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.
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