I was chatting to a friend about a workshop he attended years ago. At the time, he was a manager in one of Australia’s largest companies, which ran a management retreat to brainstorm ideas to increase profits without costing money.

Sounds like they’re hoping for a miracle, right? No. As it turned out, the focus of the retreat was to ask each manager to examine their own business units for excess capacity – in other words, things that aren’t being used to their fullest extent. These were the first targets, because it’s often possible to just work them a bit harder to create “free money”.

For instance, my friend’s company was involved in production, so they had machines sitting idle at various times. By re-using those machines for other tasks, they were able to improve productivity and profitability. The point is, they wouldn’t have been able to do this if the machines had been at full capacity, or if they were paying for the machines on a per-hour basis. The idea worked because (a) the company owned the machines, (b) they were sometimes idle, and (c) there was another way to exploit that idle time.

Apply the same thinking to your business. What assets do you have that you’re not using fully? Look for something with the same three criteria: (a) You own it outright or pay a fixed fee for using it; (b) it’s not running at full capacity; and (c) there’s another way to use it.

Here are some examples:

• Seats at a presentation: Unless every presentation you give is sold out, keep 2 or 3 seats available for prospects, so they can see you in action.
• Your time: If you’re not busy delivering your expertise, invest more time selling it.
• Monthly contracts: If you’re paying a fixed fee for something, work it really hard. For example, I pay a monthly licence fee for a webinar service. It’s worth it just for the paid webinar I do each month for my clients. But even so, it still has excess capacity. So I use it for free marketing webinars, hosting webinars for clients, and conference calls.
• Support services: Do you have the world’s best PA when it comes to booking travel? Offer his/her services to others – either as a goodwill gesture or as a paid service.

These are just a few random examples, but I’m sure you get the point.

I recently bought my six-year-old nephew Riley the book “Goha, The Wise Fool”, which we read together before he goes to bed. The main character Goha is an ordinary man who sometimes does clever things and sometimes does silly things.

My favourite Goha story (so far!) goes something like this:

Goha was taking a stroll one day, when he was accosted by some pesky kids, who started teasing him, taunting him and throwing stones at him.

He was getting annoyed, but then had an idea for getting rid of them. He said to them, “Listen, I’ve got some good news for you. The Governor is having a big party today, and he’s giving away cakes, ice cream and lots of presents. Go there quickly before you miss out!”

Sure enough, the kids were excited and rushed off down the road.

Goha watched them go with a smile on his face. Suddenly he started running after them. “After all”, he said to himself, “It might turn out to be true!”

I ask Riley after each story, “Was Goha being wise or foolish?” This time, of course, he wisely said, “Foolish”.

We’d all agree, right? And yet I wonder whether you’re acting like Goha in your business?

What stories have you been telling so often you’ve started believing them yourself?

Are you telling yourself times are tough and clients won’t buy, so there’s no point asking?
Or that your standard services are the best you can do?
Or that there isn’t anybody else doing what you’re doing?
Or that you can’t increase prices in this tough economy?
Or that audiences won’t buy from you during presentations, so there’s no point even trying to sell from the platform?

Whatever your assumptions are, they’re probably holding you back – even if they’re related to the economy. In fact, I should say especially if they’re related to the economy. It’s the perfect time now to try different things. We’re in uncharted waters, so anything you “know” to be true probably isn’t. The only way to find out is to try!

Here’s the good news: As a small business owner, you’ve got a huge advantage, because big business sucks at this. They’re slow, heavy and can’t change direction easily. They’re saddled by policies, HR, shareholder perceptions, office politics and protecting their turf. You’re different – you’re smart, nimble, agile and flexible.

Here’s the even better news: It’s so easy and cheap to do. You don’t have to re-structure your whole business; just make up some new offerings. After all, what does it take to make a sales call to a loyal client, promote a special offer to readers in your next e-zine, or quickly write up a new service on your Web site?

Will you be as wise as Riley or as foolish as Goha? Your choice.