Importing Is More Difficult Than Exporting.

But you can build wealth in importing if you follow some simple rules. These rules are:

1. Import specialty items instead of mass-produced products. Why? Because there’s less competition when you sell specialty items in your home market.
2. Import higher-priced items instead of low-priced items. Why? Because you’ll earn more on each sale of a high-priced product, increasing your income.
3. Import items you can sell to the business market, instead of the consumer market. Why? Because you’ll have surer sales results when you deal with business customers, as compared with “the person in the street.”
4. Import items for which you have an exclusive market. Why? Because you’ll have less competition and customers will beat a path to your door to buy from you.

Here’s a Real-Life Example of this Strategy for Importing.

It works wonders for this importer. This BWB (Beginning Wealth Builder):

1. Imports large, hand-made sailing ship models of famous ships from overseas. They are Specialty Items because they are large, they are hand-made and they appeal to many different business customers. A typical model is 3-feet long, 2-feet high.
2. These sailing-ship models of famous vessels, such as the Constitution, Nelson’s flagship, the Victory, the Coast Guard Training Ship, the Eagle, the Bounty, of the famous mutiny, the Clipper Ship Cutty Sark, etc., are well-known to business customers. You don’t have to explain the ship’s history!
3. Hotels, motels, restaurants, business offices and similar groups order these models in quantities of 50, 75, and 100 at a time. Since the models are priced at several hundred to a few thousand dollars each, the sales generate significant revenue for the importer. And when a business orders a group of models they stay with the order, and do not change their mind on a whim, such as consumers might do. Business Purchasing Agents know what they want and are ready to pay for it!
4. This importer has exclusive rights to these models. Hence, he has little, or no, competition. When a business needs decorative sailing-ship models they come to him for them.

Use these tips for your importing and you’ll find that your business will grow, and prosper, along with your bank account!

Copyright © 2004 by International Wealth Success, Inc. All rights reserved.

Tyler G. Hicks, the president of International Wealth Success Inc., is the author of many wealth building publications, including the Import-Export Riches Kit.

Although there are advantages to selling other people’s products and services, there are also drawbacks. For example, the lack of exclusive rights to your own proprietary product can mean that you are just one of thousands selling the same thing. Excessive competition can cause you to drop your prices and to lose sales, thus affecting your profits and cashflow that are so essential to your business survival.

For this reason, you may decide to develop your own proprietary products and services, either exclusively, or to complement your line of other people’s products.

After creating your own proprietary product, you could spend millions in manufacturing and marketing costs. You could go bankrupt before you even had your first sale.

Here, then, are just a few, low-cost ways to profit from selling your own proprietary products and services.

1. Licensing

Instead of trying to finance the manufacturing and marketing of your invention, why not license it to a company with the expertise and capability required? You will then receive royalties in return for your idea.

2. Exporting

Exporting your product to other countries can dramatically increase your sales. Hiring an Export Management Agent can keep your fixed costs down.

3. Offer Commissions and Finders’ Fees

Recruit independent sales representatives and agents. Offer commissions and finders’ fees in order to sell your products and services.

4. Online Auctions

You can also sell your own proprietary products through Internet auction sites such as eBay or Yahoo! Auctions.

5. Start Your Own Associate or Affiliate Program

Multiple web sites and distributors selling your product can result in increased sales and profits. Unlike conventional advertising, affiliate programs pay only for performance. Commissions are not paid out unless sales are made.

6. Participate in Joint Ventures

Joint venture arrangements can be profitable. As an example, you could offer a commission on the successful sale of your product featured in someone else’s e-zine or newsletter.

The above list of low-cost ways to make a profit from your own proprietary products and services is by no means exhaustive. However, it certainly illustrates that, with some effort, your own products could make you rich.

J. Stephen Pope, President of Pope Consulting Inc., has been helping clients to earn maximum business profits for over thirty years.
]]> http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/2458/your-own-products-can-make-you-rich/feed/ 0 http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/2162/how-do-i-find-something-to-sell/ http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/2162/how-do-i-find-something-to-sell/#comments Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:05:23 +0000 admin http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/?p=2162

Many people wanting to start an eBay business spend a lot of time fretting over what they will sell. Perhaps these questions are familiar: Where do I find ideas? Should I sell the most popular items? How do I know a good idea? These are important questions everyone faces.

eBay already contains so many items for sale that some sellers feel overwhelmed from the start wondering how they can possibly find a product idea when the market appears to be full anyway.

So where should you start then?

1. Your hobbies

This can be a great way of establishing a niche. Perhaps you love embroidery or making model airplanes? Chances are a lot of other people share this passion and are looking for related supplies. Crafts and hobbies is big market – however, before you jump in headfirst, make sure you do some research to back up the feasibility of your idea. eBay is a numbers game and no matter how great your idea is, it won’t work if not enough people are interested. So be sure to use the completed listings search and test the market with some of your own supplies first.

2. Listen to what your friends and family are talking about

Sometimes the best ideas can arise from your friends and family. One seller says she overheard some women at the table next to her talking about the trouble they were having finding a particular brand of baby slings. This got her thinking, and, after a bit of research, she realized they were a foreign brand and hard to find in the USA. A wee bit of research later and she had found a supplier and was successfully selling online. So keep your eyes and ears open! If people you know are looking for a particular item, chances are others will too.

3. Research newspapers and magazines

Newspapers and magazines can provide a ton of information on trends and styles. Just browsing the headlines can often be enough to spark a new idea. Try sitting down with a pen and notebook and skimming the pages of popular magazines and daily newspapers. You should have a list of at least 10 ideas by the end.

