10 questions for creating products that provide long term, ongoing revenue

The majority of my coaching compadres are freelancers and service providers but I like to show them how to break away from the hourly rate ‘earnings ceiling’ by developing a secondary (which sometimes flips to primary) revenue stream using products.

If you’re new to this site then remember, if you want 5 simple tips for increasing your hourly rate by $1 then this site isn’t for you.  I go deep on building a solid business around your freelancer expertise and growing rapidly, to a point where you are in control, not your clients.

I want to let you join us as a fly on the wall here, at least in the sense that you’ll spectate my line of questioning and mindset in and around validating and developing product ideas.

Why products?

Before I jump into the questions though I wanted to catch you up to my thought train.

As a freelancer, party to the “income roller coaster” you should definitely consider multiplying your lines of income to diversify your risk.

I appreciate this may seem ‘easier said than done’ insight but consider this:

There is not one big business brand in the world that sells one single product, or offers one single service; technology brands sell hundreds of types of electronic products, farmers grow several different types of crop, and coffee shops don’t offer any single beverage.

Google for example has a motto “do one thing really well” – yet it owns Youtube, Gmail, Google Docs, Android and more.

You have a unique opportunity – as a service provider with a bank of expertise and experience to call upon – to wrap up that handiwork into a sellable package that can deliver you a diversified secondary / tertiary income stream.

Questions & Assumptions

I’m a big fan of “lean methodology” when applied to building businesses.  All-to-often freelancers consider themselves exempt from traditional marketing, research and idea validation.  If you consider yourself in a bubble, somehow disconnected from other businesses who sell “products” or anything other than “time” then this post is for you.

These 10 questions will give you a list of responses, assumptions you can use to validate your ideas.   By doing so you’ll have a list of ideas for turning your expertise and experience into a package which isn’t tied your hourly rate and can bring revenue to your business without you needing to be present to deliver it.

10 questions for creating products that provide long term, ongoing revenue

“Meat on the bones” explanation

Obviously the above is just the tip of the iceberg – so I’ve prepared a mindmap and video which you can follow to help put you on the road to building a secondary income of your own.

Click here to go to Handiwork and claim your free mindmap

Learn anything? Please share

By Liam Veitch @freelancelift