40 Reports for
Making Money or Self Improvement
Report 1
HOW TO MAKE BIG MONEY WITH YOUR OWN
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 dollars each week, just reading and clipping news items in the privacy of their own homes!
The press-clipping business is very much misunderstood by most people, and therefore there are a lot of people who are very skeptical about it as a way for ordinary people to make extra money at home. If you explain to friends or neighbors that you operate a press clipping 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 organizations that want to keep current on any number of matter 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 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 appeared, 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. You should include a short note with the clippings, explaining your service and your fee.
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 $25, but it can vary according to the number of publications you read, and the number of clippings found.
Generally, a clipping service that scans statewide 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 25 clients.
To promote and build your business, you can scan your local business services directory and 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 of your telephone directory.
You should definitely contact the public relations firms, advertising agencies, and civic organizations 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 the 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.
Report 2
HOW TO MAKE A FORTUNE IN PERSONALIZED SPORTSCARDS
Here's a beautiful idea that's sure to put a lot of cash in your pockets! It's an idea that definitely fulfills a need, and has tremendous market potential virtually any where in the whole world.
As you probably already know, our ever-improving standard of living is giving everyone more and more leisure time - time to play, and enjoy doing the things that bring them happiness.
Bowling and golf are two sports that have experienced a tremendous growth surge within just the
past 5 years. There's something about both of these sports that challenges a person against himself - spurs his inner determination to become perfect in his ability to play the game.
You can capitalize on the abundance of leisure time, the challenge of the game, and man's determination to do better the next time out than last time, with Personalized Bowling or Golf Scorecards. The only investment needed will be a little bit of your time, and then your idea should just about perpetuate itself. Here's how to get organized and started. . .
l) Make several Xerox copies of the "Personal Score Card" given as a part of this report. Paste these "copies" onto light weight card stock.
2) Make a list of the sporting goods stores in your area, particularly those in the areas of your bowling and golfing establishments. In fact, if you have several, it would be best to group each list of sports stores with the bowling or golfing facilities by area.
3) With your example of the "Personal Scoring Record," call upon the owners or managers of these bowling and, or golfing outlets. Using a low-keyed sales approach, explain the workings of your product, and sell them on the idea of putting up the money for the basic supply of cards and printing. (This will enable you to reap l00% profit from the sale of advertising on the cards.) These facilities benefit from an advertisement on the "front page" of each score card. Your sale to the bowling/golfing facilities managers should be for the provision of one to five thousand of these cards, which they'll make available to their patrons free of charge at their cash control counters.
4) You can either sell the advertising space on the card yourself, or hire commission sales people to do the selling for you. It would be best to do your own selling, because once you've got the card sold, you'll not have to do any reselling - just call on your advertisers about once every three months to perpetuate their contracts with you. It will be important, though, for you to "drop in" on your advertisers at least once a month to check to see how things are going, and if they are pleased with your advertising. If you don't drop in on your advertisers except at renewal time, you will find it very hard to sustain them as advertisers.
5) You should charge each advertiser at least $100 for exposure of his "one by one" display ad on 5,000 of your cards for 3 months running. With space for a total of twenty such ads, which the advertiser supplies for you, each bowling or golfing facility that you set up with these personal scorecards should mean a couple of thousand dollars in profits.
6) When you've sold your advertisers, and collected the ads they want to run on your scorecard, take the "sample card" to your printer (any quick print shop will do), have him help you with the "paste-up" and tell him to print 5,000 for you, and to finish them by folding them for you. Your costs should all be absorbed within the money received from the bowling or golfing establishment you first sold the cards to... When your cards are ready, simply take them to the original bowling or golfing manager, exchange a few amenities and leave them with him for handing out to his patrons or customers.
From start to finish, the whole project shouldn't take you more than a couple of weeks. And if you only sold one card every three months, this would/could mean a very easy annual income of $12,000... Of course the ideal situation is to go on selling these cards, using the same principle, to as many different bowling and golfing centers as possible. In small towns with only one or two such centers, travel to the surrounding towns and sell the idea to them. In the Seattle, Washington area, the people are grossing more than $150,000 a year while working only one month out of every three!
This is the idea... It's very workable any where in the world ... It's been proven to be a fabulous money-maker in Seattle, Washington... The next step, and the rest is up to you!
** This report seems to be fairly complete except for one thing — THE REPORT DIDN’T INCLUDE THE SAMPLE CARD mentioned in item 1. I guess you could design your own from scratch if you want to try this one, but it will be up to you to do some research. Being the report wasn’t complete, I feel I got ripped off.
Report 3
HOW TO MAKE A FORTUNE WITH SELF-IMPROVEMENT SEMINARS
Ever since the beginning of time, ambitious people of the world have attributed some "indescribable" secret to the success of those people with wealth. These people have spent, and will continue to spend, millions of dollars to cultivate these "secrets" within themselves.
Particularly since the early seventies, there has been a growing demand by the public to attend classes, workshops, and self-improvement seminars that will enable them to align their thinking as well as their actions, with those of people who have already achieved success.
The popularity of such best-selling how-to manuals as, Winning Is Believing... Think And Grow Rich... How To Develop A Winning Personality... Overcoming Shyness... Imagineering... New Life Options... Winning By Negotiation... Successful Visual-Verbal Communications... Conversationally Speaking... and countless others lends reinforcement to the to the "need" for self-improvement seminars.
You can promote and stage these seminars either as a generalist or as a specialist in a specific area of expertise and attain wealth for yourself almost beyond your current imagination! The market potential has only barely been scratched, affording a real ground-floor opportunity for those with the gumption to take action.
Dale Carnegie - the author of the book, How To Win Friends and Influence People - was certainly one of the first, if not "the first" self-improvement seminar marketer/teacher. Back in the Great Depression of the thirties, he recognized this need in people to improve themselves. He worked out a deal with the local management of his home town YMCA, got the word around that he was holding classes on self-improvement, and the rest is one of the truly classic unemployed-to-multi-million-dollar success stories of our time.
A self-improvement seminar is conducted much the same as a Toastmaster's Club meeting... It can be held just about anywhere, from the informal atmosphere of someone's living room to the formalities of the Hilton Convention Center.
Basically, a self-improvement seminar is a gathering of people where one or more speakers talk on a specific subject. More often than not, only a certain aspect of self-improvement, such as How To Develop A Positive Mental Attitude, is the thrust of the seminar. In other words, the more successful seminars deal with "specialized areas" of self-improvement.
These speakers usually wind up their talks with audience involvement question and answer sessions. Most of them "wind down" with the speaker circulating through the audience, plus lots of opportunity for the purchase of self-help books and tapes by the people wanting on-going motivation and reinforcement relative to what they've just heard. Always - sometimes even as the featured subject of the seminar - there's a great deal of motivation projected during these meetings. At the bottom line, motivation is more the purpose of these seminars than the attendees learning something they don't already know. The favorite words of most seminar speakers are usually, "It's the difference between having a dream and taking action - a matter of saying I can, believing it, and then doing it - because you can!"
Successful seminars are generally based upon the concept of giving you the power to believe you can. The speakers usually speak from insights and expertise gained from their own life experiences. Self-improvement seminars give the attendees the tools - and the motivation - to succeed. Thus, a well-organized and well-presented seminar that helps people up the ladder of success can't help but succeed because we are a success-oriented society - it's an easy sell with an income potential limited only by your ability to express yourself.
You won't need an office to make it big with self-improvement seminars. The public doesn't visit you - you take your programs to them. Self-improvement seminars appeal to almost everybody - from blue-collar workers to top executives.
The average cost per person to attend a seminar is very close to $300 - so your basic audience will be from the upper-income brackets - but if you handle the promotional aspects properly, you'll pull them in from lesser income brackets as well.
Many seminar promoters employ sales teams to call upon top company executives and either get them to partially pay the cost of several employees to attend as educational or business improvement investments, or to foot the bill for the sponsorship of a "group seminar" for all of that company's middle management personnel. Many specialty speakers make in excess of $100,000 per year with regular motivational and/or self-improvement seminars in this fashion.
In the beginning though, you'll get your start by staging seminars for the general public in restaurant banquet rooms, hotel ballrooms, and convention centers. These will entail advertising costs, plus the charges for the rented space, and an "on-hand" inventory of the materials you want to sell to the people who attend your seminars.
Generally, you'll do best with an intensive radio advertising campaign during the week preceding your seminar date. In a metropolitan area of half a million population, you should probably spend a couple of thousand dollars on radio advertising, plus about half as much for flamboyant newspaper advertising. Some seminar promoters invest a quarter of their budget in newspapers, then a quarter in direct mail and/or telephone advertising, with half going into radio. Of course, the allocation of your advertising budget should be related to the previous proven pulling power of each media within that particular market. Not too much concern is given to television advertising, excepting for guest appearances of the community service talk shows.
Most promoters spend all of this effort and money to promote a series of free seminars. These free seminars usually draw huge crowds, during which special "front men" turn everybody on with super-motivational stories designed to whet the appetite of those in attendance for more. These free seminars generally last only 45-minutes to an hour, and are strictly motivational in purpose.
Each person in attendance is handed a brochure describing the up-coming "main event" as they leave these free seminars. An attempt is made to get a commitment - at least a deposit for the cost of the "real thing," which is usually set for the week following. Those who do not commit themselves to attending the big one are then contacted by professional telephone sales people and given the complete sales presentation between the time of the free seminar and the date of the real thing, which and experienced telephone sales people - you can count on closing about 30 to 35% of those who attend your free seminars.
If you don't have the confidence or inclination to participate - be the principal speaker - at your seminars, you can hire local sales training people, professional people from the medical specialties, local "experts" known through your area newspapers or broad cast media, and/or nationally known speakers willing to travel and operating through speakers' bureaus. You might want to contact Burt Dubin of Personal Achievement Institute - 225 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 305 -Santa Monica, CA 90401... or Dottie Walters of The National Speakers' Bureau - 400 W. Foothill Blvd. - Glendora, CA 91740.
Finally, a reiteration of the fact that there are literally millions of people in all parts of the country
willing and able to pay you for helping them to improve themselves. You can start with meetings in your living room, or your local restaurant. All it takes is action on your part to get set up and a push from yourself to start making it happen. Best of luck and now get going with it.
Report 4
HOW TO MAKE A FORTUNE WITH BUMPER STICKERS
This is the kind of business that might grow out of a conversation over a couple of beers at your favorite tavern. Imagine for a moment this scenario: Someone suggests that the owner should sponsor a summer picnic or softball game. The question then comes up as to how to advertise it, and someone suggests bumper stickers. And the basics of a very lucrative business are set in motion.
As you consider this idea for a source of income, your first decision will be whether to first line up
people willing to "wear" the bumper stickers on their cars, or the business owners who will want to advertise in this manner.
A good friend of ours started such a business several years ago, and he found it easier to sell the business owner by telling him that 100 to 200 people were all set and willing to wear his bumper sticker advertisement, because such people were known to be in the area.
All this boils down to a recommendation that you talk to your friends, neighbors and co-workers first. Get as many of them as you can to agree to "wear" a bumper sticker. You might offer to pay them $10 for three months, or $5 for six weeks . With inducement of money just to put a bumper sticker on their cars or trucks, you won't have too many turn downs. One person we know runs an ad in his weekly shopper newspaper, advertising the fact that he pays money just for "wearing" a bumper sticker. And of course, don't overlook the pulling power of all the bulletin boards in your area businesses.
This is an ideal business for constant free publicity write-ups in your local newspapers, plus interviews on radio and TV talk shows. At first, you'll want as many people as possible to "wear" bumper sticker ads. What you'll want to stress in any publicity write-ups or media interviews is the fact that you've got the "vehicles for exposure" lined up and organized so that any potential advertiser needs only to give you a call, and you can launch his advertising program immediately.
Next, you check with a number of printers and determine the cost to have bumper stickers made to order. Generally, you should be able to get a thousand bumper stickers for $100 or less. Whatever the cost, this initial outlay should be absorbed by your charge to the advertiser.
So let's suppose you've got 100 people lined up to "wear" one of these bumper stickers on their cars for six weeks. Figure the bumper stickers will cost $100. Now, the problem of what to charge the advertiser.
You should always charge on a "per car" basis, i.e., on a basis of circulation, as newspapers do. So, you could charge $5 per car per week, with 100 cars. This comes out to $500 per week, or $3,000 total over six weeks, from the advertiser. Subtract $100 for getting the bumper stickers made, and $500 as payment for the cars "wearing" the bumper stickers, and you would end up with a profit picture of $2,400 for those six weeks.
In the beginning, you should be the one calling on potential advertisers and doing all the selling. Once you've got your first program organized and running smoothly, your next step is a natural multiplication of your efforts. Run an ad in your local paper for commission sales people. Brief them on the basics and get them out on the street selling advertisers for you.
The best time to launch a business of this kind is during the fair weather seasons, or just in advance of general political elections in your area. Once established, however, the business can, and should sustain itself year round.
The selling "keys" to this kind of advertising are basically the same as those enumerated for "word of mouth" advertising. You've got people all over town spreading the word - talking about the advertiser. And these people are saturating the area with the advertiser's name and message wherever they go.
It's easy! It's simple! And it works! Compared with other, more traditional advertising methods, bumper sticker advertising is very low in cost.
One of the tricks of the trade is in using short, snappy, even humorous slogans or telegram styled messages. For instance: Anderson's Cafe - 6th and Main - That's where I'm going - How about you? Another idea is to make the lettering on the bumper stickers luminous to the headlights of the cars following. Most important, be sure to make your lettering easy to read, and the message easy to comprehend at one glance.
Actually, you could start at the front of the yellow pages in your phone book and probably never run out of places ready to be sold on your plan of bumper sticker advertising. Some of the more traditional places to sell this kind of advertising include:
Taverns Pizza Houses
Flea Markets Physical Fitness Clubs
Political Campaigns Newspapers
Radio & TV Stations Insurance Companies
Appliance Repair Travel Agencies
Movie Theaters Sporting Goods
Auto Repair Shops Trade Schools
Special Local Events
The important thing is to always be creative in your selling efforts. Always show the prospect how
his business can grow from advertising in the manner you propose, and how your method is morepositive, more responsive, and lower in cost than the more traditional advertising.
Remember, too, the more clever or "catchy" the message on the bumper sticker, the more it will make people talk and respond. For ideas along these lines, go back to the yellow pages of your telephone book and read all those short, crispy one-liners .
Remember also that advertising is a form of "brainwashing" and the more people see the message, the stronger that message is imprinted in their minds. Therefore, when they need or are in the market for the services or product offered by the advertiser, they'll quickly refer to the strongest, easiest-to-recall advertising message in their minds. And that, of course, means that if the prospect sees a specific advertising message on the bumpers of the cars in front of him day after day, when he's ready to buy, that particular advertiser will be the one he will patronize.
You can expand this business to include magnetic signs on the sides of cars, saddle-back signs on the back of cars, and even signs in the yards in residential neighborhoods. As I've explained in this report, line up your "method of exposure," determine your costs and then go after the advertisers. It can be a very easy way to achieve real wealth and independence for yourself!
Report 5
HOW TO MAKE $5,OOO A MONTH OR MORE WITH GARAGE SALES
In this day and age, everyone seemingly knows how to put together and hold a garage sale. Yet if this is so, why is it that some people are lucky to gross $150 while others consistently make $1,500 or more from their garage sales.
Pick almost any city or town in the country; drive through any middle class neighborhood or residential area on any weekend. You're sure to spot at least a half dozen garage sales. And what's being sold at these garage sales? The accumulated "junk" that a lot of people no longer use or want taking up space in or around their homes.
Is it hard to hold a profitable garage sale? Not in the least! All it really takes is some of your time,
and an awareness of a few merchandising tactics. But to be really profitable, you must know how, and exercise careful planning.
First, let's look at some of the background. Everyone accumulates items that other people are searching for, and are willing to buy. These items range from discarded or outgrown items of clothing to furniture, tools, knick-knacks, books, pictures and toys.
Start by taking an inventory of all the things you have "just taking up space" around your home. Decide which items you'd be better off getting rid of, and make a list of these things. These are the things you are going to put up for sale. And if you are honest about what you really want and need, the pile will grow if you look over your house hold a second and third time! Remember that many garage sale offerings are items of merchandise purchased on impulse, and later found to be not what the buyer wanted. It is the human condition: We discover too late that we don't like or have use for things purchased; we "outgrow" in size or taste articles that once fit, or pleased us. You'll find that many items offered at garage sales are gifts that have been given to the seller, but not really suited to the recipient. In other words, it will be to your benefit, before you stage your first garage sale, to take a week or so to browse through all the garage sales you can find.
The problem is, most people just don't have the time or energy to gather up all the items taking up space around their homes and staging a garage sale to get rid of them. Believe it or not, many people really don't know how to stage a garage sale; and a lot of people feel that putting on a garage sale is just too much bother and work.
This is where you enter the picture. Your enterprise will be an ongoing garage sale of items donated and collected from those people who lack the initiative to put on garage sales of their own. In other words, you can become a "liquidator of people's junk," via super garage sales that you promote.
We've already suggested that you spend a few weeks visiting the garage sales, swap meets and flea markets in your area. Your purpose will be to see what is being offered for sale; what the people in your area are buying, and how the merchandise is being sold. One of the things to notice is how the merchandise is displayed. You'll also want to notice how the sellers handle customer browsing, and the prices they charge for the merchandise offered. You'll find most items tagged with a price sticker, but generally the seller is open to either price negotiation or a reasonable offer made by the customer.
Begin your enterprise by cleaning out your own attic, closets and basement or garage. Talk with your relatives and friends; tell them what you're doing, and ask for donations (or at least consignments) of unwanted items. It's here that you'll get your first experience in negotiating, and you'll usually get enthusiastic cooperation. You'll find people explaining that they really don't have a use for a specific item, don't want to keep on storing it, but for sentimental or other reasons, they have just hung on to it.
Once you have a little bit of experience, you'll be able to advertise in the newspaper that you purchase garage sale items, or take them on consignment for a percentage of the final sale price.
It's best that the wife or woman of the house handle the garage sale itself - that is, let a woman be the one who greets the potential customers, shows them around, and generally engages them in conversation. If it's a woman staging the garage sale, then arrangements should be made for a second one to "mind the store" while she's out digging up more items for display and sale. And if you are running a really big sale, a second or third per son can be very useful in selling, and just generally keeping an eye on things.
The advertising angle is really quite simple, and shouldn't cost you very much, either. Check area newspapers, and select the one that carries the most ads for garage sales. You shouldn't concern yourself too much with competition from other ads. People who go to garage sales either go to all of them they can locate, or else only to those within a 3-to-5 mile radius of their homes.
You should run a small classified ad in the newspaper of your choice for about three days in advance, and up through the day of your sale. Once you're operating on a full-time, every-day-of-the-week schedule, you'll want to change your ad schedule and the style of your advertising. But in getting started, stay with small classified ads simply announcing the fact that you're holding a garage sale, emphasizing that you've got everything from A to Z - something of interest to everyone. Such an ad might read:
BIG GARAGE SALE! Hundreds of interesting items.
Through Saturday, July 16th. (address)
To get ideas on how to write your ad, check your newspapers for a week or two. Cut out all the garage sale ads you can find. Paste them up onto a piece of paper - then with a bit of critical analysis, you will be able to determine how to write a good ad of your own from identifying the good and bad features of the ads you've collected. Keep in mind that the bigger and better your sale, the bigger and better your "getting started" ads should be. Always remember that in order to increase your profits in any business, you must increase rather than decrease your advertising. At the bottom line, you'll find that the greatest single reason for a garage sale failing to turn a profit is the lack of promotion and advertising used to publicize it.
You should also have an old-fashioned "sandwich board" type sign to display in front of your house when your garage sale is open for business. The purpose of course, is to call attention to the fact that you're holding a garage sale and are open for business. This will pull in your neighbors, if you haven't already informed them, and attract people driving by. Sandwich boards are also sometimes set out at key traffic intersections not far from the site of the garage sale. These will attract attention, and point the way. However, check your local ordinances to be sure that this sort of advertising is permitted.
Another "sign idea" practiced by a few really sharp operators is the old "Burma Shave" type roadside pointers. Here, you simply make up a few cute sayings (verse or one-liners), write them on pieces of cardboard, tack them onto the power poles at about 200 yard intervals on the thoroughfare leading to your garage sale, and you're sure to create a lot of traffic for yourself. People are amused by, and drawn to people who do something a little different, unusual and creative in promoting a sale of any kind.
To come up with some cute verses, simply visit your public library and check out a book on limericks. Adapt the ones that you feel are most humorous, and start making signs. Again, a word of caution before you get too deeply involved: Be sure to check your local ordinance before you start nailing signs to power poles.
By all means, search out and use all the free bulletin boards in your area. It's better, and usually much more profitable to take the time to make up an attention grabbing circular you can post on these bulletin boards, than just to use a scribbled 3 by 5 card announcement.
Pick up some transfer lettering; go through your newspapers and old magazines for interesting illustrations, graphics and pictures; then with a little bit of imagination and flamboyancy, make up an 8 1/2 by 11 poster announcement of your sale. When you have it pasted up take it to any quick print shop and have them print up 50 or 100 for you. Your cost for this small print order should be well under ten dollars.
If you make this circular/poster up with versatility and long-time usage in mind, you can use it over and over again simply by pasting on a new date. In case you feel "left-out" when we talk of "pasting-up" things, this simply means pasting a piece of paper onto the overall page you're putting together.
Say you have made up your circular with a date of Wednesday, May 1st, and want to change it to read Thursday, July 16th. Rather than do the entire thing over, simply write out a new date with your transfer letters on a separate sheet of paper, cut this out to fit in the space occupied by the old date, and paste the new date over the old date. The artwork master is now up to date; the printer does the rest. Incidentally, this is precisely what is meant in mail order and other dealership offers where they furnish you with the basic advertising/promotional material and advise you to "paste over" their name/address with your own.
For paste or glue, drop by just about any stationery store and pick up a tube of "glue stick." This is a small tube of paste, about the size of a tube of lipstick, generally sold for less than one dollar per tube. The tube glue stick works much better than regular glue or paste, and is not as messy as rubber cement.
Your signs have to be effective, but you have to remember to keep them simple. Don't try to cut corners on your signs. Signs announcing and pointing the way to your garage sale should be placed at each intersection within a one mile radius of your sale location. If it takes 50 signs, then make 50 signs. The important thing is to let people know that you're holding a garage sale.
Signs can be made simply by cutting and using the sides of cardboard boxes, and writing on them with a heavy felt tip marking pen. Make it easy for your signs to be seen, and for people to read what's on them. About all you really need is great big block letters reading "GARAGE SALE," with the street address, and an arrow pointing in that direction. Don't think for a minute that people are going to stop and read a lot of "stuff" you've written on your sign when they are driving by; you just want them to see your sign and proceed in the direction necessary to reach the location of the sale. They'll be moving by your sign too fast to see or read anything else you may have written.
The ads you place, the bulletin board announcements you post, and the signs you put up will bring many people to your garage sale location. A lot of people will drive by slowly and just look, but most will stop to browse around.
But you still have to contend with the huge number of people who just drive by without stopping. So, let's talk about the "inside secrets" of drawing people into your sale, and the merchandising gimmicks that will result in the maximum number of sales for you.
You must call attention to your sale. Don't be shy, bashful or self-conscious about let ting everybody for miles around know that you're having a garage sale. If you could afford to get the Goodyear Blimp to "hover" over your garage sale, then by all means, you should do it!
Some sharp operators do the next best thing. They rent miniature blimps, send them up above the housetops, and tether them there on their sale days. Of course, this giant balloon or miniature blimp has some sort of sign on the side of it, inviting people to your garage sale.
This is one of the strongest available advertising ideas for pulling traffic to a sale of any kind. For more details, write Pie-In-The-Sky Company, PO Box 5267, San Mateo, CA 94402, or explore to see if there is a local outlet for this kind of advertising merchandise for rent.
You have to give your sale some flair. Put some posts up across the front of your property and run some twisted crepe paper between them - or better than crepe paper, run brightly colored ribbons. Invest in some colorful pennants and fly them from temporary flag poles. And don't forget the balloons!
Make your garage sale a fun kind of event, with clusters of balloons anchored to your display tables and racks. Be sure to "float" them well above the heads of your customers as they're browsing through your merchandise displays.
Cover your display tables with colorful cloths. Don't hesitate to use bright colors and busy patterns. Regardless of what you sell, effective display (packaging the event) is still absolutely essential to your success.
The secret to outstanding garage sale profits is in having the widest or largest selection of merchandise. And part of the process is taking great care in displaying and labeling your merchandise.
You cannot simply dump items haphazardly on a table, sit down, and expect to realize great profits. The people doing the most business and holding the most sales are the ones with interesting displays, action and color.
Have as wide a selection of colors as possible in your clothing racks, and mix them for "rainbow" effect. Make sure that your jewelry items shine and sparkle. Arrange them in and on jewelry boxes, jewelry ladders and other items sold for the purpose of showing off jewelry while keeping it neatly organized. Some people have even gone so far as hooking up battery operated lazy susans and arranging their jewelry on these. Having the jewelry slowly turn on the lazy susan will not only catch the eye, it will catch the light, making an attractive display even more attractive because it sparkles and gleams.
Think about it, and then study the methods of display used by the "rack jobbers" in the stores in your area. These are wire racks that usually hold card packaged items. Such a rack or kind of display would lend itself beautifully for anchoring a cluster of balloons. Keep these things in mind, and build your individual displays as part of the whole. Make it pleasing to the eye as well as convenient for your customers to browse through and select the items that appeal to them or catch their fancy.
At many garage sales, some of the merchandise (particularly the clothing) is dirty. Notice this when you visit other people's garage sales, and then take it upon yourself to make sure that every item - positively everything you show - is clean and sparkling bright. A bar of soap, a bucket of water, and a few old rags will do wonders for shop tools, garden equipment and bicycles. The same goes for furniture polish on old furniture, and a run through the washing machine for all washable clothing.
