IP Farming
Modern Day Agricultural Approach for Harvesting Intangible Assets with Simple Sketches
My mentor told me a wealth-building metaphor around the Goose That Lays Golden Eggs.
And since we don’t have the luxury of being face-to-face, I’ll do my best to break it down…
In doing so, I hope you’ll understand that while money does not grow on trees — if you’re clever, you can CAPTURE and create it out of thin air…
It’s a slight twist to the Brothers Grimm story, but here are the component parts:
Farmers
Helpers
Geese
Golden Eggs
Intangible Assets
It starts with learning to SEE.
Wherever you find yourself in the ecosystem... whether you're a Farmer, Helper, or a hungry Goose -- there is always something "more better" you could be doing.
If you're a Farmer, you could take the time to draw out your "value stream" and notice there are "gaps" and other improvements you could close that would increase Universal Throughput (a nod to Goldratt's Rules of Flow).
Then get busy making marginal improvements that would collectively, exponentially enlarge your bottom line profit without ever needing to spend money on ads, etc.
Maybe this Farmer might want to monetize his specialized knowledge by helping other farmers enjoy "more money, fewer headaches"... but what would be the best way to share his "secret recipe"?
Especially since he doesn't feel like changing professions to become a salesman of 'fancy farming methods' to skeptical and hard-to-reach farmers from far across town?
One option would be to write it down in a book for $15. Or package the same info into a video course for $1500. He could use free AI tools to transcribe, illustrate, and automate the whole thing if he felt like it...
Another option might be to offer his turn-key "flashing red button" system to non-technical farmers who would like the benefits of improved feeding that produces higher priced Golden Eggs & longer living Geese, lower-cost labor with step-by-step instructions any idiot could follow, and a simpler superior process for making maximum money from each egg sold at market. Maybe get $15k per year for such a thing? Maybe throw in a monthly mastermind call for a sense of community and continuous improvement that would increase the value of the system without an additional cost of fulfillment?
And maybe his own farm ecosystem becomes so lean and efficient that he can go to other farmers who WOULD NEVER read a book, watch a video, or join any online program... and offer to turn their expenses into income for a share of the increased cashflow? (read also: trash into treasure, new bigger pie for a slice; instead of convincing them to cut into the one that's already on their plate)
Wouldn't it be easier to start a conversation around "life on the farm" and offer to "test" on something the other farmer wasn't going to use anyway -- instead of trying to CONVINCE he's got a wiz-bang new tool that'll make money shoot out of his hard drive?
Taking this approach is truly non-disruptive (people hate change) and an abundant business model (these assets are all around us). It actually makes life better for everyone -- a true paradigm shift to modern-day agriculture and ways of working.
Harvesting IP and opening up new markets is the highest form of innovation!
Even if you're starting out as a broke Helper whose highest skill set is shoveling shit...
It requires no upfront capital or specialized knowledge. It only requires the ability to pay attention (notice differences), asking questions (what matters most to each Farmer? i.e. "Tell me more about your amazing farming operation..."), and MOST IMPORTANTLY:
Offering NEW PIE to people who are TOO BUSY to bake it themselves.
And, as always, going into it with genuine curiosity and getting the Truth on the table.
Just remember, you don't ever want to get stuck on the "expense" side of any operation -- Helpers, while valuable, will always be a cost. The Goose is a tradeable, depreciable asset based on the cashflow its Golden Eggs yield. Mr Market might weigh goose meat differently depending on the flavor of the week and living things require lots of love if you want them to last...
The Farmer owns the whole ecosystem and is taking on a ton of risk: negotiating with the Laws of Nature, making sure the food is delivered in spite of supply chain woes, making sure his flock's crap is picked up and not too cranky, etc.
Farmers are entitled to whatever profits are left over at the end of the day! (if any) If he wants to grow his farm, he's going to need more HANDS, overhead, and no doubt doing so will increase WASTE/non-value add because with growth comes complexity.
Knowing this and empathizing with everyone in their ecosystem, any Ronin can AND SHOULD help their Farmer friend harvest Intangible Assets hidden all around them.
[The following is really a note to self in order to follow my own advice]
So what are you waiting for? Are you afraid? Are you getting glimpses of how fulfilling it could be? Or are you satisfied with helping to make sure other farmer's geese are comfortable?
How many more days will you give to someone else's Goose or chasing Golden Eggs with your limited days left on Earth? When will you start coordinating with Farmers who've already created incredible IP but haven't figured out how to put it in Flow yet?
Here's a summary & simple idea to take seriously: control distribution and hidden assets then turn someone's expenses into income for a share of the new pie.
And if you want my help, I leverage visual thinking to create clarity, recognize value, and reverse engineer profitable ventures... don't hesitate to tap me in! Eric@EricBakey.com
*Bonus starting point: pull the levers from whatever system you find yourself in instead of swimming upstream or trying to find 'acres of diamonds' in someone else's pond... or if you MUST go somewhere else to find something that gives you energy, find a Farmer who makes you go, "HOLY SHIT! How the hell did you do THAT!?"