What Are You Really Good At?

I mean what are you really, really, REALLY good at?
And what do you really love to do? (and I mean really, really, REALLY love to do!)

What talent do you have that makes people (friends and strangers) ask you to demonstrate for them time and time again (and you can’t help but smile ear-to-ear the entire time you’re doing it)?

How can you make a difference (and make a living) doing that thing?

There may not realistically be a job listing on Indeed.com for your specific talent (how many job openings can there be in Dayton for a Polynesian Fire Dancer?) but there are probably some creative ways for you to earn some money (maybe even a living) from using your talents to entertain, inspire, or educate an audience interested in what you have to share with the world.

If you’re a writer who authors short stories about a werewolf detective (Furrlock Bones?), I guarantee you there are people out there who want to read those stories (and will tell their friends about them).

There’s no need to go out and find a traditional publisher (at this point it’s almost more vanity to chase an old school contract at a publishing house) when you can keep more profits from what you sell by publishing on digital platforms like Kindle.  But even writing a full novel might be a task you don’t want to undertake until you know there’s an audience willing to spend money to read what you write.

Why not launch a subscription email list where you share a chapter of a story at a time, like modern episodic television or the old movie serials from the 1930s and 40s?

Emails tools like Substack allow you to publish your content as blog posts or email newsletters and set each individual post as free content available to anyone who signs-up for your list, or restrict content to readers who pay a subscription fee. Sites like Patreon also support publishing content free or to multiple membership tiers to reward financial supporters.

This approach can work for anyone who creates digital content like videos, music, writing, etc. — but what if you create physical products like t-shirts or bath soap?

Sites like Etsy and eBay allow you to setup a virtual store for free but charge you a small listing fee and a sales commission on items you post and sell. Etsy allows the sale of digital products like downloadable checklists, personal planners, etc. but they are a great showcase for just about any physical product you can imagine selling. Unique products like custom art and jewelry as well as antiques and collectibles.

You might also consider creating a product subscription where you can sell a recurring delivery of an item rather than relying solely on single individual sales of your product. Why sell just one when you can sell one a month?

If you’re interested in creating a subscription box service, checkout Subbly. It’s a subscription box sales and support system that can help you get started by walking you through the process and handling all the boring paperwork stuff so you can focus on creating the stuff that goes in the subscription boxes.

Need help finding a platform to get started selling your services or your stuff?

I put together list of resources that I call my Utility Belt. It’s 14 pages containing more than two dozen websites, services, and tools you can use to start your business creating and selling the stuff that you’re really good at doing (and the stuff that makes you really happy to do). Click here to check it out.