It is advisable to determine a price for each item before you set it out for display. Then mark that price on a price tag, and attach a price tag to each item. Your prices should also always be rounded off to more or less even numbers such as: $.25, $.50, $1, $1.50, $2 and so on. In other words, don't ask for $.35, $.95, or $1.98, or any of that sort of pricing. Almost needless to say, you should always mark everything up by 100% of more. In other words, if you have acquired a particular item for $l, set a price of $2 or more on it. It's also a good idea to mark up your asking price from the bottom-line price you're willing to accept. Basically, the price marked on the price tag at most garage sales is taken as the starting price from which the buyer and seller negotiate. Most garage sale promoters price their cheaper items at the bottom line price they will accept, and don't deviate from those prices as shown on the price tag. Then on the more expensive items - $2 and over - they mark up their asking prices by 20 to 40 percent and use that margin for negotiating with the customer.
If you're a little bit shy relative to personal selling, here are a few "inside" secrets that will give you an edge: Always radiate an attitude of friendliness, regardless of the circumstances or your first impression of the potential buyer. Always smile and say hello in a voice loud enough to be heard. Speak to everyone stopping or dropping by your sale location. Be helpful, but allow the people to browse on their own until they specifically ask you for help. When you're "keeping an eye on your merchandise," be as unobtrusive as possible; no one likes to feel he is being watched too closely. Whenever a customer appears to have made a selection and asks you what you'll take for it, or what kind of a deal you'll make for it, be ready to enter into "friendly negotiations."
Before you open, of course, you will have done your homework and know the value of each item of merchandise you have for sale. Don't ever take a customer's "claimed" value of an item. By the same token, don't listen to a seller, when you're buying items for your sale, when he claims that he's offering you an antique or price less treasure. Sometimes (rarely enough) you'll be able to pick up fantastic treasures for virtually nothing; so by knowing your merchandise, you'll not let "the flag that Betsy Ross made" slip through your fingers for a song. Be sure to have all possibly really valuable items appraised by authentic dealers. These people are listed in the yellow pages of your telephone directory.
Some of the "extras" that contribute to the success of a garage sale include: Plenty of change, because without proper change, you'll lose a great many sales. A tape measure, because you'll find people often want to know the exact dimensions of some thing (especially furniture) in order to fit it into a certain space they have in mind. Long extension cord and electrical outlet, because your customers will want to "plug in" and try out the mixers, vacuum cleaners, hand tools, or other electrical appliances.
Back for a moment to drawing in those "cruisers" who aren't quite sure they want to park their cars and come browse: Look for some kind of interesting or unusual item to call attention to your sale - something you can set up or park in front of your home during your sale. Some of the displays we've seen along these lines include a horse-drawn surrey; a restored Model T; an old farm plow. Anything of an unusual or interesting nature will do the trick for you. One couple we know put up a display using a manikin dressed in an old-time farm bonnet, long dress and apron. This display depicted a farm woman of old, washing clothes with a scrub board and two steel wash tubs. It's not hard to believe, this display really drew the crowds, and crowds always mean sales!
Go wherever your imagination takes you; you have to be different and distinctive. You'll get lost in
the hundreds of garage sales going on all around you if your sales look like the next half dozen.
If you'll take the time to employ a bit of imagination, and set your sales up with the kind of flair we've been talking about, you will not only draw the crowds; you'll be the one reaping the most profits.
As you think of beginning this garage sale business, remember this: It's almost a compulsion with some women to go shopping - to search for interesting, and sometimes rare and valuable items. This fact alone will keep you as busy as you ever want to be, staging and promoting garage sales. The market is so vast, and the appetite so varied, that anything from a brass bedstead to a used diary of someone's long-forgotten grandmother will sell, and sell fast, at garage sales. Put it all together, use a little imagination, and you'll succeed in a very interesting, challenging endeavor!
Report 6
HOW TO ACHIEVE WEALTH THE EASY WAY
There are so many sure-fire, yet really simply ways to acquire real wealth. It's a wonder everybody with even the least bit of ambition isn't filthy rich. When you get right down to it, the only thing needed for anyone to make bundles of money, is long-range vision and the energy to put a money-making plan into force.
One of the easiest methods of building wealth, and the one used most often by the "smart" people, is simply the furnishing of expertise, equipment or growth capital to promising beginning businesses. Basically, you buy in as either a part owner or limited partner, then, as the business grows and prospers with your help, you reap fantastic rewards.
The beautiful part about this whole concept is that you can do this same thing, or duplicate it over
and over again. You can start out with say, marketing and sales leadership for a small, garage type business, then with your holdings and earnings from that business, invest in another and keep doing it until you own a part of 25 to an unlimited number of businesses. Looking at the idea for a "dollar return" point of view, if you were getting $200 per month from 25 different businesses, your monthly income would amount to no less than $5,000 and that's not too bad for a fledgling millionaire.
Look around your own area - with just a little bit of business moxie and perception, you're sure to
find hundreds of small businesses that could do better, perhaps even become giants in their field with your help.
Most small businesses need and would welcome marketing, promotional, advertising, and sales help. If a quick survey of business turns you on with enthusiasm about the potential profits with just a few changes that you can suggest, then you are on your way.
Basically, you set up an appointment to see and talk with the business owner about some ideas and help that could double or triple his profits. Whenever, and so long as you approach him in that manner, he's almost always going to want to see you and hear what you have to say.
In preparing for your meeting with him/her, set you ideas down on paper. Put them together in an impressive marketing or profit-potential folio. Outline your ideas, the costs involved and the ultimate profits to be gained.
The, when you arrive for the meeting, be sure to look the part, and act the part of successful business person. A few amenities for break the ice, and then begin with your proposal or presentation.
The bottom line is simple that you tell the business owner that you can do all you say for him through it to the ultimate profits for a 10 or 20 percent limited partnership in the business, which really won't cost him anything. Of course, if he's reluctant to give up any part of his ownership, you come back with the idea of being hired as a consultant.
Almost all small businesses need help of some kind. The owners get bogged down in a myriad of
everyday problems and things to do - find that there just isn't enough hours in a day to handle everything that should be taken care of - and end up neglecting or not doing some of the things they should be doing to keep their business prosperous - and as a result, the long struggle for business survival begins, with more than 60% of them selling out at a loss or just closing up shop.
The other way to "cut yourself in" on a piece of someone else's business is to supply needed money. If you can come up with 10- or 15-thousand dollars, you can easily "buy into" most small businesses. Be sure to look the business, and it's market potential over, but once you spot one that can really be a winner with just a little bit of operating cash or money for expansion, then jump on it.
You can have a never-ending supply of such businesses to choose from, simply by running a small advertisement in your daily newspapers in the classified section under the heading of Business Opportunities Wanted. Such an ad might read:
SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS EXECUTIVE LOOKING
FOR NEW BUSINESS VENTURES.
WILL CONSIDER BUY-OUT OR PARTNERSHIP.
WRITE: PO BOX 123
By the same token, make it a habit to look through the Business Opportunities Available, on a regular basis. Mark a few each day and follow up - check them out, and find out what kind of deal is being offered. Remember, proper management and planning are basically the ingredients to success in business, and most small businesses just don't have these ingredients in the proportions needed to attain their true profit potentials.
Other people have done it, and are doing it every day. There's no reason why you can't do it - in most cases - little or no cash is needed, and with just a little bit of action on your part, you could quickly become a multi-business owner and very wealthy as well.
Report 7
HOW TO SELF-PUBLISH YOUR OWN BOOKS MANUALS, REPORTS,
OR NEWSLETTERS
You can make a lot of money by writing and self-publishing your own material, if you are willing to write the books, manuals, reports or newsletters that millions of people across the United States, and throughout the world for that matter, desperately want to buy.
Today, more than ever before, is the age of information. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, there continues to be an incredible demand for information throughout America and the world. There is an astronomical demand for information-packed books, manuals, reports and newsletters of almost every imaginable kind.
It's really much easier than you might have ever guessed to start filling your bank account with cash from information you possess. People crave information that appeals to their basic needs and will somehow educate or enlighten them. Simply by putting your own specialized information into books, manuals, reports or newsletters, you can start putting a hefty price on information you have no doubt been giving away.
FIND YOUR MARKET--
THEN WRITE YOUR MATERIAL
Anyone who can communicate an idea to another person, should be able to get their same message across on a written page. If you are either and expert on some subject, or are interested enough to obtain the information needed for a project, you have what it takes to go from having an idea, to self-publishing your own material in whatever format it develops into.
There are hundreds of publications filled with ads by people just like yourself, who discovered they could make a lot of money writing and publishing their own work. Looking through opportunity magazines, or other publications that cover the field you are interested in, is a good place to start looking for ideas.
Review all the advertisements in the magazines you have chosen to see what popular topics and subjects are being written about in books, manuals, reports and newsletters. Then ask yourself if you can come up with a better way, or have equally interesting information you can present from a different angle, or with a different twist that would also be of interest to the readers in that market. If the answer is "yes," then you can enter that market and also make some incredible money!
CASH IN ON YOUR CREATIVITY AND EXPERTISE
Be creative in developing your material. Perhaps you are aware of some techniques that allow people to accomplish their goals faster in a certain field. Maybe you can think of a better way to cash in on some current fad. The bottom line is that people are hungry for information and ideas, and you can become the writer or self-publisher of information people want to buy.
People are eager to buy information that can help them improve their lives: 1) Financially; 2) Physically; and 3) Emotionally. If you can fill any of those needs with information that can be put onto a written page, there are millions of people waiting to hand over their cash to get it.
KNOWING HOW TO PACKAGE YOUR INFORMATION
CAN EARN YOU A FORTUNE!
After you have written your material, you will have to decide on how you will package the information to make it salable. Depending on your market, some packaging will sell better than others. For example, you can print your information in a series of publications, print it in a book, manual, report or newsletter, put it on cassette tapes, or present it at seminars. You can focus on one area, or utilize many areas.
One thing is certain, people are paying billions of dollars to obtain well-packaged information! There are books that sell for up to $100 and more, with manuals coming in a close second. There are reports that consist of 10-12 pages selling for up to $10 or more, while some seminars can cost as much a $15,000 for a single weekend. It may sound incredible to the average person, but people are willing to pay top dollar for information. However, the "packaging" must be perceived as being worth the price you are asking.
But before you decide on how to package your information, you must first consider who your primary audience is, and cater to those people in everything you do.
FOCUS ON SUBJECT MATERIAL THAT IS SALABLE
Information for your subject matter can be found in various places. For the very best results, start
with your own field or expertise and turn it into a book, manual, report or newsletter.
Focus on providing your targeted market with simple, understandable, and helpful information. It
must overwhelmingly appeal to your customer's wants and desires.
Never forget that this is the age of specialized information. People are completely willing to spend
their money for tens of thousands of different forms of information, provided it is useful to them. Your job is to either find a need and fill it, or create the need and supply it.
One of the best ways to get started is to sit down with some paper and write down every subject you have some degree of knowledge about. Your list of subjects doesn't have to be in any particular order. Don't force it. When ideas for headings no longer come easy, stop and start up again at a later time. When you feel comfortable that you have covered most of the areas you know, start picking out the topics that interest you the most. Then you can start researching more material for your writing projects.
FILL YOUR MATERIAL WITH SELF-INTEREST BENEFITS
Many new writers fail to understand that if they expect any hope for business survival, let alone success, they must come to realize early on that a big part of their job is to arouse the emotions and desires of their customers. Your product, whether a book, manual, report or newsletter, must be portrayed as being jam-packed with self-interest benefits.
Millions of dollars in failed business ventures are wasted every year simply because entrepreneurs fail to understand that what they have to say is not necessarily what customers want to hear. You should never forget this valuable lesson. It can make you rich!
YOUR MATERIAL MUST STIR
EMOTIONS AND DESIRES
Emotions are what move people to buy anything. Therefore, the job of your product and advertisement vehicle is to move your prospect to buy. You have to stir enough emotions, not only to cause desire, but the rationalization that provides an excuse based on logic.
Even after a prospect makes a commitment to buy your book. etc., they may think they have acted logically. None of your customers will ever admit that emotions had anything to do with their purchase. What you must always be aware of, however, is that logic probably had little to do with a buyer's decision. That is because human actions are often caused by instincts and compulsions that most buyers are unaware of.
As you write your material for publication in any form, or as you develop an ad or other sales package, always think in terms of how a particular benefit will stir a reader's emotions and desires. Try to understand how your product might be perceived by readers by focusing on your own feelings.
ADVERTISING IS VITAL TO THE SUCCESS
OF YOUR SELF-PUBLISHING VENTURE
The success of your advertising will ultimately depend on the salability of your book, manual, report, newsletter, etc. Good advertising will make a good book sell better, but it cannot transform a poor book into being successful.
Advertising is vital to any business venture because:
1) It allows a business to deliver their message repeatedly and reinforce it in the minds of targeted consumers.
2) It allows a business to reach hundreds of thousands of potential customers at a relatively low cost compared to individual sales calls.
3) It allows a business to target their market and test their product.
4) A business identity can quickly be established.
5) A forum for showing a product, together with benefits and advantages can be established.
BASIC ADVERTISING RULES
Effective marketing is a vast field. It inlcudes using marketing tools such as: direct mail; space and classified ads; signs; radio and TV commercials; business involvement, and more. In fact, the approches you can take and the methods you use are only limited by your imagination and resources. There are basic rules that do not change, however. They are as follows:
Rule No. 1 - You must get a prospect's ATTENTION. (Your headline is the most important part of an advertisement.)
Rule No. 2 - You must create reader INTEREST. (Your ad should be built around an idea that offers value.)
Rule No. 3 - You must arouse the reader's DESIRE. (By focusing on all the benefits they will receive.)
Rule No. 4 - Your ad must move them to ACT. (Tell your readers exactly what it is you want them to do.)
In order to avoid making careless advertising decisions that can cost you money, it is important that you understand and participate in your own strategies. That means getting involved and researching what strategy will produce sound advertising.
It is essential that you have a plan before you take action on developing and advertising strategy. Your plan must be based on an objective analysis that has resulted from your knowledge and research.
It doesn't matter what your background is, you can learn to master the type of mail order advertising that is needed to launch aa self-publishing business.
Through research and careful planning you can become familiar with the writing skills you will need to create effective adds. Obtain all the information you can from the masters in the business. Read and study every book, manual, report, newsletter, ad, article, and publication you can get your hands on that will help you in developing your own successful strategies and techniques. Then bring all of that knowledge together to obtain winning results.
10 MONEY-MAKING REASONS WHY
SELF-PUBLISHING IS THE BEST CHOICE
You become a "self-publisher" by taking your material (book, manual, report, newsletter, etc.) and
by-passing all the middlemen. You by-pass the middlemen by going directly to a printer and handling all the marketing and distribution of the product yourself.
As a self-publisher you invest your talent, time, energy and money. The benefits you receive are complete control over your product and all the profits!
Here is a condensed version of 10 good reasons why you should self-publish:
1) Self publishing may be the only way to get published. With thousands upon thousands of manuscripts, etc. being sent to publishers continually, you may not be able to get anyone to even look at your idea. Self-publishing may be your only solution.
2) As a self-publisher you get to keep all of the profits from your sales. Why accept 4%-6% in royalties from a publishing company when you can have it all!
3) You have absolute marketing and editing control when you self-publish. According to Writer's
Digest poll, 60% of the big publishing firms do the final editing; 23% select the final title; 20% will not even consult an author on the cover design, and 37% do not involve authors in promoting their own material.
4) Major publishers may receive up to several hundred manuscripts a week. Unless the have already published your work, the odds they will even look at your material aren't very high.
5) When you self-publish you are in control every step of the way. By depending on another publisher to make things happen for you, you take the chance of never getting anywhere.
6) By self-publishing you gain the perspective of being able to see the complete marketing picture from a publisher's point of view.
7) Even if a publisher did accept your work, it would take an average of 18 more months before the first copy reached the market place. Self-publishing will save you valuable time. Especially if you can't afford to miss a market that can quickly pass by.
8) Waiting for a letter from a publisher that never comes can be frustrating and embarrassing. Self-publishing eliminates the waiting and wondering.
9) When you self-publish and get more directly involved in marketing you will obtain a more total
business picture.
10) As a self-publisher you will receive more business tax advantages.
Report 8
HOW TO GET A VISA/MASTERCARD WITH NO CREDIT CHECK
SHAPING YOUR APPLICATION TO FIT THE RIGHT PROFILE
Creditors approve credit to those people who most closely match the right profile. They arrive at those conclusions by assigning point values to various items of information that are included either on your credit application or in a credit report.
Credit card companies like scoring systems because as a large volume creditor, they can replace trained credit personnel with a relatively few employees who can quickly total number columns and determine if an applicant's point values add up to the right score.
Scoring, of course, is done for one reason. A creditor just wants to know that the odds are high he
will get his money back. Scoring systems are fine for those people who fit right into the right profile, but what about those who don't but could pay off their monthly obligations just as easily and reliably as the next person? If you are one of those people who just doesn't "fit the mold," you'll simply have to make a few adjustments in your application so that you do fit the scoring profile of what a creditor is looking for in a final total.
HOW CREDITORS RATE AN APPLICATION
The first thing you should know is that every system is different. That in itself can work to your advantage. You could be rejected by one company's scoring system and approved by another. One creditor's system will give you many points for a good ancwer, and totally ignore a question that gives a negative answer. Another creditor can simply reverse the process.
Keeping in mind that creditors use different scoring systems, we will list only the most important
questions and briefly review how a response can affect your total score. The following categories are listed from the highest to lowest points awarded each response.
RESIDENCE - The longer you have lived in one place the better. Stability is given high points.
HOME OWNERSHIP - The best possible housing situation is to own your own home, even if it is mortgaged. The worst is: renting an unfurnished apartment, living with parents, living in a trailer or motel.
FHA ASSUMABLE HOME LOANS
President Bush signed legislation making credit checks for home mortgages mandatory after December 1989. Prior to that date however, all loans are fully assumable without a mandatory credit check. There are four important factors that will allow you to purchase a home without a credit check and with a minimal down payment:
1) As a home buyer, your application can be pre-approved and your loan without a credit check provided: a) The original VA loan was granted March 1988, or b) The original FHA loan was granted prior to December.
2) If the original home buyer made a small down payment on the sale price which was used primarily for closing costs and consequently did not buy any equity at that time.
3) If most of the payments made by the original owner were applied to interest during the first 4-5 years and very little went towards the principal. In that event, very little equity would result from making
payments. Or, if there was any equity it would probably have been reduced by depreciation or other home market conditions.
4) The last factor would be low- or no-equity conditions that resulted from low inflation and other economic conditions that can decrease the value of property.
UNDERSTANDING WHAT EQUITY MEANSAS A BUYING FACTOR
In order to understand the buying significance of equity you must understand what it means. Equity is the difference between what real estate sells for (market value), and the payoff amount of the loan to a lender on that property. In other words, if you own a home with a market value or $100,000, but you owe the bank $99,000, your eequity is $1,000. In tens of thousands of cases, VA and FHA homes can be purchased with little or no down payment because no equity has been built up.
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF HOMES ARE AVAILABLE - INCLUDING YOURSS!
If you have been dreaming about owning your own home someday, Dream No More! Right now at
this very moment there are tens of thousands of homes for you to choose from that can be purchased with no credit check and no down payment. or with a very modest down payment.
Sounds incredible doesn't it? But remember, the only reason any seller requires a down payment in the first place is usually to recover the equity in their home. A small amount of equity requires a small down payment. No equity means no down payment!
DEAL WITH MOTIVATED SELLERS
Your objective as a smart buyer should always be to buy real estate with little or nothing down. Even if a seller has equity, you can work out an arrangement that is to your benefit. For example, a seller may agree to carry all the paper on the transaction. This doesn't mean that the seller will receive no down payment where there is an equity consideration. What it does mean is that you shouldn't have to come up with cold cash out of your pocket.
Extending credit to customers is the way creditors make money. If you convince them you are a good risk they will give you what you want. Basically, there are two ways you can achieve that goal.
1) You can bypass the normal scoring methods that are used by impressing the person processing your application that you are sincerek reliable, stable, and have the ability to make monthly payments on a loan or credit card account.
2) You can tailor your answers to the application's questions and in that manner fit into the right scoring mold of what a good credit risk is, according to the formula they are using.
That doesn't mean you should lie on your application. It simply means you should be aware that being compatible with certian sterotypes will work in your favor. Remember, a creditor can still verify the information you list in an application. Still, many people will twist the truth to put themselves in a favorable position. For example:
1) Some applicants will list their parent's, a friend's, or a relative's address as their own residence and indicate they have lived there for years, knowing it probably won't be checked.
2) Provided an applicant has a friend or employer who will go along with them, they can list a position and salary they don't really receive. Then when the creditor calls to verify employment the friend will support what the applicant has claimed to be true.
3) Another way applicants instantly increase their salary is to set up their own corporation. After issuing themselves private stock with an inflated value, they list the stock as part of their salary.
MORE HOT TIPS ON HOW YOU CAN STACK THE ODDS IN YOUR FAVOR!
1) If you don't have a telephone get one installed. The alternative is to make an arrangement with the telephone company and a friend or relative, to have your name listed with their phone.
2) If you have more than one job, list the one that provides you with the greatest income.
3) Add up your income from all sources and place the total in your gross income listing. Be prepared to submit a supplement to your application if they want to verify your income with your employer.
4) Many banks will have a list of "good" and "bad" reasons for borrowing money. Unless you are applying for a secured loan, you don't have to spend the money for the reason specified. "Good" reasons include home improvement, education, loan to establish credit, medical treatment for you or your family, and secured loans for a home, car, boat, and other properties."Bad" reasons include loans that create another obligation such as that created when you borrow money for a down payment and then have two payments to make; money to pay aa fine or penaltly; money to consolidate debts, unless you are doing it to get lower interest rates; an unnecessary luxury item; money to finance politics; and money that you will loan to someone else. Use a little common sense in determining what type of loan a creditor may consider bad.
5) Banks use dependent figures to determine what your living costs are. If you have more than two dependents you should indicate how they earn their own way or are self-supporting.
6) If you don't own your own home, counteract this by showing how stable you are. For example,
even though you have only rented in a new location for a relatively short time, you lived at your last residence for many years. You moved to improve yourself in some way.
7) Even job changes can be counteracted if each change increased your salary and improved your position.
8) Don't ever let a creditor guess as to whether or not you can afford the extra obligation you are asking for. Make it obvious by the amount of your income. If you have more income sources than just your salary, include those amounts.
ALWAYS BE PERSISTENT AND NEVER GIVE UP!
If you complete an application and are still rejected, the very first thing you should do is be persistent and never give up. There are many reasons why a person may be turned down for credit, but whatever the reason, you have a legal right to ask a creditor what their reason was.
By knowing what some of the main reasons are for denying credit you can put yourself in a position whereby you can make necessary adjustments and avoid negative effects in advance. If you are turned down, you can then of course concentrate on those points when you reapply.
When you are dealing with creditors you will know who is the cooperative sort, and who is not. If
an unsecured loan does not appear imminent, turn the conversation to a secured loan. Then all you do is deposit an amount into savings account to serve as collateral for the amount of credit you want to secure. In some cases the creditor may take personal property as security. If you go to one creditor and it's clear he has no imagination to deal, go to another who is willing.
CONSIDER ASKING SOMEONE YOU KNOW TO CO-SIGN
A co-signer is soneone who generall has better credit than the person he is co-signing for. He is also the person a creditor will go after first in the event you do not pay off you debt. Why? Because they know that co-signers don't want their credit ratings ruined and will quickly settle the obligation.
If you are trying to establish or rebuild credit, co-signers can help you achieve that goal. Naturally
you wouldn't need a co-signer every time you apply for credit. After paying off one obligation with a co-signer, it should be much easier to acquire more credit on your own.
Co-signers are usually friends or relatives. When you find someone willing to help they should be offered some compensation agreeable to both of you. Your application for credit will be approved primarily on the strength of your co-signer's credit.
Report 9
HOW TO GET A VISA OR MASTERCARD
The tips and techniques described in this report are meant to increase the odds for anyone who is absolutely certain they cannot get a Visa/Mastercard through normal channels. You should make every attempt to clean up your credit report by removing negative items and replacing them with positive items. If you have no credit at all, open an account at a local department store. After a few months apply for your bank card. If you are rejected, find out why and correct the problem. If that doesn't work, cultivate a relationship with your banker. Open other accounts that are easier to obtain. Increase your income. Buy a home. Make yourself a better credit risk on your credit report. Ask a friend or relative to co-sign. After paying off that debt, reapply on your own. Or, the fastest and easiest way to open a Visa or Mastercard account in your own name, is through a secured account.
SECURED CREDIT CARDS
Secured Visa and Mastercard bank cards are issued by savings and loan associations throughout the U.S. The lender will ask you to open a savings account. The funds placed into the savings account are frozen as long as there is an outstanding balance on the credit card. The savings account acts as security against non-payment of charges made against the credit card. Then, in the event a cardholder doesn't pay, funds from the frozen account can be used to pay off the debt. This method completely reduces any risk to the lender.
Requirements are often lowered by lending institutions that have this program. So if you couldn't obtain a card through your regular bank, chances are you will receive one through a secured credit card program without a credit check.
Report 10
HOW TO MAKE UP TO $1,000 EVERY WEEK
WITH YOUR CAMERA!
As millions of Americans look for greater control over their financial destiny, the dream of self- employment has become more compelling than ever. Just the idea of launching a small business to become their own boss, and financially independent, drives many people to stake their life savings on everything from franchise opportunities to some gadget the've invented.
The entrepreneurial spirit is, of course, a part of our great national tradition. The problem is that many people devote a lot of their time to half-baked ideas and high-risk flings that have little chance of success.
There is always some gamble involved when you start a business, whether your investment is $50.00 or $500.00, or more. But once you begin to view your new business as "gambling," the risk-to-reward ratio tilts out of wack! The shrewdest and most successful entrepreneurs know that "taking the plunge" works best when you take along time-tested principles that put the odds in their favor.
