Episode 55

E55: 8 Business Problems that Have IP Solutions

This week’s solo episode of Hourly to Exit comes at my area of expertise – intellectual property (IP) – from the business side. The prerequisite for scaling your business is turning your expertise into intellectual property that you own or control so you can add complementary products or productized services to your existing services. 

I call these 8 business problems, but there really is one problem with 8 symptoms. The big problem is that you have not developed assets--which could be products or processes--that allow you to decouple your income from your time.  Those things that allow you to decouple your income from your time are intellectual property solutions. 

Let’s discuss the 8 symptoms that your expertise-based business is not effectively deploying intellectual property.

If you want to discuss how to protect the IP assets you should be creating, contact me to discuss.

Resources Mentioned:

Connect with Erin to learn how to use intellectual property to increase your income and impact. hourlytoexit.com/podcast.

Erin's LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinaustin/

Think Beyond IP YouTube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVztXnDYnZ83oIb-EGX9IGA/videos

Music credit: Yes She Can by Tiny Music

A Team Dklutr production

Transcript
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Hello ladies.

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Welcome to the Hourly

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to Exit podcast.

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I am excited for this week's

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conversation because I

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think you know this about

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me, that I'm always trying

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to figure out a way to make

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the intellectual property

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concepts more accessible and

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applicable to your businesses.

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So I've been thinking

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about, instead of.

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Attacking it from the

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intellectual property side,

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which is a bad habit of mine.

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I'm gonna attack it

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from the business side.

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And so what is happening in

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your business that suggests

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that you need an intellectual

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property solution?

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When we are growing our

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businesses, of course this

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podcast is called Hourly to

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Exit, where we're starting

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out and we are providing

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one-on-one services.

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Maybe we're still

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providing them hourly.

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Maybe we have developed

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packages, but we're still

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doing it on a one-on-one

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basis, and so we will hit a

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few kind of road bumps that'll

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be very hard to get over if

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we aren't thinking about.

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Creating intellectual

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property that we can

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use in our businesses.

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So typically this happens

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when we are selling

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ourselves as the expert.

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I'm selling me Aaron Austin.

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Not that I'm selling

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my expertise, I.

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In harnessing the power

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of intellectual property.

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And so when you're selling

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yourself instead of selling

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your expertise, it will

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show up in a number of

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places because the fact is

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that the prerequisite for

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scaling your business is to

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turn your expertise, into

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something that you can create

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complimentary products.

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Complimentary services,

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typically productized

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ones that compliment

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your existing services.

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I will never recommend,

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assuming you wanna continue

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to provide one-on-one

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services that you stop

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doing that there's a lot

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of value to providing

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those one-on-one services.

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First of all, you learn

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so much, when you hear

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that feedback from your

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clients and it helps,

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increase your expertise.

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those one-on-one services

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are a huge part of continuing

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to develop our expertise.

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but is it the only

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way, that you are.

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Providing value

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to your clients.

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And so while I entitled

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this, eight Business Problems

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that have Intellectual

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Property Solutions.

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the honest answer is there

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is only one problem, but what

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we have are eight symptoms.

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And so, the big problem is

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that you haven't developed

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assets, whether that are

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products or processes.

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That allow you to decouple

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your income from your time.

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we talk about

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that all the time.

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you need to be able to

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decouple your income

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from your time in order

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to scale your business.

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And by scaling, we mean not

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just increasing revenue.

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'cause we could double our

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revenue by billing twice as

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many hours, but that's not how

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we wanna grow our business.

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We want to scale by increasing

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our revenue, while also

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increasing profit, which means

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we're decreasing the cost

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of generating So whether

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that's, increased, decreased.

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Time, or, other resources if

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you have other things that

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you use from third parties.

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so that is what intellectual

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property is about.

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It is about creating assets

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that allow you to decouple

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your income from your time.

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it's not any more

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complicated than that.

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It's not, patents and

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software and all those

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things, the things that

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we do in our business that

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allow to decouple our income

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from our time are generally

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intellectual property.

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Some registerable,

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that is not.

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but we'll talk

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about that as well.

