By Valerie Young

This article originally appeared in Issue 208 of the Changing Course Newsletter.

Sometimes the smallest things can have the biggest impact on your life. Two weeks ago I attended a workshop in Stamford, Connecticut that was taught by a team of phenomenally successful entrepreneurs. Every one of them is easily earning seven figures a year and a few earn that much in a month.

Yes, I learned a ton about marketing a business online. In fact, of all the seminars I’ve attended on how to make money with an online business, this one offered the most concrete, practical ideas that even someone who is not particularly Internet or marketing savvy could take and run with.

This seminar, though, was especially inspiring because unlike seminars that typically focus on different strategies to “monetize” your idea – meaning to make money from it - this seminar was the first to specifically focus on how to “continuitize” your idea so that it continuously makes you money.

Some of the biggest take aways for me came in the form of very small simple ideas. It never ceases to amaze me how just one little shift in perspective can open up a world of possibility and can have huge financial implications for you and your current or future business. For example…

1) Match Your Approach to Your Personality

If you’re hung up because you can’t seem to come up with a product or service to create, this tip from the millionaire son of a former steelworker might be just what you need to get yourself unstuck.

Mike Bacak shared three ways you can approach creating and selling information products. (Actually I think you could use these categories for other business idea as well.) You can either become the expert – or the guru if you prefer – you can become the reporter, or you can become the publisher.

As the expert you write your own stuff, make your own audios or videos, and so on. That’s what I do. But what if you don’t have your own stuff to write about or as importantly, you don’t want to be that out-front personality? What if you like gathering and synthesizing information from other people?

Then you become the reporter who interviews experts, or just regular people for that matter, and then “report” on what they have to say. You can record the interview and turn the interviews into CDs, or have them transcribed or both. Or you can turn it into some kind of book or course.

Being the publisher is the most “hands off” way to go. Here you’re basically partnering with people who are the real experts and who create the content. You sell it and you and the expert(s) share the revenue. You can also purchase pre-existing content, usually by buying a license to use someone else’s material. I get emails all the time from people looking to license my work so they don’t have to re-invent the wheel. 

Mike didn’t talk about this part, but it seems obvious to me that the direction you decide to go – expert, reporter, or publisher - has a lot to do with your personality and whether you already have an existing area of expertise or idea or would rather move faster by building off those of others.

Maybe you are uncomfortable being the expert because you’re an introvert. Or perhaps you are interested in aging or the environment or natural health but don’t want to take the time to become expert in it. Guess what – you have other options! And knowing there are other options besides being the “expert” can open up a whole new world of possibilities!

2) Understand the difference between a “project” and a "business”

One of the first speakers to take the stage was David Frey. David had lots of great information to share but one thing that really got my attention was something I’ve seen trip up a lot of new entrepreneurs. Namely, that there is a difference between creating a product and having a business – and a lot of people confuse the two.

Creating a product or service is a project. You might for example, create a tangible product like bird houses or organic dog treats. You could create an information product in the form of a CD, eBook, or online course. Or you might design some kind of service like coaching, consulting, or personal organizing.

Again, in all these cases the creation of the product or service is a project. People make the mistake of thinking that creating the “thing” is the business. It’s not. Selling the product to other people is a business.

The whole point of you starting a business is to get you out of job jail or make a difference in the world or allow you to do work you really love or all of the above – right? So now that you understand the distinction between a product and a business, you need to think about how to maximize your business so it will lead to financial freedom faster.

3) Figure out how to turn your product into a continuous flow of income

When you create a product – whether as the expert, reporter, or publisher – the next step is to sell it. Here again you have some choices.

Option 1: Create a product you can sell over and over again.

For example, say you have a talent for finding great bargains. You might write a buyer’s guide on where to find the best bargains on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. You make it an eBook and sell it for $29.

This is a great idea. The challenge is that one customer buys one guide which means you have to find lots of individual customers to buy lots of individual guides.

Option 2: Sell something once that generates income over and over.

Here you’re taking that same buyer’s guide and instead of selling the same product over and over to different people you “continuitize” it so you are generating income on a continuous or recurring basis.

You might take the same guide and chunk it down into smaller or differently configured pieces so the customer subscribes to a service where they automatically get a series of monthly guides on where to find bargains. It could be neighborhood-by-neighborhood (the Village, Spanish Harlem, Upper West Side) or category by-category (furniture, clothes, jewelry, etc.). Subscribers might also sign up to receive alerts about unadvertised sales.

