I knew about a bit about licensing when I ran my moms in business community (were any of you here during the Mom Bosses of Charleston/Mom Moguls days?) because that was an outlet I was looking into when I wanted to expand.
I didn't consider licensing anything else because I didn't know it was a "thing". Until I started working with professionals who were doing this and doing it well.
Within our unique sub-systems lives our intellectual property. And this is more valuable than people realize. You have a way of solving a need or want, and you're making money from it. How awesome is that?
Other people also want to make money, but they don't always want to start from scratch. This is where you would come in!
In marketing, people sell it as "Steal my SOP", but you can take it further by not only giving them the SOP, but how they can easily make money from said SOP.
Your templates, scripts, etc.? This can also be something that's licensed.
Please keep in mind, I don't mean something spit out using AI here. It needs to be things you are currently doing (or have done with success) and proven.
So, how do you get started? Here's my advice:
Document everything that's working. Your process, your templates, your frameworks, etc., you've built in your head. If it's creating results for your clients and it's still in your brain, it can't be licensed.
Give your approach a name. This sounds silly, but "The 90-Day Revenue Recovery System" is way more licensable than "how I help struggling businesses." It makes your methodology feel like a "thing", not just what you do.
Protect what matters (but don't go overboard). You probably don't need expensive patents. Simple trademark protection and clear licensing agreements usually do the trick. However, please seek a lawyer for this!
Test with one person first. Before you build a whole licensing empire, find one person who would benefit from using your system. Create a simple licensing arrangement and see how it goes.
Your expertise is valuable. The question is whether you're only selling it once or building an asset you can monetize over and over.
I'm curious, is there something about your approach that other people in your industry always ask about? Something you do that gets consistent results? Hit reply and tell me what you think might be licensable about your work.
P.S. Want to work through ideas or come up with a game plan on what to document and how? Book a consultation here.
