How to turn $10,000 into a LOT more.... in 2 1/2 days!
 

The Money Game....

As you may recall, a couple days ago I mentioned The Money Game, a TV show I saw a couple of nights ago here in Australia....

The premise of the show was that they got 3 entrepreneurs (who were all millionaires) as contestants.

They gave them each $10,000 cash, and they could keep their driver's license and the clothes they were wearing - but NOTHING else.

Their mission was to turn that $10,000 into as much money as possible in just 2 ½ days! Starting on Wednesday morning, and they all had to meet at the top of Centrepoint tower in Sydney on 5 pm Friday afternoon. The one with the most money at the end won!

I don't think there were any extra prizes.... Except that, of course, they got to keep the money they made. :)

They weren't allowed to use any of their friends, family, or former clients.

Here were the three contestants....

* Cameron Fisher, age 38, Real Estate Agency Director at www.tbm.com.au

* Pamela Noon, age 53, Cosmetic Surgery Broker and owner of "Clinical Beauty" Clinics.

* Ron Bakir - known as "Crazy Ron", age 23, high school dropout, made his money in mobile phone sales, owner of "Crazy Ron's" mobile phone (cell phone) stores in Australia.

What did they do to make money in 2 ½ days? Here's what they did!

They started them all in the Blue Mountains on Wednesday morning, which is just outside of Sydney. The first thing that all three of them did were to get themselves cell phones (mobile phones) and get themselves to the city!

They all headed to their "home turf." For "Crazy Ron" and Pamela Noon, that meant the Gold Coast, Queensland. For Cameron Fisher, that meant to Melbourne.

So they all headed towards Sydney, while on their phones calling up and preparing what to do.

Both Pamela and Ron paid local people to drive them to Sydney.

Cameron took the train, but used the time on the train to do some planning and make some phone calls. (He seemed to be the only one who planned everything on paper before-hand, as far as I could see from the TV show.)

Here were their plans.

Pamela decided to very quickly make a TV show about cosmetic surgery. She was going to film it the next day (Thursday).

"Crazy" Ron decided to hold a big party. He called up the "Drink Night Club" on the Gold Coast and was able to organize to hold his party there the next night (Thursday night). He decided to tie it in to a local event - the Indy 300 motorcycle races, and he called it "Crazy Ron's Indy Party"!

Cameron decided to organize a dinner and a business luncheon. The dinner was to happen the next night (Thursday night), and the business luncheon was to happen in 3 weeks time, but he wanted to sell all the tickets by the game deadline.

The details of how they organized these events -- and exactly where they made money from these -- is coming up in the next message.... :)

Dien Rice

Part 2
 

Let's start with Pamela Noon.... She used to be a television presenter and this may be partly why she decided to create a TV show about her own industry, which is cosmetic surgery.

The first thing she did was find a local in the Blue Mountains to drive her to Sydney. Then the next thing she did was to buy herself a cell phone.

During the drive to Sydney, she was phoning up people in the cosmetic surgery industry to get some people (she was looking at around 5 or 6 people) to be on her show.

She also organized a film crew, and and plane flight to the Gold Coast - her "home turf".

And last - but NOT least - she was phoning companies to look for sponsors who would pay to have their products featured on her TV show. She was asking for $4000 each to showcase their product on her show.

She got to the airport, and flew herself to the Gold Coast. She managed to get I think around 5 people in the cosmetic surgery industry to be on her show.

And she managed to convince five sponsors to pay $4000 each to have their products featured on her TV show.

She spent most of her day telephoning various people to organize the TV show and to organize sponsorships. When she got to the Gold Coast, she chose expensive accommodation at the Sheraton Mirage ($724 per night), but she was also going to film the TV show on the villa that was part of her accommodation.

"Crazy" Ron Bakir decided to hold a dance party.

The first thing was he also asked a local in the Blue Mountains to drive him to Sydney, where he arranged to catch a plane back to his "home turf," which was also the Gold Coast.

On the phone, he managed to organize to use the "Drink Night Club" on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia.

He's making it "Crazy Ron's Indy Party" - making use of both his own name recognition (he's well known there from his promotions for his cell-phone stores), and also tying his party in to the Indy 300 motorcycle races which were happening around that time on the Gold Coast.

He also managed to organize sponsorships for the party, so whenever he promoted the party, he also had to promote his sponsors.

He bought some radio advertising time that night, and for the next day too, so on Wednesday night he showed up at the radio station (Sea FM on the Gold Coast) to do a live radio promotion, and did the same thing the next day!

For ticket sales, he used a professional ticket sales agency, though tickets were also going to be available at the door. He was going to charge people $10 for entry.

He was promoting till late, and you could tell by late Wednesday night "Crazy Ron" was exhausted, yet he had to get up at 7.30 am the next morning for his next radio promotion!