TAKE WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED AND BUILD YOUR BUSINESS AROUND IT
If you decide to join the ranks of self-employed freelance photographers, you will soon discover there is no magic in being able to earn thousands of dollars every year. Forget about the notion that you can start up a business just because you have a camera laying around you know little or nothing about. If you try the casual "learn on the job" approach with photography, your competitors will capitalize on your mistakes, promoting customers to turn elsewhere for the products and services you market.. Then your business will be floundering by the time you acquire the knowledge of what it takes to succeed. Never expect people to pay you while you practice on them and waste their time and money. And never take an assignment you know you can't handle. Being honest with yourself and your customers will be to your benefit in the long-run.
The best approach to starting your freelance photography business is to start off slowly and build on a base of knowledge and experience. In other words, take the knowledge that you presently have about your camera and build a company around it. Start out by offering a particular service where you can be competitive from the first day you are open for business.
YOU DON'T NEED A STUDIO & FRENCH PROVENCIAL FURNITURE TO GET STARTED
You don't have to open a studio with elegant French provincial furniture, glass showcases, and large expensive frames all over the walls, to go into business as a freelance photographer. It's actually just the opposite; you don't need a studio at all!
What you will need is: a camera, a couple of strobe lights, light stands, and a black-and-white darkroom setup. From there, it's just as easy for you to go to your customers as it is for them to go to a studio.
How much money you make will depend on the amount of time you want to devote to your business. The beauty of being a freelance photographer is that you can create your own markets, and establish your own rates. If you go into freelancing with the intent to earn extra money working on weekends, you should be able to earn $1,000 - $2,000 per weekend if you did nothing but shoot weddings followed with package deals. If you decide to go into business on a full-time basis, then you could earn up to $50,000 and more depending on your specialty. It really boils down to one important thing; you must have the ability to use the equipment you have to produce a good photograph. People are willing to pay top dollar if you produce quality results. They don't like paying for poor work that isn't pleasing or effective.
BEING SUCCESSFUL IS SELLING WHAT YOU ALREADY KNOW HOW TO PRODUCE
In this report we are assuming that you already know something about operating a camera, taking
pictures, exposure, lighting, composition, and darkroom prodedures. That is the production end of it. Turning that knowledge into salable photography is the next step.
The first rule to remember is that if you are offered a job, and you don't even know the basics, you
better say "no thank you," and tell your client why you're passing it up. Tell him what you do specialize in at that moment. When the next job comes around, you will have an established reputation of being honest and that same person will be back 1) because he respects your honesty; and 2) because if you say you can do a job, you can.
ADVERTISE YOUR WORK IN A PORTFOLIO
Make up a portfolio of quality 8x10 prints to show your potential clients. It should consist of both color and black-and-white prints. Mount our 8x10 prints on attractive 11x14 boards. That way you can include a few 11x14 prints as well.
A complete portfolio should include some 35mm slides. Display them in 8.5x11 plastic sheets, which will hold 20 slides. If you intend to produce 24x22 transparencies for commercial and industrial assignments, sheets are available.
When you are satisified with your portfolio, call on advertising agencies and show the art director what you are capable of. Make appointments with the art and fashion directors of department stores and boutiques. Show business and industrial firms, and consider beforehand how their advertising and public relations departments could use your services.
Be prepared to show your work to anyone at anytime. Everyone is a potential customer, and you never know who will be needing your services next. Carry your portfolio in the car at all times. If you are proud of your work, show it! Make advertising what you do a part of yout everyday life.
KNOWING WHAT TO CHARGE
The first thing to remember is that you aren't going into business to give it away. Being fair to both
yourself and your customers is the principle you should follow when setting fees.
The way to do that is to determine what amount will adequately compensate you for your time, talent, and investment in equipment on a job-by-job basis.
Don't fall into the trap of charging less for your work just because you aren't working out of a studio, or don't have brand-new, expensive equimpent. You still have overhead!
At times your expenses will seem endless as you pay for photo supplies, office supplies, advertising, travel expenses, water and electricity if you operate your own darkroom, darkroom supplies and equipment, taxes, business license, business stationery, portfolio costs, business cards, and depreciation on your vehicle and photo equipment. Never let anyone convince you that you should work for less because you don't have overhead.
What you ultimately decide to charge for your work is something you will have to decide yourself.The area you live in, the economy in that area, the competition, and how much you need are all influencing factors.
These are basically two ways to set your fees: 1) You can charge per individual photograph or job. On a job you would have to know exactly how many different shots they would require, and allow for differences in your price quote; or, 2) You can charge an hourly rate that compensates you for your time and talent. Your hourly rate does not include the rolls of film you shoot, proofs, processing, or prints ordered by client. Your hourlly rate does not include the rolls of film you shoot, proofs, processing, or prints ordered by your client. Your hourly rate is for your time only, starting from the time you leave your home until you finish the job and return home. In some cases charging by the hour just wouldn't be practical. For example, prom sets, graduation packages, dance schools, or Little League Teams where you are further ahead to charge by the photo. Commercial shots on the other hand, where you may be asked to take a single photo that ends up taking 1-2 hours to set up, wouldn't pay if you charged by the photo.
EARN $50,000 PER YEAR WORKING ONE DAY A WEEK!
Whether it's a good or bad economy, one thing is for certain - there will always be weddings and work for freelance photographers.
Word-of-mouth advertising works well no matter what product or service you are selling. But it works especially well if you are a photographer in the wedding pictures business. When a bride is pleased with the quality of your work, she will pay a $1,000 for your time, talent, albums for each of the parent couples, wall photos, and her album. But it is her album that everyone she ever knew, or ever will know, will be invited to look at.
Most of your work will come through referrals from brides who were happy with your work. You
should also promote your business, however, by showing samples of your work to florists, bridal shops. boutiques, and caterers who normally have a lot of wedding business.
Just tell them you would be happy to send business their way, if they will do the same.
Always sign a contract with the bride so there are no misunderstandings. Specify exactly which photos will be taken, and of whom. Always include a "Release Paragraph" which states that you are not responsible for the loss of photographs resulting from camera malfunction, accidents in development, or film lost in the mail. You may also want to include a "Model Release" which will give you the right to use any photos as samples for advertising purposes.
SETTING YOUR FEE
Make certain the bride completely understands what your fee is, and what she will receive in return. There are various ways you can price weddings:
1) Offer a complete package that includes an engagement photo for the newspaper, formal bridal portrait, and coverage of the rehersal party, wedding and reception.
2) Coverage of the rehersal party, wedding and reception.
3) Wedding and reception
4) Wedding only
Weddings can be a goldmine. It's not uncommon for a complete package that includes an 8x10 album for the bride, and a 4x5 album for each set of parents to run $1,000 or more. Many photographers set a $500 minimum charge for weddings. Even if you only did two weddings per weekend at the minimum charge, you could easily make $52,000 per year. Two complete wedding packages per week would earn you over $100,000 per year. That's working one day per week! Now imagine how much money you could earn working full time!
OTHER FREELANCE JOBS THAT CAN MAKE YOU BIG MONEY!
DANCE SCHOOL RECITALS
Dance recitals are only once a year, but taking photographs of beautiful childern in their costumes
can mean increasing your banck account substantially.
Dance schools are every where, and they come in all sizes. By offering a photo package of one 8x10, two 5x7's, four wallet photos, and one 5x7 class photo, you can make anywhere from $1,000 for the smallest classes, up to $5,000 for a class of 400-500 students. If you make the teachers responsible for posing the students, and offer one pose per child, you can process the largest classes in just a few days.
CHILDREN'S SPORTS PHOTOS
Children's sports, such as Little League baseball, football, hockey, soccer, and basketball offer a very profitable opportunity to make fast cash for a freelance photographer. Every team (and the hundreds of parents in the stands) all want group shots and individual photos of every player. Most leagues will have at least 8-10 teams, with up to 30 children on a team, depending on the sport.
The person to approach for working out arrangements for a photographic session may be the coach, a director, committee, or sponsor. Dealing with one person works best. Check with the city or county recreation department. They will know who is using their facilities.
REAL ESTATE & ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Some of your best clients can be real estate agents, residential and commercial contractors, and architects. Real estate agents know that photographs are more effective in advertising a home or business than the typical classified ad. Doing all of a real estate agency's listings can add substantially to you income.
INSURANCE PHOTOGRAPHY
Insurance companies will reimburse a policy holder only for those items they have documented. Increasingly, insurance adjusters are urging clients to photograph everything that's covered by their policy on their home or business. It's difficult to argue with a photographic inventory and for that reason people will pay you to photograph their possessions and file them away in a safety deposit box.
FAMILY PORTRAITS
When you take family portraits it's best if you don't use a studio. People always act and look more
natural in their own homes or yards. Family pets are also easier to include when they are in familiar surroundings.
You can promote your "on location" family portrait service in the Sunday newspaper. Note the fact
that they won't even have to leave the comfort and privacy of their home, because you will come to them. Charge an initial fee, which includes the first portrait (16x20s and 20sx24s are not uncommon) plus travel expenses and other shooting costs. Always promote the Christmas card portraits, which the labs will offer.
CHURCHES & SYNAGOGUES
When church members become old enough to become regular members they are confirmed and oficially admitted to the church. Churches usually want group shots of the entire class plus individual photos for each family.
A bar mitzvah in the Jewish faith is similar to confirmation. When a boy turns thirteen, he then becomes a recognized member of his religion and the synagogue in a ceremony. With a confirmation and bar mitzvah are joyous occasions that are followed by a reception for family, friends, and religious members.
ANIMAL SHOWS & PET PORTRAITS
Pets and animals add up to a multi-billion dollar business in America. What animal and pet owners spend every year on food, grooming, pet-sitting, pet-walking, health products, and accessories is staggering. Offer your services as a pet and animal photographer and they will buy that also. There are freelance photographers who make a good living just going from one show to another that features horses, cats and dogs. Get in touch with your local veterinarian, who should be able to provide you with the names and addresses of sponsors for the various shows and organizations.
ANTIQUE DEALERS & AUCTIONEERS
Some large antique dealers have photos taken of their items for sale, and send the photos or color slides of special or unusual pieces to other dealers or customers.
When auctioneers are hired to auction off items from an estate, bankruptcy, a large business or industry, or any other large job that has valuable items on their list of sale items, they will often use color slides for TV, ads, brochures, and other promotional pieces.
GOLF COURSES & COUNTRY CLUBS
You can make some fast cash by making arrangements with a golf course or country club to have action photos taken of golfers when they hold tournaments and there is a crowd. Set up your camera on the first tee for foursome shots and action shots as each player swings.
PONY & CHILD PHOTOS
Back in the 1940s and '50s photographers would travel the country and go door to door. For a fee, children could put on a cowboy hat, vest and chaffs, and climb onto a saddled pony to have their picture taken.
All you have to do is rent a gentle-natured pony, have a three-piece (one size fits all children) cowboy outfit, and an assistant standing by just in case the pony gets skittish, or the child decides to jump off. Then make arrangements to appear at 'crazy days' festivals, school carnivals, family reunions, shopping mall promotions, parades, or any other place where crowds gather.
PHOTOGRAPHING SCHOOL & COMMUNITY BANDS
Make arrangements with the band or booster club and make arrangements to take color group photos of the band and individual members. Mail sample prints to band directors outside your area and arrange for appointments to show your work and explain package offers and fees.
GRADUATION PHOTOS
Contact the senior class advisor and make arrangements to take graduation photos of seniors in their caps and gowns as they practice before the actual graduation ceremony. If you don't have a portable background, use the stage curtains. Borrow a didploma from the school that each graduate can hold.
Report 11
NINE WAYS TO LOWER YOUR AUTO INSURANCE COSTS
You may not realize it, but the insurance rates you pay for your car can vary dramatically depending on the insurance company, agent or broker you choose, the coverages you request and the kind of car you drive. Listed below are a number of things you can do right now to lower your insurance costs.
1. COMPARISON SHOP.
Prices for the same coverage can vary by hundreds of dollars, so it pays to shop around. Ask your friends, check the yellow pages or call your state insurance department (phone numbers are on back page). You can also check consumer guides, insurance agents or companies. This will give you an idea of price ranges and tell you which companies or agents have the lowest prices. But don't shop price alone.
The insurer you select should offer both fair prices and excellent service. Quality personal service may cost a bit more, but provides added conveniences, so talk to a number of insurers to get a feeling for the quality of their service. Ask them what they would do to lower your costs. Check the financial ratings of the companies too. Then, when you've narrowed the field to three insurers, get price quotes.
2. ASK FOR HIGHER DEDUCTIBLES.
Deductibles represent the amount of money you pay before you make a claim. By requesting higher deductibles on collision and comprehensive (fire and theft) coverage, you can lower your costs substantially. For example, increasing your deductible from $200 to $500 could reduce your collision cost by 15% to 30%.
3. DROP COLLISION AND/OR COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGES ON OLDER CARS.
It may not be cost-effective to have collision or comprehensive coverages on cars worth less than $1000 because any claim you make would not substantially exceed annual cost and deductible amounts. Auto dealers and banks can tell you the worth of cars.
4. ELIMINATE DUPLICATE MEDICAL COVERAGES.
If you have adequate health insurance, you may be paying for duplicate medical coverage in your auto policy. In some states, eliminating this coverage could lower your personal injury protection (PIP) cost by up to 40%.
5. BUY A "LOW PROFILE" CAR.
Before you buy a new or used car, check into insurance costs. Cars that are expensive to repair, or that are favorite targets for thieves, have much higher insurance costs. Write to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 1005 North Glebe Road, Arlington, VA 22201 and ask for the Highway Loss Data Chart.
6. CONSIDER AREA INSURANCE COST IF YOU ARE MAKING A MOVE.
Costs tend to be lowest in rural communities and highest in center cities where there is more traffic congestion.
7. TAKE ADVANTAGE Of LOW MILEAGE DISCOUNTS.
Some companies offer discounts to motorists who drive fewer than a predetermined number of miles a year.
8. FIND OUT ABOUT AUTOMATIC SEAT BELT OR AIR BAG DISCOUNTS.
You may be able to take advantage of discounts on some coverages if you have automatic seat belts and/or air bags.
9. INQUIRE ABOUT OTHER DISCOUNTS.
Some insurers offer discounts for more than one car, no accidents in three years, drivers over 50 years of age, driver training courses, anti-theft devices, anti-lock brakes and good grades for students. See the following page for a guide to these and other discounts.
INQUIRE ABOUT DISCOUNTS FOR:
COMPANY A COMPANY B COMPANY C
$500 deductible _______ _______ _______
$1,000 deductible _______ _______ _______
More than 1 car _______ _______ _______
No Accidents
in 3 Years _______ _______ _______
No Moving Violations
in 3 Years _______ _______ _______
Drivers Over 50 Years
of Age _______ _______ _______
Driver Training Course _______ _______ _______
Anti-Theft Device _______ _______ _______
Low Annual Mileage _______ _______ _______
Automatic Seat Belt _______ _______ _______
Air Bag _______ _______ _______
Anti-Lock Brakes _______ _______ _______
Good Grades for
Students _______ _______ _______
Auto and Homeowners
Coverage with the
Same Company _______ _______ _______
College Students
Away From Home
Without a Car _______ _______ _______
OTHER DISCOUNTS:
_______________ _______ _______ _______
_______________ _______ _______ _______
_______________ _______ _______ _______
_______________ _______ _______ _______
YOU CAN REACH YOUR STATE INSURANCE DEPARTMENT AT:
AL: 205-269-3550
AK: 907-465-2515
AS: 684-633-4116
AZ: 602-255-5400
AR: 501-686-2900
CA: 800-927-4357
CO: 303-894-7499
CT: 203-297-3800
DE: 800-282-8611
DC: 202-727-8002
FL: 800-342-2762
GA: 404-656-2056
GU: 671-477-5144
HI: 800-468-4644
ID: 208-334-2250
IL: 217-782-4515
IN: 800-622-4461
IA: 515-281-5705
KS: 800-432-2484
KY: 502-564-3630
LA: 504-342-5900
ME: 207-582-8707
MD: 800-492-6116
MA: 617-727-3357
MI: 517-373-9273
MN: 800-652-9747
MS: 601-359-3569
MO: 314-751-2640
MT: 800-332-6148
NE: 402-471-2201
NV: 800-992-0900
NH: 800-852-3416
NJ: 609-292-5363
NM: 505-827-4500
NY: 212-602-0203
NC: 800-662-7777
ND: 800-247-0560
OH: 800-686-1526
OK: 405-521-2828
OR: 503-378-4271
PA: 717-787-5173
PR: 809-722-8686
RI: 401-277-2223
SC: 803-737-6117
SD: 605-773-3563
TN: 800-342-4029
TX: 512-463-6464
UT: 801-530-6400
VT: 802-828-3301
VI: 809-774-2991
VA: 800-552-7945
WA: 800-562-6900
WV: 800-642-9004
WI: 800-236-8517
WY: 307-777-7401
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL THE NATIONAL INSURANCE
CONSUMER HELPLINE (NICH) AT 1-800-942-4242
Report 12
HOW TO PURCHASE YOUR "DREAM HOME"
WITH NO CREDIT CHECK
Most real estate salespeople will tell you without hesitation that no-one can purchase real estate without a down-payment or credit check. They will tell you that a credit check is an essential part of the process and that you better have a fistful of cash before you evxer think about buying a home. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth!
Everyday throughout America, tens of thousands of people are acquiring homes without being subjected to a credit check or spending a cent of their own money as a down payment.
The reason why real estate salespeople don't even want to consider real estate transactions that are creatively packeged and don't require cash is obvious! They receive their commissions only when there are cash transactions.
No one should deny a real estate salesperson commisssions. In many cases it is their expertise in the reaal estate field that can help a person find great buys. They know the market in their areas and deserve the commissions they earn. However, in times of high interest rates when money is tight, many are increasingly willing to be creative by allowing their commissions to be paid via a note or by deferred payment. Still, there are even better ways if you want to avoid down payments and credit checks.
HOW A DREAM HOME CAN BE PURCHASED WITHOUT A CREDIT CHECK
The Veterans Administration(VA) and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), a division of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have been encouraging and promoting home ownership through their agencies for years. When people are denied a home loan by a bank or other lending institution, FHA will insure a home mortgage loan by giving the lending institution a 100% guarantee against any losses that may be incurred if the buyer does not repay the loan. Another benefit of getting a FHA loan is that the interest rates are usually lower than the standard bank rates for home mortages.
The VA will also guarantee a home loan up to 100%, which also allows a buyer to receive a home
loan through a bank or other lender. A credit check is required on the "original" buyer of the home, but here's the loophole!
While it is true that from March 11988 onward, all asumbble VA loans require credit approval, the
good news is that these changes in credit check approval only apply to those loans that were made "after March, 1988," ALL VA LOANS MADE BEFORE MARCH 1988 ARE STILL ASSUMABLE BY ANYONE REGARDLESS OF THEIR CREDIT!
GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION - Scoring systems are adjusted for differences in geographic locations,. For example, home owndership may not score high in an area where there is a high incidence of credit problems, reoccurring employee/employer differences, low income, etc.
EMPLOYMENT - The longer you have been on a job the better.
OCCUPATION - Occupationss can be divided into many categories with a high to low score within each category for different occupations.
AGE - Older is not considered better until you pass age 40. Under 25 to the end of your 30's receive the lowest scores. The rational is that people under 25 haven't proven they are a good credit risk. People in their 30's are still raising a family, buying a home, and tied down with emormous expenses. This is also the time most people declare bankruptcy
INCOME - The higher your income the more points you will receive.
TELEPHONE - Having a telephone is an indication of stability. Give yourself more points.
AGE OF AUTOMOBILE - No auto is a low score, but the newer the vehicle the higher the score.
DEPENDENTS - One to three indicates responsibility and stability. After three, points drop rapidly.
CITIZENSHIP STATUS - Non-citizens receive negative points.
BANK ACCOUNTS - You receive high points if you have a checking and savings account.
CREDIT REFERENCES IN-HOUSE RECORDS - A good payment record will earn you more
points.
CREDIT CARDS - The more major credit cards you have the better.
BANK LOANS - A current bank loan will increase your score.
FINANCE COMPANY LOANS - You will receive negative points for each finance company loan.
TWO POWERFUL STRATEGIES THAT CAN GET YOUR APPLICATION APPROVED
Credit checks are requested by banks, lenders, and other creditors to see if there are negative items in your file. The more negative items you have, the less your chances of credit will be. As we have seen, creditors look for stability and reliability in an applicant. A steady source of income will receive a high score, but even more important than an income amount is a creditor's belief and perception that you are both willing and able to pay back a debt.
In other words, even if you fail to pass certain criteria or formulas, your application can still be approved on another level that will get you the credit you want no matter what a scoring system profile says.
Motivated sellers are the best kind to deal with, because they will want to help themselves by helping you. Lack of money or credit shouldn't be your primary concern when purchasing a home. Creative negotiating and positive thinking will get you what you want.
CREATE A DEAL THAT BENEFITS BOTH YOU AN THE SELLER
Creative negotiating can lead to financing arrangements that benefit both the buyer and the seller.
There must be a willingness, however, by both the buyer and seller to give and take, before the most favorable environment for a creative financing situation can be created. For example, if you want to purchase your dream home with nothing down, you might consider paying a little more.
On the other hand, if you are investing money out or your pocket on a down payment, then the sale price and terms should be favorable to you. A smart, yet flexible home buyer can often afford to pay a premium price provided it's not too far out of line with the market value, and he can get attractive terms and no down payment.
FIND OUT WHAT THE SELLER WANTS
Many sellers want a steady income and don't need front money in the form of a down payment. Most buyers never consider asking a seller what they want! If you can guarantee a nice monthly income to someone who prefers a steady check, you can have yourself a nothing-down deal. Find out what the seller really wants!
BUYING WITHOUT CASH MEANS BECOMING A SUPER NEGOTIATOR
Sometimes you will require super negotiating skills if you decide to buy a home without using your
own money. After you have found your dream home, you and the seller will have to sit down and negotiate a final agreement. The following three rules should be followed to enable you to ge the best possible deal:
1) Get the selling price as low as possible.
2) Negotiate a very low down payment, or no down payment agreement.
3) Be aware of all the methods available to you in buying real estate whereby you would pay some cash, or no cash up front.
The first five of the following options involve some cash up front, the remaining seven do not. At
the top of the list the buyer buys out the sellers full equity. At the bottom of the list the buyer pays nothing down and doesn't secure the debt. Somewhere in-between you should be able to agree
on a compromise that benefits both parties involved.
BUYING OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO REAL ESTATE BUYERS & SELLERS
1) Cash to existing mortage
2) Cash to down and refinancing
3) Cash down with seller taking bacy the contract, second mortage, etc.
4) Some cash plus equity in other property
5) Cash plus mortgage on other property
6) No cash but equity in other property
7) No cash, equity plus mortgage on purchased property
8) No cash, equity plus mortgage on othe property
9) No cash, moortgage on purchased property
10) No cash, mortgage on other property
11) No cash, wrap-around where seller carries paper with or without a promissory note.
12) No cash, unsecured note for complete equity
NEGOTIATE "LOW" & "LONG" TERMS
Always think in terms of 1) Low Interest; 2) Low Monthly Payments; and 3) Long-Term Payoffs as
you develop home buying transactions. Make a transaction benefit you by negotiating hard all the way. Decide ahead of time what your "No-Deal"! cut-off point is. Be prepared to walk away from any deal that goes beyond your low-interest and low-payment cut-off. And remember, the longer the payback terms the better off you will be. High interest rates, high payments, and short-term payoffs can destroy a fledgling financial situation.
INCREDIBLE BARGAINS ARE EVERYWHERE!
It only requires a simple search to find great real estate buys that require no down payments or credit checks. You can start your search by picking up newspapers in and around the area you are interested in. Then carefully review the classified real estate ads and begin contacting both home owners and real estate agents. Don't be afraid to call agents! They might provide the lead that leads you to your dream home. Keep a list of your contacts and note the results. Make a minimum of 3-4 contacts every day. You will know who the really motivated sellers are through conversation. Then, if you are interested, take advantage of the situation and follow through.
HOW YOU CAN PROFIT BY OBTAINING OPTIONS
Obtaining an option to purchase real estate can make you some fast and easy profits. When it comes to real estate, options favor a buyer over the seller 10 to 1!
Here's how an option to buy can make you huge amounts of money:
To begin with, find a piece of property that is priced to sell at under market value. Let's say that the property you decide on is priced at $99,000 but the actual market value is $125,000. And remember, these kinds of bargains are available everywhere! Your next step is to tie up the property with an option, which may or may not require a modest options fee.
Let's say that the property increases in value by only 10% during the period of time you hold your
option, which in many parts of the country might be a very modest increase. Now you would have an option to buy property that is now worth $137,500, still for $99,000. Now you have and incredible opportuunity to make a $38,500 profit!
Options are favorable to the buyer over the seller because at the end of the option period, the potential buyer can exercise his option if conditions are favorable and make a tremendous profit from the transaction. On the other hand, he can also walk away from the deal if conditions appear unfavorable.
USE CONTINGENCY CLAUSES WHEREVER NECESSARY
Contingency clauses can give you many advantages when you are ready to make a deal. Contingency clauses can stack real estate agreements in your favor. What you are doing in effect, is specifying certain conditions that allow a contract agreement to be valid.
Basically, there are two reasons for using contingency clauses:
1) The contingency clause is of great importance to the deal; and
2) You simply want more time and are using a contingency clause to get it.
Some of the typical reasons for these clauses include statements such as:
1) Contingent on buyer arranging suitable financing; 2) Contingent on buyer selling his property before the deal is valid; 3) Contingent on appraisal; 4) Contingent on the buyer's accountant or attorney inspecting all records; or, 5) Contingent on the seller agreeing to your specific terms, etc.
DELAYED DOWN PAYMENT CONSIDERATIONS
If the seller absolutely demands all or part of the down payment in cash, don't exclude the possibility of agreeing on a "Delayed Down Payment." This tactical move should at least be considered, especially if you have already lined up a buyer for a fast resale DON'T OVERLOOK SELLERS AS A SOURCE OF INVESTMENT CAPITAL
The same person you are buying property from may also act as your lender. Today, sellers are lending money to buyers in almost half of real estate transactions. The borrowed equity is secuured by either a personal note, or a second or third mortgage. This method amounts to lending money to the buying party.
