OK...ya wanna go from "Politics" to "Money-Makin'" Ideas....here goes...

Randy Sutton brought up something I've been "looking at" since last November when we became "Obamafied". Almost EVERY Business, large or small is seeing "Less Consumer Spending"...with the result being, they (small and large businesses) are now offering, or willing to offer....BIG DISCOUNTS to "motivate comsumers to come in and SPEND!"

My local newspaper has started a "Coupon Book Insert" in their Sunday edition. It contains discount offers from various types of businesses to SPUR consumers to BUY!

This caused me to start looking into;
....Setting up a website offering "Discount Coupons" from Local Businesses.

This would simply be a Listing of Links to webpages of Local Businesses where consumers could see a Logo and Info about the business and...a Coupon that could be printed out.

Now....I would set up a Main website (ex: TacomaDiscounts.com) I would promote this site by sending a PostCard to a "New Movers List"...showing the List of Links and their discounts. (Even is this "down time" there are still an average of 120 "New Movers" per month {People who move from one address to another and not necessarily totally "new" to the area})

I would also place my "Promo PostCard" in the local Newspaper as an Insert so local consumers can fold this Card and keep it next to their PC for future reference. Plus...I'd run local Radio, TV and Newspaper ads, promoting the site for "Local Discounts"

Now....for this I would ask "$159 SetUp and $159 a month x 3 mos = $477 + $159 = $636 (initially)

Thus....I think I could sell 50 "initial" participants in my "3 month Trial", in a month, by setting up an Initial Site....and offering to Drop the SetUp Fee IF they join me for my "3-Month Trial" (This comes from 30yrs of selling stuff to local small business owners)...so....I'd be asking them to part with $477 for a "3-Month Trial"....however....they'd have to give me GOOD Discounts...No "10% Off or any "Percentage" discounts...strictly DOLLAR DISCOUNTS where each Coupon is worth "X" dollars ($5 Off Lunch, $50 Off 3 Room Cleaning, $1,000 Off a Roofing Job, $500 Off Exterior Paint Job, $25 Off Pest Control Service, FREE Initial Dental Exam and Cleaning ($250 Value)...etc

I'd offer an EXCLUSIVE for each Category (Which increases the VALUE of the program)

Now...once you get 5 or 10 participants, the others will fall like Dominos...so that...your Goal of having 100 Local Participants paying YOU $159/mo is $15,900 in your pockets every month and you monthly cost is;

$10 for the Host
$20 for the List of New Mover Names
$30 for Postage
(Printing is negligible because you use your Inkjet Printer)

So....Chew on THIS "Seed Of Wisdom" money-making Idea!

Don Alm....Idea Guy

Below is another way I will be able to afford to stay Independent

One of my advertising projects has been to create "Menu Books" of local restaurants and place them in Lobbies of Hotels for hungry tourists to see.

Each restaurant got 2, 11" high by 17" wide, pages with 3 or 4 Photos (outside, inside, food plates and staff)

Last week I happened to notice one of the Photo Files on my harddrive. It was loaded with restaurant photos (jpegs)

There's a free program called PhotoStory3 that lets you take digital photos and turn them into a "Video-Slide Show"...with Text, Background Music and Fades in and out that makes it "seem like" a Video.

Well...I put together 3 of these for 3 restaurants....put them on one of my websites and called the restaurant owners and asked them to "Take A Look" at a "Video of THEIR restaurant".

Curiosity caused them to look (one guy went up and looked while I was on the phone with him)....with the result being I sold all 3 for $497.

So...being that I have photos from over 100 restaurants...I now have another source of income to pay for what's coming.

You could offer this as a "Service". Even if a restaurant (or any business) already has a website....they DON'T have a "Video-SlideShow".

Offer to do one of these for free and use it as an Example of what you can do...then proceed to sell the heck out of them for 4 or 500 each.

Don Alm....idea guy

Besides... Get the Girlfriend/Boyfriend back... The Divorce industry and a pile of other micro niches...

Quick one to Study... What some of the Big boys & girls are currently doing in the Wedding industry... Small one person companies too...

Almost Recession proof... Weddings and Multiple misc. Micro niches within the Wedding industry are Booming...

Focus and Specialize...

Especially on the Local end of things by Analyzing and Outsmarting the competition...

Blissfully booming amid a bust
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/st...45044&ac=PHnws

The Knot Inc. Announces Launch 75 New Wedding Websites
http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/mar...ding-websites/

Create your wedding website with Webvivah.com
http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=15764303
http://www.Webvivah.com

Wedding Lead Generators: Do They Work?
http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/content...a8655eaa?imw=Y

Endless possibilities... Weddings Are Still Big Business...
http://womeninbusiness.about.com/od/...s-weddings.htm

Phil

I don't know if you can throw this in the "Money-Makin" bucket but the slide show is what we normally do at our family funerals. It's usually about a 20-25 minute slide show of the family members life set to some nice music. Most people have more than enough pictures of themselves, sometimes spanning quite a few decades. Most enjoy it and really find it comforting to reflect on the memories of that persons life that they shared. Several copies of the dvd are made and the immediate family takes them.

There's 2 types of businesses that would LOVE to have an "edge" in the "Wedding" bizness;

1) The Venues (Hotel Ballrooms, Wedding Halls and Rooms, anywhere Wedding Receptions are held)

2) Wedding Photographers

If YOU can provide these 2 Categories with something that will help them get more Wedding Bizness.....they will profit...and so will YOU!

Well...there's 2 things YOU can offer these 2 bizness categories that will help them get MORE Wedding Biz.

1) A "Video" made from Digital Photos using PhotoStory3 or Animoto
Someone at the Hotel or Reception Hall (or even the Photogs assistant) takes Digital Shots and emails them to you. You make up a "Video-SlideShow" with background music and post the Video on a "wedding" website created by you.

2) A "Website" where the wedding photog or someone at the Venue, takes digitals and uploads them to your "wedding site" where they can be seen by ALL....especially those folks who could NOT get to the wedding or reception.
(I used a domain called, "InstantWeddingPhotos.com" as an example)

By offering these to ONE Photog or Venue in a given area....you give them great VALUE and a COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE....because they now have something they can offer wedding clients that no one else can. This then provides YOU with a nice chunk-o-change...for your "exclsuive" service.

Don Alm