Cameron Fisher was organizing TWO events and also selling some products....

First thing he did was he got someone to drive him to Katoomba, a town in the Blue Mountains, where he could catch the train to Sydney. On the train, he organized a plane flight to his "home base" -- Melbourne. He also did all his planning out on a notepad he must have bought in Katoomba, and started his phone calls while on the train.

The first event he was planning was a $500 per head dinner for Thursday night, with an auction included plus a celebrity guest speaker. Here, he was just looking for 20 - 25 people to attend.

For this event, he had to organize a guest speaker, a venue, and some sports memoribilia to be auctioned.

For the short-notice celebrity speaker, he didn't get his first choice but managed to get a local Aussie celebrity, "Dr. Feelgood". A local media personality, she talks about sex issues on TV and the radio!

To promote this event he made all the phone calls himself. He said he got about a 50% success rate for those he called. He must have gotten a list of very wealthy individuals who were interested in auctions and Olympic memorabilia....

The second event he was organizing was a $50 per head business luncheon to be held in three weeks time for 450 people, with Jesse Martin, the youngest person to sail non-stop around the world, as the guest speaker. For this, he hired some telemarketing professionals to make all the phone calls to try to sell the $50 per head tickets.

He also arranged to get some promotional pens (from Wombat Promotions in Melbourne, Australia). He bought 200 pens for $355, and he was planning to sell them for something like $10 - $12 each I think.

So, all three of them spent most of Wednesday making lots and lots and lots of phone calls. And they all, by the way, stayed in six-star hotels that night too - I guess it's hard to break the habit when you're a millionaire!

Okay, coming up.... How they spent Thursday, and exactly where and how they made their money, and what it added up to!

Dien Rice

Dien, What Time, How Long...
 

...do I have to wait foir the conlcusion?

Taylor

> Let's start with Pamela Noon.... She used to
> be a television presenter and this may be
> partly why she decided to create a TV show
> about her own industry, which is cosmetic
> surgery.

> The first thing she did was find a local in
> the Blue Mountains to drive her to Sydney.
> Then the next thin she did was to buy
> herself a cell phone.

> During the drive to Sydney, she was phoning
> up people in the cosmetic surgery industry
> to get some people (she was looking at
> around 5 or 6 people) to be on her show.

> She also organized a film crew, and and
> plane flight to the Gold Coast - her
> "home turf".

> And last - but NOT least - she was phoning
> companies to look for sponsors who would pay
> to have their products featured on her TV
> show. She was asking for $4000 each to
> showcase their product on her show.

> She got to the airport, and flew herself to
> the Gold Coast. She managed to get I think
> around 5 people in the cosmetic surgery
> industry to be on her show.

> And she managed to convince five sponsors to
> pay $4000 each to have their products
> featured on her TV show.

> She spent most of her day telephoning
> various people to organize the TV show and
> to organize sponsorships. When she got to
> the Gold Coast, she chose expensive
> accommodation at the Sheraton Mirage ($724
> per night), but she was also going to film
> the TV show on the villa that was part of
> her accommodation.

> "Crazy" Ron Bakir decided to hold
> a dance party.

> The first thing was he also asked a local in
> the Blue Mountains to drive him to Sydney,
> where he arranged to catch a plane back to
> his "home turf," which was also
> the Gold Coast.

> On the phone, he managed to organize to use
> the "Drink Night Club" on the Gold
> Coast in Queensland, Australia.

> He's making it "Crazy Ron's Indy
> Party" - making use of both his own
> name recognition (he's well known there from
> his promotions for his cell-phone stores),
> and also tying his party in to the Indy 300
> motorcycle races which were happening around
> that time on the Gold Coast.

> He also managed to organize sponsorships for
> the party, so whenever he promoted the
> party, he also had to promote his sponsors.

> He bought some radio advertising time that
> night, and for the next day too, so on
> Wednesday night he showed up at the radio
> station (Sea FM on the Gold Coast) to do a
> live radio promotion, and did the same thing
> the next day!

> For ticket sales, he used a professional
> ticket sales agency, though tickets were
> also going to be available at the door. He
> was going to charge people $10 for entry.

> He was promoting till late, and you could
> tell by late Wednesday night "Crazy
> Ron" was exhausted, yet he had to get
> up at 7.30 am the next morning for his next
> radio promotion!

> Cameron Fisher was organizing TWO events and
> also selling some products....

> First thing he did was he got someone to
> drive him to Katoomba, a town in the Blue
> Mountains, where he could catch the train to
> Sydney. On the train, he organized a plane
> flight to his "home base" --
> Melbourne. He also did all his planning out
> on a notepad he must have bought in
> Katoomba, and started his phone calls while
> on the train.

