Many
people around Norwich are very grateful to me, James
Heggerson,
and my wife Maxine, for sharing a few acres of
our
neighbours spare land with the general public. However,
as
much as we enjoy mixing with other people, our purpose
in
converting part of this property into picnic grounds was
not
entirely an altruistic one: we had to find some way of
making
additional profits for our coming old age.
A
few rows of trees and a lovely little stream, which ran
along
the local 'A' road, provided the inspiration for a
project
which has proved to be very profitable for us. It
took
considerable time to provide the necessary facilities
and
equipment, but I did a great deal of the work myself.
One
entire summer was spent in cheaply gravelling a
suitable
access road; bringing in electricity; providing
water
for drinking and toilet facilities (where the local
Portakabin
branch were of great assistance); and I spent
many
long hours in the construction of barbecue pits.
Some
of the trees had to be removed to make way for picnic
tables
and benches, which we built ourselves. Rubbish bins
had
to be provided(it's amazing what so-called professional
bins
cost when metal dustbins are so cheaply available!),
and
I chopped/bought an initial supply of firewood and
charcoal.
Maxine
and I decided to provide activities which would
require
a minimum investment in equipment. Arrangements for
archery
were made simple by piling bales of hay in the back
of
some inexpensively constructed targets. Horseshoe
throwing,
quoits and badminton courts were also provided
for
without too much difficulty, and an open field nearby
furnished
ample space for amateur football games.
As
it turned out, the sport which our visitors, young and
old,
enjoyed most was wading in the cool water of the pool
on
a hot summer's day or just resting and chatting together
under
the trees, while the children enjoyed a sense of
freedom.
Maxine takes the money at the gate - a flat rate
of
admission to the grounds which includes the use of a
picnic
table and barbecue pit.
There
was an extra charge for firewood when it was needed.
The
first year paid off so well that we decided to invest
some
of the profits in building a swimming pool, utilizing
the
water from the brook, and forming a Limited Company, to
protect
ourselves in case of any unexpected downturn in
business.
We
charge for the use of the pool and the small showers,
and
this has brought in additional income. Next summer, we
are
probably going to have a small horse riding ring. Many
days
in winter we can turn a local small hill into a family
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1
sledging
resort - you'd be amazed at how many adults join
in!
I keep some fires going in the barbecues where the
participants
can warm hands and feet, and where there is
always
a hot cup of coffee ready! A small admission charge
brings
considerable revenue during the winter months.
There
is bound to be some spare land within about 25 miles
of
you where you could do the same, probably starting off
very
small. The landowner would only require a little money
(after
all, it's all profit to him!), payable only after
you're
received admission charges, of course.
PAPER
RECYCLING - AN EASY SOURCE OF EXTRA MONEY
One
of the easiest (and best) ways of making extra money is
by
collecting old newspapers and selling them to "recycling
plant”
in your area. Just look around your own home - in the
garage
or the basement. What do you do with the old
newspapers
after you've read them?
Most
likely they just pile up in a corner of the garage or
basement
until one of your kids asks if he can haul them
off
for the school or cub scout paper drive. Or maybe your
wife
and kids get ambitious some weekend, clean out the
garage
and haul all those newspapers off to the collection
truck
at the local shopping centre.
It's
true that selling stacks of newspapers you've
accumulated
during the past couple of months or so won't
make
you rich, or really amount of much extra income. But
think
about the stacks of old newspapers you would have if
you
were to collect and haul away for the people in your
neighbourhood
- say a ten pound stack of newspapers from
each
house on your street every Saturday.
The
picture changes, doesn't it? If you're serious, and get
yourself
properly organised, you can easily make
300 or
more
every weekend. Right now, the going rate for old
newspapers
is about 50 a ton, depending upon your
area.
Most
recycling depots prefer the papers loose, rather than
bundled
or sacked. Check with the recycling
plant you plan
to
sell to before delivery to them. Ordinary cardboard
boxes
which have been flattened is bringing approximately
75
a ton. If you're going to collect old
newspapers, you
may
just as well take cardboard too. Most
people have old
boxes
around that are jut taking up space, and some will
even
pay you to get rid of them.
You
start by clearing a space in your garage for storage.
