Last summer, my sister Shelley helped Mike Collins write a book called, “The Million-Dollar Idea in Everyone.” The book’s main theme is that Open Innovation creates opportunities for people to make money from the things they already know and that you don’t have to have fancy degrees or years of schooling to be an expert on something. In addition to people already prospering in the Open Innovation environment, Mike wanted to profile three people who have the potential to take advantage of this new world but who aren’t already doing so. He selected his own brother (Steve Collins), one of Shelley’s friends (Kelly Hales), and me.

In going through the personal inventory exercise that is part of the book, I came to realize that I have a great deal of practical and personal experience working with homes—buying, selling, renting, refinancing, decorating, painting, and so forth. This insight came by way of working on home make-over shows like Fresh Coat, Design Remix, and Color Splash. It also came from my own experience in just trying to buy, fix up, and sell a home. I’m always interested in home design, and finding ways to decorate your home or apartment creatively.

The book is out this week and Shelley just handed me an advance copy (You can purchase yours here). Because Shelley was so involved in the book, it’s a bit of a family affair. My sister Shannon is also featured in the book as well as my brother BJ’s new business (www.myplace2sell.com). A few of Shelley’s other friends get mentioned as well.