Secret Sauces: Does Your Company Have Them?

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: Image by StreetFly JZ via Flickr

Strong, well known companies all have secret sauces, formulas, and methods which allow them to compete and win against their known competitors. This is not something new, however it is something that is often missing within the service industry, particularly small businesses who get up and running fast.

The Missing Formula For Success

A company may get a good start at the launch, able to bring in business and quickly grow to get off the ground. However, if the owners of the company are the “secret sauce” there is a major problem. Simply how can the owners of the business carry that business for the long term? More than likely there will be burn out as well as an inconsistency within the company if the partners are not specific in how they perform and produce the particular service.

So how can you head this problem off before it begins? How can you create a brand, separate from the owners, but that incorporates their knowledge to create a competitive advantage? The answer lies in the “secret sauce” otherwise known as patents, copyrights, trademarks, products, and licenses. By taking the knowledge within the company and about the particular industry to create a service or product that can become another source of revenue can help take a small business and transform it into a business that can scale up as it sees fit.

A Different Way of Thinking

Many people who run a service-based business have not thought about expanding their revenue streams other than providing more services. Services are great, but there are only so many hours in the day and days in a week. If you are a small company, you must think about expanding your monthly cashflow in other ways. Patents and licensing are great ways to protect what is yours and build value for your company. Allowing others to use your patents and licensed products will create additional income to the services you provide.

Another way to think differently about services is in the online world. How can you create an experience for your clients that would be fully automated online? What would that experience feel like? How would it look? If done well and marketed creatively, having an automated online service or services could prove to be another profitable income stream to add to your cashflow.

How Do You Offset Your Service Based Business?

An open challenge to all entrepreneurs, business owners, and those who just love a good challenge: How do you offset your service based business with other income? What has worked for you? What hasn’t? Leave a comment below and let’s discuss!