HOW
TO GENERATE THE QUICK CASH YOU NEED BY INCREASING YOUR PRESENT BUSINESS INCOME,
OR BY RUNNING A MINI-BUSINESS!
By
Pat Flanagan
It
happens to all of us. You've left your
full-time job for the freedom of
self-employment. Things are going well, but then that big bill
comes due.
Where
will you get the extra cash? If you plan
ahead, this won't be a
problem. One of the best things a newly independent
businessperson can do
is
to run a mini-business in addition to the regular business. The
mini-business
acts as a fast cash generator to help you along in those
tight
times.
The
ideal mini-business can be operated in a total of one or two days per
week,
with a minimum of upfront time and expense.
This leaves enough time
and
resources for your major business.
Depending on the type of full-time
business
you're running, your mini-business could be an offshoot of your
main
business, or something completely different.
In most cases, service
businesses
will be the most adaptable to your needs.
Before
I go into some examples of mini-businesses, I'd like to cover an
essential
skill for every businessperson, especially if they'll be running
a
secondary business. This subject is
TIME-MANAGEMENT.
TIME
MANAGEMENT
I
remember when I first started my business.
I held a full-time job at the
same
time, then worked at least three to four hours every night, and most
of
Saturday and Sunday, in my own business, just to keep up. I thought
there
weren't enough hours in the day. I know
I drove my family crazy!
Anyway,
it all added up to major stress. Do you
feel this way?
If
you do, you need to do what I did: learn
to manage you time. It wasn't
until
I took a time management course that I realized how much time I was
wasting
on unimportant or disorganized tasks.
You need to learn to say NO
to
the time-wasters and to organize and prioritize the important things.
Once
I started managing my time, I found I had enough time to get
everything
for my newsletter done, PLUS enough time to write full-length
books
and market them successfully! You can,
too.
The
first thing you should do is purchase a daily planning system. If you
go
to an office supply discounter, you should find a selection of sizes,
styles,
and prices. You don't need a big,
expensive one, but find one that
will
be big enough for your own needs. I use
a Franklin planner, but any
of
the others will work just as well. They
all work with the same
principles
of organizing and prioritizing.
If
you don't want to purchase a daily planner, you can accomplish many of
the
same things with a modified "To-Do" list. Now, almost all of us make
To-Do
lists. They usually consist of a list of
tasks that get crossed off
when
they're done. This is good, but not good
enough. Here's what your
To-Do
list should look like. Create your own
version, or load this article
into
your wordprocessor (filename "minibus.txt"), delete the rest of the
surrounding
article, and print it out.
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When
using this list, first fill-in the tasks you want to accomplish in the
"TASKS"
column. Write down EVERYTHING you want
to do. When you have all
your
tasks written down, assign priorities.
Give all the important "must
do"
tasks an "A" priority. Tasks
that are somewhat important, that can be
done
if there's time, get a "B".
Totally unimportant tasks get a "C".
Once
you've assigned letter priorities, organize your list further by
assigning
number priorities within each letter group.
Look through your
"A"
list and pick the most important task that MUST be done first. Write a
"1"
next to the "A". Continue
through your "A" list, then start over with
the
"B" and "C" lists.
You
now have a road map for your day. Do the
"A1" task first. When it's
done,
DON'T cross the task out, like you might have done on your old-
fashioned
To-Do list. Instead, put a check mark in
the box to the left of
the
task's priority.
At
the end of the day, you'll be able to see exactly what you were able to
accomplish. Any "A" or "B" tasks
still unaccomplished can be transferred
to
tomorrow's list. Cross out any
"C" tasks that remain. You've
just
eliminated
a group of time-wasters!
While
you're transferring "A" and "B" tasks to tomorrow's list,
think about
how
you could have freed up time during the day to have done them. Were
you
distracted by the TV for a while? Did
you stroll into the backyard to
talk
to your neighbor? Stick to the list
religiously and you'll get more
done.
This
might sound corny, but making a written, prioritized list will really
help
you be more productive. You'll see
exactly what's important to do,
and
what you can say NO to (an important skill to have!). You can't argue
with
something that's written down. Just be
sure to be realistic when
assigning
priorities, then single-mindedly finish your tasks according to
their
priorities.
