Overload. Most professionals are simply maxed out. Some might call it an entrepreneurial curse of sorts. We have so many ideas and opportunities that could be developed, but we simply don’t have enough hours in the day to work on them.

Q: What’s the solution?

A: Start

Easy to say, but difficult to do. How do you start when you have so many ideas and virtually no time? If you have a big dream, it can be exciting to imagine the possibilities, but can be harder than you might think to drill down into a beginning strategy.

So how do you develop an initial strategy?

One suggestion I’ve found helpful is to start by observing and recording your thoughts. Begin to zero in on an area of focus where you believe you can contribute AND one which the marketplace is willing to invest in.

Keep a small journal or a “Brain Book” (as one of our board members calls it) in your pocket, purse or briefcase. When you have a few minutes of downtime at lunch, on the train or waiting for an appointment, write down your latest thoughts on your ideas. You’ll be amazed at how much clarity you can create when you simply write your thoughts down in one place.

Why handwritten versus electronic? Because more of your brain gets in the game and because you can easily go back and review your thoughts from past days, weeks and months. When your ‘Brain Book” is dedicated to recording your IP, you’ll discover your BRAIN starts pushing conscious and subconscious ideas through your fingers to the paper….give it a try for a couple of weeks and let me know how it works.

Cheers,

Steve Olds

Most business professionals generate a tremendous stream of IP throughout their careers. It’s easy to recognize products and services that generate income, but the real question is how much money are you leaving on the table?

“Approximately 85 percent of a company’s value resides in such intangibles. Unfortunately, many of those assets go unexploited because they are hard to inventory, manage, or even recognize.”

How much of your IP could be leveraged through other marketing channels, strategic relationships or joint ventures?

Ask yourself a few simple questions. Have you developed concepts, ideas, processes, systems or protocols that could have value for other businesses in your industry? How much IP has your business developed over the years that your are not pursuing anymore? One of the easiest ways to add revenue streams is to license previously developed IP to startups or to collaborative industry colleagues. These stored intellectual assets can garner leverage, good will AND create revenue.

Surprisingly, many businesses don’t want to invest the time and energy to assess the value of their existing IP because they have no way to measure the time investment to generate a potential payoff. Have you come to recognize valuable IP that was previously hidden in plain sight? If so, leave a comment and let us know how you did it. If you’d like to get a few strategies on how to do it, stay tuned.

Cheers, Steve Olds