There’s real power in that question.
Why? Because it causes you to think about your business in a new way… through fresh eyes.
Removing the money filter
Many business owners fail to discover potentially valuable ideas, simply because they can’t immediately see where the money will come from. The reason we need to free our thinking when it comes to developing ideas for our business, is that the money isn’t always obvious at the conception stage.
If it’s obvious, everyone else is already doing it and it has little value. For example…
Twitter was a great idea, which would never have happened if the founders applied the money filter to their initial thinking. In fact, for years, journalists and media experts never missed an opportunity to say that Twitter couldn’t be monetized.
As advertising revenues rocketed and new commercial services were built into Twitter, the naysayers changed their tune.
Your route to zero competition?
I’ve been asking people to think more freely about their business for years, using that powerful question and the results have been amazing. I have seen commodity service providers build massively valuable niches.
Lawyers, trainers, accountants, web designers, marketers, coaches, architects, dentists, copywriters, IT professionals and many others, elevated themselves beyond their competitors, by working on the answer to that question.
Two of the three largest revenue earners for my business were created after I asked myself that question and answered it.
Now what?
I suggest you take some time out and give it a try. Ask yourself: “How would I change my business, if I didn’t need to earn a penny?”. Then, start writing. Write everything down, no matter how silly or non viable it may seem.
Then, review your answers. At this stage, you can start looking at how the idea can either directly or indirectly be of commercial benefit to you.
How it worked for me
For instance, when I answered that question for my own business, I decided to start Jim’s Marketing Blog: a site that gives useful information away for free and has no ads. The monetization came when readers started asking if they could hire me. Readers see how effective my free ideas are and figure out the transformation I can create for their business, when working directly with them.
Why not give it a try?
Ask yourself that question and get to work on the answers. Who knows what amazing ideas you will come up with!