Down On My Luck - Challenge
 

In a post a little further down Michael Ross posted this, “Imagine this... you are out of work, have no money coming in whatsoever and cannot get any on credit cards or in any other way. You are too proud to go on welfare, have no products to sell, no customer list, refuse to get money selling your body for sex, refuse to get a job working for someone else for a wage and you refuse to sell any of your possessions. Knowing what you know now, who you know now and having the resources you currently have at your disposal, what would you do to get yourself back on your feet before you ran out of money?

You only have $1,000 left.”

Well this very closely fits where I am right now. Only I don't have $1,000. I left my job awhile back because I was having panic attack caused by flashbacks of childhood trauma inflicted by a neighbor, and the corresponding depression also made me very ineffectual at my job as well.

I moved back in with my parents to save money while I got myself put back together. But my car, filled with all my belongings, broke down halfway to where my parents lived. Getting that repaired took a big chunk of my money. I moved in with my parents. Then a tooth of mine broke in half and I had to a dentist for that. And then shortly thereafter there came a strong suspiscian that I could have cancer...and just about the rest of my money paid for tests.

Emotionally I'm better but still not entirely stable. I'm afraid of getting another job because I've found that going into uncontrollable panic in front of customers and co-workers isn't exactly fun.

I've been reading the posts here. Several months before I had my "breakdown" I had bought Robert Allen's "Multiple Streams of Internet Income." (I take heart from the story in that about the guy with manic-depression who is now a success).

The money gets tighter (I've now borrowed money to help pay my car insurance, and already had $1,500 credit before this all began). And I keep thinking, "What can I do to make money?"

I've done a few small things in the past month or two to make money. A yard sale got me almost $150. I bought a few small things to list on ebay that ended this weekend...the profit from that only about $20. This month I've managed to buy and resell a few things to people I know and made about $40. And I've invested in putting stuff for sale in an antique/craft mall like store. The money I pay to have stuff there, i.e. rent, is really cheap (I've compared it to others)...but so little of my stuff sold last month I again only made about $20.

When I first started selling stuff through this store I told myself I was crazy because it seemed like an insane thing to do when you're broke. And I talk now and then of leaving...because supposedly it's an insane thing to pay rent for something like this when you're broke. But something happens whenever I am there, or when I start talking about selling stuff there, or make plans on how I might posssibly increase my chance for profits, etc. I start getting excited...I actually start smiling, I start feeling like there's a reason for living.

But I am so stressed about the money, and the feelings of panic that surface now and then. For me Michael's "pretend" challenge made to get people thinking is so similar to where I am actually at. And I don't know if I can do it. I don't know if I can get past the barriers of thinking like I've always had (as someone who has always been an employee not an entrepreneur).

I've always wanted to be in business for myself...but I've always listened to conventional wisdom that said you should have so much money saved before starting any venture. And it takes money to make money. It seems crazy to do anything when you are broke...but I also don't know if I'm capable of holding a job at this point.

I flip back and forth between being determined to find a way to support myself to thinking that I probably am not capable. Did I mention that I've been incredibly shy most of my life? So while I've thought of doing things such as clean people's houses I've gotten too nervous to do anything about it such as even let people know that I'm available. Desperation may soon help me overcome that. :)

Anyway, I hope y'all don't mind my really long post. For me it has actually been kind of a relief and release to write so much of this down. I hope to follow some of the suggestions on this board and hopefully come up with a solution(s) to my problem.

Thanks.

Sarah, here's how to jumpstart profits for your store...
 

Hello Sarah,

First of all you've come to the right place seeking advice.
A more caring bunch of entrepreneurs than these guys, you'd have difficulty finding
anywhere. Dien, Gordon, Michael, Boyd, Don, Martin, Marye, Erik,
Cornell, and all the others are simply wonderful.

This is what leapt off the page of what you wrote:

"But something happens whenever I am there, or when I start talking
about selling stuff there, or make plans on how I might posssibly
increase my chance for profits, etc. I start getting excited...I
actually start smiling, I start feeling like there's a reason for
living."

Here's your key: Focus on what brings you joy. You obviously enjoy
running your little antique store. My advice is keeping doing that;
but now the challenge is in making your little retail biz a success.

As you may well imagine there are literally HUNDREDS of ways to
advertise and promote a retail store. If you need more suggestions and ideas,
please don't hesitate to write to me. I'm sure my suggestions, along
with some of the others from this board, will give you ample food for
thought.

Don't think too much however - just do!

