Valentines Day Money Ideas?

OK.....I dug this out of my Archives. Maybe it will give someone some motivation;

A guy I knew asked if I knew a way to make some "quick bux". (Same as Tyrone) He worked construction labor and I knew he had NO sales experience however.....he did NOT want to do any Manual Labor stuff (although he could have knocked on doors offering to take stuff to the dump for a fee)

So.....I had just come from a visit to our local Dollar Store and I noticed the HUGE selection of Valentine's Day Balloons (it was 2 days b4 Feb 14, same as today) So....I told him to hop into his Van and drive me over to the Dollar Store.

We went in and bought 20 "Heart" Balloons for a buck ea.....put them in the van and went over to my Copy Place and I asked Monica if she could make me up 2 - 11x17 Posters that said; "VALENTINE DAY BALLOONS FOR YOUR SWEETIE.....$5" in big letters. She printed it out on heavy card stock and drove over to the Town Post Office.....parked the van across the street and grabbed 10 balloons each and went and stood in front of the PO....placing the signs where they could be seen.

Folks were walking in and one guy stopped...looked at the sign...looked at the balloons and hand me a fiver and chose a balloon. Others also stopped on their way out and BOUGHT a balloon for a fin.

Windup....in about an hour all 20 were sold.....so, we went back to the Dollar Store for another "$20 investment". We were "netting" $80 per load and managed to get 6 loads of 20 ($480 cash) When we went back the next day, a postal employee gave us a hassle about "permission". I simply pointed to the "HomeLess Guy" sitting on the sidewalk with a piece of carboard that said; "ANYTHING WILL HELP....GOD BLESS" and asked if HE had a permit to "Solicit Funds" from Postal Patrons.

And....when I whipped out my Smart-Phone and aimed it at her and told her the guy with me AND I.....were Vets.....looking to raise a few bucks for our families.....she backed off.....gave me a "funny" look and went back inside.

So.....in 2 & 1/2 days.....we netted a little over $1,800 for our efforts.

NOW.....what to do next? My guy LOVED the idea of selling balloons so.... down the block from the PO was a Bakery owned by an individual (Tony) and not a franchise.

When the PO closed at noon on Valentin's Day we still had a few balloons left so.....I told my guy to follow me. We walked into the bakery ....found Tony and I held up FOUR (4) balloons in one hand and told Tony, "Hey Tony! I have a way for you to get MORE money for your Birthday Cakes and "Sell Them Faster"!

He responded with; "How's that?" I told him to offer 4 Balloons with each B'day Cake for $16 extra ($4 per balloon) I said I thought the Balloons would ADD to the pleasure of anyone buying a B'Day Cake and.....I would sell the 4 balloons to him for $2 ea.....so he'd make an additional $8 per Cake.

He looked at me....rubbed his chin.....looked at the Balloons.....rubbed his chin some more.....then.....said...."LET'S DO IT....BUT.....I'd like to offer a Choice so, can you make up some batches of 4 with different types?

"Absolutely!" was my response. I told Tony we'd be back tomorrow with 5 different batches.

So.....thus was started a business from scratch. There were 4 independent bakeries in town and 4 other in nearby towns for a total of 8.

So.....instead of buying balloons from Dollar Tree.....I took my guy over to a "Welding Supply" store where we found we could RENT "Helium Tanks" and Fill Our Own balloons.

We then found a balloon supplier online where the cost of each balloon dropped fro $1 ea to 20cents each meaning the NET would now be $1.80 per balloon.

My guy went about creating a "Balloon Route" AND.....even got into "BALLOON EXTRAVAGANZAS" for Weddings and Special Parties.

He moved to a larger city AND.....he will never forget the time he and I were standing in front of the PostOffice selling "Valentine's Day BALLOONS"!

Thanks for letting me "pull this off one of my Memory Hooks"!

Don Alm......who gotten GREAT satisfaction out of helping others earn money.

PS....the SowPub software only allows Photos up to 97kb. And if anyone would like to see a picture of ME....standing next to the "Balloon Delivery Van" with a bunch of Balloons.....send me an email to [email protected]