Apple puts out brand new MP3 play technology Click the image for full size

What will they think of next?

GEX

Mr.T - I pitty the fool that tries to copy this key

FOOL!

GEX

I am now faced with the setup of the spring services. You see, Mardox.com is a central hub for many projects. I started to work in Pool services about 4 years ago. One year after Mardox created a landscaping service. Just for the area of Sherbrooke Quebec.

Now in out third year we are faced with the question weather or not we want to go pro or not.

I started talking to my wife and girls about getting laptops, a printer and Mobile Internet.

Well here we are. Three laptops, 1 small printer Internet and more.

At least now we will be able to show clients the different landscapes that we can offer, Print out a bill and do all this in the Rogers internet service area.

Now back to my programming rant.

Who is going to program all the presentation site, order forms and billing process? Me!

I only have one thing to say.

FREAKIN RABBIT WHOLE.

If a company has a wireless internet connection open it does not mean that you may download BIG FREAK-IN files while you wait in the doctors office or while you have breakfast at a local restaurant.

Get this… ITS FREE and others may want to use the bandwidth.

so get it right. ITS FREE FREE FREE not for ABUSE.

Notice the “F” the “R” the “E” and then other “E”.

thanks for reading

GEX

9 – The Scroll Lock – It’s like an appendix except the appendix actually does something.

8 – WEP – This officer Barbrady of security couldn’t secure a paper bag.

7 – Floppy Port – When was the last time anyone used a floppy disk?

6 – PS/2 – Why must this continue to vex us?

5 – VGA – Take your analog, interference-inducing ass home.

4 – PCI LOCAL BUS – the party is over. The hosts are yawning. Can you puh-lease get a clue and leave?

3 – IDE – 100MB/s in the age of SATA says: Die Already!

2 – FireWire – Does anyone use this and why?

1 – BOIS – And just why are we still using character-based, low-res BIOS in 2010?

This is from tha back page of the MaximumPC Mag of Spring 2010.

GEX

Like what the heck? Lets start off with work. My wife and I are seeing more and more people, Kids, teenagers and young adults, doing the stupidest thing. In this entry, lets refer to our person as Joe.

Joe Is 19 years old. Joe works for a company in, Oh lets say Research and Development. When Joe started his job he was told that the company will allow him to schedule his own hours. The way the company words is like this. There is a list of people who are willing to work. The people on this list are closer to the top or bottom of the lest based on how much they work or how much work they miss.

Company X does not have a problem if you do not want to work on a specific day. No problem. They will simple put someone else on that day. But how here is my problem. Joe accepts to work on Mondays, Wednesdays, and the weekend. But now one day he decided that he didn’t want to go in to work on Monday. So what does he do? Joe says home. Doesn’t call in to work and give an excuse or even both to e-mail his boss with a lame “Oh! I’m Sick today” phrase.

I say the problem has to do with the company and its over-lax work ethics. Kids today are told that they don’t have to do anything that they don’t want to. In turn they do not want to work for a company that will fire them after missing some work. The company “X”, does not want to have a reputation of firing their staff. Who wants to go to work for company like that? Also with the spread of the internet, its way too easy for someone to put a blog entry and slander the company name.

No really What the heck is wrong with people today? Here is a second example.

Now lets use Jane for this example. Jane is a work at home mom and uses the internet for more of her advertising. Lets say she runs a small web site that sells jewelry. Now, Jane is looking for anyway to advertise her page and product. She has already been through the business cards, flyers, public ads. Then she went to the internet radio ads and banner advertising. Now she finds that she is not making the millions of dollars that she thought she was going to rake in.

So! Last on night when she could not get to sleep, Jane finds a document on the internet promising her millions of bucks a day. This document explains how she can bypass, crack, or even steel from other companies on the internet.

Lets use AdsFreak.net as out victim company. This is a real site and I am one of the developers for AdsFreak.net. So in this aspect I know what I am talking about.

Jane finds out that AdsFreak will pay her for every banner click that she provides from her web site. This is fairly simple. She has to put some HTML on her web pages and when one of her visitors clicks on the banner ads, AdsFreak will give her a monetary value for that click. This isn’t rocket science.

But now back to that document. Jane finds a part in that document that explains how she can get even more cash out of AdsFreak.net. It explains in detail that if she were to put the banners on her site tens or hundreds of times, she would get even more clicks. Then the documents explains how she can cheat the system If she made a point of clicking the banners herself once a day. 10 banners in rotation, do 10 clicks, one per banner and get 50 cents in credit.

What the heck is going on with people today? Where did humanity go wrong? When did we start to teach our kids that steeling is ok and that cheating other out of their cash is cool?

Look for all of you out there who don’t seem to give a shit about others. The Internet is built up of real people. The real world is made up of real people. Companies are made up of real people.

Just because you do not see people in a company, it does not mean that there are no humans to be effected. We are all turning into thieves. Would you go into Wal-Mart and flat-out steel a t-shirt or a cup or clock? No! Most people would not because they would be afraid for being caught.

Well I have news for those of you out there. Because of your bad habits with flexible companies, you going to make those companies refuse anyone who really needs that flexibility. This of the mother who can only work 3 days a week because she has 2 kids to take care of. Because of you she will not have the chance at that job that she could have had.

