What Would YOU Do ...? (a little different...)
 

Hey All -

The idea of Ankesh's thread is excellent - but I created a new thread for the ultimate test ...

...everything is the same as what Ankesh asked - only difference is - what would you do - with only a $100 ... AND NO VEHICLE.

This is a major difference ...now it might sound a bit weird or off the mark - but, in fact, if you factor in the cost of a car, insurance and gasoline - many options come off the table immediately - while others are added...

...for example, chatteling (a great, GREAT biz/skill to be sure) becomes unreasonable ...many things become unreasonable if your vehicle breaks down or simply no longer exists...

...in a way, it really forces you to make your money online or with your phone or both ...

...so again, my question is - what would you do with only a hundred bones - an internet connection, a phone and perhaps PayPal, an eBay account and a email?

This ratchets things up quite a bit...

Thanks to all in advance...

KK

Re: What Would YOU Do ...? (a little different...)
 

Greetings Kelly,


First off, having no vehicle is not a set back to us old timers. It's called plan "B". "Rapid Transit" is a term many a young folk discount as alternative transportation.

Back in Los Angeles, I did everything by bus. The best part is that the RTD was always on time and I never missed an appointment, not to mention that the bus usually stopped within a block of all my appointments.

My clients didn't care how I got there. As long as I made my appointments, sold them what they wanted, they were none the wiser.

Also let's not discount shoe leather. You would be surprised what you can find when you actually, hoof it. Many times riding in cars or buses can actually prevent you from uncovering some very nice chattel.

Let me give you a real time example.

Currently, I live on 1400 acres of land and my 4 bedroom 2 bath home sits in the middle of 400 acres of orange groves. Also across the road is a plant nursery.

All I would need to do is walk across the two lane hard road and ask the grounds keeper what he would charge me to purchase some of his exotic plants.

With prices in hand, I would come back and get on the internet and head over to craigslist.org.

Or

I could get my son and we would head over to the 20 foot tree stand, climb up and do some deer hunting. Once we take one down, we would gut it and prepare it for shipping.

Or

I could simply walk into the groves, pluck off some oranges, package them up to ship.

When I have a buyer, I get on the internet and go to the UPS website and schedule a pickup and they bill me later in the month.

Or

Well you get the picture

Woody Quiñones
The Promotional Guy

Re: What Would YOU Do ...? (a little different...)
 

Woody -

While picking oranges and hunting deer might be options for you - for many they aren't ... but I get what you're saying ... thanks

KK

Re: What Would YOU Do ...? (a little different...)
 

Hi Kelly,

I'd modify my original reply (here) and focus more on "dropshipping" sources...

That is, sell products which you could sell via dropshipping. (That's where the supplier ships it directly to your customer...)

I've investigated this for Australian sources... Also, I think there are a number of "closeout" sources in the USA which will dropship... (For example, do a search for "closeout" and "dropship"...)

That would mean you could run a listing on eBay, sell the product via eBay, then dropship it from the closeout supplier.

With this, there would always be the risk that the supplier could run out of items before your auction is over... So it might be a good idea to order a few, so you have them in stock to ship out in case that happens...

Also, I'd do a "test order" just for myself first, to make sure the closeout products supplier is reliable...

There are many people on eBay already doing the same thing... So you may want to find "niche" products that not too many other people are handling... Or at least test things out...

Another way you might be able to compete is to sell "combinations" of products - where you sell a number of products as a "package". (I don't think it matters if the products arrive from different suppliers, as long as they all arrive...) That way, your offer is different from those who are selling items singly...

Hope that helps with some ideas... :)

Cheers,

Dien

Re: What Would YOU Do ...? (a little different...)
 

On the Mention of Find "niche" products that not too many other people are handling...

It Doesn't have to be only through Dropshipping...

Search out Unique and Hidden :) Specialty Products that few are Marketing...

As I posted in another thread...

There are So many Quality Specialty products online, Local and Worldwide, many with No Affiliate program and Weak marketing departments just waiting to be Approached...

Joint Ventures, Finder Fee and a Multitude of other ways to Help them Grow their Sales...

A few of my Favorite specialty product Finding resources...
http://www.strangenewproducts.com/
http://www.amazinginnovations.com/
http://www.trendhunter.com/
(All kinds of Great Finds throughout their site & at the bottom of their home page)

And through http://www.google.com/alerts
By using “niche” Keyword phrases of stuff that few Know about!

Following this method, Finding the Winners and negotiating the Best Deals can Definitely put you into some Great "Toll Positions" and Make you Rich... ;)

If you know how to Smartly Market and Sell stuff...

Phil

The answer is in the YOU. What you would and wouldn't do.
 

100 bux. No car. Internet, yes. Phone, yes. PayPal is free as is eBay account and an assumption that if you have Internet you have email...or can use a free one. Right?

The face-to-face or perhaps I should say the IN YOUR FACE salesperson might make a sample or mock-up and try to sell ADVERTISING. Or some service to business.

Physical types, who can mow lawns, wash windows, clean garages etc. have to walk (or get there somehow) to areas and start knocking on doors offering their services. The 100 bux limits the equipment you can buy.