The following are some unique ideas that won't break the bank. I
suggest you try one or two of these.

Dutch Auction
Here's an idea that is sure to attract a lot of interest and word of
mouth publicity. Place an article in your window with a large price
tag showing your regular retail price. Put another sign next to it
saying that the price will be reduced by a certain amount (eg $1)
each day until it is sold. Adjust the price each morning at opening time.

People will anxiously wait for the price to go down, and before long,
someone will become impatient and will come in to buy it before
someone else does. It is very doubtful that the price will fall below
cost before you sell it and the publicity will be very good.

Balloon Ads
Release a number of helium filled balloons outside your store each day
for a week. Attach to each balloon a certificate entitling the finder
to a free gift of merchandise if brought to your store within a
specified time. If the certificate is not produced within the
specified time (say 48 hours) offer a substantial discount on
merchandise purchased within say, a week. Helium filled balloons rise
fast and high and will usually travel a long way before bursting and
returning to earth. The chances of one being brought back within 48
hours is small, but you may get several within a week or so. You
could therefore release quite a lot of balloons and make at least
one of the free gifts a reasonably valuable one.

Publicize the promotion in store for a week or two prior to its start
and notify the media of the event. If they don't give you pre-publicity
you'll likely get some newspaper and other coverage when you actually
release the balloons. If the merchandise prizes are products you sell
(and they should be) involve your suppliers in the promotion for free
supply of the prizes.

Window Competition -
Place a jar of buttons, marbles, smarties or other small objects in
the window of your store. Invite passers by to estimate the number of
objects in the jar by filling in a card or entry form available inside
the store. This will not only get people into your store but many of
them will be people who may not normally shop with you. Include a
space on the entry form for their address and phone number and advise
that the winning entry will be notified by phone and mail. This will
give you two chances to get them to buy from you. When they come in
for the entry form and after the competition closes, you'll have lots
of names and addresses to add to your mailing list.

Who are They? -
Place a number (10 to 12 is about right) of photos of prominent local
and nationally famous people in your shop window with a sign asking
"Who are they?". Have entry forms inside your shop with a box near the
cash register for entries. Offer a reasonable cash or merchandise
prize for the first entry opened naming all persons correctly. Run the
competition for at least 2 weeks, but not more than 4.

If it is successful you could run a new competition each 2
weeks for a couple of months, then drop it for a while. A variation of
this would be a competition for kids with animal photos instead of
people, with the kids being required to correctly identify the animals.
Don't make it too hard or people won't enter. Keep all entries to
capture names and addresses.

Notice Board -
Place a notice board in a prominent place in your store with a
sign saying, "This is your Community Notice Board". It should be
available to individuals or non profit organizations to advertise
items for sale, swap or buy, or coming events. It's a cheap way to
increase traffic in your shop by a little community involvement.

God bless.
Brent Whinfield
[email protected]
Confessions Of A Software Thousandaire!
How a computer moron can create hot software products
for profit, week after week, after week, after week, after..
Fifteen desktop videos reveal all!
http://www.thousandaire.com

> In a post a little further down Michael Ross
> posted this, “Imagine this... you are out of
> work, have no money coming in whatsoever and
> cannot get any on credit cards or in any
> other way. You are too proud to go on
> welfare, have no products to sell, no
> customer list, refuse to get money selling
> your body for sex, refuse to get a job
> working for someone else for a wage and you
> refuse to sell any of your possessions.
> Knowing what you know now, who you know now
> and having the resources you currently have
> at your disposal, what would you do to get
> yourself back on your feet before you ran
> out of money?

> You only have $1,000 left.”

> Well this very closely fits where I am right
> now. Only I don't have $1,000. I left my job
> awhile back because I was having panic
> attack caused by flashbacks of childhood
> trauma inflicted by a neighbor, and the
> corresponding depression also made me very
> ineffectual at my job as well.

> I moved back in with my parents to save
> money while I got myself put back together.
> But my car, filled with all my belongings,
> broke down halfway to where my parents
> lived. Getting that repaired took a big
> chunk of my money. I moved in with my
> parents. Then a tooth of mine broke in half
> and I had to a dentist for that. And then
> shortly thereafter there came a strong
> suspiscian that I could have cancer...and
> just about the rest of my money paid for
> tests.

> Emotionally I'm better but still not
> entirely stable. I'm afraid of getting
> another job because I've found that going
> into uncontrollable panic in front of
> customers and co-workers isn't exactly fun.

