PREPARING
CURRICULUM VITAE
This
rather ominous-sounding title may at first seem a little off-putting,
and
I wouldn't blame anyone tempted to skip this section in favour of
more
familiar sounding business ventures. But
think again, for here we
have
an excellent opportunity to make up to œ25 each time a conversation
take
place with the potential customer, and the details of that conversation
are
put to paper.
A
curriculum vitae is nothing more than the biographical details, both
personal
and career related, of persons wishing to change jobs or seek
advancement,
training, and virtually any other change within their working
lives,
which necessitates them giving interviewers, employers, and college
heads,
sufficient details to make a full and accurate assessment of the
candidate.
At
one time the humble application form was the order of the day requiring
one
to neatly present personal data in little boxes on the employer's,
or
whoever's individual forms.
Forms
presented several problems, not the least being that their designer,
who
like the rest of us are not infallible, often asked ambiguous questions,
or
else allowed no space on the form for the inclusion of information
which
those labouring over it considered of vital importance. In the
latter
case the astute applicant would add a typed or hand-written addendum
to
the form before submission. On too many
occasions though, even the
experienced
applicant could be left with that niggling feeling of, albeit
inadvertently,
answering a question 'not quite adequately' or wishing
that
extra space had been available to include more detailed information.
Here
the curriculum vitae comes to the rescue, offering the candidate the
facility
to include in the application, all of those details which he and
the
intended recipient feel necessary for a fair assessment to be made.
It
contains therefore all of the information required on a standard
application
form and those additional points peculiar to the individual
applicant. But how does the inexperienced applicant or
those with
insufficient
time or inadequate facilities, go about the task of preparing
this
rather ostentatiously named document in a neat, orderly and
professional
manner? The answer is - they don't! They get someone
more
experienced to prepare the document on their behalf!
This
service, much needed in today's competitive job and education markets,
has
led t the emergence of many specialist 'C V' enterprises. Fees range
from
œ25 to œ25 and more, and all for what essentially amounts to handing
over
a few copies of a short document.
Some
offer the document in a 'designer' folder, often with the customer's
name
gold-leafed on the front. 'Very nice'
you might think and yes it
is
- also very expensive, and to my mind unnecessary. The documents will
not
be forwarded to the employer in their glamorous cases, and surely,
the
more costs are kept to a minimum, whilst still providing a reliable
and
accurate service, the more competitive will be the price asked of the
customer
and the more customers will thereby be attracted.
The
person who decides to enter this lucrative business must of necessity
have
two prime qualifications: an ability to put his or her customers at
ease
as personal details are elicited as fully and accurately as is
possible,
and, access to a good typewriter or if possible one of the
most
ingenious and invaluable inventions of our time, a word processor.
The
document must be presented in typewritten form, but whereas even
the
most accurate of typists, working with the best of typewriters,
will
inevitably be tempted to cover up one or two odd mistakes with
that
old favourite 'The Corrector Fluid', a word processor allows all
errors
and amendments to be made before the document ever appears in
print. The end result is professional, and in the
vast majority of
cases,
completely free of typing and spelling errors.
RESEARCHING
FAMILY TREES
Recent
years have seen the emergence of a great interest in our heritage.
More
and more people are interested in discovering their roots although
not
necessarily, as some mockingly suggest, to discover possible family
fortunes,
or hidden links with royal house, thereby allowing them to claim
the
titles they always felt rightly to be theirs.
As memories fade or the
older
of our relatives die, essential information is often lost for ever.
Or
is it?
In
Government records, Parish registers, graveyards, and in many other
places
there are segments of information which when located, and pieced
together,
offer an extremely accurate and interesting profile of one's
family
history.
Here
a problem presents itself which precludes many a man or woman from
researching
his or her family history - time in many of our lives is a
valuable
commodity, and other demands allow insufficient time to undertake
the
painstaking research which might of necessity take us to the far ends
of
the country, even the world.
For
a specialist researcher, several histories may be researched during
one
trip to the appropriate archives or whatever, and since he or she
will
be paid for hours worked, there will be little worry over long
hours
researching, with not bean to show for
it. Because costs can
rise
alarmingly due to these fruitless hours searching for marriages
or
births that have been inaccurately recorded by those before us, it
is
advisable to keep the customer informed of the progress made on his
behalf,
and inform him or her that further research is likely to be
time-consuming
and subsequently expensive. He or she
may then by
content
to accept what you already have discovered.
In the vast
majority
of cases it is relatively quick and easy to accurately
present
the details of the previous couple of centuries since official
records
were made mandatory. For many people,
the information you
already
have will prove adequate.
