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Interested
in getting a nice little side-business going on the Internet?
Or maybe even from your living-room table?
But
you don't have too much money, you don't have too much time,
and you're not exactly Bill Gates when it comes to technology.
Sound familiar?
A
lot of people are in the same boat. The good news is that ETR
has heard you. And now we've done something about it...
We've
asked our colleague Marc Charles to be on the lookout for profit
opportunities that can be run from a kitchen table, your desktop
or out on the road.
Criteria?
They've got to be inexpensive, easy to start, and still have
great income potential, but without a lot of red tape.
They
say when you're first getting your feet wet with a side-business,
the most important dollar to make is the first one. Well, Marc
is an expert at taking beginning entrepreneurs and showing
you how to make that first buck. He knows, because he's done
it dozens of times for himself, his family and his friends.
If
you've been dreaming about starting your own business...now
you can get started for about the price of 2 lattes.
And
get this - you could be making money literally just hours from
now. Imagine the feeling of finally getting a side business
launched -TODAY!
Why
not go for it?
Let
me introduce you to "The King of Business Opportunities".
-
Charlie Byrne
"Our
seniors' retirement should never rely on the bull of political
promises or the bear of the market."
-
Barbara Mikulski
The
Baby-Boomer Money Problem
By
Michael Masterson
Recently,
ETR reader Chris Collier wrote me the following e-mail:
Dear
Mr. Masterson,
"You
are always talking about starting to invest and accumulate
savings for retirement in one's twenties and thirties. I
don't recall your writing about those of us who were either
not smart enough or, for various reasons, were unable to
start saving early. We find ourselves in our early fifties
with little or no savings and no financial retirement plans.
I suspect many other baby boomers are in this same situation.
Many of us have two-income families, children in college
or about to be in college, and a small amount of what would
be considered 'extra' money each month.
"With
concerns about the future of Social Security in mind, what
can we do other than hope our kids are able to take care
of us in our old age?"
Here's
my response to Chris - and everyone else in that same (very
common) situation ...
In
fact, I frequently address the financial concerns of baby boomers.
I do it all the time in ETR.
What
I haven't done yet is address the subject in book form. My
previous two books on wealth building, Automatic
Wealth and Automatic
Wealth for Grads... and Anyone Else Just Starting Out,
were written with a younger audience in mind.
The
baby boomers range from roughly 50 to 60. After protesting
the Vietnam War in the 60s and finding themselves in the 70s,
they got to work seriously in the 80s - which has meant the
normal 44-year earning career has been severely truncated for
them.
My
work history is typical. I graduated high school on Long Island
in 1968. For the next five years, I did double-duty, working
and studying on a full-time basis. I worked as a roofer, housepainter,
bartender, and pool installer while earning a bachelor's degree
in liberal arts.
The
next year, K and I moved to Michigan, where I worked triple
shifts - going to classes in the morning, working as an assistant
teacher in the afternoons, managing a restaurant at nights,
and working as a carpenter on weekends. It took me three years
to earn a master's degree in English and American Literature.
After
a brief stint in the bar business back on Long Island, K and
I headed off to Chad, where I spent two years teaching English
literature and philosophy to French-speaking Africans. It wasn't
until shortly after we returned from Africa, in 1978, that
I got my first "real" (i.e., career-oriented) job
as a researcher and junior writer for a Washington-based newsletter
publishing company that specialized in international business.
At
the same time, I pursued a Ph.D. After four years of working
full-time, teaching part-time, and attending classes, I finished
the required coursework for my doctorate and began preparing
for my dissertation.
About
that time, K and I had the opportunity to visit her brother,
who had a job renting jet-skis in Key Largo. To make the trip
tax-deductible, I scheduled three job interviews along the
way - two at Florida newspapers and one at a private newsletter
publishing company.
I
wasn't really looking for a job. My plan was to finish my dissertation
and see if I liked university teaching. But I did the interviews
... and by the time I arrived in Key Largo, I had three job
offers waiting for me.
I
took the job at the newsletter ... and, a year after beginning
the job, I decided to get serious about my career and start
making money.
I
was 33 at the time and 12 years out of college. Six years later,
at the age of 39, I sold my business and "retired" for
the first time.
Many
baby boomers had a similarly inauspicious beginning. Most of
my high school friends went to Vietnam or dropped out of college.
And of those who finished, most bounced around, like I did,
from one "interesting" job to another.