> I've been reading the posts here. Several
> months before I had my "breakdown"
> I had bought Robert Allen's "Multiple
> Streams of Internet Income." (I take
> heart from the story in that about the guy
> with manic-depression who is now a success).

> The money gets tighter (I've now borrowed
> money to help pay my car insurance, and
> already had $1,500 credit before this all
> began). And I keep thinking, "What can
> I do to make money?"

> I've done a few small things in the past
> month or two to make money. A yard sale got
> me almost $150. I bought a few small things
> to list on ebay that ended this
> weekend...the profit from that only about
> $20. This month I've managed to buy and
> resell a few things to people I know and
> made about $40. And I've invested in putting
> stuff for sale in an antique/craft mall like
> store. The money I pay to have stuff there,
> i.e. rent, is really cheap (I've compared it
> to others)...but so little of my stuff sold
> last month I again only made about $20.

> When I first started selling stuff through
> this store I told myself I was crazy because
> it seemed like an insane thing to do when
> you're broke. And I talk now and then of
> leaving...because supposedly it's an insane
> thing to pay rent for something like this
> when you're broke. But something happens
> whenever I am there, or when I start talking
> about selling stuff there, or make plans on
> how I might posssibly increase my chance for
> profits, etc. I start getting excited...I
> actually start smiling, I start feeling like
> there's a reason for living.

> But I am so stressed about the money, and
> the feelings of panic that surface now and
> then. For me Michael's "pretend"
> challenge made to get people thinking is so
> similar to where I am actually at. And I
> don't know if I can do it. I don't know if I
> can get past the barriers of thinking like
> I've always had (as someone who has always
> been an employee not an entrepreneur).

> I've always wanted to be in business for
> myself...but I've always listened to
> conventional wisdom that said you should
> have so much money saved before starting any
> venture. And it takes money to make money.
> It seems crazy to do anything when you are
> broke...but I also don't know if I'm capable
> of holding a job at this point.

> I flip back and forth between being
> determined to find a way to support myself
> to thinking that I probably am not capable.
> Did I mention that I've been incredibly shy
> most of my life? So while I've thought of
> doing things such as clean people's houses
> I've gotten too nervous to do anything about
> it such as even let people know that I'm
> available. Desperation may soon help me
> overcome that. :)

> Anyway, I hope y'all don't mind my really
> long post. For me it has actually been kind
> of a relief and release to write so much of
> this down. I hope to follow some of the
> suggestions on this board and hopefully come
> up with a solution(s) to my problem.

> Thanks.




The Duh! Guide To Creating Software Profits.

Re: Down On My Luck - Challenge
 

Hi:

First, let me say you are a real survivor and don't ever give up.

It sounds like you have been doing some things that are making you money. I think if you "tweak" what you are doing you could really increase your profits.

Brent has listed some very good ideas for generating store traffic so I will comment on some of the other things you are doing.

If you have already had a yard sale, consider doing another one in a few weeks. You can get away with having about one every 4-6 weeks. Maybe try a friends yard. My advice is not to buy anything for your sale, find motivated people that are looking to have someone clean out their homes, garages warehouses etc. and haul their stuff away to sell. All you have to do is put a flyer together to advertise this service and distribute at least 300-500 flyers in a older, nice neighborhood. You will get calls. Or try a low cost, small ad in the classified section.

If you are limited on funds and depending on the area you live in, consider placing an ad looking for things people do not want, and focus on motivated sellers only. This could bring you many opportunities and if you have expertise in antiques you could really find some good deals. Just advertise "Will buy, Things you don't want." Followed by a list of items you would like to work with.

Note: I just had a mini-sale in my yard and netted about $200. If you want BIG sale focus on making flyers, signs and posters to get traffic. Also, if you are having any summer events near you, think about tying your sale in to those events. Since there is natural traffic. You can have huge days with $500-1000 cash from stuff you can get for free.

Good Luck and God Bless,

John McTighe




Make Money Buying and Selling

I ben der...done dat. Here's some suggestions.
 

Sarah! Hang on kiddo! MANY "true" entroopeneers (MYSELF included) have been exactly in the shape you find yourself in.

Here's a couple examples from my illustrious past;
I preface this by saying "I" cannot take orders from another human bein. I have "refused" to "look for a JOB" when I've been "temporarily without cash"! WHY? Because I KNOW who "I" am!

