What projects I'm working on....
 

It might be nice for us to share what we're all working on....

I guess I get to go first! :)

As you would know, a part of my time every week is dedicated to our products here - The Great Ideas Letter, the Entrepreneur's Hotsheet, the SeedZine - the first two are joint ventures with Michael Ross....

One other project I have going on is related to the phenomenon of the Six Degrees of Separation. As you have probably heard, it's estimated you can go from anyone on Earth to anyone else, via acquaintances, through just six steps. I've been looking into research on this topic....

Here's an interesting tidbit related to this. In 1973, a sociologist, Mark Granovetter, did some research on people who found jobs through other people they knew. He surveyed whether they found these jobs through close friends, or more distant acquaintances. When you think about it, you'd expect MOST people to have gotten jobs through their close friends - since their close friends would put more effort in helping them out.

The truth is the OPPOSITE! Most people - in fact, 83% of people - who got their jobs through those they knew, got them through more distant acquaintances (people they might speak to once or twice a year).

The reason why is because people who are close to you tend to "travel" in the same "circle" that you do.... So job opportunities they know about, you probably already know about too. However, more distant acquaintances know about a lot more opportunities that you don't know of, so what they know about can have more impact on your situation.

Granovetter called his research, "The Strength of Weak Ties"....

By the way, this also has implications for business - not just for those seeking employment. Having wide contacts - and regularly contacting even your more distant acquaintances - leads to more SALES and more OPPORTUNITIES too!

(Forums like this one - where you can see people's email addresses in order to contact them - are ideal for building your business contacts. DON'T SPAM of course, that's counter-productive - but do build bridges to other people.)

A fun way to "play" with Six Degrees of Separation is the well-known Oracle of Kevin Bacon, which shows you how many links from Kevin Bacon to any other actor, through actors that have been in the same film together. (Try it out!)

More recent research in this topic explains that the six degrees of separation is explained by what's known as a "small world network".

There are other implications of a "small world network" I'm currently researching (with a couple others), which we believe has commercial implications.... So I'm still keeping a "foot" in the world of science research, and tying it to my business activities!

Michael Ross and I also have another project we're working on.... But we're still in the early stages right now.... You'll hear more about that in the future....

Thanks to Mike Winicki for the idea of this thread!

Please share some of your projects - big or small.... It would be interesting to see what we're all up to.... :)

- Dien Rice

Re: What projects I'm working on....
 

> One other project I have going on is related
> to the phenomenon of the Six Degrees of
> Separation.

Dien, that's sounds really interesting. Keep us up to date on what you find!

Also, a quick question. I've been reading so much lately I'm not sure where I heard this brought up recently. Was it on this forum or in an email from you?

Wait! Got it! It was in Mischief Marketing by Ray Simon. God that was a good book! 5 star recommendation from Erik for anyone who hasn't read it. And if you have, read it again!

> Please share some of your projects - big or
> small.... It would be interesting to see
> what we're all up to.... :)

Ah, I jump around too much.

Most of my concentration is on learning about the stock market right now, as well as joint ventures ala Mike Enlow and my friend Anthony Link. I'm putting in a little effort giving some Don Alm ideas like the menu desk a go. And I've got an offline newsletter idea I'm tinkering with.

I'm at a stage where most people might panick as their income levels are drying up, but I just see it as a time to scale back, think a little, a decide what I want to try next.

I'm thinking about leverage in all sorts of new ways and seeing all sorts of new possibilities too.

Most of all, Dien, like you, I'm having a good time. And that's the most important thing to me.

Success,

Erik Lukas

Re: What projects I'm working on....
 

Although I usually don't post too much here your post intrigued me Dien.

I'm working on something I call the One Dollar Experiment...I think it's pretty interesting, but maybe it's just me...

Here is how the idea started (it's also the first entry in my One Dollar Experiment journal):

*************************
November 7, 2002
I was driving to a Geology exam at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI (I was
1/2 hour late already) at around 11:00 AM. I was listening to a brand new CD I
had just received. It was a presentation by Robert G. Allen on his Multiple
Streams of Income. I got it as a bonus with the purchase of the book One Minute
Millionaire (which I ordered at the Web site for $9 before they started doing all the Amazon.com "get $250 in bonuses free!" stuff).

