In the new version of the movie Sabrina, Sabrina's dad's profession is a limo driver for a wealthy investor. He chose this profession because he loved to read. He read during the time spent waiting to drive his client from place to place. In my mind this made him extremely successful. He found a way to follow his passion and make money.
If you haven't noticed I have been on a "follow your passion" streak lately. I truly believe that the only path to happiness is to love what you do everyday. I also feel that you can find a way to make that passion profitable. Everyone was put here for a purpose. When parents force their children into a career that is not their passion it makes that child's soul weep.
My passion from the time I was 13 or 14 was what is now known as flipping houses. I can remember walking down the street and deciding how I would change or improve the look of every house. I don't know where this came from other than I was just born with it. I started earning money by cutting my teeth working for a non-profit fixing up dilapitated houses and then went on my own. I especially loved the old Victorian houses with all the great natural old growth woodwork.
Some people don't know what their passion is, but if you start thinking about it something will hit you. Keep asking yourself, "What is my passion" and before you know it viola!
Friday, December 23, 2011
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
You Don't Have To Earn A Lot To Become Wealthy
I took care of a 95 year old woman in the late nineties. She never had a salary of more than $8,000 per year during her working life. But she studied the stock market. She died with a million dollars in net worth.
She also was extremely frugal. When I met her I thought she was very poor. But she was so comfortable in her own skin she didn't need a lot of materialistic things to keep her satisfied. She also loved to read.
If you love to read or surf the web, all of the answers to everything discovered so far are at your fingertips. You can learn how to manage real estate, invest in stocks, start a side business, you get the point. Most importantly follow your passion and believe in yourself even if people around you don't.
She also was extremely frugal. When I met her I thought she was very poor. But she was so comfortable in her own skin she didn't need a lot of materialistic things to keep her satisfied. She also loved to read.
If you love to read or surf the web, all of the answers to everything discovered so far are at your fingertips. You can learn how to manage real estate, invest in stocks, start a side business, you get the point. Most importantly follow your passion and believe in yourself even if people around you don't.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Side Jobs
In the contracting business they call them side jobs. They are the jobs contractors take besides their nine-to-five. Mostly smaller, get it done in a couple of hours type work like changing out a water heater or patching a hole in the wall.
What's your side job? What can you do on the side for a few extra dollars? Do you have a riding lawn mower and a way to tow it? You may be able to start a lawn mowing or snow plowing sider. Can you bake or decorate cakes? I know a woman who started a cake decorating school for kids in her very own kitchen that she does on a Saturday afternoon. What a great idea for a kid's birthday party!
I know a guy who does car repair, oil changes, tire repair and changes in his pole barn mostly on Saturdays. I have watched his business grow through word of mouth. Remember, advertise on Craigslist. It is effective and CHEAP because it's FREEEEE!!!
What is your passion? What gift can you give the world and make some egg and butter money from?
What's your side job? What can you do on the side for a few extra dollars? Do you have a riding lawn mower and a way to tow it? You may be able to start a lawn mowing or snow plowing sider. Can you bake or decorate cakes? I know a woman who started a cake decorating school for kids in her very own kitchen that she does on a Saturday afternoon. What a great idea for a kid's birthday party!
I know a guy who does car repair, oil changes, tire repair and changes in his pole barn mostly on Saturdays. I have watched his business grow through word of mouth. Remember, advertise on Craigslist. It is effective and CHEAP because it's FREEEEE!!!
What is your passion? What gift can you give the world and make some egg and butter money from?
Clutching Money
A couple of weeks ago we did a fund raiser at a craft fair. Boy people are clutching their money. We made a couple hundred dollars, but for the amount of people that went through there, it should have been a lot more.
So my theory of targeting necessities instead of the frivolous extras as your product or products seems relevant more than ever. Move down to the bottom on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: food, drink, shelter, air, warmth, sex, sleep. Tap some ideas from those categories.
There is a trend toward family and relationships instead of stuff in society now. I remember my grandma's stories of the depression. She said over and over that they didn't have much but they were happy. I have heard that from other people that lived during the depression too. I think we have found in this country that we can do without as much hyper-consumption and are rediscovering each other in the process.
As you read through the list food, drink, shelter, air, warmth, sex, and sleep, think of something you can sell or make in each category. Then relate it to the feeling of family and relationships while selling it.
So my theory of targeting necessities instead of the frivolous extras as your product or products seems relevant more than ever. Move down to the bottom on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: food, drink, shelter, air, warmth, sex, sleep. Tap some ideas from those categories.
