Issue #2578
- WEALTHY: Looking for additional income? (Paul Lawrence)
- HEALTHY: Lose twice as much weight with this simple tactic (Kelley Herring)
- WISE: Franklin Delano Roosevelt on freedom
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- The difference between those who live their dreams and those who live in regret (Tony Robbins)
- 2 things every eBay shopper needs to know (Judith Strauss)
- It’s Fun to Know… about novels written on cellphones
- Add “scrum” to your vocabulary
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“True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt
5 Steps to Getting a Recession-Proof Side Business Off the Ground
In this troubled economy, almost everyone can use the security that a side business can bring. I’ve been involved in a low-capital side business for years, and it has been a steady source of additional income for me. It’s something you, too, should consider getting into. I’m talking about the event promotion business.
People spend money on entertainment even in tough times, which makes this a truly recession-proof venture. In fact, according to a Times Ascent article, “It has been observed that during a recession, spending on entertainment actually increases.” In my experience, this has been true – perhaps because people are more in need of an “escape.”
This past October, I produced the third annual International Sketch Comedy Competition. It was held at the world-famous Laugh Factory on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. Sketch comedy groups traveled from around the country to compete.
We had a great crowd. I split the $20-per-person admission charge 50-50 with the club, so I went home with a quick thousand dollars. Even better, I recorded the event, and I expect to make as much as $250,000 by distributing the video. Because I had a celebrity host for the event (Barry Williams, who played Greg Brady on The Brady Bunch), there is a good retail market for it.
But I’m not the only person who’s making steady cash by producing and promoting various types of events. One friend of mine, “Ellen,” started out with little martial arts tournaments at clubs. Now, she fills arenas with thousands of seats on a regular basis. “Eddie” makes a nice living putting on karaoke nights around town. The venues pay him $300 to appear for a few hours with his karaoke machine. Then there’s “Jessica.” Aspiring screenwriters pay her a few hundred dollars to attend a two-hour session where they can “pitch” their scripts to film producers. Jessica’s been running these events for years. She rents a hotel ballroom, and has no trouble getting the producers to attend (without compensation) because they’re always interested in fresh ideas.
It requires almost no capital to get started in the event promotion business. It can bring in $500 to $2,000 in a single night. Plus, if you want to expand, there is plenty of room to grow.
Another advantage to this business is that there is such a wide variety of events that you can promote. Concerts and sports events, of course – however, there are many other options.
For instance, if you’re knowledgeable about wine, you could organize wine and cheese tastings. Besides making some money on the admissions, you’d have the potential for additional profits on back-end sales of wines, cheeses, books, wine lovers’ tools, and other related products. If you’re a classic car enthusiast, you could promote an auto show. If you have financial expertise, you could hold wealth-building seminars.
You get the idea.
Keeping Your Costs Low With Joint Ventures
As a newcomer to event promoting, you want to start small. Don’t try to promote a major event at a large theater, stadium, etc. Unless you have some excellent connections, the only way to make something like that happen is to risk a lot of capital.
Instead, one of the simplest ways to get started is to form a joint venture with a small venue. Think of pubs, comedy clubs, dance halls – places that rely on some form of entertainment to bring in customers. Most of these venues have one or more slow nights during the week that they would love to turn into a moneymaker.
In return for promoting an event that brings in a crowd, your joint venture partner will happily pay you a fee or a percentage of the “door” (the admission fees you intend to charge). I’ve promoted amateur comedy club shows where I was paid $1,200 for a few hours of work. I’ve also promoted special ballroom dances where I was paid $500 for two hours. This kind of money may not pay all your bills, but it can be some very nice extra income. Plus, as I said, if you find that you really like the business, you can turn it into a very profitable full-time career.
To secure a joint venture deal with a local venue, follow these steps:
Step 1: Choose an Event to Promote
Start by considering the possibilities in fields where you have some experience. Jessica – who promotes the scriptwriters’ events – has worked in the movie business. I spent several years as a stand-up comic before I produced my first comedy event. But experience isn’t always necessary. Keep in mind that Ellen had zero experience in martial arts when she got started.
Once you’ve come up with an idea that interests you, try to attend a similar event that’s being put on by someone else. You’ll learn more from that than anything else. If you go to an event and you see 200 people there who each paid 20 bucks, you know you have the potential to make a reasonable profit doing the same thing.
Step 2: Identify Possible Venue Partners
Make a list of all the venues that could be joint venture partners for the event you’d like to promote. If you’re a “regular” at any of these places, that gets your foot in the door. It’s even better if you know someone in management.