Case 1)
Arrived in small mountain town after horrendous divorce in Chicago. Had $200 left (TO MY NAME) after train ride from Denver.
Got off train...walked across street and got a "flophouse room" for a week ($15) (Now had $185 left)
Asked flophouse clerk where the FANCIEST BAR was in town. (At 3pm in the afternoon in ANY fancy bar in this great country of ours. you WILL find the "movers and shakers" of the local business community. You'll find CEO's, Sales people and the IDEA people of companies..."taking an early break, before the "5pm crowd of worker bees"!)
Went to bar. Overheard conversation of new manager of new radio station talking with his investors about "some ideas" of HOW they'd get some "audience share" AWAY from the existing station.
All ideas I heard (too me) were crapola. Then I remembered a promo a station in suburbs of Chgo did that was VERY successful.
I went to office supply store and bought a 3-ring Binder and a few sheet protectors and a "magic marker".
That evening I created (with $5.69 worth of materials)....a modified Radio Promotion program I called, "BUMPER BUCKS"!
The next morn at approx 9:30am (With a "cold-call", let em get their first order of business over with but...ya gotta reach em BEFORE their FIRST appointment, which is usually at 10)...I walk into the radio station offices and ask to see "Allen". Receptionist asks , "WHO are you with? I tell her, I'm with Advantage Marketing and I have a promotion idea that COULD bring his station a LOT of listeners!"
(Sarah - the ONLY REASON WHY the "media".... Newspapers, TV, Radio stations...exist, is because of ADVERTISING! If their production does NOT bring eyes and/or ears...they CAN'T sell ads!)
(Jerry Seinfield was making TWO MILLION dollars an episode in his last year because of ONE REASON;
the advertising people selling ads for his show, could sell LOTS MORE than $2 million per show)
So..."Allen" asks me to "come in". I show him my "Bumper Bucks" promo (with my $5.69 promo package) and how it WILL bring listeners to ANY Radio Station...and he reacts as many of these "hi-browed execs" react who have just seen a GREAT IDEA presented in a sort of "schlocky format" (Just a black and red magic marker)...he says, "Well. I'm going to have to take this to my "board" for a "review"!
HORSEHOCKEY! HE is the "board" and "HE" has just "reviewed" my ingenious promo program which he "thinks" could bring desperately needed listeners BUT he doesn't know will work for sure because I have NOT given any "PROOF" that this promo has worked anywhere else before.
So...I bring out "all my sales guns" and hit him with, "Allen! I am offering this program to YOU ...FIRST....BEFORE I go across the street to the Station that's been here for 30 yrs. I thought YOU would want FIRST shot because YOU are the new guy in town! Well, so be it....thanks for your time....I go across the street." (and I start putting my pages back in the 3-ring binder and he grabs my arm and says, "HOLD IT! I'll take it!"

So...Allen paid me $2500 for the program...I sold 40 local businesses on the program at $300 each for 13 weeks....and I walked away with about $12,000 in my pockets.

And...venture #2 that cost me zilcho to get going;
I'm operating a "Fax Advertising" biz (in 1993) with my new puter and WinFax pro (sending Advertising Faxes "People who have Subscribed to my Fax-Ad service" when I come upon a Deli owner who tells me he's ALREADY sending out faxes to his list of customers who gave him their fax #'s to be faxed his Daily Specials. I ask him if "I" could take over Faxing to HIS list for $20 a day and he says, "Do It"!
So...no investment on my part other than a PC, a Modem and a Fax program and I've got someone committed to paying ME $200 every 2 weeks to send out Faxes to HIS Fax #'s.
Now...multiply that by 3, 4 or 20 Deli's and you've got yourself a BIZ with LITTLE investment!

You can also set up a "Permission Email Club" where you simply ask local restaurants and other biz to let you place your "Email Collection" bozes where their customers fillin a form and drop in the box. You send emails to these people an charge the restaurants and merchants a nice chuck o change each month for YOU sending emails to THEIR EXISTING customers.

Hey! I hope I've given you "something to CHEW ON" here.

Thanks for reading.....Don Alm

> In a post a little further down Michael Ross
> posted this, “Imagine this... you are out of
> work, have no money coming in whatsoever and
> cannot get any on credit cards or in any
> other way. You are too proud to go on
> welfare, have no products to sell, no
> customer list, refuse to get money selling
> your body for sex, refuse to get a job
> working for someone else for a wage and you
> refuse to sell any of your possessions.
> Knowing what you know now, who you know now
> and having the resources you currently have
> at your disposal, what would you do to get
> yourself back on your feet before you ran
> out of money?

> You only have $1,000 left.”

