Business Ideas That Made Millions

"The CPAffiliate Marketing Secret" - Download 92 Pages FREE Report Today!

noreply@blogger.com (J.K.) — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:58:00 +0000

"The CPAffiliate Marketing Secret"

Finally! YOU Get The SHOCKING CPAffiliate Marketing Report That
Reveals The Insider Tactics To Powerful CPAffiliate Marketing...

Now before you download anything, I have put together a
great opportunity for you to make easy money for a long

time simply by giving away access to my FREE 92 pages Report.

Download Your FREE CPAffiliate Marketing Secret Report!

You probably already know the basic premise behind CPAffiliate marketing.

You know that the advertiser pays for affiliate sales or cpa leads instead of impressions or clicks. And you already know that unless the campaign is successful, it hardly costs the advertiser anything etc., but what you might not be entirely sure about is how to get started, how to track campaigns. Or perhaps you've already tried CPAffiliate marketing and been disappointed.

"The CPAffiliate Marketing Secret" Report helps you to answer
some of the questions you might have and, with any luck,
help you understand how CPAffiliate marketing can make you huge profits.

Though I could easily charge $47, but I'm NOT going to charge you that, because I believe in your ability to accomplish your personal goals and become a successful CPAffiliate Marketer.

Download Your FREE CPAffiliate Marketing Secret Report!

Niche Website Formula That Generated $1,214,978 From Free Website Traffic!

noreply@blogger.com (J.K.) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 21:36:00 +0000

Niche Blueprint 2.0 has been created by Tim Godfrey and Steve Clayton, they are both highly experienced multi millionaire internet marketers and have had amazing success online with many of their previous products such as commission blueprint.

Their latest product is Niche Blueprint 2.0 which contains their latest’s secrets to making money online via simple to setup niche e-commerce sites.

Niche Blueprint 2.0 is the more than just an updated version of the original niche blueprint system. Niche Blueprint 2 not only contains huge improvements and adjusments in terms of techniques and methods used. It also contains incredible pieces of unique software that deal with website building, SEO, keyword research and niche research which are worth many times the price of the course itself.

Tim Godfrey and Steven Clayton have granted me exclusive access to Niche Blueprint 2 before it is released to the general public and I can assure that is niche blueprint 2.0 is not a scam and that it is suitable for newbie’s as well as expert Internet Marketers.

Niche Blueprint 2.0 is a ultra comprehensive course that reveals the exact strategies to make hundreds of thousands of dollars each year from setting up simple niche E-commerce sites in a variety of niches such as birdcages and train horns.

It consist of 9 modules,30 videos and 30 step by step manuals. The contents of each of the modules is summarised below.

Niche Blueprint 2.0 Module 1 – Introduction To The Program

This is an overview of the entire Niche Blueprint 2.0 course and is a great way to understand the structure and flow of the course as a whole. Each module is introduced with details of what you will learn and what tasks you should be doing in each of the modules.

Niche Blueprint 2.0 Module 2 – Choosing Your Niche

Thie module teaches you the process of how to find and research suitable niches . It shows you how to come up with lots of niche ideas quickly and easily and then perform extensive market research to determine the profibility of the niche.

Niche Blueprint 2.0 Module 3 – Finding The Suppliers And Pricing Your Products

This module teaches you the best way to locate suppliers quickly and easily (Dropship Blueprint) aswell as the most effective way to price each of the products that will be sold.

Niche Blueprint 2.0 Module 4 – Finding A Domain Name

This module show you how to obtain a web site address (domain name / URL). It explains the criteria for selection and show you tools to find the best solution.

Niche Blueprint 2.0 Module 5 – Building Your Niche Blueprint Store

This module teaches you how to build your Niche Blueprint store. You will learn how to quickly install and configure the Niche Blueprint E-Commerce platform and to set up your catalog and the look of the store.

Niche Blueprint 2.0 Module 6 – Getting Customers

This module shows you how to get paying customers to come to your store It first covers search engine optimization strategies (basic and advanced) and then moves on to pay per click advertising (optional).

Niche Blueprint 2.0 Module 7 – Running Your Niche Blueprint Store

This module helps you understand and plan the things that need to be done on a regular basis to keep your Niche Blueprint store operating profitably.

NicheBlueprint 2.0 Module 8 – Outsourcing

Once their store is up and running, there are a few options to outsource the day-to-day operation. That way, they can have autopilot income and make money when they’re literally just sitting around!

NicheBlueprint 2.0 Module 9 – Selling Your Site

This module goes into great detail about selling your website. This is a great option to generate quick cash rather than operating the store.

Are You Serious About Making Huge Amounts Of Money In 2010 ? Click Here To Purchase Niche Blueprint 2.0 Now

Niche Blueprint 2.0 Software

Niche Blueprint 2.0 contains the following exclusive and incredible pieces of software which are worth their weight in gold.

1)The Ecommerce niche finder jump start the creative process. This tool automatically examines millions of potential markets using Google and reveals the ones that will be ripe for ecommerce!

2)Keyword Blueprint This amazing tool selects high traffic and commercial keywords that have low competition for fast and easy Google domination.

3)Article Blueprint creates multiple versions of a single article and automatically submits them to our network of high PR directories.

4)Authority Hub finds high PR hubs which you can then add links to for fast improved search engine rankings.

5)Link Blueprint a revolutionary 3-way link service to boost your search engine rankings

The Niche Blueprint 2.0 system also contains the following :

1) A free lifetime subscription to Drop Shippers Blueprint that contains details of thousand of products and suppliers.

2)A large selection of high quality, high converting and ready-to-go E-commerce Store templates and software so buyers can get their stores online and begin making money as quickly as possible.

As you can see the Niche Blueprint system is a complete package that takes you step by step to making hundreds of thousands of dollars every year.

To keep the secrets and information contained in the Niche Blueprint System exclusive and to ensure that people who purchase the Niche Blueprint System will take action, the Niche Blueprint System will only be sold in limited quantities.

IMPORTANT: Niche Blueprint 2.0 Currently Costs Only $297 (Which Is A $200 Discount), However The Price May Increase to $497 At Any time, So If Are Serious About Making Huge Amounts Of Money Online In 2010 You Must Act Fast.

To Secure Your Copy of The Niche Blueprint 2.0 System And To Find Out More Before It To Late. Click Here Now

Niche Blueprint 2.0 Bonus\Bonuses

Are you looking for Niche Blueprint 2.0 bonus offers? Having used Niche Blueprint 2.0, I feel there is no reason to look for any bonuses as Tim and Steve have over delivered with Niche Blueprint 2.0 and you will find that you will require nothing more to succeed then to follow the tutorials, utilize the software and visit the highly praised niche blueprint forum.This is why I am offering no bonuses as I feel that they will distract you from following through properly with Niche Blueprint 2.0 and this will increase the time it takes you to earn money aswell as reducing the amount of money you will make overall. I myself been distracted in the past and realized no real success and money until I learned to concentrate on just Tim and Steve’s teachings.

Click Here To Purchase Niche Blueprint 2.0 Before Its To Late

Make Money With ClickBank System Absolutely FREE!

noreply@blogger.com (J.K.) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:18:00 +0000

Affiliate Marketing Without a Website: Is it Possible?

You want to start an online business, but don't have what it takes to start with your own products. The best option is to start with affiliate marketing, selling other peoples' products for a commission.

Affiliate marketing provides online entrepreneurs the chance to market products even without having your own product to sell. All you have to do is to sign up with clickbank, and choose the products you want to promote. As an affiliate, you are paid by clickbank for your services on a commission basis, whenever you've directed a visitor to the vendor's site and the visitor actually buys something.

Why Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing can be a great and successful venture that one undertakes. It clearly has its advantages over traditional advertising and promoting schemes. It does not require a sizeable investment on the part of the affiliate. The affiliate does not have to worry about customer support, book keeping, and e-commerce related headaches since in affiliate marketing, the merchant handles it all; all the affiliate needs to do is promote and resell the product. An affiliate marketer enjoys the luxury of being his own boss and work on his own time. He can work only for a few hours or more and generate income 24/7 wherever he may be located in the world. An affiliate marketer can still maintain his present work or business and have the affiliate marketing income supplement his financial position. With a laptop and wi-fi connection, anybody can work almost anywhere even while enjoying on vacation.

The Clickbank Code - 28 Total Training Videos!

noreply@blogger.com (J.K.) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:08:00 +0000

If you've ever used Clickbank, listen up. Things are about to change, permanently.

I can't give you too much detail at the moment, but I can tell you everything you thought
you knew about Clickbank is wrong.

And there's proof. You see, over the past couple of months, a guy named Michael Jones
has been doing some in-depth research into Clickbank.

I'm talking about real crazy professor style scientific experiments...

He went in there as a green newbie affiliate, started a few promotions, and
kept careful notes on EVERYTHING he discovered.

And man, the stuff he found is going to blow your mind.

He won't reveal it yet, but I've had a sneak peak, and let me tell you, when
he pulls back the curtain, get ready for some hard truths.

And I must warn you – this stuff is going to upset a lot of people. It's going to make
others downright angry...

But the only thing I'm sure of is that when MJ reveals this stuff, it's going to change the Clickbank world FOREVER.

I can't reveal any more than that right now, but I'll be in touch soon.

