WANTED: Your Participation - The info in this post could make you money
 

Forum "Friends"

Thanks for checking out this Entry.

Please take your time and see your Payout further on. YOu may get a Brain Explosion.

It is said, where there is little to lose by trying and Much to gain, then by all means Try. And it is That Thought I'd like you to keep with you as you go over these words...

On this and other Boards, we often mention Interesting businesses and business ideas. However, a lot of those businesses and ideas are really Population Dependent - you need to live in a suitably large town/city for the idea to work, because it just won't work in Small Town USA. Not enough to Make A Living (MAL).

And we talk about Home Based businesses. But again, running a business from home could be applied to any Builder, Carpet Cleaner, Pest Guy and so on. Their businesses are Home Based (Based/Operated from the Home). And as such, they are also Population Dependent.

Even some of the quirky money making things (I recall one about taking photos of car crashes, or selling a Kit to drivers to keep in the glove compartment in case of crashes) require a Large Population Base to be profitable.

And so we then have the Make Money Online (MMO) idea. Where we can Stay Home and make our money. Enabling us to live just about anywhere, including that mythical hammock on the beach. But the MMO crowd is somewhat circular - make money online selling info on how to make money online... arrrrggghhhhh.

And I am wondering if the Wrong Question has been Asked all this time. Instead of the usual Forum Question of "how can I make money at home" or "how can I make money online" - which are somewhat general and vague - I am thinking a slightly Different Question needs to be asked. Such as...

"How can I generate an income (MAL) no matter Where I live?"

Or more specific...

"How can I make $X a year no matter Where I live?"

And even more specific...

"How can I make $X a year starting with less than $X no matter Where I live?"

See the difference from the Original "how can I make money at home" question. Answers to which include...

Home typing, home sewing, home dress making, drafting house plans from home, home office psychology service, home massage therapy room, home worm growing, home woodworking, and so on and so forth.

Answers to the "how can I make money online" Restrict you to selling downloadable information, software and site access - either stuff you create yourself or as an affiliate. And can take as much time, and in some cases more time, than a normal offline job. Something Ricky Higgs alluded after he appeared from nowhere, sold his MMO ebook and then subsequently disappeared as if he'd never been. Discovering for himself about the Myth of the Online Megabucks, that it was Easier to Work A Job for the same money (get up, go to work, come home is easier than learning all about webpage and search engine optimising, marketing via forums and email and so on).

And while everyone Can write a Hotsheet, many people don't want to or simply won't. Maybe they can't write well, or feel that way. Maybe they can't be bothered. Or have their own reasons. Other's can't be bothered to learn to write software Code, or spend money at rentacoder or elance to have something created that might not fly. Creating a site, or selling anything as an affiliate is, again, something they might not want to bother with - requires all that website registration, email list building and marketing and stuff.

I once asked, "If you were totally restricted to marketing only to people in LA, would you even bother starting a Direct Marketing/Mailorder business"? I asked because that is the reality of people in Australia, as far as population goes. And it's even worse for people in New Zealand with a population of around 3 million all up.

And again we find, all the Business Ideas are Population Dependent. So if you live in tiny Tonasket in Washington State with a population of 995, any "sew from home" or home-based pest business or whatever, just ain't gonna enable you to MAL. You can do that IF you live in a town/city with a large enough population to allow you to do that, but not from any small town.

And That's why I ReFormulated the question. So an Answer to it would help a City Dweller as well as a Small Town Dweller. The question again...

How can I generate an income (MAL) no matter Where I live?"

Or more specific...

"How can I make $X a year no matter Where I live?"

And even more specific...

"How can I make $X a year starting with less than $X no matter Where I live?

And I'd like to Throw Open the question to YOU. And ask to think Beyond my examples below - although Expanding or Adding To those examples is fine. And while it'd be great if you would share your answers to the question, if you don't want to, then don't. But at least try to answer the question For Yourself.

I feel The Usual Suspects will be the only ones to Chime in. But even if you are a lurker who has never posted before, jump in even as a Guest and offer a thought.

My preliminary and general anwers include...

Finding. Jim Straw's written The Bible on Finding, in case you want to know more. And the way I see Finding is this... if a person is Willing to Spend 40 hours a week for 50 weeks a year (2000 hours in total) for $30k, then they should be willing to spend the same amount of time to Find something which will also make that, and certainly which will make a Lot more. Yet they won't. A 1% fee on a million dollar machinery deal is $10k. An amount which would take 4 months to make in a job but which people won't bother Finding if they haven't done so in a couple of weeks. Go figure.

Toll Positions. Similar to Finding but with Ongoing Residuals - something which Could be put into place with items you find. Toll Story...

Guy is in Germany on vacation. Sees a product not being sold Outside of Germany. ASKs if he can acquire the World Wide rights for $100,000. They accept. He puts down $1,000 deposit, with the rest to be paid in 6 months. Has a lawyer draw up Country Rights and sells 80 country rights for $25,000 a pop, making him a cool two million smack-a-roos, and pays the remaining $99k for his rights. But the deal is better still because he also gets five cents for each Unit sold. If they sell a million a year he makes an extra fifty grand - a grand a week, easy money.

Import/Export. Like Finding, Jim Straw has a work on this too, in case you want to know more. Though his work covers Exporting more than Importing, which is fine. And if exporting, like finding, you find an overseas buyer and put the deal together (to put it simply and without going onto those "how to" details). But here is a variation on how one guy did it...

He found a supplier of a product overseas. He got prices from them. Added on his Profit and then Physically went and Got Orders From Retailers. When the combined orders totalled a Shipping Container Full he brought it in, then distributed them to his customers. He made a Killing on each container - in fact doing this made him a multi-multi-millionaire in a couple of years - but it did require him to Travel. Travel to make the sale and travel to deliver the goods once they had arrived.

Another guy would ASK Permission to supply Samples and Prices for Blazer Badges. If agreed to his request the Client would Send him a Badge Sample (an image was fine) and he would send the sample to Several businesses in Pakistan and India and request they make Samples (so he could see their work quality) and provide prices. He'd take the Best Quality and Price, add his Profit and then Send the Sample to the client with a Bid. He knew nothing about making such badges and owned no badge making equipment.

Dropshipping. Jim Straw comes to the rescue again with his Mailorder report. Basic idea is... you sell a product, the customer sends you the money, you take your cut and send the rest to the supplier who ships to the customer. And while a viable idea, does require an ability to generate a list of some description.