There is a trend toward family and relationships instead of stuff in society now. I remember my grandma's stories of the depression. She said over and over that they didn't have much but they were happy. I have heard that from other people that lived during the depression too. I think we have found in this country that we can do without as much hyper-consumption and are rediscovering each other in the process.
As you read through the list food, drink, shelter, air, warmth, sex, and sleep, think of something you can sell or make in each category. Then relate it to the feeling of family and relationships while selling it.
Monday, December 12, 2011
"If you ever get a job I'll kill you!"
Well we're doing it. My ten year old daughter is researching buying some layers and selling eggs in our very urban neighborhood. I told her if she ever gets a job I'll kill her, meaning I want her to run her own businesses. This is a great introduction to how to keep books and budget. There will be problems to solve. Marketing to contemplate. She has an idea of the type of bird she wants. Now she will have to research. I will keep you posted.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Harli Jordean, 8-Year-Old Entrepreneur, Builds His Fortune Selling Marbles Online
I found this story from the Huffington Post Black Voices online November 30, 2011 issue: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/18/harli-jordean-8-year-old-entrepreneur-builds-his-fortune-selling-marbles_n_1101604.html
Sleeping with marbles under your pillow sounds like an average 8-year-old thing to do. Selling marbles for 500 bucks a pop? Not so much.
Harli Jordean isn't your average 8-year-old apparently. The London-based entrepreneur has turned his love for the game of marbles into a bonafide business, selling the colored glass orbs on his website, marbleking.co.uk, and fetching as much as 500 pounds per item (such as this limited edition Duke of York table). Harli's business is said to be bringing in thousands of pounds per year, with orders rolling in from as far as the U.S.
Before earning the title of the world's youngest CEO, Harli's parents had long been referring to him by another name -- The Marble King.
"Harli has been obsessed with marbles ever since he was six," his mother, Tina, told the Daily Mail. "He used to sleep with them under his pillow. The last thing he talks about before going to bed is marbles and they are the first things he mentions in the morning...His obsession became so big we started calling him the Marble King," she says.
Harli's marble mania led him to the web, where he found only a limited selection of his beloved toy, sparking the idea to start a site of his own.
Now, with his mother and brother serving as "behind the scenes co-partners," as his site reads, Harli's on his way toward dominating the marble market, eventually becoming co-owner and even creating a branded collection of "Marble King" marbles...once he's old enough.
My editorial: If an eight year old can do it, why not you?
Sleeping with marbles under your pillow sounds like an average 8-year-old thing to do. Selling marbles for 500 bucks a pop? Not so much.
Harli Jordean isn't your average 8-year-old apparently. The London-based entrepreneur has turned his love for the game of marbles into a bonafide business, selling the colored glass orbs on his website, marbleking.co.uk, and fetching as much as 500 pounds per item (such as this limited edition Duke of York table). Harli's business is said to be bringing in thousands of pounds per year, with orders rolling in from as far as the U.S.
Before earning the title of the world's youngest CEO, Harli's parents had long been referring to him by another name -- The Marble King.
"Harli has been obsessed with marbles ever since he was six," his mother, Tina, told the Daily Mail. "He used to sleep with them under his pillow. The last thing he talks about before going to bed is marbles and they are the first things he mentions in the morning...His obsession became so big we started calling him the Marble King," she says.
Harli's marble mania led him to the web, where he found only a limited selection of his beloved toy, sparking the idea to start a site of his own.
Now, with his mother and brother serving as "behind the scenes co-partners," as his site reads, Harli's on his way toward dominating the marble market, eventually becoming co-owner and even creating a branded collection of "Marble King" marbles...once he's old enough.
My editorial: If an eight year old can do it, why not you?
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Christmas Cookie Money
I had a great-aunt who baked Christmas cookies from Thanksgiving right up to Christmas. They were the little fussy highly decorated type of cookie. She sold them right out of her kitchen. Of course this is probably "frowned upon" in most places. You need to use a commercial kitchen to sell any food you make and you probably have to get a permit. Not being a big fan of the government and not advising you one way or another...what if you "sold" your cookies to family or even bartered for babysitting or other needed services?
With so many women working outside of the home, time is at a premium. Christmas cookie baking may fall by the wayside. Family may be one of the best sources of sales.
Remember to use coupons and look for sales of flour, sugar, chocolate chips, etc. to increase your profit margin. Look at the prices of mixed cookies in the bakery of your grocery store as a guide to pricing your cookies.
You can do this with anything you specialize in such as pumpkin rolls, cheesecakes, fruit cake (ick), or whatever you do well.