USE FIRST AND SECOND NOTES INSTEAD OF CASH
When you are ready to purchase your dream home, think in terms of non-cash ways to obtain it. First and second notes can easily serve as the equivalent of cash money. The advantage of using notes in place of money is that you receive 100% of the value of the note. If you wanted to convert a note to cash by selling the note, chances are you would have to accept a discount price on it. This discount could range anywhere from 10% to 30%, depending on the time left on the note, interest, and the history of payments. When buying real estate, it is wise to substitute notes for cash. In this way you can receive 100% value for your paper.
Report 13
HOW TO BEAT DEPRESSION!
Here's the story of a small, almost successful mail order entrepreneur, and how he overcomes the blues that comes with his way of conducting business:
What an adrenalin rush! Last week when I visited the post office my post office box was overflowing with orders. One day, I had to get a plastic container just to carry the mail home. At the end of the week, I had made about $1,200 in orders!
Unfortunately, I spent money to stock up on inventory. I anticipated receiving the same type of business the next week to make up for any overspending I had done this week.That did not happen.
The next week brought in a total of $150 in orders _ and the week after that brought in only $10! After that, depression set in. I kept saying "What will I do now? I spent the $1,200 and only have $80 to my name. Rent will be due in a couple weeks and I'm flat broke _ simply because I let money go to my head because I was temporarily "rich."
This is one example of how a business works sometimes and it's important to not take everything for granted. As employees of other companies, we were use to the fact of receiving a paycheck every week. Whether we worked hard or not, our paycheck was always the same and always on time. All we had to do
was put in our 8-hours, 5-days a week.
Also, we were not used to spending any money to fill orders. If we needed to mail something, we sent it to the mail room or ran it through the postage meter. As employees, we didn't pay for the postage out of our own pockets. Our employer took care of it. That also goes for supplies. If we ran out of paper for our typewriter, we went to the supply cabinet and got a pack out. We never worried about spending our own money to pay for office supplies.
But when you own and operate your own business money is hard to come by especially the first few years. You generate your own income! So instead of thinking about riches and glory _ think about improving upon what you already have. If you have a $1,200 week pat yourself on the back _ but don't be stupid like I did and spend it thinking you'll have the same amount next week. This may not happen for another 6 months!
Instead, find out "why" you generated this much money one week and hardly anything the next week. Did you stop marketing because you didn't think you had to anymore? Did you spend time filling all those $1,200 worth of orders and generating back-end sales? (A back-end sale is placing some form of advertising in with the orders you fill that will generate additional sales. These items should be for products and services that either compliment or are the same as the product the customer purchased.)
Were all the orders that made up the $1,200 week for the same product or different ones? Where did you advertise in order to generate this response? Was it a specific publication or a combination of several of them? Were the orders for something that people run out of frequently (i.e., printing, typesetting and advertising?) If so _ you can have a special offer for these same customers in a few weeks with a money-saving coupon for them to use. This will generate repeat business and the likelihood of another $1,200 week
in the near future.
However, if you do spend the money like I did and depression sets in, just sit down for a moment and reflect on what you do have: a roof over your head, food to eat, a legitimate business that will grow and possibly steady out in the future, peace of mind and the ability to work on your own without employers and people breathing down your neck!
In addition _ if you spend the money and cannot buy the supplies to fill the orders, DON'T just avoid your customers and hope they'll understand. Instead, send them a postcard that simply explains that you had such a large response that you sold out of the item. Tell them approximately "when" their order will be filled and "when" to expect it. If you can't possibly fill the order within 30 days, give your customer the option of getting their money back or, better yet, issue them a Credit Voucher to use on future purchases.
If you have no income at all and cannot possibly refund people's money offer them something in return that you can provide. You need to find some way to compensate your customers. Remember that they trusted you enough to see your ad, write out a check and spend their hard-earned money on you. They may not have a lot of money either. Avoiding them will turn you into a "rip-off" artist with no future in the industry!
Report 14
HOW TO BUY ANYTHING FROM THE GOVERNMENT DIRT CHEAP!
NOW YOU CAN ENJOY THE LUXURIES YOU'VE ALWAYS WANTED
BUT COULD NEVER AFFORD!!
The vital information contained in this report will allow you to purchase just about anything you desire from the U. S. Government at rock bottom prices and sell it for huge profits!
Everyday, hundreds of thousands of valuable items, including yachts, airplanes, luxury cars, pickup trucks, jewelry, computers, RV's, houses, furniture, furs, typewriters, jeeps, and much more, are seized in drug raids and auctioned off to the public at incredibly low pricess.
Billions of dollars in real and personal property is also seized or repossessed by the U.S. Customs Service, U. S. Marshals, the Veteran's Administration (VA), the Housing & Development Authority (HUD), Sheriff's Departments, Police Departments, U. S. Postal Authorities, Bankruptcy Courts, and other related agencies.
In addition to all of this, Department of Defense Surplus offers endless oportunities to purchase unbelievable bargains. People who know how to get involved in buying government property also know that without any previous experience or specific skills, just about anyone can purchase aanything the government has for sale and turn it into a profit!
People just like yourself who have discovered the real meaning of what an "unbelievable bargain" is by attending government auction sales, have gotten involved for one of two reasons: 1) They wany a specific item and know they can buy it at an enormous discount; or 2) They are in the business of buying many items at low prices, and selling them for a huge profit!
Whatever your motive, you can also take advantage of your new purchasng power once you know how to get involved. Maybe you have always dreamed of owning a yacht, strech limo, or other luxury vehicle. According to recent figures, the government is expected to sell up to one-quarter million vehicles! How would you like to purchase a Porshe, BMW, Jaguar, Lincoln Stretch Limo, Mercedes, Cadillac, or other luxury car for less than $100, and then resell it for a fast $20,000 profit?
If you have wanted just about anything, but felt you would never be able to afford it, this is your golden opportunity! Would you like to be your own boss and go into business for yourself? Now you can! Through smart buying at bargain prices, and reselling at markups retailers can only dream about, you can put yourself into a position of financial independence faster than you could ever imagine!
With the unbelievable bargains that will be available to you, you can realistically begin to think about starting a Surplus Store of your own, filled with office furniture, machines and supplies. Or maybe you want to specialize in buying and selling luxury cars! Do you enjoy the electrifying atmosphere of a flea market or swap meet? Government auctions and surplus sales can provide you with an endless supply of merchandise to sell.
Whatever your wants, needs, or dreams, the information in this report will show you how to make wealth-building dreams come true. By writing to the various agencies and reviewing the pamphlets and other materials they send you, you will be able to decide which agencies and sales are suitable for you. Then you will control an extensive network of contacts, representatives, and agents who will let you know what items they have for sale. Items you can purchase for pennies on the dollar.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SURPLUS
The U. S. General Services Administration (GSA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) are the primary agencies offering federal personal property. Any one of three sales methods may be used to sell surplus personal property. No preference is given to any individual or group no matter which method is used.
SEALED-BID AUCTIONS: Bidding forms are provided to Participants. The "Invitation For Bid" (IFB) form describes the property being offered, indicates where the property may be inspected, where bids can be submitted, and any special conditions regarding the sale. Sealed bids are opened publicly and awards are given to the highest bidder.
TRADITIONAL PUBLIC AUCTIONS: Property is offered, item by item, and sold to the highest bidder. Bidding instructions are given by the auctioneer on the government property being sold.
SPOT BIDDING: Here, a buyer has the opportunity to write down and mail in his bid. Property is awarded after full payment is receiveds.
The best way to keep yourself informed abouut sales is to get your name on the GSA's prospective mailing lists. Tens of thousands of luxury cars, sports cars, RV's, Semi's, pickup trucks, and more, are sold each year. You will have to write to each of the 11 regional centers indicated below if you want your name to appear on each of their mailing lists. Each one has a different application. When you write, ask that your name and address be placed on the bidder's list.
NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION REGION 2 (New Jersey, New York,
(District of Columbia, near by Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands)
Maryland and Virginia) GSA CUSTOMER SERVICE BUREAU
GSA CUSTOMER SERVICE BUREAU 26 Federal Plaza
7th and D Streets, SW New York, NY 10278
Washington, DC 20407
REGION 1 ( Connecticut, Maine, REGION 3 (Delaware. Pennssylvania,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia)
Rhode Island. Vermont) GSA CUSTOMER SERVICE BUREAU
GSA CUSTOMER SERVICE BUREAU Nineth and Market Streets
Post Office and Courthouse Philadelphia, PA 19107
Boston, MA 02109
REGION 4 (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, REGION 8 (Colorado, Montana,
Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, N. Dakota, S. Dakota, Utah.
South Carolina, Tennessee) (Wyoming)
GSA CUSTOMER SERVICE BUREAU GSA CUSTOMER SERVICE BUREAU
75 Spring Street, SW Bldg. 41-Denver, Federal Center
Atlanta, GA 30303 Denver, CO 80225
REGION 5 (Illinois, Michigan, REGION 9 ( Somoa, Arizona, California,
Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin) Guam, Hawaii, Nevada)
GSA CUSTOMER SERVICE BUREAU GSA CUSTOMER SERVICE BUREAU
230 S. Dearborn Street 525 Market Street
Chicago, IL 60604 San Francisco, CA 94105
REGION 6 (Iowa, Kansas, REGION 10 (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon,
Missouri, Nebraska) Washington)
GSA CUSTOMER SERVICE BUREAU GSA CUSTOMER SERVICE BUREAU
1500 E. Bannister Road GSA CENTER
Kansas City, MO 64131 Auburn, WA 98002
REGION 7 (Arkansas, Louisiana,
New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas)
GSA CUSTOMER SERVICE BUREAU
819 Taylor Street
Fort Worth, TX 76102
INTERNAL REVENUE SALES
A major seller of forced-sale merchandise and property is the Internal Revenue Service. When the government conficates a debtor's property through the IRS, it is sold to the highest bidder to recover a part of its losses.
Property sold by the government is not subject to usual laws of supply and demand. Forced sales operate outside supply and demand laws because the government controls the sale of confiscated property. Their only interest is in trying to recover a certain debt that has been incurred, not what the actual market value is.
Because realtors aren't informed about forced government sales, you have a distinct advantage! You will be notified of sales as a potential bidder once you get your name on their mailing list. Then you can go directly to the IRS to make your own incredible deal on property selling far below market value.
IRS property is sold either by public or sealed bid auction. Individual IRS agents are responsible for selling property within their own divisions. That means you won't have to deal with a central or district office to obtain information about property being auctioned.
Contact an IRS agent nearest you by referring to your telephone directory. Ask for information that will allow your name to be placed on mailing lists throughout the country. Also, request a copy of the Internal Revenue Service Code Manual Part V Chapter 300 at your local library to learn more about how the IRS auctions off confiscated property.
POST OFFICE AUCTIONS
Post Office Auctions, also known as dead parcel or dead letter auctionsl, are conducted in regionally located U.S. Post Offices. Tens of thousands of items that never reached their intended destination, or were never claimed by the sending or receiving parties, are auctioned off.
Unclaimed parcels ar opened at dead parcel branches to determine if the property can be returned. If the sender remains unknown, or if the postage remains unpaid, the contents will be sold at auction.
To obtain Post Office Auction notices and procedures you must have your name placed on a bidder's list. You can receive information regarding the auction sale by writing to the manager in charge of the sale.
Thousands of items are auctioned off, including clothing, luggage, books, watches, rings, miscellaneous jewelry, electronic equipment and sound recordings, leather goods, and much, much more! The minimum bid is usually $5.00, and many items are sold in lots of 50,75,100,200, 500, and more.
To have your name placed on all of the U.S. Post Office's regional dead parcel branches bidder's lists, write to the following addresses and request that your name be added to their auction bidder's mailing list:
U.S. POST OFFICE REGIONAL DEAD PARCEL BRANCHES
WESTERN REGION - (Washington, Posmaster
Oregon, California, Arizona, Alaska, Hawaii, Dead Letter Branch
Montana, Idaho, Nevada & Utah) U. S. Post Office
U. S. Post Office 180 E. Kellog Blvd.
Dead Parcel Branch St. Paul, MN 55101-9414
1300 Evans Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94188-9661 NORTHEAST REGION -
(New York, Maine, New Jersey,
SOUTHERN REGION - (Texas, Vermont, Rhode Island,
Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Florida, Massachusetts, Connecticut,
Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia New Hampshire)
& Alabama) New York City Post Office
U. S. Post Office Auction Room
Dead Parcel Branch 380 W. 33rd St.
P.O. Box 44161 New York, NY l0001-9998
Atlanta, GA 30336-9506
EASTERN REGION -
CENTRAL REGION - (Wyoming, (Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, Maryland,
Colorado, Kansas, Iowa, Minnesosta, Deleware, Pennsylvania, North
Missouri, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Carolina, South Carolina,
Indiana, & North Dakota) West Virginia, & New Jersey)
U. S. Post Office U. S. Postal Service
Dead Parcel Branch Claims & Inquiries
Chicago, IL 60607-9506 30th & Market St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104 -9998
Report 15
HOW TO MAKE UP TO $750 IN YOUR SPARE TIME OR WEEKENDS
Do you have a garage filled with unused furniture, household goods, broken appliances or outgrown toys and clothes? Maybe your neighbor does, or your relatives do.
The return to recycling old and used objects is more popular than ever. There are swap meets and flea markets all over the country where people buy and sell objects - AT A GREAT PROFIT!
Maybe you know how to repair simple motor-driven tools, or can refurbish battered furniture. You can turn that skill into money.
Are you clever and somewhat artistic? The market for handmade crafts is higher than it ever was. Maybe you'd like to make quilts, or candles, or decoupage plaques become hard cash. Rummage sales are great ways to change unused items into money. And it's easy. You need to overhead, very little time and effort, and make pure profit.
Perhaps you have church bazaars, school fairs, or crafts shows that occur seasonally in your area. Fall and Spring festivals are great places to sell everything from handmade dolls to recycled lawn mowers.
Are you ready to turn stored potential into real money? Just review some of these tips and you'll find you can make more money than you could ever imagine from seemingly worthless objects.
Starting right now, you could gather and produce enough to sell next weekend to make over $750.00. And who couldn't use that?
WHAT WILL SELL?
ANYTHING WILL SELL!
You can acquire furniture and fixtures from basements and garages; you can scout for throwaways; or you can offer to take away what people don't need.
Household goods, appliances, cameras, bicycles, tools, baked goods - you can sell any useful object. You can sell surplus goods, irregulars, or nostalgia items. Antiques, or course, are always marketable.
Homemade woodcrafts, leather goods, photographs, postcards, stamps and coins all sell quickly and at a good profit. Think about what you have around the house. You probably have a whole truckload of things you'd like to get rid of. Why throw them away? Turn them into cash for the things you'd really like.
What can you make? If you think about it, you know how to creat things that can sell. What about making jewelry, wooden boxes, or working with shells? Walk through a crafts fair and see what's selling. And those prices have built in profit. With a little ingenuity, you can make anything sell.
GET INVOLVED
Selling used goods and handmade objects can be a great family business. Swap meets and craft shows are friendly, communal efforts, where everybody is making profit from leisure.
Younger and older members of the family can help refinish, clean up or fix objects to increase their value. And, almost anyone can run a small stall. What better way to make money than out in the fresh air and sunshine?
Generally, rummage or garage sales are not long-term endeavors. They're for getting rid of unused, stored, or old items not of value to the owners. But they have great value to other people - you'd be surprised.
Swap meets or flea markets usually are long-running enterprises, often only on weekends. They are on special empty lots, in parking lots, or in stadiums. They are professionally organized and supervised by a small group or individual, and require a fee to participate.
Craft shows are generally seasonal, and craft presenters travel long distances to set up in the fairs. But they are excellent places to sell high quality art and crafts at good prices. And don't forget the fast-selling items for a couple of dollars.
AT A SWAP MEET
Start with going to a swap meet, find out what sells and at what prices. You can find them advertised in the newspapers. Check the yellow pages or ask at a local store that sells used goods.
If you're going to buy something in particular, be sure to bring a tape measure or rope if you need to tie something to the top of your car. Check retail prices for what you're looking for so you'll have an idea of what the objects are worth. And never give the price asked. Always offer less.
Take a look at the type of people that are at the meet. Talk to booth sellers and find out how much they sell. If others make a profit, you can too. What things sell best?
THE ART OF BUYING
The most important aspect of buying and selling anything is the price. KNOW YOUR PRICES. You might start with a certain type of goods such as furniture or used appliances. Check with other stands to see how much things sell for.
Look in the newspapers to see how the new items are priced. You can respond to ads in the newspapers to see how much private parties sell used objects for. Even pawn shops will give you a good estimate on the selling value of things.
The best time to shop at a swap meet is early - just as it opens. If you're the first sale of the day you'll get a better deal. Or, just as the meet is closing is equally good. People are reloading items to take back home; often any reasonable offer might be accepted, especially if it's for a group of things.
Depending on what you want to buy, you have to know good craftsmanship or whether or not something can be fixed. They key to buying and selling is to buy cheap, and sell at a profit. So you need to know what can be turned around into profit.
A genuine antique must be at least one hundred years old. But period pieces can be very valuable if you know how to recognize them. Get to know what things are worth. You have to be able to tell the difference between value and junk.
Sometimes appliances such as vacuum cleaners, toasters, or small hand tools can be easily fixed, cleaned up and resold at a profit to you. But you have to know if you can fix it. Always bid low. Often you can pick up something for fifty cents, a dollar, or two dollars, that you can turn around and sell for ten. You should be able to judge the seller. Has that person been a longtime regular at the swap meet? Then you may not get far. Usually, new people who are just unloading old things will be happy to make a few dollars and get rid of those things.
If the seller won't accept your low bid and you're not willing to pay more, go ahead and leave you name and phone number. You'd be surprised how many will call back because they couldn't get the price they wanted.
BUYING IN LOTS
Go to your local manufacturers. They always have scraps, leftovers, and closeouts that you can pick up for a good price - even for free. You may be able to recycle scraps into something else. For example, fabric scraps can be made into quilts or pillows. Leather scraps can be made into clothing, bags and belts.
Sometimes a manufacturer may have produced a bad run of some item that can be sold to you at rock-bottom prices. Irregulars are easy to pick up and sell at a profit.
You may be able to pick up unclaimed items from cleaners. Government surplus, police auctions and liquidation companies are great places to get good items at low prices. Perhaps you can tap into the rental companies that sell after the items are no longer rentable. Or check with contractors who demolish buildings. You may be able to take out the light fixtures or things left behind.
And never forget the TREASURE OF TRASH. Start with the high-class neighborhoods. Often suburban towns may have a cleanup week in the spring and fall. Or check with the local sanitation department and look at the things placed at the curb the night before pickup. The again, there's always the junk yards. A few hours in a good yard will produce lots of fascinating objects that can be put to good use elsewhere.
RECYCLING
Buying something old or used, fixing it, and selling it is the heart of recycling. Making something useful from a broken discarded object is not only profitable, but it is an extremely worthwhile thing to do.
There are dozens of things that have a high resale value and are the major recyclers. Sewing machines, typewriters, cameras, televisions, bicycles and tools are great things to recycle.
You may be able to pick up broken objects at a rummage sale, in a neighborhood's attic, or in your own garage. You could even pay a low price for the object at a swap meet. With the right know-how, you can turn that itemour credit report. Because credit bureaus can reques into profit.
Anything with a simple motor or electric mechanism can be easily repaired if you know a bit about appliances and electric objects. Often only a simple part is broken or missing. You can find replacement parts by getting in touch with the manufacturer or local hardware stores. Some people choose one type of item, such as cameras or sewing machines and deal only in that item. You people are interested in repairing bicycles, wagons, or toys.
Hand and power tools are great objects to recycle. They're always needed and are easy to fix and repair. Perhaps something needs a new handle, or prongs need to be bent back. Maybe you can find a replacement head or spring. You may need to take off rust, oil the gears, or polish the surface.
What's the best way to make a broken or old object look new? A coat of paint does wonders for almost anything. Be sure to clean it up first, and paint it only in conservative colors. Bright objects have a limited demand.
Know what the objects are worth. Buy them for a little money, fix them for a few cents, a replacement part, or a coat of paint, and sell them for less then they cost new. You've made a good profit and you're well on your way to making a steady income.
REFINISHING
One of the most popular items sold at swap meets is furniture. Chairs, desks, dressers, TV stands - all have a selling value. Bur many need to be fixed up to get a good price. The upholstery may be torn, or a coffee table surface may have burns. End table and desks often get water marks and spots.
Take a look at the furniture you have. Determine what it's made of and how it was finished. Sometimes it may not be worth the time and expense to refinish, but often you can turn a used piece into a showroom ideal.
Remove dirt and wax by cleaning. Wipe the surface with turpentine, mineral spirits or wax remover. This will show you where the real problems lie.
Maybe a chair needs to be recaned, or a child's dresser could use some bright decals - there are many ways to fix up old furniture with little effort.
Sometimes you can make patches, bleach out stains, reglue loose joints or cracks. New handles or drawer pulls will spruce up a useful piece of furniture.
If the piece is already painted, you might scratch a spot from underneath to determine if it's hardwood. If you know furniture and are good at restoring, you may remove the paint and refinish. If you're not so versatile with wood, you can repaint.
But don't repaint a piece of wood furniture that has never been painted. You could ruin it. You'll be better off refinishing it to increase its value. You can determine if the surface was finished with shellac, lacquer or varnish, and you can do spot touch-ups and repairs.
If you refinish, you may need to strip the surface of the coatings already on, and restain and varnish the piece.
I'LL TAKE IT AWAY
Did you ever hear somebody say, "I'll pay them to take it away?" Perhaps a member of your family who's tired of the piles in the garage or shed wants to clean up. Or maybe a family is moving and doesn't want to haul everything cross country.
You can cash in on others' castoffs. A good way to let them know you're there, is by placing ads, in the local newspaper or recycler magazine. It can be a blanket statement like, "I'll haul your junk," or "I buy used household goods." Or, you may deal in only one particular item, such as "I buy used cameras."
Leave yourself plenty of room to refuse to take things of little value, or be prepared to quote a hauling and dumping fee. Set up a time to inspect the goods being offered and don't commit yourself until you are sure of their true value. You may need a pickup or a van to transport large objects.
With every load of goods, you'll have some treasures and some worthless stuff. Although almost anything will sell, you can have an agreement with a dump or recycling plant to take what can't be salvaged and profited by.
CREATIVE CRAFTS
One of the most rewarding and profitable ways to make money in your spare time is with crafts. You can often get materials at cut-rate prices and use them to create beautiful handmade objects that everybody wants to buy.
Start with the easiest, inexpensive items first. Take a look at decorating magazines and handicraft books for ideas and find the simple, low-cost instructions that require no expertise and little equipment.
If you have many sources for castoff items, you will want to consider recycling and making new from old. You can cut old bottles to make vases or glasses. Or, you can make lamps from bottles or any object that will fit the electrical switch and cord.
Rug hooking and braiding are good ways to use up lots of fabric scraps and discards. They're something you can do in your spare time - even in front of the television. For those who are good with woodworking: wooden boxes, cutting boards, stationery racks and spice holders sell fast at the craft shows - they're wonderful presents.
You might be interested in needlework. Crocheted aprons, appliqued dolls, needlepoint pillows are always good items. You can make a high profit from handmade quilts or Afghans. What about plants? House plants in unusual planters are clever items and go quickly if they're reasonably priced. Dried flower arrangements draw attention if they're well done and in nice-looking holders.
And don't forget ceramics. They're ever-popular at crafts shows and can be put into any practical use. Not only can you sell cups and saucers, but vases, pitchers, and bowls go quickly too.
You can make clocks out of any object. Clock kits are not expensive and can be mounted on stone, wood, plastic or fabric. Think of what will sell. Watch the craft fairs and check prices. How can you make a profit?
There are thousands of objects that you can make at home with very little effort. And these produce a high profit. You can make jewelry, handbags, bookcases or candles. At craft fairs, even paint ings, photographs and original design stationery are popular. What are you good at doing? Are there crafts you always wanted to get into? Maybe you constantly make small items that you give away at Christmas, like potholders, or birdhouses, or macrame hangers. And everyone you know has one. Why not take them to market?
Be careful about pricing. Often crafts in the shows are of excellent quality, but they demand an equally high price. If you need to price your items high, carefully consider the wealth of the buyers.
A good way to make money fast is to create dozens of small, two or three dollar items. You can set them up on a simple folding card table with the price. Sometimes people will buy a small item on impulse because everything else is too expensive.
Consider the difference between the practical and the pretty. Crafts sell because they can be used, rather than hung on the wall or stored on a shelf. Practical items are easier to sell. Craft fairs are not the only places to display and show your goods. You can set up and sell them at swap meets, church bazaars, or even on street corners.
Go ahead - try it. Make some homemade toys or Christmas stockings or leather bags. You'll find it enjoyable as well as profitable.
LETTING PEOPLE KNOW
Advertising can be an inexpensive way to sell the objects you've recycled. You might use a leader ad, which is a short line about an object for sale. For example, "Typewriter, $75.00. Private party, and phone number." If you buy and sell typewriters, this "lead" will produce a call, then you can find out what the person is looking for. In fact, this ad will bring in many calls, and you can sell several typewriters.
A single headline is better to use than plural. If, for example, you used the word "typewriters," it gives the impression that you're in business and wouldn't offer a bargain price. You can photocopy flyers to post on bulletin boards in colleges, churches and factories. Perhaps there is a local organization of, for example, camera enthusiasts. You might find out who's the group leader and send that person a list of what you have to sell.
An economical way to advertise a rummage sale is by having the local newspaper deliverers place a flyer with the papers. This will bring neighborhood responses. And, of course, you can always put small ads in shop windows, at supermarkets, or even tide to telephone poles. Consider what you are selling and how you can reach those people who might buy. You may even be able to use a small display space in a store appropriate to your items. Anything sold would be at a profit to the storekeeper and to you.