> The first event he was planning was a $500
> per head dinner for Thursday night, with an
> auction included plus a celebrity guest
> speaker. Here, he was just looking for 20 -
> 25 people to attend.

> For this event, he had to organize a guest
> speaker, a venue, and some sports
> memoribilia to be auctioned.

> For the short-notice celebrity speaker, he
> didn't get his first choice but managed to
> get a local Aussie celebrity, "Dr.
> Feelgood". A local media personality,
> she talks about sex issues on TV and the
> radio!

> To promote this event he made all the phone
> calls himself. He said he got about a 50%
> success rate for those he called. He must
> have gotten a list of very wealthy
> individuals who were interested in auctions
> and Olympic memorabilia....

> The second event he was organizing was a $50
> per head business luncheon to be held in
> three weeks time for 450 people, with Jesse
> Martin , the youngest person to sail
> non-stop around the world, as the guest
> speaker. For this, he hired some
> telemarketing professionals to make all the
> phone calls to try to sell the $50 per head
> tickets.

> He also arranged to get some promotional
> pens (from Wombat Promotions in Melbourne,
> Australia). He bought 200 pens for $355, and
> he was planning to sell them for something
> like $10 - $12 each I think.

> So, all three of them spent most of
> Wednesday making lots and lots and lots of
> phone calls. And they all, by the way,
> stayed in six-star hotels that night too - I
> guess it's hard to break the habit when
> you're a millionaire!

> Okay, coming up.... How they spent Thursday,
> and exactly where and how they made their
> money, and what it added up to!

> Dien Rice




Search Engine Placement For Every Budget

Taylor, I can say this....
 

> ...do I have to wait for the conlcusion?

Probably sooner than the result of the election! :)

Soon.... I'm continuing to write it now.... :)

Thanks for your enthusiasm! :)

- Dien

Grrrrrrrrreat!!!! DNO (DNO)
 

Part 3
 

Thursday....

You may recall that they had 2 ½ days.... Starting Wednesday morning, and ending Friday 5 pm.

All three competitors had organized events for Thursday....

Pamela Noon had organized to shoot her TV show about cosmetic surgery. She has already gotten sponsors (5 of them at $4000 each), and hired a film crew and others to appear on the show. She also had a venue, which was the villa as part of her accommodation at the Sheraton Mirage Hotel she was staying at.

All she had to do that day was to film her TV show. The "guests" she was interviewing and the film crew showed up on time, and she filmed a half hour show - showcasing the 5 products as part of the show, of course, as her end of the sponsorship deal.

The rest of her plan was to fly back to Sydney the next morning to see if she could see some TV executives, to get a TV station to purchase her show.

She filmed her show with no problem....

After that, she decided she'd try to sell the clothes she wore on the show at an online auction site, something like "celebrity clothing." So also she went to a web site designer to sell her clothing for her at an online web site....

While she was in a taxi that evening, she heard an ad on the radio - for "Crazy Ron's" Indy Party. "Ah... that's what my competitor is up to" she thought. A party means lots of people in one place.... She wondered what she could do to make some money from it!

For Thursday, "Crazy Ron" continued promoting, promoting, promoting his party at the "Drink Night Club," which was going to be on that night, promoting it on the radio and wherever he could!

As a further promotional ploy, he arranged to get the "Indy girls" (girls associated with the Indy 300 motorcycle races) to also be there at his party (he paid them $20 per hour just to come to the party).

He was rubbing his hands in excited anticipation at the great party that he was going to hold that night!

What did Cameron Fisher do?

Well, he had his team of telemarketers working selling tickets for the $50 per head business luncheon coming up in 3 weeks time. He already had around 20 people coming to his $500 per head dinner that night. With his team working hard, what else did he have to do but go to the race track!

So Cameron (a race horse owner) headed for the race track, to make some bets on the races. He betted a total of $4000, yet ending up with around $6000 in return! So his luck at the race track that day made him around $2000.

(I guess this is the life you lead when you have your team working for you, instead of having to do all the work yourself!)

Meanwhile, Pamela thought of what she would do to try to profit from Crazy Ron's party.

She bought a bunch of "lucky sticks" (just plain colored sticks, I think).... She spent $9 in total for all of them (though I'm not sure how many she got). The plan was to go to Ron's party and sell them at the door....

That night, Ron held his "Crazy Ron's Indy Party" and Cameron Fisher held his $500 per head dinner.

Pamela stood out the front of the "Drink Night Club" selling the "lucky sticks" for $1 each, telling people that they needed to buy one to come in. "Crazy Ron" came out the front and spotted his competitor there trying to make money from his party! Being a suave guy, he bought 10 lucky sticks from Pamela and said to the camera, "Good luck to the opposition team!"

