BootStrapBiz…Seems everyone today is looking for ways to make extra cash.
One of our new subscribers told me that he refurbishes used washers & dryers that he finds in local classified ads and then resells them.
When I wore a much younger man’s clothes, I bought beat up VWs to refurbish and resell (they were the easiest car to work on)…until I got a letter from the state telling me if I sold one more car, I would have to get an automobile dealers license!
Scroll down & take a peek at what others
are doing to make a living. These examples
make good idea starters for times like these.
Feel free to send your ideas to: PoorManSurvivor@yahoo.com
Making Money Selling Used Books
Have you ever thought you’d like to start a business from home? Do you have some books laying around collecting dust? If you said yes to both questions, selling used books on the Internet may be just the ticket.
According to his biography at SellYourBooksOnline.com, Adam Bertram has been an avid online book seller for two years and has thousands of sales under his belt. He has a background in technology that has allowed him to excel in finding books to sell online. The author has generated tens of thousands of dollars buying used books that most people simply want to get rid of and has turned around to sell them for big money.
Bertram has written an ebook, Used Books: Big Business.
This ebook is one of the most comprehensive books about selling used books online that you will find. It takes you all the way from where to find books that you can sell, listing them on marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay, Alibris, Abebooks and Half.com, how to ship out the orders and finally how to treat the customer after the sale.
Chapter 2 “Where to Find Inventory” is a treasure trove of product-sourcing information. Finding used books is a little more complicated and potentially more time-consuming than regular product sourcing. This section tells you everything you need to know including highly valuable information on what books sell, and what books don’t.
You’ll find out why you shouldn’t sell collectible books, why most National Geographic publications are a waste of time and that obscure hobby and non-fiction books are where the real money is at.
Chapter 6 Pricing/Grading Books. There is an art to judging a book’s value. This section provides you with the knowledge to avoid common misconceptions about pricing, learn to find an accurate market price, and eventually instinctively estimate a book’s average market value. In any case, the more often you price books, the faster you will become in accurately judging a book’s value.
After a while, you will begin to see a trend that the smaller a book’s topic niche, the more it is typically worth. Small niche books are books that are published in usually low quantities and that deal with very specific topics. These books are generally nonfiction and can be written in almost any era.
Selling used books takes a lot of time and effort. This is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It takes time, persistence and effort, but those who stick with it can build themselves a very profitable, and highly enjoyable business.
Reviewer’s Note: Books like this always make me wonder. If Adam Bertam is making a six figure income selling used books, why would he want to tell others his secrets and open the field up to thousands of competitors?
In the Poor Man’s 45 Ways to Make a Living Without a Job (On our Poor Man I CD) we talk about selling books and long time subscribers know that’s what I do, though I am rather specialized in that I sell how-to books primarily (very tough to find via scrounging thrift stores as the average US reader seems to enjoy how to make and raise a baby books or cheap romance types)…and as noted in a previous edition, more folks are buying material on electronic media…games, videos and the like as fewer people are willing to expend the energy in reading. The Kindle reader and other ebook machines are becoming popular, but personally, I don’t want something that requires batteries and if I lose it, I’m not out $150 or more! Guess I’m old fashioned.
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Small Farmer & Goat Herder Creates
Successful Soap Biz
Behind every farm there is a unique story and for Mike and Shannon Wiggins it all started with a couple goats. Their daughter became involved in 4H and they soon learned what exactly would need to be done if they wanted to be seen as a serious farm. After registering with the A.D.G.A they became Galloping Goats Farm and home to a variety of different goats. After a while Shannon soon began to realize the potential behind the milk. Tapping into her creativity she launched Washington Goat Milk Soap. Made in her kitchen with only the best ingredients, her soaps are a natural choice for anyone whether or not they live in the Washington area.
Tell us a little about Galloping Goats Farm and Washington Goat Milk Soap.
Galloping Goats Farm started when one of my daughters got goats and joined 4-H. We found out that we needed to join the American Dairy Goat Association if we wanted to be taken seriously. When you join A.D.G.A you have to have a herd name. We decided it would be easier to pick one if we went outside to look at the goats and get some inspiration. When the goats spotted us they were quite away off at the bottom of a large pasture. They came running up through the field with their long ears flapping in the wind. I said, “That’s it, Galloping Goats.” Several years later when I decided to start the soap business I just kept the name because we wouldn’t have the soap without the goat milk, and also because it fits my sense of humor.
What inspired you to start making goat milk soap?
Two things inspired me to make my own soap. First, my daughters and I all have sensitive skin. I wanted to make a product that they could use without their skin breaking out or getting dried out. The second was that I had all this milk! More milk than my family could drink and more than I could make cheese with. You have to be a grade A dairy to sell milk in Washington sate, which costs a lot of money and felt to complicated for my life at the time. So it was a way for me to use up some of the milk and make a great product at the same time.
How many different scents/types of soap do you currently offer?
I carry about 35 scents of soap. I often think I should cut back but there is always a fragrance that I come across or an idea I have that I want to try so I end up trying new scents quite often. I also think it is important to stay fresh and current. Have new things to tempt my customers. Scent is a very personal thing and different people are drawn to and feel comfortable with different types of scents. I even carry scents that I don’t particularly care for because I know that someone else will love it. I also carry a skin salve that I made for my family. It worked so well that my kids finally talked me into packaging it and selling it. It has been a big hit. I sell lip balms and bath salts. I try to appeal to many people. I realized that at a lot of the gift fairs that I do women are the ones buying but they are always looking for a gift for their guy so I came up with the “Dirty Man Can” It has a couple of bars of soap and some other things in it. I only sell it when it gets close to Christmas so it is special. I am always trying to think of new things that I can make that are a natural extension of my products and that will expand my business and give people something new to be watching for.