In any case, there's a section in the beginning where Mr. Allen takes out
a one dollar bill and says that most people think a dollar is worth less than a
dollar. Then he rips it to shreds. "How can $1 be less than $1?" he asks. He
proceeded to say that $1 is whatever you can make it turn into.

This sparked a great idea in my mind.

I was going to take one dollar, and just one dollar, and see how far I can take
it.

The trouble with this is that every single maneuver has to be very well
calculated and well thought out. If I lose the money, the experiment is over.

For example: If I take this $1 and turn it into $100 in a few months, but then
lose that $100 when trying to turn it into more, I lose.

The hardest part will obviously be the first steps.

I CANNOT lose the first $1 or the experiment is over almost before it began!

I already have everything planned and I know how I'm going to start.

With my next update you will know exactly what I've done with my first
dollar...will I lose it?

Or will I prosper?
*************************

It's been 6 days...my $1 is now worth just over $4...wooohoooo!

By this Monday it should be about $15 if what I'm doing with it works out...if not...well, the experiment will be over!

Maybe I'll be able to by a house soon! haha

I'm going to be tracking the progress of the experiment at onedollarexperiment.com, which is not up yet.

What do you all think? Does this just bore you to death? hehe

Karol Gajda

P.S. Part of my rules say I can't really use my free stuff techniques, because that's basically cheating. Everything will be explained on the Web site when it's finished.


How To Turn Completely Free Merchandise Into Cold, Hard Cash On eBay!

So many projects...so little time!
 

Feel free to give me any comments (good or bad)... all are welcome.

Thank you Dien for allowing this thread...

1. Small Business Newsletter-What I'm trying to do is start a subscription, print newsletter geared towards small retail businesses. 6 issues for $99. I currently work with many small businesses both in the startup phase and in their overall marketing. These people need marketing help more than any other business segment I know of. The difficult part of this is that small businesses are notoriously tight-fisted. Where I see myself being able to give 'value' (and remember without giving 'value' that means something in the eyes of your prospect you won't make sales) to these group of business owners and types is giving them case studies on how other successful businesses are crossing the marketing crevasse.

2. Creating a line of knock-down or ready-to-assemble antique reproduction furniture-I'm fortunate to be in an area that produces some of the finest hardwood in the world. Plus as many of you know the antiques market has exploded in popularity over the past decade and people are looking to decorate their homes with country style furniture which has put real antique furniture in tight demand and at high prices. I'm working with several hardwoods and furnture people in the area trying to create a line of reproduction ready-to-assemble furniture that can be shipped via UPS to any point in the country. My parents have been involved in antiques over the past 30-years so I'm tapping into their knowledge base. I think this project can give terrific value to the consumer.

3. Creating catalogs and joint venturing with gift shops and museums that have traffic, currently sell products but don't offer a catalog nor do any direct marketing. I would pay for the creation and printing of the catalog... they distribute the catalog to people that stop. We would then do some sort of profit split. I think you can probably see the value to the customer in something like this (and please don't think having a web site is enough!).

4. Becoming a distributor of Native American products like bottled water, foods and health related products. I think Native American products would have inherit value in the eyes of many consumers.

5. Importer of gifts and collectibles from Russia for the purpose of selling directly to the consumer or to wholesale to gift shops. The folks in Russia are creating some very unique gift and collectible items. I don't know how far I can get with this one but I've started making some contacts and I'll run with the ball until I'm tackled. Just being able to sell something different combined with it being from Russia maybe enough value to get people to buy... we'll see.

6. Maintaining my web site http://wsg.safeshopper.com Right now I'm looking to partner with a VLP (Very Leveraged Person) in order to push these cosmetics, lotions and creams out the door. The lotions and creams are terrific products that are made by a small company in western New York state. The unique thing about them is that they contain no petroleum based additives... they are about 99% natural, which is very unique compared to what is available on the market today. But I need a 'name' person that believes in the product to help market it. I've done some off-line ads with limited success.

