SkillCasting

The Simple Dollar has a great post [via LifeHacker] about 50 side-businesses you can start. In these tight times, who isn’t looking for a little extra money? However, only 3 (exercise teacher, teaching music, and tutoring) came close to what I consider to be SkillCasting.

In our day jobs, we’ve built an amazing amount of knowledge. It may not seem like much to you because you’re an “insider.” If you consider what people who are “outsiders” need to know, you all of a sudden realize you know quite a bit more than them. Would “outsiders” be willing to pay for “insider” knowledge? In a lot of cases the answer is a resounding yes!

Here’s a perfect example. My roof leaks right now. I’ve spoken with a couple of different roofers and I’ve gotten quotes. I’ve done some internet searches but I really haven’t found anything on how to prevent getting ripped off – from an insider. In other words, if you’ve worked on a roofing crew, been a foreman, or sales rep for a roofing company, what are the key things to ask when evaluating a provider. Better yet, based upon your experience, where do most roofers try to cut corners? How do you negotiate for the best deal? What are the other tricks of the trade we should know about?

If you’re an insider to the roofing business, you have an opportunity to “productize your knowledge” and create a special report, a tutorial, or even a video to help others like me.

So while roofing may not be all that glamorous, there is a need for outsiders to get inside knowledge. Can you provide it? And wouldn’t this be an easy side business if you’re already in the business?

Let’s take this a step further. Lets say that you own a small roofing business. What if you created a tutorial that answered these types of questions and provided it for free to your prospective customers? Educating your customers pays off big time. If you provide this as a free service, you begin to gain your customers trust. And trust on a $10K+ purchase is pretty damn important.

As you look at side businesses, consider what you already know. Rather than learning all the ins and outs of a new business, take what you know and turn that into a business. You may find the perfect side business right under your “knows.”

(Corny I know but I couldn’t resist…)

Macworld has a review of the Creative Vado. They pretty much reached the same conclusion I did. The Kodak Zi6 is a strong performer. Here’s why.

There are two key factors that make the Zi6 a strong contender.

1. External batteries.
This is critical because these little devices suck down power. If you’re out and about all day, it’s so much easier to pop-in two fresh AA’s. I use the Sanyo Eneloop batteries that are rechargeable and they provide longer lasting power than the warehouse batteries I used to get. The key here is you don’t have to worry about battery power. The Vado has a proprietary battery and the Mino HD has an internal one that can’t be replaced. If you’re out all day on job sites, at a conference, or meeting with clients, it’s easier to replace the AA’s than finding a USB port.

2. External memory.
I like being able to switch SD cards or at least being able to plug in 16 & 32Gb cards. You can litterally shoot all day with the larger memory. The last thing I want to do is to have unload my memory to a laptop when I’m out. It’s also wrong to have to decide what file to delete in the heat of the moment. Go with cards and you can shoot as much as you want.

The Macworld review has some side-by-side images between the Vado, Mino, and Zi6. One thing that you can’t compare until you actually watch the video is the sound. Fortunately, you can listen to the difference between the Mino and Zi6 in my previous post here. I think the Zi6 has a stronger microphone myself.

I strongly encourage you to get one of these pocket camcorders. And while I prefer the Kodak unit, they’ll all help you document things for your SkillCasting efforts.