Cameron had his dinner, and his guest speaker "Dr. Feelgood" gave an entertaining speech. She joked that both she (a media "sex" doctor) and Cameron (a Real Estate man) were in the same business - "position, position, position"!

Then, after the dinner, Cameron held his sports memorabilia auction to the dinner guests. The "crown jewel" item was a sports top signed by all 16 Australian Olympic Gold Medalists, mounted in a frame, with the photos of all the Australian Olympic Gold Medalists surrounding it. It sold for $8,500 - yet that cost him only $2,900.

The beauty of the auction idea was that it didn't really cost Cameron anything to put on. He managed to get all the items he put on auction on the basis that he only paid for them if he sold them - for above the amount it would cost him, of course. So, if something didn't go above the reserve, he didn't have to pay anything. But if it sold, he pocketed the profit!

That was it for Thursday.... "Crazy Ron's" party was a big success! Cameron Fisher's dinner went off without a hitch! And the filming of Pamela Noon's TV show went fine (though she hasn't sold it yet)!

In the final part, what last minute things they did on Friday - and the final profit results. :)

Dien Rice

Re: Cool Story..looking forward to conclusion! (DNO)
 

Coming soon, not much longer to go.... :) (DNO)
 

Part 4 and Conclusion!
 

Friday....

Pamela Noon was up very early the next morning, and flew back to Sydney to try to sell her show to a TV network. (All of Australia's TV networks are based in Sydney.)

Cameron Fisher just made sure his telemarketers were selling more tickets for the business luncheon to be held in 3 weeks time. He also flew back to Sydney, for the meeting at 5 pm, and the end of the competition.

"Crazy Ron" Bakir decided he'd try to make a little bit more money. He found a salesman - "Big Ken" - on the street selling window cleaner to passers-by.

Ron struck a deal -- for every bottle of window cleaner he sold, "Big Ken" would pay him $2.

In a couple of hours, "Crazy Ron" managed to infect all the passers-by with his enthusiasm and he sold 200 bottles of window cleaner, making him a quick $400!

Pamela Noon, meanwhile, was having difficulty selling her show to the TV networks. She wasn't able to see any of the executives, each of them (she was told) was "at a meeting." Finally, she had to spend around $4,500 for TV time to air her show - she had to do this to have everything completed by the time limit, and in order to uphold her deal with her sponsors the show had to go to air.

At the last minute, she also managed to get one more sponsor for $1000 (I guess they'd be listed in the credits).

They all finally made it back to Sydney, and to the top of Centrepoint tower (a tower at the center of Sydney) by 5 pm - with "Crazy Ron" just making it. He managed to get stopped by the police twice on his way to the airport, since he was running late and driving too fast in his haste!

Here's how they did in the end....

Pamela Noon

She spent a total of $10,068 for everything - costs, travel, accommodation, and everything else.

Her main money-maker was her TV show about cosmetic surgery.
With this she got sponsorship - a total of $21,000 worth.
She spent about $2,500 on production costs.
She was hoping to sell the show to a TV station for around $10,000, but unfortunately in the end she had to spend around $4,500 for air time instead.

She also tried to sell her "celebrity clothing" on an auction web site, but they didn't sell in time....

And she sold around 68 lucky sticks to get $68!

In all, she ended with $13,068 - or $3,068 above the $10,000 she started with.

Although not everything went to plan for her - especially regarding selling her TV show - she still did quite well, making $3,068 in 2 ½ days!

If she had more time, she probably would have had more of chance to sell her TV show. This would have meant she would have made an extra $15,000 or so above her final total, since she would have had the money from selling the show, and also she wouldn't have had to pay for air time! Ah well.... Those are the breaks!

"Crazy Ron" Bakir

He spent a total of $5,575.

A lot of that was on his travel and accommodation costs. In fact, he only spent around $2,000 on the staging and marketing of his party.

Because he used a night club, he didn't have to pay for the venue at all.... I've been told (by my brother Thomas, who has some friends who have organized events like this) that usually the night club makes their money from the drinks they sell, and also they may take a cut of the tickets sold.... But there are no up-front costs for the venue.

Given that, practically all of "Crazy Ron's" business costs were for promotion....

He made around $4,500 from ticket sales to his party, but his big money was from sponsorships.... There he made $22,500.

In addition to that, he made $400 selling window cleaner on the street!

The total amount he had in the end was $31,315 - or $21,315 more than the $10,000 he started with.

Cameron Fisher

He spent a total of $27,200.... He was able to spend much more than his $10,000 probably because at least for his auction, he only had to pay for something after he had sold it.

His first money-maker was his dinner, with the celebrity speaker and sports memorabilia auction. There he sold 25 tickets at $500 each, and he also made money from the auction. Here he made $25,500.

