Money-Making ideas are EVERYWHERE!

Hi folks! Many people ask me HOW do I get my
"ideas" on money-making ventures. I'd like to SHARE a recent "happening" with you.

Here's an inkling of how "I" find money-making ideas;

Wherever I go...my "entrepreneurial ears" are WIDE OPEN AND AWARE! Why? Because THAT is "who" I am....
an "idea" man, constantly on the look out for IDEAS! IDEAS on what people WANT! Not "need"! There's a BIG difference between what people "want" and what they "need"!

I "need" a way to get from my home to the grocery store! I "want" a way to "go there in STYLE"...BY DRIVING A MERCEDES BENZ! (Which my entrepreneurial efforts have allowed me to afford)

So...recent case-in-point;
I went to a Bar-B-Que party a month ago, Saturday. My host spent $12,000 on his new DECK...last year. He and his wife spent a LOT of time mentioning the ENTIRE afternoon..."How SICK" their new deck looked.

Now...I wanted to go up to my host (and friend) and tell him, "Randy! I do NOT give a crap what your new deck looks like...I am here to ENJOY the food and the people...and NOT be dismayed about how dreary your deck looks!"

However...because of the OVER-CONCERN with "HOW" his deck looked....THIS caused me to consider a thought;
If this guy who had spent a bundle on a deck "that he was NOT PROUD OF"....in fact, he had to "make excuses for"...THIS prompted me to think about something;

I wondered how many people have spent money on building a DECK and....after the "GLOW" of the first year has worn off...are NOW making EXCUSES as to why it doesn't look like NEW?

So...immediately after the party, I rushed home and got on my computer (my wifee tells me I love "IT" more than her. I tried to appease her by saying, "Just 5 minutes, dearee, while I check on something.")

Anyway....after 2hrs...I found something VERY INTERESTING! (My wifee went to bed. She KNOWS me)

I found 2 things.

Ya Know...this "internet thingee" STILL boggles my mind. Here it was, 7pm on a Saturday eve...I head to the Search engines....the first thing I found was...a Chemical that can make "Decks look like NEW for 7 years, Guaranteed"!

The next thing I found was a company offering a "Deck Renewing" process....in Virginia....operated by a "woman".

From what I could find...this woman's husband had lost his job...so...instead of her "sticking her nose in the sand"...she went OnLine and found the SAME company I did, producing this "Deck Renewing Chemical"....
and...she sent out some flyers on how she could..
"Make Your Deck Look Like New...OVERNIGHT"!

Well...in a matter of days she was overwhelmed with JOBS to "RENEW DECKS"!

The next morn (Sunday)...I phoned this woman and she answered and YES...she was getting MANY "Deck Renewal" jobs for BIG MONEY....AND she could not only "save her family" but she was even planning on buying a SUPER HOUSE on the hill...because she could now AFFORD IT with the profits from her "Deck Renewal" business...
making an average of $1500 per deck renewal!

So...I decided to see if MY area had an interest in "Deck Renewals".

I ran an ad in the Sun paper...offering a "Free Estimate" on...
"DECK RENEWAL - Make Your Deck Look Like New, Instantly! Call for free estimate...673-2224"

Well...my phone was SWAMPED with calls! It was like I had hit a HOT BUTTON!

Apparently, DECKS are VERY IMPORTANT to many people!

So...as an entroopeneer...I called and made appointments to give estimates to the callers.

And...what happened next was absolutely OVERWHELMING!

On Monday morning, I made appointments for the coming week with 14 callers to give an "estimate".

When I gave my "estimate"...12 of the 14 ORDERED RIGHT THEN AND THERE!...for $800 to $2700! With an "average" of $1500.
and...from the 12 customers...
I signed over $18,000 worth or work!

IN ONE WEEK!

So...because my business philosophy has always been, "Get the Orders FIRST...then worry about fulfilling later"....I was NOW in the "fulfillment stage"!

However...because I KNOW there are always people available I can HIRE to do jobs (just like "McDonalds and Burger King KNOWS)....I made a few calls and found all the "workmen" I would need.

So...just from a BarbQue party I started a new biz with next-to nothing invested...and my first sales brought in over $15,000 in profits....just for keeping my ears open during a BarBQue.

So... if anyone reading this would like more info about how to start a "Deck Renewing" business...just send me an email.

Thanks.....Don Alm

an excellent example of what I said in this post:
http://www.sowpub.com/cgi-bin/forum/webbbs_config.pl?read=7895

"IF you find something readily available to the public - cleaning chemicals, some kind of machine or tool, etc., - then it PROVES people buy those items to get the results the items provide.

A percentage of people would rather pay someone else to use those chemicals, machines, tools, etc., to do what they could do themselves."

Michael Ross.

Hi Don,

Thanks for another great post!

Here's one thing which LEAPED out at me from your post....

> So...because my business philosophy has
> always been, "Get the Orders
> FIRST...then worry about fulfilling
> later"....I was NOW in the
> "fulfillment stage"!

In my experience, GETTING the orders tends to be the "harder" part. Fulfilment is easy (relatively speaking)!

I think getting the orders first makes a heck of a lot of sense....

Recently I was thumbing through my copy of Benjamin Suarez's book, "7 Steps To Freedom II" (a "must have" book on direct response marketing). I was looking at a different section, but stumbled on his section on "dry testing"... I've read it before, but I read it again (because it's good stuff)....

