Making money while you're not working

Whether you're a sole practitioner or a very small
employer, many home business owners are personally involved
in almost all aspects of their business, and find that
almost every spare minute is spent thinking about work,
even on vacations or while doing errands.

Here's a challenge to all of you home business owners: Take
a moment to stop and evaluate your business to determine if
you could possibly sell it. Does your business have value
to others without you physically being there to work every
day? If not, adding that extra value to make your company
more sellable in the future is a wise business decision.

This is especially true if you sell your services
exclusively by the hour or by the project -- if you're not
working, you're not making any money. Some of us can't take
two weeks off for a vacation, because nothing happens when
we're not there. Wouldn't it be great if this weren't such
a concern? Planning for the long term, what if you were to
get sick or decide to retire? Your ability to sell what
you've worked so hard to create is an important facet of
growing your small business.

My challenge to you is to brainstorm ways you can earn
money without being physically involved in every
transaction. Here are some ideas that can bring in money
while you're on the beach in Hawaii:

--Turn the service you already provide into a product. For
example, if you are a masseuse, you could write a book or
pamphlet teaching couples how to massage each other, or put
together a promotion on massage techniques for the office
place. Transform your expertise into something tangible,
such as a videotape or book, that you can market online or
sell in retail outlets.

--Sell audiotapes of seminars you conduct. This can be an
item you add to your online portfolio, or you can sell
these in a package with other products you develop. Either
way, they are a way to add income to your revenue stream
without you having to put time into selling each and every
one.

--Make an outline of the steps you go through with clients
when starting a project and market it as such. This may be
in the form of a booklet or pamphlet, or even a book. Many
prospects may not have the money to purchase your services
outright. Others may simply not have confidence in you to
spend a high dollar amount. Selling what you do in smaller
pieces can be a great way for prospects to try you out,
gain trust in you, and then work their way up to higher
priced, more complicated services you work on individually
with them. It's also a smart way to add revenue to your
bottom line, without straying far from your core business.

--Build your client list/marketing database. This is
valuable if you are in a niche market. If you have
successfully targeted a particular market, a company may
buy your company simply to break into that market. It's
often easier to buy a successful company that already
exists than to build one from scratch.

--Position your business to be sold to a large company.
Does it fix a problem or fill a whole in their services?
Often it's easier and faster for big companies to buy the
technology outright than to hire the experts needed to
re-create the wheel. The key is to specialize in an area
others don't, find something tangible to sell, and then
offer to sell it.

The object of this exercise is to get you to evaluate the
very basics of how you do business. Look towards the
future. While you may be enjoying the work you're doing
currently, that may change. And wouldn't you like a
well-deserved -- and paid -- break from time to time know
and you're still making money? Prepare yourself and your
business by ensuring it can survive independently of you.

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Author of Healthcare Copywriting Secrets Revealed, Kelly
Robbins is an award winning copywriter and marketing
coach/consultant. She also publishes The Healthcare
Marketing Connection
(http://www.healthcaremarketingconnection.com), a free
e-zine on healthcare marketing tips. Contact Kelly to
receive her free report, "5 critical things you must know
when writing for the healthcare industry" -
info@KellyRobbinsLLC.com or 303-460-0285.