Avengers: Endgame
Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker
The Fast and the Furious: Hobbs and Shaw

What do they all have in common?

They’re all sequels to smash hit movies—billion-dollar franchises, pouring tons of money into Hollywood studios and actor’s pockets.

What do sequels have to do with your business? Lots. And here’s why:

Hollywood execs love producing sequels because they’re extremely likely to turn a profit. Sequels take a proven concept and build on it—continuing the action with new characters and a new setting while keeping the same lovable heroes, styling and overall world.

Sequels allow audiences to “grow along” with the story—getting increasingly invested in the storyline, to a fanatical degree. (Remember when the final Harry Potter movie came out? Millions of wannabe wizards wept tears of grief to see it all come to an end.)

I wish more small business owners would take a cue from Hollywood execs and “sequel-ize” their products and services, because there’s an unfortunate pattern I keep seeing, over and over again.

That pattern? It goes something like this:

You create an offering. It sells really well. You get excited and start bubbling over with creativity, then decide to create something radically different … and it’s a box office flop.

The big mistake? You latched onto what you felt “inspired” to create next, rather than what your audience actually wanted and needed. Just imagine if J.K. Rowling had said, “You know what? I think one Harry Potter movie is enough. We’re good, right? Let’s move on to something else!” It would be a total audience riot!

If you’re wondering how to sequel-ize your offerings the smart way, peek at these two business examples:

If you’re a… Fitness Expert

And you launch a successful… DVD on how to get killer abs in 5 minutes a day

Your sequel might be a… DVD on how to get toned arms in 5 minutes a day

Not a… DVD on ballroom dancing

See how it works? Another example…

If you’re a… Copywriter

And you launch a successful… service to make client’s bios sparkle off the page

Your sequel might be a… service where you take that original bio and create multiple versions that your client can use for media appearances, speaking gigs and when talking to friends and  family

Not a… collection of song lyrics and poetry

Now, this doesn’t mean that you’re going to be cranking out sequels, forever! Eventually, you can shift into a different direction, introduce surprising new ideas, or reinvent your business completely.

But to capitalize off the excitement and buzz of your last smash success—and give your clients what they’re actually hungry for—look at what’s already working, and create the next logical step in the sequence.