Seeking idea for $50-$100 small business services or products to offer.

Here is another project that I completed (inspired by Don Alm) that "paid" off. I found a graphic designer on Craigslist that could design my ads. I decided to create a pizza box top flyer with business card-sized ads on the front and back. I created a mock-up and started walking in businesses and asking for the owner. I sold them for $195 each, and there were 10 ads per side, with the pizza place's ad in the middle(a coupon). It was a full-color flyer with a glossy finish. I simply sketched out the ad design and sent it to my graphics guy, Tim. Sometimes the business had a camera ready design of their business card and it was easy to have Tim just pop that into the flyer. This was a little easier project due to only having to sell and design 22 ads. The pizza place agreed to tape a flyer on each box that was sold as a take-out order. His ad was free on both sides of the flyer. I also paid for the scotch tape to attach the flyer. I did this twice and the pizza owner was happy each time. I will probably do this again in the summer so I have time during the day to sell. If I can do this anyone can. It is scarry until you sell the first ad, then you get a huge confidence boost and away you go. You can do this!

According to Martin B, he had a butcher friend who had a shop. He designed one page for the butcher and sold 10 biz card ads on the back to other local biz, printed up 1,000 black and white flyers locally ($100) and charged each advertiser $50. Did it in a day, had $400 left over.

The butcher signed an agreement to let Martin do this for a year.

My thinking is you can skip the butcher and sell 8-10 ads on each side, Gotprint charges $215, shipping included, for 2,500 full color flyers. Sell the ads for $100 each = $2,000 minus costs = approx. $1,800. Divvy up the flyers between those who bought an ad, for each of them to stick in the bag when someone buys something. You now have 20 biz promoting each other.

Maybe you could even sell the ads for more.... Rinse and repeat,

Eva

P.s. If you sell a lot of ads, instead of a flyer, make a "directory style" newspaper. Start out with a 4 page paper, build out from there.

http://www.makemynewspaper.com/Getti...ed/Prices.aspx

This company makes printing a paper very affordable.

Hi Eva,

Nice searching and Finding...

Always feel free to Expose those Never-ending {Specialized} niche URL's and Ideas! ...

Some excellent examples and {Twistable} concepts, business models in Digging through their own Web directory of Creativity and Options & Much, much more...
http://www.makemynewspaper.com/samples/default.aspx
http://www.makemynewspaper.com/getti...templates.aspx
http://www.makemynewspaper.com/profi...nny-pages.aspx
http://www.makemynewspaper.com/newspaper-designs.aspx
http://www.makemynewspaper.com/Industry/Default.aspx
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/3/prweb9250433.htm
https://www.google.com/search?q=http...ient=firefox-a

All the best,
Phil

Also, check out http://www.churchnewspapers.com/ It is the same company, explaining how you can make a paper for your church,

Eva

P.s. If you do not have Indesign, you can actually make the paper in Microsoft Publisher, no problem.

P.p.s. If you prefer a "whiter" paper than newsprint, they do have it for an additional 15%.

Originally Posted by BizmanBret

I am a teacher, coach and a passionate entrepreneur who is looking to find a single service or product I can offer local small businesses in my area. Like most folks I have a limited amount of time to devote to supplementing my income. I have been following this forum for 5+ years and am calling on fellow Sowpubers to help me and anyone interested to creat a list of specific, simple, yet valuable services to offer small businesses in order to earn extra money. I am hoping this list can help many in the forum to create a nice side income if they are willing to take action. Thank you.

I assume you are a sports coach? I may have a really good recommendation for you but it is dependent on the population of the area you live in... It is similar to something I did back in the 90's to make an extra $500 - $1000 on weekends but it can be far more profitable today.... Read my review on the Warrior Forum post # 24 at: http://www.warriorforum.com/warrior-...uaranteed.html

Cheers,
Steve

[GordonJ]

http://www.warriorforum.com/warrior-...uaranteed.html

This is not for everyone...but it would be good for your teen child or grandchild or for yourself maybe.

An old story, some of you know. A long time ago I had a business of delivering singing telegrams.

One spring day my wife and I set up a booth at a yearly flea market. I was inside a big freezer box painted red and for a nickle you could select a song...which I sung really loud.

We sold choc chip cookies for a buck and sold over a 1000 of them. We gave away balloons and nickles with our card attached. Those cards produced over 12 gran in business in the next 6 weeks.

This is relevant to the WSO because my wife actually did this. What is in the WSO. We attracted a crowd. We were the most popular booth, and there a couple of hundred.

We spent less than a 100 on the booth, and not much more on the cookies.

Anyhow, I was given a review copy of this WSO, I think it is a good buy for under 20 bux.

Buy it and I'll give you a few other ideas which go along with this WSO. It also is a pretty good blind ad.

http://www.warriorforum.com/warrior-...uaranteed.html

True......Many people have great ideas but are just not sure how they can leverage it and put it into action. Being creative and having ideas is one but being an entrepreneur is another thing all together.

A few great ideas:

Personal tutoring
Lunch services
Create notes or a research paper and sell it to publications

There's another wso I'd recommend -- it's called R.O.S.I.E.

A way to promote neighborhood restaurants. Recurring income possible.

Cheers.

-- TW

[GordonJ]

Have YOU actually done this? Or is this another one of those, "sounds doable"?

I prefer actual experience on the subject...don't care for theory.

GordonJ

Originally Posted by -TW

There's another wso I'd recommend -- it's called R.O.S.I.E.

A way to promote neighborhood restaurants. Recurring income possible.

Cheers.

-- TW