With so many women working outside of the home, time is at a premium. Christmas cookie baking may fall by the wayside. Family may be one of the best sources of sales.
Remember to use coupons and look for sales of flour, sugar, chocolate chips, etc. to increase your profit margin. Look at the prices of mixed cookies in the bakery of your grocery store as a guide to pricing your cookies.
You can do this with anything you specialize in such as pumpkin rolls, cheesecakes, fruit cake (ick), or whatever you do well.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Screaming Deal On Printer Ink
If you do a lot of printing for your little side business, Office Max has the best thing going. We use HP ink. Office Max usually has some sort of deal going on. A couple of weeks ago they had a $20 coupon off of $50 worth of ink and a full rebate on a whole BOX of copy paper which shows up on the Max Perks Rewards for future purchases. So that was a savings of $62 total.
You have to sign up for Max Perks which you can do right at the store or on the website. Then use your card on each purchase, just like the cards at the grocery store. It's pretty simple. We have already brought in a Max Perks Rewards rebate amount of $90 to spend in the store. That's basically $90 of free money for more ink.
Here's the other great deal. Bring in your used up ink cartridges to recycle and get $3 per cartridge back on your membership rewards. You can bring back up to 20 per month and get paid for them. After 20 you don't get the $3. I just brought in 8 used cartridges which will get me $24 on my Rewards.
The rewards total up over the course of a quarter and then you print them and bring them into the store and shop.
You have to sign up for Max Perks which you can do right at the store or on the website. Then use your card on each purchase, just like the cards at the grocery store. It's pretty simple. We have already brought in a Max Perks Rewards rebate amount of $90 to spend in the store. That's basically $90 of free money for more ink.
Here's the other great deal. Bring in your used up ink cartridges to recycle and get $3 per cartridge back on your membership rewards. You can bring back up to 20 per month and get paid for them. After 20 you don't get the $3. I just brought in 8 used cartridges which will get me $24 on my Rewards.
The rewards total up over the course of a quarter and then you print them and bring them into the store and shop.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
The Iceman
Not to state the obvious, but ice is pretty freakin cheap to make. If you have an ice maker in your refrigerator it is even more easy than cheap. So get the same bags that they typically sell ice in and shove some ice in it. Keep a few bags of ice in your freezer. Get the word out. Put a sign in your yard. Sell ice.
If your refrigerator ice has any taste to it get your lines cleaned.
If your refrigerator ice has any taste to it get your lines cleaned.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Get Tangled Up With A Non-Profit
Families aren't the only entities suffering in this down economy. Non-profits are in dire need of funds. So team up with a non-profit, church, or organization to promote your product or service. Most non-profits have some sort of membership. So pitch your product or service to their membership with the idea that the non-profit gets a cut like 20% of the sale.
One example is a company called Just Kidding Clothing http://justkiddingclothing.com/index.cfm. This company was started by a few 23 year olds in Minnesota. They sell clothing. They give part of the proceeds to charity. They also are doing a six month tour of the country visiting 155 high schools and approximately 55,000 high school students speaking about starting small businesses. They are giving back.
Another company called Profit For You Tours takes people on coach bus trips around the country. For each person who takes the trip $100 goes to a featured charity. www.profitforyoutours.com
There is a company called Suzy's Cream Cheesecakes. This company started in a little storefront in a west side Milwaukee neighborhood in 1983. The company has since outgrown its' storefront and moved into an industrial park. A portion of its' sales is from fund raising. I know one school that made thousands on the cheesecake sale. http://www.suzys.com/
So what can you do? Do you make really great chocolate chip cookies? Do you create something saleable with your woodworking? Do you make the best pizza ever? Instead of just trying to throw your product on the open market, tangle yourself with a non-profit and sell your product as a fund raiser. You make a little, they make a little, everyone wins. Always look for the win-win situation.
The Caledonia Historical Society had a woodworker make up pens from actual wood from the train depot they are restoring. The pens sold for $150 and they only made 150. They sold out and made an impressive amount of money to help restore their depot.
You have a talent that someone will pay for. Think think think.
One example is a company called Just Kidding Clothing http://justkiddingclothing.com/index.cfm. This company was started by a few 23 year olds in Minnesota. They sell clothing. They give part of the proceeds to charity. They also are doing a six month tour of the country visiting 155 high schools and approximately 55,000 high school students speaking about starting small businesses. They are giving back.
