How to turn $10,000 into a LOT more.... in 2 1/2 days!

I'd read on any discussion board ever!
Really!
The fact that you could make this much money in these conditions should be a lesson to us all

Not that it can be done....but the fact that it had to be considered possible
Simply excellent
Andy Frain

> I'd read on any discussion board ever!
> Really!
> The fact that you could make this much money
> in these conditions should be a lesson to us
> all

> Not that it can be done....but the fact that
> it had to be considered possible
> Simply excellent

Thanks Andy! Yes, I learned a lot.... and I wanted to share it with all of you who visit Sowpub....

I'm glad you liked it! Watching this show certainly got my head spinning....

Cameron Fisher made around $55,000 in 2 1/2 days.... That's about twice the average yearly salary here in Australia! It just boggles the mind....

No wonder these people are millionaires.... :)

Now it's our turn, yes? Of course, it is! :)

Dien Rice

Hi Dien!

What an incrediblly interesting tale/show/whatever.

As I've stated previously, I'm big on things that can be duplicated. Oh sure, everything has something to teach us, but the ability to duplicate something means it can be done instantly.

After reading this tale a few thoughts popped into my mind...

1: How on earth did they manage to buy a mobile phone that was already fully charged?

2: Did any of them take a Yellow Pages with them while they made all their phone calls. If not, did they call Directory Assistance?

3: If the answer to number two is No and No, then it means to me that the numbers they called were known by heart. And while the people were not friends, family or former clients, they were known.

I mean, lets face it, no one would agree to sponser their products on a proposed TV show at such short notice unless they knew the person producing the show.

No one would agree to spend $500 on a dinner with guest speaker and one day's notice if they were being called by a total stranger.

And to get through to the owner of a nightclub, get on the radio with no notice and hire all the Indy girls during the Indy is not something most people can duplicate.

However, just because what they did cannot be dupicated precisely, the seeds of some very profitable ventures were presented. And what they did shows the tremendous value of establishing contacts.

4: Did they have any advanced notice of what the challenge was to be?

5: Did the real estate guy have his secretary do stuff?

I like the real estate guy's methods best. Gave him the most free time while others did what he wouldn't have been able to do personally.

And he sold stuff without having to buy it first.

Now I know you'll think this is odd, but I've NEVER seen Crazy Ron to the best of my knowledge. The most odd guy I've seen on the box was some darker skinned guy (middle east coloured skin) selling computers and he threw a scooter over his head (not that *I'd* call these modern scooters, scooters. Nothing like what I grew up with). Is that Crazy Ron? If it is, I'd never buy anything from him. Makes me think "cheap and bodgy."

Anyway. I enjoyed the tale and agree it's one of the best darn post series anywhere.

Part of it reminded me of "Badges".

Michael Ross.

What follows is a little commercial in nature: If you're a collector of Olympics Memorabilia, I've got a Games 2000 Volunteer Outfit. It's mens and large and includes a watch, jacket, shirt, pants and hat. If you're interested, please contact me. Bare in mind, this ain't gonna be cheap.


Christmas is coming. Give the gift that gives

Yes, I'm planning on organising a huge Underage Commercial Dance Party here in Melbourne! Still working out the details though, will post about it later. :)

- Thomas.

> Please let me know!

> I'd love to hear what you might think.... :)

> Dien Rice

Hi Michael!

> What an incrediblly interesting
> tale/show/whatever.

I agree, it was a great show! :)

> As I've stated previously, I'm big on things
> that can be duplicated. Oh sure, everything
> has something to teach us, but the ability
> to duplicate something means it can be done
> instantly.

> After reading this tale a few thoughts
> popped into my mind...

> 1: How on earth did they manage to buy a
> mobile phone that was already fully charged?

Well, I know Pamela Noon bought one of those phones which uses those prepaid cards. She had to wait around 6 hours to get connected. I'm not sure about the type of phones the other two got.

As for charging a phone, I don't think it takes long to charge up a phone nowadays.... I'm not sure exactly how long mine takes to charge up, but it's not very long....

Most likely Cameron and "Crazy Ron" bought top-of-the-line phones with pretty fast charge times -- I expect they could have charged them in the store right after purchase. At least charged them enough to be useful....

> 2: Did any of them take a Yellow Pages with
> them while they made all their phone calls.
> If not, did they call Directory Assistance?

