If you're a content creator, whether as a podcaster, YouTuber, course creator, or social media influencer, you already know you're in the business of creating stuff. But here’s what you might not have fully grasped: you're also in the business of owning stuff. And that stuff—your intellectual property—isn’t just your art. It’s your assets. Your inventory. Your business’s gold mine.
Time and again, I see talented creators doing the hard work of building, publishing, and growing without ever taking stock of what they actually own. That’s why today I want to talk about one of the most overlooked (and valuable) business practices for creatives:
Creating and maintaining an Asset Inventory.
What is an Asset Inventory?
An asset inventory is a living document (ideally, part spreadsheet, part system) that tracks all of your intellectual property, contracts, revenue-generating products, and business assets. Think of it like a digital and physical warehouse catalog.
But instead of just physical products, your stock includes digital content, creative works, platforms, agreements, and brand elements. It’s part intellectual property list, part operations roadmap, part legal record.
How to Create an Asset Inventory (And What to Include)
Start with a simple spreadsheet or database in Notion, Airtable, Google Sheets, or your favorite workflow system. Your goal is to catalog every asset—digital and physical, intellectual and contractual.
Include the following details where applicable:
Basic Info:
- Asset Title or Name
- Type of Asset (podcast episode, ebook, video, course, merch item, etc.)
- Date Created or Released
- Status (Published, Retired, Archived, In Development)
Ownership and Rights:
- Author or Creator(s)
- Ownership Status (Sole, Joint, Work-for-Hire)
- Copyright or Trademark Registration Info
- Licensing Terms (to others or from others)
- Contracts Associated (sponsorships, appearances, collaborations, revenue shares)
Access and Storage:
- File or Physical Location
- URL or Cloud Storage Link
- Fulfillment Method (print-on-demand, self-shipped, via Amazon, etc.)
Revenue and Value:
- Monetization Method
- Active Deals in Force (sponsorships, affiliate agreements, distribution licenses)
- Expiration Dates and Renewal Terms
- Estimated Revenue Generated (optional, but helpful for valuation and estate planning)
What Kinds of Assets Should Be Included?
This list goes beyond just media files and IP. You’ll want to track anything that holds value, generates revenue, or supports the business operations of your creative work:
Digital and Media Assets
- Podcast episodes
- YouTube videos and shorts
- Online courses
- Webinars, workshops, and virtual event recordings
- Downloadables (lead magnets, ebooks, templates)
- Email newsletters
- Blog posts
- Social media content (especially evergreen and sponsored)
Business and Branding Assets
- Logos and brand design assets
- Trademarked brand names and slogans
- Domain names and social handles
- Website content and landing pages
- Platform-specific IP (RSS feeds, podcast listings, Amazon author pages)
Physical Products
- Merchandise (T-shirts, mugs, posters, stickers)
- Print books and workbooks
- Physical media (CDs, DVDs, USB drives)
- Product packaging and branded shipping materials
Contracts and Deals
- Sponsorship agreements
- Affiliate and ad network agreements
- Distribution and licensing deals
- Talent or guest releases
- Contractor and team member agreements
- Joint venture and partnership agreements
Every one of these items can represent active or potential income, or a risk, if not tracked properly.
Don't forget the Equipment
While we're at it, don't overlook taking inventory of the equipment you use to make your stuff. Computers, Microphones, Cameras, Lighting gear and everything else that goes into being a creator-driven business counts. Even if you're not going to be selling the gear itself, having a record of everything will serve you if there's ever a catastrophe, and you need to file insurance claims, police reports, etc.
Why You Need an Asset Inventory: The Legal and Business Reasons
1. Business Valuation and Deal Readiness
If a brand wants to license your content, or a publisher wants to distribute your course, or an investor is eyeing your platform, you need more than audience metrics.
You need to show them what you own. A clean, well-organized asset inventory proves your business’s scope and value and helps you command better terms in any deal.
And don’t underestimate the value of contracts and deals already in force. Those sponsorships, licensing agreements, or long-tail affiliate campaigns are assets, too. They generate revenue and may even be transferable or assignable in a sale.
2. Collaborations and Partnerships
Before you team up with a co-creator, merge brands, or split revenues, you need to know what assets you’re bringing to the table. That includes content and contracts.