Think about those nice web sites, Services, that are FREE. TOTOALY FREE. Hell in the example of AdsFreak.net, Its more then FREE! Its Paying you to use their service. Thing about these services and what you are doing to them when you cheat the system. By cheating any free service or web site you are just as bad as the hackers that we all hear about in the news.

Looks the bottom line is. If you think its bad or wrong too do then don’t do it. Think before you act. More and More web sites are not going after those people who abuse the systems. More companies are going back to the old way of working. You are expected to be at work Monday to Friday and don’t miss a day.

Its all up to you! Make you own future but remember what you do not will bite you in the ass later.

GEX

Ideally, you should have a product of your own – something you can produce at very low cost, and sell at top price. If you are buying something, advertising and reselling it, in order to realize a profit, you have to mark it up at least 500%. This is not an unreasonable mark-up for mail order sales.

Your product has to have mass appeal, and it has to be something not readily available to your prospective customers except through you. The product should be such that you can carry an inventory without worry of spoilage, aging or other damage. It should be something you can send through the mail – deliver to your customer – for next to nothing in relation to your selling price.

The best money-making product of all is a “How-To” report such as this one. You don’t have to be a literary genius, or even an experienced writer to write one of these re ports. In fact, the easiest way is to buy a set of these reports – read each one over, set it aside and write a similar one with more elaboration or from a different point of view. Give your report a commercially appealing title, set a price for it, advertise it widely in a number of nationally circulated mail order publications, and you could have something that will continue to bring in money for you for many years to come.

The absolute best money-maker of them all is a report you’ve found a great need for, researched thoroughly, and written from scratch. Discovering these needs is not that difficult a task.

If you just don’t have the time to write and market one of these reports, or just cannot produce one for whatever reason, the next best thing to purchase a set of these reports with reproduction rights. Here, you can have a number reprinted for as little as one or two cents each, and sell them for one to five dollars each. The only problem with this approach is that after a year, nearly everyone in mail order will have a copy of these reports, and will be trying just as hard as you are to sell them.

Now, if you have bought the reproduction rights to the reports, you simply rewrite them, put new titles on them, make up a new advertising circular, and send them out as new reports each year. There are a number of mail order self-help reports that have been making the rounds for the past 25 years in just this manner.

Just because you haven’t got the time or the tools to write one of these reports is no reason for not producing one. If you have an idea or the background material, and the confidence that such a report will sell – get in touch with someone who specializes in this kind of writing, and have then put the finished product together for you. Generally, the fees will run to $100 per page. But this is an “incidental fee” indeed, if you come up with something that has the potential of bringing in several thousand dollars per year for the next ten years or so. Remember, once you have it together and written, you just continue making copies of your original and filling prepaid cash orders for as long as you wish to stay in business.

You should also have advertising circulars, a catalog or a “follow-up” offer for every order you get. Many people make the mistake of “sending their whole store” in response to every inquiry. When you receive an inquiry to your advertising, you should have a prepared sales letter describing the item you’re advertising, and perhaps a circular listing in catalog style some of your other products that tie in with the product of your sales letter. This is known as the “featured Selection Plus Alternates” approach.

When you receive an order for the product you’ve been advertising or featuring in your mail efforts, include one of your product catalogs in the package with the customer’s order. The most effective practice is to include an advertising circular or brochure of a leader item or special-of-the-month, and your catalog. The main thing NOT to do is to include more than a couple of separate “featured selection” circulars. Keep your eyes on how the big mail order houses do it, and duplicate their operating plan within your own means.

The important point to remember here is to be sure to include something different – something new – something your customer has not seen or been offered a chance to buy – with each successive contact you make with him. Once you’ve broken the ice and got him spending money with you, continue showing him products of a related nature that should stimulate his appetite for greater success. For sure, he’ll never be more in the mood to buy from you than when he receives something he has ordered. So every time you fill and send out an order to a buyer, include an opportunity for him to buy even more from you.

You can make a very comfortable income, but you’ll never get rich so long as you’re having your orders dropshipped for you. Having a connection with a prime source that will dropship orders for you is one of the surest and best ways to “learn” the business of selling by mail – but if you really want to make it big, you’ll use dropshipping sources for learning, and to back up your primary product with follow-up offers.

If you don’t have a primary product of your own, the next best thing is to buy in quantity lots at wholesale prices. A work of caution here, though: do not buy a quantity supply of anything until you’ve seen a sample of the product and have thoroughly tested the salability of that product.

Too often, the beginner is sold a quantity of a certain product at so-called wholesale prices, only to find that after he had spent his capital he either doesn’t want to put forth the effort and time to sell that particular product, or that he can’t “give it away,” let alone sell it. Suppliers who operate this way, almost forcing you to buy an inventory to have available for your orders, generally derive most of their income from the sale of the initial “required” inventories. Always investigate and check out the salability before you buy anything more than just a single sample.

Selling your reports depends on your advertising. You have to get the word out that you have “money-making information” available for sale. Start out small by using short classified typed ads. Look at how some of the established mail order reports sellers are doing it, and copy their methods. Do not copy their ads -instead, use them as idea stimulaters for your own original copy. Place an ad in one of the largest circulation publications you can find, then use the income from that ad to buy and place more advertising. In other words, use the money that comes in from the first ad to place similar ads in three or four other publications.

