Many companies have come up with fresh ways to make money during this pandemic . Here is a popular creative thinking exercise, with examples, that can help you figure out new ways to grow your business. For maximum returns, do this exercise with a group of up to five people so you can bounce ideas off each other. Shoot for as many ideas as possible in each category. Often the most outrageous idea leads to a viable – and profitable – solution.
SCAMPER Your Business
SCAMPER is a questioning acronym that forces you to see possibilities that you might otherwise not see. Apply it to every aspect of your business to discover ways to survive in this economy: product or service, distribution, manufacturing, clients, marketing, management, costs, 
suppliers, packaging, etc.
S = Substitute. What can you substitute? E.g. A coach can substitute online coaching, for in-person work
C = Combine. What can you combine to come up with something new? E.g., a food tour company, now prevented from going to restaurants with clients, combined with local restaurants to create and deliver special meals which she delivers to clients.*
A = Adapt. What can be adapted to other uses? E.g., A bar, closed by the pandemic, developed take-home fruit juice cubes, which people pick up outside the bar, to be mixed with a person’s alcohol at home.*
M = Minimize, Maximize. What can you make smaller, bigger? E.g., Can you tap into your vast expertise and offer a short Tip-a-Day to clients? A print shop used to printing brochures, business cards, invitations, and direct mail pieces now offers large lawn posters that say “Hope” or “Thank you” for home use.
P = Put to to other uses. What can you put to other uses? E.g., Distilleries are using their facilities now to make hand sanitizers.
E = Eliminate. What can you eliminate? E.g., A company eliminated the time spent cold calling and is now exclusively using that time to re-connect with past clients and also join referral networks.
R = Reverse. What can you reverse? A cleaning service, having lost all its AirBnB business, reversed its target market from residential cleaning to deep cleans for businesses that are still open, like medical facilities and some offices.
You Are Limited Only by Your Imagination
“A plain iron bar is worth $5. If you make horseshoes from it, the value increases to $10.00. If you make needles, it is $3,285. If watch springs, $250,000. Ergo, the difference between $5.00 and $250,000 is creativity.” Anonymous.
Anne Miller
Words Matter – Make What You Say Pay!
*Starred examples come from Any Haimerl. “Be Nimble and Quick: ‘That’s the Key Right Now.'” The New York Times 4/24/20
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