Any new scents in the works?
I am always on the lookout for some new hot scent.
What separates you from the competition?
I am not sure what separates me from the competition. There are a lot of other goat milk soap makers out in the world and online. I think a lot of what makes a person successful in a market with so much competition is personality. Of course, the first thing is to have a good product and to belive in your prosuct. I try to make a parsonal connection with my customers. Most of my return customers are people that I have sold to at shows or festivals and they love it then give soap away to their friends and they love it too and come buy from me or go online to find me. I give soap to people I meet. My dentist, my chiropractor, my kids friends parents. They almost always come back for more. I think that if you are good at reading people you can connect. Online is a little different, you have to have things about your website that appeal to certain people and realize that you are not going to connect with everyone. It is hard to get your web site high up in the search ratings without paying for a professional to build it. It takes time and diligence. I blog, twitter and face book. If you have the capitol, hire someone to build it.
Besides online, where else do you sell your soaps?
I have a few wholesale accounts and they have all been businesses that have come to me and asked me if they can carry my soaps. I would like to spend time pursuing more but I am also a wife and mother running a farm and business. I need to have time to play with my family as well.
What are some lessons your business has taught you?
Some lessons that my business has taught me is that I never make good decisions when I feel pressured. I have to slow down a bit and think things through more. I also learned by doing markets and festivals that people are just really feeling the need to connect with other people. People like it when I remember them or remember their favorite types of scents. I also learned that there is a very fine line between being friendly and helpful and being annoying. You have to be real or it turns people off, understandably so.
Did you ever imagine you’d end up where you are now?
Never in a million years did I think I would end up where I am now. But I know that God has placed me exactly where he wants me in the time that he wants me and I am totally fine with whatever rolls my way, even if it is to give it all up.
Do you have any advice you’d like to offer fellow entrepreneurs that are just getting started?
To people just starting a business-check the laws of your state. Make sure you get a proper business license and pay your taxes. Be willing to go with the flow and have fun with it. Let your creativity flow.
Read more: http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2010/07/22/mom-turned-farmer-and-goat-soap-entrepreneur/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BusinessOpportunitiesWeblog+%28Business+Opportunities+Weblog%29&utm_content=Yahoo%21+Mail#ixzz0uVHRFvRV
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Mailbox Flag Entrepreneur
TampaBay.com:
Everybody has dreams. Steve Granade’s is more streets like his own in Countryside that’s decked out with flags sprouting from two dozen curbside mailboxes.
“I see waves of mailbox flags spreading from neighborhood to neighborhood,” said the 55-year-old hobbyist-inventor of a $4 stick-on bracket that makes it possible. “People turned to displaying the flag to feel better after 9/11. Maybe this can help bring the country together again.”
And help this would-be home marketer snag a few bucks launching what might turn into the next patriotic fad.
With a name pronounced like a handheld explosive, Granade has a history of inventing stuff you didn’t know you need. Like the suntan lotion applicator for remote corners of your back. Or in days when pay phones were plentiful, his thoughtful “call me” $1 greeting cards scripted with appropriate prose and a slot to store a quarter. And don’t forget edible Flubb’s Fishing Worms made from gummi candy.
“It took me three years to develop the quick-stick flag bracket because every part had be made in the USA,” said Granade, an Auburn University grad who sells the bracket online at Prd2be.com. “I had distributors interested early, but they all wanted it made in China.”
Make Your Next Million-Dollar Idea a Reality
(NewsUSA) - How often do you have a great idea, only to leave
it sitting on the back burner? Worse, how often do you see someone take an idea similar to yours,
start a business and create their fortune? Well, the time has come for you to stop kicking yourself
and to turn that million-dollar idea into a reality.
Most entrepreneurs follow similar paths to success. Sara Blakely, entrepreneur and
founder of the multi-million dollar company Spanx, shared her keys to success in an interview with
SUCCESS, a top magazine for budding entrepreneurs and established professionals. How can you turn
your next idea into a million-dollar business? Follow Blakely's advice:
Differentiate yourself from the crowd. "Whether it's in the marketplace or in those
first few seconds you meet somebody -- whatever it is -- if you don't know how it has been done
before, you're almost guaranteed to do it differently," says Blakely.
First impressions mean everything. "If you make someone laugh or smile in the first
five to 10 seconds, you might get another 10 seconds," she says.
Be persistent. Work hard to win over manufacturers and prospective buyers who may be unsure
about your idea or product. If you display enthusiasm and desire for your idea, they will begin to
believe, too.
Visualize your goals. "Take a mental snapshot of what success looks like for you," she
says. Keeping that vision of success in mind will help you through the tough times.
Pay attention to opportunities. "There are a million ways to improve everything around
us," says Blakely. Making just one improvement could result in your million-dollar idea.
Hire your weakness. Focus on your strengths, and hire well-qualified people to handle
the rest.
For more on Blakely's interview with SUCCESS magazine, pick up a copy at newsstands, or
subscribe by visiting their Web site at www.SUCCESS.com.
If you have an idea to share, let me know at: bedavid@yahoo.com
Just put “bootstrap’ in the subject line!
Social Media Marketing – New & Unique Business
My name is Scarlet and I launched Moms Wear Your Tees Social Media Marketing in December of 2009. I used to be a retail store manager for companies such as Ann Talyor LOFT, Express, and Macy's. I am now a stay at home mother of a 3 and 5 year old. I have a husband and two German shepherds as well. I decided I needed a creative source of income and I came up with social media marketing. Networking seems to part of the package with being a stay at home mom and it can be really fun! I am especially interested in natural health and going green so I have a lot of venues for sharing this with others. Learn more about her business by visiting:
http://www.momswearyourtees.com/aboutus.htm