He also had his business luncheon, also with a celebrity speaker, which he was organizing to hold in 3 weeks time (but which he was selling tickets for by the deadline). There, his telemarketing staff managed to sell 430 tickets at around $60 each. (I think I said $50 per head before -- sorry, it was actually $60 per head.) For this event, he made $25,500.

He also made some money from his bets on the horse races! There he turned $4,000 into $6,400.

And finally, somewhere along the line he also managed to sell the pens.... There, he made almost $2,000.

In all, he ended up with a total of $65,466 - or $55,466 more than the $10,000 he started out with!

So Cameron was the winner!



I think there are a lot of lessons here.... :)

What amazed me was how it really seemed to be possible! Clearly, these people were all very comfortable with what they were doing....

Pamela Noon already knew about the TV industry, since before going into her cosmetic surgery broking business, she was a TV presenter.

"Crazy Ron" Bakir was always full of an infectious enthusiasm, and was a fantastic salesman, and he stuck to what he did best - promotion!

While finally, Cameron Fisher probably knew the "rich" crowd from working in the Real Estate business, so he probably knew what they wanted too.

But they all also created a "product" of some kind and sold it (or paid others to sell it for them). Pamela's TV show, Ron's party, and Cameron's dinner and business luncheon were all "products" of a sort.

If nothing else, this show really got my brain ticking.... I hope it's got you thinking too! :)

Dien Rice

Does this give you any ideas?
 

Please let me know!

I'd love to hear what you might think.... :)

Dien Rice

This was the most engaging post.....
 

I'd read on any discussion board ever!
Really!
The fact that you could make this much money in these conditions should be a lesson to us all

Not that it can be done....but the fact that it had to be considered possible
Simply excellent
Andy Frain

Now let's go out and make our first million.... :)
 

> I'd read on any discussion board ever!
> Really!
> The fact that you could make this much money
> in these conditions should be a lesson to us
> all

> Not that it can be done....but the fact that
> it had to be considered possible
> Simply excellent

Thanks Andy! Yes, I learned a lot.... and I wanted to share it with all of you who visit Sowpub....

I'm glad you liked it! Watching this show certainly got my head spinning....

Cameron Fisher made around $55,000 in 2 1/2 days.... That's about twice the average yearly salary here in Australia! It just boggles the mind....

No wonder these people are millionaires.... :)

Now it's our turn, yes? Of course, it is! :)

Dien Rice

Re: Does this give you any ideas?
 

Hi Dien!

What an incrediblly interesting tale/show/whatever.

As I've stated previously, I'm big on things that can be duplicated. Oh sure, everything has something to teach us, but the ability to duplicate something means it can be done instantly.

After reading this tale a few thoughts popped into my mind...

1: How on earth did they manage to buy a mobile phone that was already fully charged?

2: Did any of them take a Yellow Pages with them while they made all their phone calls. If not, did they call Directory Assistance?

3: If the answer to number two is No and No, then it means to me that the numbers they called were known by heart. And while the people were not friends, family or former clients, they were known.

I mean, lets face it, no one would agree to sponser their products on a proposed TV show at such short notice unless they knew the person producing the show.

No one would agree to spend $500 on a dinner with guest speaker and one day's notice if they were being called by a total stranger.

And to get through to the owner of a nightclub, get on the radio with no notice and hire all the Indy girls during the Indy is not something most people can duplicate.

However, just because what they did cannot be dupicated precisely, the seeds of some very profitable ventures were presented. And what they did shows the tremendous value of establishing contacts.

4: Did they have any advanced notice of what the challenge was to be?

5: Did the real estate guy have his secretary do stuff?

I like the real estate guy's methods best. Gave him the most free time while others did what he wouldn't have been able to do personally.

And he sold stuff without having to buy it first.

Now I know you'll think this is odd, but I've NEVER seen Crazy Ron to the best of my knowledge. The most odd guy I've seen on the box was some darker skinned guy (middle east coloured skin) selling computers and he threw a scooter over his head (not that *I'd* call these modern scooters, scooters. Nothing like what I grew up with). Is that Crazy Ron? If it is, I'd never buy anything from him. Makes me think "cheap and bodgy."

Anyway. I enjoyed the tale and agree it's one of the best darn post series anywhere.

Part of it reminded me of "Badges".

Michael Ross.

What follows is a little commercial in nature: If you're a collector of Olympics Memorabilia, I've got a Games 2000 Volunteer Outfit. It's mens and large and includes a watch, jacket, shirt, pants and hat. If you're interested, please contact me. Bare in mind, this ain't gonna be cheap.


Christmas is coming. Give the gift that gives

Huge Underage Commercial Dance Parties!
 

Yes, I'm planning on organising a huge Underage Commercial Dance Party here in Melbourne! Still working out the details though, will post about it later. :)

- Thomas.

> Please let me know!