Another company called Profit For You Tours takes people on coach bus trips around the country. For each person who takes the trip $100 goes to a featured charity. www.profitforyoutours.com
There is a company called Suzy's Cream Cheesecakes. This company started in a little storefront in a west side Milwaukee neighborhood in 1983. The company has since outgrown its' storefront and moved into an industrial park. A portion of its' sales is from fund raising. I know one school that made thousands on the cheesecake sale. http://www.suzys.com/
So what can you do? Do you make really great chocolate chip cookies? Do you create something saleable with your woodworking? Do you make the best pizza ever? Instead of just trying to throw your product on the open market, tangle yourself with a non-profit and sell your product as a fund raiser. You make a little, they make a little, everyone wins. Always look for the win-win situation.
The Caledonia Historical Society had a woodworker make up pens from actual wood from the train depot they are restoring. The pens sold for $150 and they only made 150. They sold out and made an impressive amount of money to help restore their depot.
You have a talent that someone will pay for. Think think think.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
You Know Something Someone Wants To Know
We all have knowledge that we have gained along the way. It might be something as simple as making really good strawberry jelly. Or maybe you know how to completely restore an old car. We all know something that other people don't know. This knowledge probably relates to your passion.
So write a pamphlet or brochure or an entire book about it. You say you don't know how to write? Then talk it. You know just say it out loud like you were talking to someone. Record what you are saying and then just copy that down. Run it through spell check. Make it a PDF file so people can't copy it. Put Copyright and the year at the bottom of each page. Then sell it.
If you aren't ready to go through the expense of a website which, by the way, only costs $5 per month with Go Daddy, then put some ads on Craigslist (my favorite free advertising site).
In your book, put links to websites related to your subject. Become an affiliate with them and you will get a commission if your reader becomes their customer. Just look for the affiliate link on their website and walk through the steps. It's easy.
Don't wait until your product is perfect. Just do it. NOW.
So write a pamphlet or brochure or an entire book about it. You say you don't know how to write? Then talk it. You know just say it out loud like you were talking to someone. Record what you are saying and then just copy that down. Run it through spell check. Make it a PDF file so people can't copy it. Put Copyright and the year at the bottom of each page. Then sell it.
If you aren't ready to go through the expense of a website which, by the way, only costs $5 per month with Go Daddy, then put some ads on Craigslist (my favorite free advertising site).
In your book, put links to websites related to your subject. Become an affiliate with them and you will get a commission if your reader becomes their customer. Just look for the affiliate link on their website and walk through the steps. It's easy.
Don't wait until your product is perfect. Just do it. NOW.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
It's Not JUST About You
The more you give the more you get. It really is true. Your compensation is in direct response to what you give back to the world. Find a way to make what you want to do pay off for you AND someone else or a charity.
Here is a great example. There is a bus tour business called Profit For You Tours that raises money for charities by taking people on trips. For each person who goes on a trip, the organization of their choice gets $100. Everybody wins. Great business model. Check out their website at www.profitforyoutours.com
There is a network marketing company called Market America that has a plan for non-profits. People who shop online can get their charity in the middle of their shopping and then the charity gets a rebate. If you want more info on this program email me at lpribek@hotmail.com and I will connect you with this company.
Although I am not a great believer in the saying "you have to spend money to make money," giving something away for free will bring you business. You will see this a lot with the information industry online. You get to watch a two hour seminar full of free information with the idea that you will want more information and buy their product or sign up for coaching.
Think of how to get a non-profit in the middle of what you are selling and then pitch your product to the membership of the non-profit.
Here is a great example. There is a bus tour business called Profit For You Tours that raises money for charities by taking people on trips. For each person who goes on a trip, the organization of their choice gets $100. Everybody wins. Great business model. Check out their website at www.profitforyoutours.com
There is a network marketing company called Market America that has a plan for non-profits. People who shop online can get their charity in the middle of their shopping and then the charity gets a rebate. If you want more info on this program email me at lpribek@hotmail.com and I will connect you with this company.
Although I am not a great believer in the saying "you have to spend money to make money," giving something away for free will bring you business. You will see this a lot with the information industry online. You get to watch a two hour seminar full of free information with the idea that you will want more information and buy their product or sign up for coaching.
Think of how to get a non-profit in the middle of what you are selling and then pitch your product to the membership of the non-profit.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Tomatoes, Tomatoes, Tomatoes
Only a few miles from where I live I saw a sign for tomatoes for sale. Okay, another money making opportunity. Now this wasn't in the country on a farm. This property was a normal 1950s ranch style house with a yard big enough for about 300 tomato plants. That sounds like a lot but I have 40 tomato plants in my garden and they don't take up much room at all.