One of the insider secrets of the mail order business is in multiplying your advertising exposure. This means simply that you start with an ad in one publication, and from there, expand your exposure by advertising in more publications. Be patient, and wait for the returns form your current ads, then use that money to increase the number of people who will have a chance to see your ad. It’s as simple as that, and it works every time. Try it and see for yourself.

All of this means that as you are getting started with a new mail order business, you have to reinvest all your business income back into the business. To do otherwise is a straight line to business failure.

Eventually, these people all turn to mail order selling and, one way or another, try it as a pathway to the fulfillment of all their dreams. Why not?

They are constantly bombarded with “fabulous get rich quick” opportunity offers in their mail boxes. In just about every magazine they look at, full page advertisements promising UTOPIA, just for clipping and sending in the attached coupon, jump out at them.

Every one of these opportunity offers seems to promise complete fulfillment of the readers “needs, wants, and desires.” They all make it sound as if all one has to do is sign-up. Send in the small fee. Get the details. An explanation of the plan. Almost immediately, their mail boxes will begin to overflow with letters containing cash, checks and money orders. No big investment – no business knowledge – and no work required.

My friend, all of this is “advertising hype,” designed to “lead the reader into seeing and tasting” the fulfillment of all his dreams. He’s so overwhelmed by “the solution to his wants” offered by the advertisement that he reads “only what he wants to read” in these opportunity offers. That’s “Top-of-the-line” copy-writing, and worth its weight in gold!

Disregarding the obvious “chain letter and envelope stuffing schemes,” these opportunity offers for “riches beyond your wildest dreams,” give you one of two money making plans.

The first is some sort of “book of knowledge”. Written by someone strong on typing ability but generally sadly lacking in the experience of “having done it himself,” and/or the ambition to get away from his typewriter long enough to “make his own mint” using the plan he’s advising you to follow.

These writers tell you to “knock out” a how-to report about something that you’re an expert on. Run a low-cost classified ad offering it for sale in a national publication. Sit back and let the money roll in! The thing is, what does a shipping clerk, an engine lathe operator, or retail sales clerk know that other people will pay money to learn?

Even if one of these people were to come up with a saleable how-to report, where are they going to get the “expertise” to write a real order-pulling ad, which national publication is the “right one” for him to advertise in. The truth of the matter is that very few, if any – shipping clerks, engine lathe operators or retail clerks – know the first thing about writing how-to reports, composing classified ads, or placing advertising in national publications.

In fact, the very idea of undertaking such necessities to successful mail order selling – at the risk of losing a lot of “hard-earned” money – is so frightening to so many people that they never get beyond this part of the instruction sheet. Most of those that do rely upon what they “think” they know about writing how-to reports, composing classified ads, and placing advertising in national publications – would be much better off, and receive a lot more value for their money, by spending it at their neighborhood church or community center.

The other kind of moneymaking plan these “dream fulfillment” advertisement’s offer is a Super Profitable Mail Order Dealership of your own.

You buy the book that explains all the procedures for making millions via mail order. Included with your “book of knowledge,” is a camera ready circular advertising this book – the same one you send for to make YOU rich – and a dealership instruction sheet.

This beautiful piece of sales copy explains how everyone in all parts of the world is just waiting for the chance to buy a copy of this book – after all – you were eager to buy it, weren’t you? Thus, the instruction sheet goes on to explain, all you’ve got to do is either order a supply of these circulars, or the same thousand names.

You can generate orders – get your names – through many different methods. A great source of names can come from the advertisement below, which you could run on a regular basis in several national publications. FREE! All-new home-based money making opportunity! Send SASE to:

This small classified ad can be generating better than 4,000 names per month for you. The report sent out could be a simple one-page instruction sheet explaining how anyone can make extra money by saving, and selling, his incoming mail. Along with each of these reports sent out, include a copy of your Money Tree circular (found in How To Report #301), and your mailing list subscription service sales letters. In reply to this package, expect an average of 3 out of 4 people to send in to get in on the Money Tree Program, and/or your mailing list subscription service. From there, just keep right on going by setting these people up as “independent commission sales people” for your entire list of business success reports and business start-up manuals.

The most important part of a Subscription Mailing List Service is to have a good supply of names – a mailing list ready-to-use, organized and on-hand. As mentioned earlier, you’ll need at least a basic supply of 10,000 names as a starter-supply.

The next most important ingredient is your subscribers’ solicitation sales letter. You must have a sales letter. Find a sales letter that you like, and with a pattern in front of you, perhaps you can write an even better one. You must have a sales letter that appeals to the needs of your prospective buyer, and, solves an outstanding problem for him.

The next thing is to get one of your letters out to all the mail order sellers you know of, and can find. Set up a business plan – you will compile a list of 1,000 mail order operators per week, from incoming mail and advertisements you run across. List these names on 3 x 5 cards, and arrange in zip code order so that you have a record of whom you have sent your offer to, and when. Continue adding to this file of mail order people. Then each week, get a thousand sales letters in the mail – 100 or 200 letters per week just won’t pull in the orders fast enough for you – 5,000 letters per week, and you’ll soon be making $1,000 per week, above your printing and postage costs!

