I have a client who earns six figures through his consulting practice. It's enough for him and his retired wife to live very nicely. Still he sweats it out every month. A canceled engagement is a real threat to his income. He doesn't take vacations and prays that he won't have to take any sick days. Because if he doesn't work, he doesn't get paid. It's that simple. Can you relate?
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Do You REALLY Want to Work Forever?
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I know some folks, my client included, who LOVE what they do for a living. Most small business owners choose to go into business for themselves because it allows them to make money doing what they enjoy. They tell me that they will happily work until they have one foot in the grave. Maybe they will. But you know what? I think it would be nice not to HAVE to.
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Creating Sources of Passive Revenue
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Passive revenue is revenue that doesn't depend on your active participation. The money comes in whether you're taking a nap, lying on a beach in Waikiki, or recovering from the flu. As a business owner, one of the best ways to earn passive revenue is to create information products.
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The Beauty of Information Products
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An information product is simply a product that makes what you know available to others. What is beautiful about information products is this: You create the product once. Then people buy copies for potentially, a long time into the future.
For example, I have a client who loves to travel with her kids. She has great ideas for parents who want to take their kids on overseas trips but feel intimidated and worried trying to do it themselves. She has started writing "tip sheets"; one to two-page "how to" articles that tell parents how to avoid common problems that come up when traveling abroad with children. Sherry sells her tip sheets for $2 apiece from her Web site. The point is, Sherry writes her tip sheet, usually based on her own experiences traveling with her daughters, makes the article available on her Web site so folks can buy it and she's done. She can now sell hundreds of copies and her presence is not required.
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But, but, but...
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A lot of business owners I talk with are very intrigued by the idea of developing information products for their business. They absolutely "get" the advantages. But they have lots of concerns and objections. They worry because they aren't a "real expert" so why would someone pay money for their humble knowledge.
They worry that they're not good at writing or speaking.
They worry that they need to hire a big production team to produce books, audio tapes, and such.
They are so overwhelmed with how to get started that they never get going.
And this is a terrible pity because as long as all their knowledge, experience, and unique perspective remain locked inside, very few people will ever benefit. The public doesn't benefit because they can't access information that could make a real difference in their personal and professional lives. The owner doesn't benefit because they aren't earning anything on what is essentially an asset with revenue earning potential.
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Bottom Line
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No matter how much you love what you do, why not give yourself the choice for when you work, the projects you work on, and the people you work with. If you earn your living based on your expertise, experience, and know-how, you have the basics ingredients for creating information products that provide passive revenue and free you from being the sole source of revenue.
Oh, and my client, the consultant? He's created his first information product, a short webinar on how to build high performing teams and he's selling them on his website. Best of all, he and his wife have started discussing what they want to do when they BOTH retire!
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About the Author:
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Judy Murdoch helps small business owners create low-cost, effective marketing campaigns using word-of-mouth referrals, guerrilla marketing activities, and selected strategic alliances. To download a free copy of the workbook, "Where Does it Hurt? Marketing Solutions to the problems that Drive Your Customers Crazy!" go to http://www.judymurdoch.com/workbook.htm
You can contact Judy at 303-475-2015 or judy@judymurdoch.com
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