Make More Money with a Product You Love September 1, 2006
Posted by agelessboomer in Uncategorized.trackback
This is an amazingly simple, yet powerful idea. I first learned years ago in a great little book titled “Money Love” by Jerry Gillies. If you ever see this book, grab it. It’s a wonderful book, written in the 70’s, and contains timeless ideas about how you could become more open to having money in your life.
The original idea from Gillies was to find a product you like, carry it with you, and offer it for sale should the opportunity arise. His philosophy was, that by always having something you can convert to cash, you will be teaching yourself that you can, in fact, make money anytime that you want.
I always have some of my own books in my trunk. Typically, I give them away because I believe what you give comes back to you multiplied plus I get a kick out of doing so but I have sold them on occasion just to confirm the idea that I can produce income at will.
This is an important distinction. It’s not important how much money you generate this way, it’s about teaching yourself that you have the ability to create income at will
The biggest problem in our society, especially in the US, is that so many people were brainwashed into believing that their only source of income is their job and the only way they can make more money is if their boss bestows a raise on them or worse yet, the Government gives them a tax break.
Taxes are an entirely different subject, but the reality is that if you want services, you have to pay for them. If you want to save on taxes, have your own business and take every legitimate deduction you can.
Hopefully, by the time you have finished “Immediate Income Now” you will be convinced that you can in fact “give yourself a raise” any place and any time you want. How much is entirely up to you.
So … is there a particular product that you think is fantastic? Is there something you have that is so good you can’t help but tell people about it?
Do you have an item that people keep complimenting you about, asking you where you bought it.
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are on your way. Another way to approach this is to look for something that you can buy in quantity at a good price and resell. Make sure people want to buy it before you buy a car load of an item you will be stuck with.
Years ago, there were “traveling salesmen” who would transverse the county side selling their wares.
My father worked for the City of New York, driving an asphalt truck. People would pull up to the job site, open the truck and show their wares to the road crews. Usually, they were items of clothing, jewelry or, at the time, transistor radios. I remember growing up that my father had more transistor radios then anyone I have every seen, most of them broken:-)
The funny thing is that because these items were priced so low and being sold from the trunk of a car, everyone assumed that they were stolen. Maybe some were, however, most were “seconds” that were purchased from factories at very deep discounts.
I am not suggesting you do this as a business, although it’s not a bad idea. I just want to give you a sense of what’s possible.
Where I live, as in most places, there are flea markets. Sometimes they’re called swap meets.
These are places where I can find a multitude of products. Some are great, some are junk. They’re sold by both professional vendors, those who go to different markets on different days, and by the Saturday vendor who’s there to supplement his or her income.
One of my favorite people at the market is Kenny, my “gold guy.” Kenny has some very good prices on gold jewelry and designer watches.
During the week he works at a 9:00 to 5:00 job but, on Saturday, he, his wife and sometimes his daughter are at the market making extra money for among other things, their next vacation to Aruba.
I’ve been buying from him for 5 or 6 years now. His “secret” is that, like the EBay seller, he has developed sources where he can buy overstocked or discontinued items at a very low price, add a fair mark-up and still be well below the going price.
I once bought a bracelet from him for $100 that I saw in Neiman Marcus for $600.
The psychology behind this is quite simple if you look at it from the position of the retail store.
For example, let’s say a store buys a dozen watches and sells ten of them right away. The other two sit there awhile. After a period of time the store wants to move on to a new product and wants to cash out their inventory.
Retail business is about turning over the merchandise. Not wanting to have one or two pieces of an item sitting and wanting their investment back, the retailer will often sell the remaining items at a very big discount.
As a matter of fact in jewelry, very often the dealer who buys a dozen or more expensive watches will receive an extra one as a bonus. Once they have made their profit on the first 10 or 12, they just as soon get rid of the excess inventory.
This is where you come in.
Once you’ve decided what type of product you would like to market, you’ll need to find the right source.
You need to be able to buy low enough to resell at a profit, typically twice what you paid, and still be well below market value. After all, people expect bargains at flea markets. This can be done if you are willing to do some leg work.
Anther way to find a product to sell, is to contact the manufacture directly and find out their requirements to open a wholesale account. Often all you have to do is place a minimum order.
Of course, as a wholesale representative, you will pay more for the items, because you have low overhead, you can still add a reasonable mark-up and be selling below the mall stores.
If you want to learn how to make more money, first you have to develop a success mindset. To help you start creating this mental attitude, I’ve written a simple, easy to read ebook, Wealth Without Struggle – just click here to get your copy
Hello Jim Donovan,
I was searching for ”Jerry Gillies”…and found YOU! I was searching for his biography. Have not found it yet.
I also love that book: ”Money Love”! I am refering to Jerry Gillies with a quotation attributed to him on my homepage/page/photopage at Flickr.com.
I have just read the first five pieces of text above…then I decided to write you a message. I fully agree with you!
I will get back and read it all later. I just wanted to send you this at once! And I wanted to show you what I have that I ”can convert to cash”!
This, for instance:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/maurice_flower/82314327/in/set-1758925/
See my picture text for some explanation to what I do.
Here some more views on money that I believe in:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/maurice_flower/sets/1758925/
Would be nice to here your view on this!
Best regards,
Hans ”maurice flower” Hakansson – in Stockholm, Sweden
P.S. I often use a certain pseudonym/alias/”artist name” when I am doing my ’conceptual art’ with money as objects. That ’name’ is ”Mr Bill Cash”…if you know what I mean!…
P.S. Pictures of me:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/maurice_flower/132722954/in/set-72157594252929722/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/maurice_flower/118915255/in/set-1624882/