The opps that made me money last year Pt 1
Today’s Adventure in the Biz Opp Jungle:
‘In which Charlie reveals what he learned about making money in 2008 – what has worked for him and what hasn’t.’
Hi
I meant to write this email to you at the end of last year...
More than a kind of 2008 roundup thing...
It was going to be my hands-in-the-air, no-nonsense, straight-up, cards-on-the-table review of what biz opps worked well for me... and what didn’t.
But what with the new baby and everything, I got a bit behind schedule.
No matter.
Having thought about it, this is an even BETTER time to send this email to you. Because here we are, crouched at the feet of 2009.
NOW is the time to stand up and grasp your dreams with both hands... and give those dreams a smacker on the lips... a tongue sandwich... a peck on the cheek.... or a head-butt in the face.
Depending on how romantic you are.
So pull up your sleeves and read on, because here it is...
How I made money in 2008 PART ONE
Before I start, understand that this isn’t an objective review of the “best biz opps of 2008”.
What I want to do is discuss openly with you what has worked for me, based on what I like to do.
As you know, I tend to mix and match lots of different bits from different biz opps I come across.
My own personal path towards financial security involves a combination of many elements... home publishing, book selling, classifieds, copywriting, article marketing, consultancy, e-letters and other bits ‘n’ bobs.
This has evolved over time, based on what I’m good at. And I’ve slowly shed the stuff I’m bad at.
For instance, I’ve got no head for numbers. I’m naturally risk averse. And I don’t really like sport.
So while I could easily have gone the other way... into trading systems, Forex, shares, sports betting, spread betting, arbitrage and all that kind of stuff.... that’s not what makes me tick.
But whatever you get into, what’s most important is that you try and create regular small income streams. Forget about the big money promise and instant riches. They’re fun to think about, and they help sell products (sad but true I’m afraid), but if you want to succeed, think realistically.
If you can make £100 a month in your spare time consistently, this is a real start. Don’t chuck the manual away and think you’ve failed because you’re not thousands of pounds richer.
You can either crank up that income to £100 a week by working at it, learning new tricks, tweaking it to fit your lifestyle and abilities...
Or find ANOTHER income stream and add that to the mix.
Think about it...
With two little earners making you £100 a week, you’ve got £200 a week.... £800a month... £9,600 a year...
Now it gets exciting, right? And you’re only just beginning!
And if some big shot guru has got it into your head that only HE holds the key to your financial destiny in his £97 part work... remember these words of grizzled wisdom from your old mucker Wright:
· No single manual, course or book alone has suddenly transformed my life.
· I’ve had no holy vision of INSTANT EFFORT-FREE PROFIT on the road to Damascus.
· Two people can have different systems and BOTH be right. They can also both be wrong.
All the good information products I recommend have good stuff in them.
To get the juice out them, you need to order them, read them, take what you can and if they don’t look like they can offer you much nourishment, then SEND THEM BACK.
Don’t be afraid to claim refunds. Publishers make unmerited profits out of people’s bashfulness about sending a product back. If it’s not your cup of tea don’t feel bad, return it and get on with something else.
If it IS your cup of tea, then keep going with it! In my experience, great moneymaking opps don’t drop out the sky. In my experience they grow with experience, persistence, happy accident and – yes – quite a few failures.
It’s up to you to make a go of this. Don’t pass all responsibility of the publisher of some book you just bought – even if the claims in the sales page make out that it’s “easy as pushing a button”.
Yes, these products can help you... they can show you stuff... teach you.... even give you products and ideas... but YOU have to put it together in the real world and make it work.
Okay, that’s me finished wagging my finger like an old school marm...
“Great, Charlie,” I hear the cry go up, “you were boring the bejeezus out of me. Now give me the JUICE!”
Okey dokey...
As you know, the Biz Opp Jungle review site and newsletter is a big part of my life. A labour of love, if you like.
But it’s only one little part of what I get up to....
Last year I did a host of other things... the first two of which I will go into in today’s email... the rest in Wednesday’s email.
#1 - Importing
First, I got involved with a friend who was importing back pain devices from Romania. This is quite a fledgling project, but very exciting.
The trick is, you buy the units in bulk (say 100 – 200) at cost price, sell them to various list-holders and health websites in the UK. The manufacturer sorts out the license and all the legal stuff you need!
There are loads of opportunities in various far flung corners of the world, and the credit crisis is only making entrepreneurs MORE determined to reach new markets... and if you can help them do it, you can take a slice of the profits.
My inspiration for getting involved with this was this –Import Mentor, Dave Berriman’s excellent manual.
If you want to try your hand at import, or just see what it’s about, you should get this. It’s really good and definitely one I’m keeping on my shelf.
My review for this is here:
Or you can order a trial here:
#2 – Classified ad marketing
Secondly last year I tried my hand at doing my own classified ads.
In a little joint venture I agreed to help a small business start-up sell their “How To” books in the newspapers. The books themselves were really simple, short things that cost less than a tenner.
Not a huge profit then, you’d think, after paying for the advertising.
And you’d be right.
But the idea was that these book buyers could then become newsletter subscribers, website members, and buyers of more expensive products.
It’s what’s known as ‘name generation’. You attract newspaper readers through ads, offsetting the cost of the ads with the profits from the books....then use them as your customer base.
Simple!
If you’ve read my Inbox Tycoon – or if you’ve ever tried growing your own list of customers – you’ll know that the holy grail of business is to find a source of people to sell to.
Well, this is one really old fashioned way of doing it.
But you know what? I LOVE the old fashioned way. These are tried and tested methods of making money that ALWAYS work.
And there’s nothing like putting a small ad into a newspaper and seeing responses come in.
Best of all, the strategy for these sorts of ads hasn’t changed in over 10 years.
There’s a very specific formula. And there’s nothing I know about it that I haven’t learned from Tim Lowe’s web marketing strategy. You can see my original review here – been up on my site for years, but like I say, it still works!
Or you can order from Tim here:
Wait, there’s more...
Ok. So those are the first two biz opps that have worked for me in 2008.
But there’s more, and I’ll be back with all the details on Wednesday.
Later alligator
Charlie Wright
The Biz Opp Jungle