Tomotoes can be tricky to grow but a little online research and you could be on your way. You could also grow other veggies and sell them. Or now that fall is on the way, think about Indian corn, pumpkins, gourds and other fall fun vegetation for next year.
Keeping a garden can save an amazing amount of money on groceries for your own family. In our town you can plant a row for the food pantry. But it seems to me if they would teach the people who need the food at the food pantry to grow a garden the need wouldn't be that big. I have already purchased seeds at Walgreens 5 packets for $1. So you don't need a big investment to start your little farm, but you do need elbow grease and persistence.
Tomotoes can be tricky to grow but a little online research and you could be on your way. You could also grow other veggies and sell them. Or now that fall is on the way, think about Indian corn, pumpkins, gourds and other fall fun vegetation for next year.
Keeping a garden can save an amazing amount of money on groceries for your own family. In our town you can plant a row for the food pantry. But it seems to me if they would teach the people who need the food at the food pantry to grow a garden the need wouldn't be that big. I have already purchased seeds at Walgreens 5 packets for $1. So you don't need a big investment to start your little farm, but you do need elbow grease and persistence.
Monday, September 5, 2011
One Dream, One Man, One Mountain
Korczak Ziolkowski. One sculptor with a pile of hand tools and $174 to his name, saw an Indian on a horse in a mountain and decided to dedicate his life to carving the image of Crazy Horse. Korczak and his family never took government money, only private funds, to continue to create the dream of carving the largest sculpture in the world.
I don't think Korczak had the words "I can't" in his vocabulary. The funds have come from visitors and donations. But early on Korczak and his family started a dairy with about 50 cows on the same land to help fund the project. Ah, good old fashioned American ingenuity. Find a way and if that doesn't work find another, and another.
Visiting Crazy Horse was maybe the most inspirational experiences of my life. The lesson is whatever your dream, no matter how nuts people think you are, you can get it even with only $174 to your name and a pile of small hand tools.
I don't think Korczak had the words "I can't" in his vocabulary. The funds have come from visitors and donations. But early on Korczak and his family started a dairy with about 50 cows on the same land to help fund the project. Ah, good old fashioned American ingenuity. Find a way and if that doesn't work find another, and another.
Visiting Crazy Horse was maybe the most inspirational experiences of my life. The lesson is whatever your dream, no matter how nuts people think you are, you can get it even with only $174 to your name and a pile of small hand tools.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Orange Money
Isn't one of the greatest childhood memories carving a pumpkin in the crisp fall air?
There is a pumpkin farm within an hour of my house that will sell a carload of pumpkins for $60. The price goes up for mini-vans and pick up trucks.
I figure I could get 60 pumpkins into my car if I plan it right. I also figure I could sell those pumpkins at the free farmer's market up the street from me for $2-$3. I am not about greed and a good sized pie pumpkin for $2 is cheaper than the grocery store. So I could double or triple that $60. I could safely do that that for three weeks during the pumpkin season, or maybe four if I am lucky.
If you don't have a pumpkin farm near you that sells by the car load, then go talk to a pumpkin farmer. Maybe you could even fill your car for less than $60.
There is a pumpkin farm within an hour of my house that will sell a carload of pumpkins for $60. The price goes up for mini-vans and pick up trucks.
I figure I could get 60 pumpkins into my car if I plan it right. I also figure I could sell those pumpkins at the free farmer's market up the street from me for $2-$3. I am not about greed and a good sized pie pumpkin for $2 is cheaper than the grocery store. So I could double or triple that $60. I could safely do that that for three weeks during the pumpkin season, or maybe four if I am lucky.
If you don't have a pumpkin farm near you that sells by the car load, then go talk to a pumpkin farmer. Maybe you could even fill your car for less than $60.
More Inspiration From The Past
This article is taken from the book Old-Time Farmhouse Cooking by Barbara Swell.
A Country Girl's Advantages by Kittie Turner
Farm and Fireside August 25, 1907
"There seems to be any number of misguided people on this old world of ours who in some unaccountable way have possessed themselves of the idea that when a country girl is grown she has just two alternatives - to get married, or go to town for employment, that there is no way in which she can be independent and yet remain in her farm home. For the disillusionment of those individuals, I want to tell how I not only supply my own needs, but have a nice little sum at interest in my own name."
