I had a consultation with a friend today who wanted to know whether I could help her add some functionality to her website that, it turned out, she already had.

This happens a lot. People come to me asking to come up with a new workflow for some project, ready to spend a lot of money on all-new tools, when in fact they can use platforms and workflows for other projects that they’re already paying for.

I kind of love these conversations. They don’t generally end in me doing work for these folks in the moment, but I love helping they see how they can creatively use what they’ve already got to open up a new revenue stream, execute some grand project, or just help serve their people more thoroughly.

If you have some systems in place already, and you’re coming up with a new idea. I’d encourage you to write out the end result you want your clients or customers to have, and then check out all your existing systems for features you’re not using. You may surprise yourself with what you already have on hand!