Get ready for some changes...

$198,451.00 In 30 Days...

noreply@blogger.com (J.K.) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:56:00 +0000

Get Some Mass PPV Traffic Love Injected Into Those Dead Projects.

Guys if you're looking for huge amounts of traffic to your sites then need to pay close attention. If you're still struggling to get traffic to your site then something needs to be done. The most important thing that you can realize is that whatever you're doing right now is not working. If it is working, then the next question is how do you scale this up and build the business assets that are going to last you for years and years.

You've heard the saying the money is in the list. With Mass PPV you really can focus on building your list of subscribers for long-term stability in an unstable online marketing community. It doesn't matter what niche you are in or what website you want to promote. It's time to ramp up your marketing strategies and get insane amounts of traffic to where you want.

If you are a newbie or even if you're a seasoned pro and have been around the affiliate marketing community for a number of years, now's the time to inject life into those projects that are dwindling on your hard drive. Give it some Mass PPV traffic love.

Even if you have no product no list, you can still make insane profits with the traffic system that we are using to rake in thousands a months.

Without traffic you have no business that's the nature of online marketing. What we talking about here is laser targeted traffic, and getting your products and services in front of your customers.

That's where Mass PPV comes in.

One of the great things about Mass PPV is that you can use it for any marketing campaign. Be it traffic to your CPA promotions, views on articles, landing pages or your own website.

This works really well for this building purposes, give away free e-book and capture leads that will make you money from the backend sales for months to come.
Guys we've tried all the different marketing methods online over the years. We would not be smart marketers if we did not know about these Mass PPV strategies.

I personally find the Mass PPV traffic system a hidden goldmine. You can start with a really low budget and get your website in front of these people and still have a great conversion rate. I'm talking about lead capturing, list building or even using it to promote your click bank products.

If you use the SEO route than you know that time is an important factor in getting this laser targeted traffic to your site. I’m sure you have tried article marketing, hub pages, squidoo pages and social media marketing. Quite frankly, when you’re running multiple marketing campaigns aimed at different niches, who has the time to waste on these sites.

These sites are very time-consuming, not only that you're promoting somebody else's business being on these third-party platforms. When they pull the plug on your account like Frank Kern’s months of hard work is wasted.

Mass PPV is about set and forget it type of marketing.

I'm all about working smart not hard. The results I’ve achieved speak volumes. See them for yourself.

So if you want to work smart and your statistics are in dire need of improving. You need to be tapping into this secret traffic buying system.

Get mass PPV here.

Self-Made Internet Millionaire wants to coach you...

noreply@blogger.com (J.K.) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:42:00 +0000

To make money online many people jump right in before they are properly
prepared. You know that to be a rocket scientist, a doctor, a brick
layer, a construction worker, an office worker, a teacher there are
prerequisites, things you must learn, before you can be successful, you
don't just jump right in unprepared.

The same applies to the Internet marketing industry even though there
are unsavory people out there who'd have you believe it's a "Walk in
the Park" and requires no more than the belief that you can just do it.
And I'll have to admit, it is a walk in the park compared to what you
have to put up with in the working world punching a clock being a
subordinate to someone who does not have your interests in mind, but
there are still rules you have to follow and pitfalls you must avoid to
actually make Internet marketing work for you.

Most people will not make a dime online and yet there are others who
will make more in one month than most people make in a whole year. Why
is that?

My answer begins with the age-old chicken or egg question, "what comes
first the chicken or the egg"? Personally I vote for, well never mind,
each argument you or I make comes back to the same old conclusion - I
have no clue and I don't think many of us do either.

But one thing I do have a clue about and know for sure is that to make
money online you must first have Passion for the company products
and/or service of any Internet business from which you expect to make
money.

Passion in this sense simply means that you've researched and like the
company and products or services. It is then that you translate that
like (or Passion) into the education, excitement and work that usually
accompany Passion.

I will have to say that many online entrepreneurs are so good at what
they do that they ignore passion because they can sell anything. But
I'm concerned about those of you who are not so knowledgeable at
working an online business successfully.

Now, I'm not trying to make anyone believe that Passion is the only
thing necessary. Because to be successful you must also have a good
website, good marketing, widespread advertising, company support,
effective keywords, and etc. Those things are often learned from the
company you join - but sidestep Passion and you reduce your chances for
success dramatically.

It therefore follows that, if you have no Passion for the company and
the products and services provided by that company, again, you won't
attempt to do the work you are being taught.

Internet marketing work is typically not all that difficult or time
consuming but it does take motivation caused by Passion to get you off
and running with a sustained effort so that you won't stumble.
You have a great resource in the Internet search engines to search
about the Internet Marketing industry for business opportunities, USE
IT!

Your research should uncover a company that you like and have
confidence in. It should be solid, founded on great principles, and
easy to understand with great products and services that are sell-able
for which you can have Passion. If you don't find it move on,
You can find the right opportunity containing the attributes identified
above.

Comments like, well, that one sounds good and the compensation plan is
excellent so I guess I'll start that business - does not sound like a
decision based on anything near Passion. And remember when you hear
that an Internet "guru" does that, don't be tempted, because as I said
earlier they are experienced and can sell just about anything, without
being Passionate about the company products and services.

Note: By the way it's your goal to get to the point where you can sell
about anything online. That end skill and goal is a worthy one indeed.
Remember, there are other steps you must make before you step into
Internet Marketing but if you don't first find the right company
products and services to be passionate about, all of those other steps
may just cause you a lot of frustration instead of bringing you great
success.

Not being Passionate about a company and products and services that has
market proof that it will sell is a pitfall you simply must avoid.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Secret Cash Blueprint 2.0 is a private club that will teach you how to
build a six-figure a month business
on the internet. If you want to make money online, join the inner
circle before it's too late.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Google Sniper - Zero To Six Figures...

noreply@blogger.com (J.K.) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:06:00 +0000

You’re here because you have heard the noise about George Brown’s new product Google Sniper.

Let’s face it, we’ve all been scammed before at one time or another. Somebody promises you the “secret” to making money online, but you always just end up spending money instead of making money.

When I first saw Google Sniper in the Warrior Forum during its test phase, I thought to myself, “Sure, just another hyped up product.” I pretty much overlooked it for awhile, but then I started to see a run of testimonies by new online marketers who were finally starting to see some success.

The testimonies were so positive that I finally gave in and grabbed a pre-launch copy. It did not take long to see why this product was making such a stir. The strategies and techniques that George Brown teaches are so simple but definitely clever.

George’s “secret” to making money online is simple. In his own words he states, “Find a method that finally makes you some cash, turn it into a system, and work that system until there’s no tomorrow.” He has repeated the process of building “Sniper” site after “Sniper” Site after “Sniper” site…to the tune of over $100K in his first year of affiliate marketing.

I know…it’s almost unbelievable, and I thought so myself until I read the course. Yep, everything sounded phenomenal on “paper” but would it WORK for the average “Joe”?

That’s when we set out to test the system. We wanted accurate test results, and so we set aside the way we currently build sites and market them and implemented the Google Sniper system step by step.

Our results were rather shocking…this simple little “Sniper” strategy actually works.

We quickly saw a simple system that would be great for the new online marketer. Sniper sites are only based on 1 keyword…that’s it. The whole system is based on a FREE concept with FREE site building and FREE traffic. Once, again great for the new affiliate marketer who might have a tight budget.

What appealed to us even more was the time-saving factor. We are fairly successful building and marketing niche sites, but boy do we work hard. These little sniper sites only take 2 to 3 hours to build…that’s it!

The big question is…What Can Google Sniper Do for You?

If you have 2 to 3 hours to put up a site following George’s step-by-step plan (including video instruction), you really have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

The only out-of-pocket expense you will have is the purchasing of a domain name and web hosting. You can get a domain name for 10 bucks and hosting will run you 10 bucks a months for unlimited domains.

The price point is even a no-brainer for the potential.

Many would consider George’s system too simple…but it flat out WORKS, and after implementing the Sniper System and putting it to the test, I can honestly say that George Brown has delivered on his promises.

Click here to get Google Sniper and gain instant access to our Google Sniper Power Pack Bonus!

CPA Insider Swears Under Oath: His Zero Friction Marketing Methods Are NOT Illegal!

noreply@blogger.com (J.K.) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:48:00 +0000

Can you really make money online?

The answer is yes, and many thousands of people do it every day of the week.
The opportunity to start an online business is as good as it ever was, and as the economic climate gets worse, more and more people are turning to the Internet looking for ways to make a living.

Some people only put in a part-time effort, while others make their entire living working from home on the Internet. The majority of people who use the Web, however, never look any further than the surface. The truth is that underneath all those pretty Web pages and nifty YouTube videos are layers and layers of industrious people who are earning a significant amount of money online.

If you have been laid off, or you are just plain disgusted at your unsuccessful attempts at finding a new job, it may be time to start seriously considering putting your efforts into joining those who have already found a path to quitting the dreaded J-O-B. For many people, the traditional paths to making a living are over unless they want to settle for making minimum wage flipping burgers out a drive-by window: There is something really sad about making a career somewhere where you have to wear a smock and a name tag, or sending out hundreds of resumes no one bothers to read. You can start your new life today by learning how to start your own independent business online and live the dream of being your own boss.

