Entrepreneur Magazine’s article, Richard Branson: Five Secrets to Business Success caught my attention recently. Originally written as a list of five keys that Branson regards as important to successfully building a business, I’ve converted it into a checklist of five useful questions worth reflecting on.
There’s a lot that goes into making a successful business. So many things to think about and actions to take, the to-do list seems to grow longer by the minute. That said, I’m always keen to understand how a business – your business – makes money. How does it actually generate cash?
Take my business as an example.
I blog, tweet, contribute to a thriving business community, meet people, generate ideas and intellectual property, build products, manage cash-flow, plan, collaborate – to name a few activities. But none of that makes money. How I make money is by selling consulting hours to large organizations and more recently, by selling products on-line.
If we know specifically how each other generates revenue, we can be more efficient and effective in helping each other succeed commercially.
Let’s discuss this important business development topic in the comments.
So here’s the plan. Give away your ideas, your know-how and your hard-earned wisdom and experience as blog posts, e-books, slide presentations and videos – for free – and crowds of people will come running to your blog. Then do your best to convert as many of these people as you can to buy more of your ideas, your know-how and your hard-earned wisdom and experience.
Am I the only one who has a problem with this logic?
Surely, by giving our precious intellectual property away – the family silver – we not only train people NOT to buy our ideas, but also erode our future ability to earn income.
I would love to discuss this touchy topic with you in the comments.
Robin is a proven business facilitator and mentor who will get you diamond-focused on the plans, strategies & tactics that deliver lasting success.