People with medical of physical challenges may have to figure a way to work from their home. Phone answering, phone calling, dictation, etc. and as always it is finding the customers to make this a reality.

Although anyone can send a letter or an email, so even if you can't do physical chatteling, you can do FINDING and selling. It is the basic concept that Jim Straw's MCE is based on (yes, I'm a member).

So it isn't about what TO do, it is about what you can and are willing to DO.

Some examples:

I might order some free business cards. Using google I'd see that I could get 250 cards for just 5.95 S & H.

On these cards could be offers for all kinds of things. And as far as having a car or not, it comes back to your choices of where you live...yes, you did agree to live there. In Cuyahoga Falls, I'm within walking distance (although I do walk at least 5 miles a day to begin with) of thousands of people and businesses including two GOLF courses and two driving ranges.

So, I'd offer a FREE golf lesson for my business card. On the spot. FREE. But I'd have a little bag with a digital camcorder...and for say 10 bux, I'd shoot a dvd they could take home with them.

As has been my philosophy since day one online, you have to start where you are at, with what you've got and KNOW where you want to go.

What do I want that 100 bux to do? Last summer I started with 5 dollars a neighborhood garage sale and today it is over 500 bux and growing. I walked to the garage sale, sold mostly on eBay and found and sold things since then on craigslist...a lot of it I found right here in Cuyahoga Falls. Some I never touched, just had it picked up or delivered.

Now even without the camcorder, I know I'd get about 10 mini-lessons in a two hour period...for 100 dollars...next day, repeat...but most of those people would buy a few more discounted packages from me.

Every person reading this COULD take the 100 dollars and start to turn it around...the secret is to keep it moving...keep it growing.

BUT, each of us is sitting at the computer filtering and screening the ideas...which could be very lucrative for a few...but not for us. Right?

So it has to start even before the 100 dollars. It has to begin at Square One (bet no one saw that coming...he.he) with knowing what you want.

For ME, the best use of the 100 dollars would be to invest in some nice envelopes and create a sales letter to send to a select few MARKETERS offering my services. I wouldn't have to sell a thousand widgets or whatever, I'd just have to sell myself to just ONE of them. And that 100 dollars would be 25 times that amount in a week. Then I'd have to consider what I'd want to do with that.

There are as many ways to use that 100 dollars as there are people to use it...the secret to it is...

start where you are at,
with what you have,
know where you want to go
take action
adjust
repeat

So for those who may SHOUT that THEY could do this or that or the other, it MAY be great for you, but it doesn't fit for most of us...and that goes for any of the good (thank you) ideas being posted.

Gordon Jay Alexander

Re: What Would YOU Do ...? (a little different...)
 

I changed a while ago and it is now happening.

This is the best thing that has happened to me since I started marketing.

Mine was a couple of days ago, when I made the first page on Google for the word I had built my site for.

Let me go back a few weeks, I am pretty successful with the Affiliate Program I was doing, but I was not satisfied.

People told me get a list, well the list started and disappeard as fast as they were joining. I quit that pretty fast.

Another bit of advice I received, write Articles. Now that I knew I could do. Anyone can write, it becomes really enjoyable.

I wrote 20 articles posted them to 150 Directories, quite a lot of work it was.

It was not long before I began to see results, I began getting to No1 on Google for various words, not a great lot of hits however the positioning began to show.

I knew what I really needed, I needed to get on the first page with the one word where I knew I would get hits and I also knew people would join me.

You know how it is, you gradually creep up, but way back, and when you look at the first page the same guys are always there. In fact, to my mind these people positions seemed to be set in concrete.

With a lot more work, two days ago I got to No8 on the first page for the word Isagenix, immediately 4 people joined as members of my team.

If you don't think I was overjoyed, I was speechless.

I have remained there today so keep your fingers crossed for me.

I can assure you, if your business is dragging along, try and write articles. Sorry, I should not have said, don't try, just do it. Seems like someone's slogan?

noviorbis

Re: ratchett up even more!
 

Another person who frowns when others who have actually done something documents and writes a book about it. I for one enjoy reading about what others did and the results they produced and good on them that they did like Gordon advises... document it and package it up into an info product. If you don't want to buy it nobody is forcing you to click on their links. Instead of worrying about others who are doing something why don't you post something worthwhile?

Re: ratchett up even more!
 

Thanks for posting about sowpub as an idea bank vs sales platforms.

Sowpub is one of the two forums I visit regularly. And I do so because of the ideas.

But:

1. Writing and participating on forums do take time.
2. Forums are one of the easiest free ways to generate traffic to websites.
3. And so - many people combine the two.

They write a post and try to sell too. I think there is nothing wrong with trying to sell - as long as you provide something of value in return too.

(On a few forums that I visit maybe once or twice a month, I do have better signatures that sell more effectively and directly than I do at sowpub too... On other forums, I do try to sell a bit more directly. On sowpub, I try to make friends.)

Usually, if the post or the poster provides good ideas, an ad will be allowed. Even if it is a tad bit blatant. I think that is fair. But thats just my opinion.

Re: What Would YOU Do ...? (a little different...)
 