Give
this time management system a try. It
only takes five minutes a day,
at
most, and you'll be amazed at how much more you can accomplish
(including
a secondary business)!
INCREASING
YOUR INCOME FROM YOUR PRESENT BUSINESS
The
easiest way to bring in more income quickly is to offer a special price
or
package of your current products or services.
Your only upfront expense
will
be getting the word out about your special.
Depending on the type of
business
you run, this expense could be minimal.
For
example, one of the services I offer, in addition to my publishing
efforts,
is custom typesetting and layout work. I
could offer a special
price
for a limited time, or a quantity discount off my normal per-page
pricing. In this case, the most cost effective
marketing method I could
use
would be to prepare a flyer for the special (no cost to myself but time
spent
creating the flyer and copying costs), and distribute it to my best
customers
and those prospects I would most like to have as long-term
clients.
Besides
the quick business I'd get from the special, I may entice a few
newcomers
into my fold that will bring long-term business my way. Used
correctly,
this technique can provide the quick income you need, while
building
your permanent customer base.
MINI-BUSINESSES
There
are countless businesses you could run as a quick cash producer.
I'll
go into a few that I think are the best ideas for most people. Some
of
these may sound minor league, but that's what they're meant to be:
easy-to-run,
low time and expense businesses you can use to up your income.
CURB
NUMBER PAINTING
Here
is a great opportunity that can work for anyone in any sort of
community. What you will be doing is painting address
numbers on curbs for
a
fee. Why would anyone want this
service? Answer this question in your
marketing
and you'll find great success with this.
If
your house number is painted on the curb in front of your house, it is
easier
for emergency vehicles (police, ambulance) to find the house, as
well
as friends and family who aren't familiar with the area. I'm sure
you've
tried to find someone's house at night before, but had trouble
seeing
the numbers on the house. I've seen some
house numbers that I
couldn't
see during the day, much less at night!
Anyway,
you should be able to start this business for less than $50. Here
are
the supplies you'll need for this service:
reflective white highway
spray
paint (available from paint supply houses), black highway paint, 3"
tall
number stencils, wide masking tape, a few old rags, and flyers. The
flyers
should read something like this:
(Your business name, address, and phone,
centered at top of page)
If the police or an ambulance had to find
your house at night, would
they be able to see your house numbers? If friends or family were
trying to find your house for the first time,
would they get lost?
Not if you have curb
numbers!
Curb numbers are 3" tall address numbers
painted with high-quality,
long-lasting reflective white highway paint
on a black background.
They are highly visible both day and
night. You can have professional
quality curb numbers by (business name) for
only (insert your price).
If you would like this valuable and helpful
safety measure, please fill
out the coupon at the bottom of this flyer
and leave it, along with a
check for (price), made out to (business
name), in your mailbox. We
will be painting numbers tomorrow, starting
at (insert time). Thank you!
NOTE:
Our service is 100% guaranteed!
If you are not satisfied with
the quality of our service, call us and we
will repaint your numbers or
refund your money, no questions asked! (Business name, address, phone)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name:
__________________________________________________________________
Address:
_______________________________________________________________
Phone (Optional): ______________________________________________________
Please leave this coupon, along with a check
for (price), in an envelope
in your mailbox before (insert time)
tomorrow. THANK YOU!
Prepare
a batch of these flyers on your computer, or produce an original
and
photocopy it. It is crucial that it look
professional. Take your
time,
and don't handwrite it! If you can't
produce a quality original
yourself,
paying someone else to do it right will pay off in increased
business.
Be
realistic when setting your price. This
is a very low cost service for
you
to offer, so there will be a good profit margin built in. I would say
the
price range for this service would be between $3 and $10, with $5 being
the
most likely for success.
The
best neighborhoods for this business are newer, middle- to upper-income
developments,
though almost any neighborhood will produce orders, if the
price
is right. Drive through the
neighborhoods in your area and look for
those
with house numbers that are hard to see.
When
you find a neighborhood that looks good, go door-to-door with your
flyers. It's not necessary to knock on doors and do a
sales pitch. Rubber
band
the flyers to door handles, or put them in newspaper boxes. DO NOT
put
them in mailboxes, as this is illegal.