HOLDING A RUMMAGE SALE
You've already cleaned out the attic, the basement, the garage and the shed. You've done the same for all the relatives. And, you've asked your friendly neighbors for their things, or if they'd like to participate. Now what?
Choose a good time to hold the sale, and an alternate date in case it rains. Usually, you'll only need to advertise by placing a few signs on telephone poles in the neighborhood with arrows and the address.
Even if you think you have a lot to sell, use only one date. If you don't sell it all, you can change your signs and have the sale to continue the next day, or a day on the following weekend. Consider the value of the things you have to sell, and how important it is to get rid of them. Sometimes people who want to move or liquidate their property will sell at almost any price. Here's a good time to buy. But if you can't get the price you feel the object is worth, don't sell it. You may get the higher price later, or save it for next year's sale. Although you should always ask a very low price when you are buying used goods, ask a fair price for selling. But be prepared to lower it.
If you have the sale on your front lawn, create perimeters so people don't wander into your home. Be sure someone is always available to take care of anyone looking at the objects you displayed.
There is an excellent market for everything, but few people will pay for worthless things. Sometimes an old vase may get a couple of dollars, but often it may be worth only a token quarter. Don't expect to collect much from old memorabilia unless you know it has a good value.
RESELLING
You're ready to give swap meets a try; you have some items of value to sell. You'll need to find out who is running the meet you want to join, register, and pay a fee to be part of the market.
Get there early - before it opens - to set up at a good spot. Regulars move up to prime locations. Take a look at the spots available. Where are the good places? Keep in mind that you want buyers. Sometimes a front-door center stop brings the largest number of lookers, but be sure the aisle is wide enough for people to stop and talk with you about what you're selling.
You might want to do something to attract attention. Balloons or crazy hats are noticeable. Performing a crafts demonstration will also draw people towards your space.
Once people are looking don't let them walk by. See if you can help them find something, or at least pay attention so they know you're interested in them. Try a casual approach of mentioning some good points about the objects displayed.
If you know the full value or your objects, don't sell for less. As you build up your knowledge of handling used goods, you'll know that people will pay a fair amount for what they want.
As a novice, don't get taken by the regulars. They'll try to hit you up as soon as you unload your items. If you're unsure, don't take low offers, wait until you get better bids later in the day.
Depending on what you're selling, you can have anything from a folding coffee table to a mobile truck. You may need to just stake an area with poles and ropes. Perhaps you want to raise a canopy to keep the sun out. More professional swap meet dealers have portable booths to display their wares. What image do you want? If you're selling jewelry, you'd like a stand with a black velvet covering, something a little classy to show the value of your items. If you're selling clothes, you may invest in some racks to make it easy for potential buyers to look through the goods.
The real tips in buying and selling used goods at swap meets are learned by attending them. You may be able to make friends with some people who sell what you'd like to learn about. Perhaps you might volunteer to work a few weekends so you can learn about the business.
SELLING FROM HOME
As a craftsperson, you may carry on a continual business, selling at fairs and on weekends. You can sell objects out of the home.
Any ads you place in the newspaper should look like you're an amateur, or just trying to get rid of a few objects. Bargain hunters shy away from on-going businesses.
However, you might run a small shop out of your garage or off the back enclosed porch. Some people have kilns and offer ceramics classes from the barn in the back yard. Potential buyers will like the homey atmosphere and will think they're getting a good price because it comes from the source.
Or, you may do woodcrafting from a basement shop, creating beautifully carved or hand wrought items. Seeing a shop might bring more of an impulse to buy. What better feeling is it than to get something from the person who made it?
However, other things may be best kept in the back, under wraps. For example, maybe you purchased a lot of five dozen lamps, irregulars from the factory. You were able to fix whatever was wrong and made them of no commercial value. If a customer saw the whole stock - dozens of identical lamps, that person would think it was such a bargain.
Selling from your home can be as solid a business as if you rented a storefront. You'll want to build up steady clientele, and have referrals. If someone wants several items, give that person a special price. Anyone returning time and again should get a discount. Good business builds better business.
Use your discretion if you have a repair shop such as typewriters or sewing machines. Sometimes it is better to display the many choices available; sometimes it's better to just have a few and then pull out more from the back.
Depending on the person, you might find that being reluctant to sell such a wonderful object will push for a sale. Other people need to be convinced about a good deal. Again, if you know comparative prices for the same items new, you'll have better selling points. It's good business to offer a limited guarantee with mechanical or electrical objects. A thirty-day free repair warranty will often clinch a sale. And if you've already fixed the appliance or hand tool, you would know that it would work.
WHAT'S LEGAL
You are required by law to report all income. But in the business of buying and selling, you have so many deductions you can legally take, that most of your earnings are profit.
If you keep all the receipts from the objects you bought, and all the receipts for the items you needed to fix up or repair these objects, you can keep a fair and accurate account of your activities. A professional accountant at year's end will be worthwhile. You'd be surprised at how much you can deduct.
If you become a regular at the swap meets and crafts fairs, you'll need to get a vendors permit and report the state sales tax. You can check with the directors of the meets to find out the requirements for your enterprise.
WHAT'S THE PROFIT
If you've given it a try, you;ll see that you can make a sizeable profit with selling used goods. If you jsut run a rummage sale, you don't need to keep accurate records. But if you continue the business of buying and selling, you'll need to keep track so you can tell what you are making.
Keep a record book or sheet that has five columns. In the first column, write down the name of the object. The second column should be the date you brought the item; the third lists the price you paid. The fourth column is the date you sold it; the fifth column is the price.
The comparative dates will show you how quickly your items are selling. This is helpful to determine which objects sell best. The difference in the prices will give you the amount of profit. If you figure in the cost of transportation, and the cost of fixing the items, you'll get the amount of clear profit you've made. Not bad.
How much time are you spending? Keep track of the time you've spent in acquiring this profit. Divide these hours into the amount of profit. That's your hourly rate. How can you increase your hourly rate? The more work you accomplish, the more you'll make. But look for ways to do several things at once - to increase your profit. While you're at a swap meet or crafts fair, you can ork on your crafts or be fixing and repairing as you mind the stall.
Especially with handmade items, think of ways you can profitably mass produce, making large quantities simultaneously rather than one at a time.
The goal of these enterprises is to make money from the time and energy you put in. And if you plan well, YOU CAN PROFIT.
MAKE MONEY NOW
The quickest way to get instant cash is to hold a garage sale and unload all the unused, stored or broken objects in the house. You can hold it next weekend, and, if you're like every other household in America, you can make hundreds of dollars just from castoffs.
Swap meets are the best ways to continue buying and selling itmes at a good price. To creat a good situation for yourself, get to know what happens at the swap meets. Go to all of them in your county, your state, or in the neighboring states. Which ones sell high quality merchandise?
Talk to people who sell at those meets. How long have they been in business? What kind of profits do they make?
It is essential to know prices and the true value of used and refinished objects. How much do new ones cost? What is the market price? The most important knowledge you'll need is how much things are work. Sell at the highest price the market will hold.
You'd be surprised how little people know about how much things cost. Sometimes they buy things at a swap meet, thinking they got a bargain, only to later read an advertisement to buy a similar item for less. Don't get taken yourself.
Create your own territory. Make contacts for picking things up and selling them. You might have a relationship with stores selling used items. Although you will never get as high a price as you would at a meet, you'd be sure to unload hard to sell items.
At some point you may even consider a retail outlet. Dozens of used furniture stores also work at the swap meets on weekends. And these meets are a good place to find things to stock these stores.
Report 16
HOW TO SET UP YOUR OWN IN-HOUSE ADVERTISING AGENCY...
AND SAVE UP TO 17.5% OF ADVERTISING COSTS
With the high prices of placing ads today, why not save money? There's no special secret to writing and placing advertisements in magazines, tabloids and newspapers. And why not claim the discount given to advertising agencies?
If you handle your own advertising correspondence, work with layout artists and write your own ads, it's well worth your while to set up your own in-house ad agency and save a ton of money.
Even if you don't create your own ads, you can profit from setting up your own agency and placing the ads that bring sales directly to you.
If you have somethings to sell - especially by mail order - advertising is they way to make that product reach people. Although advertising agencies produce excellent ads of all types and sizes with every demographic appeal, they also charge for it. That's why they're ready to claim the fifteen percent discount usually granted for placing ads.
You can learn how to create and design your own ads - with no background in copywriting or art. And, you can set up your own ad agency to place these ads where THEY'LL MAKE MONEY FOR YOU.
Do you have a product that you're ready to sell? Now's the time to find out the best angles to use and the tricks of the trade to putting money in your pocket.
STARTING YOUR BUSINESS
Do you have a mail order business? Maybe you sell clothing, camping supplies, or information through ads to the mail order trade. Perhaps you've run classified ads for years and are ready to branck out into larger display ads.
Not only small home businesses, but larger mail order companies and hundreds of major advertisers everywhere set up their own in-house agencies to produce and place ads. Even magazines create in-house departments under another name to get the agency discount.
What might set advertising agencies apart from homemade operations is the appearance of the letterhead and the ad form. They must look sharp and professional.
Start with a name for the ad agency you want to establish. It can be anything, but must be different from the name of the company that will be using the space. Then register the name with the county clerk. Check first to be sure you're not using a company name already in business.
Desiging letterhead is easier than you think. You don't have to create an elaborate or clever logo - the initials of the company will do. You can choose the mark - the special type style - at a printers, or use one of dozens of press-on letter styles available at art supply stores.
Using photo offset, an instant printer can run off a thousand sheets at a very low price. If you go to a printer, check and compare the total printing costs. Typesetting can be expensive and there's a minimum charge. You may want to wait to get all your typesetting and printing done at the same time - letterhead, ad form, ad copy and any sales literature you may be preparing. Investigate ways to get by with the lease expense.
Establishing your own ad agency is so easy that the most important part is the form you send in when you place ads. Although there are no federal restrictions for in-house ad agencies, some publications may quibble. If your form looks as good as the rest, you'll have no problems.
The following page is a representation of a sample ad order form. Just copy this form and have your company design or logo printed on top. You can choose a color paper to have the forms run off on - they'll be more noticeable. Then all you do is send in a copy of the ocmpleted form with your check and final artwork for your ad - and claim a big discount for being your own agency.
NAME OF ADVERTISING AGENCY
Address
To the publisher of: __________________________________________________
Order number: ___________________ Date: ____________________________
Please publish advertising of:
For (product):Space to be ordered within one year from ______ through ____________
Space ____________________________________________ Times ___________
Dates of Insertion:
Position ______________________________ Copy ________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Rate Less agency commission _______________________________ on gross
Less cash discount ____________________________________________ on net
Mail all invoices to:
Accepted for publishing on
PLEASE SIGN AND RETURN TO AGENCY
THE INSERTION ORDER FORM
The following will describe what the various terms on the insertion order form mean and how to fill them in.
Space indicates what type of space you are buying: classified or display. If you want display space, indicate the size. Fill in the number of times you want the ad to be repeated. It will run in the number of consecutive issues you indicate. Then fill in the actual dates of insertion for the ad.
The position of the ad can be an important factor in selling. Although you rarely can be guaranteed a certain position in the publication, ask for it anyway. You'll probably get at least the nest best position.
If you are running a short ad that will be printed by the publication, you can type out the copy in the instructions space at the bottom. The key designates the address code you'll use to analyze responses.
For example, you can use a letter to indicate the name of the publication, and a number for the month of issue. Insert this key in the address, perhaps as a department division or suite number. When you get inquiries or orders with that key, you'll know which ad pulled the response.
HOW TO DETERMINE RATES
Every publication that solicits advertising has a rate card. This card is available from the advertising coordinator, who is the contact for the publication and can be very helpful in assisting you. The best way to get a rate card is to write for one or call if the publication is in your city.
The rate card has the general information you'll need for placing your ad. It should indicate the total circulation with a breakdown of subscriptions and newsstand buyers. Keep in mind that most publications have two to three readers for every one purchase.
The advertising rates may be broken down a number of ways, depending on how the publication sells space. Display rates may be sold by the column-inch or lines. Or, they may be broken up into fractions such as a half-page or quarter-page. Some publications have a minimum size space ad, so keep this in mind when designing the ads for certain publications.
The rate card will tell you the amoung of discount you are entitled to as an ad agency. It will also give you the deadlines for placing the ads for the next issue and the issuance date, the actual day the magazine comes off press and goes to the newsstands and to subscribers.
If you have any questions concerning the type of space you need or the actual rate, just ask the advertising coordinator.
TAKE YOUR 15% DISCOUNT
As an advertising agency, you are entitles to a fifteen percent discount on the ad space, unless the publication grants only lower discounts. The easiest way to subtract a 15% discount is to multiply the rate charge by .85. Immediately, you have the exact figure for placing the ad.
TAKE ANOTHER 15%
Many publications realize that the mail order businesses don't operate with a high capital for placing ads. Because of this, they offer a fifteen percent discount for mail order display ads. To compute the fee for two discounts - fifteen percent for mpute the fee for two discounts - fifteen percent for mail order and fifteen percent for the agency discount, simply multiply the total rate charge by .70. This will give you the fee.
TAKE YET ANOTHER 2%
Whether you are an ad agency or not, you are entitled to take a two percent discount for sending your check with the order. Most publications offer this discount to discourage billing and encourage cash sales. To figure out the two percent cash discount, Multiply the total rate charge by .98 - after you have already taken the other appropriate discounts. That will give you the total you will pay for placing your ad.
WHERE TO PLACE ADS
The rule of thumb for placing ads, especially for mail order, is to look through the publications catering to the same product you are selling, and do the same. Although advertisers are always looking for new and innovative ways to sell products, they usually stick with the proven ways of selling.
What are you selling? Where are the logical places these products are sold? Go there and place your ads where people will look for your products.
There is no reason you can't hit a successful ad campaign the first time, but more often, you'll find it necessary to spend some time testing different ads, different display sizes, and even different lead products. Testing is the name of the game, and if you're careful, you don't have to go for broke, but can build a sound winner.
A number of significant successful companies have made a fortune from advertising an appealing product and delivering a good deal. There is no reason why you can't too.
BUYING SPACE
There are two types of advertising space in a publication - display space and classified ads. How you use ad space is entirely up to the type of appeal that will sell the product best, and the financial budget you are working with.
Don't shortchange classifieds. A small, well-written classified ad can bring hundreds of responses on a continual basis.
Often, classifieds are used in a two-step approach of first placing an ad that has no price mentioned and soliciting the reader's response for free information. Then it is followed up with a sales letter or brochure - some kind of sales literature - that gives the pitch for the product.
Classifieds are the least expensive ad to place. People who run mail order businesses find them to be the best dollar-for-dollar investment in advertising. Look at the classifieds section of the publications you are planning to place ads in. If your product could be sold with a classified ad, you should start there.
If you have actual products to sell, display ads are your better bet. You'll probably need an illustration to show the product - something to catch the eye. You can also include a line or two about sending for a catalog if that item doesn't appeal enough, but has captured interest.
DISPLAY ADS
Display advertising space is the area in a publication designated for companies to show their products and describe the benefits - appealing to consumers and potential buyers.
Display space comes in all sizes - from full page to a smaller fraction. Since some publications don't have classified space, it may be your logical answer to place a small, one-inch ad. But if your ad is that small and there is a classifieds section, place it there - you'll save money and the ad will be seen by the same amount of people, maybe even more.
Your guideline for determining what size the ad should be is to decide what is going into the ad and what type of approach you plan to make. What sells the products is the appeal and the equality of the ad - not necessarily the size.
Some products need full one-page descriptions; some don't require a large space. You may be able to get by with a small, appealing ad that has a clear illustration, you certainly don't need to go full size.
If you have a limited budget, take out a small ad. A publication with a good reputation and a high circulation makes money from the high ad rates it can charge. Don't sacrifice a good pulling magazine for larger ad space in another publication. You have to consider the dollar-for-dollar response.
Other ways to save money are to advertise in the regional editions of publications, and to buy remnant space which is the "leftover" space sometimes available just before the magazine goes to print. If you have a good working rapport with the publication, you might be able to place a low-cost ad at the last minute.
Depending on your product, you need to consider where you want your ad to appear in the publication. You'll most likely not require the prime spots such as the back cover, the first page or the inside covers.
But is has been proven that a right hand pulls betters response than one on the left side of the publication. Ads placed closer to the front of the magazine pull better than those towards the back. Think about where you want the ad to show up.
KEEPING RECORD
How will you know if your ads are pulling the response you want? When you place different ads in different publications, you need to have a method to determine which ads are drawing the best results. To do this, you keep accurate records.
For each ad you place, you have an address key. Use a separate record sheet for each key. At the top of the sheet, put the pertinent information, such as the name and issue of the publication, the date of issue, the cost of the ad, and the information about the ad you placed.
The main body of the record sheet may be divided into the two categories of inquiries and order. These in turn are separated into date received, number received, and running totals of inquiries, orders and sales.
The reason keeping records is important is twofold. First, you must respond to any orders you receive without getting them mixed up. Second, you need to figure out which publications are bringing the highest responses.
Good records will indicate which headlines pull better, which size has a better draw, and which products out of a catalog have more appeal.
Testing is the best way to achieve results in advertising. The majors do it - you can too. Testing can be just as exciting as the sales you make.
WRITING COPY
You've seen hundreds of ads in magazines, newspapers, and through the mail. Most of them are the same; most of them have similar products to sell. You read some of them because you're interested in the product, you read some of them because they're interesting to read, and most of them you pass by.
There are no best ways to describe a product or form an appeal for services. But there are proven methods of writing to catch a few people who didn't know about the product to read the ad and to get the people who are interested in the product to buy.
Your main concerns in creating ads are to get the reader's attention, sustain that attention, and push for action to buy. The longer you can hold interest, the greater number of people will respond.
Use short, simple sentences and paragraphs. Keep your writing consice and to the point. Rambling words and ideas will make the reader lose interest quickly. Always be relevant to what you are selling.
Subheads help cut copy into small, digestible pieces, as does the use of block paragraphs. Using italics, capital letters, bold face and oversized print can help grab attention to the words.
Make the ocpy rewarding to read, the product appealing to have, and the offer too good to pass by, and you'll have plenty of business.
CHOOSE AN APPEAL
What will put your product to best advantage? What can the reader gain? The headline is the stopper. If is the few words that will make the reader stop and look at the ad. Think of how your product can appeal to the readers you want to induce. Can I manage to save, gain or accomplish something ordinary or special? Can I increase my finances, good health or general well-being? Maybe the product or service can help avoid worries, losses and mistakes. Or help decrease fears of pverty, illness in the family, loss of job.
The attitude you choose shoots for the person's emotional state. It is the emotions that catch hold, then reason follows through to decide to read on or not. Consider the typical buyer you desire and go after that person.
Use the words "you or "your," or imply that direct approach with "we" and "our." Make the reader believe you are writing directly and honestly, offering the best available.
Consider a headline that uses "which one" or a comparative price. The choice alone entices you to read further. Or you might use an underdog approach such as I went wrong too, but will tell you how you can avoid it.
The headline that includes "how to" is always an appealing catcher. Invite the reader into your copy and then lead quickly into the main text of the ad.
SHOW THE ADVANTAGES
Most ads placed by small in-house agencies don't solicit the national retail trade that large advertising companies handle. Instead, they offer an unusual product or service, a great price on closeout items, or products for the mail order consumer. More often than not, these ads will be short, concise, and stop not long after the headline. For many products, there's not much that needs to be said that a picture or drawing can't show.
But for those items that sell even better with copy, you'll need to think about the benefits you want to descrive, and the best ways to show these advantages.
You've caught the reader's attention with the headline. Now hold it. Follow through with the facts that answer the headline. You have to convince the reader not only to want to have the product, but to want TO BUY IT.
Whatever you considered for the headline, study it again. What will this do for me? Why do I want to buy it? Is it less expensive than the other similar products? Is it the same, but a newer model, or a more efficient design?
Push the emotional appeal. How will this make me look better, feel better? What will my family and friends say? You might try to tap into the market of avoiding embarrassment, eminating problems, minimizing risk.
Will this help me enjoy my leisure? With the continued trend towards increasing leisure time and the money after-work activities to the public, people are looking for more and more interesting things to do with space time. Can your product tap into this?
Money is forever the great desire. Now more than ever, people seek financial security, and look for ways to save money - especially over the long run. Saving money and buying at a lower price are sound copy points. But they must be followed through with believable reasons and sound facts.
For example, ads for woodburning stoves often appear in northern regional editions of publications, or magazines catering to homeowners. A small ad with a drawing of a woodburner may draw attentional with a headline about saving heating costs. It can include an address to write for more information.
A larger space ad could include the advantages of a woodburning stove over and above the savings on gas bills, such as efficiency, superb craftsmanship, quality of materials, or easy to install. Any benefits that sell the product can be used to appeal to the reader.
A still larger ad could have an "exploded" drawing of the inside of the stove, and might also include information about how it works, how it saves you money. It might mention the reputation of the company. But consider whether the cost of a larger ad will bring in the extra response to make it profitable.
Stick to the facts. And stay with the BUYING POINTS. A potential customer may be sold, but will that person buy? Endorsements and testimonials are effective ways to dramatize facts and back up the benefits of your product, but don't use ones that seem transparent. They'll ring falsely. There are federal laws against misleading advertising, and they do check up on and prosecute against fraud.
If you use an endorsement from a famous or popular person, that person should use the product. Any testimonials you use must be true, and the people must be available for verification.
Always aim for satisfaction. Self-respect, security and accomplishment are human aspects everyone strives for. Never talk down to the readers as though you know something they don't or you're better than they are. To you, the potential customer is POTENTIAL GOLD.
ASK FOR ACTION
You've caught the reader's attention with a catchy headline. You've followed through with good copy that demonstrates benefits and appeals to the reader. Now - before you lose that interest - ask for an order.
You can to close the gap between reading the ad and acting upon impulse. The purpose of the ad is to make people buy. You have to tighten the desire to want inot the desire to buy.
A money-back guarantee is the most useful tool in pressing action. It goes for the bottom line. What do I have to lost? And it affirms the quality of the product. If you are willing to back the claims you make with a full refund, you can get a hook into those borderline buyers.
If you give a time limit the product will be offered for sale, or mention a limited supply, or have a reduced price for a certain time, you'll increase the impulse to act. And that's what you're after. Appeal to the reader's urgency; make the product totally desirable to have - now.
HOW TO USE ILLUSTRATIONS
The major reason to use display space is to illustrate your product. Some items are very difficult to sell without a picture or drawing. And some illustrations work better with your product than others.
The illustration may be selling the only product you have, or you may want to use a lead illustration - something out of your product line that is particularly appealing. Then give the compan'y name and address for people to write for a free catalog.
Be particular about using photographs. Never put in your own picture - it won't help sell a product. And be very choosy about models for clothing. Avoid using models if possible, and if absolutely necessary, you'll need professionals.
An advantage to photography is that you can picture your product in full, glowing color. But it is not usually that important. Considering the additional costs, it may not bring in the additional response to make it worthwhile.
You can have your product pictured indoors or out. But consider the size of the ad, and get rid of extraneous visual matter in the background. You are aiming for a clear, appealing view of what you have to offer adn you want the reader to buy that product.
In using photographs, always to go top quality. You can find dozens of excellent professional photographers from the yellow pages and at the photo supply stores. Look at the photographers' work, and don't get a portrait-taker if you need to illustrate a product.
Can the photograph or product be converted or illustrated with art? Line drawings are beautiful ways to show off a product in a clear and direct manner. They can be simple - just an outline. Or they can be more elaborate with shading and hatching. Line art is easy to draw and reproduce. And usually, it can show up a product to best advantage. There are no extras to detract attention.
Consider the simplest and most direct way to illustrate the products you want people to buy. Maybe you can try a layout with a photo and one with a simple drawing. What difference does it make?
What is the competition doing? When testing new ads, go with the tried and true. Don't try to be different. It is the sound and worthwhile that bring in the customers - time and time again.
WORKING WITH ARTISTS
If you're not an artist, don't stop creating here. There are no special tricks to designing a good page, and there is no great expense in having someone else do it.
The best way to find an artist to draw line art, design and layout a page, and past up the ad, is through design studios. Don't commission the studio - there's usually too much overhead. Talk to individual designers and get somebody who does free lance work. You can negotiate a very reasonable fee. But get a professional. It's worth the extra hourly fee to have somebody who knows how to design.
Work directly with the artist - be sure your desires are well communicated. And be sure you are satisfied with the work accomplished. You both have something to say, but more so, let the product speak the loudest.
DOING THE LAYOUT
You don't need to hire a designer to do the layout for your ad. You are capable of doing it yourself - after all, you know the product best. Consider what you want to say. You need to make it different from the other ads, yet you shouldn't try for innovating design awards.
The ad must be interesting to look at and should have a feeling of movement and action. That movement is not necessarily in the illustration, but the placement of illustration and copy in the ad, so the eye goes from one to the next in easy, exciting movements.
You'll need to consider where the illustration will be, and its relation to the headlines and body text. Perhaps you are showing the product in use, or maybe the illustration is just a simple picture of the product.
A rule of thumb in layout is to use contrast. The most obvious contrast is the black print on white paper. Use that white space. Although it's not apparent, the white space is as important in the visual appeal as the illustration and type.
Don't try for symmetry. The unusual or irregular catches the eye more readily. The illustration works hand in hand with the headline to grab reader's attention.
Be simple and direct. Don't push too much copy into a small area, crowding the illustration. If you don't have room, cut copy or reduce the illustration.
You can use any size and style type you want for the ad. But don't get carried away. You shouldn't use a special typeface unless it helps sell the product. And, never use a headline type that's hard to read.
Using different sizes of type help point out the benefits of the product. Bold or italicized type also bring more visual appeal to the ad.
If you find that the illustration is too big for the ad space you want to use, you can reduce it to a smaller size, or crop out portions not absolutely necessary. A "bleed" photo runs straight off the page. Check with the advertising coordinator first to be sure the publications will do bleeds.