The
end product should be presented attractively and in an easy to
understand
way, perhaps with a family tree format, to guide the customer
trough
the maze of dozens of forebears who often bore common ancestral
names
through several generations.
YOU
NAME IT
Recently,
I came by a business which would not have surprised me to
discover
had been started by a consumer competitions addict, but I sadly
have
no evidence to support this deduction.
The
business concerned was the invention of names for all manner of
businesses. Slogan creating skills were much in evidence
in the shape
of
a neat play on words, or use of those double-meaning words and phrases
which
play such a big part in the life of the ardent competitor.
The
price for creating these names was something in the region of œ14,000
a
time. Now I'm not suggesting you set out
immediately to compete
nationally
with the firm concerned, but just think what opportunities
await
you at a local level.
There
are openings too for anyone who can provide slogans for delivery
vans
and business premises, perhaps even for the firm's advertising
literature. My local florist and greengrocer bears the
name
'Bloom
n' Fruit'; another is 'Top of the Crops'.
The latter was my
suggestion
in a competition to name the shop, but sadly someone bet me
to
the post with an identical suggestion.
This is a business idea
currently
in its infancy and well worth exploiting by someone with a
good
feel for words.
INVENT-A-GAME
The
creator of 'Monopoly' can surely not have suspected what a massive
cult
following his brainchild would attract.
Professor Rubik too, must
have
been ore than a little pleased with the enthusiasm that greeted his
famous
cube and Trivial Pursuits, it is sail, created almost instant
wealth
for its creators.
Look
at the above examples of extremely popular games and pastimes and
it
should strike you that they all have one thing in common - each and
every
one possesses that most unique of qualities, in the shape of
uniqueness
itself! Look into any toys, hobbies or
pastimes shop and
you'll
find masses of games much akin to the admittedly, ever-popular,
Snakes
and Ladders and Ludo. But once you've
played one you've played
them
all, and it's unlikely that any new game of a similar nature will
attract
more than a passing interest, and this will reflect itself in
the
relatively modest rewards the creator is likely to achieve.
Create
something different as did the brains behind Trivial Pursuit,
and
that maddeningly frustrating cube, and you could be onto one of
the
biggest money-spinners ever to force its welcome advances onto a
population
with much more leisure time at its disposal than ever before.
CHERISHED
CAR NUMBERS
This
is the re-name of what once were called 'private plates', and the
term
usually refers to all of those vehicle registration number that
either
have no year of registration letter, or else forms a combination
of
letters and numbers, which when read, convey some message, or resembles
to
a great or lesser extent, some familiar word or name. Sometimes though,
the
letter indicating the year of registration can form an essential part
o
the message or name suggested. For
example, a car I see regularly
bears
the registration 'JEN 1F' - clearly the property of someone named
'Jennifer'.
My
dentist has two private plates, each bearing a group of letters highly
appropriate
to his profession, namely: 'JAB' and 'GUM'.
The comedian Jimmy
Tarbuck
is the owner of 'COM 1C' and magician Paul Daniels flits around
town
flaunting his own 'MAG 1C'.
Recent
auctions of numbers by the Government, where extremely high
prices
were paid for sometimes not too obvious combinations, must be
enough
to convince you of the massive profits that are made every day
by
leading dealers in the field. Even one
sale can yield several thousands
of
pounds, and the procedure for transferring the plate from the donor
vehicle
to the recipient is fairly straight forward.
Rules
are however set down by the Government and include such as the
requirement
that the donor vehicle must have been taxed, tested etc.,
within
a set period. Obviously those seeking a
slice of the tempting
profits
to be made must obtain these rules before undertaking any
transactions. Contact your local vehicle licensing
department to vail
yourself
of these easy to understand regulations.
Many
local or part-time dealers in cherished numbers buy their stock via
local
papers, either from advertisements placed themselves, or by the
intending
seller. The buyer can then decide
whether to resell the
plate
privately, or else offer it to one of the national dealers who
advertise
in such as 'Motoring Exchange and Mart'.
Even
hanging on to a plate for several years will result in an investment
return
that would batter the Building Societies' rates into submission.
A
few years ago I saw the plate 'AH 4', something that would have been
highly
suited to my name, and bearing the low number '4', it would invite
a
much higher price that would say the number '100'. Its asking price
was
in the region of œ3500, but sadly though more than a little tempted,
I
didn't buy it. About five years later it
was advertised for sale again,
at
a much, much higher figure, and since it was advertised for only a
short
period, I must assume that it sold.
Today I see 'AH 50', a much
less
desirable combination, with a price tag of œ13,000, and I agonise
over
just how much that 'AH 4' is currently worth.