> I'd love to hear what you might think.... :)

> Dien Rice

Ideas ideas and more ideas.... :)
 

Hi Michael!

> What an incrediblly interesting
> tale/show/whatever.

I agree, it was a great show! :)

> As I've stated previously, I'm big on things
> that can be duplicated. Oh sure, everything
> has something to teach us, but the ability
> to duplicate something means it can be done
> instantly.

> After reading this tale a few thoughts
> popped into my mind...

> 1: How on earth did they manage to buy a
> mobile phone that was already fully charged?

Well, I know Pamela Noon bought one of those phones which uses those prepaid cards. She had to wait around 6 hours to get connected. I'm not sure about the type of phones the other two got.

As for charging a phone, I don't think it takes long to charge up a phone nowadays.... I'm not sure exactly how long mine takes to charge up, but it's not very long....

Most likely Cameron and "Crazy Ron" bought top-of-the-line phones with pretty fast charge times -- I expect they could have charged them in the store right after purchase. At least charged them enough to be useful....

> 2: Did any of them take a Yellow Pages with
> them while they made all their phone calls.
> If not, did they call Directory Assistance?

I assumed they called directory assistance -- I didn't see any Yellow Pages around....

> 3: If the answer to number two is No and No,
> then it means to me that the numbers they
> called were known by heart. And while the
> people were not friends, family or former
> clients, they were known.

Yes, well that's a good question. They didn't say they couldn't call former *suppliers* before....

Also, if they knew who they were going to call, it would be pretty easy to find the phone numbers through directory assistance. Even if they didn't know, I assume you might be able to get an operator to give you a random name from the right section in the Yellow Pages.

> I mean, lets face it, no one would agree to
> sponser their products on a proposed TV show
> at such short notice unless they knew the
> person producing the show.

I don't know if that's necessarily true.... Remember, she hired a production company, and they could check with the production company to see if it was legit.

Also, I don't think the rules prohibited her from saying who she was, just that she was not allowed to have had them as clients before.

> No one would agree to spend $500 on a dinner
> with guest speaker and one day's notice if
> they were being called by a total stranger.

Okay, this part does sound suspicious to me -- BUT maybe it's okay too. Remember, he had a celebrity speaker and also the promise of an auction with some rare sports memorabilia. If they only had to pay at the dinner or afterwards, then they would know what they were getting before they had to pay....

It's possible that there was some "cheating" here but I don't think that's easy to check!

> And to get through to the owner of a
> nightclub, get on the radio with no notice
> and hire all the Indy girls during the Indy
> is not something most people can duplicate.

Well, I would say of the three, "Crazy Ron's" approach would be the hardest to duplicate. That's because he's apparently already to some extent a "known" figure in his locality (probably from his ads), and he used that to his advantage (which was within the rules). It was an advantage the other two didn't have.

> However, just because what they did cannot
> be dupicated precisely, the seeds of some
> very profitable ventures were presented. And
> what they did shows the tremendous value of
> establishing contacts.

I would say the approach of Pamela Noon and Cameron Fisher were the most reproducible. Certainly for his business luncheon, it's clear that Cameron used no business contacts at all, since he hired telemarketers to cold-call business people to sell tickets for the luncheon.

Selling $60 tickets through cold-calling with a celebrity "real life adventure" speaker as the main attraction seems plausible to me.

> 4: Did they have any advanced notice of what
> the challenge was to be?

That I don't know.

> 5: Did the real estate guy have his
> secretary do stuff?

No, I don't think so. I believe he hired and contracted everything out afresh.

> I like the real estate guy's methods best.
> Gave him the most free time while others did
> what he wouldn't have been able to do
> personally.

That I agree with! He was the smartest, in my opinion. He had the *least* work to do, and made the most money too! It's the power of outsourcing the work!

> And he sold stuff without having to buy it
> first.

> Now I know you'll think this is odd, but
> I've NEVER seen Crazy Ron to the best of my
> knowledge. The most odd guy I've seen on the
> box was some darker skinned guy (middle east
> coloured skin) selling computers and he
> threw a scooter over his head (not that
> *I'd* call these modern scooters, scooters.
> Nothing like what I grew up with). Is that
> Crazy Ron? If it is, I'd never buy anything
> from him. Makes me think "cheap and
> bodgy."

Heheh, sounds like it could be him. However, as far as I know he sells mobile phones -- though he certainly may have expanded into computers....

I don't think he has any stores here in Sydney, or as far as I know in Melbourne.... So I'm not much of an expert on him, apart from what I saw on the show....

By the way, I found the beginning of "Crazy Ron's" web site.... It's at www.crazyrons.com.au .

I personally really liked "Crazy Ron." His enthusiasm was infectious!

And remember, the guy is only 23! And a millionaire as well.... He seems to be doing something right....

