Have you ever thought that people might pay to watch you work? I’ve paid to see plenty of people work in my time, and you probably have too. Factory tours and skill demonstrations are examples of instances where both individuals and companies earn an additional income by allowing the public behind the scenes to see ‘how it’s done’. Might your business or field of expertise be something that people would be interested in viewing up close? If so, it could provide an additional source of revenue either through paid for guided tours, or free tours culminating in a product sales pitch.

Only you will know what relevance this has for your situation, but don’t sell yourself short. Just because what you do may seem mundane and uninteresting to you, doesn’t mean others will feel the same way.

Large companies are increasingly looking for new ways to link up and engage with their customers, and when they do, it can throw up some interesting ideas.

Heinz recently ran a campaign via their Facebook page in which customers could sign up to send a personalised can of Tomato or Chicken soup to a friend who was unwell. The idea was that this would be a sort of edible ‘Get Well Soon’ card. The cans were delivered within three or four days, adorned by a Heinz style Get Well label bearing the recipient’s name.

Apparently the campaign was a big success when measured by the amount of activity it generated on Twitter and other social media sites. You may not manufacture soup, but the obvious question to ask yourself here is whether there is some way you could produce a personalised version of your product which customers might pay to have sent to friends. If there is, it could generate both revenue and valuable PR.

Paying the same price and getting half as much doesn’t sound a promising business model, but when you look a little more closely at Halfsies, it starts to make sense. Halfsies is a dining experience with a difference. It’s a concept which helps people lose weight, reduces waste and fights world hunger at the same time. So hopefully, everybody wins.

At the moment, Halfsies is a social initiative based in Austin Texas and New York City, which aims to team up with local restaurants. Those who participate choose a set of meals on their menu that comply with the programme and are designated with a special symbol. The customer receives a half portion of the meal while still paying full price. Ninety per cent of the proceeds go to support the fight against hunger with the remainder going towards running the Halfsies operation.

This idea seems to have great potential and could certainly be imported to the UK. Many diners are keen to lose weight and happy to support charities fighting world hunger. The challenge seems to be balancing this off against the need for restaurants to make a profit in difficult times. I see no reason why this can’t be run in a way which enables the restaurant and organisers to make a profit while helping the good cause at the same time though.