WHEN
WORDS ARE SIMPLY NOT ENOUGH
Despite
what we say to the contrary, most of us are sentimentalists at
heart,
and here we have a trait which when capitalised upon, has created
highly
successful businesses or those who have simply come up with a
unique
or sufficiently different way of pandering to our afflictions.
Baby's
first shoes can be preserved for ever in a coating of gold, silver
or
bronze, thereby sealing those cherished memories of the owner's first
tottering
steps for doting grans and grandads.
Every
Valentine's Day finds a rush of firms offering Heart-shaped this,
that
and the other, with which to woo the recipient of an overt and often
eccentric
means by which to convey undying love.
Messages
trail most conspicuously, on long, bright and highly noticeable
streamers
behind the tail of a suitable noisy light aircraft.
'Teddy'
in the shape of an individually dressed bear, can be delivered
almost
anywhere, usually at very little notice.
The message printed on
his
sash will accomplish more than any gift card could ever dare to hope.
Champagne
and baskets of 'not on my wage' goodies can be delivered to
the
recipient's door, and almost every service offered can be individually
tailored
to reflect the occasion. Silver
weddings, 21st birthdays and
the
birth of a baby are but a few.
Wedding
cushions on which the rings are proudly displayed for blessing
and
subsequent presentation, are neatly and lavishly embroidered in pastel
silks
and tassels. The bride has a souvenir to
cherish for ever, and the
skilled
needle smith finds his or her bank balance suitable inflated.
I've
seen to, the chance to have hand embroidered the wedding table
cloth
upon which the guests have placed their signatures.
In
a recent crafts magazine I find the offer of embroidery and needlepoint
kits,
specially created from photographs the customer provides. Our dogs
and
children at their most appealing can be recorded on cloth or canvas
for
ever. This I must confess is something I
could not resist, and when
time
allows, my precious boxer dog, sadly no longer with me, will gaze
down
at me from the space I will clear above our fireplace, for the
embroidered
replica of her.
These
examples, and I apologise for including so many but I have actually
barely
touched the surface, must surely convince you of the potential
goldmine
out there, for anyone who can dream up an idea to compete with
or
better those services already available.
HOW
TO DO THIS, THAT, AND THE OTHER
Advice
they say, is free. But I personally
doubt this oft-quoted
statement,
if the frequency with which new information guides spring
up
is anything to go by. For anything from
one to ten pounds, sometimes
more,
you can learn exactly how to:
Avoid
paying your debts
Get
Rich Quick
Live
and Work Abroad
Make
Your own Cosmetics
and,
Unlock
the Secret Power of your Mind
Imagine
the profits you could make by selling a hundred or so guides
each
week. Relatively inexpensive to produce,
a good guide can have
customers
clamouring for copies, sometimes at a profit of several thousand
per
cent. You'll not I said 'good', and here
the secret lies. Offer the
same
manual as your competitors and you'll share the potential profits
with
them. Offer something different,
hopefully unique, and the market
is
yours, as is the decision as to what price your guide will command.
I
see one of the larger suppliers of business and self-improvement guides
offers,
they boast, the only typewriter art manual on the market.
Very
good it looks too, but how like y luck to find this manual, now
that
I have no time to make designs on my typewriter, instead of twenty
years
ago when I scoured the shops for this exact information.
Opportunity
never knocks twice, so if you have access to information
which
is currently not easily available, then write it up, have it neatly
typed,
photocopies, and marketed in appropriate specialist magazines,
or
in such as 'Exchange and Mart'.
As
a keen entrant of consumer competitions with many years experience,
I
realised that short of buying or borrowing copies of the many available
listings
and dictionaries of clichés, well-known sayings, proverbs and
so
on, there was no effortless way to avail oneself of this information
which
so readily lends itself to the all-important task of creating
slogans.
I
set out initially to pull together all of the relevant information and
incorporate
it into one volume for my personal use, but ended up with
something
so useful, I decided to advertise my 'Word master' in 'Competitors
Journal'. Now I do so regularly, and recoup handsome
dividends for my
initial
efforts.
I
can almost her some of the complaints of 'never written anything for
years
- not since I left school in fact'. This
however is the very least
of
your worries. If you know your subject
and can write it up in a manner
that
conveys it simply and clearly to the reader, then it makes not one
iota
of difference that your grammar might not satisfy the Examining Board
of
some high level English examination. You
are selling information and
guidance,
and that is all your readers require.
Errors in your
presentation
will be swallowed up in the value of the information
you
impart.
When
you've collected your facts and written them up, put the whole
thing
to one side for a week or so and then read your work again.