A guy I know has a Friend who makes money doing this with Replacement Parts for Radio Controlled Cars. And he does it via a website. People visit his website catalog and buy a part. He takes his cut and sends the Order Request to his supplier in Hong Kong who ships it to the customer for him.

Ebay Chattling. Another guy I've spoken with runs ads in his state for car parts to a certain car. He arranges to meet those who respond to his WANTED ads and goes on Weekend Buying Trips. He then sells these car parts on Ebay and makes some Nice money.

There are Other Methods I have in mind but want to hear your thoughts and see what you have to say on it.

What Methods or Examples do you know of that allow a person to MAL regardless of where they live (assuming they do live in a Modern country and not in a tent in the middle of the Malaysian jungle)?

Michael Ross

Re: WANTED: Your Participation - This post will only make money for those who act!
 

Michael, Thanks for making me think. I do pretty good with a home based portrait studio but I’m still limited by population density. The only way for me to expand is to travel more myself. I could do more shoots by taking my portable studio to my customers home or place of business or hire and train others to duplicate my system in their own area or charge a percentage of the profits they make using my setup. Also can sell written instructions and video trainings online. But what I do can only be duplicated by someone who is passionate about photography.

To answer your question…..
“What Methods or Examples do you know of that allow a person to MAL regardless of where they live (assuming they do live in a Modern country and not in a tent in the middle of the Malaysian jungle)?”

How about an example of someone using access to free computer time at the local library because they don't own a desktop or laptop they can take to the beach with them?

How about an example of a 15 year old Mexican girl who uses pay per click ads to promote affiliate programs? Seems to me anyone could do that but most won’t so many people are forever restricting themselves to a regular 9 to 5 job in the offline world.

Chris Carpenter who wrote “Google Cash” back in 2003 has just released
a new, fascinating free report called “Google Cash Strikes Back”.

It appears to be a brilliant viral campaign for him because anyone who downloads the free report is paid 50/Cents for every person they tell who also downloads it.

Plus you are entered into a free contest to win a trip to Mexico to spend a week with Chris showing you the ropes. His free report also contains a link to a free video where he gives you a $20,000+ per month campaign to copy.

Chris says profitable PPC ad campaigns are being targeted by those quick to use new intelligence tools like his cash detective. He compares someone who has created a profitable Google Adwords PPC to a miner using a pick and shovel to dig his gold. Then one day someone shows up with a steam shovel, bulldozer and a dump truck and puts you out of business by stealing your claim. But he compares his new tools to a space ship. He has an image of a UFO shooting a beam down to earth on the cover of his free report and gives an example how a 15 year old Mexican girl he shared this with is making money.

I was wondering if there are any independent reviews from people using his tools? I suspect that question will likely go unanswered by those who are profiting from these tools. Chris will profit from both using and selling the tools. Kinda like selling picks and shovels to the gold prospects back in the 1800’s but today it’s selling high tech UFO like tools to people who will purchase them but never get around to actually doing any digging with them. The little guy working his fanny off will never know what hit him when others use technology to gain a completive advantage.

Anyway someone with a laptop can promote affiliate programs using PPC or ads on websites like your ads on SOWPUB for the “The Success Report” from just about anywhere including the beach.

Chris Carpenter's 60 second video spiel is done from a windy Mexican beach. If you haven’t read his report or seen the video you can do a google for “Google Cash Detective or click on visit this link http://snipurl.com/GoolgeCashDectective if you don’t mind him paying me 50/cents for sharing it.


Cheers,

Steve Shulenski
www.MaverickPhotographer.com

Re: WANTED: Your Participation - The info in this post could make you money
 

Michael,

Online sales work for a lot a people, and not just the usual eBay selling.

I remember reading about a online entrepreneur who set up a website selling only black socks. He went on the proposition that some people will buy online to avoid going to a store to buy something as everyday as socks.

Only after he had established his "black socks only" sales, did he expand and offer online sales of "white socks only".

There are at least 2 major groups buying online - individuals and business/industry buyers. Instead of purchases of one of these and a half dozen of those ($10 to $1000 purchases), the business buyer offers the possibility of online customers ordering 100 to 10,000 items as a time or literally ($100 to $100K) per purchase.

I don't know about you, but given a choice, I'd rather make a small percentage of the business orders, rather than a mountain of the small orders.

KAESER & BLAIR, INC.

I've been selling for them for over 13 years, but I have sufficient market to do well in my local and regional area. But others with limited markets, as well as some who have no desire to do face-to-face selling are capturing part of the online market for promotional advertising products. Since the US market for promotional items is $18 Billion annually, a person getting a reason niche of the online orders can easily MAL selling to the online buyers.

Kaeser & Blair has several dealers who are selling 90 to 100% of their volume via the internet, including a handful who are in the "Top 30" of K & Bs approximate 4000 dealers. These are individuals achieving sales volumes of $300K and up from the comfort of their home, and definitely reaching the MAL zone.

Because I established my 23-year old business offline well before the internet was a possibility, I focus on serving those offline customers I have established, but have added online sales to boost my total volume and income.

One of the great thing about selling promotional products online, is that a buyer can expect to build a residual income from those customers who will order both the same item as well as different products on a regular basis. I have some online clients who have been ordering from me for 4 to 5 years, including one university in California and a health insurance support internet support company in Virginia who started ordering 6 years ago when they were based in Florida.

My online order average is considerably larger than my local order ($1000 compared to $400), but the bigger difference has been in the bigger orders. I've had single orders from online buyers between $1000 to $38,000 several times in the past 6 years, including one that was for Panasonic.

Although the K & B dealership is restricted to US residents, there's no reason why an online entrepreneur in Canada, Europe, or even Down Under couldn't find a promotional products distributor in their country who would be interested in having an online salesforce bringing them orders off the internet.

As long as the US resident has regular access to the internet (not 2 hours per day 6 days a week at the library), I don't see why anyone is the states couldn't expect to MAL online if they can drive targeted buyers to their website.

And, since the K & B dealership is free, with no products or inventory or buy and resell, this opportunity meets the second criteria for your online opportunity.

Dennis Bevers
BASSCO, Inc.
www.CuttingEdgeAdvertising.com

Re: WANTED: Your Participation - The info in this post could make you money
 

Stock Exchange. No crowds needed for trading stocks.

Similar example is Forex.