Now that you have “continuitized” your guide you can sell it for, say, $19 a month with 6 installment all of which gets automatically billed to the subscriber’s credit card. Instead of earning $29 per customer you could earn $114. Got it?

Before I get into other examples, I want you to understand how powerful continuity income can be. Take a look at the numbers conference organizer (and Mr. Nice Guy himself), Ryan Lee put together as part of the seminar handouts...

Let’s say you bring in 3 new subscribers a day. There’s bound to be people who cancel after a month or so. So let’s assume that 10% of your subscribers cancel every month. Here’s what your numbers would look like at different price points as you increase the number of your subscribers:

That’s just with 3 customers a day. Look at what happens if you really ramp up your marketing efforts and bring in 6 new customers a day:

Do you see how powerful this is?

I know that it can be hard enough for some people to come up ways to turn your interests into income. It can be even harder for people who already have businesses to come up with ideas for continuity models. That’s why I arranged with Ryan to have some of people who’ve taken my Outside the Job Box Career Experts Course (OJBs) on hand at the seminar to do some on-site “idea jogging” with some of the 600-plus participants.

OJB Consultants Brainstorm with Continuity Summit Attendees

A couple of the OJB consultants* talked to a voiceover artist with a deep love for the Bible. Here are just a few of the many creative ideas they suggested for how he could turn his passion into a helpful service for others that would also generate continuity income for him:

• Biblical reading of the week/month (sent either via e-mail as an MP3 or through the mail as a CD)

• His personal interpretation/commentary on the reading

• Interviews with other people and their interpretations, including spiritual leaders

• Focusing on a "theme of the month" (e.g., faith, love, persistence) and using the readings to support those themes

• A simple monthly assignment for the subscribers based on the readings and a forum for subscribers to write about their experiences doing the assignments

Some other Outside the Job Box Experts consulted with a fitness expert who also coaches insurance agents on how to increase sales and productivity. They suggested he add value to his services by offering a CD of the month to his agents and prospective clients. They even gave him a few suggested topics.

If you go online, you’ll find lots of examples of continuity programs based on on-going sales of physical products. There are dozens of sock of month clubs, wine of the month clubs, olive oil of the month clubs… Why make cookies and sell them once when you can sign up people to get cookies every month?

In all of these cases the customer signs up once and then agrees to have their credit card charged and a new product automatically sent to them every month.

The point is there are an unlimited number of ways that even a small one-person business like you can create passive income using the continuity business model and do it in a way that fits your passion, niche and lifestyle. In most cases, it’s even easier to create a continuity program than it is regular one-time product!

4) Learn from people who are doing it.

If you like the idea of continuous revenue then the simplest and most affordable way to get started is to study people who are already doing it successful. After all – why re-invent the wheel!

I study successful people all the time. But when I can I like to attend live events like Ryan’s Continuity Summit. There is nothing like being there in person to really absorb the material. Plus you get to chat with the presenters!

I can genuinely say this was one of THE best Internet marketing training workshops I’ve ever attended. The speakers shared so many concrete techniques and strategies that I left with 15 pages of notes! And, I had the privilege of being invited by Ryan to join the stage for one of his Success Panel discussions.

The other reason this particular seminar was so good is because there were a lot of online business “newbies” in the room. Often this group gets lost in all the jargon. But Ryan (ever the school teacher!) did a great job of jumping in to translate web-speak into every day language that even non-techies could understand.

I know not everyone had the money or time or both to be able to travel to Connecticut to attend this event in person. The next best thing to being there is watch and learn from each and every speaker, at home and at your own pace. The good news for you is Ryan is making the entire event available on DVD.

It’s Never Too Late to Turn a Simple Idea into Financial Freedom

If you love the idea of a having a business that generates a steady stream of revenue each and every month, I urge you to invest in your education and get the DVDs.
To be honest, I rarely watch videos after I’ve attended a live event. There are at least five presentations on these DVDs that I definitely plan to go back and watch again. They are that good.

In fact, I was so pumped up after the seminar that I didn't even wait until I got home to create my own video testimonial for Ryan's event. Click the picture to the left to view my "driving" testimonial. (And yes, I was driving safely and no, both hands were never off the wheel.)