Okay, so it turns out Kittie Turner was a teenager who possessed the energy and drive of 82 normal people, combined. Here's her story: She's tending her abundance of old-fashioned flowers one summber when a hotel keeper walks up and asks her if she would sell him bouquets on Saturdays for his Sunday tables. At 5 cents per arrangement, Kittie does well for a girl in 1907, but why stop there? She figures other hotels and restaurants may want the same. Sure enough they do, and the money's piling up. What the heck, why not sell her customers fresh-ground horseradish from her garden, too. It was taking over anyway.
Then comes the pillow industry. While going "chokecherrying" and "graping" with her mother one fall day, Kittie gathers a bag of wild hops, which was at that time, a popular remedy for various miseries including sleeplessness. Of course, now everyone wants a hop pillow to sleep on. Business is booming, especially when Kitties' swamp-gathered cattail pillows and even softer milkweed pillows are added to the line. But no pillow sells as well as the $2.50 balsam needle pillow, which nets a hefty $2.48 profit each.
"After the busy horseradish-grinding and flower-planting days of spring, the bouquets of summer and fall, the pillow industry not only of autumn, but of nearly all the year, there are yet several months of idleness during the winter," says Kittie. "Then it is that I get my best licks at Old king Corn." You guessed it. She's gone into the hominy business. With hotels, retaurants, grocers, and neighbors clamoring for the hominy, she can't keep up with the demand. Oh, well, the customers will have to do without, because Kitty's in school and has her home duties to attend to as well.
"Now I haven't told you all my ways of earning money in my country home. I'm afraid if I did there would be too great an exodus amoung the girl readers of the towns. My mother says I help her more than nine tenths of the girls do, and my father thinks I will be an old maid. But however that may be, I know I will never have to marry a man just for the sake of a home and support."
"And I just want to say in parting, girls, that if all of you would make up your minds to be independent, to make the most of every little opportunity that presented itself to that end, there would not be one tenth the unhappy marriages there are when the question of support takes precedence over congeniality and real love."
You're already behind. In the time it took you to read this story, you could've canned 12 quarts of pickles, and stitched three quilts!
A Country Girl's Advantages by Kittie Turner
Farm and Fireside August 25, 1907
"There seems to be any number of misguided people on this old world of ours who in some unaccountable way have possessed themselves of the idea that when a country girl is grown she has just two alternatives - to get married, or go to town for employment, that there is no way in which she can be independent and yet remain in her farm home. For the disillusionment of those individuals, I want to tell how I not only supply my own needs, but have a nice little sum at interest in my own name."
Okay, so it turns out Kittie Turner was a teenager who possessed the energy and drive of 82 normal people, combined. Here's her story: She's tending her abundance of old-fashioned flowers one summber when a hotel keeper walks up and asks her if she would sell him bouquets on Saturdays for his Sunday tables. At 5 cents per arrangement, Kittie does well for a girl in 1907, but why stop there? She figures other hotels and restaurants may want the same. Sure enough they do, and the money's piling up. What the heck, why not sell her customers fresh-ground horseradish from her garden, too. It was taking over anyway.
Then comes the pillow industry. While going "chokecherrying" and "graping" with her mother one fall day, Kittie gathers a bag of wild hops, which was at that time, a popular remedy for various miseries including sleeplessness. Of course, now everyone wants a hop pillow to sleep on. Business is booming, especially when Kitties' swamp-gathered cattail pillows and even softer milkweed pillows are added to the line. But no pillow sells as well as the $2.50 balsam needle pillow, which nets a hefty $2.48 profit each.
"After the busy horseradish-grinding and flower-planting days of spring, the bouquets of summer and fall, the pillow industry not only of autumn, but of nearly all the year, there are yet several months of idleness during the winter," says Kittie. "Then it is that I get my best licks at Old king Corn." You guessed it. She's gone into the hominy business. With hotels, retaurants, grocers, and neighbors clamoring for the hominy, she can't keep up with the demand. Oh, well, the customers will have to do without, because Kitty's in school and has her home duties to attend to as well.
"Now I haven't told you all my ways of earning money in my country home. I'm afraid if I did there would be too great an exodus amoung the girl readers of the towns. My mother says I help her more than nine tenths of the girls do, and my father thinks I will be an old maid. But however that may be, I know I will never have to marry a man just for the sake of a home and support."
"And I just want to say in parting, girls, that if all of you would make up your minds to be independent, to make the most of every little opportunity that presented itself to that end, there would not be one tenth the unhappy marriages there are when the question of support takes precedence over congeniality and real love."
You're already behind. In the time it took you to read this story, you could've canned 12 quarts of pickles, and stitched three quilts!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Got A Spare Bedroom?