So, and as we have stated a repetition of what earlier, the big-big money in mail order is, always has been, and always will be made by those people with the “moxie” to supply the mail order operators with the products and materials for them to operate a by-mail business. After everything has been “torn apart and put back together again,” the bottom-line fact remains – The easiest, and most profitable mail order business are a mailing list supply business.

Everyone doing business by mail needs a mailing list of prospects to whom he can send his money-producing offers. Every mail order operator alive, and with the slightest bit of ambition to make money, is constantly on the look out for sources of fresh names – prospects to whom he can send his offers. While people continue to “sell by mail,” there will be a demand for mailing lists!

Look at it mathematically: If you had 100 subscribers to your mailing list service paying you just $10 per week, you’d be grossing $1,000 per week! Just 10 subscribers will give you $100 per week – 20 subscribers, $200 per week – and from there, you’re limited only by your efforts to bring in new subscribers. When one company started their service, they sent out 1,000 sales letters the first week, and from those first letters, they came up with 25 subscribers within 5 days. Naturally, they have continued to build their subscriber list and can truthfully say that this division of their business is not only the easiest to operate, but very definitely the most profitable of their entire operation!

Once you’ve got your mailing list service established, it’s only natural that you should “add to it, or have something else to go along with it that brings in additional money.” Keeping the thought in mind, of supplying the needs of people hoping to become rich via mail order selling, we think the logical addenda or extra service to a mailing list service is the furnishing of “original business success reports” than can be reprinted/reproduced and sold by your mailing list subscribers! From there, it’s only natural that you become a “business opportunity book dealer or seller.”

Riches beyond your wildest dreams, via mail order, are entirely possible and waiting for you – provided you have your “finger on the pulse” of the market, and a business plan that will enable you to attain total success. Most opportunity offers cost you money, a lot of your time, and work that even a “work-aholic” would shy away from, and they deliver only enough income to keep you “reaching” for the brass ring, untold frustration and indebtedness.

There are secrets to success in mail order – Number One, an ability to analyze and understand the market – Number Two, the ability to select and offer the right product at the right time – Number Three, an ability to write the right advertisement and get it in front of most of your potential buyers.

Wishing you the greatest of success in all your moneymaking efforts, the only thing left is for you to read over the instructions as presented herein, get organized with your own program, and start selling it. Everything worthwhile takes a little bit of time to organize; a little bit of money to get it started; and a little bit of work to “push it through to total success,” but of all the moneymaking possibilities they have ever offered you, this one can definitely be the easiest and most profitable for you! Take care, and let us hear from you as you grow.

It’s true that most people are busy, but extra time for some sort of home-based extra income-producing project can almost always be found. It may mean giving up or changing a few of your favorite pastimes – such as having a couple of beers with the guys or watching TV – but if you score big with your extra income project, you will have all the time you want for doing whatever you want to do.

The first thing to do is to sit down with pencil and paper and list your daily schedule. What time do you wake up? Then step-by-step, list everything you do each day. Most people will find that they have about three hours each day that can be utilized in a more constructive or efficient manner. As we’ve noted above, you may have to give up the time you waste in your local pub or a few television programs you watch, but it will be worth it in the long run.

Efficient time management boils down to planning what you’re going to do, and then doing it without backtracking. Start by making a list of the things you want to do tomorrow, each evening before you go to bed. Schedule your trips to the store or wher ever to coincide with the other things you have to do, and with your trips to or from work. Organize your trips to take care of as many things as possible while you’re out of the house. Take stock of the time you spend standing around shooting the breeze – especially the time you spend on the telephone – and eliminate all that isn’t necessary.

Whatever chores you have to do at home, set aside a specific time to do them, and a specific amount of time to devote to them. For instance, just one hour a day devoted to yard work would probably make your property the envy of all your neighbors. Don’t try to do a week’s work in one big flurry. Whether it’s painting your house, fixing leaky faucets, or mowing your lawn and trimming your shrubs, do a part of it, or one particular job each day, and you’ll be amazed at your progress.

Take care of all your mail the day you receive it. Don’t let those bills and letters pile up on you. If you’re unable to pay a bill immediately, file it in a special place that’s visible, and note on the envelope the date you intend to pay it. Answer your letters the same day you get them.

The important thing is to think of time as your most valuable asset, because it is. So organize! Decide what you have to do, and what you want to do. From there, it’s just a matter of arranging priorities.

Once you start listing and planning what you want to do, and then carry out your plans, you’ll find plenty of “extra time” for handling virtually any kind of home-based income-producing project. People in general may not like routines or schedules, but without some sort of plan as to what is supposed to be done, the world would be mired in mass confusion

Laws, ordinances and regulations are for the purpose of guiding people. We live according to an accepted plan or way of life, and the better we can organize ourselves, the more productive and happy we become.

The secret of all financially successful people is simply that they are organized and do not waste time. Think about it. Review your own activities, and then see if you can’t find a couple of extra hours in each day for more constructive accomplishments.

When you begin planning, and then when you really become involved in an extra in come-producing endeavor, you should work it exactly as you have organized your regular day-to-day activities – on a time-efficient basis. Do what has to be done immediately. Don’t try to get done in an hour something that’s realistically going to take a week. Plan out on paper what you have to do – what you want to do – and when you are going to do it. Then get right on each project without procrastination.

