One giant reason why most businesses don’t reach their full potential, is because there isn’t someone working for the company, or contracted by the company, who can comes up with all the out-of-the-box business development ideas and marketing ideas that maybe a seasoned and successful small business marketing consultant could.

To get you thinking about the possibilities for your own small business, here are some that were mentioned in the video above, and how they might work for you…

PODCASTS:

• Podcasts can be created for free, or you can pay a small fee to have your very own internet radio show. Assuming you get a free account, the provider will most likely place some ads (which you don’t get paid for) as their way of charging you for the service. If you pay a small amount, or broadcast the podcast yourself, then you won’t have the ads play.
• Many people want to do a podcast to help spread the word of what they are in expert in. However, most never think to get ads or sponsors for these. You can charge anywhere from $10 to $Thousands for sponsor reads, ads, etc. Sure, $10 or $20 isn’t a lot of money, but getting just one $20 sponsor for every podcast can equal $80 a month to a weekly podcast. Now you’re technically earning a profit on your podcast. Once you build up a substantial audience, you can then up your rates, sell bulk ad buy packages, and make even more. Think of it not as “making only $60, so why bother?” Think of it as “Awesome! Now there’s a tank of gas I don’t have to buy, this month,” or maybe “Awesome! I’m making $60/month now, but once I get this built up I can make $600/month or even $6,000/month and my audience won’t be upset because they would have been accustomed to ads being on the podcast!”

PRE-PAY SERVICE:

• Let’s say you’re an auto mechanic. Well, everyone needs a mechanic eventually, right? Offer your customers a loyalty discount account. This could be pre-paying for auto services. What this does is give your customers a huge discount on mechanical work on their car, and also gets you loyalty. If someone has pre-paid $100/month, or $1,2000 with your company, and they know they’re getting a 15% discount on any and all services, then they probably wouldn’t be going anywhere else.
• Insurance works on the concept that you will never need it, never use it, and then therefore never get your money back. Pre-Paying for service providers, however, enables the small business service person to gain loyalty, offer no-haggle discounts (which customers love), and give you some extra cash flow once you have a few pre-paid service contracts sold. This is why many companies offer annual rates as their best rates. They know you’re locked in, and can count on residual income after their expenses for servicing your needs.
• Figuring out how to get a win-win Pre-Paid Service Plan can create major revenue stream possibilities for the responsible small business owner. We say responsible, because if people pre-paid then they are going to eventually need to cash in on that pre-payment, and you’re trading their loyalty for full margin profit, so it’s not “free” money…it’s a loyalty win for you, and a price discount win for the customer. Equaling mutual happiness.

WEB VIDEOS:

• Web Videos help you create a personal connection with your potential customers. The internet is a very impersonal medium, since we are usually accessing the Web alone, or at least individually interacting with our content and what we’re browsing through. Web Videos help you show your personality, expertise, and help build a stronger connection with those watching.
• Monetizing Web Videos can be a way to eventually earn a little extra revenue stream into the business. For example, through becoming a YouTube partner there could be ads placed on your videos for which you’ll get paid when a viewer interacts with one of the displayed ads.
• If you’re filmmaker, production company, or musician, you can have your video, clips, or music videos have an ad play before the viewer watches, enabling you to make more money through sponsors.
• If you have a film completed which didn’t get a distributor, you can break that film up into different parts. Say you have broken a 90 minute feature into six equal 15 minute videos. Each one plays an ad before the video starts, for which you get paid. Assuming you get paid, say, $.50 for every ad played fully, then you would have made $3 for every person who watched your entire feature (all six videos). You can even have an ad-free digital download for $2. Sound like chump change? Well, without a distributor you aren’t making a penny, so get anywhere from $.50 to $3 per visitor who views your work ain’t so bad, is it?

These are obviously just a few ways you can start to grow your business through some different out-of-the-box possibilities. The only limit to growing your business is how limited your thinking and imagination is. So, hopefully these ideas kick-start that imagination and get you brainstorming! Please write in the comments below what your favorite tips were, and please contribute some out-of-the-box ways you have grown your small business.