Or, just go to ChangingCourse.com/recommends/continuitydvd to see what I (and others) had to say about the seminar.

The DVDs and CDs aren’t even ready yet, and Ryan is getting bombarded with requests from people who heard about what they missed. So he is offering a Pre-Publication discount on orders he takes in now. You can reserve your copy at the discounted price at ChangingCourse.com/recommends/continuitydvd 

Speaker Chris Guerierro was right when he said there are three words that can kill a dream: Waiting for your perfect idea to come along, watching other people prosper, and wishing you could too. You can wait, watch, and wish all you want. But it is action is the only thing that will make your dream of financial security happen.

P.S. In addition to the Outside the Job Box Career Experts who joined me at the live workshop there were three or four Changing Course readers there as well. I didn’t get everyone’s photo but did get this great shot of budding entrepreneur Rhonda Chuyka from West Virginia!

By Valerie Young

This article originally appeared in Issue 207 of the Changing Course Newsletter.

Part 2 of a 2 Part Series

(Catch up on Part 1)

There is no limit to the ways you can make money doing something you love. All you need is an idea combined with action. If you haven’t yet come up with an idea, or need the inspiration to act on the one you already have… read on. 

In part one of this article, I told you about the "Opportunity Detective" contest I held in April. It was a way for aspiring entrepreneurs to compete for a free spot in my Outside the Job Box Career Coach Training Program. Contestants were asked to submit 10 unique small business ideas as well as how they would use the training they would receive to make a difference. All told, we received well over 200 very cool ideas!

Here are just a few of the many fascinating ideas submitted as well as some lessons from me on how you too can break out of the job box to become your own boss.

The Green Theme

Anyone who knows me knows that I am an insatiable recycler. As far back as 1989, I was one of those people who was forever picking cans and newspapers out of my co-workers' wastebaskets and dragging the stuff home to recycle. Now that the new U.S. administration is emphasizing the environmental and economic benefits of going green, more and more people and companies are getting into the green theme. 

No surprise then that a significant number of Opportunity Detective contestants cited opportunities for green-minded entrepreneurs. For example, Erika Harris at Joyful-Work-for-Sensitive-People.com came up with the idea to start a business as a Green Law Firm Consultant. "Law firms waste so much paper!" says Erika. A Green Consultant would "educate attorneys and staff about the benefits of digitized documents; encourage them to sponsor tree-planting; and inform them of incentive tax breaks for doing so." (Learn more about how you can become a Green Consultant.)

Another creative contestant named Olivia turned me on to the green coupon business called The Green Zebra. The company, she says, was conceived by two long-time friends who were looking to embrace a lifestyle that promoted the health of their families, community, and planet. Proof that great minds really do think alike, Raghu also submitted the same idea pointing out that anyone anywhere can "publish and sell a phone directory/Internet directory or coupon book of all the green business in your city thus encouraging people to patronize local green businesses." If you like this idea, look around your area. If nothing like this exists, then be the first!

Creative entrepreneurs also look for ways to combine two or more passions – for example, dancing and counseling or yoga, knitting, and travel (yes there are actually businesses that combine these types of diverse passions). One of Raghu’s other ideas is to combine the green theme with travel. What if, he says, you "organize offbeat, unique and exotic tours? These could be local, regional, national or even international depending on your tastes, passions, interests and expertise in a field. For example you can organize tours of organic wineries to wine enthusiasts who like organic or tours of green businesses and green factories to small investors who want to invest in green businesses or who want to get ideas…." Clearly a guy who understands the power of multiple income streams he adds, "You can make money from other areas too like selling them books, DVDs, training etc."

The Parent Theme

Among other enterprising ideas, Alicia suggested three businesses that center in some way on parents or teens. The first one she calls "Been There Done That" which she describes as a "by parents for parents" website specifically for parents of teenagers 13+. Alicia envisions it as a place where parents can go to share their experiences, offer suggestions, comments and advice. The key to making this idea work is to find a way to monetize it. You could for example, sell ad space to companies interested in selling to the parents.

Another idea she calls, "Mommy Dreams." This one she said could be geared toward Moms who have put their passion on hold. She’s envisioning it as a website and Webinar series to help Moms find their dreams again. Alicia’s second idea she calls, "Decisions, Decisions, Decisions." This one involves offering "seminars, workshops, and a website to present all the different kinds of vocations, careers and jobs available to students throughout their high school years to help them follow their natural path/talent/gift after graduation."