It should only take two or
three
hours to blanket an average size neighborhood area. The best time to
do
your distribution is on a Saturday morning, so you can do your painting
on
Sunday afternoon. This leaves the week
untouched for your main
business.
The
day after you distribute the flyers, return to the neighborhoods you
hit. Go to each mailbox and, when you find one
with an order, use your
masking
tape to outline a rectangular area on the curb that is big enough
to
contain the house numbers. Then, paint
the black background. Paint all
the
backgrounds for the neighborhood before painting any numbers. This
will
give the black paint time to dry.
When
painting the numbers, take your time, make sure your stencils are
straight
and securely taped in place with your masking tape, and spray your
white
paint evenly and generously. Wipe up any
drips, and touch up as
necessary
to make your job look flawless.
If
you get any calls from dissatisfied customers, offer to repaint their
numbers
or refund their money. Don't argue and
don't have hard feelings.
You
might get one or two people who take advantage of you, but that's a
worthwhile
chance to take. You see, the guarantee
will help to sway any
people
who are undecided about your service.
Offering a no-questions-asked
guarantee
can greatly increase your business, so why not offer it? If
you've
done a good job, and offered true value for your customer's money,
you
shouldn't get many calls.
Get
more orders easily by visiting the same neighborhood 2 to 3 weeks
later. Leave flyers at the houses that didn't get
numbers last time. You
should
get new orders from those who saw your previous work.
A
good idea for building order volume is to offer a neighborhood volume
discount. For example, if you'll distribute 200 flyers
in a neighborhood,
offer
10% off on everyone's orders if 50 or more people participate. This
can
help entice people to do a little sales work on their neighbors for
you! Note this offer boldly on your flyers.
My
final word of advice is to practice before you do any actual painting.
Pick
up an inexpensive patio block and practice on it. Only an hour or two
of
practice should be necessary.
A
side benefit of this business, besides the income it will generate, is
that
it will get you out of your office for a few hours each week. Enjoy
the
fresh air! Plus, the exercise can't hurt anyone. Good luck!
NOTE: There is a kit for curb numbering that
includes interlocking brass
number
stencils, 2 cans of black paint, 2 cans of white paint and
instructions
for $39.95 plus $4.95 for shipping.
Order from Magic Systems,
Inc.,
Order Dept., P.O. Box 23888, Tampa, FL
33623-3888, or call (800)
237-9106
with your credit card.
DISCOUNT
CARDS
There
is a good money business that can be started for next to nothing,
with
low risk, that involves giving away special cards. These cards are
DISCOUNT
CARDS, wallet-sized cards that allow the bearer to receive
discounts
at participating businesses. These
businesses pay to have their
advertisement
on the card. They profit from the
increased exposure and
from
gaining new customers who come in for the discount and become return
customers. The card-holders benefit from the discounts
they can receive.
And
YOU benefit from the profitable advertising you sell!
This
is a relatively simple business to explain.
Here's an overview:
1)
Design your card.
2)
Figure your expenses and set your ad prices.
3)
Contact businesses that frequently use discounts or coupons
(potential advertisers for you) either in
person or by mail, with an
information package.
4)
Gather the ads (and the money!) and print them together on wallet-
sized cards.
5)
Distribute the cards to the public.
That's
all there basically is to it. Of course,
there are more details you
need
to know, and those will be covered in detail here.
This
business works especially well if there is a college in your town, or
any
large number of people who either vacation there or move to town, but
it
can be run successfully in any area. The
best part (besides the money)
is
that you can run this business from your kitchen table! Here's exactly
what
you need to do to make great profits in the discount card business.
First,
think up a name for your card. A catchy
name that has words like
DISCOUNT,
SAVER, MONEY, BUCKS, BIG, FREE or other dollar-saving words will
stick
in people's minds. If you (or a friend)
have artistic ability,
design
a logo, either with your card's name, or a picture conveying the
money-saving
feature of the card.
Next,
design how your card will look. It
should fit easily into a wallet,
so
stick to credit card size. On the front,
your logo should appear, along
with,
at most, six ads, in three columns of two.
The back should be
divided
into, at most, twenty ad spaces, again in three columns (7 on the
sides,
6 in the middle). This might sound like
a lot, but they will be
readable. Don't forget to put your business name,
address and phone on the
front
or back, at the bottom of the card.
