of those super humans that can keep up, you deserve a medal. It honestly almost gave me a heart attack seeing my fashion blog reader aggregate close to 5,000 articles everyday.
Potentially a stupid idea, but I made rent.
The point is simple: There is no rule that says you can’t support your business by creating new revenue streams.
When I mentioned to a friend of mine, that owns a chocolate store, that she could write some eBooks on pairing chocolate with food and sell them online, or be paid to speak at foodie gatherings she was astonished. She said she hadn’t thought of it because she only saw herself as two things: a shop owner and a chocolate maker.
Yet being creative about pairing your skills with the needs of the community can be the difference between being profitable and ordering another round of design changes to your website.
Can “Stupid Ideas” Be Profitable for My Business?
This works for larger small businesses too, not just freelance or consultants. As your small business grows, you might have a harder time recognizing profitable skills within your organization because you are so used to doing things in a certain way.
There’s a treasure trove of information or skills to be discovered and monetized. Call a meeting and start brainstorming. You’ll find that, “Yes. People would be interested in this!”
To those not convinced, let me say that there are “People are interested in articles about dressing up their ferrets — so yes, people are interested.”
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Photo Credit: morozov
Caitlin McCabe is the CEO and Founder of Real Bullets Branding, an agency that specializes in brand advocate strategy, where she works with brands, products and business groups across the country to help them build successful (and manageable) online marketing strategies. She loves all things branding and strategy, and enjoys the company of English bulldogs.
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