"Dry testing" means asking for orders BEFORE you have the product ready.... This way, you can check if there's any demand for it BEFORE you go through the time and expense of creating the product....

Dry testing is natural for a SERVICE (like the deck renewal biz idea), however dry testing for a PRODUCT is generally illegal. However, Ben Suarez gives two ways you can legally dry-test a product.... He says they are:[*]'You do not ask the customer to send any money. You simply use the words "reserve my product," or other words which make it clear that you do not and may not have the product.'[*]'You add copy to the order form which says, "If enough people do not order, we reserve the right to cancel all orders and refund your money."'

(From "7 Steps To Freedom II" p. 2-201.)

Don, I think your philosophy to "Get the orders FIRST" is a powerful philosophy, thanks for sharing it!

- Dien Rice

Hi Don,

How much did you make your estimates for?

1.50 per square foot or less? (or more? said while rubbing hands together with a grin on my face)

Curious as always,

Erik Lukas

As life is interconnected in infinite ways, minutes after reading this post, a friend of mine, Jeff, started telling me about a guy 2 houses down that restored decks. Turns out this Bruce was a real swell fellow. Told me all about his business, etc, even showing me the books for his little side biz.

What a coincidence (or was it?)

I actually got down and dirty and Bruce let me try out his pressure washer. I was less than prepared to get soaked. My leather shoes absorbed a few cups of water alone.

Erik--

I'm thinking about doing this as well. Does Bruce get paid Don's rates? I'm attempting to figure out how to price the system, and I can't imagine telling someone $800 for a morning's work with a straight face. But if that's realistic, then I'll do it.

I also went online and found many do-it-yourself sites that insist that deck renewal is a three-step process that involves a lot of scrubbing, stripping, staining, finishing, etc., even though I believe I found the company Don talks about, who claim just the opposite with their "chemical" that you just spray on with a spray gun they provide. Obviously, Bruce uses a power washer, so maybe his system is different than Don's chemical?

I'm out of work and I have $312.34 left to my name. I think I'll spend $21 today for a classified ad akin to Don's to test the market before I invest any other money.

Thanks.

John

I just called the newspaper to place my classified ad for deck renewal...and the lady who took the ad wants a free estimate!

I guess this really is a hot button...well, I'm off to Home Depot to learn everything I can about renewing decks.

John

John,
If you don't mind sharing, what did your ad say?
Did you place it in the classified section or is it a display ad?
Thanks,

Gary

> I just called the newspaper to place my
> classified ad for deck renewal...and the
> lady who took the ad wants a free estimate!

> I guess this really is a hot button...well,
> I'm off to Home Depot to learn everything I
> can about renewing decks.

> John

> John,
> If you don't mind sharing, what did your ad
> say?

It's a classified. "DECK RESTORATION --- Your deck like new again...overnight! Free estimate. 555-5555." It's Don's ad, with a few words changed so I'm not directly copying him.

It runs for a week starting tomorrow. I'll let you know the exact results.

I love this! 24 hours ago, I would have never even considered deck renewal, and here I am running an ad. Isn't life an adventure?

I also contacted Dever Enterprises, and they are a very user-friendly, enthusiastic group. They explained a lot to me about the renewal process, probably more than I would have learned at Home Depot. Seems that stripping the deck is necessary (using Cuprinol or similar) if it has been previously stained.

My next challenge (after learning how to apply the stuff without splattering it all over the world...and do it with enough dignity so it looks like I've done it at least once before...can you tell I'm no handyman?) is learning the ins-and-outs of hiring contract workers, depending on the number of responses I get.

By the way, we've got a pretty good thread going here, haven't we? Don made the same single post in a gazillion other forums, but we seem to be the only ones taking action with it.

Thanks for the kickstart, Don.

John

John,

Thanks for the information you are posting. I'm facsinated to find out what kind of response you get. I'm also working the "how-to" side of things right now, and am already trying to learn about hiring contractors, what to pay them, how to pay them, etc.

Of course I'm getting ahead of myself. My preference would be to do the work myself. My perfectionist nature could be an advantage here, as I imagine that higher pricing would be easier to come by if the quality of the work done is absolutely first rate.

I'd love to chat more about this with you via email. My address is above, if you care to swap ideas back and forth.

Thanks everyone, for such an informative post!!

Mike Long

> It's a classified. "DECK RESTORATION
> --- Your deck like new again...overnight!
> Free estimate. 555-5555." It's Don's
> ad, with a few words changed so I'm not
> directly copying him.

> It runs for a week starting tomorrow. I'll
> let you know the exact results.

> I love this! 24 hours ago, I would have
> never even considered deck renewal, and here
> I am running an ad. Isn't life an adventure?

> I also contacted Dever Enterprises, and they
> are a very user-friendly, enthusiastic
> group. They explained a lot to me about the
> renewal process, probably more than I would
> have learned at Home Depot. Seems that
> stripping the deck is necessary (using
> Cuprinol or similar) if it has been
> previously stained.

> My next challenge (after learning how to
> apply the stuff without splattering it all
> over the world...and do it with enough
> dignity so it looks like I've done it at
> least once before...can you tell I'm no
> handyman?) is learning the ins-and-outs of
> hiring contract workers, depending on the
> number of responses I get.

> By the way, we've got a pretty good thread
> going here, haven't we? Don made the same
> single post in a gazillion other forums, but
> we seem to be the only ones taking action
> with it.

> Thanks for the kickstart, Don.

> John