This is how the revenue stream from the tie collection started.

Nicole says about her very lucrative men's tie business, "...we just made them as like a joke . . . sometimes the best things that happen are flukes. "

Topic for discussion: How does any business find its next revenue stream?

Answer: By trying anything and everything. Trial and error is the most used technique for finding and refining products.

You just have to, "give it a go" as they say in Australia.

Most successful new products and services, however, are created by customers who ask for a modification or change in an existing product or service. In the case of Nicole Miller, she is a designer who has a niche in women's fashion. However, if she takes the time to design a fabric that is sewn into a dress, could that same fabric or something very similar be sewn into a tie for men?

We all have to ask ourselves, how do we extend what we are doing in such a way that dollars drop to the bottom line? The fine line we walk is: we have to stick to what we do best and at the same time diversify. The real reason that the ties work is they are sold to and purchased by the same customers Nicole Miller already "owns." The same person who buys a dress at a Nicole Miller boutique, buys a tie for the man in her life. Nicole is extending her brand by making ties for women, but, it does not have to put entirely new distribution system in place.

What do you think? What would your current customers buy from you that you do not now offer?