A good way to do a rough layout is to use a pencil to sketch in the places for the type, the illustrations, and lines to indicate body copy and the name of the company. Try different pencil layouts until you're satisfied you have the product at its best appeal.
CAMERA-READY COPY
Most publications require final artwork for display ads. Camera-ready copy means that it's ready to go - to be made into the films printers use for reproduction. The type has to be typeset, the art must be clear, and the layout must have these elements pasted down.
Even if you get as far as producing a rough layout, it won't cost too much to convert it to final artwork. But if you're doing the whole thing, you have to be sure you have all the elements. To have copy typeset, you go to a typesetting shop and give them typewritten copy for every character you want to show up on your ad. You can discuss with them the size of type and pick styles. Final artwork should not be a photocopy of a drawing, but the original drawing or a photostat. A photostat can be made of the original if it needs to be reduced or enlarged to fit the exact size of the layout.
If you are using a photograph, it should be a professional quality print. Any areas that need to be cropped should be indicated with a red grease pencil that won't harm the surfact of the photo - don't cut the photo.
If you are using color photography, you may need to have color separations made before you submit the ad. This is a process whereby the color in the photo is separated into its four elements of red, tellow, blue and black. The advertising coordinator will be able to tell you what you need, and a local printer can help you with the separations.
If you have no experience in pasting up layouts, you'll need to get a professional. Why make a mistake so late in the game? Although it is a simple process of gluing the type and illustraitons down with rubber cement, you need the correct tools to be sure everything is exactly straight.
WHERE TO GO FROM HERE
Setting up your own in-house advertising agency is easy. Placing ads and claiming your fifteen percent discount is no problem. The challenge comes in writing appealing ads that are winners. The reward is selling product through those ads month after month, year after year.
At any stage of the advertising game you can call in professional advice. A free-lance pro can offer sound, money-saving tips and be worth every dollar spent. Even if you commission the artwork and layout of the ad, you'll still save a bundle over ad agency costs.
If you have your own home business, or if your company has expanded into advertising, there's no reason not to set up your own agency. There's no hassle, and the savings are great. If you beed specialized LEGAL advice or assistance on this subject, the services of a professional person is recommended.
Report 17
HOW TO MAKE A FORTUNE WITH CLASSIFIED ADS
Are you ready to make money - lots of it? Can you spare a little time and just a few dollars? If you are prepared to fulfill your dreams and realize your goals, mail order classified ads are your ticket to success.
You have what it takes - right now. Classifieds are the best dollar-for-dollar return in advertising, and you can earn a high profit on your product investment.
Classified ads are the easiest to write, the easiest to place, and cost the least. They require only a simple follow-up, and bring in hundreds of dollars of sales.
People read classified ads for a purpose. They aren't interrupted - as in most advertising - and are specifically looking for products, services and information that appeal to them. As well-placed classified ads will bring hundreds - thousand - of replies month after month, year after year.
You don't have to have a special background to make money with mail order classifieds. Any beginner can realize a steady second income or develop a stable, full-time business through classified ads.
But you have to be persistent. You must WANT TO MAKE MON EY, and be willing to stick with it. If you do, you will find that being successful is easy - just follow the steps, one by one, climbing the ladder to the top.
WHAT SHOULD I SELL?
Take a look at the classified ads in the magazines and tabloids you read. They are filled with offers for services, products and information. And they sound good. The ads show enthusiasm about the materials being offered.
What gets you going? There are many things you find of special interest constantly. Could you offer those for sale? Do you have a special trade or service that can be conducted by mail? Maybe you have a product to distribute, such as stamps or coins, a timesaving gadget, or a do-it-yourself kit. Or perhaps you can tap into wholesale or surplus goods that you can sell at a good profit. Bargains are always in demand.
The most successful type of mail order product is INFORMATION. Specialized information in the form of ideas, money-savers of self-improvement can be easily produced on a low budget and readily SOLD AT A HUGE PROFIT.
Information in the form of how to make or do something is a constant best-seller. People are always looking for simpler, or cheaper, or better ways to improve their crafts. What can you offer?
THE 2-STEP APPROACH
The proven method of selling mail order items of information is called the two-step approach. Basically, you place a short classified ad in the back of a magazine or tabloid. The ad does not mention price, but tells the reader to write for free details. Once you have an inquiry, you then send information concerning what you have to offer, and watch those orders pile in. Essentially, a mail order classified ad buys a name and potential business. It may just break even with the actual orders placed. The real money comes from subsequent sales.
Profit begins at the second sale and gets bigger and bigger as the sales continue.
WHY NOT CHARGE IN THE CLASSIFIED?
You'll get far more responses from an ad for free information than you will for gods - at any price. And, since you want a POTENTIAL BUYER, you'll have more inquiries for materials you want to sell later.
Charging a small fee to cover postage or the cost of the inquiry will never make you break even - people won't be bothered. And a small fee doesn't necessarily weed out non-buyers. If you find your classified is pulling people who aren't interested in your offer, you can change the advertisement to be more specific as to what you really have for sale.
WHERE TO PLACE CLASSIFIEDS
The best advice in placing classifieds is to follow the leader. Find where other goods in your category are being sold and do the same. The mail order business is not a place to be real different - especially as a beginner. Although your product must have an appeal different than the others. Stay with the pack and advertise in the same publications.
Look for repeat business. You can review back issues of publications at your library or buy some copies of the publications you might advertise in. If a certain ad has appeared time after time, you can bet it's a winner.
Write for the details of some of the offers similar to the one you have. You might even purchase a sample product or two so you can get a good feeling for what is being offered, how the ads run, and what kind of prices are successful.
If you have a specific product or information that is appropriate to a specialized type of magazine, check out all the magazines of that topic. Which publication carries most of the ads? What is the circulation of the of the publication? A magazine with a higher circulation may cost more to place a classified, but bargain rate publication won't be the best investment if they don't bring the inquiries.
Consider your dollar-for-dollar inquiry. How many people may read your advertisement for the cost it takes to place the ad? Many products have special seasons, and classified ads are no different. December generally returns varied responses because of the holiday season, and is not a good month to include in your testing. The sum mer months are generally slower for classified responses and mail order packages. The best time to try your ads are the fall, winter and spring months.
WHAT IS TESTING?
The most important element in mail order advertising is to test. Not only do you need to find out if your product will sell, but you have to find out what the best price is.
You have to test the magazines. One may not draw as many responses as another. Or, after three months, it may not seem to pull at all. Then switch to another publication. You may try several publications at the same time with the same ad to be able to judge which has the best dollar-for-dollar response.
Don't be too hasty in dropping a publication, however. Sometimes it takes the repeat insertions of three or four months to get the proper percentage of responses. People become more secure with a repeat ad, or they may pass it by the first or second time until they get around to writing for information.
Other things you will be testing are the type of inquiry and the response package that contains a sales letter and brochure. You'll also need to test the frequency and number of times to continue mailings after you have a good customer list.
Testing is the name of the game - and this is where you need perseverance. Don't get discouraged. GIVE IT A TRY. Because of the low cost of placing classifieds, it's worth it to keep it going. YOU CAN PROFIT.
TYPES OF ADS
There are three types of classified ads - qualified, partially qualified, and blind.
The qualified ad is specific. It includes several details to inform the reader about what you are selling. The people who respond to highly qualified ads usually are specifically interested, and produce the best quality prospects with the highest percentage of sales. Since the ad may be a few words longer, it is the most expensive to place.
The partially qualified ad offers a special benefit, such as money or self-improvement. The readers have some idea of what you are offering, but don't know the specifics.
Blind ads offer only the few details, are inexpensive to run because they are short, and bring in the largest response. However, blind ads product the lowest percentage of actual orders because they are often answered just out of curiosity.
The best place to start is - you guessed - the middle. A partially qualified ad is a good test ad. It doesn't need to be specific about your product, so it brings in inquiries that can be used over and over for related items. You can rewrite it with more details or trim it down later.
What's the best guideline? PROFIT. If you compare the actual orders received from the number of inquiries for each of your ads, you have the rate of conversion. Aim for the ads which pull best for you.
KEYING THE ADDRESS
How do you determine what inquiry response cam e form which ad? You code the company name or street address so you can dtermine what ad pulled the response. This is called keying the address, and it's one of the most important tips in mail order classified advertising.
The simple key is a two-part letter and number code. The letter stands for the name of the publication, and the number represents the month the ad appeared. You can make up any code as long as you keep track of what publication it appeared in. You can add the key to the address by hyphenating the street address to include the code. Or you can key the company name by adding specific initials.
The surest way to key is to add the code to the address in the form of department, division, or suite number. Be careful it doesn't conflict with any other addresses nearby.
WRITING CLASSIFIEDS
Writing your own copy for a classified ad is easy. There are so few words you need to use that you don't have to worry about being a writer or a professional in advertising. You are your own expert in selling your product.
The selection of words is the most important aspect of classified ad copy. You need to choose precisely, by don't skimp on words to save the cost in the ad.
The best way to prepare copy is to first write about your product or service at length. Go ahead - list all the benefits. Scrutinize the features and write them down. What sticks out? What is so great about your product? What can it do for the reader who will take the time to write for more information? How can your product help? Will it show how to earn money, does it offer self-improvement, can it help accomplish something appealing and significant?
Choose a heading that points out the most significant aspect or feature of your product. Follow up with a few words or details, and finish with a request to write for more information. The best word in a classified is "free," but you must follow up with something free.
SAVE MONEY PLACING ADS
Most classified ads are billed a certain charge per word, so you want to keep your words important and precise. Once you have written your ad, take a closer look at it. Can you eliminate extra words without changing the meaning?
You might be able to delete conjunction such as "and," articles like "the," "a," and "an," or prepositions like "for," "with," or "from." Perhaps you can contract your company name into initials or use just one word.
Each part of your address counts as one word: the number; the street name; the street aspect (boulevard, avenue); the key (if separate); the city; and the state. Many publishers let you include the zip code free of charge.
Use figures rather than words for numbers, but don't use contractions or abbreviate. You have to pay for each word in full, so spell them out completely. That way you'll get no confusion when people place orders.
RESPONDING TO INQUIRIES
Once you start getting responses from the classified ads, you should send out your sales literature immediately, definitely within one week. The goal is to convert the inquiry into a sale and convert the sale into PURE PROFIT.
Your sales literature can be a one-page pitch for your product. It doesn't have to be an expensive color catalog. As you get going, you may prepare a sales package and a series of follow-up offers.
You can't tell from the type of inquiry whether the person is a buyer or not. Postcards or letters are potential profit makers for you. What's important is to MAKE A SALE.
Type the person's name and address on a label and make at least three carbon copies of these labels to use for subsequent mailings. Your second sales packet should be mailed a month after the inquiry was received, and another month after that.
Follow-up sales are where you are going to MAKE YOUR FOR TUNE. Your classified draws the inquiries, the first order establishes a good customer, and the rest of the orders are pure gold. Testing is the only way to find which plan works best for you in getting orders. You'll need to find out which sales packet works best, and how often to make mailings.
THE RESPONSE PACKAGE
A typical mail order package - called a conversion - consists of a personal letter, a brochure, an order form, and a return envelope. How elaborate you wan to make your conversion depends on how successful your product seems to be selling and how much money you want to invest.
Always start small. A simple one-page offer can work as well as a fancy catalog. After you've built up a few good selling product, you might print up a single page brochure or catalog. Even at that, you don't have to go to color unless your product warrants it.
You don't need an advertising agency to put together your sales packet, but you can use one if you want. Be sure to investigate the type of agency and what it can do for you. You should have an agency with a proven background in mail advertising, and you must take a good look at what has already been produced. Talk with clients and see if the agency pulled through for them.
Why don't you need an ad agency? Because you can produce all the sales literature you need. You are the best sales person for your product because YOU KNOW IT. If you have done the proper research, you have already found out what the competition is, how much their products cost, and what sales appeals they are sending out.
As in placing and writing classified ads, do what the competition is doing. Although you shouldn't - and can't, legally - take directly from them, you certainly can copy the format and general ideas they project.
If somebody has been selling something successfully for years, do the same thing. Adapt your product to fit. Of course, you can't convert a sales pitch for surplus goods to an appeal for a self-improvement book, but take notice of WHAT SELLS PRODUCTS.
HOW TO PREPARE SALES LITERATURE
The sales letter promotes you as well as your product. It is a personal appeal to a potential buyer. You want the person to feel special and have a reason not only to look through the rest of the literature, but TO BUY YOUR PRODUCT.
The appearance of the sales letter is the most important aspect. It should be on company letterhead, cleanly printed, and inviting to read. Although it can be any length, it doesn't have to be more than one page. But it must be double-spaced and typewritten in clear, easy-to-read type.
The most effective sales letters are printed in two colors. The second color offers eye appeal and provides emphasis in selling the benefits of your products. The most inexpensive way to product two-color is to print black on two-color letterhead. You may use the second color in alternate paragraphs, or as special paragraphs, indented to catch the eye. Blue, red or green type is harder to read, so keep the second color areas short and important to the reader.
Other effective ways to use a second color are as handwritten remarks in the margins of the sales letter, as underlines, and in the signatures.
Write the sales letter as though you're writing to a friend - keep it direct and personal. Present yourself and your product as worthwhile, honest and desirable.
The beginning of the letter should have a lead line similar to a classified ad. It emphasizes the benefits of the product and points out the strongest appeal.
Don't be tempted to use two or three appeals in a row. Choose only one and save the next best ones to try on other sales letters as you test the results.
Follow through on the appeal, amplifying WHY the product is desirable. Emphasize its value to the reader. Build credibility. Will it make me a better, or richer, or more secure person? Can it prevent worry, poverty, illness? Why should anyone want to have it? You might admit what the product won't do, then present several positive aspects, stating what it will do.
In the next section, mention price and immediately talk about the money-back guarantee. The reader will be more convinced the product will do all you claim if you are willing to stand by your product enough to offer a full refund.
Finally, restate the major benefits or feature of the product and push for the order. If you are offering a special premium for ordering immediately, state it here. Include a good reason for why the person should not wait, but ORDER NOW.
ORDER FORMS
If you have only a one-page sales pitch, you need to provide space for an order form. It should be well-defined by a line or dotted line around it, and should be large enough for someone to write in the information. If you plan to send out a complete packet with sales letter and brochure, print up separate order forms.
Mention the benefit, the product name, and the guarantee. You might want to use the first person in pushing for the order. For example, "Yes! Please rush me my..." Include the price on the card, perhaps in a manner such as, "I enclose my check for $ ."
Provide adequate space for the name and address with long lines to write on. You may also want to place a key if you are using more than one sales appeal.
PRINTING A BROCHURE
Preparing a brochure or sales catalog is not as difficult as it may seem. It doesn't have to be a glossy, four-color fancy booklet. You can send out even a one-page description of the product and an appeal for ordering.
The brochure or sales catalog is the visual representation of your product. It emphasizes the features rather than the benefits, and goes into detail about the product. Think about what you're selling. What are the best points of sale? If it's printed information, what is the format-size, number of pages, hardcover or soft. Is the author a well-known authority? How is this a better deal than another of the same subject?
If you're selling a product, maybe you'll need to include the colors available, sizes, or the type of materials. Or emphasize the clear, easy-to-follow instructions that are included. When you get stuck, just look at all the other catalogs and compare. What information is included? Follow suit.
The important aspect of a brochure is the use of illustrations. Again, these don't need to be series of four-color photographs. Although photos are very good ways to sell goods, don't bother to use anything that is less than excellent in quality. Be careful if you want to use a model. Remember, you WANT TO SELL.
An excellent way to illustrate your product is with simple lithe drawings. Even if you cannot prepare the final artwork, you probably can think of what you want and how to place it on the page. Local yellow pages, newspaper ads, typesetters and printers are good places to find an artist to do the final work at a reasonable price.
Once you have a good idea about the size and scope of your brochure, you're ready for the rough layout. And this is easy. Just pretend you're an artist. That's right - you don't have to draw to do a rough layout. Pencil in the type for the heading. You can do a stick figure sketch of a line drawing or indicate the size of the photograph. Draw lines to indicate the body copy.
Write out all the words for the brochure in accurate, clean typewritten copy. Don't forget anything that will be printed, and don't misspell anything. Then take it to a typesetter or printer. Printers usually can work with you to help choose the type style, size and particulars about the layout. Or, they may know artists or designers who can help you for a small fee. They usually work closely with a few typesetters, but you work directly with a typesetter to have the type put into final form.
MAILING
You can obtain a bulk rate permit at the post office if you send out at least two hundred identical pieces at a time. They must be presorted for destination. The bulk rate cost is lower, but it takes much longer for the mail to be delivered.
The most important aspect to mailing your sales literature is the quality of the list of people you are sending it to. A brilliant sales piece won't work it if is not sent to the right people. That's why you must be clear when you place your original classified ad, and that's why you need to test which heading to use and how many details to include.
Your own mailing list is the best one, because - since you keyed the responses - you know what these people responded to. You have already profiled the potential buyer, you have already written a sales piece aimed at that buyer, and YOU WILL MAKE MONEY from that buyer.
Although you can buy or rent lists of names and addresses form list broker, you can never by sure how well the list will respond to your sales package. If you need more names, just place more classified ads. Test different headings, test different magazines, and test different products.
KEEPING RECORDS
It is extremely important to keep accurate records in mail order. It is only through these record sheets that you can determine which ad pulls the best, which advertising lead is the most enticing, and how well your product is selling. Good records are the follow up of good testing.
Keep copies of all ads and conversion material in a three-ring binder or scrapbook. You may also include in that book - or a separate folder - a record of all the keys you have used. The separate sheets of records per key or publication will help you be able to compare which ads are bringing in the profits.
You can make your own record sheet with a pen and ruler. Then have a few photocopied. You'll need a separate sheet for each ad you place. At the top of the sheet, place the name of the publication the ad appeared in; the issue number or date; the date the issue was placed on sale; the address key; the size and cost of the ad; which ad you used; the price of the product; and - to be calculated later - the profit.
The main body of the record sheet has two main categories: inquiries and sales. First, the number of days should be listed in a column at the left. These don't necessarily coincide with the days of the month, rather start with the first days responses came in. The subheads under "inquiries" should be: date received, number received, running total. the subheads under "orders" should be number of orders received, running total, cash sales, and running total for cash sales.
These record sheets will help you to figure out the responses to classified ads, orders from sales literature, and how much money you are making.
To calculate the cost per inquiry, divide the cost of the ad into the number of inquiries received.
To fine the cost per order, add the total cost of mailing the sales packets to the cost of the ad and divide that by the number of orders received.
The ratio of conversion is the number of orders compared to the number of inquiries. For example, if you get twenty orders fromone hundred inquiries, the conversion is twenty percent.
HOW TO CALCULATE PROFIT
Total the amount of cash sales. That is your gross profit. Subtract the cost of the product. Subtract the cost of the product. Subtract the cost of mailing. Subtract the cost of conversion and the cost of the ad. That is your net profit, the one that counts. Just stick with it, and you can WATCH THAT PROFIT GROW bigger and bigger each ad, each conversion, each sale.
EXPANDING AND GROWING RICHER
Over the years, good buyers purchase many times your initial investment in classified ad space. A first buyer indicates a second sale; after that, you have a regular customer who may purchase for years.
Promote the field of interest you've selected - don't expand into separate areas. Cultivating your prime customer list takes patience and testing, but you'll find it rewarding.
Perhaps you started with one product to offer and are ready to try another. You can run new, separate classified ads in the magazines that have tested successfully to your other offer. And, you can use your list to send out sales literature for the new offer. Regular mailings depend on the number of items you have, the size of your list, and your budget. But follow through is very important.
Maybe you are at the stage of printing a small, two page catalog/brochure that offers five to ten products. You can mail this out to the inquiries from classifieds, or you can use any combination of one-page offers you have used in the past. Always run with what sell. Drop anything that pulls no response as soon as you've given it a fair test.
EXTRA APPEALS
Once you get rolling with your mail order business, you can try any number of incentives to solicit orders. You can offer a free gift - or free anything - certificates, coupons, fabulous prizes.
You might offer a sample, a trial period, or a special guarantee. One way to push for an order is to indicate that the supply is limited or you won't stock a certain item for long. Time limitations will elicit quicker responses. You may offer one price until a certain time and then indicate an increase after that.
A successful way to push for large orders is to offer a discount on the larger orders. That way, it is worthwhile to order two or more items - for you because it's more business and more profit in mailing and handling, and for the customer because it is at a reduced price.
What do the other mail order businesses do? What kind of incentives do they use? As always, check with the competition. What has proven successful to them probably will work for you too. What kind of "special" offer you can make to push for larger, quicker or more frequent orders?
SATISFACTION GUARANTEED
Not only must you print a guarantee in all your ads and sales literature, but you must honor it. Never send inferior merchandise; never take a chance on faulty mailers or guess lower on postage. Deliver a complete product.
It is only through satisfied customers that you will get repeat business, and it is through repeat business that you MAKE MORE MONEY.
Don't try to get away with anything less than you promote and stand by all claims you make. Honor requests for refunds promptly and politely. A customer satisfied with your honesty remains a good buyer and may purchase from your later offers.
MAKING MORE FROM A WINNER
You've got a successful product. The conversion for orders is high, refunds are low, and the draw form the classified ad is great. How can you make more money - even if you think you've saturated your market?
The easiest way to increase your inquiries is to run another ad in the same publication with a different heading. If the classified section is large, you might request one to be placed at the beginning, the other towards the end. Although several clever readers will notice the same address, it still draws a significant number of inquiries in. This technique is also good for copy testing to see which heading will draw the most response. Be sure to key each ad separately and keep accurate records.
Maybe you have two or more products that you want to advertise separately. This is a good way to do it without going to other publications. Again, key addresses, and be extra careful to respond properly to the inquiries.
YOU AND THE LAW
You do not need a special federal or state permit to operate a mail order business. The material you sell must be legitimate however, and you cannot be deceptive or misleading in claims or advertising.
If you offer something "free," it must be free, and all claims concerning money must be honored.
If you use testimonials in advertising, they must be real and available to investigation. Frauds are discovered and are prosecuted.
The federal and state governments require you to report all income, but you certainly can take every legal deduction. Once you make a good deal of money, it's often worth every penny to have an accountant fill in your forms. If your income warrants it, you will be expected to pay income tax quarterly.
Most states now have sales tax, so you'll have to find out the regulations concerning the collection and payment of these fees. An advantage to this, however, is that you can get a state resale number and may not have to pay state sales tax on some of the items you need for your business.
If you keep accurate records and report the proper information to the authorities, you'll have no problems.
ACT NOW
Classified ads are the best way to make a high income return from limited sources. You can buy the extras you've wanted, send yourself on an exotic vacation - even create a profitable yearly income.
One of the best aspects of this type of enterprise is that the number of successes increase as the number of errors decrease. You learn as you go along and YOU PROFIT CONSTANTLY.
Cultivate positive thought. As you can see, there is nothing difficult, costly or extremely risky in making good money from clas si fied ads. What is the best way to get started?
Thousands of people have earned a comfortable income from classified ads - with great happiness and contentment in their own business. You can succeed too, if you make up your mind that you want to. Faith is simply a state of mind, but it has been proven that state of mind can CHANGE DESIRE INTO REAL MONEY. There's no better time to get started.
Report 18
HOW TO ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING YOU WANT IN LIFE
Take a look at yourself - inside and out. Where do you live, what job do you have, how do you relate to your friends and family? What interests do you pursue, what adventures do you have?
What do you truly want from life? Do you want wealth and success, happiness and peace of mind? Do you want a family and a yard , a yacht or a sports car? Where are you going? Do you have a particular goal or are you just wandering through life?
You can accomplish anything you want in life - that's true. Once you have a particular goal, you can fulfill that desire by straightforward commitment and total conviction.
But what if you don't know what you want? Maybe your goals are small ones - like losing some weight, or buying a new car. Maybe getting a promotion of finding a mate. Whether you want a bigger apartment or want to be a corporation president, any avenue of prosperity and achievement is open to you if it is truly what you want.
No goal is too small; no dream is too big. And even if you aren't clear on your desires, you can tap into your subconscious mind to get the answers and to find the paths to success.
Can you change your life - do you want to? Can you picture yourself as your most perfect image of accomplishment? How does it feel? If you have the desire to attain goals, the commitment to follow through and the ability to creatively imagine yourself in the position you dream of, you are more than halfway there.
The most successful leaders and artists throughout history have followed specific paths and attained their hearts' desires. Keep an open mind and a hopeful outlook - then change your thinking. Put on the clothes of success. Act as though you already have accomplished your desires. Then let the reality catch up.
WHAT DO YOU WANT?
Take a choice: money, health, physical energy, beauty, creativity, recognition, power, adventure, contentment, achievement, self-expression, authority, love, peace of mind, enlightenment. Would you like any of these? If you are like most people today, you probably want ALL of these.
But if you search your true desires, you might find that there are a few things you want more than others. And, if you keep going in your search, you'll find one desire that has been with you your whole lifetime and is the one path you need to follow.
Although money is the obvious desire, it is usually not the final goal. Indeed, money can, and does buy happiness - up to a point. Once you have enough money to be financially secure or to purchase the material objects you want, the true desire might be something else.
Love is the goal of every person's heart. Whether it is love of a mate, or a family, or respect and recognition from peers and fellow workers, love is the ageless pursuit. The mystics say that love is the sole purpose of life- to give love and to find it.
But love comes in many forms. Not only is there the overt display of affection or true inner feelings, but there is the self-respect and inner contentment that goes with accomplishment. For some people, true peace of mind will never be attained until they complete some creative tasks or achieve certain heights in business.
Many people seek the authority that comes with a good position in a job. Along with that can come recognition and fame. Although you may want the money that is associated with high management levels, many people simply seek that satisfaction of working from the inner circles.
The goal of every person regardless of background and material desires, is health. A sound body is the gift that will get you to the other goals. Even a new diet and exercise plan can give you more energy - the energy you'll need to accomplish success.