This
is the time when ambiguities and errors will show themselves and
allow
you to make the necessary amendments. Of
course if you have
the
opportunity, and modesty allows, ask a friend or relative to read
what
you have written and ask for their uncensored, constructive
comments
and criticisms.
Then
with one guide neatly tucked under your belt, get the drawing board
back
out, think what else you have to offer or else could adequately
discover,
and start all over again.
COME
AND JOIN US
Rapidly
growing towns and cities, and the need for many young people to
leave
home in search of jobs, undoubtedly contribute to the feelings of
isolation
and loneliness many people experience in their daily lives.
'Lonely
in a crowd' they say, a term that very accurately describes the
inability
of some individuals to find friends, or for small
special-interest
groups to evolve from amongst millions of people in
the
swirling streets of the bigger towns and cities.
Some
mechanism is needed to facilitate the coming together of the
thousands
of currently isolated individuals who share a common need
or
interest. This is where the astute
business person comes into play,
capitalising
upon a much needed introductory service which can offer
extremely
high rewards, for often little outlay, and relatively short
working
hours.
This
middleman co-ordinates, collates and acts as the link between
members
and subscription holders of whatever club, society or group is
involved. Interested parties initially do nothing more
than contact
the
'leader', who then pulls together the details of all clients; often
the
names are listed and distributed to all other members, or else a
sub-group,
within the overall membership. The
co-ordinator normally
undertakes
all business by mail, sometimes never meeting any of his clients.
The
list he circulates is updated at regular intervals and necessary
amendments
made, with a summary or a completely fresh list being forwarded
to
all clients. Fees charged for the
service are normally made on an
annual
basis.
Many
Pen Pal services operate in this way, as does the Collectors' group,
The
Ephemera Society with its constantly updated register of members,
who
are then free to contact any whose collecting or business interests
coincide
or complement one another.
Sometimes
a monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly newsletter is forwarded to
all
clients, as is the case in many Collectors' Societies, and such
as
the many clubs which cater for the needs of those of us with an
interest
in consumer competitions, allowing us to correspond with fellow
competitors
for the sharing of news, views, advice and the all-important
entry
form.
The
newsletter itself might be another lucrative proposition and can even
achieve
independent status. Some clients have no
need to contact others
of
a similar disposition, and find their needs adequately fulfilled via a
good
and informative newsletter. Whether
articles are introduced into
the
publication is entirely for you or the needs of the group to decide.
What
a good newsletter and a profitable one needs, amongst other things,
are
such as a Diary of Events, update of the club scene in general, and
advertisements
from clients or other suitable sources.
Loneliness
as mentioned earlier might be the motivating factor in the
formation
of many groups. Sometimes the gathering
consists of business
people
or those seeking opportunities to earn or learn, and so on, but
without
any positive intention to meet or correspond with their counterparts.
Some
magazines therefore co-ordinate activities or publications which
serve
to identify many of the business opportunities currently available
or
perhaps firms needing homeworkers.
A
good example of one set up to list activities rather than individuals
is
a new business venture I recently came by.
Thousands of people up
and
down the country make their living at the car boot sales, never
knowing
what opportunities for buying and selling exist in other parts
of
the country. A newsletter now carries
details of other venues,
thereby
eliminating the need to carry out extensive investigations to
discover
new opportunities for oneself. It also
carries very informative
articles
on the 'finds' one can make in the course of buying and
selling
everyday items. Perhaps its biggest
advantage though, is that
it
takes advertisements from nation-wide dealers and lists their special
requirements. Obviously by selling directly to them, the
everyday car
boot
trader can make a handsome profit without waiting for the next
venue
to materialise, and without the need to guess as to the likely
value
of those items about which he really has very little knowledge.
The
newsletter itself consists of about 24 pages and sells at 50p, a
very
small price to pay for the wealth of information it contains.
Advertising
revenue will increase the profits for the producer of this
publication. When you think of the number of traders who
will benefit
from
subscribing to this service I'm sure you'll agree the potential
profits
are enormous. How about trying a similar
thing amongst the
antiques
and collectors' fair in your area.
LIST
SELLING
This
is one big business proposition that requires an absolute minimum
of
capital but nevertheless offers extremely high rewards in the process.
'It's
not what you know that counts, it's who you know' or so they say.
In
the business world this is undoubtedly true.
Some firms survive very
nicely
from dealings only with 'passing trade', or with customers drawn
as
a result of effective local advertising campaigns. Many firms though,
and
primarily those with no obvious premises for attracting the customer,
depend
heavily upon postal contacts to sustain an adequate level of trade.
In
this category we find mail order traders and those dealing in
specialised
products for particular sections of the public.