We
baby boomers were early dreamers but late bloomers. We graduated
high school with all sorts of world-changing ideas but put
few of them into practice. Worse, we grew up thinking that
all we needed was love. With children, mortgages, doctor bills,
and diapers to deal with, we were already well behind the financial
eight ball.
Most
began working earnestly about the same time I did - in the
early 1980s. But few of us went into business on our own. Instead,
the majority became professionals (doctors, dentists, lawyers)
or employees (executives, engineers, accountants, etc.). We
worked loyally and hard. And gradually, over time, we were
able to improve our lifestyles and save a modest amount of
money.
For
a while - in the 1990s - we were doing so well in the stock
market that we felt confident about an early retirement. But
then the tech bubble burst and most of us got creamed. And
most of those who didn't lose money in stocks invested in real
estate, and are now feeling the strain of seeing that market
self-destruct.
Which
brings me back to Chris and his question.
Chris
is in his mid-fifties. And although he (and his spouse) have
been working hard for so many years, he's certain he doesn't
have enough money to retire on. Well, Chris is not alone.
If
I were to take a poll of the people I worked with at my first
publishing job in 1978, I'm sure I'd find that many fit the
following baby-boomer profile:
Age:
55
Personal Income: $75,000
Family Income: $125,000
Number of Hours Worked Every Week: 51
Number of Hours Spent at Leisure: 11
Stock Holdings (including company pension): $125,000
Bond Holdings: $80,000
Equity in Home: $170,000
Other personal property: $30,000
Total Family Net Worth: $400,000
If
you, like Chris, fit this profile, cheer up. There is plenty
you can do to make more money, enjoy a great lifestyle, and
retire comfortably well before you turn 90. In fact, my next
book, Seven Years to Seven Figures, is aimed at baby
boomers who aren't already rich and who don't want
to have to change their lifestyles or keep on working as they
enter their 60s and 70s.
I
won't give away the book's wealth-building formula before it's
published. But I can say that if you are 50 to 60 years old
right now and haven't yet acquired a multimillion-dollar net
worth, you won't get one by finding the next new investment
bubble.
Between
now and the time you are 75, you can expect to make:
These
four predictions are not the result of any major studies or
complicated computer programs. They are my best guesses about
what will happen in the near future based on what I've seen
in the recent past. Maybe I'll be right. Maybe I'll be wrong.
If I'm right, you can see that you won't be able to achieve
any sort of financial independence through conventional means.
Which
brings us back to Seven Years to Seven Figures.
In
planning the book, I set myself a challenge to create a program
that can deliver million-dollar fortunes in under 10 years.
At first, I worried that I had gotten myself into a bad situation
by agreeing to accomplish a seemingly impossible goal. But
the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I knew
how to do it. After all, I had done it myself.
And
when I thought about how long it took me to make each of the
million-dollar fortunes I've earned, I realized that none of
them took longer than seven years. Most of them, in fact, took
three or four years. This is something to keep in mind as you
read the book: The strategies that I suggest - though designed
to work for you in seven years - may do better than that.
Today's
Action Plan: You'll be able to get my specific ideas
about how to get rich quickly when the book is published
this autumn. In the meantime, keep reading ETR for ideas
on what you can do now to enhance your lifestyle and make
more money.
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Italian
Sales Secrets, Part 1
By
Yanik Silver
With
the Italian victory at the recent World Cup, I thought back
to my last vacation in Italy ... and to what I had learned
about how skilled the Italians are not only in wine, food,
art (and, of course, soccer) but also in sales. They've developed
several techniques that are fascinating and extremely profitable
to study.
For
example ... in the Armani store, I found a jacket that I liked.
But I was wearing a polo shirt that was a bit thicker than
a regular dress shirt, so the jacket didn't fit right. The
salesman took a quick look at me, and brought me a new Armani
shirt (in my exact size) to try on underneath the jacket. He
also brought me five more jackets to try on. None of the jackets
worked ... but, in the meantime, I had fallen in love with "my" Armani
shirt. Yep, I ended up buying it, even though it was way overpriced.
My
wife did her fair share of shopping on that trip too, mostly
in Venice. We went in and out of boutiques all day. Whenever
she found a sweater she was interested in, the salesman would
bound into the dressing room with two or three more colors
for her to choose from. And, sure enough, she bought more than
a few of those sweaters in a couple of different shades.
