Have you created a money machine or just a “job?”

I’m currently working with a physician, a high level specialist who is respected nationally.  Yet his description of his situation is summed up in – “I’m at the top of my game and I have no life.”  Yes, working 100 hours a week will culminate in that unfortunate end result, no matter how excellent your work may be. 

This physician is trapped in the model of generating linear income only.  He gets paid very well but as soon as he stops operating or consulting his income stops as well. 

Is it possible to leverage his expertise in ways that will create income while he sleeps? – Absolutely.  Here’s just one example:

Every year he speaks at Harvard Medical School on the business principles used by Four Seasons Hotel for excellent customer service and employee commitment.  He does this for free and just enjoys the break from his office (while his income stops). 

My recommendation to him is this:  Look at your Four Seasons presentation as a body of intellectual property rather than just as a speech.  You’ve already done the hard work to create the content.  Consider:

• Creating a 3-ring binder instructional manual complete with your text, graphs, charts, and perhaps an audio CD or a demonstration DVD.   And suddenly you have a residual income possibility.  If the message is focused toward medical students then your marketing focus would be quite simple to develop.  If you gave that a great title with an attractive physical presentation you could position it at maybe $189.  Your target market is easy to identify.  If you sold to only 1% of the 301,270 physicians in the United States alone, you would significantly increase your net income from that one thing alone.  And the pressure of continuing your income with the insane hours required would evaporate.
• Having the very prestigious Harvard University as your established venue, you could now offer to make the same presentation to 12 other medical schools.  Yes, you could still offer to come for free – or perhaps just ask for travel expenses.  But then approach 3-4 major corporate sponsors for let’s say a $20,000 sponsorship package.  Pfizer, Mercedes, Bank of America and Four Seasons are just the beginning possibilities.  You can modify those numbers any way you want but the implications are clear.  Here’s a step-by-step guide for writing a corporate sponsorship proposal. 

Most of you reading this probably have a similar area of intellectual expertise.  How could you leverage what you know rather than just doing what you do?  What other opportunities do you have for creating residual income? 

Principles from No More Mondays