Issue #2410
- WEALTHY: Where does your allegiance lie? (Rick Pendergraft)
- HEALTHY: The most embarrassing – or at least the most revolting – diet pill in history (Shane Ellison)
- WISE: Anita Roddick on business
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- How to sell a $25,000 business for $45,000 (Paul Lawrence)
- How many marketers does your business have? (MaryEllen Tribby)
- It’s Fun to Know… about the world’s tallest known tree
- Add "gimlet eye" to your vocabulary
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Become a Trading Mercenary
In The Last Samurai, Tom Cruise plays a mercenary with no allegiance to one side or the other. His only allegiance is to money and whichever side pays him the most.
That made me think about how traders are mercenaries. They have no allegiance to the bullish side or the bearish side, only to the side that will pay the most money. This is the only way to be successful as a trader. Some of the more famous mercenary traders who played both sides of the market include Jesse Livermore, Bernard Baruch, and Joe Kennedy.
Sure, it would be nice if the stock market only went up and everyone got rich just by buying stocks and holding them for a while. But that isn’t how it works. The market goes up and the market goes down. And during rough economic periods, like the one we are currently in, the market is going to move down.
Yes, you should stick to what you know. But if the companies you love or the system you’re using isn’t working, don’t worry about being loyal. Instead, become a trading mercenary. Your only allegiance should be to growing or protecting your own wealth.
[Ed. Note: Despite what you may think, investing doesn't have to be super-complicated. In fact, once you learn a simple trading secret from professional trader Rick Pendergraft, you may find that making money is easier than you ever imagined.]
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"Business is not financial science, it’s about trading… buying and selling."
Anita Roddick
An Unusual Way to Make a Fortune With Service Businesses
You can make great money with service businesses – but it can take a lot of work. At least that’s what most people think. And I was one of them. Until I discovered a money-making secret almost by accident.
I was in college at the time, and, with a partner, had built a modest swimming pool cleaning business. We were making a reasonable profit, and then some.
The only problem: We were full-time students. And the pressure of running a business and keeping up our grades was starting to become overwhelming. Finally, the demands on our time got to be too much. So we decided to investigate selling the business.
Back then – in the 1980s – the going rate for a pool service account was about six times what the customer was paying per month for the service. In our case, that was an average of $42.50. Multiplying $42.50 by six meant that each of our accounts had a market value of about $250.
Our company handled about 100 pools. My heart began to race when I realized that the business was worth about $25,000. If we could sell it for that, I’d have more than enough money to finish college. And since I didn’t have many other expenses (I was living at home with my mother), I’d also be able to put aside a nice little nest egg to help me start a career.
We put an ad in the local classified section of the newspaper. It wasn’t long before we found a buyer with enough cash to buy us out. And then something interesting happened…
This buyer wanted twice as many accounts as we had. So he offered to purchase 100 more accounts from us if we could procure them.
From our experience in the business, we knew it would cost about $50 in marketing expenses to acquire a new account. Then we could turn around and sell the account to this buyer for $250. That meant an automatic $200 profit. A deal too good to refuse.
In less than 30 days, we’d filled the buyer’s "order" for 100 new accounts – and made a tidy profit of $20,000. (That was on top of the $25,000 he had already paid for the business.)
It didn’t take long for us to realize that if we could find more people in the pool service business who were interested in buying new accounts, we could make a lot of money quickly. And we could do it without servicing a single customer, without paying any employees, without dealing with overhead, and without all the other time-consuming details of running a business.
Over the next couple of years, my partner and I made several hundred thousand dollars in profits by building pool service routes. And we didn’t have to service a single pool.
This money-making opportunity is easy to replicate. You can build and sell all sorts of service businesses – so long as the business has a standard formula for placing a dollar value on each account. That includes lawn care, exterminating, aquarium maintenance, and house cleaning.
And it doesn’t require a lot of time. You don’t need any employees, or even an office. All you need is a little marketing know-how.