> Well this very closely fits where I am right
> now. Only I don't have $1,000. I left my job
> awhile back because I was having panic
> attack caused by flashbacks of childhood
> trauma inflicted by a neighbor, and the
> corresponding depression also made me very
> ineffectual at my job as well.

> I moved back in with my parents to save
> money while I got myself put back together.
> But my car, filled with all my belongings,
> broke down halfway to where my parents
> lived. Getting that repaired took a big
> chunk of my money. I moved in with my
> parents. Then a tooth of mine broke in half
> and I had to a dentist for that. And then
> shortly thereafter there came a strong
> suspiscian that I could have cancer...and
> just about the rest of my money paid for
> tests.

> Emotionally I'm better but still not
> entirely stable. I'm afraid of getting
> another job because I've found that going
> into uncontrollable panic in front of
> customers and co-workers isn't exactly fun.

> I've been reading the posts here. Several
> months before I had my "breakdown"
> I had bought Robert Allen's "Multiple
> Streams of Internet Income." (I take
> heart from the story in that about the guy
> with manic-depression who is now a success).

> The money gets tighter (I've now borrowed
> money to help pay my car insurance, and
> already had $1,500 credit before this all
> began). And I keep thinking, "What can
> I do to make money?"

> I've done a few small things in the past
> month or two to make money. A yard sale got
> me almost $150. I bought a few small things
> to list on ebay that ended this
> weekend...the profit from that only about
> $20. This month I've managed to buy and
> resell a few things to people I know and
> made about $40. And I've invested in putting
> stuff for sale in an antique/craft mall like
> store. The money I pay to have stuff there,
> i.e. rent, is really cheap (I've compared it
> to others)...but so little of my stuff sold
> last month I again only made about $20.

> When I first started selling stuff through
> this store I told myself I was crazy because
> it seemed like an insane thing to do when
> you're broke. And I talk now and then of
> leaving...because supposedly it's an insane
> thing to pay rent for something like this
> when you're broke. But something happens
> whenever I am there, or when I start talking
> about selling stuff there, or make plans on
> how I might posssibly increase my chance for
> profits, etc. I start getting excited...I
> actually start smiling, I start feeling like
> there's a reason for living.

> But I am so stressed about the money, and
> the feelings of panic that surface now and
> then. For me Michael's "pretend"
> challenge made to get people thinking is so
> similar to where I am actually at. And I
> don't know if I can do it. I don't know if I
> can get past the barriers of thinking like
> I've always had (as someone who has always
> been an employee not an entrepreneur).

> I've always wanted to be in business for
> myself...but I've always listened to
> conventional wisdom that said you should
> have so much money saved before starting any
> venture. And it takes money to make money.
> It seems crazy to do anything when you are
> broke...but I also don't know if I'm capable
> of holding a job at this point.

> I flip back and forth between being
> determined to find a way to support myself
> to thinking that I probably am not capable.
> Did I mention that I've been incredibly shy
> most of my life? So while I've thought of
> doing things such as clean people's houses
> I've gotten too nervous to do anything about
> it such as even let people know that I'm
> available. Desperation may soon help me
> overcome that. :)

> Anyway, I hope y'all don't mind my really
> long post. For me it has actually been kind
> of a relief and release to write so much of
> this down. I hope to follow some of the
> suggestions on this board and hopefully come
> up with a solution(s) to my problem.

> Thanks.




Some of my work from home programs.

Also....
 

Years ago...I discovered that ALL business people want ONE THING....MORE customers!

Thus...I also discovered that to "create" an "Advertising product or program" did NOT INVOLVE many dollars. To create your paper & ink "PRODUCT" was usually nothing more than using some "Press-Type" and a "mickey-mouse" sample of your "advertising product".

My "BUMPER-BUCKS" product was nothing more than a drawing on a piece of paper....costing me maybe 3cents. In fact, MOST of my "advertising products" were nothing more than drawings on paper.

One of my most successful advertisng programs was "placing Photo Business Cards on the covers of Video Rental Cases".

When "Full Color Photo Business Cards" first came out...I was one of the first to buy a "distributorship" for $495.

And I was also one of the first to find out that selling "business cards" for $250 per thousand was a HARD SELL....even in glitsy Aspen, Colorado.
(Especially when they had just pai $25 per M for their cards)

I thought these things were the greatest. Luckily, I bought a "distributorship" from an "honest" firm in Wisconsin who gave me some ideas on how to sell them.

However....with all MY sales background and "Sales Ability"....I could NOT convince biz people they should try these.

