Using the Sawdust Principle to Turn Your Waste into Wealth

Back in 2015, I introduced a concept to turn business byproducts into growth opportunities that I dubbed, “The Sawdust Principle.”

At the time, I was mentoring Tuckerman & Company, whose mission is to create high-quality, environmentally sustainable clothing and fight back against the wastefulness of fast fashion. This got me thinking about how to be more sustainable in my own digital consultancy business. It’s easy to think about recycling things, but it’s a more interesting exercise to focus on recycling intangibles.

Lots of industries have realized that byproducts can be bounty. The name “sawdust” is inspired by lumberyard owners, who, when faced with rising costs and competition, realized that their most significant “waste product” — sawdust — could be used to make all sorts of things, from kitty litter to particle board.

Today, thanks to digital culture, we’re seeing more and more opportunistic ways to earn revenue by recycling, reusing, and remixing what you already own. It’s common to see people turn their cars into a food delivery or taxi service (Uber), convert their homes into hotels (Airbnb), and upcycle their old clothes for charity or profit (Thredup).

This is why I’m remixing the Sawdust Principle and reintroducing it to today’s businesses. Your “trash” holds hidden treasure that can boost your bottom line. Unlike sawdust, which covers your floor and is often, quite literally, in your face (and your hair and clinging to your clothing), you might not think about all the places you can find value in your outgrowth.

Here are some surefire ways to spot your sawdust.

Go prospecting in your production.

One of the best ways to spot your sawdust is to look at any repetitive business activity that isn’t automated (but can and should be) or that produces a byproduct that isn’t usable or useful to the end product itself.

Typically you can do that by creating an experience map or what some researchers call a “ride-along,” where you step through the stages of making a particular product. Look carefully at all of the outputs, and you’ll start to notice things that are useful in their own right, but weren’t used for the final product. In a digital business, typical sawdust includes:

• Code
• Photos
• Videos
• Blogs or other content

For example, a colleague who devises electronic quality management systems found she kept having to program the same workaround for multiple clients. She took that code and turned it into a plugin that she now sells on the Atlassian Marketplace.

We’ve turned code into open-source projects which support our tech community, give our developers a source of pride, and open up lots of new doors in attracting press, business, and talent.

Similarly, you can place your photos on a pro-bono site like Unsplash or monetize them on Patreon. Blogs and videos can be cut and repurposed to reach new audiences in different channels.

Pro tip: To get in a creative mindset and discover new ways to reimagine and reinvent things you see every day, try the ideation priming exercise, 

101 Uses

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Delve into your data

Data, like code, can be a great way to pay information forward, contribute to the greater good, and increase your visibility simultaneously. Like code, you can open-source research data, for example. Or you can remix it and repackage it as a social media graphic or infographic to engage your audience with intriguing and relevant information. Being of service is not only a positive, productive action, but it also engenders trust and support from your customers and colleagues.

Amplify your assets

Take a look at your P&L, specifically at your fixed costs, like rent or mortgage (if you own your office space) and salaries. Then notice tangible items, like merchandise or sales spiffs, that you’ve invested in that are taking up space in your storage area. What can you parlay into more value for your company?

Let’s start with space. If you have unused offices or areas where you can add a desk, then you might think about subletting or starting a coworking situation. After hours, like nights or weekends, you can hold workshops, invite speakers in, or ask local artists if they’d like to use your space for an art show. You could charge for the use, or, even better, add the extra programming for free. This can work as a morale boost for your team, a creative way to build community, and a new opportunity to engage your clients in your culture.

Speaking of space, those boxes of old merchandise can easily have a new life as rewards for your engaged customers, incentives for your team, or as donations to deserving organizations. This gets both goodwill and your brand out into the world.

And finally, but perhaps most importantly, how about your human assets — your team? What do they repeatedly do that can be automated? When you find a solution, share it by releasing customized software as an open-source tool, creating an ebook about your system, writing a blog post, making a video, or creating a presentation. Be sure to atomize these assets into valuable lead generation tools by sharing on social media or social content platforms like Medium, YouTube, or SlideShare.

Inspect your Ikigai

I’m a big fan of the Japanese concept of Ikigai, which is all about finding what gets you out of bed in the morning — what you value, what you’re good at, and what you’re passionate about. That’s then put into context against what society needs and wants to help you on your path to a meaningful existence.

Within this process is the perfect way to shake out some sawdust. By mixing and matching the list of what you’re good at and what people want with a dash of what you’re most passionate about, you can find some great products, services, or concepts that answer the call of your customers, team, or even a whole new audience. For a free template to help you with this process, check out “Finding Your Sawdust”.

While sawdust isn’t the intention of your business, when you give it some attention, you’ll notice smart ways to optimize your hard work and investment. So don’t waste the opportunity to find gold in your outgrowth.