7. My original ecommerce site www.hobbees.com just keeps rolling along squeezing out a few dollars per month. Back in 1997 it cost me $1,500 to have the database/search engine part of it created. Really I hate it... because the only Unique Selling Proposition of the site is the vast array of product (47,000 items, which I do not inventory...Thank God!) plus the promise of low prices (which is the absolute worst "USP" you can have). I don't do any offline marketing at all for the site.

For me the merit of any project is, "Is this project/product/service going to create or give value to the person using it" if not then the project isn't worth doing.

I'm also trying to stick with projects that deal with direct marketing. I'm staying away from retail and Internet only projects. If my hobby site wasn't up and running I wouldn't even consider it now a days. With SPAM doubling in volume over the last few months and sure to double again, the value in anything delivered via email is diminishing greatly. While the competition in direct mail is subsiding so that anyone that mails out in regular envelope that is hand addressed (or the address is at least printed on the envelope) with a first-class stamp is going to stand out in crowd. Rates on other off-line marketing tools like space ads, direct response radio, direct response TV have also plummeted offering marketers some real bargains. I'm using the Internet to give more information and to facilitate order taking.

Again, feel free to post any comments or ideas.

Take care,

Mike Winicki

Your Six Degrees of Separation...
 

Is exactly what I've used to find "VLP's" or Very-Leveraged People. It works.

Take care,

Mike Winicki

> It might be nice for us to share what we're
> all working on....

> I guess I get to go first! :)

> As you would know, a part of my time every
> week is dedicated to our products here - The
> Great Ideas Letter, the Entrepreneur's
> Hotsheet, the SeedZine - the first two are
> joint ventures with Michael Ross....

> One other project I have going on is related
> to the phenomenon of the Six Degrees of
> Separation. As you have probably heard, it's
> estimated you can go from anyone on Earth to
> anyone else, via acquaintances, through just
> six steps. I've been looking into research
> on this topic....

> Here's an interesting tidbit related to
> this. In 1973, a sociologist, Mark
> Granovetter, did some research on people who
> found jobs through other people they knew.
> He surveyed whether they found these jobs
> through close friends, or more distant
> acquaintances. When you think about it,
> you'd expect MOST people to have gotten jobs
> through their close friends - since their
> close friends would put more effort in
> helping them out.

> The truth is the OPPOSITE! Most people - in
> fact, 83% of people - who got their jobs
> through those they knew, got them through
> more distant acquaintances (people they
> might speak to once or twice a year).

> The reason why is because people who are
> close to you tend to "travel" in
> the same "circle" that you do....
> So job opportunities they know about, you
> probably already know about too. However,
> more distant acquaintances know about a lot
> more opportunities that you don't know of,
> so what they know about can have more impact
> on your situation.

> Granovetter called his research, "The
> Strength of Weak Ties" ....

> By the way, this also has implications for
> business - not just for those seeking
> employment. Having wide contacts - and
> regularly contacting even your more distant
> acquaintances - leads to more SALES and more
> OPPORTUNITIES too!

> (Forums like this one - where you can see
> people's email addresses in order to contact
> them - are ideal for building your business
> contacts. DON'T SPAM of course, that's
> counter-productive - but do build bridges to
> other people.)

> A fun way to "play" with Six
> Degrees of Separation is the well-known
> Oracle of Kevin Bacon , which shows you how
> many links from Kevin Bacon to any other
> actor, through actors that have been in the
> same film together. (Try it out!)

> More recent research in this topic explains
> that the six degrees of separation is
> explained by what's known as a "small
> world network".

> There are other implications of a
> "small world network" I'm
> currently researching (with a couple
> others), which we believe has commercial
> implications.... So I'm still keeping a
> "foot" in the world of science
> research, and tying it to my business
> activities!

> Michael Ross and I also have another project
> we're working on.... But we're still in the
> early stages right now.... You'll hear more
> about that in the future....

> Thanks to Mike Winicki for the idea of this
> thread!

> Please share some of your projects - big or
> small.... It would be interesting to see
> what we're all up to.... :)

> - Dien Rice

Re: What projects I'm working on....
 

Hi Dien,

Thanks for sharing! Pretty cool. You learn that in kindergarden?

What have I been up to?