So...after a couple of weeks of trying, I managed to sell 3 orders and .....(now watch this! How "Stuff Happens" to people when you "Dare" to go out and "give a project a try....and you are CONCENTRATING ON YOUR PROJECT"!)

On the evening I received my first order of Full Color Business Cards....I had them out on my coffee table....my family was watching a Video Movie I had rented. Also on the coffee table in front of me was the blank, plastic Video Case the movie video came in.

Strictly by accident...I happened to pick up some of the full color photo business cards and just started to place them on top of blank, plastic video case.

I put one on the top of the front side and noticed it FIT with about a half inch to spare on either side. I then placed a 2nd underneath and instantly noticed there was POSSIBLY room underneath the 2nd card for a 3rd card...and sure nuff, there was.

THREE Photo Business Cards could fit PERFECTLY on EACH SIDE of a Video Rental Case. So....

BANG! It HIT me like a ton of bricks!

I realized I could fit SIX Photo Business Cards on the cover of a Video.

So...I then made up a sample with 6 Photo Cards and went to see some Video Stores the next morn.

I showed them my sample and asked them if I were to provide them with FREE Video Cases...would they
accept them and hand them out to their Video Renters....each day.

The answer was a resounding, "You bet!"

So...with the OK from 7 Video Stores...I took my samples to the same people who had turned me down, as far as buying just the Photo Cards...and I was amazed to find that these same people who had rejected the idea of buying Photo Business Cards....were NOW....HIGHLY RECEPTIVE to buying Photo Business Cards....ON THE COVERS OF VIDEO RENTAL CASES...that would be handed out to Video Movie Renters...each day.

The SAME people who rejected paying me $250 for a thousand Cards were NOW willing to pay me $495 to have their Photo Cards on 100 Video Cases for 3 months.

WOW! It's ALL in the "marketing"!

So... with very little investment and nothing more than a "home-made sample" (and the "energy and guts" to give it a try)....I was able to sell over 200 business people on the "program" AND...sell over 2,500 "Biz-Op" packages for $495 ea. (Indubinantly my greatest success)

So...my dear Sarah...my suggestion to you on this Sunday in August is to "think about" creating some sort of "advertising" program...because these are "paper & Ink" programs.

Ohhh....one other thought (bear with me)

The ABSOLUTELY HOTTEST...RIP YOUR GUTS OUT...KICK BUTT....HOT TOPIC OF ALL TIME IS.....

"How To Show Stay At Home People How They Can Make Money At Home"!

Here's the story;
(This COULD be what you are looking for)
With one of my many projects I decided I needed help so....I ran an ad that not only pulled over 500 responses within the first week BUT...the same ad continues to pull a few hundred more responses for weeks after.

I'm going to give you the exact words to run in your local newspaper;

"Home Typist Wanted! Must be able to type 60wpm. Call xxx-xxxx"

Now...have a recorded message on that number to collect names & addys of callers and send them a Sales Package for a $39 Report on "How To Make Money Typing At Home"....

Now...granted....this little thing allowed me to sell a few thousand "Home Typing" reports....some years ago and you probably could tell me..."Don! It won't sell nowadays in the 21st Century...people are more sophisticated!
To which I respond with;
HOGWASH! I'll bet there are MORE people who would pop for a $39 report om "How To Make Money Typing...From Home!"

Again....if you just "SIT THERE AND WONDER WHAT"... you will NEVER KNOW!

So....get up off your behind and go out and TRY SOMETHING....ANYTHING....EVEN IF YOU DON'T THINK IT HAS A CHANCE IN HELL OF SELLING THE FIRST COPY OR GETTIN AMY RESPONSE....YOU WILL NEVER KNOW UNLESS YOU TRY!

And...I can guarantee you something else;
The responses you get COULD lead you off into a different, more profitable tangent....an area you would NEVER have thought of had you not taken the FIRST STEP....with your first attempt.

So...the MAIN think I'd like to leave you with is;
Think....Create....and DO IT!

If you just sit there PARALYZED WITH FEAR...you are a gonner. You have GOT to get something...anything....going.

TAKE A STEP and try something!

The most successful people I've ever known...had MANY previous FAILURES....before they "Hit It!"

Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to "expound".

Don Alm

> Sarah! Hang on kiddo! MANY "true"
> entroopeneers (MYSELF included) have been
> exactly in the shape you find yourself in.

> Here's a couple examples from my illustrious
> past;
> I preface this by saying "I"
> cannot take orders from another human bein.
> I have "refused" to "look for
> a JOB" when I've been "temporarily
> without cash"! WHY? Because I KNOW who
> "I" am!