More on the Teen Theme

In part one of this article, you learned about some really creative business ideas. Many of them had to do with turning a problem into an opportunity – a key skill for anyone who wants to think outside of the job box! There was also a lengthy list of businesses that in one way or another had to do with teenagers. Some, like RenegadeCEOS supports and trains entrepreneurial teens. Others featured teen-run businesses like 16 year-old student entrepreneur Eric Forkosh's hand-held Bus Alert that uses radio signals to alert him when the school bus is coming.

The teen theme obviously sparked a lot of interest, because since then I’ve heard from others who are combining their passion for teens with their passion for entrepreneurship, like fellow Changing Course reader Nicki Sanders. Nicki wrote to say she’d changed course to realize her dream as the Chief Visionary Officer at The Teen Toolbox, LLC. The organization provides youth with life skills programs and activities that enhance the strengths and experiences of teenagers and empower them to take charge of their lives and develop into their potential. In addition to learning about workshops and mentoring opportunities for teens, you can nominate a teen who is making a difference in the world for the Teen Toolbox Spotlight Teen of the Month.

I vote for Karen Washington Heck’s 13 year old niece Mariah! Mariah is President of a new enterprise that’s all about getting teens involved in activities related to entrepreneurship and volunteering. At this point, she and her girl pals have set up a leadership team with co-Vice Presidents Whitney and Alicia, Secretary Kenya, Healthy Foods Advisor Anaya, and (in a fabulous act of faith), Addie has already stepped up to be the Fan Club Leader! The site is very much in development, but once the girls are a little farther along, I’ll include a link so you can see what they’re up to.

Aunt Karen is the power behind Give Yourself Power. Karen knows a thing or two about overcoming adversity to pursue a dream. After her doctor gave her six months to live, she overcame her prognosis, and her fears. "In that six months of hanging in life-or-death limbo," says the retired United States Air Force sergeant, "I realized I deserved to do something that would allow me to take care of myself and love what I do. Even before she completed the Outside the Job Box Career Coach Training Program, Karen and her family encouraged her niece and nephews to consider becoming entrepreneurs. Mariah and all the other girls there at the soon-to-be corporate headquarters, are shining examples of what can come from a little encouragement!

From Idea to Action

The thing about ideas is that unless you take action, it’s just all wishful thinking. One reason people get stuck is they don’t know where to begin. Let’s say you love Raghu’s idea about running tours for example. For starters, if you’re going to be an entrepreneur, then you need to be a proactive problem solver too. To me a problem is like an interesting puzzle. Instead of saying, "Oh dear, I just don’t know where to begin," try putting on your Opportunity Detective hat and thinking, "Hmmm… interesting problem. Now if I was the answer, where would I be hiding?"

What you’ll find is that most solutions are hiding in plain sight. Like -- if you want to start a business then learn from someone who has already figured it all out for you.

Travel maven Cynthia Morris has put together an outstanding guide on how to lead tours for run and profit. This comprehensive manual covers all the steps necessary to design, market, and lead tours locally or abroad. I’ve read this guide and for an incredibly small investment I can personally guarantee that you save considerable time and money you would have wasted trying to figure it all out yourself. Best of all, you could be running your first tour in a matter of months! (If, Cynthia’s name sounds familiar she’s one of the guest speakers on the Making Dreams Happen audio program with Barbara Sher, Barbara Winter, and me).

You can use the same strategy to start your own green coupon business. Since Green Zebra is already doing this in San Francisco why re-invent the wheel? If this – or any business idea – interests you then find someone who is already doing it and learn from them. Or, go one step farther. If, for example, Green Zebra hasn’t already thought about licensing their model to people in other locations then why not approach them to see if they’d be interested? Heck, if you are an organized, can-do kind of person you could even promote yourself as the person who can help them pull the whole endeavor together… for a fee that is.

George Bernard Shaw once said, "The possibilities are numerous once we decide to act and not react." If you need help finding ways you can turn your own interests into income then consider hiring a career coach who specializes in working with people like you who want to do their own thing. Visit ChangingCourse.com/ojbcareerexperts.htm and schedule an appointment with a trained Outside the Job Box Career Coach today!