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

Here's some free information if you want to get into the deck renewal biz.

Go to: www.deverenterprises.com.

Their deck renewal products last for 7 years. Product line is environmentally friendly too!

All the best,

Anthony Link

> 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.

Well, it's not exactly a mornings work.

Bruce said the cleaning for an average deck (maybe 300-600ish) takes around 3-4 hours to do right (darn spindles are the tricky part). And then you come back the next day and the sealing takes 4-6 more hours. So you're looking at 10 hours. Bruce said he makes his bids for around $70 an hour so say $700 a job. That's still a nice profit (at least until the tax man gets ahold of it, unless that's not going to be a factor). $700 for 2 days work. You could live well on 2 jobs a week.

> 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 think it's a little different. Bruce actually just uses a power washer. He says he uses a cleaner if they want the wood lightened up a little. It's up to the homeowners.

If you're going to use a cleaner, it looks like an oxygen bleach wood cleaner is the way to go. Timberwash and Delco DSR-47 were the 2 I read about.

Here's a nice little guide which takes you step by step through the process (one of many)

http://popularmechanics.com/popmech/homei/0004HIHIAM.html

You just spray it on and then give it say 15 min to soak in. Then you can either lightly scrub it with a nylon brush or just spray it off.

I guess it's either powerwasher alone, or powerwasher plus a cleaner. And then you come back the next day and finish by sealing the deck.

(Note: if the deck is already stained, you may have to use a paint stripper to remove that for an even better finish)

> 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.

Good luck, John! I think this is something you can definitely do and 'make a good coin' (as Bruce put it).

Success,

Erik