How do you find a starving crowd ?

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

Weekends this season, I'm the professional Tarot Card Reader and Astrologer at a haunted house. My daughter is the Palmreader and Numerologist. Our prices are cheap ($5 for 5 minute consultation) but last week it occurred to me that there might be a market for charms to go along with the readings. We set up a small board of necklaces and oils (and will be setting up a booklet shop as well). Though crowds were thin, we made several sales and there was some interest in them.

I think we could have done better if we redesigned the display, but we've both got other committments that tie up more than 50 hours/week on top of the readings.




(my fortuneteller site... still under construction)

Impressive website.

A couple of years ago, I watched a young woman sell thousands of pieces of astrological jewelry on one of the home shopping channels. Every month she was there.

Really they were nothing special. There was an almost invisible chip of a birthstone seated in each charm. They sold for $150. Each charm was about the size of a dime. 14K

The twelve zodiac charms were her original designs. Her husband cast each piece. She had a story. Said she had made them to give to friends and family for many years before she started seling them. They all had good luck when they wore them. She was pitching hope, finding your soul mate, fame and fortune, protection, blessings. And the tv audience was eating it up.

I watched the numbers mount up at the bottom of the page. She appeared on the program dozens of times. After her first tv show, she invited her past buyers to call in and talk, on live tv, about the good luck that the zodiac charm had brought into their lives. She had a huge following. People bought them as gifts for other family members and friends after they were convinced that there was something empowering about the special pieces of jewelry.

After each true life story, the numbers of purchases just soared. I saw the numbers at the bottom of the screen. She was a very religious person. Catholic, I believe. Sort of a strange lady, but that seemed to help, not hurt.

Yes, I bought one. But my luck ran out. I lost mine. I'll never know what may have happened if I wasn't so careless.

Have fun and good luck with your season.

> Weekends this season, I'm the professional
> Tarot Card Reader and Astrologer at a
> haunted house. My daughter is the Palmreader
> and Numerologist. Our prices are cheap ($5
> for 5 minute consultation) but last week it
> occurred to me that there might be a market
> for charms to go along with the readings. We
> set up a small board of necklaces and oils
> (and will be setting up a booklet shop as
> well). Though crowds were thin, we made
> several sales and there was some interest in
> them.

> I think we could have done better if we
> redesigned the display, but we've both got
> other committments that tie up more than 50
> hours/week on top of the readings.

I was reading a seldom-visited business board and it occurred to me to check the planetary positions to see what's happening in the sky. Saturn (planet of stability) is going retrograde, meaning that it's a bad time to wander off onto new ideas and that you can expect delays and slowdowns for the next 4 1/2 months.

Then I wondered what might happen if I offered personal business advice using astrology. So I added those services. :)

I'll put up a numerology page on the website, too, for evaluating the "vibes" of the name of your business. That one's going to be free -- strictly for fun.

I'll add some other stuff and later on may add the other items I have for sale there (oils and so forth). I really hadn't intended to go into this business, really -- but the market is there and it may make for a very very profitable Halloweeen season.


Astrologer/Tarot Reader