You
should also put together a poster with your logo and information about
the
card. Leave space for a list of
locations where the card can be
obtained,
and for a list of the advertising businesses.
This poster will
be
inexpensive for your printer to produce, and can be produced on your
computer,
if you have one, reducing your expenses even further.
Now
figure your costs. The major cost to you
will be printing, so check
with
a number of printers for price quotes.
You will want a one or two
color
glossy card, with price quotes for quantities for 1,000 - 10,000
cards. Find out at what quantities significant price
breaks occur. This
can
help determine exactly how many cards you want to produce and
distribute. This number will be important when it comes
to contacting your
advertisers.
Don't
be put off by how much the cards will cost!
You won't have to worry
about
laying out a lot of money for the production of the cards, because
you
should require that advertisers pay at least half of their advertising
price
at the time they decide to advertise, the remainder when cards are
distributed. Some businesses will prefer to pay 100%
upfront, which is
just
fine! You shouldn't deal with businesses
that won't pay anything
upfront,
unless you have some desire to deal with collection headaches.
You
should be thinking about how to distribute these cards. If there is a
college
in your town, here's a few ideas.
Contact the admissions
department
at the college, explain your discount card, and see if they
would
consider putting a card into the orientation materials each incoming
student
gets. Also, find out places where you may
put a stack of cards for
students
to take. Prime locations are cafeterias
and dining halls, snack
bars,
libraries and any other places where students group.
For
the general public, great distribution spots are similar to the college
spots. Restaurants, grocery stores, theaters,
apartment buildings,
anywhere
where there are large groups of people.
Don't forget that you can
give
a good supply to each advertiser, to give free to their customers.
All
you need to do is a few good, persuasive phone calls, and your
distribution
will be taken care of easily. Stress to
the person you're
speaking
with that making the cards available to their customers will be
good
business for them, even if they don't advertise on the card, because
their
customers will appreciate being given these discounts and will look
upon
the business as their friend for doing so.
Now
that you have your printing quotes, determine how much you can charge
for
advertising. Estimate what your phone,
advertising, driving and
postage
expenses will be. Lump these all
together and you have an idea of
what
your costs will be. Now, multiply that
figure by five. Divide that
figure
by the total number of advertisers you will have on your card. The
number
you end up with is the average price you could charge per ad. Does
this
sound reasonable, considering the number of cards you'll be
distributing? If so, it should make a good starting point.
For
example, if you are planning to distribute 8,000 cards with 26
advertisers,
and your estimated expenses will be $1200, the formula is
($1,200
x 5)/26, or $230.77 average ad price ($28.85 per thousand), and
your
profit would be $4,800. Considering the
benefits the advertiser will
get
from the cards (they will be kept and used for a long time, usually 3
to
6 months, and 5,000 people will be exposed to their ad repeatedly over
that
period of time), this will probably be reasonable. You need to
consider
the economy in your area, the size of your area, and any
competition
you might have, as this can effect what you may be able to
charge.
When
you decide how much to charge for ads, here are a few things to keep
in
mind. Ads on the front of the card
should be much higher priced than on
the
back, and, as a result, should be slightly larger. On the back, you
can
set two different ad rates by putting using "boxed ads." An ad with a
black
box around it will be noticed more than one without, so it can be
slightly
higher. A good example of ad prices
corresponding to the above
average
ad price would be $200 for a plain ad on the back of the card, $230
for
a boxed ad on the back, and $260 for an ad on the front of the card.
(Side
benefit from this business: give
yourself an ad for free!)
Now's
the time to contact potential advertisers.
Here's a short list of
the
types of businesses that will be most likely to take advantage of your
service:
+
Restaurants, particularly fast-food and snack establishments
+
Theaters
+
Printers
+ Dry
cleaners
+ Oil
change and auto parts businesses
+
Travel agencies
+
Clothing stores
+ Hair
salons
+
Formalwear stores
This
is not a complete list, but it should give you an idea of the types of
businesses
you need to contact.