Although there are now countless millions of websites online, the Internet will never get saturated, as every day new people are coming online looking to start a business just like you. If your business is up-and-running, then you have every chance of attracting those people to become your new customers.

Before you can start finding customers, however, you must first get started and find an opportunity to join, and you will quickly find that here are hundreds of different business opportunities to choose from.

First of all, beware of those programs that promise you will make thousands of dollars in your first week; more than likely they are scams. Secondly, ever expect instant success. It takes time and patience to build a business, and for that business to start to generating your expected income. This means that if you are already in a full or part time job, do not give it up entirely until your online earnings can consistently replace the income you need to pay your bills.

Your business choices online are vast; just decide what really interests you, and put your full efforts into becoming successful at it. To learn how to build a successful online business, check out the new ZFM internet marketing course.

Backdoor Affiliate Strategy Beats Google And Generates $31,422.78 In Just One Month...

noreply@blogger.com (J.K.) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:29:00 +0000

By now I think most people in the world are online or
have access to the internet. What most don't know is
that there is a huge amount of income to be made!

For those that are aware of this, you'll know that
most courses and products for sale only offer the
theory behind this. They don't offer to show you
how to actually set up and make money online
INSTANTLY.

However now you are about to receive the full solution
you desire! This step by step training is brought
to you courtesy of Matt Benwell. He is the creator
of a system called Google Secret Loophole.

Now Matt only started earning money online in mid 2007.
Previously he had a job in finance and was in so much
debt that he couldn't afford to buy or do anything.
However, Matt was desperate to get out of this situation.

He had tried every hair brained "get rich quick" scheme
out there that the guru's were pushing.

The results ...well they weren't good!

After months of losing money he decided enough was enough
and started developing his own formula.

It took a few months until it was prefected but Matt now
earns over $20,000 per month using his INSTANT profit
formula.

And now there's good news ...Matt is releasing his
proven techniques to a select few ...the places are
limited, so you need to get in quick.

Now I'm a member of this site and let me tell you, it's
amazing. I was struggling to make any money online and
was ready to give it all up. But I thought I’d give it
one last chance and give Matt's Google Secret Loophole
a go.

I've only being using it for a few weeks and have already
made more money from using this method from Matt’s site,
than I have in 4 years trying to use other online make
money products. Using this site I easily set up my own
income stream and started seeing a return with a few hours.

One thing that may put a few of you off is that Matt isn’t
a professional speaker. He’s just a normal guy from the UK.

Other than the great step by step video tutorials, he's also
offering some amazing software that has cost him over$8,000
in development. This software is amazing and makes the process
run like clockwork. This finally gives people like you and
me the package and solution we desire.

Google Secret Loophole is a breath of fresh air and I highly
recommend it to anyone wanting to make easy money online

ClickBank Shocking Secret Formula That Generates Over $160,000.00 a Year!

noreply@blogger.com (J.K.) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:09:00 +0000

Most people complaining that "work sucks" do so, because they picked the wrong carrier.
Instead of following their dreams, they followed a reliable (or convenient) market path.

When we reach adulthood, popular opinion encourages us to discard the fantasies
of youth and pick one of the prefabricated carrier paths available at the local university
of trade school. But popular opinion is wrong. Following your dreams is the surest way to
happiness and ... financial freedom!

I was like the vast majority of people, my money controlled me. Now I take
control of my life and of course of my money.

If you need to take control of your money, you´ve come to the right place.

James Sorelly is releasing soon his new "The Clickbank Formula" System - www.cbformula.net
This proven and powerful system will help you to make a ton of cash using Clickbank.

Here is a list of the key selling points The Clickbank Formula System covers:

1. How to legally generate a steady flow of income through Clickbank... even if you´ve never
made a dime online.

2. This system will single handedly increase affiliate sales AND build a massive list of
buyers... and now you have access to it...

3. How to sell products like crazy by "preselling"

4. How to get traffic with free press releases and convert your visitors into buyers.

5. How to get started with your own product empire

6. How to automate your business and profits

7. How to build your affiliate army fast

8. How to find joint venture partners and get them to work with you

plus much more

Cb-Formula will give you the opportunity to set up
multiple streams of income of your own with my system. James Sorelly will give you everything
you need to start making money online so there is nothing else you will need to know.
He also provides you with a quick start guide so you can start making money today
without any delays. Not only that but he will actually give you lots of FREE Bonuses
that will help you to understand better the clickbank money making concept and boost your sales.

You won't have to do anything but follow step-by-step instructions.

Just follow these revolutionary methods and you'll be making more in one week than
you used to make in an entire month at your former day job.

www.cbformula.net

The Easiest Way To Make A Fortune From Other People´s Products While Working Just 40 Minutes A Day

noreply@blogger.com (J.K.) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 10:28:00 +0000

www.poweraffiliatesystem.com

Affiliate marketing offers earning opportunities, making it as one of the fastest growing industry in the World Wide Web today. It produces billions of dollars worth of income yearly. That is why many people are getting involved in it.

However, most of them are just getting into the jive of earning money without a concrete plan. You have no strategies to be implemented, no guidelines to be followed.

In case that you are planning to get yourself involved in affiliate marketing, bear in your mind that it is very simple to generate huge affiliate commissions when you´re using Affiliate 3.0 Marketing System.

This system will help you to earn $2,000 every single day and it requires no effort to make steady income.

Since the popularity of affiliate marketing is increasing, it leads to an increase of earning opportunities. Now, you will ask yourself, “How will I choose the right affiliate marketing program?” and “Which of it will give me that good chance of earning a substantial income?”

Just purchase an Affiliate 3.0 Marketing System and follow my step-by-step training and you will learn exactly how you too can make 2,000 per day with affiliate programs.

Would you like to become a Super Affiliate and make a small fortune?

Just follow the simple steps that I clearly lay out for you and you'll have your first affiliate automatic money machine set up in no time!

www.poweraffiliatesystem.com

A Billionaire Junk Man?

noreply@blogger.com (J.K.) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 19:53:00 +0000

Brian Scudamore Story

http://www.1800gotjunk.com/

Making Great Money Reselling Old Mannequins

Lost Election Makes Man a Multimillionaire

IT was a misty Thursday in the suburbs of this sprawling city, and inside a recently vacated house, Austin Atkins and Stefan Meissner were up to their elbows in junk.

The detritus was the usual: ratty couches, empty paint cans, old mattresses. In a closet sat a dusty upright piano. Out back, in the weeds, lay a rusted hydraulic car jack.

Mr. Atkins, however, was undaunted. "Time to clean up," he said. Over the next 90 minutes, the cleanly uniformed duo grunted and grimaced as they carted every ounce of junk out to their flatbed truck. When they were finished, they toweled off, shook hands with the real estate broker who hired them, accepted payment and headed for the dump.

The routine was typical for this tag-team of Mr. Cleans, junk haulers from the local franchise of 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, a company based in Vancouver, British Columbia, that has jazzed up the traditionally impersonal act of carting away trash.

Since it was founded 17 years ago, the company has grown from a sole proprietorship in Vancouver to an international corporation that expects revenues of $120 million this year.

The secrets to this success are uniformed haulers, shiny Isuzu trucks and service with a smile. While most carting companies send scruffy men to retrieve refuse from the curb, 1-800-GOT-JUNK? sends haulers right into customers' homes, removing not only the trash but also clean up when they're done.

For Cameron Herold, the company's chief operating officer, the approach is nothing short of revolutionary. "We've done for garbage what Starbucks did for coffee," he said, noting that most of the company's franchises charge a flat $500 per truckload, which includes gas, labor and dump fees. (There are smaller fees for one-quarter and one-half of a truckload.) "We think of ourselves as the FedEx of junk."

But there's more to this story than a bold brand. As many small businesses are turning to angel investors or venture capitalists for help, 1-800-GOT-JUNK? has done it alone, bootstrapping the business exclusively on cash flow, and sharing 25 percent of profits with employees through a bonus program.

The company has also built itself around technology, centralizing call-center operations and dispatching new orders through a proprietary Web-based processing system that will soon use Global Positioning System data for better service.

"When a customer calls, we want to be able to get to their junk and remove it as quickly as possible," said Brian Scudamore, the company's founder and chief executive. "Once you've decided to get rid of this stuff, you really don't want it lying around."

Like many small businesses, 1-800-GOT-JUNK? was born on a whim and youthful enthusiasm.

Back in 1989, Mr. Scudamore was waiting for food in a McDonald's drive-through when he spotted a pickup truck with the words "Mark's Hauling" on the side.

"I looked at the truck and said, 'Now there's an idea,' " he remembered, noting that he was a freshman at the University of British Columbia at the time. "I needed a way to pay for college, and I thought hauling junk was a good choice."

Mr. Scudamore acted immediately, shelling out $700 for a 1976 Ford F-100 pickup, and distributing fliers to spread word that he was the new hauler in town.

Slowly, gigs trickled in. The first year, he earned $1,700; the next year, he broke into five digits. By 1993, the business was taking so much of his time that Mr. Scudamore dropped out of school altogether.

Later that year, he bought two new trucks, and pulled in $100,000. By 1995, the company earned $525,000. Business was booming, yet Mr. Scudamore began to grow wary of complacency.

