HOW TO MAKE MONEY, A DEDICATED THREAD.
 

Yes, screaming and yelling in all caps.
I'll make this a sticky if there is participation, or let it fade into SP oblivion if it is only me.

NO politics or philosophy, no theory, guesses or ideas...just tested and proven ways to make money. Online and offline.

I'll start with some personal ways and share some of the SowPub archives with you. First some basic basics, OK?

1) You don't get paid for doing nothing. Sure, someone could give you money, and not a loan...but then you aren't being PAID, are you?

2) Whatever it is you DO, to be paid, there must be an exchange of value, and it is not your value, it is what they, the buyer/market, is willing to pay.

3) Barter is a form of exchange of value.

OK, simple examples of my own history. When we were promoting our OFF-KEY SINGING TELEGRAM business, we set up a booth at the annual Flea Market in the East Drive-In in Tallmadge.

We sold giant chocolate chip cookies and I was inside a homemade juke box singing songs for a nickel.

We sold over 1000 cookies that day at a buck each. We passed out over 1000 business cards as well (each cookie had one attached), so more than 2,000 cards went out. We netted over 500 for the day, and had to hire additional singers for delivery.

Looking at just the COOKIE part of this day. I was up most of the night before baking the cookies in a pizza shop, one where I had worked full time in high school. I paid nothing for the use, just agreed to give the owner a vacation later in Aug. (for which he paid me too). So I BARTERED the work space and got the ingredients wholesale through him.

Once the cookies were cooled, I wrapped them in Saran wrap, then put a card in and wrapped them again.

They were huge giant, about 7" cookies. Also, we offered FREE lemonade with every cookie, we were targeting the kids, (the parents), and we did much business for kids parties down the road, as we expanded into character shows.

This is a person to person transaction and I start with this to show how simple it can be.

A- I had something for sale
B- They wanted it, paid for it.

That is a simple transaction. In order to get that simple exchange of value, I had to execute several prior transactions to get the cookie made.

The singing telegram business was a simple transaction, they called and made an appointment, we accepted payment, delivered the service, everyone was a happy party.

Simple transactions is where most people should start with their money making ventures, and not over complicate it.

On the Internet, I start people with a simple APV site, an AUTOMATED PRODUCT VENDING site, where a person can set up a vending machine like website...

The prospect puts money in, pushes a button

a PRODUCT comes out.

That product can be a one page report or even a simple list of things.

You'll find millions of APV sites on the Internet.

My friend Harvey Brody has assigned "Gears" to money making ventures, and this direct one to one transaction is a 1st Gear project.

When you get to the 6th and 7th gear, you're a full blown Entrepreneur.

The problem, too many IM gurus have convinced people they can skip shifting gears and start at the 6th or 7th gear. Go to Warrior Forum and find all kinds of skip the gears things you can waste your money on.

Some one to one transactions are very simple, uncomplicated...you want a bag of weed, meet me in the alley, bring cash, exchange. BOOM, pockets full of cash for the dealer (and prisons full of people costing us billions).

Simple transactions, online or off gives you a good foundation to either build upon or to SCALE up. It doesn't have to get big, you can drive a long way in first gear and take in the scenery, or you can shift gears and make the trip a little bit faster.

Some examples of simple transactions are:
Selling advertising vehicles to small businesses, like ads on a menu board. You don't need a lot of explanation for most simple transactions, as often as not it is seeing the people, the right people and plenty of them.

Next example, and this too became a $1,000.00 a DAY business.

ResumesPlus. I started a business while working for the county as a Job Developer for people with certain issues, mostly of the mental health variety, but also some with physical limitations.

The resume business came about as I was calling on local businesses trying to find jobs for my people, and often as not I would get this:

'Nothing at this time for your people, but if you know of anyone who could do _____________, then give me a call.'

So I started running little classified ads in weekly papers offering a FREE resume to those seeking a new job or for the unemployed. This was my lost leader, my LIST gathering device.

It didn't take long to accumulate a lot of names of people sorted by skills. If I had a match with one of my employers I was already working with, I'd hook them up for a fee.

This quickly evolved into a GUARANTEE, I could find them their IDEAL job in 90 days or they paid nothing, they paid 495 up front, and the clock started ticking.

The PROBLEM (for them) was, most could not describe what their IDEAL JOB would look like, so they were offered some paid job coaching services.

At the peak, I was getting 2 a day to pay me for their IDEAL job searches, and at least 8-10 in any given job coaching class. Still haven't seen any resume people doing this, and very damn few of them are making 1000 bux a day.

But, they do have nice certificates on their wall from some Resume Association (I missed the boat on that one).

There you go, a starting point for HOW TO MAKE MONEY.

I will continue to post up daily for a week, then this thread either gets stuck or allowed to roll off and enter archives and then, I'm pretty much on a politics and Entertainment mode only.

Any forum, is only as good as the people who choose to participate make it. So why not make this a good thread?

GordonJ

Is a USP important?
 

Hi Gordon

Thanks for sharing these - these are definitely the heart of it... Of course there are a few more tidbits you could add...