Put
together a list of the businesses you want to contact, and send them a
sales
package with full details about the cards, the population you will be
distributing
them to, and ad rates. Include a
postcard they can use to
contact
you if they're interested. Here is an
example of what you can put
on
the card:
Yes! I
am interested in talking with you about (card name). A good time
to contact me would be
_________________. Please ___ call or
___ visit.
Name ___________________________________________________________________
Business
_______________________________________________________________
Address
________________________________________________________________
City __________________________________ State
_____ Zip ________________
Phone ______________________________ Fax
_______________________________
If
you are selling 26 ads, try to send information to at least 200
businesses. This will help you easily get enough
interested businesses.
When
you contact businesses in person, be professional. Break all the
costs
down so you can show them exactly how inexpensive this advertising
will
be. For example, if your card will be
"active" for six months,
distributed
to 8,000 college students and the ad the business is
considering
is $230, show them that it will only cost 4/10 of a cent per
month
per cardholder ($230 divided by 8,000 people, divided by 6 months)!
Also,
show them that you're distributing the cards to an audience that will
need
and use their services. College students
will always buy pizza, so if
a
particular pizza restaurant can snare the incoming students with this
discount
card, they'll have the edge over the other pizza restaurants.
This
is how you will make successful sales.
Stress the benefits that the
business
will get from advertising with you, as well as the fact that this
advertising
is targeted to a specific group, instead of everyone, which
will
make this advertising more effective than, say, a newspaper ad. Also,
let
them know that you will be preparing posters advertising the card and
the
businesses that are advertising on it, and that this will be extra FREE
advertising
for them.
When
the conversation moves to payment, insist (nicely!) that the business
pay
at least half upfront as a good faith gesture.
You are trusting them
to
pay the remainder, as they are trusting you to deliver on your promises.
Honest
business owners should have no problem with this.
Advertising
copy must be direct and short, due to the limited space. Ads
should
be three lines at most, with the first line for the business name
and
phone, second line for a short description of the business, and third
line
for discount. For example,
JOE'S PIZZA
555-1234
Best pizza in town!
10% off large pizza.
When
you have your advertisers and their ads, get together with the printer
you've
chosen. Your printer will help you with
the card layout, if you're
inexperienced. If you have a computer and a good typesetting
program, you
may
be able to produce the masters for the printer, lowering your expenses.
While
the cards are at the printers, put up your posters. Put them in high
traffic
areas where the people you will be distributing the cards to will
see
them. Always get permission before you
put the posters up.
When
the cards are done, distribute them to the locations you've picked
out,
and collect the remaining balances from your advertisers. This whole
process
can be done in your spare time, and should take no more than four
to
six weeks. The example above yielded a
$4800 profit, which is pretty
good
for that short amount of time!
Once
you've done one card, do another one!
Differentiate it from the first
by
using a different name, distribution to a different group of people, and
different
advertisers. Here are some target
consumers groups to start
with:
+
Senior citizens
+
Families with children
+
Singles
+ High
school students
+
Women only/men only
By
distributing your cards to highly targeted markets like these, and
contacting
businesses that cater to these groups, you can successfully
generate
the extra income you need to give your main business a boost!
CUSTOM
RESTAURANT ADVERTISING PLACEMATS
This
is a somewhat unusual business that, run correctly, can net a good
amount
of money, while taking up a small amount of time.
In
a nutshell, you will be giving free paper placemats to restaurants in
your
area with either a prominent color ad or their menu in the middle, and
two-inch
by two-inch ads around the edge. These
ads will make so much
profit
for you that if you run up against a stubborn restaurant owner, you
can
even pay him or her to take your placemats and come out way ahead.
They'd
be a fool to refuse!
The
first step in this business will be to figure out your costs and
prices. Contact a good number of printers in your
area and find out what
kind
of blank or ready-made thin paper placemats they can either print or
have
printed for you. There should be a
variety of sizes and styles. Get
a
quote on at least 5,000, including at least two-color printing. Compare
your
quotes and find the printer that will do the best job for the best
price. Make sure this is a printer that will work
with you on the layout
of
the placemats, if this is new to you.
Once
you have your printing costs, which will be your primary costs, you
can
figure out how much profit can be made.
Your profit will depend, in
part,
on how many ads you can put around the perimeter of the placemat.
For
example, if the placemat is 11 x 15, you can put a total of 20 ads
around
the sheet, leaving a one inch margin around the edge for the
printer. Divide the printing cost, together with your
other estimated
costs
(phone, postage, travel) by the number of ads, and you have your cost
per
ad.