> Case 1)
> Arrived in small mountain town after
> horrendous divorce in Chicago. Had $200 left
> (TO MY NAME) after train ride from Denver.
> Got off train...walked across street and got
> a "flophouse room" for a week
> ($15) (Now had $185 left)
> Asked flophouse clerk where the FANCIEST BAR
> was in town. (At 3pm in the afternoon in ANY
> fancy bar in this great country of ours. you
> WILL find the "movers and shakers"
> of the local business community. You'll find
> CEO's, Sales people and the IDEA people of
> companies..."taking an early break,
> before the "5pm crowd of worker
> bees"!)
> Went to bar. Overheard conversation of new
> manager of new radio station talking with
> his investors about "some ideas"
> of HOW they'd get some "audience
> share" AWAY from the existing station.
> All ideas I heard (too me) were crapola.
> Then I remembered a promo a station in
> suburbs of Chgo did that was VERY
> successful.
> I went to office supply store and bought a
> 3-ring Binder and a few sheet protectors and
> a "magic marker".
> That evening I created (with $5.69 worth of
> materials)....a modified Radio Promotion
> program I called, "BUMPER BUCKS"!
> The next morn at approx 9:30am (With a
> "cold-call", let em get their
> first order of business over with but...ya
> gotta reach em BEFORE their FIRST
> appointment, which is usually at 10)...I
> walk into the radio station offices and ask
> to see "Allen". Receptionist asks
> , "WHO are you with? I tell her, I'm
> with Advantage Marketing and I have a
> promotion idea that COULD bring his station
> a LOT of listeners!"
> (Sarah - the ONLY REASON WHY the
> "media".... Newspapers, TV, Radio
> stations...exist, is because of ADVERTISING!
> If their production does NOT bring eyes
> and/or ears...they CAN'T sell ads!)
> (Jerry Seinfield was making TWO MILLION
> dollars an episode in his last year because
> of ONE REASON;
> the advertising people selling ads for his
> show, could sell LOTS MORE than $2 million
> per show)
> So..."Allen" asks me to "come
> in". I show him my "Bumper
> Bucks" promo (with my $5.69 promo
> package) and how it WILL bring listeners to
> ANY Radio Station...and he reacts as many of
> these "hi-browed execs" react who
> have just seen a GREAT IDEA presented in a
> sort of "schlocky format" (Just a
> black and red magic marker)...he says,
> "Well. I'm going to have to take this
> to my "board" for a
> "review"!
> HORSEHOCKEY! HE is the "board" and
> "HE" has just "reviewed"
> my ingenious promo program which he
> "thinks" could bring desperately
> needed listeners BUT he doesn't know will
> work for sure because I have NOT given any
> "PROOF" that this promo has worked
> anywhere else before.
> So...I bring out "all my sales
> guns" and hit him with, "Allen! I
> am offering this program to YOU
> ...FIRST....BEFORE I go across the street to
> the Station that's been here for 30 yrs. I
> thought YOU would want FIRST shot because
> YOU are the new guy in town! Well, so be
> it....thanks for your time....I go across
> the street." (and I start putting my
> pages back in the 3-ring binder and he grabs
> my arm and says, "HOLD IT! I'll take
> it!"

> So...Allen paid me $2500 for the program...I
> sold 40 local businesses on the program at
> $300 each for 13 weeks....and I walked away
> with about $12,000 in my pockets.

> And...venture #2 that cost me zilcho to get
> going;
> I'm operating a "Fax Advertising"
> biz (in 1993) with my new puter and WinFax
> pro (sending Advertising Faxes "People
> who have Subscribed to my Fax-Ad
> service" when I come upon a Deli owner
> who tells me he's ALREADY sending out faxes
> to his list of customers who gave him their
> fax #'s to be faxed his Daily Specials. I
> ask him if "I" could take over
> Faxing to HIS list for $20 a day and he
> says, "Do It"!
> So...no investment on my part other than a
> PC, a Modem and a Fax program and I've got
> someone committed to paying ME $200 every 2
> weeks to send out Faxes to HIS Fax #'s.
> Now...multiply that by 3, 4 or 20 Deli's and
> you've got yourself a BIZ with LITTLE
> investment!

> You can also set up a "Permission Email
> Club" where you simply ask local
> restaurants and other biz to let you place
> your "Email Collection" bozes
> where their customers fillin a form and drop
> in the box. You send emails to these people
> an charge the restaurants and merchants a
> nice chuck o change each month for YOU
> sending emails to THEIR EXISTING customers.