Finally, and above all else, when you’re organizing your time and your business, be sure to set aside some time for relaxation. Be sure to schedule time when you and your spouse can be together. You must not involve yourself in anything to an extent that you exclude other people – particularly your loved ones – from your life.

Taking stock of the time you waste each day, and from there, reorganizing your activities is what it’s all about. It’s a matter of becoming more efficient in the use of your time. It’s really easy to do, and you will not only accomplish a lot more, you will also find greater fulfillment in your life.

Within the past decade personal shopping services have emerged as a rapidly growing cottage industry with the potential for highly profitable large-scale operations. It’s a service that appeals to a busy, above average income clientele, as well as to corporate clients. And an enterprising person providing this kind of service can make substantial profits.

Shopping for other people is not necessarily a difficult task. As part of the service, the personal shopper usually meets with clients to determine their needs and compile a list of items to be purchased within the client’s specified price range. Then, the shopping begins. After the client’s items have been purchased, the shopper and client meet again. The client looks over the purchases, and once satisfied with the shopper’s selections, pays the bill. Most of the “work” involved with a personal shopping service, is in the shopping itself.

Start-up costs for a personal shopping service can be relatively minimal. There’s little need for expensive equipment and hardly any initial investment in inventory. The biggest expense a home-based shopping service encounters is usually the method of transportation used by the shopper. Since most of a personal shoppers time is spent shopping, an efficient running, low-mileage car or van is essential to get to the many shopping locations.

Most of these services begin as part time, home-based operations. Beginning the service at home allows the novice entrepreneur to maintain a full time job while devoting ten to twenty hours a week to being a personal shopper. Once a profitable client list has been established, and depending on the market size, the service can expand to a full time, multiemployee business with yearly earnings of $50,000 or more.

BUSINESS OVERVIEW

Before starting up any new business venture it is essential to determine if the business is right for you. You must have the right temperament as well as the facilities and an adequate market for your service. Understanding these and other factors involved in operating a personal shopping service before you “take the plunge” will enable you to be prepared for any eventuality. It’s also a good way to insure success and profit. Shopping can be a tiresome, demanding and frustrating undertaking. Obviously if you want to be a personal shopper, you must enjoy shopping. Most of the people who utilize a personal shopping service simply don’t have time to shop for themselves. And some just don’t like to shop. If you are not fond of shopping for yourself, you won’t like doing it for others either, even if they pay you. You can draw from previous personal experience to help you determine if you would enjoy shopping for others.

Once you’ve determined that you have the ability, and would be happy shopping for other people, you’ll need to focus on the “business” side of operating a personal shopping service. And that means you will have to be certain that there is a market for your service.

Generally, a personal shopping service cannot rely on clientele with average or below average income. You’ll need a “pool” of clients who can afford to pay for someone to shop for them. Many personal shoppers have found that people with incomes of $40,000 or more are their best sources of clients. You’ll need to do some research before you start up to determine if your market can support a personal shopping service.

The success of a personal shopping service depends largely on the quality of the service. You must offer professional service and quality merchandise. This type of service requires that you know the best places to shop, be familiar with brand names, and that you work within the client’s price range. The most successful personal shoppers have established good connections with retailers and wholesalers and know where to get the best merchandise and the best prices.

You’ll also need to be creative. Many times a client will need a gift for someone. The client give you a description of the person, and then it’s up to you, the personal shopper, to find the gift to fit that person. This requires not only creativity, but an understanding of people as well.

Another important factor to consider is how you will advertise and promote your service. This is especially important when you are starting up. You’ll need to make your service known to your market area. You should investigate all the available avenues of advertising and determine what’s best for you. Establishing a realistic advertising budget and implementing an effective advertising campaign will mean more business and bigger profits.

EQUIPMENT

Starting a personal shopping service at home is the ideal way to begin. No large facility is needed for storage or equipment. One room can serve as office space for administrative purposes, such as bookkeeping and record keeping. You should also have an answering machine for your telephone, a typewriter or computer and printer if affordable, and various office supplies.

Furnishing a home office can be relatively inexpensive. A desk, chair, filing cabinet and bookshelf are the only basic items needed to begin. Purchased new, these items will cost from $500 to $700. You may be able to find good quality used items for much less. Many yard and garage sales have adequate furniture for a home office, and at good prices.

If you don’t already have an electric typewriter, you can get a good one for $200 to $300. You shouldn’t go overboard here — a typewriter that produces professional looking documents is all that is needed. A computer is an optional expense that can wait until the business has expanded. Once the business is “booming” investing in a computer can bring a high degree of organization and efficiency to bookkeeping and record keeping.

The most important piece of “equipment” a personal shopper will need is a car. Transportation is also the biggest expense this type of service will likely incur. Since well over 50 percent of a personal shopper’s working time is spent on the road, to and from shopping excursions and consulting with clients, an economical and dependable method of transportation is a must.

Most people operating home-based services use their own cars. This alleviates the necessity of buying a new car, or leasing a vehicle. If your car is in good working order and gets good gas mileage it makes sense to use it for your business. The government will reimburse you, via tax deductions, for the driving and other expenses incurred as part of the business.