He dealt with those anxieties by reinventing his company under a franchise strategy, beginning with a pilot in nearby Victoria. When that office teamed with headquarters to top $1 million in revenue in 1997, Mr. Scudamore realized he was on to something. In 1999, he sold another franchise, to an entrepreneur in Toronto.

"By relying on franchise owners to come in and share some of the risk, I realized I could expand the firm without having to turn to outside investors or other funding sources," Mr. Scudamore said. "To me, this was a solid plan for growth."

In 2000, the same year that Mr. Scudamore hired Mr. Herold, 1-800-GOT-JUNK? dipped into the United States. The first franchise sprouted in Portland, Ore.; shortly thereafter, some friends from Canada opened a franchise in San Francisco.

Since then, the company has grown like a pack rat's National Geographic collection, blossoming into 40 franchises by 2002 and 214 by 2005. Last month, 1-800-GOT-JUNK? opened its 242nd franchise, in Spokane, Wash. It recently opened a franchise in Sydney, Australia, and will open one in Birmingham, England, this summer.

Many of these franchise owners are thriving. Alan Remer, owner of the company's outpost in Philadelphia, paid $28,000 for his franchise in 2002. Last year, the enterprise earned $900,000, and he predicts it will earn $1.5 million this year.

"I honestly believe I have bought into McDonald's in the 1960's," said Mr. Remer, who retired as a Wall Street stockbroker after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. "People want their basements back, and we're the cheapest way to create space in a home."

The haulers, too, are sharing in the success. Each truck tandem receives credit for the money it brings in, and profit sharing is tied to a bonus program for the peak performers. Mr. Herold said that the company gave its top workers bonuses of 17.4 percent last year.

Smaller rewards are offered as well, like items that seem too good to wind up in a dump or a recycling center. At the house that Mr. Atkins and Mr. Meissner were cleaning out in San Jose, the spoils included a BMX bike.

Mr. Scudamore expects 1-800-GOT-JUNK? to become a $1 billion company by 2012. To help achieve that, the company will invest millions in JunkNet, its centralized Web-based system that is used to dispatch orders from Vancouver to franchise owners. Currently, franchise owners must call to keep up with truck locations. But by September, Mr. Scudamore says, the company will begin using G.P.S. in many trucks, enabling dispatchers to send new orders right to the trucks based on where they are.

"The new technology won't only make us more responsive to our customers, but it also will make scheduling easier for our franchise partners," he said. "When's the last time you heard a junk company say something like that?"

Thinking Small Can Make You Rich

noreply@blogger.com (J.K.) — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 11:07:00 +0000

Mike Cayelli Story

http://cuff-daddy.com/

Learn How To Make $2,000 in One Single Day

Think small. That was the basic starting point for Mike Cayelli when he decided to open an online retail business two years ago. With a tiny house, little capital to invest, and only "spare time" to devote to the project, Cayelli knew his big dream had to stay manageable. The Washington (D.C.) entrepreneur still hasn't quit his day job, but he's projecting $500,000 in sales this year for his company, Cuff Daddy.

You have a full-time job. Why start your own company?

About two years ago, I was working for [a hardware chain] as a manager in the regional professional contractor division. I still work there, in fact. But there was some reorganization going on, and I became concerned about my future. So I wanted to hedge my bets by starting my own company.

How did you settle on becoming an online retailer?

I wanted to emulate my cousin, who's been enormously successful selling mobile phone accessories online. He imports products from Asia and realizes a substantial profit margin. I also wanted to do something purely on the Internet so I could keep working at my "real job" and develop the company in my spare time.

Your major concern was finding a niche product that was physically small. Why?

Well, we had a small house that I planned to use as headquarters. So I needed inventory that I could store in a footlocker, have my wife ship out of a home office, and haul around in a car instead of a truck or trailer. As for shipping, about 90% of our orders can be mailed first-class with two stamps in a .13-cent padded envelope.

How did you settle on cuff links?

It was not easy. I spent several months looking at things like buttons, watchbands, shoe laces, and collar stays. Every time I thought of a small, niche product I'd write it down on a scrap of paper and shove it into my pocket to research later.

I wanted a product that could produce high sales volume and a high profit margin. I didn't want something that sold one unit per week. So when I got an interesting idea, I would search for it on eBay and run it through a research tool called Andale. For $7.95 a month, you subscribe to this Web site and you can get diagnostic information about any product's online sales volume and average selling price.

One morning about 6 a.m., I stumbled onto some cuff links for sale on eBay and noticed there was tremendous action on that listing. I ran upstairs and woke up my wife and told her I'd found the right product.

Once you zeroed in on a product, you had to find suppliers. What was that process like?

Again, I went to the Internet. I found two great places that help you source products overseas. One is Global Sources, and the other is called Alibaba.

I looked through thousands of vendors that are listed on these sites, found products I was interested in, e-mailed the manufacturers, and got them to send me samples. I never even had to pick up the phone.

When I put the first samples up for sale at eBay and they sold extremely quickly, I knew I was onto something. We wound up with six regular vendors based in China, Hong Kong, and India that provide us with a product line that we buy for between $1 and $6 a pair and sell for $15 to $55 a pair.

How much money did it take to start the company?

We started very small with a $500 investment, though it felt like a lot because I was worried about losing my job, and my wife was home taking care of our two little boys. We used that money to buy 100 pairs of cuff links. The minute I felt comfortable that they'd all sell, and we could reinvest the money we made, we doubled that order. Sales were quick right from the start, so we started adding more products pretty fast.

What about the cost of establishing a Web site or online store?

We didn't do that right away. For the first nine month, we sold strictly through a store we set up on eBay. We wanted to have minimal startup costs, and we only had five products. With that small a product line, if you open a Web site you're going to look like a joke.

By the time we were selling about 50 items, we figured we were ready to establish our own Web site. We outsourced the development to a friend who charged us $500. We host it on Yahoo!Stores because they have virtually no down time, it's easy to use, and they offer good metrics, so I can analyze things like who is buying our products and who are our repeat customers. I can also see how well things like coupon promotions work.

What's been the toughest part for you?

The marketing is really hard, and I still haven't gotten good at it. I could have a cure for cancer, and nobody would know about it because it's very, very difficult to get the word out. We've paid people to do search engine optimization for us, but it hasn't really helped.

We got completely burned once by a salesman who took us for $1,000 for a marketing product that was useless. We are doing some pay-per-click campaigns with Google and Yahoo! now that seem to be working a bit better, and we're also going to start an e-mail marketing campaign, so we'll see how that goes. But overall, I was surprised by how much the barriers for starting a company have come down. I was lucky that my cousin shared his recipe for success with me, and now I'm trying to do the same thing. I'm mentoring a guy I work with who's also starting a company thinking small: He's selling fishing lures.

You'll Be Shocked To Find Out How Much Eyeglasses Really Cost

noreply@blogger.com (J.K.) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 15:43:00 +0000

Murray Wells Story

http://www.glassesdirect.co.uk

Learn How To Make $2000 in One Single Day

Murray Wells was studying at the West of England University in Bristol when he discovered he needed reading glasses.

So he visited his nearest high street optician but was appalled when he found that his new metal frames, ‘essentially some wire and two pieces of glass’ cost £150.

"I was managing on a student loan and £150 was a fortune – half a month's rent. I just couldn't understand why my glasses were so expensive, and my curiosity led me to investigate further."

He began to call manufacturers, opticians and industry insiders but he was met with a ‘wall of silence’.

But then a disgruntled employee at a laboratory in the north of England gave him the lowdown.

“He talked me through the industry,” says Murray Wells. “And it turned out that my £150 pair of glasses probably only cost about seven pounds to make.”

Murray Wells was supposed to be hammering the books in preparation for his finals but instead found himself immersed in the glasses industry.

He learnt about optometrical testing, how the frames are made and the lenses are cut.

He discovered that the market is around 70 per cent controlled by just four high street retailers: Vision Express, Boots, Dolland & Aitchison and Specsavers.

But, most significantly, he leant that he could make glasses for a fraction of the price that they were being sold on the high street.

Murray Wells enlisted the help of some students at his university who helped him build the website and design the logo.

He then used the final instalment of his student loan and some money from his father to establish Glassesdirect.co.uk, they began trading in September 2004.

Manufacturers were initially reluctant to endanger their relationships with high street opticians but eventually they relented.

In a year Glasses Direct had sold 22,000 pairs of spectacles and Murray Wells believes that this has saved UK consumers an estimated £2m.

“People generally can't believe our Glasses Direct prices,” he says. “As the high street shops are maintaining retail prices at 10 to 20 times the cost price.

“What I'm giving people is choice, and they are delighted,” he says. “An average pair of glasses is manufactured for less than £7, so I charge just over double. Even with advertising and overheads, I still make a profit.”

His business has gone from strength to strength and he now employs 17 staff and turnover is around the £1m mark.

“It’s all been a bit of a whirlwind,” he admits. “But I have always been determined to get very big, very fast”.

To aid this expansion Glasses Direct are now seeking investment from Venture Capitalists, however he says that they are also seeking him.

“It’s been a lot easier than I ever thought it would be,” he says. “We’ve literally been getting new calls from potential investors every day. It’s wonderful and we’re in a very enviable position to choose who we want to work with.”

It’s not just a decision who to take money from. Murray Wells knows the next move is crucial.

