The other day I was sitting on a train going into Oslo when I thought I’d take a look around the carriage just to see what everyone was doing. I wanted to make a mental note to have something to reflect about. So I put my phone down and took a look around me.

The chap beside me was reading a book about selling, the woman on the other side of the aisle was using her computer and the two men opposite me were discussing a presentation they had seen. Then it struck me – everyone around me was an ‘information consumer’. Everything they were doing involved the consumption of information that somebody else had provided.

Now that shouldn’t have surprised me too much. After all, that’s what I do – I sell information to people among other things. But it was the train journey that reminded me how much information people are buying. They are getting it from books, online, in meetings, via reports – all sorts of ways. We live in an information society nowadays.

That means there is an opportunity for you. Whatever business you are in, you deal with information – and people will pay you for what you know and what you have experienced.

Just six months ago my main business was speaking at seminars, conferences and running workshops. Now I’ve changed the way I earn my money by selling the information I used to give at talks and meetings directly to people who would otherwise be in my audience. And I am doing that online. People can download my talks, or they can buy ‘ebooks’ I have written about the subjects I specialise in (business psychology, if you must know). And it’s working.

In the past year, the Internet has gone from being just a source of referrals to my business, to being the prime source of my business. An interesting shift, from using internet as a tool, it has gradually switched to be the business itself by going over to plattforms and online systems.

Many businesses, however, do not take advantage of the huge consumer thirst for information. Instead, they just provide brochures and catalogues online. But what Internet users want is the information and the knowledge that exists within businesses.

So, to enhance your business and to ensure that your company succeeds online, make sure you provide information and knowledge-based products, such as ebooks and audio files. That way you’ll be tapping into the consumer demand for information. You will be able to make money out of selling the information you normally keep only for your customers. With the Internet you can now sell that information to anyone.

Building your teams around business models involving the possibilities of both new and old technology drawing your potential clients towards the behaviour you want is a great way of earning more money.

Tim Hoiseth

Tim has background as is business psychologist and work sociologist with expertise in building organisations and teams to solve problems for the future. Tim has expertise in technology and the symbiosis between human interaction and technology in operational processes.