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.

Too busy to make money?

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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.

Giving away the family silver for a golden future

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Crowds of people rushed into the bookshop to buy your book. It’s the latest must-read title – a sizzling hot best seller, climbing and dominating the charts for weeks on end. Or that’s how the story goes.

Getting published off-line is something I’ve thought about a lot over the past few years. You?  Have you ever thought of getting published off-line? If so, why? It’s a large undertaking and I’m curious as to why people do it.

I would love to discuss this topic with you in the comments.

Mountains of opportunity

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Rarely a day goes by without someone sharing a brilliant idea from top marketing guru and author, Seth Godin.  He’s an opinion leader of great influence and someone who’s best ideas I would love to discuss with you.

In your opinion, what are Seth Godin’s best ideas?  How have these ideas helped you succeed?

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BLACK CHAIR: BUSINESS MENTORING TV

Episode 11: The fastest & easiest way to grow sales

Welcome to Black Chair. The single-minded purpose of Black Chair is to help you succeed in business.

“Let’s talk about growing your sales – growing your revenue.”

In this episode, we discuss the fastest and easiest way to grow your revenue by focusing on the most fundamental, time-tested rule of selling.

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One thing better than seeing your sales increase, is seeing them increase without you doing the selling!

Here’s a list of ten key sales boosters that will free you up from having to persuade people to buy, so that you can use this precious time, cash and energy to get on with other key business building actions.

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BLACK CHAIR: BUSINESS MENTORING TV

Episode 10: How to get a diamond-tipped focus

Welcome to Black Chair. The single-minded purpose of Black Chair is to help you succeed in business.

“A diamond-tipped focus is extremely useful in business.”

In this episode, we get focused – diamond-tipped focused – on what really counts to make your business work.

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BLACK CHAIR: BUSINESS MENTORING TV

Episode 9: Sales made simple

Welcome to Black Chair. The single-minded purpose of Black Chair is to help you succeed in business.

“Black Chair is about keeping things very simple and very focused.”

In this episode, we focus on business development – what has to happen to grow your business, get the sales in and get increase your revenue.

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