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So let's get started.

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the first business problem,

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client concentration.

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So there are only so many

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clients you can serve at a

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time if you are the expert

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providing one-on-one services.

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And, high client

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concentration, the danger is

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that, you lose one client.

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That could be the

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end of your business.

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Maybe you have, you can only

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serve one client at a time.

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Maybe you can only serve

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two clients at a time.

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And because they

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are so, uh, time.

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consuming.

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You don't have time to

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do business development

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while you're on doing this.

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And so even if you have

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very happy clients, when

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the engagement comes to

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an end, you don't have any

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more clients coming along.

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So client

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concentration problem.

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what is your intellectual

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property solution?

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you can continue to do

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those one-on-one services,

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but how can we get you to

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be more effective so that

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you can serve more clients?

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On a high level, on a

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one-on-one level, if

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that's what you desire.

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So that would mean making sure

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we're creating efficiencies

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in our business and these

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things we'll see these,

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as we go forward as well.

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We're creating

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standard procedures.

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We have templates, we have

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models, so that allows us

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to become more efficient

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in how we deliver our.

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One-on-one services

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to our clients.

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And those systems and

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processes could be also by

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the way, your sales funnel.

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So that's not just about

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delivery, it's also about the

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operations in your business,

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about how you, bring people

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in, how you move them through

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your pipeline, how you

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onboard them and offboard.

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Then those are all things

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that can be, systematized

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so that you become more

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efficient and therefore

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you can serve more clients.

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Within the same kind of box of

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time that you have available.

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so that you don't have, the

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same client concentration

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problem, business problem

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too, revenue concentration.

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So if you have a client

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concentration problem, you

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certainly have a revenue

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concentration problem, and

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that means that all your

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revenue is coming from a

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single type of revenue,

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such as from one-on-one

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services, so you don't have

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a one to several model.

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For a one to many model

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or something else,

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that is a different.

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Revenue model.

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So could it be hourly?

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It could be by retainer,

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it could be, project

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based, value based.

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and so when you.

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Create different

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revenue models.

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typically that goes

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with different type

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of products as well.

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then you can have new

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revenue streams that

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are less dependent

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on you and your time.

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And so that could

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look like things like.

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online workshops that you can

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deliver more efficiently or

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you can deliver at a lower

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price point, and therefore

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you can bring in a different

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kind of client that you can

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fit in inside of the time

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that you have available.

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It reminds me, I wasn't even

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thinking about this, but it

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reminds me of the how do you

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get the most rocks in a jar?

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And you put the biggest

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ones in first, and then

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you put the little ones in

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to go around, and then you

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put the sand at the end.

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But if you did the other way,

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then you wouldn't be able

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to get nearly as much in.

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And maybe we think about, our

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revenue models in that way.

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Like we think about the

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biggest ones, the one-on-one,

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and then we think about

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what's the medium rocks

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that we can get in there.

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And then maybe down the

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line, digital products as

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a whole separate animal.

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but.

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That's something to

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think about is the way of

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filling your jar is big,

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medium, and then small.

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So revenue concentration,

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earner concentration.

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If you are the expert, they

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only want you providing

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one-on-one services for them.

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You're available to them,

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you're the one, creating.

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All the revenue, you're the

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sole earner in the business.

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Then when you aren't out

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there delivering services,

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you aren't making any money.

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Very hard to take a vacation,

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very hard to work on product,

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business development, very

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hard to, get a manicure even.

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Right.

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so.

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That means you need

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to create systems,

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templates, and models.

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So that allows you

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to create leverage

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through other earners.

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and it was just your genius

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out there being genius, a.

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And that's what people are

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paying for, then you gotta be

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out there being GenY all the

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time in order to make revenue.

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But if you can create systems,

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have some templates, have some

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models, and you can use either

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employees or contractors to

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help deliver some, or maybe

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even all of the output, on

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the legal side, inside of,

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in-house legal departments,

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you'll often have the business

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person who, does a term sheet

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with the client and then

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they send that term sheet

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to the legal department and

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it is a contract manager to

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the non-lawyer who does the

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first draft of that agreement.