Writing.
Painting.
Drawing cartoons.

* Anything that can be "syndicated" allows you to work and make a living from anywhere in the world

* Or if the work can't be syndicated, then if you find a broker who can sell the things for you - you can work and make a living from anywhere

(For eg: there are quite a few people in India who live in villages that have a population of 200-300 people and create traditional Indian jewelry or clothes or pots etc. They don't sell their wares in their own villages. But rather, sell it to just 1 or 2 brokers who come to them once or twice every month. And these brokers than sell the stuff in big cities.)

This May Sound Stupid... But It Works...
 

Aloha Michael,

Fantastic question -- and one that is familiar to me.

I took a left turn with my business in December. I decided to start weening myself from incestuous "Make Money On The Internet" stuff I was doing. I see big changes coming down the pipe.

I decided to pack up my belongings and moved from big city Atlanta, Georgia to the small coastal town of Blaine, Washington. In fact, Tonasket is just on the other side of the cascades from me...

What do I do? I decided to take my love of martial arts and combine it with my love of marketing.

I became a marketing consultant for martial arts school owners -- and do everything via phone!

My blueprint and business model?

Jeff Paul's course "How To Make A Surgeon's Income As A Part-Time Home-Based Business Consultant" that I bought on EBay for $27.

My first client fell in love with what I was teaching him -- and I was hooked! With what I have learned about Information marketing and copywriting over the years, I know I will be able to squeeze millions out of this niche.

Aloha,

Jason Cain

Re: WANTED: Your Participation - The info in this post could make you money
 

Michael,

In Today's high tech world...

I Don't think we're really restricted or Population Dependent...

The Offline and Online business possibilities are Unlimited by imagination and hard work...

Whether you Need Local demographics, population or niche Search demographics...

Google, MSN, Yahoo... and all the Free research & Help to get the required info...

http://www.refdesk.com/factpop.html
http://www.freedemographics.com/
http://www.keywordworkshop.com/pages/Free-Tools-Listing
http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/

Focusing & Starting just One business idea is the Real Problem for Many... ;)

The Perfect Solution to your post...

Here we go Again... :)

Light Bulb Moments With Perry Marshall
Sharon Odom Fling
http://www.sowpub.com/forum/showthre...SPECTING+ideas...

Phil

Thank you, Michael ...
 

I do greatly appreciate your kind remarks.

Over the past 50 years, so many people have asked me ... "Can I really be a millionaire?" ... I sat myself down and wrote a new report ...

"You Can Be A Millionaire"

And ... I'm giving it away to anyone who wants a copy.

Get yours at: http://www.businesslyceum.com/millionaire.html

Read it in good wealth.

Jim

Re: WANTED: Your Participation - Not That Hard, IMHO
 

Hi Michael,

Thank you for asking.

Before I give my answer let me say I have not posted lately but I have been lurking and picking up all the great ideas that are given freely on this board. Thanks to all who have given so much to so many.

Today with the Internet I believe anyone, anywhere, can make a living. With a computer and an Internet connection you can twist and turn what you find as you surf the net into CASH.

Here is an example. In Jan. 2007 I ran across the book $7 Secrets. Most of you know about this book but how many have made money with it?

If you read the book and said, that's great, but I don't know how to make a web page or I don't understand PHP and all that coding, you most likely put the book up on your computers bookshelf and did nothing with it, right?

Some people, even Sowpubbers, have made a ton of money with the IDEA behind this book without a website, auto-responder, list, programming, etc. I have seen the signature links for this book on many forums, including here and these people are making money without their own website or any of that other mumbo jumbo. No it is not a full time living to sell this one book…..

BUT, let’s take this a step further and twist and turn it a little bit. After I bought the book I received an email from Jonathan Leger about a site he started to let other people sell their books using his method. I went to the site and found over 100 books listed that I could sell by just changing the URL to include my Paypal address and get the CASH right away into my Paypal account. Now today there are over 550 books listed.

So I set up a PPC campaign (which does not take much knowledge because Google walks you through the process) and between early Jan. and the first of May, I sold over 1,000 books. I won’t say how many over a thousand but I am happy. :)

I spent about 30 minutes a week to do that. No long hours hunting keywords, all I did was list the Author and Title as keywords with misspellings and that was my total keyword list. Now I’m not telling you this to brag, I am telling you this to lay the groundwork for a free offer. I don’t even want your email address (or your first born :)) to get the information. I want to show you that anyone that wants to try can make a full time income from anywhere if you think of how to twist and turn an idea.

Now I took this one step further and thought how would this work with other Authors, even more famous Authors? It worked like a charm. I would list a popular book with the Authors name and send them to a book club site for that category of books. If my listed book was a mystery then I sent them to a “Mystery Book Club” page and of course I get a commission on any purchases.

By twisting and turning an idea it can lead to other ideas that bring in CASH. How about taking that same idea and set it up for people who love woodworking? You could send them to a site that sold woodworking plans, woodworking equipment or woodworking tools. And you make money on each and every buyer. Heck, just pick a category and find the popular Authors for that niche, set up a campaign and off you go.

Now I have made this sound easy, IT IS NOT. You have to work to learn and to search out the Authors and to write the ads and so forth. But once you learn you have that knowledge FOREVER.

On some of my $7 offer campaigns I got a total of 10 or 15 clicks a month with a sale or two but they were profitable. I had to set up quite a few campaigns to make those sales but I did the work and now they just set there bringing in the CASH.

Now it is your turn if you want to do the work. I will give you a head start by given you the knowledge. I wrote a quick report just for Sowpubbers that you can download FREE. No email address needed.

http://makemoneyalert.com/sowpub.htm

Best of success,

Skip

P.S. By the way Michael, I don’t think the Auto Accident Kits are “quirky money making things” but then I am the author and love my work. :)

Re: WANTED: Your Participation - The info in this post could make you money
 

Good question Michael...

I think my answer is more for the person that is looking to generate a consistent 6-figure income year after year using a reliable system.

I personally like a system where:

1. You offer a product that is already being searched for on Google.

2. You either go head-to-head with existing vendors and attempt to beat them based upon...
A. Better marketing/sales copy.
B. A lower price to the end-user.
C. Faster delivery.
D. Additional "bonuses" given.
OR
You offer a slightly "better" product at either the same or less money.

Heck you could actually employ both strategies at once via two separate sites.

