Some of the greatest rewards come from the secondary result of a primary action. This can be as simple as experience gained from a mistake or success. A familiar example of a by-product to Australians is the food called Vegemite. This is a yeast extract that comes from the beer making process. Another by-product example is sawdust that comes from timber mills. Sawdust is used as mulch and in particleboard.
Tipper truck genius
I met a very humble man once who drove a tipper truck. Rather than get paid to just pick up rubbish he figured out that he could sort the materials into plastic and metal piles as he loaded his truck. He would then get paid by the scrap metal yard and the plastic recycle depot to deliver the load. He got paid twice for the same load. Once to pick it up and the second time to drop it off.
Wherever possible I create my businesses to generate by-products
Here are some examples:
- Coaching creates knowledge that can be turned into information product
- Information products such as courses can educate business owners how to use your services better
- Services that create a need for the second service (a website customer becomes an SEO customer)
- Services can often be automated into software that can be sold to different markets
- Software that helps customers make better choices increases product and service consumption
What can you take from your existing experience, products or services and create value for others?