The first year I promoted the International Sketch Comedy Championships, I had to start from square one. My first criterion for a venue was location. I knew that to give the event prestige, it had to happen in Hollywood, Beverly Hills, or Los Angeles. My second criterion was size. In order to make a decent profit, I knew I needed a place that could seat between 100 and 300 people. By establishing those two parameters, I narrowed down my search.
Step 3: Create a Proposal
When you present your offer to the venue owner or manager, you’re going to want to do it with a formal proposal that lays out all the specifics. You might, for example, offer to promote a concert by a popular local band at a skating rink for 50 percent of the “door” on one of their slow nights.
Step 4: Contact the Venues
Pick up the phone and call the first venue on your list. Ask to speak to the manager or owner. When you explain that you’re calling to talk about promoting an event, you shouldn’t have much trouble getting through to the right person.
You don’t need to be a great salesperson to present your proposal. If they’re not interested in it, move on to the next venue on your list.
It’s all a matter of finding a place that’s not only a good match for your event concept but also, at that particular moment, happens to be looking for a way to build up business.
Step 5: Market the Event
The marketing plan you draw up will, of course, depend upon the nature of the event itself. But here are some ideas to get you started.
• Send press releases to local newspapers and TV/radio stations. I once promoted a ballroom dance event that got a great write-up. My phone didn’t stop ringing, and the event was completely sold out. I actually had to sell “standing room only” tickets.
• See if you can get the venue to promote your event to their customers by putting up signs and mentioning it in their ads.
• Encourage the participants in the event to help you draw a crowd by getting their friends and family to come.
• Don’t forget to place notices in the “Things to Do” sections of local publications.
Remember – even when times are tough, people still need to get out once in a while and have fun. That makes promoting events a great business that can thrive in any economy. And doing a joint venture with an appropriate venue can put you in business with little to no capital… almost instantly.
[Ed. Note: Paul Lawrence has started over a dozen profitable enterprises, specializing in low-capital small businesses. For more easy-to-follow information on how to start your own event promotion business, learn about Paul's event promotion program here.
Starting a business may be easy... but if you don't keep working at it, it will get you nowhere. Discover dozens of strategies that can help you stay on track with your business goals right here.]
Important Message If You’ve Lost Money From Your IRA or 401(K)
I don’t know about you, but I’d barely trust Wall Street and the Big Banks with the 63 dollars in my wallet right now, never mind my IRA, 401(k), and life savings!
That’s why thousands of smart Americans are now taking matters into their own hands and quietly moving their money into much smarter positions “off Wall Street”.
One investment of as little as $1,000 has the realistic ability to quickly swell into a full year’s salary in just a few weeks’ time – and then repeat over and over again.
Another is currently offering the chance to gain year-in and year-out returns of 65% with 99.77% certainty – even in today’s economy.
Worth Quoting: Anthony Robbins on Commitment
“I believe life is constantly testing us for our level of commitment, and life’s greatest rewards are reserved for those who demonstrate a never-ending commitment to act until they achieve. This level of resolve can move mountains, but it must be constant and consistent. As simplistic as this may sound, it is still the common denominator separating those who live their dreams from those who live in regret.”
Caveat eBay Emptor
You may be one of the millions of people who regularly shop on eBay. I’ve done it on occasion, and never had any trouble. Until recently. As a result of that experience, I learned a few lessons that can help you deal with two of the potential problems you might encounter.
Here’s the story…
One of the things on my brother’s birthday wish list was a pair of jeans. He’s hard to fit, but there is a brand/style he’s been wearing for years. Unfortunately, that style has been discontinued. So I thought I’d try my luck to see if I could find it online.
A few clicks of the mouse, and Eureka! A vendor on eBay had not one but three pair of the exact jeans I was looking for. I bought all three, paid for them via PayPal with a MasterCard, and patted myself on the back for being such a smart shopper (and thoughtful sister).
The jeans arrived promptly, and I immediately gave the seller “positive feedback” on the eBay website.
I should have waited. My brother was thrilled with the jeans… but one pair didn’t fit. They were enormous. Clearly the wrong size, but mismarked on the label.
Here’s where the first caveat comes in: Not all eBay vendors are established, professionally operated businesses. Some are just folks who get their hands on some merchandise and make a few extra bucks by selling it. There’s nothing wrong with that – except most of them don’t really have a policy in place for handling customer service complaints. And when a problem arises, the customer is not automatically “always right.”