I do think the concept of the toll position is quite important. Along with the concept of what is your unique selling proposition, or USP.

Your USP is the answer to the question - why buy from you and not from your competitor?

If you have a good USP I think it makes selling easier - as long as your USP has added value for the customer!

In both your Off-Key Singing Telegram business, and also your ResumesPlus business, you had very strong USPs.

As usual there is much wisdom in your posts...!

Best wishes,

Dien

Going back to when you first came across me.
 

How's your memory Dien? In those early days I had a few mantras.

Fly Low-Collect the Dough, was one.

The other was: I have NO competition. Which I guess was my USP.

See, in every business I've started, I did things differently. With Singing Telegrams, as fun as normal ones were, I made them a unique experience, OFF KEY, silly costumes, not tux and tails...homemade cards, unique personal poems. NO ONE could compete. I also knew when to bail and have a pretty good sense of ebbs of the tides.

In golf, NO ONE in the world could teach the J Swing and teach the TARP system, no one.

In the resume business, NO one had the local contacts it took me 4 years to acquire, so they couldn't match my guarantee, and couldn't offer my services because I had ran job clubs for a couple of years and got all the kinks worked out.

In the postcard ads, no one is doing a drip program and selling at lower prices over longer periods of time, NO competition at all.

There have been scores of people who have written on buying and selling and a great number of them got started by reading the Chattel Report. Today, many would want to do the Craigslist thing, but, again...

and plenty of people have had the opportunity...

few, if any, have set up their networks of buyers, like they were instructed 15 years ago, and today, they might get desperate and want to buy/sell for quick profits, but they don't know WHAT TO BUY, the most unimportant part of chatteling. But it is their focus, not mine.

I guess my USP in almost all of it is, I'm willing to do what the others won't do. I'm not afraid of people.

Knocking on doors and talking to people does not make me break out in a cold sweat.

So, I'm iffy on the whole USP thing, and to be honest, I would advise people to BE the USP, and not try to find one. If you do, then, you too...

will have NO competition.

Make sense?

GordonJ

Failure is not a forbidden subject.
 

Failure. Most success has had failure.

I'll begin this with a story from friend of the forum, Steve DiMarco. Steve relates a chat he had with Fred DeLuca, of Subway fame and fortune.

Face to face Steve asked Fred about his failures. Fred's eyes lit up and he showed great enthusiasm for the question. He told Steve no one ever asks him about his failures and he has a lot to say on the subject.

Fred said he had acquired the idea he had a "Midas" touch when it came to business, this after becoming a rich man from Subway's fortunes.

People approached Fred and asked him what could they invest in, and as a result Fred started many businesses, using OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY, he didn't invest his own...

and most of them failed and lost millions. The few marginal ones barely got the investors money back to them.

Fred felt bad, but none of his investors hated him, they knew, understood and were willing to take the risk, to get the big jackpot Fred hit with Subway.

A couple of years with new companies, Fred, a smart man, came to the conclusion he was fooled by his own press, and perhaps he wasn't the business genius everyone told him he was.

He gained a big dose of humility. But, he didn't lose his money, only the money of people who also thought he had the "Midas" touch.

I've been around many rich men, and no matter where their wealth came from, so many of them had that "Midas" idea about themselves, and I learned that money may make men richer, it doesn't make them any smarter.

Lots of arrogance with the rich, but even great Entrepreneurs go bankrupt, some time and time again.

The people I've dealt with, most of the multi-millionaires acknowledge their failure as quickly as they accept the kudos for their success.

One problem I've encountered through the years is, too many people can't handle more than one or two failures and then, quit trying.

It is a bit different when a failure is into the millions, but the hurt is even greater when it is a personal attempt.

Easy for Google to lose 100 million, harder for us to lose 25,000 in a biz op because we were stupid to begin with.

But, most success regards failure as progress, a hurdle they get around on the path to success.

How about you, how do you see failure?

GordonJ

Re: Going back to when you first came across me.
 

Make sense was the question. The answer is YES! When I first started in this world of financial sales one of my mentors said to sell yourself and not the product. Since he was making around 50K a month I believed him. So, I pushed forward and did exactly that. I didn't reach the 50K a month target but I made a very handsome living.

Good thread. Hope it gets wings.

Very good launching pad for several discussions.
 

Sandalwood, you bring up some good points. First one, you listened.

So, we'll build off of this, thanks for participating.

Gordon

Listening to mentors.
 

Sandalwood brought up a couple of points, the first one is listening to mentors.

We sowpubbers are a tad bit older than Warriors. But, your experience could also be a detriment.

Sandalwood had a mentor making 50k a month, and he followed the mentor's direction.

Today, we have too much experience and I'll tell of recent experiences.

There are several different kinds of Biz-Ops in the selling of advertising.

The 9x12 postcard, the coffee news franchise, coupon books, school folders, pizza boxes, flyers, inserts, and on and on and on.

Many gurus. Many mentors.

Even ME. I quit. I quit mentoring in step by step, tested and proven marketing strategy to sell ads on certain products...and do it quickly. I quit because, no one listened. See, the guys I dealt with all wanted to modify the steps.