One
side of a two-car garage, or just an 8 by 12 foot space
would
be sufficient. If you have a garden shed that is dry,
that
would work well also. Some collectors even rent space
in
a neighbourhood warehouse. Next, you should place an ad
in
your community newspaper or the weekly shopping news,
something
like this:
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2
Junk,
old newspapers and cardboard boxes hauled away. Phone
123-4567.
Then you visit your neighbours. Tell
them you
are
collecting and hauling away old newspapers and boxes in
the
neighbourhood each week. You might even offer them 5 a
month
if they'll have everything ready for you when you
make
your weekend collection rounds.
On
Saturdays, starting at about 9.00am, rent an open
trailer
and hitch it to your car. If you have a
pick-up
truck,
or can borrow one, so much the better.
With your
spouse
or kids, a couple of neighbourhood boys, or a couple
of
friends, start making your rounds.
You
drive the car with the trailer. Your
helpers, one on
each
side of the street, knock on each door and ask the
residents
if they have any old newspapers or cardboard
boxes
you can haul away for them. It would be advantageous
for
you to have a large sign on each side of your trailer,
and
on each side of the car as well. It might
read: Paper
Collection
Service.
Visit
the people you've talked to on your block first. That
will
give you some paper in the trailer and from there, you
just
expand. Go to the next block and the next, driving up
and
down the streets, visiting, stopping at all the homes,
in
an ever expanding ripple from your own street.
When
your trailer is full of newspapers, you can either
take
them directly to your recycling plant and sell the
load,
or take them to your storage area, unload them and
get
everything organised. It's very important, though, that
you
get right back to the job of knocking on doors and
collecting
more newspapers and cardboard.
Some
people will (foolishly) collect a load, take it in for
sale,
and then waste time gloating over the easy money
they've
just made. One load won't make you rich or even
really
pay for your time. Get right back on the job and
collect
as many loads as the daylight hours will allow.
Make
the same rounds: follow the same collection route, at
least
once every two weeks. Once you've got the routine
working
well, you'll be ready to hire a couple of college
students
to help, perhaps with another car and trailer.
The
best way to pay your help is with a percentage of the
tonnage
you sell. And then too, once you have it all
together,
you'll want to go with a truck or trailer that
allows
you to haul a couple of tons of paper per load.
It's
important that you make regular rounds, calling on the
same
houses regularly. After about six months of this,
you'll
be ready to open a local recycling depot. This
simply
means taking the accumulation of paper out of your
home
or garden shed and moving it to a business location.
Page
3
short
report on How To Keep Moles Out Of Your Yard, by one
of
the deans of self-publishing, Jerry Buchanan. Another of
the
most successful and biggest money-makers ever written,
had
to do with the many different ways to prepare and serve
hambugers!
Simple,
basic, grass roots kind of information is what
we're
talking about! Any man, woman or child can write a
saleable
report on any subject - providing he or she has
knowledge
of that subject through personal experience,
research,
or both.
A
lot of women write successful money-making reports based
upon
better ways of solving household problems. And a lot
of
men write successful money-making reports on how to get
greater
pleasure from leisure time activities such as
fishing,
woodworking, or other hobbies.
The
list of subjects one can write about is endless, and
reports
on how to make more money easier and faster are no
more
limited to make authors than expertise in cooking is
limited
to female authors.
Writing
your report is easy and quite simple. However, it
does
take longer, and requires more sweat, blood and
anguish
for some people to produce a "finished" product
that
it does others, even if they are equally intelligent
and
knowledgeable.
The
best advice anyone can give you on how to write a
money-making
report is to advise you to write as though you
were
talking to someone - as though you were instructing
your
next door neighbour via the telephone on the subject
at
hand.
I
use the word telephone here to point out that regardless
of
how much you wave your arm, point your finger, or even
draw
pictures, you aren't getting the message across, and
your
neighbour won't "see" what you're talking about until
you
tell him in the kind of language he can understand.
Write
in a style similar to the book reports you used to
give
when you were in the 6th form. Do you remember the
"theme
papers" you used to have to research, outline and
write
for end of term exams? You got a good grade if you
presented
your material in a straightforward style.
Page
8
It
seems that Laura Reeves, originally from Fulham in West
London
but now living in Wednesbury in the West Midlands,
was
divorced in her twenties, a few years ago.