“It’s not only about the investment, we need someone who will be helpful at board level and is experienced in dealing with big organisations, large marketing campaigns and has e-commerce expertise.”

Talks are ongoing, but Murray Wells expects a deal to be struck soon and says press reports of raising £5m “aren’t far off”.

A large bulk of the money will be spent on marketing.

“We’ve made massive strides but still only occupy 1% of a £1.7bn industry so we’re really still just a drop in the ocean. I want to move as quickly as possible as we know it’s only a matter of time before competitive entry occurs.”

The big players in the optical industry appear to have accepted Glassesdirect.co.uk is here to stay too – even if they’re not happy about it.

“They’ve changed tack a little and aren’t rubbishing us in the press as much as they were,” says Murray Wells.

Murray Wells remains undeterred by the high street’s desire to stamp him out, but is looking to shake off the David vs. Goliath tag.

“As well as marketing ourselves to the mass market we’re in talks with several major retail organisations and expect to announce a number of partnerships by the start of 2006.”

Subsequently, Murray Wells is strapping himself in for another 100mph 12 months and expects turnover to triple to £3m, and reach £10m by 2008.

Test-Driving Your Dream Job

noreply@blogger.com (J.K.) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:28:00 +0000

Brian Kruth Story

http://www.vocationvacations.com/

The Super Power Affiliate System

Just one year ago, David Ryan was an international banker with HSBC. He had done stints in Bahrain, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Turkey, and London over the course of 17 years. However, by the time Ryan had landed in New York City two and a half years ago, he says, "the buzz for me was gone." Exciting as a two-decade spin around the globe once was, Ryan says, his chosen profession was simply, "not as exciting as it had been."

Ryan entered into what he calls, "a pretty long period of reflection" regarding his career path and future. Like many suffering from job ennui, Ryan was ready to do something new, the question was how to do it. Having nursed a lifelong love of dogs, Ryan realized that he was interested in potentially moving in that direction but was unsure of how exactly he could turn his passion into a sustainable career.
Enter a two-year-old Portland (Ore.)-based company called Vocation Vacations, a business that gives people the opportunity to "test drive" their dream jobs. Creating temporary but intense mentor/apprenticeship experiences, Vocation Vacations enlists professionals from a variety of fields -- everything from winemakers and makeup artists to architects and sword makers -- and pairs them with people who fantasize about leaving their day jobs and want spend a few days in a profession that they had previously thought beyond their reach.

Last April, Ryan signed up to do a two-and-a-half-day vocation working with a doggie day-care provider in Massachusetts. The following month, he spent three days working with a dog trainer in Oregon. Fairly quickly, Ryan figured out that he preferred training to day care and was confident that he could start his own business in the field.

Moreover, Ryan says the experience helped him to realize that he didn't have to abandon the skills he developed as a banker. Rather, he says: "It became obvious to me that there were a lot of kennels and trainers that were very good with animals, but business was not their specialty."

In June, Ryan resigned from HSBC and enrolled in a dog-training school in Missouri for five months to get certified. In January, he launched Beyond Dog Training in Rye, N. H. "It really sounds weird," he says. "But that two- to three-day experience has really been a lynchpin."

Vocation Vacations was started by Brian Kurth in 2004 after he made the leap from unhappy employee to dream-job entrepreneur. At the time, Kurth says he was burnt out working for Ameritech in Chicago and logging in three hour commutes.

"I didn't hate corporate life, or my job or my boss," he says. "But I hated the lifestyle. I wanted to do something more fulfilling. I was tired of going to dinner parties [where] people would talk about their exciting lives as architects or photographers and I worked at the phone company. People's heads hit their spaghetti plates when I told them. Nobody cared, and neither did I."

So in 2000, Kurth quit his job. In quick succession, he worked for a dot-com, got laid off when the economy imploded, and then sold his house and spent six months driving across the country, eventually settling in Portland. That city didn't have much in the way of industry and was in the midst of a recession, so he ended up working on a vineyard doing product marketing and sales for a family winery. Kurth found that there was something immeasurably rewarding about stepping outside of his routine and trying something new. Inspired, he came up with the concept and business plan for Vocation Vacations.

The idea is relatively simple. Participants pay anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand (transportation, lodging, etc., aren't included) to experience life as, say, a chocolatier, a fashion designer, or a race-car driver. The time spent immersed in their fantasy job allows them to get a 360-degree perspective without the risk of quitting their own jobs or investing heavily in a new career.

Laura Thomas says she's "miserable" in her job as a business-operations developer for a government contractor in Alexandria, Va. "My boss knows I'm not happy, and he's looking for something else [for me at the company], but there isn't a lot of opportunity for growth."

Not quite ready to quit altogether, Thomas recently took a turn through Vocation Vacations, shadowing a hotel concierge and a hotel general manager for two days. "It was really great. I got to be completely immersed in the environment. I got to see the good, the bad, and the ugly." And best of all, she says: "I really got to see it firsthand before taking the plunge and quitting my job."

Kurth, something of a dream-job rainmaker, has created a niche industry built on the hopes and aspirations of people like Thomas. Catering to the unhappily employed, Kurth has discovered an untapped market. Indeed, according to a survey by the Conference Board, a management and marketplace information nonprofit agency based in New York, less than half of all Americans say they're satisfied with their jobs. Taken in 2002, the survey reveals the highest level of discontent since they first conducted the study in 1995 -- with job satisfaction dropping from 60.9% then to 47.2% presently.

To date, Vocations Vacations has placed hundreds of people in the U.S. and Britain in occupations ranging from brewmaster and art-gallery director to music producer and cattle rancher. "We're on our way to thousands," says Kurth. The company has doubled the number of its available mentors to 500, with another 40 to 50 new possibilities in the works in such fields as Broadway producer, meteorologist, and zookeeper.

Kurth attributes much of his success to listening to prospective clients and addressing their areas of interest with relevant mentors and programs. Recently, there has been a growing demand and interest in marine biology, aquarium managers, and voiceovers. However, Kurth says there's a limit to the types of career vocations he will pursue. For instance, he says he recently turned down an offer from a pornography producer who wanted to become a mentor.

Kurth himself is expanding his own dream. He just signed a deal with Warner Books for a how-to vocational lifestyle book. On April 27, the Travel Channel is debuting a new series based on his "vocationers" called This Job's a Trip, chronicling the vacationing adventures of his clients. Kurth is also working on what he calls "ancillary products," such as DVDs, T-shirts, and a possible magazine. He says his expansion is all based on the "vacationing" lifestyle -- no longer daydreaming but living the dream.

Just ask David Ryan, who has had to hire additional trainers for his fast-growing business. "I get a lot of broad smiles when I tell people that I went from a million-a-year banker to a dog guy," he says. No doubt he's smiling back, all the way to the bank.

The Simple Money Making Secret of Online Millionaires

noreply@blogger.com (J.K.) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 14:36:00 +0000

James Sorelly Story

http://www.poweraffiliatesystem.com

The traditional way to identify new business opportunities is to find the biggest market you can, then figure out what it needs that you can sell. Leading twentieth-century companies all serve fundamental human needs on a worldwide basis by manufacturing and distributing physical goods.

More modern equivalents include some of the first generation of successful Internet companies, such as Expedia, Yahoo or eBay. Each of these firms started as a small venture that attempted to use the Internet to make a targeted market more efficient. They make money by making their chosen products or information easier to access or more affordable for their customers. All of these companies have grown to become huge corporations, but their approach to identifying and building new businesses based on Internet efficiency is still visible today for you.

Traditionally, improving business efficiency was a job only for high-priced management consultants. Today things have changed in favor of the individual entrepreneur especially when it comes to fixing business inefficiencies that result from poor distribution of information. This change is because of the Internet arrival. Improving the flow of commerce by improving the sharing of information between businesses and their customers can help you create an Efficiency Millionaire business.

The cornerstone of any entrepreneur´s success is faith. To build your own business into a million-dollar success story, you must believe in your ability to offer a superior product or service to your audience. You have faith in your friends, your family, your religion – why not have faith in yourself for a change, too?

If you have faith in yourself and develop a strong action plan you can put one foot in front of the other and execute that plan.

Online Logo Creating Business Is Booming

noreply@blogger.com (J.K.) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 09:39:00 +0000

Morgan Lynch Story

http://www.logoworks.com

Google Options Makes Masseuse a Multimillionaire

Sarah Hawley, a 10-year public-relations veteran, was moving from a job at a large agency to launch her own business, Mockingbird PR, out of her home in Gilbert, Ariz. She soon discovered that her experience bringing in clients wasn't enough. Appearances mattered too.

"Freelancing without a logo or Web site or identity really hurt me going up against agencies or even small boutique firms," she says. "If I went to pitch business to someone, I would give them my proposal. But if they wanted to check me out, there was no image to put in front of them. I had to do something to be more professional. I was committed, but I looked like someone just doing it on the side."

It was time to get a logo. More than just printing up business cards, a logo can create the kind of brand identity that becomes instantly recognizable to customers and also communicates that this is a serious business. Hawley analyzed a few different logo vendors and decided upon Logoworks.com, a five-year-old online provider of logo services for small businesses based in Lindon, Utah.