> Hey! I hope I've given you "something
> to CHEW ON" here.

> Thanks for reading.....Don Alm

Thanks
 

For all who posted, thank you for your encouragement and advice, and also inspiration. You don't know how helpful this has been. I really appreciate it.

OK, it's time we scientifically figured this out!
 

Hi,

Basically, Don does this:

* Sees an opportunity
* Does some stuff
* Receives money

Anyone reading this message can do two out of the three steps, I mean anyone can see an opportunity and can enjoy receiving money.

It's that other step, doing some stuff, that seems to be almost impossible for many people, including myself.

Example of doing some stuff: Yesterday I needed a Sunday newspaper, so I got dressed, left the house, got in my truck, drove to the Wag A Bag, gave the clerk $1.50, left the Wag A Bag, drove home, went back inside. The steps were done smoothly and in the proper order. There was no emotionalism. I did the steps and got the paper.

Here's what we need to do:

We need to figure out how to make it possible to do the steps Don does in one of his project and have the *experience* be the same as doing the steps to buy a newspaper.

Seems like you'd need to have a certainty at the start that you'd succeed if you did the steps.

Seems like you'd need all the tools (my newspaper buying tools were clothes, house keys, truck keys, a truck, gasoline, knowledge of where to buy the paper, $1.50).

Seems like you'd need the ability to smoothly do the steps in order without emotionalism.

Seems like you'd need the ability to get started and then move from one step to the next.

What do you think? Thanks in advance for any replies....

Best,

- Boyd

My "Steps" go like this.....
 

The Photo Ads on Video Rental Cases...for ex;

I got the idea for the product
I found out where to get the parts to make the product (Video Case wholesaler, Photo Card maker)
I made up a Sample of the product
I put together a Presentation to show potential customers WHAT the Product is....HOW they can benefit from the product (More customers)
I then went out to show potential customers and ask them to pay to be on my product.

The TWO MAIN benefits to doing "advertising type" products is....the cost to create a "Sample product" is very low and your potential customers are easy to find....just walk down the street and go into their stores or offices....show them your sample...explain why it will benefit them...tell them the price and ask them to buy...collect a deposit and go to the next store.

My "Bumper Bucks" product cost me less than $10 to make a Sample and get started because it was nothing more than "Ink on Paper".

Most of my "Advertising" projects were "paper & ink" products. Easy to "create" on a piece of paper. Easy to show prospects, just open up your $3 3-ring binder and flip the pages.

One of my other "big-hitters" was the Fax Ad Sheets where I created an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet with 12 to 15 Ads on it.

My "Sample product" cost me less than a penny in product "cost" and some time making the Sample ads.

I then just went door-to-door...showing my "Sample Fax Ad Sheet"...explaining what it was and how they could benefit...showing the price and asking for the order.

Fortunately, my "Ad Creations" were good enough to enable me to collect money from 1 out of every 4 business owners I'd see.

Don ALm

> Hi,

> Basically, Don does this:

> * Sees an opportunity
> * Does some stuff
> * Receives money

> Anyone reading this message can do two out
> of the three steps, I mean anyone can see an
> opportunity and can enjoy receiving money.

> It's that other step, doing some stuff, that
> seems to be almost impossible for many
> people, including myself.

> Example of doing some stuff: Yesterday I
> needed a Sunday newspaper, so I got dressed,
> left the house, got in my truck, drove to
> the Wag A Bag, gave the clerk $1.50, left
> the Wag A Bag, drove home, went back inside.
> The steps were done smoothly and in the
> proper order. There was no emotionalism. I
> did the steps and got the paper.

> Here's what we need to do:

> We need to figure out how to make it
> possible to do the steps Don does in one of
> his project and have the *experience* be the
> same as doing the steps to buy a newspaper.

> Seems like you'd need to have a certainty at
> the start that you'd succeed if you did the
> steps.

> Seems like you'd need all the tools (my
> newspaper buying tools were clothes, house
> keys, truck keys, a truck, gasoline,
> knowledge of where to buy the paper, $1.50).

> Seems like you'd need the ability to
> smoothly do the steps in order without
> emotionalism.

> Seems like you'd need the ability to get
> started and then move from one step to the
> next.

> What do you think? Thanks in advance for any
> replies....

> Best,

> - Boyd




Some of my work from home programs.

Did you receive my email? (DNO)
 

Yes : ) (DNO) (DNO)