Adventure and travel is a driving force for many people. They may seek jobs that involve travel, or they may be looking forward to taking time off to visit the exotic ports and see the other side of the world. If you don't want a long journey, perhaps you'd just like a few weeks in a sunny resort or the luxury of a summer and winter vacation each year.
And then there is creativity and self-expression. What about the book you're going to write or the watercolor class you'd like to take? Creative expression is a wonderful inner release that boosts confidence and gives you something to accomplish. Finally, regardless of wealth and health, expression and love, everyone is looking for peace of mind. That's not to say emptiness of mind, but to be rid of petty worries and confusion, to be finished with fears and live in total awareness. It surely is the ultimate lifetime goal.
CATCH UP WITH YOURSELF
Now's the time to evaluate your life and your desires. Go ahead and test yourself - nobody's looking. Try to find out what your inner desires really are. Once you know, you can formulate a plan of action, and then achieve your goals.
Right now, write down three things you want. Don't spend time thinking about them - just write them down. You may be surprised at what you want. Can you see any relation to the types of desires most sought for?
What accomplishment are you most proud of? What make you happy - happy enough to be content, to feel totally relaxed, and to slide back with a smile on your face.
Without dwelling on failures, mistakes, or past ill feelings, quickly list the important accomplishments or your life. Think about the places you went to, the relationships you encountered, the education you received. Consider your job changes and positions, and the achievements related to work.
Put a star next to the most important accomplishments of your life. Is there any correlation with the list of the three things you want most?
MAKE PLANS
Before you go any further with your life, make a list for your future. Write it down - don't just think it. What would you like to accomplish in the next ten years? A new house, a high-paying position, a home in a new city, a trip around the world?
Break that list down into those things you'd like to accomplish in the next five years. Then make one further division into the next six months. What can you do in the next few months to further you towards your long-term goals?
GOAL SHEET
My most important desires are:
In my lifetime, the most important things I've accomplished:
If I looked back on my lifetime in 20 years, I'd like to have accomplished:
Within 10 years, I'd like to achieve:
Within 5 years, I'd like to achieve:
In the next six months to a year, these are the things I'm going to do to work towards by goals:
Regardless of your family commitments or your personal relationships; regardless of your business enterprises or any false sense of achievement, what do you really want?
Give yourself credit for your past accomplishments, and give yourself credit for your future achievements. You can and will attain all your goals, both long-term and short-term if you approach them in a step-by-step fashion and if you believe that they are worthwhile for you.
YOU ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN YOUR LIFE.
Although you can be considerate of your environment and all the people in it, first consider yourself. Your well-being, your happiness, your success. Make a pact with yourself right now that you will achieve your goals. And make them realistic to reach. Then one by one, make your own life the success it deserves.
BEFORE THE RACE - RELAX
An important step in achieving goals is to be able to relax. You'll get nowhere is your body and mind are nervous and flitty, jumping from one place or idea to another. In order to focus on your goal, you must center your being.
Relaxation is the balance of the mental, spiritual and physical aspects of yourself. Set aside time each day for deep relaxation - not sleep, but relaxation. The state of deep relaxation is a state of meditation. There are no thoughts in your mind. There are no physical ills or discomforts. You breathe in deeply, allowing the lungs to fill with fresh air, and you exhale all used and stale air. The blood circulates amply throughout every part of your body. You drift through space, ever towards your true destiny.
Exercise or sports is a good way to get into relaxation. The body needs physical stimulation to pump blood into all its extremities, and to give the heart a good workout. Exercise is a wonderful way to let the mind relax, as you place your thoughts on the way your body moves. For many people, sports and exercise are enjoyable ways to feel alive, youthful, and fulfilled.
Then take time to relax. Lie down on your back with your arms out, palms up. Your feet should be about two feet about. You might clench your muscles first, then relax them. Allow your thoughts to drift, but don't get caught in them. Watch them go by, as if they belong to somebody else.
If you have a special problem, tuck that in the back of your mind - don't dwell on it up front. Let yourself and your emotions go. Breathe out the negative feelings and emotions; breathe in positive, life-giving air. Float freely. Relax. ASSUME THE BEST. Expect to achieve; expect to accomplish your desires; expect to win. Accept less, but push on to attain more. The higher your goals, the further you'll go.
The moon is no problem, nor are the neighboring planets. Soon human beings will see close-ups of other star and galaxies. Don't go for less that your full potential. Shoot for the universe. You owe yourself nothing less.
And aside from the universe, keep yourself on Earth, in your office or studio, working closer to those goals you want to attain.
You have a right to be happy. You have the means to be successful. You can succeed in what you desire.
Always keep in mind the fact that you are in transit, attaining your goals, moving through life as though you are an actor, and the setting is a stage.
Keep your thoughts firmly planted on prosperity, good fortune and lucky breaks. Assume that you will, in fact, nearly have accomplished your goals. It is with that attitude that successful people achieve.
DO YOU HAVE THE POTENTIAL?
Within you is the power to accomplish anything you want. But it will not happen if you are not tuned into your true desires. Don't fool yourself into compromising for less than a complete goal. If you want to be an artist, you may not be the world's most famous artist, but if you have that inclination, you will be an artist. If you want to succeed in business, you may not be another financier/mega-millionaire, but you will succeed in your endeavors.
Most people need accomplishment feedback. After all, what's so great about achieving something if nobody cares? And it's important to receive that recognition and feel that love.
Set goals that you can achieve. Divide them into little tidbits that you can accomplish every day, every month, every year. Set your goals for success.
Then reap the rewards c constantly - each step of the way. Pat yourself on the back for a job well done, then move on. Start immediately to accomplish the goals you have set. In fact, give yourself a task that you can finish by tomorrow. Think of yourself as a success in your endeavors. Dwell on the idea that you are compelled to accomplish your goals, and live and breathe them until you have them.
Can you see yourself a year from now, having achieved a few goals? Can you make the decision and commitment to become successful in your desires? Then you have the potential to accomplish anything you want.
THE POWER OF SELF-IMAGE
Visualizing yourself as a success in your field of endeavor is the inside tip in accomplishing anything you want. If you can specifically imagine being the person you want to become, you will attain that reality.
Forgive yourself. Just as you would another person, tell yourself that it's okay for all those mistakes, or the should-haves that keep popping up in your mind. Don't dwell on the past and get blocked by events from long ago.
Let go of fears and anxieties. Although it certainly is easier said than done, learn to change negative thoughts into a positive action. Are you afraid of poverty - that you'll never make ends meet, or never buy that house, or be destitute once you stop working? Then turn that into the positive goal of financial security.
Do people make you anxious? Maybe you feel inferior, not as good as others. Everybody has feelings of inadequacy. Just turn them around into positive goals. You may be paralyzed by the thoughts that you are unattractive. It is your thoughts that make it a reality. Change your modes of behavior and you will make friends. In most cases, it is your own negative thoughts that cause you to stay stuck in whatever place you're in. Keep moving. Take the risks. You may need to change your job, or move to another city. You might take up a sport or hobby. Become active in your life - participate. And you will grow into the image you see for yourself.
SUCCESS IN BUSINESS
Perhaps the most sought-after goal in our present society is success in business. Whether you want to be promoted into high paying management positions, or wish to start your own independent enterprise, knowledge of the business world is important.
As you plan a course of action towards accomplishing your goal, keep in mind the small goals that put you closer to the end. And be prepared to change often. You may need to change companies, or take the opportunities in other departments as those positions open.
Create an aura of success around you. People who are successful dress that way. Even if you're not in a high-income bracket, act as though you have already achieved - without being egotistical or overspending.
Develop an expertise in an area. Don't keep special information to yourself, but be quick to learn all there is about your position and the tasks surrounding getting that job done. Capitalize on your strengths, and let others help you develop your weaknesses into assets.
Get to know the people in the company and the people in the industry. Read all the trade journals and magazines relating to your company. Make appointments with people who are successful in your field and learn from them.
You need to have a total commitment to succeed in business. Most people who make it to the executive boardroom put i long hours, often at the sacrifice of everything else. Regardless of the physical effort involved, you must mentally be engrossed in your business and the company enterprises.
In order to help yourself develop fully, you might seek a mentor, someone who will offer you time and teach you the ropes. This person usually is someone who believes in your ability, someone who you can develop a mutually beneficial business relationship with.
Some people become friendly with all their co-workers and find that is a way to advance. But don't try to be extroverted if it's not real to you. Most people who successfully run their own businesses are individuals who like to work alone.
As you increase your activities and accomplishments, you increase your potential to reach higher. The more you achieve, the more confidence you develop to achieve more. You don't have to be the same as everyone else and fit like a vegetable in a patch. Be unique, different. Capitalize on your own self-image. Don't fall victim to self-consciousness. And trust your intuition. Hunches and inner feelings usually are the best route to travel, regardless of what seems to be the logical choice. Make decisions quickly and with firmness. A true leader will handle these responsibilities efficiently. That's what makes you different and why you'll rise to the top.
Be persistent in attaining your goals, but be open and sincere. Many people choose not to increase their own accompliness. It surely is the ushments and will give you the right-of-way to be successful.
If you are having personal difficulties with any co-workers, try to know more about these people from a personal angle. Be interested in them and their accomplishments and goals. You might be able to turn opposition into friendship.
Above all, use your integrity. If the goal is not worthy of your inner desires, it will be hard to attain. If your methods are not sincere, you will receive opposition. If your actions are not honest, you will suffer the consequences. Turn all negative qualities into positive aspects - then watch yourself achieve.
TIPS ON ATTAINING WEALTH
Many people want money as a primary goal. And there certainly is nothing wrong with desiring money. But first, be sure that your true goal is money. Can you live, breathe, eat, and sleep money? Do you dream about money, and want it more than anything?
For true money-seekers, you must be your own boss. The great money-makers all started and ran their own businesses. And, even though it seems as though all the good ideas have already been taken, there are plenty out there.
The secret of the wealthiest people is to find a special need and fill it. Like quick-food chains; like supermarkets; like electronic games. Whether you invent a new toy or gadget, or see a spot to market special items in a new way, the world is open to true entrepreneurs. And they do make it.
LEARN YOUR TRADE
Almost any goal you choose - whether riches and material abundance or spiritual attainment - requires learning. How much education do you have? Do you want more? Perhaps your goal is to get another degree or to secure a special license.
There are countless opportunities to learn more about your own industry or to learn about a new skill. Not only do you have the colleges and universities, but there are many trade schools, correspondence schools, and special groups that teach skills - at very reasonable prices.
KEEP THE END IN MIND
What do you need to know to get to where you want to be? You may not need a degree, but the actual experience. So you'd need to change jobs or accept a part-time job at night to develop your skills.
More than ever, people are leaving their present occupations to learn a new trade and then starting at the bottom again to be happy in their work. Maybe you'll need to put in extra hours at work now so that you can save money to take the time off next year.
Even though most entry level positions are offered to the younger people, you can find many companies willing to give you a chance to change your occupation. Many times you might find an older master willing to apprentice you to learn the skill or trade.
Once you're enrolled to learn new skills, put everything towards learning. Apply yourself one hundred percent. Take advantage of asking questions and getting criticism from teachers and fellow students. Read everything you can study well. It is your developing expertise that will get you ahead and closer to your goal.
It's always a good time to learn more. Even if you are happy in your job,expanding yourself through education is a very rewarding activity. Take dacing or tennis, gourmet cooking or sculpture. Any activity is taught and shared by many enthusiasts.
STOP WASTING TIME
Consider the most important things you need to accomplish. These are high priorities. Then think about those things that seem to take up a lot of time and get you nowhere. Those are the low priorities.
Understand what's important to achieve and do those things first. Let go of all the busywork for paperwork that piles up. It's better for you to stack those low priorities somewhere else and finish the important material than to spend time clearing your desk to get down to the essential things.
You'll be noticed more quickly for the big things you achieve than for keeping paper flowing. Don't let co-workers waste your time with chitchat if you've got things to accomplish. Save that for lunch hours or for after work social activities.
Handle paper once; decide the action and finish with it. Keep interruptions to a minimum and delegate responsibilities. Although you'd like to believe you're indispensable to the job and you are the only one to take care of many things, you can teach someone else and move on to your own goal achievements.
DON'T PROCRASTINATE.
What are you waiting for? Few opportunities are thrown at you; you have to create the right positions and situations to move up. Make lists of things you want to accomplish and do them.
If you're busy in an office situation, make daily lists and reward yourself with praise upon completion. Catch yourself achieving.
Concentrate on what you're doing and do one thing at a time. But do it quickly and handle the next thing. Be efficient in telephone calls, maybe taking them at appointed times or calling back at your convenience.
Don't generate copies or correspondence that make you look like you are doing things. Your superiors will know what you accomplish. Be busy doing important things rather than writing about what you've done.
And take the time for physical exercise. It will energize you - not take away from your effectiveness. It relaxes your mind and stimulates your capacity to achieve.
LOOK WITHIN
An inner core of all accomplishment is the positive energy from the subconscious. If your subconscious mind has tapped into your goal and believes it is good for you, your energies will direct themselves towards that goal.
You can consciously create circumstances and conditions of environment and physical presence. But it is that level behind the outwardly physical that directs your true being. When the subconscious mind accepts an idea, the inner power will complete it.
That's why you can accomplish anything you want - by creating all outward manifestations to trigger your subconscious into action. As you decide on your goals and write them down, repeat them twice a day out loud. This in essence brings it to the inner level.
When you think about your goals and desires, the subconscious hears it. So direct your energies - both outer and inner - to your goal with one-pointed devotion. In that way, you can control your destiny.
In order to connect to your inner self, relax - let your thoughts go. Feel that part within you that actually makes the decisions - the reflexes, the instincts, the intuition and hunches. Let your mind be quiet from its usual chatter.
Some people present problems to their inner consciousness by asking themselves a question before they fall asleep. Often the answer is in their minds when they wake up.
Clarity rids confusion. If you find you're filled with worries and anxieties, spend the time to think them through. Approach them logically, considering the consequences of all possible actions. When you've made a decision, follow through and don't agonize over what-if's.
Everybody has creative potential. And you don't have to be an artist to be creative. Each moment of the day is creating your own self, becoming your true inner person.
Let yourself look within. Release the handicaps of fear and anxiety - even for a moment. You'll be relaxed and refreshed.
USE AFFIRMATIONS
The same technique has been used by great inventors, financiers, business people, political figures and enlightened beings: constant repetition of the goal and the belief that you can attain it.
Never dwell on self-criticism or what you think are your inadequacies. Instead, repeat your goals and the qualities that will make you successful.
Write out your outstanding goal. In a few words, describe what you want to attain. Then write what you will do to achieve that. What energies and efforts will you trade for that success?
Give yourself a specific date to accomplish this goal, and specific times to carry out the interim steps. Put this paper or note card in a visible place - such as taped to the mirrors - so you can review it and repeat it at least twice a day.
It is those people who convince themselves taht they are failures. And successful people believe that they will rise to the top and will achieve their goals. Believe in yourself. You are everything worth believing in.
CREATIVE VISUALIZATION
Form the habit of accomplishment. With every step you take and every decision you make, bring yourself closer to your goals. Walk through your life with this sense of direction and they will come to you.
Develop self-confidence and esteem. Assert yourself and acquire all the excellent qualities and traits you admire most. What is your ultimate goal? How to you see yourself? Be specific. Precisely specific. Visualize the place you live in - the rooms, the paintings on the walls, the furniture and swimming pool. Consider the family situation and financial stability. Think about the place you'll be living in.
Then look at yourself. What clothes are you wearing and what do you look like? Consider your physique, your hair, the condition of your body.
Then think about the things you do. What sports do you play, what groups do you belong to?
As if you've already accomplished your desires, look bhack and see what you did to get to where you are. Think about the classes you took, the jobs you worked at, and the places you moved to. Think about the places you've traveled to and the friends you've made.
Be comfortable with your new self-image. Put it on for size and change your fantasy to adjust perfectly to you. Why don't you live as though you're already there? What's stopping you from becoming the person you are totally capable of becoming?
BECOME YOUR FULL POTENTIAL
Keep your goals and ambitions to yourself - don't share them with anyone, not yet. Write them down and refer to them. Look back at what you wrote in a month, then in a few months. Work on them constantly, and odn't be afraid to revise and rewrite. Goals are always changing.
Think in possibilities. What is possible for you to achieve in the next six months? And go for it. Don't play it safe with what you;ll probably achieve anyway. Push yourself to go further. The rewards are greater.
Feel the winning feeling. Feel successful already. Try on the clothes of total accomplishment and peace of mind. Live each day as though you have already reached your goals. There are always new ones to place in front of yourself.
Don't announce your goals. This will set you up for failure. Even is you make a pact with yourself to attain a specific goal, don't chastise yourself if you don't make it. It may have been unrealistic or you may not have tried hard enough.
Do it yourself. There is nobody better to help you achieve your desires than you. Tap into the power of the subconscious and practice being your own fantasy.
Then go ahead. Act on your convictions. Follow them through with devotions and then reap the rewards. You CAN accomplish anything you want in life.
Report 19
HOW TO RAISE UP TO $50,000 WITH YOUR CREDIT CARDS
Millions of people have an assortment of credit cards in today's almost "cashless" society. With many bank credit cards, and even department store cards, it is possible to apply under the "same name" and obtain TWO OR MORE identical cards bearing only different account numbers. Given the high limits on cards such as American Express ($20,000) and others, it is a simple procedure to raise up to $50,000 by utilizing 30 to 40 credit cards, or less if you use American Express. With the bank cards, you simply obtain a "cash advance" up to your credit limit. With the American Express and Carte Blanche cards, you can charge some merchandise such as gold coins and turn around and sell them at a discount to your friends, neighbors, etc. With enough cards, you can quickly turn any amount of discounted "merchandise" into cash.
Report 20
HOW TO BUY HOMES AND LAND FOR A FEW DOLLARS
Yes, you can buy homes, apartments and land for next to nothing by using the procedure of bidding at "tax delinquency and lien sales." These are made to recover unpaid taxes on property which is auctioned off 3 to 4 times each year.
CONTACT: For more information and available listing, check with your local tax assessor for dates. In the past people have picked up $50,000 homes for as little as $2,000, and apartments and land for similar discounts.
Report 21
GET $20,000 WORTH OF FURNITURE FREE
You can obtain free furniture and a lot of other merchandise by starting up a "Freebie Newspaper." What you do is contact store owners and merchants who normally advertise in regular local papers and offer to run their ads in exchange for FREE furniture, or other merchandise. True, you will be running their ad free, but chances are you wouldn't have a paid ad for that space either. If you promote this right, you could grow into a large operation and go into PAID circulation before you know it. In the meantime, and for as long as you like, you can continue to receive FREE merchandise in exchange for advertising.
Report 22
HOW TO GET FREE LAND IN CANADA
Detailed information is available on how to obtain free land in Canada. Large parcels are awarded based on request and eligibility. For more information, please write to either of the following:
The Department of Land and Forest,
Parliament Building,
Quebec City, CANADA,
or
Communications Group
2630 Point Grey Road,
Vancouver 8 BC, CANADA
Report 23
HOW TO RAISE $200,000 IN 24 HOURS
Many people have had opportunities presented to them where quick cash was necessary. Most people are unable to take advantage of the great opportunities because of a lack of cash.
A simple procedure is available whereby you can generate quick cash within 24 hours. The process is easy and quick but requires that you first make the preparation and lay the groundwork for the plan. You can call this plan the banking round robin.
Go to ten banks and tell the loan officer at each that you want to borrow $1000 for 30 days. Upon paying off your loans, wait 30 days and go back to each bank from which you borrowed the original $1000. This time request a larger amount depending on what you think the bank will loan, say $5000. If each bank approves a $5000 loan you will be able to raise $50,000 the second time. Continue this step-by-step process. Each time you go to the bank, ask for a larger amount and a longer pay-back period.
What you are doing, of course, is establishing a millionaires credit rating by the process of repetition. That is, you always pay back the money when it is due, and by being prompt combined with the number of loans you've made and PAID, you will have established a very powerful credit rating and relationship with the institutions. In about one year after using this process, you should be able to borrow $20,000 from each bank on your signature. Using ten banks in this plan, you will be able to borrow up to $200,000 on your signature in as little as 24 hours.
Report 24
HOW TO START YOUR OWN UNIVERSITY FOR LESS THAN $50
First, file for a certificate of incorporation of a non-profit organization with the Secretary of State where the school is to be located. Second, file an application with the IRS and Treasury Department. If you form your corporation by mail in Delaware, the cost will be less than $50 - at this writing. For detailed information, write: ENTERPRISE PUBLISHING, 501 Beneficial Building, Wilmington, DE 19804
Report 25
HOW TO OPEN AN UNTRACEABLE BANK ACCOUNT
It may have been possible in the days of swashbuckling pirates for the individual with a few extra bucks to hide his stash in a chest in the ground beneath a secret palm tree and be reasonably sure that his money was sagely hidden from other pirates like tax collectors, ex-spouses, blackmailing mistresses, suing lawyers and others whose life ambition is to make the rich poor and themselves rich. In today's world with Switzerland down-grading its secrecy laws and making numbered accounts history and more and more tax havens being infiltrated by foreign governments and their tax departments snoopers, a man's (or woman's) hard earned money is no longer his personal business. Every government's tax-robber-barons want to know all the details so that they can extort in many cases more than 50% of your assets into their tax coffers. Everybody today from tax authorities to lawyers has his proverbial nose up your financial ass." They work with the belief that they can extort gross amounts of your hard earned money because they have the power to make the rules. And after all, the golden rule states that those who have the gold, rule.
Authorities today look upon anyone who deals in cash, rather than "paper" - checks, money orders and electronic transfers, etc., as a tax evader straight and simple. Walk into most any bank today with a suitcase full of cash and immediately you are presumed a drug dealer, pimp or tax evader. Even trying to set up a bank account with a relatively small amount of cash can be a tricky situation. Cash, because it leaves no paper trail is looked upon the in the banking industry with the same scorn as a virgin at an orgy as is trying to open an account without producing high-powered ID, supplying an address for the record and filling in a detailed questionnaire of employer, marital status, etc.
You can get around some "local" regulations by opening an account by mail in almost any tax haven in the world without an ID. Sound peachy-cream in that you can use any name you want but you still usually have to furnish an address. This requirement isn't a problem to most "worldly, PT type individuals for they will usually set up a series of "resident" addresses or confidential mailing addresses through maildrops spread throughout the world. Still the risk of detection by some tax collecting vermin, judicial or government authority having records of your account down the line is more than slight unless you are very clever. How you ask, do they find you? INTERFIPOL!
Most people have heard of Interpol, the international police agency supported by many governments, but few have heard of Interfipol, "the International Fiscal Police." This organization is quietly starting to come into its own. If you happen to have, or someday create, a tax problem in any OECD country, you can rest assured that you and your money will be hunted prey. It may take some time, but your money will be taken out of circulation.
Even keeping your money is a variety of European, Asian and/or offshore banks (forget American banks for the IRS and others can "freeze" or impound your account faster than a vindictive spouse can spend it" doesn't preclude the fact that you still show up on the bank's computers as a "foreign account". With today's almost total lack of true banking secrecy, banking authorities can be persuaded to do a little computer search and give the records to snoops from other countries who are under the laughable impression that the account holder would like to "donate" some of this money to help the tax coffers overflow.
As Expat World has said in the past, "the biggest crime of all governments is government itself." Governments, at least on this planet earth, have all the prosecutors, police forces and jails. With all these perverse institutions on their side, the person who sticks out his nose too far or voices his opinion too loudly to "tease" a government will find himself, in the real world, at the mercy of Big Brother and his agents. Governments will lie, cheat and steal to feed the vast and evil bureaucracy with the money it needs to propagate itself or provide financing that is "needed" by "society" to do good things for the "needy".
Unless you bury your stash as the pirates of old or use the ONE UNTRACEABLE BANK ACCOUNT EW IS GOING TO TELL YOU ABOUT, your stash is ultimately available to Big Brother and his henchmen.
Today, many in all societies have chosen drugs as the recreation of choice. Governments have taken advantage os the massive amount of drug use to create a "red herring". In using the red herring of hunting down big-time drug sellers, they have been able to convince governmental authorities around the world to open their bank accounts to Big Brother, when in reality, what they really want is to find all the money that they suspect is being hidden away by the small to large account holder from their tax bite. Armed with the bank's records they can then hunt down your money and confiscate it under some pretence, either real or imaginary. If you can be identified as owning an account, your money isn't safe in countries with so called "bank secrecy" laws. (The trick is to have an account in a good bank-secrecy-law country in which no one but you has any idea who the owner of the account is - more on that later.) If a government agency want bad enough to know your financial position in a bank, secrecy laws in place or not, otherwise unattainable records are provided in record time. History bears this out! Drug money or related activities are the smoke screens that seem to be the key to opening secret bank accounts - no matter that the closest you've got to the drug scene is watching a Cheech and Chong movie. The prevailing theme everywhere among "Big Brothers" is that the end justifies the means. Using drug charges is quicker than trying to go a legal route by court orders and such since what the authorities are actually seeking to prevent is your try at robbery-evasion, known to them as tax evasion.
BANKING AS A CONTRIVED-EARTHLING
To open a bank account you need ID. In your own country usually a drivers license or national identity card will do. Walk into a bank abroad to open an account and it usually can be done but you must produce your passport for ID as well as an address. The bank photocopies the passport, records and your address before opening the account. In some countries, and in most offshore banking centers, it is possible to open an account by mail without any photocopy of your passport of other ID buy you still must provide an address for bank communications. The address is the weak link if you're seeking secure financial privacy. Some offshore centers like the Isle of Man require a reference from another bank or two references form professional people who will swear you are who you say you are. With any of the above options you are luring yourself into a false sense of security or have broken more laws than one wants to in trying to preserve your right to financial privacy.