"I liked that their designers were spread out [across the country]," she says. "So none of the designs looked the same, and they weren't influencing each other." She also liked the ease of the process and the turnaround time. But most importantly, she really liked the cost. Hawley chose the firm's Platinum Package, which gave her 10 designs to choose from and unlimited revisions for $600 -- a fraction of the cost of getting a logo from an agency, which can start at $5,000.

But until recently, distinctive, well-designed logos were the province of large companies. Extremely costly and time-consuming to produce, they were for the most part out of reach of small businesses. Logoworks was launched specifically to address the needs of small businesses and offer them high-quality logo design solutions at an affordable price.

The company got its start when Morgan Lynch, Logoworks' CEO, was working in software development for an insurance company. He was in charge of rebranding the company, and found the experience frustrating and expensive. "We ended up spending a lot of money on agencies, designers, etc.," he says. "Hundreds of thousands of dollars and a few years later…they came up with [something] I thought was O.K., [but] I wasn't really excited about it."

In 2001, after investing millions in building software and a design platform to do what he calls the heavy lifting, Lynch launched Logoworks.com. "We took a lot of the processes -- the meetings, the relaying of information between what businesses were looking for and graphic designers, what images they wanted, what colors -- and put it all online," says Lynch. "It's very efficient and eliminates the inefficiencies in the real world -- and we can do it at a fraction of the cost."

It works like this: Customers fill out an online form providing information that will be incorporated into the designs, such as color and style preferences, type of business or product, and how the logo will be used. Next, they choose from among package options, with prices ranging from $299 to $1,499. The packages are based on number of designs, as well as the option to create stationery and Web sites.

Based on these selections, initial design concepts are made and returned within three days. Next comes the revision process, and then the design is finalized. Although the process is Web-based, at every step along the way a customer can consult with his or her personal-account manager.

Logoworks.com is another example of how the Internet is dramatically changing the landscape for small businesses. In this case, it allows them to have a logo worthy of a multinational corporation at a reasonable cost. "Small businesses are waking up and saying they too can have a great brand," says Lynch. "Ten to 15 years ago, it would have been cost prohibitive and unattainable for [them]. They can look like a national chain even if the business is only two people working out of their home."

To date, Lynch says the company has come up with 45,000 logos. While the company doesn't disclose sales figures, Lynch says the firm's sales have increased 100% each year since its launch five years ago. While the majority of the company's clients are based in the U.S., Lynch says that about 10% to 20% of their business comes from overseas businesses that want a Western marketing look. Currently the company is plowing profits back into more R&D and software development to expand their capabilities and offerings.

Last year, the company got some bad publicity when a couple of its designers were accused of stealing others' logos. Following the accusation, Logoworks.com issued a statement saying it has fired the designers and taken steps to ensure such a situation wouldn't be repeated in the future.

Still, the company says 98% of their customers are satisfied with their experience. In her case, Sarah Hawley says the decision to get a logo really kicked her business up a notch. "I had a client in Atlanta, and they were skeptical about how committed I was," she says. "Once I put a logo in front of them, it registered with them that this was not some fly-by-night thing -- it was a full-time job. I was able to show them a professional image, and they're now a full-time client.

Moreover, Hawley recently returned to Logoworks to have them design her stationery letterhead. Clearly, first impressions for a small business can make a big impact on the bottom line.

Making Millions Selling Diamonds For 99 Cents

noreply@blogger.com (J.K.) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 11:39:00 +0000

David Wirtenberg Story

www.outrageousdiamonds.com

David Wirtenberg, 28
Outrageous Auctions (eBay User ID: outrageousauctions)
New York City
Projected 2006 Sales: $8 million to $10 million
Description: Engagement rings, wedding bands and other jewelry

44 Unusual Ways To Make Easy Money On The Internet

Bad Fishing Trip Makes A Florida Man Rich

Turning Talk Into Sales: David Wirtenberg loves to talk. "I could talk your ear off," he says. "I love what I do. I'm a very passionate person." His ability to make sales, and his prior experience in sales for Bear Stearns and Auto Data Processing, helped him build his business from scratch in 2003. His father-in-law became his inspiration and behind-the-scenes mentor. "He said, 'Let's see if we can sell jewelry on the internet,'" Wirtenberg recalls. "I went to 47th Street in Manhattan. I knocked on every door. I didn't know anything about diamonds at the time. I was looking for suppliers, for an education, anything." He ended up buying a couple of diamond rings, and he immediately sold them for a profit on eBay. "I thought, 'This could be something.'"

Many Facets to His Business: Today, Wirtenberg sells through his websites (www.outrageousauctions.com and www.outrageousdiamonds.com) and through eBay. "I use eBay to get new customers and new traffic," he says. "Most of my diamond auctions start at 99 cents. Sometimes I lose money; sometimes I make money. Whatever makes the customer happy, I do. Our packaging is second to none. Sometimes we pack our diamonds in Faberge eggs [for free]. Once you have customers, you have those customers for good."

Personal Touch: Wirtenberg speaks fondly of the personal connections he has made and recalls the time he and his wife, Danielle, personally delivered a $14,000 ring to a customer in California. "The fringe benefits touch you deep inside," he says. "You play a huge role in people's lives. I have provided advice on people's engagements. I feel I am blessed every single day with the direction this business has taken."

How To Start Successful Online Translation Business

noreply@blogger.com (J.K.) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 19:55:00 +0000

Jurga Zilinskiene Story

http://www.todaytranslations.com/

44 Unusual Ways To Make Easy Money Online

Seven Million Dollar Business

Jurga Zilinskiene can genuinely claim to being nothing else but an entrepreneur. Jurga has her first business brainwave at the age of six, after finding some old packets of seeds in the loft of the family house.

The fact that she went from living in a Lithuanian town to own Today Translations, managing over 1,500 linguists across the globe, in just five years, makes her story even more remarkable.

“There were beetroot seeds, onion seeds and 10 or 15 other types,” she explains. “They were very old. I took them down to the market and sold them. I had quite a queue. I think that I was selling them very cheaply.”

The young Jurga wasn’t happy building up a seed-based empire, however, and at the ripe old age of 10 went into the pet breeding business with a little help from the family pets. She would also buy sweets and sell them onto her schoolmates.

By the age of 16, she started making serious money by importing cloth from the United Arab Emirates and selling it on. A year later, she was running her own small supermarket. She somehow found time to get married, but the relationship turned sour and she moved to the UK aged 19 to study law.

“I eventually completed part two of the law degree, before I decided that I didn’t want to become a lawyer, but I liked the idea of understanding the law,” she says. “My legal knowledge has come in very useful in my current business, since about 80 per cent of our business currently comes from law firms.”

The current business in question is Today Translations, which Jurga set up in August 2001. In a short period of time, Today has gained a portfolio of over 200 clients, with Jurga in charge of a huge team of linguists who translate, interpret and proof-read documents in over 160 languages, from Arabic to Yoruba.

Jurga is setting her sights high for Today – she plans to double the company’s turnover every year, not a mean achievement when the business is set to make $900,000 this year.

The twists don’t end there though – Jurga has managed this success despite the fact she has not borrowed a penny in startup funding.

“The investment I made in the business was gradual,” she explains. “The final figure was about $20,000. It was my own money – money I had made and saved from previous ventures.

“I never borrowed from the bank. I don’t like borrowing from the bank, some people might say that I am old-fashioned in that way, or maybe un-British, but I believe in natural business growth.”

Using a business sense honed since her seed-selling days back in Lithuania, Jurga realised that there was an opportunity to set up a translation business in the UK that offered a truly personal service to clients.

Jurga, seemingly in a bid to work in every profession that exists, was working as an interpreter at the time.

“I had been working as an interpreter myself, mainly interpreting in Russian, but when I was working as an interpreter, I found it hard to plan my time.

“I also saw that there was a real opportunity to start a business that would offer a better, more personal service than other agencies seemed to be providing.

“There has never been a better time to consider a career as a professional linguist, whether as a translator or interpreter. The British armed forces in Iraq and elsewhere are also crying out for more Brits able to speak Arabic. There is such a shortage that they are turning to students taking Arabic degrees,” she says.

In another example of her determination to succeed, Jurga learnt how to design her own software, after not finding a developer who could meet her needs.

“I initially wanted to buy or commission a database,” she explains. “I consulted about 10 companies and individuals, but after failing to find a programmer to meet my needs, I decided to do it myself.

“So, I hired a tutor and had training in visual basic. But when my tutor told me that particular type of programme could not be designed, I bought a book and found a way to design it, until I ended up with precisely the database I wanted.”

Having shown such dedication and versatility in her entrepreneurial career, it’s not surprising that Jurga is slightly disappointed by some of the British press coverage of Eastern European migrants.

As she points out, not only do new arrivals start up new companies, they also provide much-needed labour which would push up prices and staff costs if removed from the UK workforce. However, Jurga hasn’t encountered any prejudice herself.

“I have not found it a problem being an outsider or an immigrant. In fact, it has sometimes seemed almost an advantage. People – both individuals and organisations – have been extremely welcoming and helpful.

“Also, being a foreigner has certain advantages in my line of work,” she says.

Broken Teeth Lead To An Unusual Business

noreply@blogger.com (J.K.) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 12:55:00 +0000

Profiting From The Disabled

Lost Election Makes Man a Multimillionaire

Simon Purchall Story

http://www.smilesavershungary.co.uk/

For most people, a trip to the dentists is a potentially painful experience to be avoided unless absolutely necessary. Simon Purchall’s trip to face the whirring drills and mouthwash was much like any other, except that it gave him the inspiration to set up a groundbreaking business.