Had I bought the jeans from a major online retailer, there would have been no question. I could have returned them for a refund or exchange, even if they hadn’t been mismarked. But the small-potatoes vendor I bought them from refused to do that, saying “I do not accept returns unless I made a mistake, which I did not.” She had bought the jeans “on a final closeout sale from a specialty shop that went out of business.” She couldn’t return them, but that shouldn’t have been my problem. Unfortunately, it was.
I had already blown my first recourse by prematurely giving her positive feedback on eBay. So I took the only other avenue open to me and filed a dispute with PayPal. But I didn’t stop there. I filed a dispute with my credit card company, too.
That’s the second caveat: PayPal does an excellent job of resolving disputes, but don’t rely solely on them. Things can happen that are outside of PayPal’s control. So wear a belt and suspenders. In addition to working with Pay Pal, you can – and should – contact your credit card company directly about any charge to your account that you disagree with. Had I not done that, I would have been out $60.
Briefly, here’s what happened: PayPal investigated, and the seller agreed to issue a refund upon receiving the merchandise. I sent it off via certified mail, return receipt requested, and waited. And waited. And waited. For some reason, it took almost a month to reach its destination. (That’s an example of what I meant when I said “Things can happen that are outside of PayPal’s control.”) When it arrived, the seller refused delivery, presumably taking advantage of the fact that the time limit PayPal had given me for returning the merchandise had expired. Meanwhile, as far as PayPal was concerned, my case was closed.
But as far as MasterCard was concerned, the case was still open. They had issued a conditional credit as soon as I reported the problem. And finally, finally, finally – four months later – I received this from them in the mail: “Great News! Our investigation is now complete and we are pleased to inform you that the conditional credit you received for $60 is now permanent.”
The belt broke, but the suspenders held.
[Ed. Note: Have you ever had a customer service "issue" with an eBay vendor? How did you resolve it? In hindsight, is there any way you could have avoided the problem? Share your experience - and advice - with your fellow ETR readers here.]
Get Taut & Trim… With a Pen
You may think you have a good idea of the number of calories you consume. But research shows that we underestimate our actual intake by approximately 200 calories per day. That equates to 10 pounds of added weight per year!
So forget about estimating the number of calories you eat, and start keeping track.
A recent study of people who were trying to lose weight, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found that those who kept a food diary lost an average of 18 pounds in six months. That’s compared to an average loss of nine pounds for those who didn’t keep a diary.
Hold yourself accountable in 2009, and don’t let those added calories take a toll on your health. There are many free food diaries available, as well as online programs to help you meet your goal of making this year your happiest and healthiest so far.
[Ed. Note: The first step to keeping slim is eating healthful food. Nutrition expert Kelley Herring can help. With her e-book Guilt Free Desserts, you'll discover dozens of delicious and healthy recipes that you can easily make at home. Pick up your copy today.
And for more expert advice on how to lose weight, stay healthy, and live a longer, fuller life, sign up for ETR's natural health e-newsletter.]
It’s Fun to Know: Bestselling Novels… Written on Cellphones
Move over e-books… the bestseller lists of Japan are filled with books written (and often read) on cellphones.
Known as “keitai shosetsu,” these melodramatic novels use common text message shortcuts like abbreviations, emoticons, and sentence fragments. They are usually serialized and then uploaded to websites or sent to subscribers via (what else?) cellphone. But they’ve also been printed and/or turned into movies, and have become a cultural phenomenon along the way. Five of the top 10 bestsellers on Tohan’s (a major book wholesaler) 2007 list were cellphone novels.
(Source: Christian Science Monitor and The New Yorker)
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Word to the Wise: Scrum
A “scrum” (SKRUM) is a rugby play in which players from both sides line up around the ball and struggle to gain possession of it. By extension, the word is used for any disordered or confused situation involving a number of people.
Example (as used by Rob Walker in a New York Times article about a buying frenzy at the H&M store in Manhattan): “But even this minor retail scrum was, in a way, of a piece with the zeitgeist: It was about snapping up a high-end apparel brand [Comme des Garcons] at apparently bargain prices.”
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2009
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I sell on eBay and I take it seriously. I go out of my way to be fair in my prices and ship within two days.
If their is a complaint, I take care of the issue and resolve it.
So far, in my purchasing on eBay I have not had any problems.
My suggestion is to deal with a seller who has a good reputation, it is listed on the listing, be sure and check. You can also read feedback by others to see how they are viewed.
Mary
We purchased a vintage VW on eBay. We drove 150 to pick her up. All seemed okay until we were about 50 miles from home. A piece of the engine mount came loose and flew across the freeway. We took the car to a mechanic and it took a month to get the parts.