3. Use a fulfillment company to process and ship the orders.

What kind of product should you consider offering?

My gosh with the ability to have just about any product under the sun made, improved upon or just "knocked off" let your imagination run wild!

Is this business model going to cost you some up front money in order to get it going? You bet. But if you played your cards right I'm sure it would cost less than $10,000 to start.

And if you don't have that sort of scratch to get it going use one of the other methods listed at the start of this thread. That's what I did, I sold info products mostly via ebay until I built up enough of an "investment war chest" which allowed me to take my business to the "next level".

But the fact is this type of business model can be used just about anywhere in the world that has Internet access.

Here's a real life example of how one business is using the net to access customers in a way that you would not have thought was feasible...

In my business I go thought a ton of address labels and for the last 2 years I've been getting them from this one website that offers reasonably fast service and decent prices... http://www.addresslabels4u.com/

Well come to find out they're located in the U.K. and they've done a wonderful job of selling to customers within the U.S. and Canada. Heck by looking at the site you wouldn't know they were based in the U.K. They have done a wonderful job at eliminating "borders", "oceans" and entire countries from the buying decision.

Lightbulb Bux
 

Phil,

Thanks for a Bright thought.

Company in Australia imports and sells lightbulbs. Sales were OK but they wanted better. So they...

1: Approached businesses with the offer to Change Lightbulbs As Needed - on call and via a regular schedule - via a Lightbulb Maintanance Contract

2: Charge the business on a Til Forbid basis which gets up to X visits a month for free (like how elevator companies work with their Maintanance Contract).

3: Having worked this system well, they then offer Franchises - other people pay them for the right to sell their lightbulbs to others under the terms of the first two steps. Thus the company Increases sales of their imported lightbulbs.

Note: I just ReVisited their website and they have changed the above, just a bit. Buit essentially it is the same. You can see their site here: http://www.mrglobologist.com

Essence of what they do...

1: Import Consumable Product
2: Offer Replacement Schedule on Til Forbid basis (or on call)
3: Offer others the Chance to jump in at step 2, to sell the product they import.

Similar to MLM, but a tad different.

It's close to being able to MAL from anywhere, for them. But it didn't start that way. Though their Model is a good one to know.

Michael Ross

How One Man Made A Fortune With Ethnic Newspapers
 

Skip,

Thanks for revealing your Name & Title technique.

Quirky = Different, Out of the ordinary.

And selling "a camera and instructions in its use when in an auto accident" kit for the glove compartment is certainly out of the ordinary and different. Of course, it's only different or out of the ordinary if you've never seen it before. But it's still Population Dependent, isn't it?

I mean, could I live in Tonasket and MAL selling them? I don't think I'd make a living from Tonasket sales, so would need to sell outside of the town. How could this be done so the income would be enough to MAL? The answer to this question is The answer I Ask you to ponder, and share if you wish to.

Distribution is the short and simple answer. But what Devil Details do You see in it?

Hans Jakobi (self proclaimed wealth educator who sells 6 DVDs for $3,500 and then claims to want to help the struggling little guy) had a truly entrepreneurial father. He worked in Small Town Aust. Once a week he'd drive into Big City, pick up items that the locals wanted but were not available, and bring them back, for a nice profit. He then started bringing back more and more Ethnic Newspapers due to the ethnic workforce in the town. One thing lead to another and he ended up being the Largest Distributor of Ethnic Newspapers. A point which then enabled him to MAL anywhere. But that took years to achieve. Is a shorter time frame possible? Can the steps be fasttracked? How would you turn your Auto Accident Kits into a system that allowed you to MAL from anywhere. Not just Make Some CASH, but MAL?

Of your 1,000 sales, how many were for MMO and thus circular?

And based on your experience with your Name & Title technique, how many Non-MMO Campaigns would a person have to set up to MAL? And let's define that as $30,000 a year.

Michael Ross

Why people chop and change business ideas
 

Phil,

Thanks for the resources.


I don't know if this is actually a Problem, per se.

Let me explain...

People get a job. If the job fulfills their requirements of that job and the negatives can be Handled, the person will Stay.

Only They are the ones who know what their Requirements are and whether the job fulfills them. And their requirements could range from Income Level, Skill Utilisation or New Skill Learning, to Proximity To Home, Perks and other elements both Tangible and Intangible. And the requirements are different for all of us. And some requirements could Outweight others. Such as maybe earning less money as long as the other requirements were there, or sacrificing some of the other requirements in favor of extra money.

Also, what I could get satisfaction out of another person might not be able to stand. And vice versa.

For example. Ages ago I wrote a piece about Digging Holes for a living. And I had the line... "dig holes for a living IF...". Whatever comes after that IF are my Conditions, my Requirements. *I* could do physical hole digging as long as other requirements were met, while other people couldn't do anything physical as that is a primne requirement of theirs.

Based on this, my induction/deduction concludes... people chop and change ideas because those ideas (what they Imagined from those ideas) do not, or did not, satisfy their requirements. Maybe the idea satisfied all requirements except Amount of Money. Or all requirements except Time At Home With Family. Or all requirements except Moral Allignment. Or all requirements except needing to sell face-to-face.

As often, what they will get from the idea is only imagined and not experienced before they go into it, their delusion is shattered as Reality shows its face. Reality arrives and they discover their Requirements don't match what they Imagined from the business, and so they drop it.

Going by the kids of today... this is going to be a greater issue in the times ahead. As they seem more out of touch with reality now than ever before. The truth is, everyone is NOT a star or champion at everything they do. They live in a deluded dream world far from reality and they cannot Handle reality - look at the American Idol auditions to see how unstuck the grossly out of tune people become when reality arrives and shatters their delusion.

A way to Soften the Reality Blow is to Lower Your Expectations about any idea you think of following. To put less stock in it as Working or being Easy and a Cash Cow. Then, when reality arrives, you can make an unemotional decision about sticking with it or not, or even getting into in the first place.

Also, I feel much of the ideas concentrate too much on What to do and not actually How to do it.

For example: In Skips Free Report he wrote "Use a software program to get the misspellings of those two phrases and use all of them for your keyword list in your PPC campaign."

That is WHAT to do - good What, but still What. HOW do I do this? Who knows? I don't know what this software is called, where to find it, how to search for it, nothing. And so I end up coming off the rails at that point. I know WHAT to do but not HOW.

