.

Creating the Next Big Thing is highly overrated.

Take Twitter for example. Those fellows get tons of love for creating their glorious Big Thing. But they also catch heaps of poop for Twitter’s instability as they struggle with 3-figure growth percentages.

Making Money Via a Free Service

The ironic bit is while Twitter is free and can be unstable, it’s a rock-steady revenue stream for some small businesses. Forget folks who only use Twitter to find and connect to customers. I’m talking about businesses that earn money through services and products that support and enhance Twitter.

There are hundreds (thousands?) of businesses in Twitter’s orbit and some are making money with their Twitter-related stuff. Here’s a handful of ideas—

• Customized Twitter background design services
  like the stellar work at TwitterImage for $100+
• Expansion of the Twitter service
  like scheduled tweets with TweetLater’s $30/mth Pro account
• Video Tutorials
  like the video tutorials at Twitter Money Tree for $67 (haven’t tried, but it looks credible)
• Live workshops and classes
  like @risingstarideas offers to Columbia, MD area businesses
• Desktop Twitter clients
  like Tweetie, offered by atebits at $20 for the ad-free version
  

What’s (Not) New

Looking at that list, I bet you can think of other Twitter-supporting business ideas. But don’t bother thinking of new kinds of services and products, just take something you already know and apply it to the Twitterverse.

For example, coaching and consulting are as old as the hills, but a hand-holding service for businesses new to Twitter could do well. Same for advanced marketing tactics for existing Twitter users. Or a personalized feed critique with concrete suggestions on how to improve the quality of a twitter-stream.

And despite all the free Twitter newbie resources available online, there’s a Twitter for Dummies book coming out. I know, right? There are a zillion blog posts on the topic—entire websites even—but many people prefer offline reading so there’s always room for a book.

With that in mind, why not a manual (PDF or hardcopy) for free Twitter clients, like Twhirl and Seesmic Desktop? Maybe detailed video tutorials? They’re great applications, but they don’t have Help buttons or support.

That would be rather clever, actually…earning revenue from a free desktop program that ties into a free service. Hmmm….

Other Centers of the Universe

Of course, it would suck to hitch your business wagon to the wrong star. For example, WTG if you’ve built a business in WordPress’ orbit. WordPress has a large, growing communitiy of needy users that other blogging platforms don’t—and they buy themes, plugins, courseware, books, installation services, and design services.

But every online business isn’t as deserving. Maybe their community is too small, too dead, or too cheap. To get a feel for online businesses that can support other businesses, think on:

• eBay: product listing services, books and manuals, photo hosting
• PayPal: shopping cart products, integration services

And be sure to consider supporting businesses that have their own supporting businesses. For example, DIYThemes is in Wordpress’ orbit with their Thesis WordPress theme and their product has its own slew of designers and customization experts.

Business Idea Jumpstart

Are you looking for a new business idea? Or maybe you’d like to add a new service to your existing business? Don’t start with something new. Instead:

1. Take a look at what’s out there,
2. Pick something that’s well-established with a large, active user community,
3. Use the skills you already have to—

Teach it (online or off)
Design for it
Customize it
Install it
Support it
Write about it
Analyze it
Improve it

.

Et tu? There are soooo many more examples of businesses and the businesses they beget. Who did I miss?