I assumed they called directory assistance -- I didn't see any Yellow Pages around....

> 3: If the answer to number two is No and No,
> then it means to me that the numbers they
> called were known by heart. And while the
> people were not friends, family or former
> clients, they were known.

Yes, well that's a good question. They didn't say they couldn't call former *suppliers* before....

Also, if they knew who they were going to call, it would be pretty easy to find the phone numbers through directory assistance. Even if they didn't know, I assume you might be able to get an operator to give you a random name from the right section in the Yellow Pages.

> I mean, lets face it, no one would agree to
> sponser their products on a proposed TV show
> at such short notice unless they knew the
> person producing the show.

I don't know if that's necessarily true.... Remember, she hired a production company, and they could check with the production company to see if it was legit.

Also, I don't think the rules prohibited her from saying who she was, just that she was not allowed to have had them as clients before.

> No one would agree to spend $500 on a dinner
> with guest speaker and one day's notice if
> they were being called by a total stranger.

Okay, this part does sound suspicious to me -- BUT maybe it's okay too. Remember, he had a celebrity speaker and also the promise of an auction with some rare sports memorabilia. If they only had to pay at the dinner or afterwards, then they would know what they were getting before they had to pay....

It's possible that there was some "cheating" here but I don't think that's easy to check!

> And to get through to the owner of a
> nightclub, get on the radio with no notice
> and hire all the Indy girls during the Indy
> is not something most people can duplicate.

Well, I would say of the three, "Crazy Ron's" approach would be the hardest to duplicate. That's because he's apparently already to some extent a "known" figure in his locality (probably from his ads), and he used that to his advantage (which was within the rules). It was an advantage the other two didn't have.

> However, just because what they did cannot
> be dupicated precisely, the seeds of some
> very profitable ventures were presented. And
> what they did shows the tremendous value of
> establishing contacts.

I would say the approach of Pamela Noon and Cameron Fisher were the most reproducible. Certainly for his business luncheon, it's clear that Cameron used no business contacts at all, since he hired telemarketers to cold-call business people to sell tickets for the luncheon.

Selling $60 tickets through cold-calling with a celebrity "real life adventure" speaker as the main attraction seems plausible to me.

> 4: Did they have any advanced notice of what
> the challenge was to be?

That I don't know.

> 5: Did the real estate guy have his
> secretary do stuff?

No, I don't think so. I believe he hired and contracted everything out afresh.

> I like the real estate guy's methods best.
> Gave him the most free time while others did
> what he wouldn't have been able to do
> personally.

That I agree with! He was the smartest, in my opinion. He had the *least* work to do, and made the most money too! It's the power of outsourcing the work!

> And he sold stuff without having to buy it
> first.

> Now I know you'll think this is odd, but
> I've NEVER seen Crazy Ron to the best of my
> knowledge. The most odd guy I've seen on the
> box was some darker skinned guy (middle east
> coloured skin) selling computers and he
> threw a scooter over his head (not that
> *I'd* call these modern scooters, scooters.
> Nothing like what I grew up with). Is that
> Crazy Ron? If it is, I'd never buy anything
> from him. Makes me think "cheap and
> bodgy."

Heheh, sounds like it could be him. However, as far as I know he sells mobile phones -- though he certainly may have expanded into computers....

I don't think he has any stores here in Sydney, or as far as I know in Melbourne.... So I'm not much of an expert on him, apart from what I saw on the show....

By the way, I found the beginning of "Crazy Ron's" web site.... It's at www.crazyrons.com.au .

I personally really liked "Crazy Ron." His enthusiasm was infectious!

And remember, the guy is only 23! And a millionaire as well.... He seems to be doing something right....

> Anyway. I enjoyed the tale and agree it's
> one of the best darn post series anywhere.

Thanks Michael!

> Part of it reminded me of
> "Badges".

Do you mean the pens reminded you of that?

Anyway, it gave me *lots* of ideas....

Here's what I think the *smart* approach is now.... It's to duplicate Cameron Fisher.

Be the one organizing things. Then hire others to do the work. Plan things out well (he was the only one who seemed to plan things out on paper first), to ensure you make a profit.

Then, you have others doing the work, yet you reap the benefits of a successful plan.... :)

In the show, the only thing Cameron Fisher did (that I saw), apart from organizing things, was to call people to try to get 25 people to come to his dinner (he did that himself), and he also conducted the actual auction.