> Anyway. I enjoyed the tale and agree it's
> one of the best darn post series anywhere.

Thanks Michael!

> Part of it reminded me of
> "Badges".

Do you mean the pens reminded you of that?

Anyway, it gave me *lots* of ideas....

Here's what I think the *smart* approach is now.... It's to duplicate Cameron Fisher.

Be the one organizing things. Then hire others to do the work. Plan things out well (he was the only one who seemed to plan things out on paper first), to ensure you make a profit.

Then, you have others doing the work, yet you reap the benefits of a successful plan.... :)

In the show, the only thing Cameron Fisher did (that I saw), apart from organizing things, was to call people to try to get 25 people to come to his dinner (he did that himself), and he also conducted the actual auction.

(I wouldn't count betting on the horses as work!)

Everything else he outsourced -- caterers for the dinner, telemarketers to sell tickets to the luncheon, celebrity speakers, and I think he even managed to get someone else to organize the items for auction!

If you're looking to make, say, $25,000, paying a small team of people $20 per hour each to do a lot of the work for you isn't very much....

To me, that was one of the most important lessons.... But I think to make sure you make a profit, you have to plan things well beforehand.... :)

Dien Rice

I can't wait!
 

> Yes, I'm planning on organising a huge
> Underage Commercial Dance Party here in
> Melbourne! Still working out the details
> though, will post about it later. :)

That's excellent, Thomas! I can't wait to hear more about it (and I'm sure I'm not the only one).... :)

Dien Rice

An Idea A Day
 

> Well, I know Pamela Noon bought one of those
> phones which uses those prepaid cards. She
> had to wait around 6 hours to get connected.
> I'm not sure about the type of phones the
> other two got.

> As for charging a phone, I don't think it
> takes long to charge up a phone nowadays....
> I'm not sure exactly how long mine takes to
> charge up, but it's not very long....

Ah... okay. I was imagining they walked in, bought and walked out with a fully charged phone. Total time... a few minutes. But what you said clears it up.

> Also, if they knew who they were going to
> call, it would be pretty easy to find the
> phone numbers through directory assistance.
> Even if they didn't know, I assume you might
> be able to get an operator to give you a
> random name from the right section in the
> Yellow Pages.

Yeah. The Yellow Pages Directory Assistance in Australia is different to the white pages one.

> I don't know if that's necessarily true....
> Remember, she hired a production company,
> and they could check with the production
> company to see if it was legit.

Ah yeah, but how does the production company know it's legit? See next point below...

> Also, I don't think the rules prohibited her
> from saying who she was, just that she was
> not allowed to have had them as clients
> before.

I have a sneaky feeling those who agreed to sponser their products already knew her. They may even have been suppliers to her business. Now, that would make sense. And then it wouldn't matter who called them - her or the production company - one mention of her name and that's all the cred needed.

> It's possible that there was some
> "cheating" here but I don't think
> that's easy to check!

Hmmm... I wonder what constitutes a client as far as a real estate agent goes. Is it the person who's commissioned the agent to sell the house or the person who buys the house?

> I would say the approach of Pamela Noon and
> Cameron Fisher were the most reproducible.
> Certainly for his business luncheon, it's
> clear that Cameron used no business contacts
> at all, since he hired telemarketers to
> cold-call business people to sell tickets
> for the luncheon.

Yep. As Donald Trump says... Don't think you can do everything yourself. Get and use help when you need it.

It's interesting to note he also says... stay close to home. What got you to the top is what keeps you there and it saves on travelling time.

Another way to put it would also be to say to stick with what you know, and where you know.

And all three did just that...

The auctioneer held an auction. The TV presenter produced a show. The promoter promoted. And they did it on familiar ground - home ground advantage.

> I personally really liked "Crazy
> Ron." His enthusiasm was infectious!

The way you talk about him is infectious and makes me want to see him in action. :o)

> Do you mean the pens reminded you of that?

I'm not going to say what part of the agent's story reminded me of "Badges". You'll have to think about that one yourself. :o)

> Here's what I think the *smart* approach is
> now.... It's to duplicate Cameron Fisher.

Agreed!

> Be the one organizing things. Then hire
> others to do the work. Plan things out well
> (he was the only one who seemed to plan
> things out on paper first), to ensure you
> make a profit.

> Then, you have others doing the work, yet
> you reap the benefits of a successful
> plan.... :)

> In the show, the only thing Cameron Fisher
> did (that I saw), apart from organizing
> things, was to call people to try to get 25
> people to come to his dinner (he did that
> himself), and he also conducted the actual
> auction.

> Everything else he outsourced -- caterers
> for the dinner, telemarketers to sell
> tickets to the luncheon, celebrity speakers,
> and I think he even managed to get someone
> else to organize the items for auction!