Many personal shoppers also invest in a small camera. This is a relatively modest investment that adds an extra service to your business. A camera will allow you to take pictures of items you think particular clients may be interested in. Your clients will appreciate this extra service because it allows them the opportunity to see, and approve an item before it is purchased. It’s a good way to build an on-going and trusting relationship with clients, increasing the chances for repeat business.

A good instant camera is sufficient for a personal shopping service. You can get one for about $50 and it’s well worth the investment.

When starting your service, it is important to remember to “live within your means.” There’s no need to get several pieces of expensive office furniture, or buy a new car. Be sensible and get only the basics. Your total investment in equipment and office furnishings and supplies need not exceed $1,000.

INVENTORY AND PRICING

Since a personal shopping business is service oriented, you won’t be selling a specific product. That means there’s not a lot of initial inventory as there would be if you were starting a retail business. However, you may on occasion find it necessary to deal with suppliers of wholesale merchandise, because some clients may demand such merchandise.

If you purchase wholesale merchandise for your clients, it is important that you maintain a good relationship with dependable suppliers of inventory. The better your connections with reliable suppliers, the better your chances of getting those special items for your clients at a good price.

Even though you usually won’t be selling a product, you will be selling a service. And you’ll need to take just as much care in pricing your service as you would a line of products. Most personal shoppers use one of two common methods for pricing their service:

1. Set a fee based on the total price of the merchandise.
2. Charge an hourly rate.

Whichever pricing method you choose must bring in enough income to cover any overhead you have, your time and labor, and leave you with a reasonable profit. This requires knowing what the market will bear, as well as how much you desire to make your service personally profitable.

Most home-based shopping services initially institute a fee based on the total cost of the merchandise purchased. This fee should be a percentage of the purchase price. The percentage will vary depending on the market area, the type of clientele and the total price of merchandise purchased. It’s up to the personal shopper to determine an appropriate percentage.

Generally, the larger the total price of merchandise purchased, the smaller the service charge. For example, if you charge a service fee of 20% on a purchase of $500 or more, your minimum fee will be $100. For a smaller total purchase of merchandise — say, from $200 to $500, your service charge could be 25%. That would leave you with a minimum fee of $50 and a maximum of $125.

This type of pricing makes good business sense if you do a lot of pre-shopping from newspapers, catalogs and by phone. That way, you’ve located your merchandise before you actually go shopping. This will save you time and result in a higher degree of profit on your labor.

Hourly billing for this type service usually works best if your service offers a good deal of consultation as well as shopping. In most cases, personal shoppers who also feature wardrobe consulting as part of their service, charge an hourly fee. If your service is in a market that has the potential to support a wardrobe consultant as well as a personal shopper, you may consider billing clients by the hour.

Many personal shoppers who also offer consulting as part of their service charge as much as $45 an hour. The rate you set depends on how much you feel your time and efforts are worth, and how much the market can afford. You’ll need to make a profit, but you’ll also need to be affordable.

If you limit your service to shopping — no consultations — then an hourly rate isn’t realistic. Sometimes you may only be shopping for $50 worth of merchandise and charging an hourly rate of $30 to $40 will not be appreciated by the client. Your rate should be such that every client feels it’s worth the time saved to pay you to do their shopping. For shopping services only, a service fee based on the total price of the merchandise is more practical, and ultimately more profitable than an hourly rate.

GETTING CLIENTS

Any personal shopping service’s client list depends, in large measure, on the variety of shopping and consultation offered. As pointed out earlier in this booklet, some personal shoppers also serve as wardrobe consultants, giving advice as well as selecting clothing items to show the client. Wardrobe consulting could be a profitable feature for a personal shopping service if the market has the potential clientele.

Generally, if you are located in a market of less than 100,000 people, there will not be much demand for wardrobe consulting. That’s why most personal shopping services are located in, or near a relatively large population base with an abundance of working people, and a variety of stores. The services offered in such a market can be varied to cater to specific client needs.

If shopping for personal clothing is your forte, your client list will most likely be comprised of women. Many of these women will be making a transition into professional life and are in need of a business wardrobe. Your ability to consult with these clients — to advise them and select an appropriate wardrobe will go a long way in determining your success as a personal shopper and consultant. If you do the job well, the chances of adding men to this particular client list will increase. In many cases, men are becoming more open to the idea of getting help in selecting their “professional” attire.

Some of your personal clothing shopping will be done for parents who need help getting their children ready to go back to school. You may also get women who are soon to be married and need assistance in selecting gowns for the wedding. Some people, planning exotic vacations, may require your help in choosing a special “vacation” ensemble.

In most cases, the previously mentioned clients are limited to large markets. If your market area is moderate to small, depending on “wardrobe” clients as a major source of your income is probably a mistake. You should rely on more generalized shopping. Personal gift-shopping is a good way to realize profits in any market.

When you are shopping for gifts, most of your clients will be men. Many of these will be husbands who know what they want to get their wives but don’t have the time to shop for themselves or have little, if any, idea where to shop. It’ll be up to you to track down these items, usually in a limited amount of time.

Other clients on your gift shopping client list will include executives who need to get gifts for their clients and employees.