If you have a spare bedroom I found a fantastic way to turn it into cash. You can list it on a website (link below) as a sort of bed and breakfast overnight rental. You list your property with pictures, amenities, and a description for FREE. Potential travelers contact you directly and book through the website. Funds are released to you 24 hours after they check in.
After the stay, you BOTH write a review of each other and post it to the website. You don't have to be a homeowner, you can be a tenant. Many of the listings in my area included a small breakfast.
After the stay, you BOTH write a review of each other and post it to the website. You don't have to be a homeowner, you can be a tenant. Many of the listings in my area included a small breakfast.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Make Your Own Part Time Job
In order to earn egg and butter money sometimes you can have a lazy strategy, but for the most part you are going to have to have some get up and go.
Today's suggestion involves some get up and go. Start a part time (or full time) cleaning business. When you clean as a job you are probably looking at minimum wage money. However, when it is your own business, you are looking at $20-$30 per hour on average.
Let me make it clear that I am not talking about buying a franchise. Rip off!!! So you are wondering how you get clients, right? Everybody shops somewhere, knows people, and basically gets out and about. Just start asking. When you go to the restaurant, hardware store, ANYWHERE take two minutes to ask the manager if they would consider someone to come and clean their store. Figure out how many hours it would take you to clean the place and multiply the amount of hours by $25.
Give them more than they expect - wash windows even though it isn't in your contract, you should be able to eat off the porcelain in the bathroom, scruuub, scruuub, scruuub. Your benchmark when you leave the place is "Does it SPARKLE?
You will be amazed at the power of word of mouth advertising once your first client is happy. If you want to place a small ad in the local paper that may bring some business, but remember Craigslist is FREEEEE!!!
Which cleaning products to use? The cheapest and most effective possible. Also, for my own health I use an enzyme based cleaner as opposed to a chemical based cleaner. This product is a concentrate. You mix it with a few drops of concentrate and a spray bottle full of water. It works great and costs not even pennies per use.
I can't really tell you what you can earn cleaning. I guess that depends of the level of your get up and go.
For more information on running a commercial cleaning business
Click Here!
Today's suggestion involves some get up and go. Start a part time (or full time) cleaning business. When you clean as a job you are probably looking at minimum wage money. However, when it is your own business, you are looking at $20-$30 per hour on average.
Let me make it clear that I am not talking about buying a franchise. Rip off!!! So you are wondering how you get clients, right? Everybody shops somewhere, knows people, and basically gets out and about. Just start asking. When you go to the restaurant, hardware store, ANYWHERE take two minutes to ask the manager if they would consider someone to come and clean their store. Figure out how many hours it would take you to clean the place and multiply the amount of hours by $25.
Give them more than they expect - wash windows even though it isn't in your contract, you should be able to eat off the porcelain in the bathroom, scruuub, scruuub, scruuub. Your benchmark when you leave the place is "Does it SPARKLE?
You will be amazed at the power of word of mouth advertising once your first client is happy. If you want to place a small ad in the local paper that may bring some business, but remember Craigslist is FREEEEE!!!
Which cleaning products to use? The cheapest and most effective possible. Also, for my own health I use an enzyme based cleaner as opposed to a chemical based cleaner. This product is a concentrate. You mix it with a few drops of concentrate and a spray bottle full of water. It works great and costs not even pennies per use.
I can't really tell you what you can earn cleaning. I guess that depends of the level of your get up and go.
For more information on running a commercial cleaning business
Click Here!
Monday, July 18, 2011
Almost Effortless Money
My ten year old daughter started her aluminum can business five years ago. She asked as many relatives and my friends to save cans for her as she could think of. Every few months we picked them up and cashed them in. She has made as much as $30 in one business transaction. Over the past five years she has made hundreds of dollars.
A couple of days ago she took home $14 with the price of aluminum at $.70. Remember "egg and butter money" is a little here and a little there and it starts to add up. Fourteen dollars could help pay a bill, get a meal at a restaurant, or some groceries.
Remember, you can do this with all metals. My friend removed a cast iron bathtub during a rehab and instead of taking it to the curb, he took it to the scrap yard and got $35. It took some muscle and a friend but it was still $35.
A couple of days ago she took home $14 with the price of aluminum at $.70. Remember "egg and butter money" is a little here and a little there and it starts to add up. Fourteen dollars could help pay a bill, get a meal at a restaurant, or some groceries.
Remember, you can do this with all metals. My friend removed a cast iron bathtub during a rehab and instead of taking it to the curb, he took it to the scrap yard and got $35. It took some muscle and a friend but it was still $35.