In
another boutique, as my wife tried on a blouse, the sales rep
laid out several outfits that went well with it. And, of course,
she ended up buying more than she originally came in for.
Many
of the salespeople my wife and I encountered on our trip used
this effective technique: When they saw that we liked an item,
they'd surround us with similar complementary items, betting
we'd be unable to resist. Much of the time, they were right.
If
you're in sales, give it a try. If you pay attention to your
customer, you'll be able to guess what she's looking for. Then
make buying easy by providing her with everything she could
possibly want.
[Ed.
Note: Yanik Silver will be revealing one of the most profitable "hidden" Internet
income opportunities around in ETR's
Secrets of Easy Internet Money teleconference series. And
be sure to check
out his website.]
Say "No" to
French Fries
By Jon
Herring
French
fries may be America's favorite side dish, but they are very
high on the glycemic index and often fried in hydrogenated
oil - two factors that increase the risk of heart disease.
And that may not be the worst thing about them ...
Four
years ago, scientists at Stockholm University discovered that
French fries are full of a chemical called acrylamide.
This is a cancer-causing substance that forms when starchy
foods are cooked at high temperatures, particularly when they're
fried.
If
you want a healthier potato side dish, slice a sweet
potato into thin wedges or chips. Toss with a little olive
or coconut oil, sprinkle with sea salt and herbs, and bake
at medium temperature until crisp(usually about 45 minutes).
Despite their "sweet" flavor, sweet
potatoes and yams are lower on the glycemic index
than white potatoes. And they are rich in vitamin A, copper,
fiber, and healthful carotenoids.
It's
Good to Know: Seeing the Sights ... at Your Own Pace
By
Suzanne Richardson
I'm
not big on tours (or throngs of strangers) when I travel. I
like to see a city at my own pace, stopping for coffee or ice
cream, or pausing to step into a shop crowded with antiques
or books.
That's
why I find tour-via-headphones so appealing. Some online services
now offer audio guides for various U.S. and international cities.
Just load up an MP3 file, and you can stroll through the city
of your choice while listening to a guided tour. Had I known
about the following services when I headed to Europe last spring,
I surely would have picked one up.
Soundwalk.com -
This site offers 12 different guided walks around New York
City, including tours of the Bronx, Little Italy, and Wall
Street. You can also pick up a tour for the area surrounding
the Boulevard Saint Germain in Paris, or for a boat ride down
the Ganges near Varanasi, India. And Soundwalk has teamed up
with shoemaker Puma to create a series of "Train Away" tours,
which will guide you as you jog through Berlin, London, New
York, or Paris. Get a 50-minute MP3 for $12.00.
Ijourneys.com -
In Old Rome, see the Parthenon and the cafe where Tartuffo
(a delectable chocolate ice cream) was invented. In Florence,
check out the Gates of Paradise and taste Florentine delicacies.
In Venice, wander through the Piazza San Marco and take in
the views from the Rialto Bridge ... all while enjoying your
personal guide's explanations and historical patter. Also available
are tours of Paris, Ancient Rome, and Pompeii. $14.95 for an
MP3 tour that's just over an hour.
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Creating
Your Own Destiny
Imagine
a job in which you set your own hours, and live where you please:
at the beach, in the mountains, in Paris. As a copywriter,
you can. Learn
more about this rewarding career.
Word
to the Wise: 3 "Borrowed" Expressions
With
over 250,000 words in the Oxford English Dictionary alone,
we still frequently borrow from other languages when we can't
quite find a way to describe a certain feeling or experience
in English. Think schadenfreude, doppelganger,
and joie de vivre, among other fairly common expressions.
Then
there are some that you've probably never heard of ...
Take
cavoli riscaldati, for example - an Italian term.
Literally, this means "reheated cabbage," but is
commonly used to describe the futile attempt to revive a failed
love affair. Think about the relationship you tried to rekindle
with a high-school sweetheart - but, like reheated cabbage,
it just didn't turn out well.
Or drachenfutter,
which is German for "dragon fodder." This word is
used for a peace offering -flowers, candy, or wine - that men
give to their wives after doing something wrong.
And
- my favorite - bilita mpash, Bantu for "blissful
dreams." While we have something similar in English, "euneirophrenia" (which
means "peace of mind after a pleasant dream"), wouldn't
you rather try to work "bilita mpash" into your
next conversation?
(Source: They
Have a Word for It: A Lighthearted Lexicon of Untranslatable
Words and Phrases by Howard Rheingold)