She
had little income except the rental income from a small
shop,
adjoining her flat, both of which were part of the
divorce
settlement. While talking with the owner of a
remnant
shop in her native London one day, where she had
gone
to make a purchase, she got the idea that she might
make
more money selling remnants, using her shop for a
display
and sales room, than she could get if she continued
to
rent the property.
Since
her tenants were ready to move to newer premises in
about
two months time anyway, she decided to give it a
try.
She found some good sources of materials among the
many
textile manufacturing mills in her area, and started
off
with a small amount of stock.
At
first she ran an advertisement in the newspaper every
Thursday
and only opened her shop on Fridays and Saturdays.
As
its popularity grew, however, and tales of bargains to
be
found there spread, she was soon able to discontinue the
newspaper
advert, and also found that it was necessary to
keep
her shop open every day to accommodate her steadily
increasing
number of customers.
Such
a shop could be operated easily from a cheaply rented
shop
in a poorer end of own, where people are willing to
travel
a few extra hundred yards for real bargains. There
is
no reason why you couldn't start in a very small way
from
home, though, if you have no prior experience in
business.
Incidentally,
Laura stresses that you certainly don't have
to
have a mill 'on your doorstep' - even the smallest town
has
outlets for cloth and has remnants often hidden away at
the
back which they sometimes will be glad to give you for
free.
Don't be afraid to ask or you won't know!
HOW
TO WRITE AND SELL MONEY-MAKING "HOW TO" REPORTS
This
is the "real" Money Maker in the Mail Order business -
the
basic "How To" Report. It's something anyone can
produce,
and with all the proper ingredients at the right
time,
you can become independently wealthy!
The
hard part, of course, is getting all the proper
ingredients
at the right time. Your basic "Money Making
Report"
is usually two pages in length, sells for
6, and
outlines
instructions, details, or a "How To" method, for
solving
a problem, making more money, saving money,
attaining
greater happiness, or fulfilling an ambition or
desire.
One
of the most successful reports was, and still is, a
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7
Because
of your advertising in the newspapers, and the sign
on
your truck or trailer, people will be calling you during
the
week to come and pick up paper out of your home or
garden
shed and moving it to a business location. Because
of
your advertising in the newspapers, and the sign on
your
truck or trailer, people will be calling you during
the
week to come and pick up the paper they have ready for
you.
Also,
your neighbours will very likely be dropping by with
armloads
of paper for you from time to time, as well.
Specifically,
these are the reasons you'll need storage
space
to store the paper in your garage or other storage
area
until you have enough to load up and take to the
recycling
plant.
One
of the best locations for your recycling depot is an
abandoned
or closed down service station. Or perhaps a
vacant
plot, or even a corner of a large shopping centre
parking
area. You’ll need some scales (you can rent or
lease
one of these for a small amount), and a quick set up
tent
or large truck.
What
you want to do is establish a location where people
can
come to you. They bring their newspapers, you weight
what
they've brought and pay them a penny a pound for
newspapers
and 2p a pound for cardboard boxes. You can hire
someone
to man this centre for you during the day, or
perhaps
only open between 4 and 6 o'clock in the
afternoons.
Advertise
your hours, and be dependable, so that people can
count
on you. To establish your location, you'll have to
check
with the owner or management, and agree not to
interfere
with their regular mode of business.
If
you do go to a shopping centre car park, sell them on
the
idea that your recycling depot - clean and neat - will
actually
bring more people into the shopping centre on a
regular
basis. The important thing always is to establish
yourself
in the best possible location for the least amount
of
money. Even though you have a collection depot, you'll
still
want to continue your weekend collection rounds.
But
with a collection depot, you can hire other people to
do
the driving, knock on doors, make the collections and
transfer
their loads into the depot facility. If it's a big
truck
or trailer, you'll be selling ten to fifteen tons of
paper
whenever you make your trips to the recycling plant.
Another
important thing you should think about doing is
getting
the whole community involved with you. Get them to
thinking
about recycling paper and selling it to you. Run
some
promotions; work for free publicity; and be
conspicuous.
Don't be embarrassed; everyone is aware of the
need
for recycling everything that can be recycled.And
Page
4
you'll
be admired as someone with the ambition to make it
happen,
picking up a good second income while you're
doing.