Some wanted to stay home and send email. NO, doesn't work, but go ahead and try if you want.

Some wanted to make phone calls. NO doesn't work, but give it a go.

Some didn't want to use maps. NO won't work, but do as you want.

The result, NO success, and rather than take responsibility for not following the step by step, word for word, tested and proven method, which they begged for, and wanted to modify...

but got no results from, was somehow MY fault.

And then I had enough. Changed things up and will no longer work with people in any form or a mentor capacity.

I have a friend, in his 50's, who is just starting a new job selling, and my advice to him is

Forget what you know and follow directions and don't try to modify a program with a 7 year track record and 65 successful sales people.

IF he is able to, he will have found a good future. But he is going to be his own worst enemy because he KNOWS too much.

Recently, I've worked with 3 people who, for some reason, want to work with Wordpress, against my advice for what they wanted to do.

All 3 of them had problems with WP, all 3 were delayed, spent time when time was important. I now simply say, go ahead and do what you want.

My mentoring takes a different turn.

Now selling HOW to information, especially about making money has always had this problem built into it. The buyer pays for the information, but wants to modify it or do it his own way, and they find failure.

And it is one reason why young people can get to IM profitability faster than we old farts can, they don't KNOW what they don't know.

So take a look in the mirror, do you by any chance see a self saboteur?

I know I have on several occasions.

GordonJ

Choosing the money making opportunity.
 

Big point here: 'since he was making around 50k a month'

Hard to do that painting curbs or chatteling on craigslist.

So, we have to examine the money making ops in terms of possibiltiy.

And effort. I've know these guys, but none of the ones I knew did NOT sacrifice their lives for years to get to that point.

Every once in a while a stud walks in the door.

But for the most of the crowd, the guys grind, work, see the people day after day for years, then when residuals and renewals come in, then they can rest.

Dien can explain inertia much better than I could, but I do know it takes more energy to get the big ball rolling than it takes to keep it rolling.

Some of us want a little part time golf money.
Some want to replace our jobs.
Some, like the young Warrior, want to become a millionaire in 5 years.

And, as I call it SQUARE ONE; knowing what you want becomes vital to figuring out the best way to getting it.

In this case, the mentor was certainly worth learning from, and I'm sure sandalwood got a great education, and I'm also sure success did not come easy...

I would also bet the mentor knew exactly what he HAD TO do any given month to reach his goal.

When I instruct people to get off to a fast start, within a ONE year plan...

the very first thing I ask of them is to give me a view from the rooftop. What will the end of one year look like, first in financial terms and also, as part of the bigger picture.

If you can see the view from the rooftop as the finish line of one year, then you can also build a ladder up to that roof top, giving you, literally, a step by step plan to get there.

You would be surprised how many people can't do this, can NOT see where they want to be in one, two or three years.

So, know what you want.

If you want a 50k a month opportunity, find someone doing it, and try to stick to his plan.

A good way to start is with money, the amount you think you would like to make at the end of the year. THEN, you can create plans from the goal back to where you start.

Again, I doubt you get to 50k a month painting addresses on curbs.

GordonJ

Re: Choosing the money making opportunity.
 

A little more explaining on the 50K a month. We worked for a national brokerage firm. He already knew what would tingle his client's interests plus he was superb at presenting his charismatic nature. What I am saying is he knew himself and he knew his client.

I had never thought of it that way prior to meeting him. I only knew one side of the equation. I guess that has the potential to make a guy half successful :D :D :D

Anyway, he didn't start in the business making that sum of money. He worked his schtick, perfected his schtick and pretty soon his schtick was paying him. Maybe that sounds corny but I know it works because I saw it and used what I could grasp for my own benefit.

Not bragging or complaining but in my first year I didn't concentrate on the money. I concentrated on building a book of business. With a book of about 333 clients - yep funny number but true - I could then concentrate on the other half of the equation. By golly, what a profitable revelation.

Again, hope this thread picks up legs and moves forward.

Re: Choosing the money making opportunity.
 

I can vouch for that, in good areas painting curbs I use to make $200 to $800 for every day I posted magic marketing flyers on doors and panted curbs or install reflective address signs.

Then Lawrence who I got to know from SOWPUB showed me how to take it to to next level by seeding an area with a few signs and then going door to door with a sample sign in hand... show and tell... and as you said....


Being willing to Knock on doors and talk to people is something most people just won't do. Knocking on doors alone isn't going to get you to $50,000 per month.

David Ashley, the founder of Address America started by painting addresses on curbs and became a multimillionaire by teaching others to address houses using his marketing material and selling them the supplies to do the job.

A gusty person can still earn a good income knocking on doors selling stuff, but training a bunch of people to sell for you is much more profitable. There's power in numbers. Show and tell... to make money...show and sell something of value... to make more money.... show more to sell more.

An affiliate of a Clickbank product has the potential to make a couple of hundred a day... but the vendor who created the product can potentially have thousands of affiliates each making him or her $10 a day. 1,000 affiliates selling something of value that you supply can earn you $50,000 a month and more.

Cheers,
Steve