The How is known by the writer but the Action Steps are Assumed to be known. Such as "When a visitor arrives, make them a cup of tea". That is a WHAT, but unless I Already know HOW to make tea, I am unglued and cannot continue.

So in addition to the Delusions and Requirements of the person, the idea might present them with things requiring How Knowledge which they don't have. Three reasons why a person will chop and change business ideas. One a problem with them (delusions) and the other a problem with the idea (what/how), with the third being the benchmark by which they pass it all by.

Money is important. And with a job the person knows it Before going into it. So they cannot be delusional about that. If the money earned satisfies that requirement and it was a Prime Requirement, the person will Put Up With "Job Crap" and stay. Otherwise, they will chop and change and leave. Just like jumping from one idea to another.

Michael Ross

Finding what people are buying
 

Michael,

Thanks for showing the vein of Gold.

1: Find what people are searching for; what people are buying; what Someone Else is already making money from.

2: Sell via the web.

3. Sell it with better marketing, lower prices, faster delivery, additional bonuses - or - offer a Better Version for the same or less money (maybe even a version you have made in India or Pakistan like my example showed or made locally).

4. Use a fulfillment company to Handle The Orders. Like dropshipping.

5. If lack of funds prevents you from starting, then Save money from Job or other Part Time Small Potatoes ventures until funds are enough to start (don't let lack of funds stop you). Step by wonderful step. GROWING the business.

So this Could enable you to MAL from anywhere. Meaning, there is no restriction on where you live to work this. And I assume, also, that general Marketing would include OFFLINE as well as on. Because, afterall, you are competing with all the other people who are selling it online so going Offline could give you an edge, right?

One method of finding what people are buying, or others are making money from, is to do a search and take note of the Google Ads. Then a couple of months later do the same search and see if the same people are still advertising. If they are, it could mean they are making money from it and it is a viable market.

Any other Methods or Thoughts you would care to share for Discovering what people are searching for or actually buying.

What I like about your steps is, because it's already being searched for and bought, there is Little Risk to get into it. There is still risk, but with a sea of buyers is it reduced. And what you advocate is slow steady progress not get rich quick hype, even though the end result would be the same as what is hyped.

Good stuff Mike.

Michael Ross

Brokering Wooden Busts and Snow Bubbles
 

Ankesh,

Thanks for ideas.

Stockmarket. While some big money Can be made, I feel the Learning Curve is too steep for most. Heck, even Trading Graduates come unstuck.

I understand the Quicket way to make money is by Selling Puts. But you might have to buy so you'd better have the funds and want the stock anyway. In which case, it's not a viable long term thing. But worthy of Investigating certainly.

Writing, painting and drawing... syndication Sounds wonderful. But the reality is, there are a LOT of people desiring syndication and not many spots available. Those who buy syndicated stuff are limited in number. More a Luck Of The Draw thing as I see it.

That's not to say a person should not write or draw or paint. But those things should be done because the person likes doing them first. So if money doesn't follow they will continue and eventually maybe they'll Hit It, but they won't be too upset if they don't.

Brokered Work. A far Wider Ranging element than you might care to think about. Most furniture stores are really just Brokers - they sell stuff other people make.

Interestingly, Broking can work two ways. You either create stuff the broker sells - or - you act as broker for other people's creations.

I've seen some Wood Carving work from Africa. And those guys were Good. They were trying to rip people off and using the carving to make a Larger sum of money. But if they'd been Above Board then a legit broker in the US, UK or Aust Could make some interesting money by having those guys Carve stuff for pennies on the dollar.

A $2,000 woodcarved bust of someone could be had for what, $100, making the broker/dealer a cool $1,900 just for sending some photos to the carver. And if they cannot find a carver online then a Local would come into the picture.

Think of yourself, for example. You would have better success finding someone to carve a bust then I would. I'd send you the picture - via email - which you would show to the person who did the carving. You pay them, add your profit and charge me, then I add your charge, plus shipping, plus my profit, and charge my customer - who could easily have Comissioned the work via the web. Enabling me to Broker the deal from any Tin Shack with internet connection.

Ankesh, if YOU were offered the Chance to be an On The Ground Broker/Go-Between/Source-Finder would you do it?

Similar idea to what I just mentioned... heard of a guy who makes Duplicates of Your Home and puts them into a Snow Bubble. Find someone to do that and then Broker those - people come to you to have one made, you pass on the photos and the maker makes it and sends it to you and you send it to your customer. Customised and Personalized Creations.

Michael Ross

The Simple "Power Sentence" That Get's You A Better Deal
 

Jim,

Thanks for the Free Report. It's a Gem. Everyone should download it and read it. In fact, I think Finders, Export, Mailorder and Strike It Rich give a good Base of Knowledge and your MiniReport just adds.

Interestingly, it's How I offloaded some Stuff I had acquired. I used the Yellow Pages to find a Seller that Buys In a Lot of that stuff. Called them on the phone and Asked them to make me an offer. They did, I used the Vice Gambit "Power Sentence" (You've got to do better than that) and they Upped their offer tremendously. Sold. Less than five minutes on the phone to sell 100 Units.

Thinking back now, as I type, dang Easiest Money I ever made. My Hourly Rate for the deal was... well, let's just say it was over $1,000 an hour. :)

Also reminds me of Joe Karbo's "Box Story" in Lazy Man's Way To Riches starting at the bottom of page 83 and going onto page 84 - where I got the idea from. hehe.

Michael Ross

Re: Lightbulb Bux
 

Michael,

Thanks for sharing that Lightbulb concept...

Just Think on How many other Things in everyday Life need to be Changed, Serviced and Delivered... :)

Specialized Niche services is an Untapped market with incredible Potential with Ongoing Revenues in Booming niche marketplaces...

A couple interesting business models...
http://www.gomassage.net/
http://www.springwise.com/fashion_beauty/nail_taxi_1/
http://nailtaxi.com/

But you Broker the concept and Build yourself a Referral Network of Lifetime commissions... ;)

On the mention of Light Bulbs...

A couple other interesting Light Bulb stories come to mind...

With some Good business lessons that can be Applied to Trend Watching...

Bright Idea: Product Launch Success Story
http://smallbusiness.aol.com/start/s...13183109990006

Read all about it - Levenger Co.'s reading accessories - Levenger Catalog

Great 4 page story...
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...25/ai_19128570

Phil

Re: Brokering Wooden Busts and Snow Bubbles
 

Thanks Michael for starting this thread. Some great money making ideas over here.