1. My first online membership site was located GoBizInfo.com. I loved the idea of a membership site, but the updating and maintenance of the membership list, passwords, etc was not fun. That was the first 'turnkey' site I sold for $8875 in November 2000...

Anyway, a few months ago I mentioned that I had started another members site at iSPYMarketing.com. Again, I was faced with hand coding the entire site, updates and membership management.

I work on my web business 12-14 hours a day and take most weekends off, but maintaning a membership site was more work than I had time for.

So I decided either to give up the idea of running a membership site all together or finally doing it right- and automate the entire process so I could concentrate on creating and updating the content for the members benefit.

I decided to do it right (I hope!) The new site is located at: http://www.InfoProductLab.com

2. I'm developing a line of digital products that are sound and video delivered over the net and on CD-rom.

As you might know, the task of delivering anything more than a few seconds of sound and video online is pretty hard to do because the file sizes are huge.

So I'm working on a way to provide a 'gateway' to the videos, comptress the heck out of them but still maintain good quality. If I can get the system to work it could mean a whole new way to deliver information products over the web.

3. My BigChunksOfCash.com site is a HUGE success with a steady stream of paying customers. I'm not touching it because it works so darn good.

4. I'm in the process of creating a hosting company that will allow online entrepreneurs who have 5 or more sites to host them all with one account. There are a few hosting companies doing that now... they realize that most people in business online don't have just one site... they have 5, 10, 20 or more. I have over 100 sites, all under my control from a single web control panel. I think other webmasters would be interested.

5. I still create 'turnkey internet business' for sale on ebaY and through my sites ALA my BigChunksOfCash Formula. I have a waiting list of people who want to buy them for $5,000, $10,000 and up and I can't produce them fast enough. I just hired a college student to do most of the site building while I concentrate on marketing and creating the products.

Great idea Dien... thanks!

Best wishes,

-Dave


The #1 Web Letter For Digital Product Developers and Entrepreneurs

Re: What projects I'm working on....
 

Hi Dien

I've been working on a few things, but the main one is continuing to work on my wife's proofreading service. I find the work, she does it! We started online about 2 years ago and have been steadily working at it. It brings in far more than it costs, so on one yardstick it is "successful". Not as much as we want though.

It's a funny one - so many people need proofreading and so few *want* it:-)

One method I have adopted is to go for the big players. Offer to do some small job for them for free in return for the right to bid for further full-priced work. So far we've done work for Declan Dunn, Joe Vitale, Chayden Bates, Larry Dotson and many many other less well known (though still valuable) clients. Also done a couple of JVs but without much success yet.

I'm currently testing the waters on whether to produce an ebook resource - "How to start and run a profitable online proofreading service". Not how to proofread (I believe you either got it or you don't), but how to run the business (which we DO know about).

So, that's what I work on...

Cheers

Philip Langley

p.s. - any mistakes in this note, ignore 'em - I can spell but I can't type:-)


100% Accurate Proofreading - Guaranteed

Re: What projects I'm working on....
 

Well, if you read my response to Don's post, you'll see what I'm working on.

And while that endeavor may or may not earn money, It still has roots in this forum . . .

Thanks for being here . . .

Marye
(Say "hey" to Gordon for me.)

Re: What projects I'm working on....
 

I just released my first real estate book (print not Ebook): Timing the Real Estate Market.

The book focuses on five key "Vital Sign" indicators that help investors (and homeowners too!) anticipate the peaks and valleys of real estate cycles.

Next, I will create a "Vital Sign" market letter for 30 or so major cities across the United States ... showing what these key indicators are saying about "what's ahead" for their city's real estate prices.

Next, I will start giving seminars on real estate timing and how to stay ahead of tomorrow's trends.

This should keep me busy for awhile.

Robert M. Campbell
www.RealEstateTiming.com


Real Estate Boom - or Crash - Ahead?

David, about membership sits ...
 

Hi David -

Can you tell me what problems you encountered with "members only" paid sites?

I always thought they were similar to setting up email: you pay your money, get a user name and password, and Voila! ... done.

Thank you for any comments.

Best wishes,

Robert M. Campbell


Real Estate Boom - or Crash - Ahead?