(I wouldn't count betting on the horses as work!)

Everything else he outsourced -- caterers for the dinner, telemarketers to sell tickets to the luncheon, celebrity speakers, and I think he even managed to get someone else to organize the items for auction!

If you're looking to make, say, $25,000, paying a small team of people $20 per hour each to do a lot of the work for you isn't very much....

To me, that was one of the most important lessons.... But I think to make sure you make a profit, you have to plan things well beforehand.... :)

Dien Rice

> Yes, I'm planning on organising a huge
> Underage Commercial Dance Party here in
> Melbourne! Still working out the details
> though, will post about it later. :)

That's excellent, Thomas! I can't wait to hear more about it (and I'm sure I'm not the only one).... :)

Dien Rice

> Well, I know Pamela Noon bought one of those
> phones which uses those prepaid cards. She
> had to wait around 6 hours to get connected.
> I'm not sure about the type of phones the
> other two got.

> As for charging a phone, I don't think it
> takes long to charge up a phone nowadays....
> I'm not sure exactly how long mine takes to
> charge up, but it's not very long....

Ah... okay. I was imagining they walked in, bought and walked out with a fully charged phone. Total time... a few minutes. But what you said clears it up.

> Also, if they knew who they were going to
> call, it would be pretty easy to find the
> phone numbers through directory assistance.
> Even if they didn't know, I assume you might
> be able to get an operator to give you a
> random name from the right section in the
> Yellow Pages.

Yeah. The Yellow Pages Directory Assistance in Australia is different to the white pages one.

> I don't know if that's necessarily true....
> Remember, she hired a production company,
> and they could check with the production
> company to see if it was legit.

Ah yeah, but how does the production company know it's legit? See next point below...

> Also, I don't think the rules prohibited her
> from saying who she was, just that she was
> not allowed to have had them as clients
> before.

I have a sneaky feeling those who agreed to sponser their products already knew her. They may even have been suppliers to her business. Now, that would make sense. And then it wouldn't matter who called them - her or the production company - one mention of her name and that's all the cred needed.

> It's possible that there was some
> "cheating" here but I don't think
> that's easy to check!

Hmmm... I wonder what constitutes a client as far as a real estate agent goes. Is it the person who's commissioned the agent to sell the house or the person who buys the house?

> I would say the approach of Pamela Noon and
> Cameron Fisher were the most reproducible.
> Certainly for his business luncheon, it's
> clear that Cameron used no business contacts
> at all, since he hired telemarketers to
> cold-call business people to sell tickets
> for the luncheon.

Yep. As Donald Trump says... Don't think you can do everything yourself. Get and use help when you need it.

It's interesting to note he also says... stay close to home. What got you to the top is what keeps you there and it saves on travelling time.

Another way to put it would also be to say to stick with what you know, and where you know.

And all three did just that...

The auctioneer held an auction. The TV presenter produced a show. The promoter promoted. And they did it on familiar ground - home ground advantage.

> I personally really liked "Crazy
> Ron." His enthusiasm was infectious!

The way you talk about him is infectious and makes me want to see him in action. :o)

> Do you mean the pens reminded you of that?

I'm not going to say what part of the agent's story reminded me of "Badges". You'll have to think about that one yourself. :o)

> Here's what I think the *smart* approach is
> now.... It's to duplicate Cameron Fisher.

Agreed!

> Be the one organizing things. Then hire
> others to do the work. Plan things out well
> (he was the only one who seemed to plan
> things out on paper first), to ensure you
> make a profit.

> Then, you have others doing the work, yet
> you reap the benefits of a successful
> plan.... :)

> In the show, the only thing Cameron Fisher
> did (that I saw), apart from organizing
> things, was to call people to try to get 25
> people to come to his dinner (he did that
> himself), and he also conducted the actual
> auction.

> Everything else he outsourced -- caterers
> for the dinner, telemarketers to sell
> tickets to the luncheon, celebrity speakers,
> and I think he even managed to get someone
> else to organize the items for auction!

> If you're looking to make, say, $25,000,
> paying a small team of people $20 per hour
> each to do a lot of the work for you isn't
> very much....