There are
also
those firms for whom business premises might by wholly unnecessary,
perhaps
because they operate in short-term undertakings, as would be the
case
for someone seeking to rent out sale and promotion spaces at once-off
exhibition. What these businesses need above all else are
lists - lists
of
potential customers who might otherwise remain unaware of their existence.
Having
acquired this list of potential customers they themselves contact
the
firms and individuals concerned, in contrast to normal business
procedures
where it is usually the customer who arranges to approach
the
seller or service industry of his choice.
For
firms requiring these contacts, the task of compiling lists for
themselves
would no doubt be so arduous and time-consuming a task as
to
leave little or no time for normal business obligations.
The
specialist list supplier therefore collects or co-ordinates all of
the
necessary information, and either sells his list outright, or hires
the
addresses out for once-off use only.
But
it's not just potential business customers who can be contacted by
means
of a suitable list. Addresses can be
similarly provided for:
Private
individuals requiring set services and products
Specific
businesses eg. undertakers, grocers, hotels
Schools
Persons
involved in particular sports or hobbies.
Craftspeople
Those
of a particular profession
I
have seen recently the offer to sell or rent lists of persons who take
an
active interest in consumer competitions, those who collect ephemera
and
books, stamp collectors, even those interested in being placed in
contact
with pen pals.
The
person involved in the Mailing List Business can compile lists from
scratch,
(a time consuming exercise), or else he or se can act as the
middleman
or woman for other people's lists, renting the list in at one
price
and subsequently renting it out at another, obviously higher price.
The
middle man or broker often buys or rents many very large lists, then
splits
them for hiring or sale to firms who would not be able to afford,
or
would simply not be interested in the larger list.
Ideally
the names and addresses are offered on self-adhesive labels to
facilitate
easier usage by the ultimate user, and also to lessen the
temptation
to use a rented list more than once, thereby breaking the
conditions
upon which it is rented.
Lists
should be kept 'clean', that is, free of people no longer living
at
the stated address, or perhaps no longer an interested member of
that
group the list represents. This can be
done by making frequent
mailings
yourself, or else by analysing the results of someone else
using
the list, and removing from the list all letters returned as
'gone
away' or whatever.
Prices
vary greatly for these lists and it is not unusual to sell or
rent
the same list several times each year at a price ranging from
œ25
- œ125 or more each time. Very nice!
GIMMICKS
AND SEASONAL ITEMS
In
a previous section we considered the sometimes vast profits that
can
be made by those pandering to the whims of the incurably romantic.
Teddy
bears and balloons winging their way to all parts of the world
are
only two of the many unique ways to convey the everyday greeting
in
a truly unforgettable way, and one that will ensure the messages will
not
go unnoticed in the mass of traditional cards the lucky recipient
will
be inundated with.
A
similar idea exists in the business of providing gimmicky or suitably
original
goods and services, which tough not necessarily linked to the
conveyance
of the greetings message, still provide something just that
little
bit different with which to celebrate the many festivities and
special
days throughout the year.
Mother's
Day sees a wealth of mugs and plates, suitably inscribed to
make
the heart of any mother melt when confronted with words she never
hears
via the lips of her offspring. Mugs and
plates though, are a much
overdone
medium. Anyone who can think of
something different, and market
the
idea on a national or local basis, could well find his or her profits
for
this one celebration sufficient to finance life's little luxuries for
the
coming year.
I
heard of one man who, gaining access to a word processor which enables
the
operator to insert words into set spaces in a standard text, used
this
facility to create Christmas Story books incorporating the names
of
his customers' children, their brothers and sisters, pets,
school
friends and hobbies, thereby offering a highly personal and
supremely
individual gift idea. I doubt it you'll
find anything
remotely
as captivating for the child in your life in any High Street
store. Brilliant idea, and since I see his advertisement
every year
as
Christmas approaches, I must assume it's
highly profitable one to boot.
This
type of business proposition is one with which the originator
could
well corner the market, and if sufficiently different and attractive
it
may well be one that should be marketed nationally.
Think
of all of the other festivities and occasions you could cater for.
Christmas
of course is perhaps the most profitable time to channel your
efforts
towards, but don't forget the vast potential of birthdays,
Easter,
New Year, Father's Day, Valentine's Day - a great opportunity
for
the slushier and even gimmicky propositions you might have in mind.
Different
ways of saying 'Good Luck' on passing an examination or a
driving
test, a more personal means of conveying a 'Thank You' than
is
offered via the cards and flowers, are but a few of the other
messages
your service could cater for. And can
you think of something
to
take over from those pink or blue pot creations and their everlasting
flowers,
with which to mark the importance of the birth of a new baby?
You
can? Great!
No comments:
Post a Comment