In most cases, these clients will also be men. As a rule, it seems that men prefer to have someone else shop for gifts rather than spend the time themselves going from store to store. So a personal shopper can usually count on men as a good source of clientele for this type of service.

Your client list will also include some elderly people, or physically disabled people who aren’t able to do their own shopping. These people are most generally interested in a grocery shopping service. This type of client, while not a major source of your income, will be a steady source.

One major source of income for many personal shopping services is the corporate client. This type of client may take a great deal of time and effort to land, but the results will make it worthwhile. That’s because corporate clients normally make large volume purchases, and if they are pleased with your service will be a source of repeat business.

There’s no doubt you’ll have to work hard to get corporate clients. It requires a rather comprehensive study of your market in order to be familiar with all the potential clients, followed up by an impressive and convincing sales presentation. But if you can convince many of the businesses in your market that you can save them money, time and hassle by doing their necessary gift shopping for them, you’ll have a valuable client list with a high profit potential. So you should be determined and persistent when pursuing these clients.

In the most basic of terms, a personal shopping service’s clientele depends on the types of services offered as well as the market’s need. The client list will include busy professionals — both women and men, corporate clients with business gift needs, and senior citizens who are unable to do much shopping for themselves.
Your market will dictate which segment of potential clients you should rely on. You’ll need to know the kinds of people in your market area and what they need in a personal shopping service. Your service should cater to those needs.

ADVERTISING YOUR SERVICE

Even though your talents as a shopper may be formidable, you won’t get much business if you don’t let people know your service is available. That’s why it is essential to develop an effective advertising and promotion strategy.

Since personal shopping services are a relatively recent innovation, many people aren’t familiar with them. These people need to know what a personal shopping service is and how it can be of benefit to them. It’s up to you to let them know what you offer and how you can save them time and get better merchandise. The success of your service depends on how effectively you “spread the word” about what you are doing.

Determining the best advertising campaign for your service will require some research of your market to understand the best way to reach the widest segment of potential clients. First of all, you’ll need to have a good idea as to who your potential clients are, and how many of them there are. You’ll also need to offer them something that isn’t already available and then convince them to take advantage of your service.

This “pre-marketing” research doesn’t necessarily have to involve a great deal of expense. One good and inexpensive method of obtaining information about your potential market is to conduct your own survey. Discuss your personal shopping idea with all of your contacts — business and personal. You can also get a sampling of opinion by going through the phone directory and calling as many businesses and people as time will allow. Be prepared to ask specific questions that will allow you to obtain usable information. Some questions worth asking include:

1. Would the person or business pay a service to do their shopping? If the answer is yes, you should then find out if they would use the service on a regular or repeat basis.
2. What kinds of shopping would these potential clients pay a service to do? Try to get them to be as specific as possible about wardrobe consulting, gift shopping, grocery shopping and so on.
3. What’s the potential client’s idea of a reasonable service fee? You may have to do some prompting here. That is, you may have to suggest something like 20 to 25 percent of the retail price. You should soon get an idea as to what the market would be willing to pay.

This isn’t a scientific survey, but it should enable you to better plan and instigate your advertising campaign. You’ll have a good idea as to who your potential clients are and what they would expect from a personal shopping service. The next step is to come up with an advertising budget you can afford and then find out where your advertising dollars can best be spent.

You’ll have to use your own judgment as to how much you allocate as an advertising budget. However, you should keep in mind the importance of advertising to the success of your service. Many businesses, both small and large, budget anywhere from 1 to 5 percent of their projected gross sales for advertising and promotion. You should have at least some idea of projected gross sales from your pre-start-up research.

The important thing to remember is to be reasonable. Don’t spend more than you can realistically afford. You’ll need to be as financially sound as possible until your business is bringing in a healthy profit. At the same time, you don’t want to undermine what an effective advertising campaign can do to help your business.

Once you have decided how much you can afford to spend on your initial advertising campaign you’ll then have to select the media which will bring you the best results. Generally, for a personal shopping service, advertising in newspapers, the yellow pages, and by direct mail gets the best results.

A less expensive, but more time consuming, means of advertising is through personal contacts. This form of advertising usually works better in small markets, but can be effective in larger markets as well. You’ll need several hundred professional business cards to pass around. Impressive business cards are not at all expensive and are a good way to get your name and service known. You’ll also need to set aside a good bit of time making personal calls on prospective clients. This is an excellent way to let people know that your service is available.

When calling on a prospective client you must be well prepared. This means being able to explain your service in a clear and professional manner. Let your prospective clients know exactly what your shopping service offers and how it can be of benefit to them. And before you leave, make sure they have your business card as well as any brochures or flyers you may have detailing your service. Ask them to consider your shopping service, then follow up your presentation with a phone call a couple of weeks later. Don’t let them forget about you and the service you are offering.

Newspaper advertising can be effective for a personal shopping service that gets most of its clients from the immediate community. Again, this type of advertising may work better in smaller to moderate markets. Most newspapers charge reasonable rates for display and classified ads and reach a high concentration of potential clients.

Another effective means of advertising your personal shopping service is in the yellow pages. Make sure you choose the most appropriate category for your listing or advertisement. You can have an illustrated quarter page spread or simply a one line listing with the name of your business, address and phone number.

