Great Ideas are all around you!
 

Here's how I discovered a HUGE money-maker;

A couple of months ago, I decided to see what the reaction would be to an advertising program I've been going to try for some time.

It's an "INFO BOARD", 2ft high by 3ft wide, with a Map in the middle and Ads around the sides and bottom.

You can see an actual photo here....

http://www.infoboards.com

I made up a small sample board and went around to local motels to get their permission to hang my InfoBoards on their lobby walls for the benefit of their guests.

I got 8 motels to enthusiastically give me the OK. (Over 500 rooms)

I then went to local Gift Shops, Art Galleries, Attractions and Restaurants.

I quickly filled my 18 spaces and....I STUMBLED ONTO A HUGE MONEY-MAKER;

With the first restaurant I contacted I happened to mention, as a Bonus, I would scan his Menu and place it in a "Restaurant Guide" and take Photos of the INSIDE of his restaurant....and make this "Guide" available in the lobbies of each motel.

The guys eyes went up. I KNEW I had "Hit A HOT Button".

So...with each restaurant I offered the same Bonus and lo and behold had no problem getting any restaurant I wanted, to participate.

Now...because my Info Board was limited to only 18 spaces....I offered each restaurant an exclusive in his food category.

So....as soon as I finished making and hanging the Info Boards I went to work making a "restaurant Guide"....where ANY restaurant that wanted to participate, could....provided they were willing to pay my fee. Which was $179 for the initial graphics and $1200 per year.

Sure, some said the price was "too high" BUT...enough were willing to pay to make this REAL EXCITING!

After doing some checking in a few large cities, I found that mine is not a novel idea. Others have been providing Restaurant Guides for some years. One guy in Seattle has been providing one for 15 yrs. Quietly getting rich.

Another woman in Pittsburg and one in Austin, TX

However...there is ROOM in every city of 20,000 and up for a "Restaurant Guide".

I've proved, Restaurants are willing to pay $1200 yearly for this program...even in little towns.

So...once again...by "being out there interacting with business people"....I stumbled across a GREAT money maker that does NOT take a lot of effort nor talent to produce and profit from. Just show a Sample Book....tell them where the Book is going and who will see it...and the Price and ANYONE can make money with this. It's like plucking Gold Nuggets off the street.

Each Book, with just 30 restaurants in 20 motels can put $30,000 in someone's pockets.

Thanks....for reading

Don Alm


$100,000/Yr from Restaurants

Those ARE good ideas!
 

Hi Don,

These are great ideas! You sure have a sharp "entrepreneurial mind".... :)

I agree - there are multitudes of great business ideas. Though it takes skill to spot them.

And once you have the great idea, you gotta put it into action! (That's where most people seem to break down.)

"There's no such thing as a free lunch" - or so they say.... You gotta sacrifice some of your time and usually some of your money to get the business going, in order to get the payoff in the end. (Though with some ideas, the money invested doesn't have to be much at all.)

Then, go out and make it happen! You learn MUCH much more from reading and THEN doing, than you do from just reading alone, I've found.

Thanks Don.... :)

- Dien Rice

Re: Great Ideas are all around you!
 

Don,

Thanks for another great post! I was wondering... I seem to remember a discussion about another of your programs involving restaurants (not the DSB) in which you or someone else posted that restaurants are notorious when it comes to getting them to make monthly payments. I assume you would need to be more flexible than just insisting they pay the entire $1200/yr up front for this new program. So, would a quarterly payplan work for something like this, or is there another workaround?

As long as I'm asking, I have a question about the Ad Mugs program, too. This may seem like a dumb question, but did you (or your ex-logger friend) have the ads printed in more than one color to make them stand out from each other, or was simple black (or blue?) on white good enough? Have advertisers or "mug-givers" asked about this? (I guess that's a compound question.) Just wondering if it would be worth the extra hassle/expense.

Thanks,
Chris

> Here's how I discovered a HUGE money-maker;

> A couple of months ago, I decided to see
> what the reaction would be to an advertising
> program I've been going to try for some
> time.

> It's an "INFO BOARD", 2ft high by
> 3ft wide, with a Map in the middle and Ads
> around the sides and bottom.

> You can see an actual photo here....

> http://www.infoboards.com I made up a
> small sample board and went around to local
> motels to get their permission to hang my
> InfoBoards on their lobby walls for the
> benefit of their guests.

> I got 8 motels to enthusiastically give me
> the OK. (Over 500 rooms)

> I then went to local Gift Shops, Art
> Galleries, Attractions and Restaurants.

> I quickly filled my 18 spaces and....I
> STUMBLED ONTO A HUGE MONEY-MAKER;

> With the first restaurant I contacted I
> happened to mention, as a Bonus, I would
> scan his Menu and place it in a
> "Restaurant Guide" and take Photos
> of the INSIDE of his restaurant....and make
> this "Guide" available in the
> lobbies of each motel.

> The guys eyes went up. I KNEW I had
> "Hit A HOT Button".

> So...with each restaurant I offered the same
> Bonus and lo and behold had no problem
> getting any restaurant I wanted, to
> participate.

> Now...because my Info Board was limited to
> only 18 spaces....I offered each restaurant
> an exclusive in his food category.