Purchall cracked his teeth in a biking accident and was horrified when his dentist told him over £20,000 was required to repair the damage. There seemed little option other than to pay the hefty dental bill until his Hungarian wife, Veronika, suggested that he get the work done in her native Budapest.

“Like most people, I had a few reservations about going to an ex-Communist country for dental work, but it was amazing,” Purchall recalls. “The level of service and expertise was fantastic. I decided to have all the treatment done there and saved about £16,000.”

Back in the UK, Purchall realised that such trips could form the basis of a potentially viable business. An IT freelancer for the previous decade, he admits that becoming an entrepreneur was a long-held ambition.

With Veronika being a qualified dental nurse, and the obvious candidate to provide translation in negotiations with Hungarian dentists, the couple decided that the opportunity should be exploited.

After plumping for a suitable name, SmileSavers, Purchall was confronted with an array of tasks to get the business off the ground. Starting up a UK-focused company presents entrepreneurs plenty to chew over – adding the Hungarian element left the duo with a tangle of extra concerns that needed to be thoroughly ironed out.

Purchall had to undertake research into the legal and insurance ramifications of recommending dentists to UK patients, as well as working out what qualifications the Hungarian dentists had, and what they meant.

Luckily for Purchall, when Hungary joined the European Union in the formative days of SmileSavers, Brussels decided to accept all of the country’s qualifications without demanding further training.

“We looked at prices and what was available on the NHS compared to Hungary,” Purchall explains. “Fortunately, the dental systems in the UK and Hungary and very similar.

“We got legal advice and contracts drawn up with dentists so that we were covered and patients got a decent level of service.”

Several trips to Hungary followed, with Purchall running the rule over various clinics he’d found via the internet.

“We networked with Hungarian dentists and took plenty of expert advice, but we also considered our own experiences as to what a good dentist should be,” he says. “We wanted people whop could fully communicate with clients. The moment we had a hint that someone wasn’t right, we didn’t use them.”

Purchall funded the set-up costs of the business with his own savings and continued working while Veronika dedicated herself full-time to the venture – a move he admits was a mistake: “I probably should’ve stopped working much earlier, but it was a big leap I was taking.”

The couple approached their bank for advice, but were told that would be little financial assistance required as their outlay was comparatively small. The website development costs, potentially the greatest burden, were negated by Purchall’s IT expertise, allowing the job to be done in-house.

SmileSavers was initially publicised by Google ad words, despite the expense of the search terms Purchall needed. However, the website now has a good page ranking and is positioned properly, allowing the business to cut costs on ad words.

Purchall also invested in magazine advertising after the business’ launch in 2003, opting for publications such as Saga in the belief SmileSavers had a greying target market. However, it was only after the hiring of a PR company did he see results – eventually. SmileSavers has recently been covered in several national newspapers.

“We were naïve, because our target market is broad, it isn’t just older people,” Purchall explains. “A friend of ours worked at Westbury Communications – we hired them for six months and we got virtually no coverage out of it. They were tearing their hair out because people weren’t biting.

“It’s only now that contacts they made are coming off, so it was certainly worthwhile.”

Purchall has struck deals with several Budapest hotels and apartments, further cutting down the cost of the trips. Despite originally planning to refer patients to large numbers of practices across Hungary, Purchall now works with just two large Budapest clinics that are able to cope with demand.

Although contractually prevented from talking about how much commission SmileSavers has made from referring clients to Hungarian dentists, overall sales were over £600,000 last year, with expectations of a £1 million turnover in the next 12 months.

Customer numbers have rocketed, prompting plans to expand the business significantly in the forthcoming year.

“We need to get the message across that Hungary is the centre of excellence for dentistry,” Purchall says. “Saying that, we don’t want to alienate ourselves from British dentists.

“We’d like to forge better links with dentists here so that they feel completely comfortable referring patients to us.

How Any 13 Year Old Kid Can Become A Millionaire

noreply@blogger.com (J.K.) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 10:54:00 +0000

44 Unusual Ways To Make Easy Money Online

Dominic McVey Story

http://www.viza.com

At the age of just 13, Dominic McVey exploded into the public’s consciousness when he started importing collapsible scooters from the USA, making him a reported £5 million. Now 19, McVey has sought to find other lucrative niches in the market, with varying success. Here the outspoken entrepreneur talks about his astonishing rise, his views on UK business and his plans for the future.

How did you first come up with the idea for importing the scooters?

I had been looking round the internet and was looking for the credit card website Visa, but I spelt it wrong – Viza, and I came across this website which was manufacturing scooters and I really wanted one. But I couldn’t afford one, and neither could my parents, so I emailed them and said “I think you should send me a scooter, I would sell loads over here.”

They said no, but if you buy five, we’ll give you one free. So as I really wanted one for free, I saved up to buy five, which I did by organising under-18s discos, buying stocks and shares and selling mini disc players in Japan.

So I got five over, and got one for free, which I was really happy with, but then I thought I should sell the other five, which I did within a week, to family and friends. The next week I sold 10, and it just went on from there.

I never really saw the potential until the product landed on my doorstep, and I guess I had to move on it. A lot of people say it was luck, but if you look at football teams they can score a goal one week, but they are not going to score goals every week if they’re bottom of the Premier League.

I looked at in a very childish and naïve way, which is probably the best way to do so at the time because you weren’t bombarded with stress and issues and problems.

I was very, very competitive. I guess I was very mouthy about other products out there, but all the others out there were crap and expensive. The press really liked me and everyone liked the product, so that really helped.

You’re quoted as saying you weren’t very keen on the scooters, but you saw the business potential in selling them, which must be quite unusual for someone quite young?

After a week, I guess I was bored of the product. What really shone to me was that I could see everyone in London going to work on one, everyone needs one in the boot of the car if they got stuck in traffic, I really drove that message home.

I used to go up to Liverpool Street station and get chased around by the security for handing out flyers, I’d shoot of on my scooter in my lunch break from school. I sold to a lot of city executives as toys, but people began to commute on them, which caused a bit of a fuss with road safety people.

Did you find your age was a problem in terms of being taken seriously?

I blagged it a lot – a lot of the business I did was over the phone or on the internet. I was very good with computers at the time and had friends who were great with IT, so I had great presentations.

Whenever I did meet companies, even if I thought I couldn’t get any business out of them, I asked them a million and one questions about how they did business. They loved telling me because they felt like the other brother telling the kid what to do.
The added advantage is that the money you make is in a sense all yours, because you don’t have a mortgage or bills, all I was paying for was the internet and my mobile phone.

So you overcome the age gap with technology?

Yes, everything was done from my bed!

You didn’t go on to university – do you feel there is too much to pressure for young people to do that rather than start up a business?

It’s all wrong. The only reason that the government are pressuring people to go to university is because of the banks. Banks make more money from student loans and overdraft than anything else.

The banks tell the government they will not employ anyone without a degree, the banks being the biggest employers in the UK, the government reacts to this.
A lot more people should be encouraged to take their own steps in life and encouraged to go into apprenticeships and traded skills. There is a huge skills shortage, especially women.

Do you think there’s enough support for young people who want to start up their own business?

I think there’s a huge lack of support. What I’ve noticed about young people trying to get into business is that they aren’t really my cup of tea.
There are very few young people who are trying to start up a business and there doesn’t seem to be enough of the right sort of people. Back in the 40s, 50s, 60s, they would’ve been working on market stalls, that to me is the tight kind of entrepreneur, ducking and diving, trying to make his money to get into the bigger picture.

But a lot of the new breed of young entrepreneurs they don’t have to seem to have this streak in them, they seem very middle to upper class, parent may have a lot of money and not much to do with it.

What more could the government do to help young entrepreneurs?

There’s far too much red tape, there’s nowhere for people to go. I went down Walthamstow High Road the other day and I went into a local frame store, which is opposite Waltham Forest Town Hall.

I said to him, “you’ve only been here six months, how’s it going? Are the council helping a lot?” He said, “What? I only hear from the council when they want their fees paid.”

I said, “is there no forums, no networking groups, no grants, helping you out?” He said he wouldn’t even know where to call and they probably don’t know he exists. It’s the same for everything in this whole street, which is a nice street and is beginning to buzz a bit.

Profiting From The Disabled

noreply@blogger.com (J.K.) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:29:00 +0000

Stacey Strother Story

http://www.diversity-services.com/

Seven Million Dollar "Boring Business" Secret

Google Options Make Masseuse A Multimillionaire

Nobody wants to hire a guy who has to go to the doctor all the time--or so W. Devin Sartin thought. Honorably discharged from the Army because of his asthma, debilitating migraines, and inflammation of his chest, Sartin, a veteran of the last Gulf war and the Panama conflict, managed to land an accounting job with a firm that graciously accommodated his many medical appointments. But when he was laid off for economic reasons, Sartin worried that his next employer might not be so generous. His expectations were low when he walked into Diversity Services, an employment agency based in New York City.

