What If You Could Develop a New Revenue Stream from Your Existing Products—Without Creating Something Entirely New?

Many businesses hit a growth plateau and assume that the only way forward is by launching a new product or entering a new market. But what if your next revenue stream is already hiding in plain sight—within your existing offerings?

Instead of building something new from scratch, let’s apply a Systematic Inventive Thinking (SIT) technique to extract hidden value from what you already have. Today, we’ll focus on the Task Unification technique, a powerful method for reassigning an existing function within your product or service to create new value—and, ultimately, new revenue.

What Is Task Unification?

Task Unification is an innovation technique where an existing element in a product or service is given an additional function—one that was previously performed by something (or someone) else.

? Example: Car Mirrors with Blind Spot Detection Instead of adding an entirely separate system, automakers integrated blind spot detection into the side mirrors—combining two functions into one. This enhanced safety while keeping costs lower than a separate detection system.

? Example: McDonald’s Self-Ordering Kiosks McDonald's reassigned the task of order-taking from cashiers to customers, allowing faster service, fewer errors, and increased upselling.

Now, let’s apply Task Unification to your business and discover how you can develop a new revenue stream—without creating something entirely new.

Step 1: Identify Your Existing Product or Service

First, let’s zoom in on your core offering.

?? Coaching Exercise: Take five minutes and write down:

? The product or service that generates most of your revenue.

? Its key features or functions.

? The customer problem it solves.

For example, if you run an online coaching business, your existing product is:

?? One-on-one coaching sessions.

And its key function is:

?? Providing clients with personalized guidance and accountability.

Step 2: Assign a New Function to an Existing Element

Now, let’s apply the Task Unification technique.

Ask yourself: What additional function could an existing part of my product or service perform?

Here are some real-world Task Unification examples:

? A Fashion Brand’s Style Guide → Becomes a Monetized Digital Course A clothing brand that once offered a free styling guide repackaged it into a premium digital styling course, creating a new revenue stream from existing content.

? A Gym’s Check-In Desk → Becomes an Accountability Coaching Hub A boutique gym reassigned the front desk staff’s role to check in on members' progress and set small weekly fitness goals—turning a standard reception process into a coaching upsell.

? A SaaS Company’s Help Desk → Becomes a Paid Consultation Service A tech company offering free customer support added a priority “Done-for-You” service for businesses that wanted faster, hands-on implementation.

?? Coaching Question: Which element of your existing product or service could take on a second function?

Step 3: Explore Revenue Possibilities with Task Unification

Let’s take your existing product or service and apply some Task Unification thinking.

Look for opportunities to:

? Turn free content into a paid version.

? Make a standard feature exclusive or premium.

? Reassign a role to create a new service offering.

? Use an existing process to generate passive income.

Case Study: How a Business Coach Monetized Task Unification

Before: A business coach offered free downloadable workbooks to help clients improve their strategy. After Applying Task Unification: Instead of offering them for free, she bundled them into an interactive, self-paced coaching course—generating revenue without creating new material.

?? Coaching Challenge: Can you repurpose or reassign an existing feature in your product to create a premium or paid upgrade?

Step 4: Validate & Test Your New Revenue Stream

You’ve identified a way to unify an existing function with a new purpose—but will customers pay for it? Let’s test the idea.

?? Start Small: Offer the new version of your product or service to a small customer segment first.

?? Measure Interest: Use pre-orders, surveys, or A/B testing to gauge demand.

?? Refine & Scale: If it gains traction, integrate it fully into your business model.

?? Coaching Action Step: List three ways to test your new revenue stream idea with minimal effort in the next 30 days.

Final Takeaway: Innovation Is About Thinking Differently—Not Doing More

Many businesses overcomplicate innovation, believing they must create something new to grow. But using Systematic Inventive Thinking (SIT) techniques like Task Unification, you can develop new revenue streams using what you already have.

First published on the Innovator's Niche.