I think stock market is like predicting weather. There are just too many variables for anyone to be extremely accurate all the time. But people can predict the broad strokes.

(I'll make a post about Warren Buffet's 4-step strategy in a bit.)

Re: Syndication. Its tough. But if you are half decent, you can break in. Especially if you are a writer.

But even if you can't break in into syndication - there is licensing. This is tough too. But the pay off can be worth it. For eg: what Jimmy Krug did - wrote a report for a bank. And the bank distributed it to 1000s of people - paying a good fee to Jimmy.

Licensing is easier for cartoons etc too.

Re: Brokering.

I have done it before. I would do it again too if I knew:

* There were guaranteed buyers in the market.
* If the profit would be worthwhile.

If I did focus on brokering again - I would most likely go for big product items only and find the buyer first.

Re: Finding what people are buying
 

Michael,

Instead of adding that info within the context of this excellent thread let me start a new one asking the same general question to the whole board-- which has many smart business people, and lets see what sort of answers others chime in with too. Then add my own thoughts--OK?

Re: How One Man Made A Fortune With Ethnic Newspapers
 

Michael,

Thanks for asking me to expand on my ideas.

[quote=MichaelRoss;15446]Skip,

Thanks for revealing your Name & Title technique.

Quirky = Different, Out of the ordinary.


Distribution is the way to go, but it does add "Devil Details" to the package. It is so much easier to put across face to face. But here goes:

1. I would make the kits lighter and more compact by removing the camera. This would also make them cheaper to produce and lower the selling point but increase the profit margin. Yes I know that is one feature that makes it unique but there are other selling points. (today a lot of people have cell phone cameras and I would add an instruction sheet on what to take pictures of) The Insurance form, Step-by-step instructions on what to do in case of an accident, Add a Maintainence/Repair form and set the target market at the New and Used Auto Dealers only. (easy to get info on Dealers and they spend a lot of money on their prospects)

1A I would also make sure most of the items in the package were items that were used up on a regular basis so I can get repeat sales to the same customers.

2. Would offer to make Custom Kits for each dealer by letting them brainstorm with their sales personal on what to add to the kits. Like custom referral cards, Custom Auto air freshners, etc. (all being light weight and inexpensive items to include)

3. Would set up a mail and phone campaign (and/or answering service) to reach these dealers in other areas. Also would set up a web site to promote kits to Auto Dealers. Web site would be only for lead generation (with lots of content to help them increase sales) and sales would be done by phone and/or mail and fax.

4. Once system is proven and workable (would start with my closest big city and then work outwards) I would then set up "affiliates" for each region or area.

Doing the above it would bring down the retail price from $5 or $6 dollars to under $2 bucks each. This would allow me to sell large orders instead of Mom and Pop sales. But my costs per kit would also be reduced to under 60 cents each for an increase in profit margin.

Now not everyone can do what is needed or has the knowledge to set up such a program or the resources. They would have to learn what is needed and if they did not have the investment they would have to do some "Quick Cash Concepts" to acquire the needed funds.

I know I could set up this program (with a lot of work) and once it is set up it will almost run itself with the help of good affiliates. But I think for a newbie or limited sales person this would be a daunting task.

With some more thinking on the subject I might be able to reduce the learning curve more but it would still take a person some time to aquire the knowledge needed. This world not be a quick fix to a money problem.


Of your 1,000 sales, how many were for MMO and thus circular?

I would say about 80 to 85 percent were MMO type products or IM type of products. That is because I used the $7 offer site and it is the area I work in most. Of the 15% that was other markets the total conversions and sales were less but still profitable. When I was testing this I used only Paypal sales type of products, thus limiting myself from other products and services that I believe would be more profitable. But I wanted a program that would self fund its self so there would not be a "Lag period" between start and the first paycheck.


And based on your experience with your Name & Title technique, how many Non-MMO Campaigns would a person have to set up to MAL? And let's define that as $30,000 a year.

I believe by doing 10 campaigns a day for a few months you could have, lets say 1,000 campaigns and by weeding out the bad and expanding the good campaigns you could have 100 campaigns bringing in a $1 profit a day or more. That would equal $100 per day for a total of $36,000 per year.

I don't think it is unreasonable to shoot for 10 campaigns a day that produce a profit of $1 a day. Start with one week and do 50 campaigns then see what is working in what markets and expand on the profitable campaigns and cut the losing campaigns. You can have more then 1 campaign in each market so you can expand on the profitable markets.

You will be using keywords that only produce 100 to 500 searches per month. These type of keywords are not being pursued by the experts in PPC so the competition is less and you can get top billing for under 5 cents per click.

Also some one that is hunting for an author is most likely to be a rabid fan of that niche that spends money on their passion. To make this work even better I found by revesing the authors name like so (last name first, first name last) the conversions are higher. I guess those people searching that way are more educated and that is the way they learned in school how to search for an author.

This method needs more testing then just the tests that I did to see how it works in other markets. But as you find a market that is hot you will have several campaigns set up that will hopefully pay for the long term.

Sorry I can not be more reasuring in other markets but my tests have been limited in other markets and that is why I put this out to the public. I hope to get feed back from others that try this method. :)

Best of success,

Skip Rosell

Re: Why people chop and change business ideas
 

Michael,

Thanks for bringing up a great point.


I agree with you about the "What" and the "How" but let's look at this from the writer's view.

I don't know about others but when I write a report almost every sentence lends itself to the question should I expand on this point. In fact just the point you make above "Use a software program to get the misspellings of those two phrases and use all of them for your keyword list in your PPC campaign." I though about expanding on when I wrote it.

I have to decide what to expand on and what not to expand on otherwise my report gets out of control. I mean I could start every report with how to search the web, how to copy and paste, etc. I have to decide on Who my target market is and write to that crowd. On the point above I thought instead of expanding I could put a link to the information. But that again causes problems by taking the reader away from the report and breaks the flow of the report. ( I know what you might say to that statement. Skip, what is more important the flow of the report or giving me the information I need.)

In most of my reports I try to answer the questions that I think might arise in the readers mind but cannot do that for every level of every person.

Not that one report as much as other reports I write. I wrote that as a quick answer to a post and was not trying to "Tell All". In most reports I try to include the information needed and balance it with what the reader needs to do on their own. If I answered every question to every level the report would not make much sence to me or the reader. And to leave a link to every question would make the report boorrring by them flipping back and forth.