Friday, July 15, 2011
A Little Money For A Little Money
I have found that from time to time keeping it small is best, especially to try something out. So here is an idea you can start on as little as $100 or less. Check your Cragislist postings for "vending" in the search bar. All kinds of different vending machines will appear. Look for the type of machine that vends gumballs and hard candy. We aren't looking here for soda machines or candy bar machines. We don't want anything electronic. Also, we aren't vending chocolate. It melts and stales too easily. The type of candy we are vending is gumballs, Skittles, those hard yellow banana shaped and flavored candies - you get the picture, right? Look for machines with three vending windows. Put a quarter in each mechanism to make sure it works properly. The mechanism is the only part that would have to be replaced on this type of machine, so make sure it is functioning before you purchase the machine.
You can get a used vending machine of this type for $25 if you are patient.
Next, where to place it. Put yourself in the shoes of a business owner. If you walk into a place and say, "Can I put my machine in your lobby?" What's in it for him or her? But if you share the take with them they have an incentive to listen. Offer one quarter in four to them. This still will warrant you a profit, and it is a win-win situation. Go to some businesses that you frequent regularly. Also, target mom and pop type shops so you don't have to go up the food chain for approval. Pick places that kids frequent. How many times have you heard a kid begging for a quarter for the vending machine?
You can check Sam's Club for candy prices, they are usually pretty good. Also, keep your eye out for coupons to get better prices.
This little side business could net you $30-$100 per month depending on traffic. You should only have to visit your machine to collect money and replenish candy once per month.
For more information on how to EXPAND your vending sideline from someone who has 500+ machines
Click Here!
You can get a used vending machine of this type for $25 if you are patient.
Next, where to place it. Put yourself in the shoes of a business owner. If you walk into a place and say, "Can I put my machine in your lobby?" What's in it for him or her? But if you share the take with them they have an incentive to listen. Offer one quarter in four to them. This still will warrant you a profit, and it is a win-win situation. Go to some businesses that you frequent regularly. Also, target mom and pop type shops so you don't have to go up the food chain for approval. Pick places that kids frequent. How many times have you heard a kid begging for a quarter for the vending machine?
You can check Sam's Club for candy prices, they are usually pretty good. Also, keep your eye out for coupons to get better prices.
This little side business could net you $30-$100 per month depending on traffic. You should only have to visit your machine to collect money and replenish candy once per month.
For more information on how to EXPAND your vending sideline from someone who has 500+ machines
Click Here!
Inspired By The Past
I read an article from a wonderful book written by Barbara Swell called Old-Time Farmhouse Cooking.
In the more argrarian days of the United States, wives of farmers made extra money for themselves and their children by selling the extra eggs and butter off the farm. This "egg and butter" money bought the extras and sometimes the essentials that the farm family needed.
This is the article:
In the more argrarian days of the United States, wives of farmers made extra money for themselves and their children by selling the extra eggs and butter off the farm. This "egg and butter" money bought the extras and sometimes the essentials that the farm family needed.
This is the article:
The Poultry Queeen of Iowa
Farm and Fireside, 1907
"Mrs. Johnson, of Iowa, was a woman of too much spirit to waste any time in vail repining when she found herself with a husband suddenly incapacitated, and four little children looking to her for their support. She decided that there was money in eggs and chickens, and she set to work to demonstrate some of her theories. Mrs. Johnson took a thermometer and made a record of the temperature at which her laying hen, madame Biddy, kept her eggs. Then she constructed an incubator of her own, using a couple of old wooden boxes. In theis homemade contraption, she put one hundred and sixteen eggs, and kept her lamps burning carefully for three weeks. One hundred and five little chicks later, Mrs. Johnson would go into the chicken business and she would make it pay. She has suceeded so well that she is now known throughout the West as the "Poultry Queen of Iowa."
"In eight years, Mrs. Johnson made a living for the family, paid the help, bought farm machinery, built a new house, barn, double cribs, hog house, poultry house, smoke house, ice house, wash house, and tree brooders, and paid a debt of $14,000 on her mortgaged farm. She says, "I have two sons in college, and old Biddy is footing the bills."
So with this story in mind, I have started this blog to apply the same spirit to the twenty first century. Creativity could be the cure for the problems of so many people out of work. This isn't a get rich quick philosophy. It's a little money here and a little money there and before you know it, you create a steady income without having to get a job. Some ideas will cost a little to get going, some ideas are free or for pennies. Add your ideas too.
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