Not only that, it doesn’t take much money to start. It’s customary for a buyer to make a deposit of, maybe, one-thirdprice when doing a deal like this. That gives you the capital to do the marketing.
Here are the basic steps to get started:
1. Identify a service business that has a standard value for an ongoing account. In the case of our pool service, it was $250.
2. Develop a marketing plan to bring in new customers. For the pool service business, we had a mailer that that brought in a consistent response. But other forms of advertising could work too – such as door-to-door flyers, newspaper advertising, Internet marketing, etc.
3. Get your business started. Your goal here is not only to build a service business that you’ll be able to sell, but also to test and perfect your marketing approach.
4. Find a buyer for your business. You can use classified ads in newspapers, network through local business groups, and, of course, search for potential buyers via the Internet.
5. Offer to help the buyer build his business by bringing in new customers. This is where having a proven marketing system is essential. By knowing how much an account is worth to a buyer ($250 in our case), and exactly how much it costs to bring in a new one ($50 in our case), you’ll be able to structure a deal that works for both sides.
6. Once you’ve successfully helped your buyer expand your former business, you’re ready to approach similar service businesses and make them the same offer. Helping other entrepreneurs build their businesses gives you a way to extract considerable profits from a service business without needing to operate one on a day-to-day basis.
One final important note: Most states have laws that regulate the sale of business opportunities – and you must comply with the laws of your state. So make sure you get professional legal advice before you get started in this business.
[Ed. Note: You can make a fortune in the service business with Paul's recommendations - and you can do so faster by becoming a master marketer. Get proven advice about how to develop this money-making skill right here.
Putting a twist on the service business industry isn't the only unusual way to make a living. Entreprenuer Paul Lawrence reveals dozens of unique ways a small businessperson can make money with his Street Smart Business Program. Get the details here.]
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Are You Embarrassed of What You Do for a Living – or Just Tired of Doing It?
One woman was both, and while her “acquaintances” at a dinner party snickered and poked fun, she had the last laugh. In as little as two weeks she started a new business for less than $99, soon had to hire additional employees to handle the work, and now lives a life without money worries of any kind.
Here’s how you can do the same, even easier and faster than she did.
Your Marketing Department Needs to Be Bigger
You might be surprised to learn that Early to Rise has 26 marketers on staff.
How big is your marketing department?
I’ll tell you how big it should be. If you have five employees, you should have five marketers. If you have 100 employees, you should have 100 marketers.
Get the picture? Every single one of your employees should think like a marketer. Every single one of them should be working on accomplishing your marketing goals. Yes, they should be doing what their job description says they should do. But every single employee’s job description should include "marketing" as a core responsibility.
Your customer service people should be learning what your customers want… what they like… what isn’t working… and what you can do better.
Your IT people should be figuring out how to make your website easier for your customers to use.
Your writers and editors should be looking for articles that will help engage your readers… subjects that will interest your readers… and topics that correspond with the products and services you offer.
And so on.
This is exactly what we do at Early to Rise. And it’s one reason we’ve experienced such tremendous growth.
If you get all your employees on board with your marketing efforts, you could see your own profits soar.
[Ed. Note: MaryEllen Tribby, ETR's Publisher and CEO, will be telling all in her forthcoming book on multi-channel marketing (co-written with Michael Masterson). Keep reading ETR to find out when the book will be released. In the meantime, you can get the benefit of MaryEllen's marketing expertise and time-tested advice from ETR's team of marketers and business-builders right here.]
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Diet Pill Causes Adults to "Poop Their Pants"
By Shane "The People’s Chemist" Ellison
Diet pills are publicized by appealing to our desire to believe that we can be slim and sexy without effort. This trickery is fueled by contrived "before and after photos," paid-for celebrities, and fake endorsements from steroid-ridden bodybuilders.
Don’t be fooled.