For
example, suppose your estimated expenses will be $600. Divide that by
20
ads and you have $30. This is how much
each ad contributes to covering
the
cost of the placemat. Now, figure a
target profit margin. In my area,
an
ad that will be seen by 5,000 people over an extended period of time
could
go for $90. This would be a $1,200
profit!
Now,
make a list of restaurants that would be likely prospects for this
service. The best prospects will be locally-owned
family-oriented
restaurants
that are visited by residents of the area.
Don't try
truckstops,
or restaurants by toll-road exits, as most of their customers
are
just passing through, and won't patronize any of the advertisers.
Also,
big-name chain restaurants and fast-food places may be a waste of
time,
as most of them, if they use placemats at all, have their own
already. Smaller, particularly family-owned,
restaurants will be your best
bet.
Here's
the approach to take. Tell the
restaurant owner that you can
provide
5,000 free paper placemats with either a large color ad or a color
menu
printed in the middle of the placemat.
Local advertisers will be
featured
in small ads around the outside. When
you say the words "5,000
free
paper placemats," you probably won't even have to go any further! If
the
owner's a hard case, offer to pay them to take your placemats! Offer
$50
and 5,000 placemats. This breaks down
more barriers than you can
imagine!
If
the restaurant owner has a pre-made ad or menu available, this can be
reduced
or enlarged by your printer to fit the center area of the placemat.
Be
sure the restaurant's section dominates the placemat.
Now,
contact businesses that are in the immediate area surrounding the
restaurant. Good prospects will be video stores, dry
cleaners, grocery
stores,
book stores, any business that is frequented by families. Tell
them
that you have an advertising opportunity which will put their name and
offer
in front of 5,000 people for an extended period of time. Explain the
placemat
system, and which restaurant the placemat will be at. Break down
the
ad price to the person. For example, a
$90 ad to 5,000 people will
only
by 1.8 cents per person. This is very
inexpensive.
Again,
most businesses will have a two-inch by two-inch ad, or one that can
be
resized, ready for use. If they do,
you're home free! If they don't,
get
information about what they'd like to have the ad say, then ask your
printer
for layout help. You'll probably only
need to do this for your
first
placemat, as layout is easy to get the hang of.
Encourage
advertisers
to make their ad into a discount coupon with dotted lines
around
it. This will increase the response to
their ad.
Contact
as many possible advertisers as you can.
The more you contact, the
more
ads you'll sell. If your prices are
competitive and you deliver
honest
facts, you should have an easy time selling the placemat ads.
Now,
take the ads to your printer and layout the placemat. Put the
restaurant's
ad/menu in the center, and the other ads around the perimeter.
Have
the printer print the requested quantity, and deliver them to the
restaurant. It's that simple!
This
whole process can be done easily in less than a month. But, even if
it
takes you a month, the example above cleared $1,200 profit (or $1,150,
if
you actually had to pay the $50). Once
you've done your first one or
two
and know what you're doing, you will find that you can run more than
one
at a time. If you run four placemats per
month, you could clear over
$55,000
per year! This is just an example, and
your profits could be
higher
or lower, depending on your area. But,
it should be fairly obvious
that
this can be an easy-to-run, profitable business that you can start
part-time
and quickly move into a full-time business, if desired!
INVENTORY
VIDEO TAPING
This
is an excellent secondary business to run.
You can easily control how
much
time you spend on this, and it has great profit potential!
You
only need one camera, decent video skills, little expenses and
supplies,
and, if done right, very low marketing expenses. Besides your
videocamera,
you'll need an instant camera and an engraving tool, which
together
should be able to be found for under $100.
Here's
the business in a nutshell: You
videotape household and business
inventory
and valuables for insurance purposes.
Then, if a robbery occurs,
the
owner has a video documentation of the missing valuables for law
enforcement
and insurance agents. Your primary
prospects for this service
will
be upper-income families and businesses that specialize in high-ticket
items
or have a high investment in equipment.
The
first step you should take to run a property inventory taping service
is
to meet with your area law enforcement agencies to find out what
regulations,
if any, they have. Remember, you will be
going into other
people's
houses and will have full knowledge of their valuables. If you
have
endorsement from the law, your customers can feel comfortable that you
won't
use this knowledge for the wrong purposes.