> So....as soon as I finished making and
> hanging the Info Boards I went to work
> making a "restaurant
> Guide"....where ANY restaurant that
> wanted to participate, could....provided
> they were willing to pay my fee. Which was
> $179 for the initial graphics and $1200 per
> year.

> Sure, some said the price was "too
> high" BUT...enough were willing to pay
> to make this REAL EXCITING!

> After doing some checking in a few large
> cities, I found that mine is not a novel
> idea. Others have been providing Restaurant
> Guides for some years. One guy in Seattle
> has been providing one for 15 yrs. Quietly
> getting rich.

> Another woman in Pittsburg and one in
> Austin, TX

> However...there is ROOM in every city of
> 20,000 and up for a "Restaurant
> Guide".

> I've proved, Restaurants are willing to pay
> $1200 yearly for this program...even in
> little towns.

> So...once again...by "being out there
> interacting with business people"....I
> stumbled across a GREAT money maker that
> does NOT take a lot of effort nor talent to
> produce and profit from. Just show a Sample
> Book....tell them where the Book is going
> and who will see it...and the Price and
> ANYONE can make money with this. It's like
> plucking Gold Nuggets off the street.

> Each Book, with just 30 restaurants in 20
> motels can put $30,000 in someone's pockets.

> Thanks....for reading

> Don Alm

Re: Great Ideas are all around you!
 

Don, I was in the restaurant business for many years. One of the things we tried to do was get our "take out" menus placed in the lobbys of hotels. Most hotels did not want to do this because if they let one restaurant they would have to let them all, etc, etc. Basically, they didn't want to junk the place up with take out menus.

Your idea gets around this problem by keeping all the menus in one place and bound together.

> Here's how I discovered a HUGE money-maker;

> A couple of months ago, I decided to see
> what the reaction would be to an advertising
> program I've been going to try for some
> time.

> It's an "INFO BOARD", 2ft high by
> 3ft wide, with a Map in the middle and Ads
> around the sides and bottom.

> You can see an actual photo here....

> http://www.infoboards.com I made up a
> small sample board and went around to local
> motels to get their permission to hang my
> InfoBoards on their lobby walls for the
> benefit of their guests.

> I got 8 motels to enthusiastically give me
> the OK. (Over 500 rooms)

> I then went to local Gift Shops, Art
> Galleries, Attractions and Restaurants.

> I quickly filled my 18 spaces and....I
> STUMBLED ONTO A HUGE MONEY-MAKER;

> With the first restaurant I contacted I
> happened to mention, as a Bonus, I would
> scan his Menu and place it in a
> "Restaurant Guide" and take Photos
> of the INSIDE of his restaurant....and make
> this "Guide" available in the
> lobbies of each motel.

> The guys eyes went up. I KNEW I had
> "Hit A HOT Button".

> So...with each restaurant I offered the same
> Bonus and lo and behold had no problem
> getting any restaurant I wanted, to
> participate.

> Now...because my Info Board was limited to
> only 18 spaces....I offered each restaurant
> an exclusive in his food category.

> So....as soon as I finished making and
> hanging the Info Boards I went to work
> making a "restaurant
> Guide"....where ANY restaurant that
> wanted to participate, could....provided
> they were willing to pay my fee. Which was
> $179 for the initial graphics and $1200 per
> year.

> Sure, some said the price was "too
> high" BUT...enough were willing to pay
> to make this REAL EXCITING!

> After doing some checking in a few large
> cities, I found that mine is not a novel
> idea. Others have been providing Restaurant
> Guides for some years. One guy in Seattle
> has been providing one for 15 yrs. Quietly
> getting rich.

> Another woman in Pittsburg and one in
> Austin, TX

> However...there is ROOM in every city of
> 20,000 and up for a "Restaurant
> Guide".

> I've proved, Restaurants are willing to pay
> $1200 yearly for this program...even in
> little towns.

> So...once again...by "being out there
> interacting with business people"....I
> stumbled across a GREAT money maker that
> does NOT take a lot of effort nor talent to
> produce and profit from. Just show a Sample
> Book....tell them where the Book is going
> and who will see it...and the Price and
> ANYONE can make money with this. It's like
> plucking Gold Nuggets off the street.

> Each Book, with just 30 restaurants in 20
> motels can put $30,000 in someone's pockets.

> Thanks....for reading

> Don Alm

Re: Great Ideas are all around you!
 

Chris....they pay $1200 if they pay all at once (which many of the better restaurants DO)...or, they can pay extra with a "90 Day Payoff". I don't let them pay monthly except for a "90 Dayer".

And...I've found that 2 colors, BLUE AND RED is want they want on the mugs.

Don Alm


My Latest Money-Maker

Re: Great Ideas are all around you!
 

Yup....it was a Front Desk Clerk who told me that "management" would probably approve ALL the Menus in a book of some kind....instead of having them loose in a folder.

I just talked with Hilton and Crowne Plaza and Sheraton hotel managers in a town I'm considering working next and still cannot believe that even these swanky places do NOT have a "Book of Menus".

One had a printed List of restaurants...one had a bunch of menus in a disorganized manila folder and the other had NO reference to restaurants.

Don Alm


$100,000/Yr from Restaurants

Many Thanks, Don! (DNO) (DNO)