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
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
Page
1
up
on his own. This is his story.
From
my relatively short experience, I knew that the margin
of
profit on most office supplies is greater than for just
about
any other product sold at retail, with profits on
many
items running as high as 300%. I was also aware that
most
Office Supply companies are quite large concerns with
consequently
large overheads, which includes rent for
attractive
branches in expensive areas, wages for telephone
and
other office staff, commissions for the expensive
representatives,
delivery vehicles, etc. Additionally, not
many
people appreciate that all the suppliers have two sets
of
prices for everything in their glossy free 300 plus page
catalogues
- one set in the free catalogue for their
'direct'
customers, serviced by their own reps, and one
(with
no name on the cover, for independent agents) for
which
they charge around two pounds.
I
operate entirely from home, using a cheaply shelved
Talbot
Express high roof van (they have more inside space
than
any other similar vehicle) which I have on a three
year
lease for just over 45 per week, including servicing.
Originally,
my wife answered the telephone at home and took
orders
and enquiries whilst I was out delivery brochures to
potential
customers and requested items to existing
customers,
but I now have a smart vodaphone in the van,
obtained
by taking up one of the cheap offers in the
National
Press.
The
rental is just 25 per calendar month,
and as I rarely
make
outgoing calls, the 25p per minute cost of these is
not
a problem. I do however make use of the rather clever
'call
transfer' system, which automatically at the press of
a
couple of buttons, transfers any calls to me direct to my
home
telephone. This ensures that I don't miss any calls
whatsoever;
the small cost of this really does pay off as I
need
never miss a call, which is much appreciated by my
customers.
In
this way I have totally eliminated nearly all the
overheads
normally associated with this type of business.
Additionally,
since I need no other assistants, there are
no
wages and so on to be paid. I have established a regular
route
of small offices and businesses in the area which I
call
on weekly, taking orders and making deliveries there
and
then of the faster selling items.
Other
items are obtained usually the same day and because I
have
reduced the overheads to nothing more than the
expenses
of operating the van, I can undercut all my
competitors
by a wide margin.
Although
anyone automatically gets at least 30 days to pay
for
the items, as I do from my suppliers, I also offer a
straight
10% discount there and then for cheque on
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6
necessary
preparations. I first had the double garage,
attached
to the house, converted into a large combination
classroom
and indoor playroom, paid for from a small second
mortgage.
I
also had the good sized back garden completely fenced for
use
as an outdoor play area. Then by shopping around at
furniture
sales and private sales (but to be honest, mainly
in
jumble and bring-and-buy sales - places I had never set
foot
in before!), I was able to accumulate the necessary
equipment
such as cots, tables, chairs, toys and play
ground
type equipment, all at very low cost.
In
fact, a lot of the stuff was later donated by grateful
mothers
whose own children had outgrown their usage. When
everything
was nearly ready, just to test the possible
response, (with some trepidation, admittedly), placed
an
advertisement
in the local newspaper under the heading of
"Child
Care" and was totally amazed by the number of
replies
from such a small advert!
I
accepted children from two years to six years of age, at
40
per week for full time care, five days a week. I also
provided
a mid morning and mid afternoon snack, and a hot
lunch
at mid day.The cots were arranged around the walls
of
two of the three spare bedrooms, and each child was
required
to take a rest at certain intervals during the
day.
Business
was slow at first, but as word got around of the
type
of understanding care which I was giving, the numbers
increased
until I really had to hire an experienced Nursery
Nurse;
finding one was easier than I thought, as the
magazine
"The Lady" is almost full of trained young ladies
looking
for such a position.
Within
a year the day nursery was operating at full
capacity,
with twenty children to be cared for every day.
After
paying the Nursery Nurse around 150 per
week, along
with
other operational expenses, I am still left with a net
income
of close to a 1000 a month.
Within
three years, I was able to pay off the mortgage, and
I
was able to purchase all new equipment for the nursery
school.
Before starting a day nursery project of your own,
you
should check with your local authority for any special
rules
which may apply in the particular area where it would
be
in operation. My people, in Huntingdon, were a great
help.
EASY
MONEY FROM OFFICES
David
Montgomery, 47, and married with three children, was
made
redundant by an office supplies firm in the Midlands,
following
a takeover. He had worked there for nearly three
years,
knew a lot about the business, and so decided to set
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5
write
for end of term exams? You got a good grade if you
presented
your material in a straightforward style.
HOW
TO MAKE MONEY WITH A NEWSPAPER CLIPPING SERVICE
This
is a very lucrative business, and it's growing in
demand
and popularity. There are thousands of people in all
parts
of the world who are making hundreds of pounds each
week,
just reading and clipping news items in the privacy
of
their own homes! The press clipping business is very
misunderstood
by most people, and therefore there are a lot
of
people who are very sceptical about it as a way for
ordinary
people to make money at home.
If
you explain to friends or neighbours that you operate a
press
clippings business, most of them will think you pore
through
the obituaries, funeral notices, and wedding
announcements,
clipping these out and sending them to the
people
or relatives of the people being written about.
In
reality, this is but a very small part of the home based
newspaper
clipping service. The really successful press
clipping
services have contracts with companies and
organisations
that want to keep current on any number of
matters
reported in the papers.
Some
companies hire clipping services in order to keep
track
of what their competitors are doing. Other companies,
including
businesses of all kinds, use clipping services as
a
means of locating sales leads and new customers. National
magazines
and newspapers are always in need of different
or
interesting material, and frequently employ home based
clipping
services.