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The lawyers don't do those.

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And then, you know, once they

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have that first draft, then

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the lawyer looks at it, of

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course, before it goes out.

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But that's a way to create

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leverage in your business.

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Anytime you are using

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a resource that is less

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expensive than you, that

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allows you to do higher level

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things, then you're creating

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leverage in your business.

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And so that is one way

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to help you not being the

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only person that is driving

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revenue in the business.

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The fourth business

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problem, revenue, ceiling.

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there's only so much you

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can charge for facilitating

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a workshop or for

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providing coaching session.

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Is it Tim Robbins, who

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came up today and, I know

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that he charges like a

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million bucks a year or

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something for his coaching.

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so if you're not, you

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know, him, how can I

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not remember his name?

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then, there's gonna be

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a ceiling on how much

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you can charge, right?

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And so you need to, again,

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Figure out a way to decouple

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your income from your time.

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Once you hit what the

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market will bear in terms

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of pricing and you have hit,

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time, limits on how much you

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can work, then in order to

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keep growing, then you need

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to decouple those things.

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And so that means.

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Creating some sort of

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asset that can create

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revenue without you.

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We talked about employees

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and contractors, but

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another way to do that

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is through licensing.

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So if you have a workshop, for

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instance, that right now you

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are going out and delivering,

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you're facilitating your

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workshops personally with

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your clients and if you are

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able to create a license

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where, Other facilitators who

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you know, like and trust can

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use your workshop to either

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service your clients, 'cause

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you can only service so many.

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You know, the demand is

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there that you can't meet.

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Or maybe they have their

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own clients, but they have

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a need for this type of

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workshop and they don't

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have their own, they can

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license yours and deliver

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it to their end clients.

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And that means that.

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You are getting revenue from

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the delivery of your workshop,

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but you aren't delivering

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it, so that's another way to

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bust that revenue ceiling.

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The fifth is

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inconsistent cashflow.

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When you're doing

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custom services, we all.

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Are familiar with the

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feast and famine cycle of

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selling custom services.

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especially if you

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don't have the capacity

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for multiple clients.

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And you know, this all feeds

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together with that client

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concentration problem as well.

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so you.

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Have that whale client,

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who doesn't love a whale

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client, that will keep

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you busy for, a year.

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then what happens

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when they're gone?

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because a client that will

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keep you busy for a year

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is not gonna be signing,

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you off of your website.

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There's gonna be a long

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sales cycle that goes

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along with that, and that

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can be pretty unnerving.

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to even out your cash flow.

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having an intellectual

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property solution of

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creating an asset that you

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can sell access to on a

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recurring basis, also known

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as recurring revenue, helps

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even out your cashflow.

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So maybe you have a library

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of digital resources that you

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can sell subscriptions to.

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Maybe you have a community

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that you can sell access

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to, and these are ways to

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create recurring revenue

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streams so you can.

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stabilize your cash flow.

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Your sixth, business

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problem, is weak positioning.

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know, if you're not developing

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some sort of signature

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solution that you are known

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for, or you aren't attacking a

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problem that you are known for

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in the industry, Probably you

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are just selling your time.

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You're just, responding

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to RFPs and you're letting

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the client tell you

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what you want from them.

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And then, okay, I can do that.

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And you, and you do it.

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You do, they're happy and

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they do it, but you're not

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creating the thing that

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you become known for, who

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you go to person, for.

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And so to be that

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go-to person, that

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means creating some.

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Intellectual property around

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that, you're creating some

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original thought leadership

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that is speaking to the

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specific problem or the

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specific niche that you

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want to serve, and around

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that you are creating some

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branded services or some

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branded solutions around that.

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That of course, is

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intellectual property.

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The seventh stagnant

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profitability.

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So if you are out there

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juing with with every new

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engagement, then you're

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probably, not getting the

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benefit of the increased.

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Efficiencies of having

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systems, templates and models.

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know, if you're starting

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from scratch with every

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engagement, then you meet

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with your client, you find

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out what, their issue is and

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you go to the drawing board,

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like an artist starting with

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something completely unique

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and original for your client.

