Posts Tagged ‘Let’s Get Ahead’
In this age of crass consumerism, we often find ourselves swimming through our own clutter and wondering, “Do I really need all this stuff!?” This is about the time to start considering the finer points of a Garage Sale!
You may be wondering, who is going to buy this old “Welcome Back Kotter” lunchbox or you thimbles of the world collection… YOU’D BE SURPRISED! Organized correctly, a garage sale can potentially bring you in some pretty good bucks!
STEP #1 – TAKE INVENTORY – GATHER AND OBTAIN ITEMS AND KNOW THEIR VALUE!
Go through every room in your home and gather items you no longer want or need. Even if you don’t see value in the items, someone else very well might, so don’t throw things away! You need lots of items to attract buyers! Be sure to take a bit of time and research your items online to find out their values. Antique collectible pottery, comic books, toys, etc. are often mistakenly sold at garage sales for far below their true value only to become an experienced treasure hunter’s retirement fund or make a featured appearance on the Antiques Roadshow!
If after all your sifting and sorting you still don’t have much stuff to sell, consider visiting other yard and garage sales and scoop up their “desperation sales” and do a little treasure hunting of your own. Sometimes, you will find items for literally pennies which you can then re-sell at your garage sale at a decent markup. Books are a good example. Many people will sell old books for 5 or 10 cents. You can snatch these up and sell paperbacks at 50 cents and hardbacks for a dollar! And keep your eyes peeled for the incredible collector finds. A few months ago, I found a high-end, very decorated large sombrero in excellent shape for a dollar! These usually go for much, much more! High-end audio equipment and musical instruments are also items people tend to unload unusually cheap, normally out of just not knowing the value of what they have and a desire to get rid of that bulky, big black box (a vintage Marshall guitar amplifier) taking up space in the spare room. If you have some expertise in a certain area of merchandise, use it to your advantage to find super deals which you can turn into big dollars at your garage sale!
STEP #2 – ADVERTISING
Spend a few dollars and take out a decent classified ad in your local newspaper including a list of top-attraction, big-ticket items you have for sale along with the other types of items you have. You stand to get many more people interested with a long list than you do with just – “Garage Sale” and an address. Also be sure to make large, colorful, eye-catching, very readable signs to place around your neighborhood to help direct people to your sale! Also, if you have a particular skill or business of your own, even if it is completely unrelated to garage sales, make sure to have plenty of business cards onhand as you will be meeting and conversing with many different types of people from your community that you otherwise would not have an opportunity to communicate with. Garage sales can be yet another great networking opportunity! You never know what sort of side-business you may strike on sale day!
STEP #3 – SMART PRICING MAKES YOU MONEY!
It’s ok to price your items a bit higher than you think you may be able to sell them for as many shoppers peruse the sales and live for haggling. You can always come down in price as you deal verbally, but going higher than the price you have marked is almost never an option, so price high enough to leave yourself some dealing room. A good rule of thumb for a garage sale is that if an item is in good condition, price it about half of what it would sell for new. If it is a collectible, be sure to label and price it as such. Also, make sure to have each item clearly labeled (and don’t put sticky labels in sensitive places of a collectible item or its packaging!). If people have to ask you the price and size of every item you have, they will eventually stop bothering and find a more pleasant environment to shop in. Just think about how annoying it is to shop at a place with no prices posted. I have personally walked out of many stores for just this very reason.
AND LASTLY – GUARD THE CASHBOX AT ALL TIMES!
NEVER leave the cashbox unattended. Periodically throughout the day you may also wish to take some of the larger bills accumulated and stash them inside your home for safety’s sake – especially if you are operating the sale alone!
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Great Invention? Great Idea? What The Hell Do You Do With It!?
Written By: Neil Smith
I get about 15 new crazy ideas for products that I believe could make millions every day, but I could never figure out what to do from that point forward! Well, I finally did some research on this very subject I have pondered for many years, and below is the result of my research. Let’s get to it shall we?…
#1 – PROTECT THE IDEA – This means a patent. The good part about obtaining a patent is that you now own this idea and product in a legal sense and can prevent others from infringing upon it, or better yet, license it for big bucks. The bad part is that getting a patent is a long, drawn-out and very painful and discouraging process. Don’t believe me? Take a look around the US Patent and Trademark Office website http://www.uspto.gov and prepare to be dumbfounded with endless legal-eze, regulations and hoops to jump through. A full patent can run you around $1500 if you do it yourself. Add on about $4000 more if you hire a patent attorney to help you through the process. You may also opt to file for a “Provisional Patent Application” which will give you Patent Pending status for around a hundred dollars.
