Let’s see if you’re up for an adventure

The people I work with are experts in what they do. This isn’t their first rodeo. They’ve often studied hard to build their knowledge and built up years of experience. They’re able to build successful product-based businesses because they’ve developed their own way of thinking, a unique way of doing things.

Some of what you do might be called magic. You might not call it magic. To you, it’s not magic or rocket science; it’s just what you do for clients. But you take pride in what you do, and you’re clear that you’ve got something unique that helps the people you work with.

And you’re ready to do something different. To scale up your business, but not in the traditional ways people grow a business. You don’t need to take on lots of new staff, work harder, borrow money or take big risks.

At Adventures in Products, we suggest a different path is possible. We focus on my favourite small business growth strategy, building a product-based business.

This approach works if you:

• Want to make a bigger an impact in the world with your ideas
• Would love more money in your bank account
• Are open to new ways of working
• Often get fully booked with client work
• Love the idea of working with a wider audience, including internationally
• Are prepared to put the work in now, to get more flexibility and freedom in the future

These are just some of the ways people build product-based businesses

There are lots of examples across the site. Dig in. And stay up to date with the latest thinking and exclusive content in the emails.

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Why I love this way of scaling a business

I’ve used lots of strategies to grow businesses. I’ve done most of them with my own companies over the years. And I’ve worked with clients on all kinds of business growth strategies.

Out of all the clients I’ve worked with, the ones who were able to scale quickly, bring in more profits, and get out to the world faster, with the least amount of pain and hard work, were the ones who productised. Building a product-based business gives you an automatic multiplier effect.

With the traditional way of growing your business, you put in your marketing effort and investment and you bring in some clients.

With a product-based business, you build some products, put in the same amount of marketing effort, and you’re able to attract multiple clients at the same time.

And when you build an ecosystem of products, those clients buy several products, so your marketing effort per client is reduced while your profit levels increase. I do love an increase in return on investment and a return on effort. And I get very excited about increasing customer lifetime value.

What might your product-based business look like?

What if, instead of spending your time on each client project one by one, you could scale your business by making products that mean you can help dozens or hundreds of clients simultaneously?

What if that ended up being way more helpful for your clients than you doing the work for them?

And how would you feel when your accountant gives you your end-of-year accounts, and she says, “Wow, this year was a bit different, wasn’t it? Revenue up by 230%, costs down by 35%. Well done”

I love it when even the accountants say “wow” and “well done.”

These are the differences I see when business owners move to a product-based business. That’s why I get so excited when people like you join me for adventures in products.

Your adventure in products tour guide

What I’ve found over the years is that many business owners love the idea of productising when we talk about it. But many people find the process of getting their knowledge into the right kind of product challenging. Especially the part about getting the first products finished off and out into the world.

And because marketing for a product-based business requires a different approach, founders usually need some help in changing their marketing mindset and getting to grips with some new techniques.

You might need a guidebook to be sure that you’re making the right choices along the way. We have some great tools and guides based on real-life practical experience of developing product businesses.

If you’d relish going on a group adventure, the Productise Your Expertise programme brings you together with a group of like-minded business owners who are also ambitious to grow through developing products. Over the six months of the programme, everyone learns together and supports one another in the adventure of taking your first products to market.

Or you can dip your toe in the water at any time. The Pivot to Products course is here to get your head around what’s involved. Pivot to Products gets you in the adventure mindset and acts as your packing list so you can get going in the right direction.

What are your options right now?

You might have already decided that you’re up for this adventure in products, and you’re ready to get going with the next Productise Your Expertise group. The lift-off dates, flight plan and full details are all here for you.

Or you’ve just got here and want to get a lot more information about the whole idea of developing your product business, what’s possible, how to do it, and what’s in it for you. There’s a lot more research and thinking to do.

That’s a wise choice, by the way. Luckily, there are lots of resources, ideas and food for thought about creating a successful product business on the site. I recommend digging in and absorbing the resources here first.

Welcome to Adventures in Products