HOW
TO START AND OPERATE YOUR OWN PEN-PAL CLUB
Pen
Pal clubs are very easy to start, and can provide a
very
comfortable "by mail" income for the sharp operators.
The
best way to operate is via a monthly newsletter, and
listing
of new members. We've found that a
simple, one
page,
typewritten sheet is all you need to get started.
This
should be, or should include, a quick run-down on what
your
members are up to, i.e. Janice C is planning her
holiday
in Greece next month; Debbie O. is taking night
classes
to learn Spanish; John R. is thinking of changing
jobs
- he wants to get more involved in sales; Bon L. is
setting
up his own carpet cleaning business; Dave A. is
wanting
to move to Ireland ... etc.
This
kind of reader-membership involvement will get your
"newsletter"
off to a running start, and keep your members
loyal
to you because of the "gossip" you pass along in each
issue.
You follow your "gossip story" with either a
question
and answer session, or letters from the readers.
Complete
the newsletter with a short story on how to meet
men
or women, what to say, and how to develop a friendship.
The
back page, or extra page, is then a listing of men and
women
- including a short description of each, and their
addresses
- wanting to correspond with or meet other people
with
similar tastes.
You'll
need a typewriter, paper, and names of people in
writing
and receiving pen pal letters. You can
quickly
secure
a start with names answering ads (classifieds)
placed
in your local papers, and some nationals that have
similar
ads in, and it won't be long before you have the
basic
100 replies to begin your operation.
You
should have letterheads and mailing envelopes and
return
reply envelopes printed. Get quotes from
local
printers,
and mail order printers.
Next,
make up a sample copy of your newsletter, and an
application
sales letter than will explain your membership
fee
of about 10 a year for the newsletter,
plus 1 per
month
each time you carry a member's name and address in
your
"correspondents wanted" section.
Be
sure to ask for reports on what members are doing, and
encourage
them to send up to date news on what they're
doing
in - this keeps the "personal touch" gossip supplied.
Now,
send out your newsletter samples, with your sales
letter/membership
application, to the list of names we've
supplied
you with, or you may have purchased from other
sources.
Page
5
At
the same time, you should run an advertisement in as
many
of the small mail order publications and ad sheets as
you
can afford. For a complete listing of these, you should
order
the Guide to British Magazines and Adsheets,
published
by John Pooley, 27 Carey Street, Reading, for
$3.00. Your ad could read something like this:
Pen
Pal Listings! Nationwide
circulation! 1 to: (your
name
and address).
Tom's
Pen Pal Letter! Monthly Club News and membership
listings!
$1 to: (Your name and address).
Of
course, you'll want to keep records on all your members,
and
continue to update the listings you carry, but
basically
that's all there is to get started. You
could
even
run ads of this kind in your local newspapers and get
a
good response. We recommend that you
send for sample
copies
of other Pen Pal Club bulletins to see how they
operate
and what ideas of theirs you can adapt for use in
your
newsletter. By all means, become a
browser, and look
through
all the magazines and leaflets with information
about
pen pals and mail order introductions, every time you
pass
a magazine display rack.
Be
sure to get your newsletter out regularly, and don't
stop
advertising. Keep up your efforts to
sell as many
issues
of each publication as you can, expand your
membership
list, and get as many new listings for each
issue
as you possibly can.
Something
you might want to consider - 3 back issues of
your
newsletter for 3, or as a free bonus to
all new
subscribers.
You could carry this idea as a free bonus in
your
advertising, and as a special offer in your
newsletter.
You
might also want to expand your income potential by
offering
booklets, books, tapes, motivational and
informational
material. By keeping good records of all the
mail
you receive, you can also sell or rent name lists of
people
who have responded to your offerings to other mail
order
dealers. Real opportunities exist for
sales
mentioned
in the paragraph above - the opportunities
limited
only by your imagination.
START
A HOME REMNANT SHOP - WITH NO CAPITAL
It
often amazes our commissioning editors how often a "spur
of
the moment" idea for making money has somehow snowballed
into
a full scale business.
Our
Chief Editor, William Donaldson, recently met with the
proprietor
of a 'home remnant shop' and was fascinated to
learn
how easily and quite unexpectedly she had become
established
in her little business.
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