How do you find a starving crowd ?

Back in the 50's and 60's many cars had a small "plastic Jesus" sitting on their dashboard as a sort of "guardian". I remember one of the companies making these statuettes were making MILLIONS of them. They were for sale in every drug and dept store.

The same with "rabbit's feet". Millions of these were sold in the 60's as "good luck charms" and "keychains".

My entrepreneurial "hero" is Joe Cossman. Joe said something in one of the seminars I attended that I think still holds true;
He said, Fads seem to repeat every 17 yrs. Hula Hoop, Frisbee, the Yo-Yo. He said take a look at 17 yr old magazines and see what was selling then and see if you can "resurrect" one of them by "testing" the market first...then roll it out.

Don Alm

> Thank you sir. I was myself thinking that
> lucky charms and talismans might be a timely
> item to sell. I was in a small shop
> yesterday in a tourist area that features
> mostly celtic crosses. Business was good.
> Seems people gravitate toward things/items
> that yield a bit of comfort or contribute to
> a feeling of protection in these uncertain
> times.




22 Ways To Make $50,000 Starting with $50

i was in the magazine store the other day and by
the booth where they sell the lottery numbers was
a rack with damn near 25 books devoted to picking
the number. most were just lists of random numbers. Honestly. People charging $5 average
to sell you pages of random numbers....hmmm....
wow....

> Back in the 50's and 60's many cars had a
> small "plastic Jesus" sitting on
> their dashboard as a sort of
> "guardian". I remember one of the
> companies making these statuettes were
> making MILLIONS of them. They were for sale
> in every drug and dept store.

> The same with "rabbit's feet".
> Millions of these were sold in the 60's as
> "good luck charms" and
> "keychains".

> My entrepreneurial "hero" is Joe
> Cossman. Joe said something in one of the
> seminars I attended that I think still holds
> true;
> He said, Fads seem to repeat every 17 yrs.
> Hula Hoop, Frisbee, the Yo-Yo. He said take
> a look at 17 yr old magazines and see what
> was selling then and see if you can
> "resurrect" one of them by
> "testing" the market first...then
> roll it out.

> Don Alm

Ever see the movie/video called "Dogma"??? Not for the weak-hearted. Most of the Kevin Smith movies are very genre oriented.

Kevin "Silent Bob" Smith is a young and budding movie director from New Jersey near my old stomping grounds. "Clerks" was his first movie. Excellent for a sub $20,000.00 production with one camera in black and white.

In the movie "Dogma", catholics attempt to reinvent the religion to bring back more catholics. Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, George Carlin, Alanis Morrisette, Chris Rock among others, star in it.

Smith has an uncanny knack for getting superstars to appear in his films...

The "Buddy Christ" statue, is the Vaticans attempt to make the standard somber Jesus more appealing to the younger crowd.

Thought this fit in nicely with the thread. Enjoy...

Success and Regards... Mike


"Buddy Christ"

Was there a Millenium Hula Hoop and I missed it?

This past weekend, my 5 year old nephew asked me if I would get him a Hula Hoop for Christmas. Knowing him, that was about the last thing I expected him to ask for. I didn't even know they were manufactured anymore? Seriously wondered if I'd have to go to the ends of the earth to find one. Or, Ebay?

Great suggestion about looking at 17 year old magazines. Do most libraries keep periodicals that long?

> He said, Fads seem to repeat every 17 yrs.
> Hula Hoop, Frisbee, the Yo-Yo. He said take
> a look at 17 yr old magazines and see what
> was selling then and see if you can
> "resurrect" one of them by
> "testing" the market first...then
> roll it out.

> Don Alm

Hi Don,

> My entrepreneurial "hero" is Joe
> Cossman.

Joe Cossman is one of my heroes too.... I got his books and tapes, and they're well-worth getting for those who don't have them. He's brilliant, and you'll get lots of ideas. :)

> Joe said something in one of the
> seminars I attended that I think still holds
> true;
> He said, Fads seem to repeat every 17 yrs.
> Hula Hoop, Frisbee, the Yo-Yo. He said take
> a look at 17 yr old magazines and see what
> was selling then and see if you can
> "resurrect" one of them by
> "testing" the market first...then
> roll it out.

Wow Don, thanks, that's great advice! 17 years ago.... hmmm.... that's 1984. What was hot in 1984? Hmmm.... I was a geeky 14 year old then. All I remember was some of the kids my age had these crazy hairstyles. :)

I'll have to go dig up some old mags to see what else was happening then! (Check the library or any old magazines at thrift stores.... :) )

- Dien Rice