#2 – MAKE A PROTOTYPE – It could be a full-on version of your final idea or just something simple and clumsy that will help get your point across to someone actually skilled enough to develop it.
#3 – GET A SMALL BATCH OF YOUR INVENTION MADE – If you can’t make the final product yourself, research online and find places that will manufacture small runs of custom products. You may have to work the phones and do quite a bit of running around on this one so sharpen your communication skills!
#4 – BEAT THE STREETS – Yep, the old fashioned way! Research retailers where your product would likely be a fit and go see them. Since you are new and untested, be prepared for a lot of rejection, but if you are persistent and keep going, you are bound to eventually find that first person who will say yes and agree to carry your product if it is a good one. Then you can use them in your future sales pitches (i.e. “This product is currently being carried in Sam’s Custom Toothbrush!”) Most people like to see your product already having some level of acceptance elsewhere before considering it for themselves. Thus getting your first sale is the hardest, but after that it does get easier.
#5 – NETWORK! NETWORK! NETWORK! – And did I mention that you should NETWORK!? Go to trade shows, go to community meetings, join the Chamber of Commerce (in several cities!). Just get out there and meet people anywhere and everywhere. You may find people who can help get your product into new places, or who can give you great new ideas. You may find people who can manufacture your product cheaper and faster and do a better job of marketing. Networking is viral and compounds upon itself continually giving you an exponentially greater pool of resources to tap into as time goes by.
#8 – MARKET YOUR WARES – Do a lot of research to determine what is likely to be the best strategy for getting the word out about your product (print, tv, internet, billboards, etc.). If you do not have the money to market properly, you may be able to obtain financing from a lender if you can get your idea across well enough. Some people who could not obtain loans have done some very creative things to raise marketing funds (thrown parties, car washes, made deals with their local loan sharks using their appendages as collateral!)
#7 – DON’T BE AFRAID TO PITCH YOUR PRODUCT TO THE BIG BOYS! – Do some research and find out who does the buying for Wal-Mart or Target or whoever the behemoth in your market may happen to be and don’t be afraid to call them or march right up to them in person and tell them what you have. You have nothing to lose by going for the brass ring. Just be sure to be professional and coherent about your product and have a neat and clean appearance.
#8 – DON’T BE AFRAID TO PUT IN “SWEAT EQUITY” – Starting your business is almost never easy and there will be times that you will wonder what the heck you were thinking. Then you will think back to that time you were working like a slave to make someone else rich and that is where you will find your inspiration. That is where I find mine! I have been my own boss for 4 years now and although there are times when I literally work nonstop night and day and other times where I am scrambling to find new clients in a frightening panic, I have never regretted taking that big step and becoming my own boss and every day I promise myself that I AM NEVER GOING BACK!
#9 – TAKE SOME TIME OFF AND ENJOY THE FRUITS OF YOUR LABOR – What good is being successful if you don’t take some time off once in a while and enjoy it? Many times, you come back with a fresh perspective on things that enable you to reach even higher highs.
AND FINALLY…
Well, by now you must have figured out that I do not have any “magic bullets” to offer that will make you an instant success overnight. If they existed, everyone would be a millionaire. It’s a lot of hard work obtaining success in life, but the rewards are absolutely worth it. You don’t have to do everything at once. Just take that first step down the path and take on the challenges as they come and just keep moving forward towards your goals. When you finally get a moment to look back, I bet you will be amazed at how far you have come!
Below are some great resources for inventors I have found online. I think you will find them helpful and informative:
uspto.gov – United States Patent and Trademark Office
eHow.com – How To Market Your Invention
Dyson.com – The Patent Process
InventHelp.com – Inventor Help and Education Resources
InventorFraud.com – National Inventor Fraud Center
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