Throwing Out Profits?

Eric, a friend of mine, grew up on an island off the coast of Maine.  His father ran the local inter-island ferry and Eric was always looking for ways to earn some cash and the influx of summer people in July and August provided the biggest opportunity.

The summer folks loved clambakes and Eric was regularly hired to help out and to clean up the mess afterwards, throwing out the clamshells, corn cobs, lobster shells and such. Then one day he saw profits in the trash he was throwing out.

Eric started saving the empty lobster shells. He cleaned them out, glued them to a piece of driftwood, and added a bit of hanging moss as beards from the local spruce trees.  And he took his “lobstermen” around to the local gift shops in Camden.

The tourists loved them, he made good money and sold every one he created. In fact, Eric made more from selling his “lobstermen” than he did from helping with the  clambakes.

Most small businesses are only tapping a small percentage of the money they could be making from their existing clients and their product line. While some opportunities are literally being thrown out, many are waiting as add on products, upsells, cross-sells, joint-venture sales, etc.

Are you overlooking or throwing out potential profits in your small business?

Discover the proven ways to maximize your profits >>

– Charlie