The eBay seller claimed that we were “taken” by the repair shop and that nothing was wrong with the car. We found out about the eBay Auto Protection Program and filed a complaint. We were told that it had been over a month since the purchase of the car and that our complaint could not be considered.
About 2 months later we purchased another VW from another eBay seller. This time the seller would not give us a title. The
state of CA would not give us the title. So, again we contacted
the Auto Protection Program. This time we were told that we
could not file a complaint because we had filed one already in
the past six months………….
Forget trying to get help or service from eBay. If you are high
bidder you won it!
I hope you provide a followup on this newsletter’s amateurish approach to ebay shopping. Judith handled the Paypal complaint incorrectly. The reason Paypal turned her down is it appears as double dipping by filing with Paypal as well as the card issuer to get funds back. If Paypal can’t get your money back, you contact the card issuer AFTER Paypal fails, not both at the same time. She also wasted a bunch of return mailing costs on certified w/return recipt. For under $250 total purchase, delivery confirmation was fine and would have provided the online viewable proof of return needed even if the seller refused delivery. Paypal also covers you if your card issuer says you waited too long.
I tried to post the Paypal terms, but your auto response says it’s spam with no way to fix it. Great system.
I believe it was early last April, I won a bid on a digital camera that was to cost me almost $300. I didn’t need the camera — we already had this model. But a friend of my wife’s liked ours so much, I agreed to try and find her one, too.
Well, the seller kept coming up with excuses about why the camera wasn’t coming. Since I live in Canada, and the seller was somewhere in California, it was looking like it was being held up by Customs.
I guess I should have been more suspicious than I was that the shipping tracking number wasn’t valid. However, the seller had very poor written English, so it was easy to assume he or she had not carefully copied it.
Cutting this short, I never realized that both eBay and PayPal had limitations on when it’s possible to dispute a fraudulent transaction. This seller lulled me just past that three-month point. The eBay site no longer recognized the item number for me to lodge a complaint, so I couldn’t even contact them.
All I was left with was sending what I had to the U.S Postal Service fraud section in Chicago (I believe it was). They acknowledged receipt of what I’d sent, but I never heard anything more. I’d at least managed to acquire the possible name of the seller, and her general location in California. I also had her AOL E-mail address. If the post office was determined enough, I’m sure they could have gotten her true adress through AOL.
Initially, I do believe that the seller was legitimate. She had a large body of positive feedback on eBay. But I think that as the weeks went by, she decided that locating the camera she may well have sent was getting to be more bother than she wanted, so she just decided to drop involvement with it and keep my money. She had said that the package was insured, and she’d look into that as an option for me.
I suggested to the post office when I sent in my complaint that she may not have defrauded just me, but she may even have laid claim to the insurance for the lost camera. If she did, then in essence she was robbing them and me again, for it was my payment that paid for the insurance that had been placed upon the camera package. Thus, any insurance money paid out for the lost package should have been mine., The seller had lost nothing, after all — she had alrerady been paid by me.
I learned a lesson. But it left me with an aversion for eBay or PayPal to such degree that I can’t see myself ever buying a thing on eBay any longer. And if ever left with a choice on some other kind of on-line purchase, I would not have a transaction that involved PayPal. I have actually NOT made a purchase since then because it needed to be done via PayPal.
You say if you had dealt with a large online vendor you would not have had a problem with a refund. That is not always true as I have had problems with large retailers. But that is just it. If you had been dealing with a large retailer you would not have been able to buy the discontinued jeans at all. Plus, a large retailer can afford to eat the S & H, loss on ebay fees, etc. as a small ebay seller cannot.You admit you did not do your part by not checking out the jeans before leaving feedback.It was not the sellers fault that the jeans were mismarked. Anyone who sells clothing knows that marked sizes can be very different on different brands, etc or even on the same brand.It depends on the sewer. Some sew looser or tighter seams making a difference.You should know you are taking a risk by buying from a source where you cannot try them on. There are plenty of brick and mortar stores that do not allow returns due to the nature of the product. A lot of ebay sellers have accepted returns only to get back another product other than the one that was sent out.So,you can see the reluctance to take returns You could have resold the jeans yourself at a profit most likely since they were a discontinued item. eBay fees have gotten so high that sellers are making no profit or little profit. I think you need to try and see the other side of the equation before posting stories like this. So, don’t buy clothing on ebay if you can’t afford to take the risk. Buy from Sears or Kmart and you can return them. But don’t trash ebay sellers.