Hi Kelly,

My only point is that, it's not the oranges or deer hunting, but looking around where I'm at and working with what I got.

Let me show you how my 10 year old daughter did it. Bare in mind, she has no formal training except listening to dad spout off marketing strategies to her.

My daughter Lizzie, started with a piece of paper and NO MONEY.

In Sunday School she learned how to make origami fish. Great but what can you do with that?

Well she took the piece of paper and made about 10 little origami paper fishes. Next she took her little marker board and a dry erase marker and a made sign. It read:

Lizzie's Fish Stand
25¢ Each

Then in the front of our home, (this was when we lived in the city), she setup her sign and sat on a kitchen chair.

Within a matter of 1 hour she sold all her origami fishes, made some more and sold them as well and generated $11.

So in reality, you could start with literally no captial, no vehicle, no Internet, no paypal, limited education, as in my daughter's case, but with sheer tenacity and drive generate an income.

So let me repeat what Gordon so perfectly stated:

the secret to it is...

start where you are at,
with what you have,
know where you want to go
take action
adjust
repeat

Woody Quiñones
The Promotional Guy

Here's one Key Way to Bump Yourself Up That Really Works!
 

OK… what would you do to get rich if all you had was $50 and you had rent to pay and mouths to feed?

If it were me, I wouldn’t waste my time trying to get rich on the internet until I had first built a steady offline income. Last month I did a little over $1000 in online sales (and not a single dollar of it came from any link I placed on SOW) and that was a good month. But offline $1000+ days are somewhat common. For me it is far easier to make money offline than online. For you it may be different but I wouldn’t advise anyone who was down to his or her last few dollars to sit on their duffs in front of their computer screen looking for a way to make money overnight.

Instead of just tossing out a few untested ideas and discussing general theory that may or may not work, I prefer to find out what has produced results for others and look at the actions they took to produce those results and then go out and duplicate those actions and produce my own results. I like to look for problems people want solved and then take care of it for them.


Now here’s one “Proven” way to turn $50 into thousands. This works for those who are willing to work but it requires real work in the great outdoors. It’s not for those who dream only of online riches. And it’s not for those who are afraid to talk to others face to face or who have something to hide because to do this you will be check out by the police and you may be required to run your fingerprints by the FBI.

First go to www.AddressAmerica.com (don’t worry I won’t make a single dime off you if you follow this tip) and invest $8 to download their operations manual.

I am only sharing something specific that has worked for me in the past. If you don’t like my mentioning something here that can help a few go getters make some money and save some lives then too bad. I like to make friends as much as anybody but I’m not going to dampen my passion to help someone because of a few bad apples who always seem to take offense at what others are doing or not doing. I don’t need or want friends like that.

Once you study the Address America Operations manual use $2 to print off a few copies of one of the magic marketing flyers. Then go see your local Chief of Police and the Fire Chief. Show them what you want to do with the address signs only (not the back end products I'll be sharing with you) and ask them for their help. Offer to donate a percentage of your sign installations to the Fire Department so they can purchase more life saving equipment and use the remaining $40 to purchase any required permits to post flyers on doors.

Because flyer response can be less than 1% in some areas and as high as 10% in others I would first start knocking on doors and explaining that I was helping the fire department to raise funds for new equipment by installing life saving night vision address signs and helping the police protect citizens by installing peep hole viewers and high security door locks that can't be picked opened.

Ask for a 50% deposit and the balance upon installation. Use that money to purchase your inventory. Use the night vision address signs as a door opener. Then use the peep hole viewers and keyless pick proof high tech finger print door locks as back end products. If you don’t want to do the installations of the door viewers or locks yourself you could always set up a joint venture with a lock smith.

Put together an information product on a CD or DVD. Call it a “Free Crime Prevention Kit”. Give each one of your sign customers one and include a thank you letter plus a short note that says something to the effect of “If I were a thief, I could enter your house in 10 seconds flat, rob you blind and leave without a trace and because I’d leave no sign of a forced entry chances are the police and your insurance company would suspect you of insurance fraud”. – To find out how any thief can do exactly that… watch this DVD now or turn on your computer and go to: http://snipurl.com/BumpKey and see how any thief can get away with it.

Then simply call or go back to see them a day later and offer to install a bump proof lock and peep hole door viewer. This is a simple business that you can feel good about!

Cheers,
Steve Shulenski
http://www.PetStarUSA.com

Re: What Would YOU Do ...? (a little different...)
 

Hey EVERYONE - thanks so much! There's a treasure trove of great ideas and actionable stuff in all of the above ...sorry for my late response (just got back from Easter with family/friends)...

Best,

KK

Tweak the Niche
 

Just a quick post to what Dien said about Ebay for example.

Yes on Ebay you could be selling a product that others already sell
and yes you'll have to niche but that could simply mean having your
auctions end during the day or night whatever is opposite to others
then see if there is demand for an auction of that type.

Niche could mean selling your product to one specific region so that regions' buyers have greatly reduced shipping cost.

Niche could mean adding special instructions in a second language because that regions buyers are bi-lingual.

I guess it could go on and on and on...

Hope this helps.