By Silvia Hartmann

This is a fascinating principle about optimising your white space - and you can take that as metaphorical or as practical as you like.

The other day, I was having dinner at a roadside café and I noticed that the little sugar bags that came with my coffee had ADVERTISEMENTS on them.

That's your classic use of "white space". So, you make sugar in little paper bags, millions of them, and your company logo is on the front - and the back of it is EMPTY.

These little sugar bags are handled by MILLIONS, likewise, who are sitting down to relax and have very little else to do whilst they are waiting for their food, or for a meeting, or to rest than to LOOK AT THE AD.

Being little sugar bags, as they are, they also make the perfect mini calling card that you can put in your pocket or in your wallet - and take the ad, the phone number, the web site with you.

How cool is that?

I'm just wondering how much extra business and extra money that generated for the broker, the sugar company and the advertisers - all from a little square of white space the size of a postage stamp.

White spaces are everywhere.

They are on your web pages, at the bottom of your emails, on the back of your sales letters, on the back of your business cards, on the side of your catalogue, over the door of your building, on the T-shirts of your employees, on the boot of your car (and probably metaphorically in your mind as well!).

You can USE these white spaces to sell to others, or to advertise your own stuff - highlight more benefits, add testimonials, inform or educate your customers, make them aware of special offers. You can trade your white space with others to gain access to their markets - it's pretty endless, really!

So today, let's think up ONE white space that readily springs to mind which you have and you can USE to get more profit, right away and without any further ado.

Your 60 seconds starts - right now!