As it turned out, the agency specialized in providing work for those marginalized by the labor market because of disabilities, age, or sexual preference. Only about 30 for-profit agencies in the U.S. focus on placing workers with disabilities. And Diversity Services practiced what it preached. Sartin, 38, was pleasantly surprised to walk out with a temporary position as a payroll assistant at the agency, rather than at one of the client firms for which it finds employees. He has earned two pay raises in less than a year. "There is no issue with Diversity about my disability," he says.

Sartin is among more than 2,000 workers who have found temporary or permanent jobs in the past year through Diversity Services. Some 40% of those workers had disclosed a disability, ranging from schizophrenia to blindness. Founded in 1996 as part of a small company called Rainbow Staffing, the agency was inspired by the death of the sister of co-founder Jeff Klare. She died earlier than he expected from a serious illness after an employer forced her onto disability and cut her off from the work she loved. Stacey Strother, a former policy analyst for the city government, bought a 51% stake in Diversity Services in 2000 and brought the company under one name.

By expanding from helping client firms fill office support and graphics jobs to making placements in other fields, Strother boosted the agency's annual sales from $2.6 million to $7.8 million by 2004. Like other employment agencies, the company receives a percentage of the salaries of the workers it places in jobs from client firms.

To make sure that her employees' medical issues don't disrupt the work of clients who hire them, Strother quickly provides substitutes for any workers who become sick and have to take time off, giving clients a number where they can reach her around the clock. She pays the workers their full salaries on the days that they must be out, allowing them to use vacation days they have accrued. She understands their situation firsthand. "Because I live with depression, I empathize with candidates with disabilities," she says. "My job is to find the balance between the candidates' being able to demonstrate their professional abilities while giving the clients exactly what they need."

Kelly Thurston, a contracting officer for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York, regularly hires temporary office workers from Diversity Services. "If one temp doesn't work out," she says, "we tell Stacey, and she sends a new one."

Relieved of the stress of hiding their disabilities, workers such as Sartin express strong loyalty to Diversity Services and its clients. When he took a few days off recently because of a migraine, he says, he was paid and didn't worry that he would lose the job to another temp. "I didn't feel any stress at all about it," he says.

Making Great Money Reselling Old Mannequins

noreply@blogger.com (J.K.) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 14:45:00 +0000

Judi Henderson-Townsend Story

http://www.mannequinmadness.com/

Making Millions Cleaning Other People Garages

44 Unusual Ways To Make Easy Money On The Internet

Inside a dreary warehouse in an industrial section of San Francisco, the floor was littered with bodies. Some lay in piles while others had been dismembered, their legs, heads, and arms carelessly strewn about. Judi Henderson-Townsend had come to buy a mannequin to use as a backyard sculpture after seeing one advertised online. The seller, it turned out, was a former window designer who collected and rented old mannequins. He was moving East and closing up shop, so Henderson-Townsend impulsively bought all 50 mannequins for $2,500. She stood them in her basement, then named her new business Mannequin Madness. That was four years ago. Today her mannequin inventory fills a basement, a two-car garage, and a separate storage facility.

Henderson-Townsend, 47, builds her stock—generally department store mannequins made of fiberglass—by helping stores dispose of their unwanted models, which go in and out of fashion much like the clothes they showcase. (In the past year, for example, headless has been the rage.) She rents and sells them to a customer base that includes clothing stores, brides, eBay vendors, photographers, and theater groups. Men often want a female torso to pose on a bar or at a fraternity house (the Asian ones sell out first). Lawyers sometimes use mannequins in court in order to demonstrate gun or knife wounds. Artists use them for projects or for sketching. And once a warehouse owner who couldn't afford a breathing overnight security guard bought a mannequin, dressed it in a uniform, and posed it at a desk near a window.

In the past year Henderson-Townsend grossed $150,000, an increase from nearly $100,000 in 2003. At least 70% of her business derives from sales, and the rest from rentals. One-third of customers come via her website (mannequinmadness.com) and another third from eBay, and the rest consist of those who shop by appointment at Henderson-Townsend's home, which is located in an upscale Oakland neighborhood. That is where Swati Kapoor, a clothing designer in Milpitas, Calif., bought her first mannequin. "Judi gave me a lot of information about how mannequins could help my business," says Kapoor, who owns nine.

What surprises Henderson-Townsend most is the high demand for body parts. Jewelry designers often want hands, and leg lamps are strangely popular. "I get an awful lot of people asking about them," says Henderson-Townsend. So many, in fact, that she offers assembly instructions on her website.

Lawyer Declares War On Termites

noreply@blogger.com (J.K.) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 09:51:00 +0000

Pete Cardillo Story

http://www.cardillolaw.com

44 Unusual Ways To Make Easy Money On The Internet

Lawyer Pete Cardillo can still remember the horror of lying in bed one night while termites gnawed his house out from under him. "They were eating into the floorboards and eating toward me," he says. Thankfully, that was just a nightmare. But such scenarios have now entered Cardillo's daily life.

Sixteen months ago Cardillo, 48, left his post as a managing partner in the Tampa office of Pittsburgh-based Buchanan Ingersoll, one of the country's largest law firms, and opened his own practice exclusively dedicated to termite litigation. In 2005, Tampa-based Cardillo Law brought in revenues of about $550,000, with profits of an estimated $400,000. Cardillo goes after large extermination companies that he believes fail to detect or remove termites, and insurers that refuse to pay for damage.

He is busy; subterranean termites cause more than $2 billion in property damage each year in the U.S., and that number is expected to rise, in part because of the growth of an especially aggressive termite species.

A lawyer for 22 years, Cardillo began his "termite odyssey" in 1996 when, on behalf of a real estate developer, he brought a claim against extermination giant Orkin, charging that the company did not deliver on its promises and was unresponsive to his client. Orkin settled. Cardillo currently has 25 active cases--most are multimillion-dollar suits on behalf of developers and condominium associations.

One lawsuit, expected to go to jury trial in July, charges that Orkin falsely advertised a guarantee to prevent and stop termites. (In fact, the bugs in question ate through the outer walls of a condo complex until the stucco fell off in chunks, according to Cardillo.)

Another action accuses Orkin of forgery and racketeering and seeks $60 million in damages. (The balconies were so eaten away that residents had to vacate for emergency repair work--and, evoking images from Cardillo's nightmare, the bugs also built a mound under one apartment dweller's bed.) Orkin spokesperson Martha Craft declined to comment on any of the specific cases.

But she emphasized that "less than 1% of Orkin's termite customers file claims. Of those claims, well over 98% are resolved to the customer's satisfaction without setting foot in a courtroom." Cardillo is also taking on insurance companies for not giving their customers the right coverage on properties that have been ravaged by wood-eating insects.

Cardillo charges $400 an hour, but most often he works on contingency, earning 50% of the final settlement. His niche demands some pricey--and unusual--expenses. An entomologist (who provides expert advice and testimony on insects) costs him $13,000 a year. He pays $35,000 to a structural engineer, who helps "prove the state of collapse" and offers repair estimates. Then there is the $36,000 bill from a contractor who cuts holes in termite-infested buildings to expose the damage. Such expenses will probably be reimbursed by his client.

While most of Cardillo's cases are in Florida--where extermination ranks among the largest industries--he plans to expand farther into the "termite belt," which snakes south from Virginia to Texas. Cardillo pledges to fight the steely-jawed pests--and those who falsely vow to eliminate them--wherever they are. "When you find out how evil and powerful termites are," he says, "they creep into your subconscious."

Helping Yourself By Helping Others Get $750 Million Worth Of New Contracts

noreply@blogger.com (J.K.) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:29:00 +0000

Million Dollar Home Business

Lost Election Makes Man a Multimillionaire

Laura Ricci Story

http://www.1ricci.com/

At a time when few consultants used the Web, Laura Ricci dared to start a company that required customers to work with her virtually.

After 20 years helping engineers and scientists win government grants, Laura Ricci knew two things. She knew she hated flying all over the country to client sites, where she would spend days or weeks advising technical teams about how to write their funding proposals. And she knew that her customers used the Internet -- and had, in fact, been using it long before the World Wide Web bounded onto center stage.

So in 1996, Ricci decided to launch a grant-writing consulting company from a spare room in her home. She would do practically all her work there, posting customized training manuals on a Web site and FTP-ing proposal drafts for both sides to mark up. Vendors, contract employees, and even customers would be required to work with her virtually. Face-to-face interaction would be almost eliminated. "It was an experiment," says Ricci. "I was designing against being a road warrior."

The first virtual project Ricci managed was the construction of her own Web site by a developer in Albany, N.Y., that she had never met. She also took advantage of her early-mover status by snagging free prime placement in the consultant and marketing categories of Yahoo.

But Ricci's temerity was most evident in what she didn't do. She refused, under any circumstances, to print brochures. "If people ask me what services I offer, I refer them to the Web. If they insist on a brochure, they're not worth pursuing," she says. In fact, in 1999 she broke off talks with a large computer company -- one with a growing E-business specialty, no less -- because it required printed marketing material.

On the other hand, companies like Radian International and Lockheed Martin have been more than happy to play by Ricci's rules. "Lockheed Martin is a big organization with a massive bureaucracy around contracting with new people," says Ricci. "Yet it made a decision to pick me based on the Web site alone. That proves this can be done."

And done it is. Since she started, Ricci helped your clients get $750 million worth of grants and new contracts.