Work hard, play hard…
That’s a reality that most entrepreneurs will never get to live. Why? Because half of the time, we’re doing a ton of work we don’t like, in a way that’s not even favourable.
For most of us, the reality is,
Work hard…work harder.
The idea of building a business and making money has gotten so serious that most of us now do it with frowns on our faces. And half the time, we’re asking ourselves, “When the heck is this money going to start coming in?”
The truth is, business doesn’t always have to be that serious.
The problem with most people in business is that we focus on the money first, instead of the value we can give. This should actually be the other way round.
Everyone, no matter how dumb you think you are, was born with a free gift or talent.
That gift was given to you as a resource, something that you could play with and find satisfaction doing.
Michelangelo knew the gift he had and used it to create artistic masterpieces. Even Beethoven turned his misfortune into a gift by doing the impossible with music. You shouldn’t be left out either. You should use your talent as your primary resource for making money.
But here’s the problem…
Many people think their talent is worthless
On the contrary, here’s the reality…
To build a service business, and I mean a successful one, you have to enjoy what you do. This is because enjoying it causes you to always want to develop yourself in it. You’ll realize that the more you do it, the more you’ll get better at it.
However, when you try to build a business out of something you don’t like doing, you’ll get frustrated down the line. You won’t be able to give the highest amount of value possible and if the money doesn’t come quickly, you’ll look for the next shiny object to invest your time and money in.
The end result of this is that you’ll probably just end up as a bum.
Now the question is,
How do I transform my talent into a service business?
I’ll simply give a few examples here in case you’re lost.
For someone with the talent of writing, most people with this talent default into writing books (fiction or non-fiction) mostly because they really don’t know how else to make money from it.
But there’s a whole world of opportunities. There’s freelance writing, or copywriting (using your words to help others sell their products). You could help people write white papers, or even help them write their own books in exchange for some cash. And trust me, there’s no limit to just how much you can charge for such services. When you have and provide extreme value, industry standards for prices won’t affect your price rates.
For someone talented in design, there’s graphics design to start with. There’s website design (user experience, not necessarily the coding part). You could go into animations, or perhaps even game design (UX). And there’s a market for all the services I just mentioned.
What if you love knitting, how can you sell that online? Don’t belong to the mind-set that if it’s not digital, you can’t sell it. As long as there are delivery or courier services to help you deliver your products to people across board, then nothing stops you from getting orders for your knitting services. That’s what ecommerce is for. And this same model is good for those who love to bake, sculpt, paint, etc.
The Easiest Way To Sell Your Talent As A Service (TAAS) Online
Some people actually hate having clients. The thought scares the hell out of them. For such people, there’s another way out.
On the internet, the easiest way to actually sell your expertise is to teach others what you know. So, instead of just offering graphic design services, you could teach newbie designers how to create some badass designs, or how to use specific design applications. You could develop this into an online course, a membership, etc.
For those into physical services, you could follow the same model.
By pouring out some of that little knowledge you think you have, you also develop yourself to expert status for your students. And because it’s your talent you’re exchanging for money, you’ll actually enjoy doing it and learning more about it, until you get to the point where other experts start to learn from you.
Bottom line…
In your service business, money shouldn’t be the topmost priority. That’s a mind-set that often leads to failure. However, when you shift your top priority to providing more value, the amount of money you can make would be limitless.
What do you think? Are you enjoying the service you offer? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Image credit: Flickr.com