The person you want to
meet
with would be the one in charge of neighborhood watches or community
services. Normally, police agencies are enthusiastic
supporters of
services
like this, as it makes their job easier.
Others to meet with
include
insurance agents, private detectives, fire officials and attorneys.
Not
only will you gain valuable information from them, you will be building
up
a network for referrals. Be sure to keep
a good record of who you meet
with
so you can send them business cards, brochures and periodic reminders
of
your services.
While
meeting with insurance agents, take care of your insurance
requirements. You should carry liability insurance, and you
should also
get
bonded. The extra expense is worth it,
as it will both help to get
business
and will protect you and your customer.
Your
service will be ripe for publicity, so prepare a good press release.
You
should be able to find a good book or two on publicity releases at your
library. Get these releases to every daily and weekly
newspaper in your
area,
as well as local business magazines and television stations. When
your
service gets written up in the papers, keep a clipping of each article
to
use in your marketing materials. Send a
copy to all the insurance
agents,
attorneys, private detectives and law enforcement agencies in your
area. You WILL get referrals from this!
Another
idea for publicity is to set up a booth at local home and garden
shows,
preferably in the home protection areas (alarms, etc.). This will
establish
your name in the minds of consumers. If
you don't mind public
speaking,
offer to give a short seminar on home inventory protection and
how
your service can help prevent theft. You
can prepare one presentation
that
can be given numerous times at different community-related functions
and
locations, such as country clubs.
Now
for the meat of the service. When you
set up an appointment with a
customer,
make sure they know you will be charging by the hour, so it will
be
to their advantage to have things such as jewelry, china or antiques
laid
out and ready to be taped. Take your
videocamera with extra tape and
batteries,
an instant camera with plenty of film, your engraver, forms for
listing
valuables, and a three-ring binder for the forms.
When
taping valuables, be sure to get a clear picture of them, including
any
distinguishing characteristics. Be sure
to fill out your forms
completely,
listing special features or characteristics, such as type and
weight
of gems, etc. Jewelry is probably best
photographed with your
instant
camera, as is any small valuables. Large
antiques and other
primary
household items are easily videoed. Be
sure to get any brand names
and
model numbers clearly taped.
After
taping the individual items, walk through the house. Be sure to get
any
computer and video equipment, phones, Tvs, art and other items that
would
be tempting to thieves. Engrave the
client's social security or
driver's
license number on the back or bottom of items that won't be
damaged
by doing so. Record all this on the
forms, including the location
of
the engraving and all serial numbers. If
the home is burglarized and
police
recover the stolen goods, this will help the client get his or her
valuables
back quickly and easily.
Don't
forget to tape the outside of the house, including patios, walkways
and
landscaping. This can help the client
establish value in case of
vandalism.
In
businesses, videotape the office equipment, as well as the offices
themselves,
inside and out. In specialized
businesses, be sure to tape any
special
equipment.
A
good idea is to provide window stickers for your clients that tell
potential
thieves that items in the house have been marked and recorded.
These
stickers can be purchased or printed.
Your local law enforcement
agencies
may even be able to provide these to you at a low cost.
When
through taping, give the tape a quick run-through to be sure
everything's
ok, then give it to your client, along with the binder.
Encourage
them to store these in a safe deposit box, in case of fire.
How
much should you charge? A typical
mid-sized to large home should take
two
hours, at most, to tape, if the owner has prepared everything ahead of
time. You can charge anywhere from $50 to $150 per
hour, depending upon
what
your local market will bear, with $75 per hour a good figure to start
with. You should be able to see how this business
can add up!
In
your marketing materials, stress the fact this your charge is a small
price
to pay, considering it is a crime deterrent and will result in far
less
stress and time on the customer's part if a mishap does occur. You
can
feel good that you are providing a service which will help people in
bad
times. Remember to be professional while
in the client's home, don't
make
any comments which could be construed in bad ways, and be assuring
about
the safety and reliability of yourself and your service.
CONCLUSION
Every
business has hard times at the start.
That's just a fact of life for
the
self-employed. It doesn't have to be so
bad, though, if you plan ahead
and
take whatever steps are necessary.
Package your products and services
for
quantity sale. Run a small secondary
business. These are the ways to
reinforce
your main business and keep it afloat in rough water.
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