To
set yourself up in this kind of business, you'll need
only
a pair of scissors and as many different newspapers
and
magazines as you can subscribe to. A visit to your
local
public library should be most informative relative to
newspapers
and magazines available to subscribers. You
should
also visit your local wholesale paper house, or make
a
deal with your local stationery store to buy labels at a
discount
price.
You'll
want to attach these labels to the top of each
clipping
you send to your clients. On these labels, you'll
want
to print the name of the publication the clipping came
from,
and the date it appears, as well as your own name and
address.
The next step is simply to start clipping articles
that
mention or talk about specific companies or people.
File
your clippings in envelopes or boxes according to
industries
or types of businesses, by company name, and
according
to the names of the people mentioned. Once you
have
ten or more clippings that talk about a particular
company
or person, put them in an envelope and send them to
that
company's owner or public relations director.
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2
You
should try to get your clients to agree to pay you a
monthly
'reader's fee', for which you agree to look for
anything
in the newspaper about him or his company or
industry.
Every time you spot such an article, you of
course
clip it, and send it to him.
A
minimum monthly 'reader's fee' is usually about
20, but
it
can vary according to the number of publications you
read,
and the number of clippings found. Generally, a
clipping
service that scans countrywide publications
will
charge about 50 per client, or 100 per client for
those
wanting clippings from national publications.
These
fees, of course, are monthly fees, and you can easily
see
how you could make some very good money with just 20 to
25clients.
To promote and build your business, you can scan
your
local business services directory an send out a
solicitation
letter to each of those listed.
A
couple of days after you've posted your sales letter, you
should
follow up with a phone call. A short, to the point,
ad
under "Business Personals" in your daily newspaper will
also
bring in new clients for you. And as soon as you can
afford
it, go with at least a small display ad in the
Yellow
Pages.
You
should definitely contact the public relations firms,
advertising
agencies, and civic organisations in your area.
Explain
your services and ask them if they have any special
clients
or needs you can help them with. You’ll find many
of
your local political and "cause" groups very interested
in
receiving clippings about their opponents.
Clipping
services in one form or another have been around
since
the advent of printing press, and as stated earlier,
they're
becoming more in demand. It's definitely the kind
of
business anyone who knows how to read can set up and
operate
with an absolute minimum investment.
I
MAKE HUNDREDS - FROM CANS - WITHOUT RECYCLING!
Phillip
Wei-Chung's attitude to a new business concept
belies
his Oriental ancestry. He is known as a person who
'can’.
You’ll see why in his story!
I
saw a schools television programme early last year, part
of
which showed some children with a vice like article
which
put a lid on a tin - or a can as they call them. They
were
putting presents inside for, I believe, a party. I
wondered
where such machines were available from, and after
a
bit of hunting around in WH Smiths, I came across a
couple
of food industry magazines, whose staff were able to
put
me in touch with a small Leicestershire company.
I
obtained from them their 'Canner Splendide II', which
cost
less than a hundred pounds, although I have since come
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3
across
similar models for about half that price, so shop
around
if you wish to do this business!
I
now both devise and purchase articles which amuse
party-goers,
and then seal them in the tins to be used as
party
prizes or as novelty gifts. I had some cheap,
colourful
wrappers made for the tins, using an illustration
of
a cancan (think about it!) dancer for the adult
novelties
and cartoon type pictures of animals for the
children’s'
novelties.
These
give added appeal to this unusual novelty item. One
never
knows that may emerge once the tin is opened, but
that
is part of the fun. Maybe it will be a plastic penguin
or
possibly an article of bright red underwear, but, at any
rate,
I guarantee a humorous surprise with every tin.
I
easily sell them in gift shops, toy departments and in
stores
that specialise in party supplies. Already I have
tinned
such articles as jokes, poems, cartoons, greeting
cards
and even silk ties, socks and handkerchiefs, and am
currently
planning for Fathers Day.However, I did far
better
this last Xmas.
I
was allowed to set up a table in the local department
store
for free, provided I only tinned items bought within
the
store! The store's display department produced the
banners
around my stand and even arranged a small article
in
the local evening paper, to go along with a mention in
their
regular advertisements in the run up to Xmas.
Some
of the labels read: "Open On Christmas Day" "Open New
Years
Eve” “Do Not Open Till Christmas" "Do No Open In
Public",
etc. An address label was also attached so that
by
paying less than a pound in postage, my customers can
send
it on to friends anywhere.
The
tins cost less than 10p each, when bought a hundred at
a
time, including postage to me, and I sell them for 1.99
-
in case you were wondering, incidentally, they are NOT
sharp
without the lids! This is an idea that will no doubt
really
"catch fire" nationwide and could surely form the
basis
for a highly profitable mail order business.
START
YOUR OWN PROFITABLE NURSERY
Four
years ago, at the age of forty seven, I was sadly left
a
widow, and there remained a heavy mortgage for me to pay
off
on the large three bedroom house which my husband had
left.
Never having had any working experience whatsoever, I
was
at a loss to know how to make ends meet, until someone
suggested
starting a child care service in my home for
children
of working mothers.
After
looking into the financial possibilities of such a
venture,
I decided to accept my friends advice and made the
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delivery.
An amazing 70% of the smaller customers are quite
happy
to do this - saving us both money!
I
have had no problem in obtaining all the customers I can
conveniently
serve; you could do the same.
Start
by looking in your local Yellow Pages under Office
Supplies.
Nearly all the companies listed there will supply
you
with their catalogues with blank covers for your own
name.
I’m now (after only 18 months), making a take home
pay
of an average 900 + per month.
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