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And there may be a place

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for that, in your business.

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But that does mean that

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you will not be able to.

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Increase your profit and

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your business, because it'll

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be very hard to get more

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efficient, in that model.

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So, systematization,

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templates, models, if you're

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not billing by the hour,

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then you wanna become more

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efficient, because that

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means lowered costs and

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therefore increased profit.

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And back to using less

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expensive resources.

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And that, by the way,

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could include technology.

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Like when you really kind

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of have a whole system in,

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place for getting from A to

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Z in delivering value to your

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business, there may be a spot

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for technology, and this is.

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even more relevant obviously

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today with ai, to figure

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out like, what part of this

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can I use technology to

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help become more efficient?

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it can't be just

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about you being GenY.

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It there has to be a system to

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it for you to really be able

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to take advantage of that.

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And then our last, our

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eighth business problem,

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is the impact ceiling.

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we all got into the business

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because there was some

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impact we wanted to make.

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There's something we

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believed in that we thought.

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We could make that

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happen, and create great

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value for our clients.

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We love our clients and

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we wanted them to succeed,

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but when we're doing it

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on a one-on-one basis, is

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there, again, there's only

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so many people we can impact

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on a one-on-one basis.

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Now, personally, you

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know, I'm a lawyer.

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We do one-on-one a lot.

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But I also want to help women

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understand the value that's

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hidden in their businesses,

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to make sure they're capturing

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all the value so that they

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can use their businesses,

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not just for income, but

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also to create wealth.

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Because, I believe wealth

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in the hands of women

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can change the world.

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But how many women can I

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impact if I'm only doing it

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on with my one-on-one clients?

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And that's why I have this

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podcast, my newsletter, and

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I do workshops and I, guest

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expert and things like that

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so I can reach more people

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and have a bigger income.

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of course, I am

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creating intellectual

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property around that.

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in the form of.

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courses to come,

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folks to come.

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but right now it's mostly

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through my, frameworks and

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that I work people through

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and I have, systems for

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helping them create licensing

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programs, systems for

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making sure that they are.

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Tracking and, protecting

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and monetizing their

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intellectual property.

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And so that's how you

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increase your impact by

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creating resources, whether

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they're for sale or for free.

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'cause most of my resources

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are free, to make sure

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that you are impacting as

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many people as possible

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with whatever the special

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message is that you are

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bringing to the world.

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So, Again, it all boils down

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to that same issue, is that

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if you're doing something that

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requires you in person with

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your time, then you will hit.

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All of these ceilings of

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impact and revenue, these

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concentration problems,

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these cashflow problems,

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positioning problems,

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profitability problems,

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all of them mean that you

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haven't developed some assets

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that allow you to generate

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revenue to increase impact.

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Without you working more.

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So if you have any questions

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about that, I'd love to

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talk to you about it more.

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you can find

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me@thinkbeyondip.com and there

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you can see how you could

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work with me and I'd love to

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hear your feedback on this.

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If there's anything

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that wasn't clear,

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please contact me.

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That's, makes my day I hope

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this was helpful for you.

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I really enjoyed

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putting this together.

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So in case you are a

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visual learner, I did

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create a graphic that goes

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through the eight problems

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that have intellectual

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property solutions.

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And so there should be

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a link in the show notes

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where you can sign up to

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get a copy of that graphic.

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And as always, I welcome your

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questions and comments, and

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thanks again for joining me.

About the Podcast

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Hourly to Exit

About your host

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Erin Austin

Meet Erin Austin, a Harvard Law alum with over 25 years of copyright and contracts experience. As the go-to advisor for professionals with corporate clients, Erin empowers entrepreneurs to be their own advocates, standing out for her commitment to transforming expertise into empires through the creation, protection and leveraging of intellectual property assets. Explore her blend of legal expertise and entrepreneurial insight on ThinkBeyondIP.com and the "Hourly to Exit" podcast. Off the clock, you'll find Erin in the great outdoors or connecting with business coaches to elevate 6-figure consultants into 7-figure powerhouses.