Too many solo-preneurs and small business people do not think through the most lucrative paths to profit by which their companies make money. In so not doing, they leave money on the table.

How do you find these paths to profit?

1. Take a good look at your existing product and service line.

What is the person who has bought these likely to want in addition to these? Will they be able to achieve their most sought-after goal after using these products or services? Or, will your product or service only help them with part of their goal? Listen to what people are telling you as they purchase your product. What is their ultimate goal? The person who wishes to self-publish a memoir will not be satisfied with help in producing a manuscript because that is only a part of his/her goal.

Sometimes clients will tell you outright what they most want. Other times, their message is hidden in what they don’t say. For instance, when they fail to buy another product that is a clear statement. But, of what? You can ask them which is better than guessing.

2. Develop materials, when creating new products or services, that fit sequentially into your product or service line.

An introductory product ought to be followed by an intermediate one in difficulty or challenge and not by an advanced one. Satisfied clients will more easily buy a second product if it follows what they have already purchased and mastered. Use your development time wisely.

Sometimes clients are put off by the entry level of difficulty of your product. In that case, you will need to create a more introductory item for them. Then the existing introductory product will clearly be the second purchase of some future clients. If the buyer is left needing to know more—but not discourged, then you are in a fine position to create a next-in-line product. These are examples of creating linear products.

3. Develop what people want to buy.

Remember: what you are interested in developing may not be what people are interested in buying. Many business people will ask themselves which products or services they would be most interested in developing. While this approach has a few positives—who wants to spend time working at something that does not interest them?—it is more lucrative to consider the client first. What does the client want to buy?

The caveat here is the reflection of Henry Ford who famously said, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.”

4. Create ancillary products that instruct in other, but allied, areas of expertise. This is a lucrative bet.

The client may not want to know more about one area but may need to know a bit about several parallel fields in order to execute a successful strategy. In that case, It is never a good option to invest time and money in random products. It is always better to ask what the client wants and needs.

Thinking and planning through these four paths to profit strategies will set your business up for success. If you need further guidance for building your memoir writing professional business, the Memoir Professional Package is a digital jumpstart program for lifestory writing teachers and personal historians.