The yellow pages can be one of the most effective methods of advertising at your disposal, so it is a good investment, especially when your service is just getting started. You’ll have to be careful and get your ad in before the stated deadline, otherwise you will most likely be waiting an entire year before you can advertise in the yellow pages.

Other forms of advertising you should consider include; direct mail, which allows you to distribute information about your service to a selected group of potential clients, newsletters, flyers and brochures. All of these methods of advertising can be effective and are relatively inexpensive.

Knowing your market is the determining factor, along with your budget, as to the type and amount of advertising you do. It should be obvious however, that the more advertising you do, the better your chances of reaching the greatest number of potential clients. And that is, along with convincing those potential clients that your personal shopping service is the best in the market, what your advertising campaign should strive for.

SUCCESS ANALYSIS

Eight contributing factors are measured on a 1 to 10 basis (with 10 being excellent) based on analysis of this opportunity.

1. Time Investment 7
2. Start-up Costs 10
3. Gross Income Potential 8
4. Net Income Potential 8
5. Income in Relation to Investment 10
6. Stability 7
7. Overall Risk 8
8. Potential for Growth 9

Overall Potential for Success 8.38

POTENTIAL EARNINGS

To some degree, a personal shopper’s business will be seasonal. The biggest profits are usually made from October through December, but there is still plenty of business for a highly motivated shopper throughout the year. The amount of profits depends on several factors including time devoted to the business, proper marketing and setting fees that bring the best return for services rendered.

Many home-based personal shopping services, operating parttime, have reported extra earnings of as much as $1,000 per month. This type of profit is usually realized by shoppers who take advantage of the service’s low start-up costs. In the beginning, these services are equipped with little more than a telephone and an answering machine. Advertising is done through some personal contacts, fliers posted on company bulletin boards, and business cards.

These part-time services use their own cars for shopping excursions, which average about twice a month. Some of these shoppers get as many as five individual clients in a month’s time. The result could be a handsome profit that more than covers the initial investment which does not need to be more than $1,000.

If you are planning to get into the business on a full-time basis, you’ll need to make a larger initial investment. If, instead of a home-based service, you plan to utilize a commercial office and at least one helper, your start-up costs will be substantially greater than a home-based, part-time operation. You’ll likely need more than one vehicle for shopping trips, and your advertising campaign will need to be more extensive.

This type of operation could mean an initial investment of $7,000 to $10,000. No doubt that’s a sizable investment, but once the service has become established, you can realize earnings of $50,000 and more per year. If an investment of several thousand dollars is beyond your immediate means, beginning a personal shopping service part-time, at home, will allow you to get into the business with a good chance to expand to full-time in a year, or so.

CONCLUSION

Because of the low start-up costs and high profit potential, a home-based personal shopping service can be the ideal business for many people. But, in order to be successful there are several key factors prospective shoppers should understand.

(1) Shopping can be a tiresome and frustrating experience. If you don’t like to shop for yourself, you won’t like shopping for other people and your business will not succeed.

(2) If you are not located in, or do not have reasonable access to a fairly large market, a personal shopping service may have a tough time surviving. Before you start up, analyze your market — know who your potential clients are and how many of them you can realistically count on to pay for your service.

(3) Knowing the best places to shop for the finest quality merchandise at the most reasonable prices, is essential. You’ll need this expertise to convince clients that you are, indeed, the

best person for the job. It’s something you’ll have to demonstrate in order to get new, as well as repeat business.

(4) This is a personal service. You will be shopping for other people’s personal needs — everything from groceries to apparel. In order to do this properly, you’ll need to get as much information from your clients as possible. Let your clients know you understand what they want, and that they will be well taken care of. You’ll need to be a good listener as well as a good communicator.

(5) Your service fee should be realistic — both for you and your clients. You will, of course, need to make a profit. But you’ll also have to work within your client’s means. If your fee is too high for your market, potential clients will usually find the time to do their own shopping.

(6) A well planned advertising campaign can mean the difference between breaking even and making substantial profits. Develop an advertising budget that will allow you to make your service known to the majority of potential clients in your market.

(7) Adjusting your service to fit the needs of your market will mean greater profits. If you specialize in gift shopping, you may be overlooking other potential avenues of income, such as wardrobe consulting. You should be as versatile as your time, resources, and the market will allow.

A personal shopping service can be a personally rewarding and highly profitable venture. It is not, however, a means to “overnight” wealth. It will take a good deal of time and work to make your service known and understood, and to build a client list substantial enough to return big profits. But, if you like to shop, and you are good at shopping for other people, a personal shopping service could be the ideal business for you.

SOURCES

Business Guides:

AEA Business Manual No. X1310, Personal Shopping Service, from American Entrepreneur’s Association, 2392 Morse Ave., Irvine, CA 92714

Magazines:

Working Woman, February, 1991

Vogue, November, 1990

Well as far as I’m concerned, I don’t care what I post here. As long as its valuable to someone out there. But lets get one thing straight. I am not a writer or an English teacher. I’m a self taught programmer and what i like to consider, a self taught mathematician. I am not an expert in math but i was able to create a program that did calculations on equations of up to and more then 12 million digits long. Not the value 12,000,000 but rather a number that starts with 1 and is followed by twelve million zeros. Try to multiply that on your time off.

More later.