Have you created any products to serve your customers? The great thing about products is that you can create something once, then sell it again and again as you share it with lots of new people. "Make one, sell many" products include books, CDs and audio programs, computer software, art, inventions, games, and other forms of intellectual property. Scott Adams, who created "Dilbert," says that he became a cartoonist because he liked the idea of being paid multiple times for the same work. He draws a comic strip and is paid by the newspapers that run it. He is paid again when the strip is collected with others into a book. They put 365 strips together in a calendar and, you got it, he gets paid again. In addition, Adams has licensed his characters and drawings for use on products including note pads, magnets, clothing, mouse pads, plush toys, an animated television show and, in his words, any product that will hold a label. What can you create that you can sell or license? You may have a system that you can teach to others, then allow them to use in exchange for a license fee. Or a design that you can license to a manufacturer. Products and licensing allow you to go beyond serving one client at a time. They remove income limitations, and allow you to help more people than you could one person at a time. |