The over-the-counter diet pill Alli is proving to be a big fat scam, just like its commercial predecessor Xenical. Both trade names represent the same drug: orlistat. Once ingested, the drug blocks the absorption of dietary fat intake – both good and bad fats. The activity of the drug only results in about a 5 percent loss of total body weight. Simultaneously, it puts users at risk for decreased absorption of essential, fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, K, and beta-carotene. But there’s one more icky side effect that most people aren’t aware of until it’s too late.
Alli may go down in history as the most "embarrassing" – or at least the most revolting – diet pill in history. While leaching essential vitamins from the body, it also causes users to "poop their pants." Its maker, GlaxoSmithKline, suggests that users "wear dark pants or bring a change of clothes to work."
Skipping one soda per day, or maybe even just looking at a gym, would prove more effective and less risky than using Alli – and you wouldn’t have to carry a diaper to work.
Attempting to lose weight by blocking or avoiding fat is futile. That’s because eating fat in general does not make you fat. Eating unhealthy fat does. Healthy fats (from seeds, nuts, grass-fed beef, avocados, fish, and coconut oil) are essential for proper growth, development, and maintenance of good health. These vital fat sources provide your body with energy without causing you to gain weight. In sharp contrast to the bad trans-fats, carbohydrates, and even protein, healthy fat tells your body to burn fat (via lypolysis and thermogenesis), while making you feel fuller quicker – preventing you from eating yourself into the Fat Cow Hall of Fame.
So stay away from fat-blocking diet pills. And eat healthy fats to stay lean.
[Ed. Note: Diet pills are a "quick-fix" solution to losing weight that doesn't work. But with the guidance of ETR's health experts, you will discover lifestyle changes you can make that really will burn fat and build muscle. Get the details here.
Shane Ellison, a chemist and nutrition expert, can help you stop worrying about your weight, blood sugar, and what other people think. Start feeling and looking your best in 10 days.]
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It’s Fun to Know: The World’s Tallest Known Tree
In a remote section of California’s Redwood National Park stands Hyperion, the world’s tallest known tree. At 379 feet, it is 74 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty. Discovered by scientists in 2006, the tree’s exact location has been kept secret. No, not to protect it from loggers. But rather to keep park visitors from walking around it, which could damage the tree by compressing the soil at its base.
(Source: National Geographic)
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How to Get Others to Agree With You
People are different in so many ways in their preferences and personality traits, yet there are common threads you can pull – and just like puppet strings – you can make the marketplace move to your control.
Within reason, of course. But I want to introduce you to a book (that has long been out of print) that contains many secrets for persuading others to see your point of view. Want to harness and direct the desires of an entire industry – for yourself or a client? There are techniques for helping you do that in this book. Want to use these secrets to further your career? You can certainly do that. Want explosive sales growth? Just use the methods and techniques in this book and watch what happens.
But how can you get it if it’s out of print? We secured rights to republish this book. Then, we brought in ad experts and millionaire businessmen who have used these secrets to make millions. These experts explore and uncover why and how these secrets work in great detail. You get it all. The book – and the interviews and commentary as bonuses.
Please hurry if you want a copy, as we are not guaranteeing our inventory is sufficient to handle all the orders. Click here to get all the details and to order today.
Word to the Wise: Gimlet Eye
A "gimlet" (GIM-let) is a small hand tool with a pointed spiral tip, used for boring holes in wood. We use the phrase "gimlet eye" for a sharp or piercing look.
Example (as used in a review of Claim of Privilege by Barry Siegel in The Atlantic Monthly): "[Siegel] turns his gimlet eye on a 60-year-old imbroglio."
[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker ... build your self-confidence and intellect ... increase your attractiveness to others ... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's new Words to the Wise CD Library.]
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2008
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I thank you for your article regarding the new diet pill ALI as a family member of mine bought this product,kindly e-mail her this @ got2walk@awol.com. thanks again!
“‘Twas brillig and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe…..”
Great blog. Do you know of any relevant forums or discussion groups?