> To me, that was one of the most important
> lessons.... But I think to make sure you
> make a profit, you have to plan things well
> beforehand.... :)

As I've not seen the show I can't comment on the planing part per se. However, I bet he didn't write a plan as much as create a checklist of things. A checklist which covered the downside so the upside would take care of itself.

Was his note pad one of those small ones that can fit in your shirt pocket?

Hmmm... maybe I should call the guy I know who organizes the Brisbane Rock Estedford every year... :o)

Michael Ross.


Organize a Get Together With Your Friends And Play This...

Best to start at square one...;-)

Hi Michael,

You know, by coincidence, I just managed to get Donald Trump's "The Art of the Deal" yesterday! I was leafing through it in the car, then came home to see your post!

I've only read a few pages so far, but it really looks like a great book for entrepreneurs.... :)

> Yep. As Donald Trump says... Don't think you
> can do everything yourself. Get and use help
> when you need it.

> It's interesting to note he also says...
> stay close to home. What got you to the top
> is what keeps you there and it saves on
> travelling time.

> Another way to put it would also be to say
> to stick with what you know, and where you
> know.

Yes.... Business isn't always easy, so it's best to give yourself the best chance of success that you can.... :)

> And all three did just that...

> The auctioneer held an auction. The TV
> presenter produced a show. The promoter
> promoted. And they did it on familiar ground
> - home ground advantage.

Yes.... Very true.... :)

> As I've not seen the show I can't comment on
> the planing part per se. However, I bet he
> didn't write a plan as much as create a
> checklist of things. A checklist which
> covered the downside so the upside would
> take care of itself.

> Was his note pad one of those small ones
> that can fit in your shirt pocket?

No, actually it was a full-sized notepad.... Unfortunately, we didn't see any close-ups of exactly what he was writing, so I don't really know what he had written there....!

Probably at least some of it would have been a list of people to call to organize these events, and he was writing while he was on the phone so he was probably jotting down the details of how it was going as he went along....

> Hmmm... maybe I should call the guy I know
> who organizes the Brisbane Rock Estedford
> every year... :o)

Heheh.... :) Well, my brother Thomas (as he posted here) is looking into organizing an underage dance party.... I speak with my brother regularly (we live in different cities), and he's been speaking with some of his friends who have experience in this area....

As for me, I have something in mind I can do in Sydney too, though it's not really an event but something else....

A couple days ago I spoke to a company which specializes in promotional products. The essential idea -- if it comes to fruition -- is to provide a kind of product in a specific situation for sale (I can't give more details right now). I may also be able to get sponsorship too (I haven't looked into that part yet).... I'm waiting for the quote from the promotional products company, then I'll get an idea of the feasibility....

However, I was wondering if any of these ideas are transportable online? Could you have an online "event" which people would pay to "attend"? I'm not sure.... It's something to think about....

What do people pay for online? They are willing to buy products (both "real-world" products which they get in the mail, and also "virtual" downloadable ones).... They are willing to join private membership web sites if the benefits are great enough. But are they willing to pay to "attend" online events? I haven't heard of that yet....

Okay.... I'm going to be reading more of Donald Trump's book over the next few days.... Thanks for mentioning the book, Michael!

Dien Rice

> Hi Michael,

> However, I was wondering if any of these
> ideas are transportable online?

My take from the story Dien is that each person
took an element of their business and appealed
to the "highest" paying customer...so my question
would be: looking at your business and your
customer base who would be the highest paying
customers and what do they want? if I'm not sure
who that is...can I develop a method to find
out who my customer is and how much they have
to spend and address what their needs...

Those stories demonstrated each person knew how much their customer would be willing to pay for certain services and products...

Another thing I learned from the story is how
important it is to be really focused on the
needs of your target market...notice they did
not try to make money by going outside of their
field of interest...

Could you
> have an online "event" which
> people would pay to "attend"?

No, but you could have a Product or service
your "best" customer would pay for...

this all reminds me of the BYBA story on your
board and how Monique focused in on her target
market and offered them a newsletter subscription.
Prior to doing this she believed her customer
would only want a freebie..her income jumped
exponentially as the people in the story who
made a lot in 2.5 days...

I guess if you really know your target and was
under a deadline,be it self imposed or not, you
would figure out a way to make the money...
deadlines and hunger makes one verrry creative..

Wayne Dyer has a tape called :
How to get what you reallllllllllllllllly,
realllllllllllllly want...and the reason is
because many don't know what they realllllllllly
want...