I do leave a lot of links in most of my reports to answer questions and give the information they need and at the end of ALL my reports I ask them to email me if they have a question. Then I take the questions I get the most and update the report to include the answers.

But you would be suprised to know the number of emails I get asking questions. About 1 out of every 500 reports I sell. You see even if I don't answer the question of "how" on one point I give them a source to get that answered. All they have to do is ASK. I have also over looked a "how" question in my reports because of what you say: The writer "Knows the answer and is taking it for granted that all others do to".

When that happens to a reader, if they are really interested in making the program work, they should contact the author and ASK. It help the writer to update the report which will answer the how question to future purchasers.

To balance the report with the readers level is a hard thing to do for me anyway. I try to include the most information on the nuts and bolts of the idea and Yes I do gloss over some points. My Bad. I will have to do better in the future with the help of my readers.

I have some reports on my computer that will most likely never see the light of day because of this very problem. I have wrote so much to make it so detail that the reports have gotten out of control and I would have to charge much more for a report that started as a $10 report. :) Which means, I will price the report out of the reach of my core customer.

Luckly these out of reach reports are on subjects that I love to talk and write about so I enjoyed every minute of it. :)

Anyway that is the view from my side of things. I write to my market which I believe is like the knowledgable Sowpubbers here that know the finer technques of searching the web. That way if I mess up and don't give the how details they can do the research on their own and get the answers. If not Please, Please ask.

Best of success,

Skip Rosell

How We Learn and Where Ideas For Additional Works Can Be Found
 

Skip,

Thanks for explaining.

I don't want you to think I was Having A Go At YOU. I was merely using your Text as a Super Convenient Example of a Problem which is Rife in the How To field.

By Pointing It Out readers may now understand why they don't go ahead with something, or even feel Disappointed in some Works - and - writers can know what they need to do to make their work More User Friendly. And it applies to Forum Posts too.

How often does someone ASK about marketing their business and get advice like, run classified ads, send press releases, do a flyer drop, etc. All good WHAT, but greatly lacking in the HOW. How do I write a classified ad, where do I run it, what kinds of things do I put in it? How do I write a Press Release, who do I send it to - or find out who to send it to? And so on. Each Statement generates its own list of HOWs which follow.

Granted, some HOWs would take a Long time to answer, while some could be answered with a short sentence "Do a Google for 'how to write a classified ad' and read as many articles on it as you can", for example

But also know, maybe the HOW of something can also be its own work. So while the list of Ways To Market would be a Work, individual Works could be created which go into Greater Detail for each of the ways on the list. Helping the writer Come Up with an Additional Work to offer.

I do like offers of help or Assistance from an author. Though we all know most people who do need such help will not ASK - I bet most don't even know what they need help with. And some will simply Shut down with the info. As Robet Allen says, "A confused mind says "no"".

It's like those Game Shows where the contestant has Helps - maybe they can Phone A Friend or Ask The Audience. They don't know the answer but won't use a help, and get it wrong and are out.

I've not given the reason for not asking, any thought. Though I'd say it's more than just "appearing dumb". I think it goes deeper than that. Maybe as deep as our Instinct to Copy as a way to learn - we need to learn this way because we aren't born with full language comprehension and speaking ability. And so we actually have to learn to "learn by ASKing" instead of "learn by observing and doing" which all animals do instinctively. But as we aren't taught to "learn by asking" we tend not to and rely on our fallback method of learn by observing and doing.

Michael Ross

You ain't the only one ...
 

As soon as Rebecca Hagel read her copy of my complete course ... "You Can Be A Millionaire In One-Year Or Less!" -- http://www.businesslyceum.com/BeAMillionaire.html ... she sent this out to her readers.

============== newsletter excerpt:

Jim Straw handed me a package of reading that's actually caused
me to wake up in the middle of the night thinking about it. Since
he's getting older, Jim decided to do a final "hoorah" and finally
lay out *exactly* how he's made millions of dollars over the last
50 years.

He claims if you use the material you too can be a million in less
than a year. I confess: I don't like income claims like that
because I'm afraid a regulatory body will come and wrap his
knuckles. However -- without making any income claims -- let me
just say this: I'm so impressed that I got to work immediately
using his strategy.

Does it work?

Eight years ago I dabbled in one little bitty part of this and yes
-- it worked (sometimes to the tune of hundreds of dollars in a
week). Now Jim's report just completely opened my eyes to the
possibilities. I was playing in a kiddie pool back then.

I'm hope you'll join me in this venture, because as it turns out
working in a group actually increases your income.

Stay tuned -- this is going to be good.

Re: WANTED: Your Participation - The info in this post could make you money
 

What are her results in her new venture at this point?

Re: WANTED: Your Participation - The info in this post could make you money
 

Hi Michael,

Great to get the Brain Thinking.

1st off, if you haven't already read the book "4 hour work week", get it.
www.fourhourworkweek.com

The author travels the globe and works from the Internet AND has some paradigm-shifting viewpoints about traditional "Work" and Lifestyle. He also provides specific examples of "'the new rich". Like the family of four that sailed around the world for less than $20,000 per year.

Here are some ideas just quickly off the top of my head.

Consignment Selling:

I had done some work selling used motorcycle parts on Ebay a couple of summers ago. Once the agreement was made, I just listed and "marketed" the items on ebay. They shipped the products. I collected the money and sent them a cheque. I still stopped by to take the photos every so often, but that just as easily could have been done by them. So this could have been worked from anywhere.

Dropshipping:

The same motorcycle client, also has a profitable motorcycle accessories website. He has outsourced the customer service to the Phillipines and the site was created by freelancers in India. It is certainly profitable and a person could make a living doing this. The client still has his full-time job though.

Affiliate Selling:

A good friend of mine markets to the Daytrading Niche and has been doing it for the last 2 to 3 years profitably. When he had started he did a HUGE J.V of his ebook with a BIG I.M star in that niche. He Built a large list almost instantly and he has leveraged that ever since.

Tech Support:

Some old colleagues I know used to work in a call centre performing tech support. Now they take calls from their homes. I don't believe they are truely mobile though as there may be specific equipment that needed to be set up on their home P.C's.

Expanding on the mobile Tech Support concept. In the book I referenced earlier www.fourhourworkeweekcom, Ferris described, how an employee used the "Puppy Dog" close technique with his employer to free up his time, and take support calls while in China. He was thus free from his desk.