> If you're looking to make, say, $25,000,
> paying a small team of people $20 per hour
> each to do a lot of the work for you isn't
> very much....

> To me, that was one of the most important
> lessons.... But I think to make sure you
> make a profit, you have to plan things well
> beforehand.... :)

As I've not seen the show I can't comment on the planing part per se. However, I bet he didn't write a plan as much as create a checklist of things. A checklist which covered the downside so the upside would take care of itself.

Was his note pad one of those small ones that can fit in your shirt pocket?

Hmmm... maybe I should call the guy I know who organizes the Brisbane Rock Estedford every year... :o)

Michael Ross.


Organize a Get Together With Your Friends And Play This...

First I've got to get a cell phone:^)dno
 

Best to start at square one...;-)

Donald Trump and the Art of the Deal....
 

Hi Michael,

You know, by coincidence, I just managed to get Donald Trump's "The Art of the Deal" yesterday! I was leafing through it in the car, then came home to see your post!

I've only read a few pages so far, but it really looks like a great book for entrepreneurs.... :)

> Yep. As Donald Trump says... Don't think you
> can do everything yourself. Get and use help
> when you need it.

> It's interesting to note he also says...
> stay close to home. What got you to the top
> is what keeps you there and it saves on
> travelling time.

> Another way to put it would also be to say
> to stick with what you know, and where you
> know.

Yes.... Business isn't always easy, so it's best to give yourself the best chance of success that you can.... :)

> And all three did just that...

> The auctioneer held an auction. The TV
> presenter produced a show. The promoter
> promoted. And they did it on familiar ground
> - home ground advantage.

Yes.... Very true.... :)

> As I've not seen the show I can't comment on
> the planing part per se. However, I bet he
> didn't write a plan as much as create a
> checklist of things. A checklist which
> covered the downside so the upside would
> take care of itself.

> Was his note pad one of those small ones
> that can fit in your shirt pocket?

No, actually it was a full-sized notepad.... Unfortunately, we didn't see any close-ups of exactly what he was writing, so I don't really know what he had written there....!

Probably at least some of it would have been a list of people to call to organize these events, and he was writing while he was on the phone so he was probably jotting down the details of how it was going as he went along....

> Hmmm... maybe I should call the guy I know
> who organizes the Brisbane Rock Estedford
> every year... :o)

Heheh.... :) Well, my brother Thomas (as he posted here) is looking into organizing an underage dance party.... I speak with my brother regularly (we live in different cities), and he's been speaking with some of his friends who have experience in this area....

As for me, I have something in mind I can do in Sydney too, though it's not really an event but something else....

A couple days ago I spoke to a company which specializes in promotional products. The essential idea -- if it comes to fruition -- is to provide a kind of product in a specific situation for sale (I can't give more details right now). I may also be able to get sponsorship too (I haven't looked into that part yet).... I'm waiting for the quote from the promotional products company, then I'll get an idea of the feasibility....

However, I was wondering if any of these ideas are transportable online? Could you have an online "event" which people would pay to "attend"? I'm not sure.... It's something to think about....

What do people pay for online? They are willing to buy products (both "real-world" products which they get in the mail, and also "virtual" downloadable ones).... They are willing to join private membership web sites if the benefits are great enough. But are they willing to pay to "attend" online events? I haven't heard of that yet....

Okay.... I'm going to be reading more of Donald Trump's book over the next few days.... Thanks for mentioning the book, Michael!

Dien Rice

comment: what people will buy online
 

> Hi Michael,

> However, I was wondering if any of these
> ideas are transportable online?

My take from the story Dien is that each person
took an element of their business and appealed
to the "highest" paying customer...so my question
would be: looking at your business and your
customer base who would be the highest paying
customers and what do they want? if I'm not sure
who that is...can I develop a method to find
out who my customer is and how much they have
to spend and address what their needs...

Those stories demonstrated each person knew how much their customer would be willing to pay for certain services and products...

Another thing I learned from the story is how
important it is to be really focused on the
needs of your target market...notice they did
not try to make money by going outside of their
field of interest...

Could you
> have an online "event" which
> people would pay to "attend"?

No, but you could have a Product or service
your "best" customer would pay for...

this all reminds me of the BYBA story on your
board and how Monique focused in on her target
market and offered them a newsletter subscription.
Prior to doing this she believed her customer
would only want a freebie..her income jumped
exponentially as the people in the story who
made a lot in 2.5 days...

I guess if you really know your target and was
under a deadline,be it self imposed or not, you
would figure out a way to make the money...
deadlines and hunger makes one verrry creative..

Wayne Dyer has a tape called :
How to get what you reallllllllllllllllly,
realllllllllllllly want...and the reason is
because many don't know what they realllllllllly
want...