All PT's are aware of owning a second passport to use for banking purposes (banking passport). This passport is almost always issued in your "pen name" and probably has a maildrop address associated with the paperwork needed to issue the passport. If you use a legally issued 2nd passport, not a forged or stolen blank, and you use it low profile and remain yourself low profile, you only have a very slight risk of future ramifications. If you are going to stash away a considerable amount of your assets, this may be the recommended way to go. You may obtain legally issued 2nd foreign passports form a broker or directly from some governments who provide second travel documents because of some "aid" you have provided to their pet government projects. Be careful with brokers for 90% of them are crooks - use only recommended or successful brokers who personally escrow the associated costs until the documents are delivered. This passport can be used for banking purposes and used in conjunction with a daisy-chain of banks through "Transit Accounts" to make your money and you almost untraceable. (Transit Account - Special Report available at US $20 from Expat World. Airmailed!)
The ins and outs of secret banking can lead to a vicious circle which eventually leads to YOU unless you are meticulous and careful - - except for "the world's only untraceable bank account". This untraceable account makes it possible for people with as little as US $50 or more than US $50 million who want to keep it secret from EVERYBODY - government snoopers, lawyers, money-grabbing ex-spouses, etc. - to need not have the cunning of James Bond in avoiding bankruptcy or capture by Big Brother's of this world.
THE "SPARBUCH" ACCOUNT
Surprisingly, the safest way to have a secret untraceable bank account is also the easiest IF you have the one connection necessary. Anyone can open a "Sparbuch" account with the right connection without showing any sort of ID whatsoever, without giving any references or any address and without having to go through a lot of circumvent moves. One of the least known and best guarded secrets in the International Banking community is the Austrian "Sparbuch" account. In privacy terms it beats any back or financial account on the planet earth. With the "Sparbuch" there is no need to create a single individual or a string of "creative references". No need to worry about ID or obtaining addresses in other countries. There's no toilet paper trail for any poop-smelling G-man to follow.
The "Sparbuch" account is as old, almost, as banking itself. All German speakers will realize it literally means "Saving Book" or more generally "Passbook". In appearance it is not very impressive - just a folded piece of cardboard with the name of the bank and a computer printout of the most recent transaction pertaining to the account.
OPENING AN ACCOUNT
Tremendous Advantages, Few Disadvantages
ADVANTAGES: First of all, if you're Austrian you will not need Expat World's services because any Austrian can simply walk into any bank in Austria, deposit any amount (by today's practices about US $50) and five minutes later walk out with a "Sparbuch".
The "Sparbuch" account does not carry a name BUT A CHOICE may be either in the name of an individual, a corporation, including offshore corporations or as we have stressed, it may be in no name at all; a so called "Euberbringer" account or "bearer-passbook". As the names implies, he who brings the books presumed to be the legal owner. An "Euberbringer-Sparbuch" is the bank equivalent to company bearer shares. In addition to the secrecy protection built into this no name, no nothing account, Austrian general bank secrecy laws make Switzerland and the rest of Europe look like they are partners with the IRS, Inland Revenue and the rest of the money stealers. With the "Sparbuch" account, additional security is provided in keeping the wolves from you door by having them not know what door to look for. No account statements are EVER mailed to account owners for the bank doesn't require an address to open the account. It may sound odd, but think of the individuals who have had their lives upset because tax authorities, ex-spouses, police or other privacy invaders have intercepted their mail. Instead of statements being sent to "Sparbuch" account holders, the "Sparbuch" is updated automatically and any interest accrued added whenever the "Sparbuch" is pre sent§ed at any branch of the issuing bank.
It is unquestionable impossible to establish just who opened the "Sparbuch" account (and who owns it) by means of checking available records - - since no record has been created except the physical "Starbuch" itself and the account number in the bank computer system. No forms to fill out, no ID to show, no nothing!
To make a deposit in "Sparbuch" cash in any currency can be hand-carried to the bank and plonk down, no questions asked. It will be converted to Austrian shillings before being credited to your account. One can mail money orders or checks to any branch of the relevant bank with a note to credit the "Sparbuch", account number such and such. SWIFT electronic transfers may be made to "Sparbuch" by registered mail or courier with and enclosed note stating that you wish to make a withdrawal and include the "Logungswort" (the code). The bank will do so provided you pay the applicable charges to have a check made out and mailed to you along with the "Sparbuch".
It is entirely legal to transfer a "Sparbuch" from one person to another without giving the bank or anyone else notice about this. In certain countries it has been made a crime by Big Brother to sell or even give away a passbook. See, Big Brother want to collect as much data about bank account holders worldwide as possible. A "Sparbuch" can be sent to someone through the mail to pay back a debt or left in a sealed envelope with a will as a loophole to beating immoral probate taxes. You can even donate the "Sparbuch" to the Save the Whales Foundation if you are so inclined.
Furthermore, the "Sparbuch" is completely safe. Even though it's not strictly necessary a "Sparbuch" will usually be issued with a code which is needed whenever withdrawals are made. The code is chosen by the customer himself (no 007, please!) - the way it should be for the customer knows best what is easiest for him to remember. If the "sparbuch" is lost, one quite simply applies to the bank, gives the name (if any) of the account, the account number and the code - the so called "Losungswort) - and a new "Sparbuch" is issued, usually with no charge.
When you do have an Austrian "Sparbuch" account, you have created that very important first step towards opening bank accounts in other countries in whatever name you wish. If for example, you want to open an account in some tax haven where you wish to stash some of the "mother mode", quite simply write to open an account in a name suitably different from your own and give the Austrian bank as a reference. In due course you will have little difficulty getting international credit cards from our tax haven bank with references from an Austrian bank where you never showed an ID at all.
An enterprising PT friend of mine let me have a peek at his Gold American Express card made out to "Scrooge McDuckle". Needless to say, it's not advisable to use this card in English speaking locations. If you wish to keep a good chunk of liquid funds available that you may stash just about anywhere, or even bring with you on your travels, the "Sparbuch" account is the perfect solution.
Another nice feature of the "Sparbuch" account is that you don't have to fear the local authorities when crossing the border of countries that put a restriction on the amount of money you may bring in or out with declaration or confiscation. The "Sparbuch" is not considered cash or any other "monetary instrument". Many big-moneyed clients travel throughout Europe on business and pleasure with one or two, five-figure "Sparbuchs" in their possession, fully protected by "Logungswort", to meet any type of deal that may come up. It's only a quick trip to Austria for instant untraceable cash.
A Few Disadvantages: Being a truly secret bearer passbook account, a "Sparbuch" usually doesn't offer high interest rates - generally in the 3-5% range with slightly higher rates for opening an account with a 12 month notice of withdrawal.
A "Sparbuch" account may only be opened in Austrian shillings which is not in the EMS (the European Monetary Scam). This may be a blessing in disguise rather than a slight drawback since the Austrian shilling for the past few years has been tied to the Deutsch mark. The Austrian shilling has been almost the most stable and reliable currency in Europe over the last two decades. In the real workd, the Austrian shilling offers a greater degree of stability than the Swiss franc.
EXPAT WORLD - - THE KEY TO YOUR "SPARBUCH"
Since the point of the exercise is to open and ensure a completely unquestionable, secret bank account without leaving a paper trail for snoops of any persuasion to follow, one has to take special care about exactly how a "Sparbuch" account is opened.
It is impossible to open a "Sparbuch" by mail; so someone has to physically appear in Austria in order to open the account. Needless to say, this someone should be a person with no link or connection to the person wanting to open the account. In fact, the less known about the prospective "Sparbuch" owner the better for even under torture the Austrian opening up the account for the client would have nothing to tell!
So do you have to go to Austria? Yes - and no. First off, the "Sparbuch" account is open to everyone, but there is a slight catch. You need not be a resident of Austria to open a "Sparbuch" account UNLESS, THAT IS, you are willing to go through the revealing and exhausting process of producing a passport, providing an address and so forth. Obviously this would destroy the advantage most "Sparbuch" owners are seeking.
The "Sparbuch" account is the ultimate in banking secrecy but for some reason the Austrian authorities have kept the ultra low-profile for Austrians only. They haven't extended this service to foreigners BUT it is possible to circumvent the "resident" bit. It can be done the easy way with Expat World or it can be done the hard way with a lot of cunning and a good portion of luck, having a fair knowledge of German, and the ability to "prove" that you reside in Austria.
At EW we decided that we would try to get a "Sparbuch" the "hard way". We thought we could finesse our way around the Austrian residency routine, us being PT's and knowledgeable in loophole maneuvering. So we set out to do what is impossible in any country known to us: Open a bank account in a fast, clean, efficient manner, with no fuss and no one asking to see our passport.
In bank after bank, we were spotted as obvious foreigners and no amount of carefully rehearsed lines in German could convince the bank tellers that there was no reason why we should produce a passport just to open an account. To a man, almost, they insisted that, yes, we had to do just that.
The first day and most of the second, we went to over 40 banks located on just about every street corner in Vienna before we managed to open one measly "Sparbuch" without having to hand over our passport. Whether we finessed the clerk with our haggard looks after a full day of hassling with previous bank clerks, or the clerk was half asleep, we don't really know, but we did open the account without our travel documents but we did have to fill out a form to open the account and leave our fingerprints all over the original. Needless to say, even if one is moderately conversive in German, if there is any hint that he is not a resident of Austria, i.e., a foreigner, the road to opening an account on your own is filled with frustration and complications. Although we did finally succeed winning the battle, we were one tiny bit short of winning the war.
THE EASIEST, SAFEST WAY - THE EW WAY TO OPEN A "SPARBUCH"
Even if you could endure the time, frustration and expense, master enough German and convince a bank clerk to do what he's really not supposed to do - THINK ABOUT IT, if the purpose of having a "Sparbuch" is to fully and completely avoid leaving clues that may eventually lead to yourself, including your fingerprints, why show up at the bank in person. Bank employees have, on occasion, been known to have frightfully good memories. SO WHY NOT CONSIDER LETTING SOMEONE ELSE DO THE JOB - it does not have to be expensive. Time is money. Letting someone else go through the bothersome motions makes sense in more ways than one.
Expat World has connections with a lawyer who has offered to open a "Sparbuch" account for EW clients with no hassles whatsoever. You do not need to show any ID, no photocopies of your passport or drivers license are needed. These "Sparbuchs" are delivered "off the shelf" as anonymous ("Euberbringer") accounts, complete with an easy to remember code )"Logungswort"). They come, as standard, with an opening balance of 1,000 Austrian shillings, rough§ly about US $100. A small service charge is incurred for this service. There is absolutely nothing more to it than merely writing a short note and enclosing a check, money order or cash. You will not even be asked to fill out any forms or sign anything whatsoever - not even the modest and unthreatening form which even Austrian residents are required to fill out!
You should feel free to order your "Sparbuch" account in any name different from your own (after all, that's what this whole game is about) or no name at all.
Now for some really good news! The total price, including both the opening balance (the money actually already in the account when you receive the "Sparbuch") and all the postage and handling, plus the service of our lawyer/agent is only US $550. Since this amount buys you an account with a balance of US $100 already in it, the "real" charge is US $450. No can you come close to opening the account on your own for less money.
After EW receives your funds, allow 2-4 weeks for the delivery of the "Sparbuch" which will be air mailed to you anywhere in the world. Maildrop addresses or hotel addresses are fine places to have your new secret "bearer-passbook" received. As an extra service, worldwide DHL courier delivery is available at an additional charge of US $50.
Consider the alternatives. Whether or not you do it yourself or leave the job to competent professionals, as we recommend, how often are you presented with such a clear-cut, easy-to-use and ready-to-roll solution to true privacy in banking?
If you wish to get an Austrian "Sparbuch", please send the necessary remittance to Expat World, Box 1341, Raffles City, Singapore 9117. Don't forget to include the address where you want the "Sparbuch" sent. We'll do the rest. Remember we take no prisoners and take no records!
Report 26
HOW TO MAIL LETTERS FIRST CLASS FOR 15 CENTS EACH
How to mail letters in the USA for 15 Cents each, instead of the usual postage rates. Some shrewd mailorder dealers are mailing their letters for only 8 cents by mailing their stuff from another country. One of these countries that have lower First Class mail rates to the US is Argentina.
Write to: D. DAMBROSIO, CATAMARCA, 1077 MARTINEZ, BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA and ask about their printing and mailing service. Printing is much cheaper in Argentina and they'll mail your circulars to your mailing list in the USA from Argentina for only 3 cents American money.
Likewise, you can also mail letters from the Philippines to the U.S.A. for 14 Cents First Class mail. There are a number of mailing services that you can contact who can print and mail your information for much less that what it would cost locally.
Write Cornelius Ventures
Mandawe City
Philippines
Report 27
HOW TO NEVER BE WITHOUT A JOB
I made this discovery in California, but the situation is probably true in all areas of the us. After working for several years in a dead-end job, I quit, and found myself without a job and no idea as to what I wanted to do. I scanned the ads. One read "Fry Cook Wanted." I once owned a 4 x 4 hamburger joint, so I thought "Maybe I'll try it. I might have enough experience." I phoned the firm. The owner did everything but beg me to take the job. Not once did he ask me about by experience. The pay was small but I enjoyed the work.
I saw another ad, same story, but more pay - full fledged cook. In about one month, another ad offered $4 per hour (that was in 1970), same story - word of mouth opportunity - head cook, $700 per month salary. Another - manager transferred, job open, $1200 per month. All this happened to me within one year - and I started with the ability to fry hamburgers and nothing else. Shortage of cooks? I don't know. All I know is that it's practically impossible for a restaurant to find or keep a cook. I have seen high school boys hired in as dishwashers and two weeks later start cooking.
How can one learn to cook? Make no mistake about it you don't need to know HOW to cook. Buy an egg pan and learn to flip eggs. This ability alone will get you a job. You don't have to be a cook, just say you are and you'll never be without a job.
Report 28
HOW TO LIVE A LONGER AND HEALTHIER LIFE
You should balance your activities with the proper amount of rest. Some of the leading experts in the field of aging now believe that regular exercise along with the proper amount of rest may actually add years to the life span. Results from a number of tests indicate that speed and muscular strength of many of the elderly can be extended.
Leading authorities agree that this new data is going to shatter many of the myths about aging and physical performance. The conclusion now is that the performance and ability of the elderly has long been underestimated, diet, proper sleep and exercise along with rest and relaxation are all important factors in preserving our bodies.
Laughter is one of the best things for your mental and physical state. People are naturally attracted to someone who has a good sense of humor. You can develop a good outlook and a good sense of humor by associating with and surrounding yourself with pleasant happy people.
Recognize that stress is a killer. A life filled with stress can really wreak havoc on your body causing a number of illnesses such as hear attacks, strokes, asthma, gastric problems, menstrual disorders, ulcerative colitis, angina, irritable colon, increased blood pressure, ulcers, headaches, etc.
There are different types of stress such as mental, emotional and physical. Emotional stress seems to take the greatest toll on everyone. All stress is not bad; in fact, life would not be very interesting if it were not met with challenges. However, too much stress, too often with no effective and appropriate outlet, does not allow the body and soul to recuperate. You might review a typical week to see if you can identify things that might be making you anxious or causing you stress. Once identified, stressors can be attacked and eliminated.
Are you a worrier? Chronic worriers don't have more serious problems than others - they just think they do. Many worriers try to cope by trying not to think about their problems, but this just makes things worse. Doctors say that chronic worriers feel less anxious if they actually spend a half-hour a day thinking specifically about their problems.
Get plenty of exercise. People who are physically fit look good and feel good. A good exercise regimen will lengthen your life. Improve your appearance, build self confidence and help delay the aging process.
Remember that you need to do something physical every day. If you don't use your joints, quite simply they'll tighten up with age to create the stooped, bent and worn out appearance we so often associate with old age. Studies have shown that people with arthritis experience less pain if they continue to keep their joints flexible. As one gets older, the bones tend to get brittle which is why it is common for senior citizens to break bones and especially their hips when they fall.
Eating right, getting proper sleep and learning to relax are all very valuable in maintaining a healthy body and mind. And keep in mind that eating healthy foods and avoiding those high in fats, sodium and cholesterol will help to decrease your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and associated problems.
Report 29
HOW TO OBTAIN AN $800 LOAN BY MAIL... INTEREST FREE
If you are like most of us, then sometime or another, you will probably need to obtain a loan. If you can obtain one through a bank or commercial lending institution, then you don't really have any problems. Sometimes, however, banks and loan companies will not lend money that you may need. The Hebrew Free Loan Society, located at 205 East 42nd St., New York, NY 10017, will make a loan to people in need - up to $800. There is no interest on the loan, and it is scheduled to be repaid over a period of one year. Two endorsers are needed. Write to them for complete details.
Report 30
HOW TO ESTABLISH AAA CREDIT IN 30 DAYS
To work this plan you need at least $400 to begin. You should borrow this from your friends if necessary. Then go to a bank of your choice and deposit the $400 into a regular passbook savings account.
Wait a few days for the account to be posted and return to the bank to ask for a $400 loan - you offer the passbook as collateral. Since the bank is already holding your $400, you go to another bank open a savings account lending you another $400 and they won't even make a credit check. Then, with your borrowed $400, you go to another bank, open a savings account, return a few days later, borrow $400 from that bank using your passbook as collateral.
Then repeat the process at a third bank with your borrowed $400. Wait a few days to go to a fourth bank where you open this time a CHECKING account. Wait a few days and make a payment on each of the other three loans. A week later, make payments again on the three loans, and continue paying each week until you have almost paid off the balance.
A credit investigation at this point will show you with three active bank loans (which are considered hard to get), a checking account, and a paying history for the three bank loans - with you having paid up in advance. Thus, you have AAA credit in as little as 30 days. From here you go on to apply for loans, credit cards, and other items on credit.
Report 31
WHERE TO BUY LAND AT $1.25 PER ACRE
You can get U.S. land for only $1.25 an acre, if you are willing to irrigate and cultivate up to 320 acres. Get FREE information from U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Washington, DC 20240.
Report 32
HOW TO GET AN EXCLUSIVE OFFICE WITH NO RENT
The way to do this is to become a "Rental Manager." Many office complexes have vacant space because there is no on-the-premises manager to show the space or answer questions. Find out which complexes are having vacancy problems and locate the owner. He will normally be glad to offer you an office if you answer his calls, and show off the spaces to prospective clients.
Report 33
HOW TO BORROW MONEY INTEREST FREE
There are a number of ways to borrow money interest-free if you take the time to operate the methods. However, one of the simplest ways is to borrow it from a bank which offers "overdraft protection."
You've seen those offers by banks which extend to you a loan for the amount you overdraw your checking account. By setting up two or more (and the credit limits can go up to $5000 each) you can write yourself a "loan" from one bank, cover the loan with a deposit from another bank where you have overdraft checking, and then repeat the process over day or two.
By covering each withdrawal with another deposit, you will not be charged interest since it would take two or three days for the records to catch up - by that time, you've made another deposit which covered the original loan. Operated thusly, you can keep the money interest-free for quite some time.
Report 34
HOW TO GET FREE SUBSCRIPTIONS TO MAGAZINES
There are a large number of "trade" magazines, journals, newsletters, and newspapers which are mailed absolutely FREE to interested firms and individuals who merely ask for them. There are no, of course, the common magazines you find on your local newsstand but they do offer much valuable reading.
To locate the names and addresses of magazines which offer free subscriptions, simply go to your library and ask the librarian for a copy of STANDARD RATE AND DATA. This book lists all trade magazines and specialty publications. It will also advise which magazines are "Controlled Circulation."
Any magazine stating it has "controlled circulation" normally indicatesS it is available free. All you have to do is write the magazine and ask them to place your name on the mailing list. Try to indicate interest or some connection in your occupation, or avocation with the subject matter of the magazine.
Report 35
HOW TO GET FREE LIFE INSURANCE & PENSION
Once you have formed your own non-profit organization, you merely place in your corporate charter the provision that life insurance and pension be paid by the organization of which you are a member. The organization, if set up properly, would obtain its money through donations and grants which you should actively seek. Thus, your life insurance and pension costs nothing.
Report 36
LIVE IN A $100,000 HOME WITHOUT MONEY
The best way to live in a $100,000 home without money is to become a "house-sitter." You offer to live in luxury homes while the owners are away vacationing. If you live in a large city, you can probably live all year rent free by keeping a notebook of clients who need your services to protect their homes from vandals while they are away. If necessary, get yourself bonded
Report 37
HOW TO STOP PAYING PROPERTY TAXES ON YOUR HOME
The way to do this is to sign over the title of your home to your non-profit organization that you form. You can form your own church or organization and apply for the tax-exempt status at your county courthouse.
Or, you can sign over the title of your home to your local church or other non-profit organization if you do not wish for it to go to your heirs. Under this arrangement, you retain lifetime habitation rights although the property belongs to the local non-profit organization.
Report 38
HOW TO EARN $1,000 TO $100,000 READING NEWSPAPERS
Act as a "Finder" - a person who gets a cash fee from the seller and buyer. Example: Suppose you read in the newspapers, or hear about a person who has a million dollar building to sell and you just happen to know of another person who might be interested in this kind of real estate. You then merely contact the seller, tell him you have a potential buyer whom you will introduce to him if the seller will pay you a 2% commission fee.
If he agrees, you introduce the prospective buyer to him - then, if the buyer and seller get together on a deal, you will neatly EARN a $20,000 commission (2% of the selling price). The introduction can be made in person or by mail. And it is possible for you to find hundreds of these opportunities by checking the classified section of the major business papers and local papers.
Report 39
HOW TO WIN OVER YOUR FEARS
If you really want to do something you will always find a way. But if you don't want to do it, you will find execuses.
The easiest way to combat fear is by not using excuses. Instead, you need to look for positive approaches to accomplish your goal. If you want to start a business, attend a meeting at the Better Business Bureau. Read some national magazines like "Income Opportunities" or "Spare Time." Start reading the business section of your newspaper. Gather some ideas and do a little reading before actually jumping into a business. Surely you can find some spare time to read.
Also, begin associating yourself with people who are in their own business already. If you're afraid to go out and make new friends, attend local business-related seminars in your community. Start watching television shows that are related to business. You'll eventually find people to associate with who know others and you'll be the part of a new crowd - the motivating ones!
FEAR is always your enemy. Look at it this way: If you never try, FEAR wins by 100%. However, if you do try, FEAR only has a chance of winning by 50%. If you needed a place to live and only had $10 to your name would you allow FEAR to win and make you homeless? No, most of us would find a job or borrow the money to have a roof over our heads! FEAR is the root of failure, depression and lifelong problems. Are you going to let FEAR ruin your life?
FEAR also will cause you to lose out on many other things in life. If you FEAR the boss at work is going to fire you _ it will naturally be on your mind day in and day out. It will eventually wear you down and you will begin making mistakes on the job. You will also get depressed
and build up resentments that may have never been there in the first place. Facing FEAR head on is the best way to combat it. If you think the boss is going to fire you _ go up and ask him. It takes guts, but isn't it better than putting yourself through many months of agonizing torture? Are you full of so much FEAR to even ask him because you think it will trigger him to say "yes" when he might not have been considering it at all? Believe me _ asking a boss "if" they are thinking about firing you will put you in no different position than you are now. In fact _ it will have the opposite effect. The boss will more than likely respect you for your candidness and ability to face FEAR head-on.
Is FEAR holding you back from a lot of things? Are you afraid to confront people and tell them how you really feel? Do you smile in their face and talk about them behind their back? What's so hard about being truthful but using tact? Doesn't it get rid of FEAR and solve many problems?
Complaining is also an act that emotionally drains you and goes hand-in-hand with FEAR. In fact, FEAR is normally the root of any complaint.
People don't want to admit their FEAR so they will complain to release some tension. This is a crazy merry-go-round! Instead of complaining, try to find ways to solve the problem.
Report 40
HOW TO GET UNLIMITED GROCERY COUPONS
Anyone who doesn't use coupons when they go grocery shopping is missing out on an easy way to save money. Many stores double coupons, so a 35 cent coupon will actually save 70 cents. On an average shopping trip, people purchase 16 items, so if you were able to save 70 cents each on only half of your purchases, that would be $5.60. Multiply that times 52 weeks, and you have over $290! That's money that you can use for other things, or to save.
The only problem is, it seems like the only coupons in your newspaper are the ones for products you don't buy. There are a few good ways, though, to get all the grocery coupons you can use, on the products you actually buy.
First, and easiest, buy groups of coupons at a discount from a coupon service. The biggest and best is called Coupon Connection of America. First, you purchase a booklet of 10 certificates, each worth $15 in coupons, for around $25. You then pick the exact items and brands that you want coupons for from their list of over 1,200 national name brand products.
Send in a certificate to the company with your selection list, and they send a total of $15 worth of coupons for the products you selected. If you buy a certificate booklet for $25, you'll get $150 worth of coupons you can use, for a $125 total profit! If your store doubles coupons, you'll save $275 ($300 - $25 price of booklet)! CCA has agents across the country. Call them at (800) 989-1819 for the name of the closest one.
Another way to get coupons is to subscribe to a coupon saver's newsletter. The best one is Refundle Bundle. It contains lists of coupons and rebates available from manufacturers, as well as a classified area, where you can find people who want to trade coupons they don't need for ones you don't need. This can be a great way to get the ones you want. You can find the current subscription price, as well as other coupon newsletters, by looking through the "household" sections in the periodical reference books at your local library.
Finally, you can start your own local coupon club. Advertise in the weekly PennySaver papers in your surrounding area for people interested in saving money. It shouldn't be hard to find a place to meet. If you have the space, meet at your house or basement. Often, public libraries will have meeting places for clubs and organizations for free or a very low cost.
At your first club meeting, you can get suggestions from the people attending as to how the club should work. Form a "board of directors" from the people who have the best suggestions. If you have to pay for a meeting place, charge a low yearly dues that will cover the expense, as well as any mailing or newsletter expenses.
Get a subscription to some of the best coupon saver newsletters in the club's name, and share the information with other members (but don't photocopy them and pass them around; that's illegal. Give members subscription info if they are interested). The bulk of the meeting can be used for coupon trading
sessions. Try to discourage coupon or rebate selling, as that can be a touchy subject for a lot of people. Equal value trading can be extremely successful for getting the coupons you want.
Try these suggestions, and you'll find yourself saving a LOT of money every time you go to the grocery store!