Chatteling on Ebay:

I have been doing this on and off for the last 2 years. It is a bit of a grind, but if someone were more ruthless with this method, they could easily make a fulltime income from chatteling. And NOT just on ebay by the way.

Virtual Assistant:

One of the IM gurus, I believe it was Mike Filsaime mentioned that he had hired a lady as his virtual assistant. She then proceeded to build her own team of V.A's that she farmed work out to. She also proceeded to get some other IM clients as well. So this is certainly anothe model

Virtual Call Agent:

I just remembered there's a company here in Canada that hires people specifically to work from home. They have clients like Pizza,Pizza, KFC etc.etc. So when you call in for delivery, one of their agents will get the call. I believe you have to pay for the equipment, and YOU set your own hours of operation of when you will be online. I don't know if there are any restrictions on where you could work.

So just quickly off the top my head those are 7 ways that I personally know of. Actually any sort of "Telecommuting" job may fit within your parameters. So a search on those Telecommuting job sites would help.

Cheers

Duane Adolph

Re: Thank you, Michael ...
 

Did I miss something here?
Your free report costs $997!

Here's what you missed...
 

djc94509,

Thanks for ASKing.

Yes, you Did miss something.

The original Link goes to Jim's Free Report. It gives a condensed version of how Jim used to make money in this way. At the end of That free report is a link to a Sales Letter which offers the New Way Jim makes money with the same technique. A new way which is Easier than the original way. THAT new and improved method is what Jim is offerign for a tad under a grand.

I can see how there can be some confusion because the names of the Free Report and the Investment Required Report are quite similar - different but similar at a glance.

Young Michael Ross

Another possibility...
 

Duane,

Thanks for mentioning that book and for your input.

Something which I was kind of Expecting to see mentioned, but which wasn't and maybe because of my "some people don't want to write a hotsheet" comment, was about Newsletters and other Periodicals.

Granted, there has been a Lot of Hypey Claims about the humongous amounts of cashola which can be made in the Newsletter Publishing Business - made by people who have Newsletter Courses to sell, or who wrote that in their own Money Making Newsletter. And that could put people off.

However, despite the reality of the difficulties in getting a Profitable Periodical off the ground, there are other way to make money in the periodical business besides creating your own and writing content. Such as...

Sell Subscriptions - similar to dropshipping (For local and international publications)

Do Editing and Layout from home. I know a guy who has a Glossy Puiblication in the newsstands. All he does is send the content to his Layout Guy (LG). The LG puts it all into the Template (he uses Adobe InDesign, the follow on from Pagemaker). A bit of emailing back and forth - and a visit from the publications owner - and it's all sorted out. The LG then emails the final draft to the printer. The printer prints a bunch and boxes them. The distribution company picks up the copies from the printer and distributes them into the newsagents. The Distributor collects the money, takes their cut for distributing, and pays the ower the rest.

I'm not suggesting to do all that. But if you have the skills with the software, you could certainly offer to do Layout work for people who provide the content. And if it is a non-glossy subscription publication, even have it printed for them, and even mailed. Effectively becoming the Order Fulfillment people for the publisher.

Order Fulfillment. If you don't Handle the printing for the publisher, the publisher could Ship to you one or two boxes of copies which you then send to subscribers as requested by the publisher. Ideal for international publications.

And in addition to the above... some MLM PRODUCTS - NOT the Opportunity but the PRODUCT. They are already geared up for mailorder selling. The trick would be to Find a Good one.

Michael Ross

Re: Another possibility...
 

Excellent point Michael...


I'm going to touch upon that one in the "Top Seller's" thread.

Another method not dependent on location, or product
 

Thanks for maintaining your interest.

Touched on this a Little in the post in this thread titled "Brokering Wooden Busts and Snow Bubbles" and feel the Concept - Brokering - is worth it's own post.

From The Free Online Dictionary http://www.thefreedictionary.com/brokering we get

Broker: One that acts as an agent for others (such as in negotiating contracts, purchases, or sales, finding buyers, and so on) in return for a fee or commission.

Things that can be Brokered...

Businesses - we have all heard of business brokers.

Real Estate - we call these brokers "Real Estate Agents"

Yachts - notice how these brokers don't own the thing they make money from.

Cars

Art

Goods - from high-priced pieces of machinery such as a Trench Digger to shipping containers full of items. Import/Export Broker

Shares - known as a Stock Broker

Information - Information Broker (interesting history starting in France of all places http://www.asis.org/Bulletin/Feb-95/levine.html)

Books - old books, Book Finder

Tickets - for events, Ticket Brokers

Food and Beverage Brokers

Frieght Brokers

Insurance Brokers

Loan Broker

Aircraft and Helicopter Brokers, such as http://www.lloydhelicopters.com

Medical and Dental Equipment Broker - heard of a guy making a few big bux with 2nd hand dental xray equipment

MotorHome Brokers - www.themotorhomebrokers.com

Tavel Brokers, known as Travel Agents who sell vacation Pcakages offered by other groups

Laptops - yep, a Laptop Broker http://laptopbroker.gothamcityonline.com

And so on and so forth...

Granted, some of these Brokers do need/have to operate from a specific location as face-to-face is often involved. But not all of them, and some brokering ideas can be based on a Traveling Broker concept, where the broker visits you (in the final stages).

Some yacht brokers offer yachts which are in other countries. The idea is, the buyer visits the country after being given the details by the broker. The broker's Commission is secured by use of the Agent Contract the seller signed. A concept which can be applied to All broker ideas.

If it can be bought and sold it can be brokered somewhere along the way.

Any other forms of Broker you are aware of?

Michael Ross

Re: WANTED: Your Participation - The info in this post could make you money
 

Hello Roswellleey and welcome to SOWPUB.

Seeing this thread for the first time in 3 years was like a visit to the "Way-Back" machine. Still recognize many of the names who posted as well as some of their businesses.

I don't know about the others, but I'm still in the same business 3 years later.

Please come back often and feel free to ask questions. We can be a very helpful group.

Dennis

Re: WANTED: Your Participation - The info in this post could make you money
 

Hi Mate

This is my first visit to this and i feel very encouraging by your feedback regarding helping out on business improvement. I would like to start a event organizing business for business meetings, partys or any personal celebrations.Could you suggest me what are the precautions should i take care of for successfully running the business.?