An up-to-date inventory avoids messy misunderstandings about ownership, obligations, or revenue splits. It gives you a clean foundation for building new projects and entering partnerships from a place of clarity.
3. Insurance Coverage
Many creators don’t realize their business insurance or their personal policy add-ons can cover lost income or liability related to their intellectual property or physical products.
But here’s the catch: the insurance company won’t go digging through your Dropbox or print-on-demand dashboard. If you can’t produce a record of what you had, where it was, and how it was being used or monetized, your claim may get denied or severely delayed.
Your asset inventory is your proof of ownership and of value.
4. Estate Planning and Legacy Building
And now, the hard part.
One of my longtime creator clients, a prolific and well-respected podcaster and course creator, passed away suddenly earlier this year.
They left behind dozens of published videos, podcast episodes, courses, client agreements, and revenue streams. But they didn’t leave behind a master list. No index. No inventory. No roadmap.
Their family and team were left trying to piece it all together, reaching out to platforms, sifting through cloud accounts, guessing at what had value and what didn’t. Meanwhile, the business is drifting. Expenses continue. Subscriptions auto-renew. Revenue fades. And no one feels confident enough to steer.
If only they had documented what they owned, who had access, what was active, and how each piece of the business worked, things would be very different.
The business might have continued. It might have been sold. Or at the very least, it could’ve been gracefully wrapped up.
Instead, it’s in limbo. A once-profitable legacy is at risk of fading into confusion and inactivity.
Keeping It Updated: Create a Simple, Repeatable System
Creating the inventory is a project. Keeping it updated is a system.
Here’s how I recommend approaching it:
- Choose your format: spreadsheet, Airtable, Notion, or whatever you’ll actually use
- Create templates: for each new asset or deal, log its details as part of your standard publishing or contracting process
- Set a recurring review: monthly or quarterly, review and update the list
- Delegate: if you have a team member, VA, or assistant, this is an ideal system to hand off with the right SOP in place
Bonus: Unlocking New Revenue with Your Inventory
Once you have your asset inventory in place, something unexpected often happens.
You start to see things differently.
Where you once saw a long-forgotten webinar, an outdated course, or a podcast series from a previous chapter in your business, now you see potential. Opportunities. Revenue. It's a little like opening up a long forgotten vault.
One of my clients, an experienced creator who had made a clear pivot into a new niche, recently came to me with an inventory we’d helped him build. While reviewing it, something jumped out: an old course he’d built years earlier in a completely different focus area.
It had sat dormant for a long time. No ads running. No sales pages active. It wasn’t aligned with his current brand, but it was still high-value and well-produced. It remained relevant for the right audience.
We reached out to one of his former clients, an organization still serving that original niche, and asked if they’d be interested in licensing the course. Not only were they interested, they were thrilled. They saw it as a plug-and-play product they could offer to their customers immediately.
Here’s the best part:
They handle everything: marketing, sales, customer service, fulfillment.
He receives a generous royalty on every sale.
It’s 100 percent passive income.
That deal wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t known the course existed. This is why your inventory isn’t just a legal or operational tool. It’s a growth tool. A monetization tool. A roadmap for finding:
- Content to repackage or bundle
- Courses to license
- Assets to sell outright
- Templates and training to turn into evergreen products
- Older materials to refresh and relaunch
- Strategic partnerships with third parties who can promote your content in markets you no longer serve
You don't have to create something new to make new money. Sometimes, the next big opportunity is already sitting in your archive. You just need to see it.
Final Thoughts
Your content is more than content.
Your contracts are more than paperwork.
Your products, platforms, deals, and designs are assets, and they are the foundation of your business’s future value.
But only if you track them. Only if you protect them.
So here’s my invitation to you:
Let’s get this started.
If you don’t have an asset inventory yet, or yours hasn’t been touched in ages, I’m here to help.
Schedule a consultation now at https://firemark.com/consult20, and let’s see what’s already in your vault that could be earning for you again.
Want to build your legal foundation the smart way? My Easy Legal for Digital Entrepreneurs program gives you the tools, templates, and step-by-step instructions to confidently protect your business and its assets, even if you’re just getting started.
Explore it at https://easylegalforentrepreneurs.com