Sure, we all want to make more money. Who doesn’t?

But how do we do it? That’s a question that stumps every entrepreneur at least once during their business’ evolution. The answer is really simple—so simple, in fact, that you might not believe that I’m for real. It’s also relatively easy to implement, so you won’t be agonizing over new designs or making products until 4am. How do you like that?

What I want to drive home for you here is that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel to get more dollars in your bank account. You’ve got so much potential value right in front of you—all you have to do is see it, and build on it.

So what we’re going to do today is work on the seeing. As crafter/creatives/builders, you probably designed your product lines with a specific person & purpose in mind. Well you should. But, that can make it challenging to expand that initial vision when you’re so close to it.

Today, we’re going to take a little step back to gain some long-range clarity.

Your creative brains are also probably always itching to make something “new.” (Righhhtt?)

You’re still going to make new stuff. We’re just going to redirect that energy a tiny bit differently.

We’re going to work today with 3 easy ideas for building more value into your product lines. All you’ve gotta do is look at your line, pick the one that works for you (or develop your own fresh idea from this inspiration), and get going. Let’s get to it.

1. Take your top 2 best-selling products. Make more of them. (Remember when I said how easy this was?) Can you add a fresh color palette, or make the same product out of a different material? Can you offer multiple sizes to work for more customers? Perhaps offer a custom option—but make sure you give your customers ideas of how they can customize. All of these options are a great way to maximize your value with a minimum of effort. Not sure which way to go? Pop a couple photos of different options on your FB page & ask your peeps. They’ll tell you exactly what they want to buy—and doesn’t that make your life a heckuva lot easier?

2. Add complimentary products to your existing lines. If you sell journals, offer pens. If you sell knit scarves, make gloves and headbands. If you sell amazing art prints, offer things like framing or notecards with your pieces printed on them. If you make great artisan foods, what other foods or kitchen items could work with your line? Hmmm….this got you thinking, I hope. Another fun result? You don’t have to make these complimentary products yourself. Research great artisans that you want to work with. Make friends, join forces. We are not islands, my friends. We’ve got to work together & build each other up.

3. RePurpose. Repurposing products may be my favorite way to build value into businesses— really, because we never think about it. We always want to keep creating anew. I actually think repurposing is a more creative pursuit—it really pushes you to think out of your own box. (quite different that thinking out of “the” box.) So how can you re-imagine your product’s purpose? The upcoming Mother’s Day holiday may be a great way to experiment (if you make women’s products, of course.) All it would take is a tweak to your marketing towards Mother’s Day buyers, a pretty gift box—and you’ve breathed new life into your products. We’re also moving into wedding season in the US—showers, parties, and weddings are a major market for a number of artisan entrepreneurs. How can you be one of them?

I would love to hear how you’ve integrated these ideas into your business models—pop a comment below, will you? If you’re struggling a bit to figure out what works for you–no fear. Check out my Single-Shot Sessions for 60 minutes of you-centric business advice, fresh ideas, clarity, and of course, fun.

{Featured image via Chakra Penny Whistle}