4. eBay Seller Central

eBay itself has a fantastic resource in the Seller Central area ‘What’s Hot’. Every month, a list of super hot, very hot and hot items are published. This is a great way to find ideas but remember that everyone on eBay also has access to this information! The merchandising calendar is also a useful resource.

All successful sellers sell several products, rather than putting all of their eggs into one basket. Not only can trends change with the wind, but some products are only popular during a particular season. For example, dehumidifiers are more popular during winter than summer, while lawnmowers are super hot in spring and have a practically non-existent market in the winter.

5. Find out what your buyers are buying

A good way of expanding your product range is by ’spying’ on your buyers. After making a sale, check your buyer’s feedback and find out what other items they have been purchasing recently. This will help you get to know what your target market are interested in and expand your range accordingly.

Finding something to sell can seem daunting at first, but I guarantee that once you think of one idea, plenty of others will quickly follow!

SaleHoo is one of the fastest growing product sourcing portals on the internet. It contains a database of drop ship, wholesale, closeout and manufacturing suppliers offering thousands of product suppliers to consumers! Located at http://www.salehoo.com, visitors are allowed to sign up for unlimited and lifetime access to the completely searchable database of products and suppliers. The database is regularly updated, ensuring that the latest retail products are always available for purchase and SaleHoo carries the BBB Reliability Seal!

Join SaleHoo Today for their Special Startup Offer!

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Use social networking, affiliate marketing and list building to maximize your blogging profits. Atomic Blogging WordPress plugin included.

Buying and selling wholesale goods is frequently viewed as a sort of ‘get rich quick’ scheme, where sellers can make enormous profits from very little investment or work. Three months after they started, people just don’t understand why things haven’t gone according to plan! There are four myths in particular that seem to lead would-be sellers astray time and time again.

Myth #1: Ebay is the best place to sell your wholesale goods.

Now this is a particularly popular one. As the world’s biggest marketplace, eBay has made its fair share of millionaires. What you don’t hear about so commonly, is all the people who struggle to make a profit from eBay because 100 other people are selling the exact same products – for more competitive prices.

This is not a new situation. Supermarkets and large discount stores often run at a loss on some items in order to attract more customers. For small or new sellers, this is a deadly scenario.

The fact is, eBay is simply too competitive in some categories. Electronics, jewelry, designer clothing and computer games are all dangerous territory for the new seller. You won’t stand a chance against established sellers who’ve already got a strong following and highly competitive prices.

So what should you do? If your product falls into these or any other highly competitive category, I recommend shifting your focus to less competitive markets such as selling through classified newspapers in your local area.

While you won’t be reaching audiences of the size that online auctions sites such as eBay provide, buyers that use these alternative mediums to purchase goods are 9 out of 10 times more likely to pay significantly more for products. Not only will your margins can be much higher, you’ll also have far less competition to deal with.

It’s also a good idea to try using eBay international sites such as www.ebay.co.uk or www.ebay.com.au, as well as other auction sites with less competition such as www.trademe.co.nz and www.ubid.com. I find that these sites give consistently higher margins compared to eBay US, and the number of buyers is still very high.

One advantage of eBay US however, is that the huge amount of competition makes it a brilliant place to pick up cheap as dirt goods to sell elsewhere! It’s not uncommon to find best prices on eBay.

Myth #2: You can find all your wholesale sources online.

The Internet provides easy access to a great many wholesalers these days, and it’s a quick way of making initial contacts. However, it certainly doesn’t provide access to all wholesalers. If you’re serious about finding the best wholesale prices for your products, then it pays to check out other sources as well.

Try looking through trade magazines such as Closeout News and wholesale Merchandise, to name just a few. With less people vying for stock, there’s a good chance you’ll find some exceedingly good prices tucked away in the corners!

And another thing, in my experience, building up personal relationships with sellers is absolutely essential for getting the best priced goods. So whether you’ve found your supplier online or in a magazine, make a phone call, start up an email exchange, or have regular chats on MSN and get to know them.

The time you spend building a relationship will not only mean you’re in a stronger position to get better prices, but, because you know your supplier, you’ll be more confident that things will go smoothly when you finally do place your order.

Myth #3: Pricing research is unnecessary and takes up too much valuable time.

Whenever I mention this one, people always chorus: ‘But of course we know research is important!’ Well why don’t you spend more time doing it then?

The amount of people that pass over pricing research constantly amazes me. Everyone always agrees that it is important to research prices, but when it comes down to it, they seem to think that they just ‘know’ how much items cost wholesale, and how much profit they are likely to make later.

But how can they just ‘know’? This is not information we’re given at birth!(Or perhaps I’m just unlucky!) Prices are constantly in flux, and carrying out some decent (and yes, time-consuming) research is essential to a successful business for two important reasons:

1. Firstly, it’s important to get a good idea of the average resale price for your item before you get started. For a number of popular items (DVDs, electronics and computer games in particular), the profit margins tend to be very low. Despite this, many sellers just see the popularity of the item and dive in head first. Overly-saturated markets just mean a hell of a lot of work for very little in return. Throw big, established sellers into the mix and it’s almost impossible to compete. But you won’t know this until you research it first! So visit auction sites, read classified ads and any material you can get your hands on until you have a good idea of exactly what you’re going to get.

2. The second reason for research is that your preconceptions of value may be completely wrong. People have a tendency to believe that ‘wholesale‘ automatically means a fifth of the retail price. This is usually totally out of line! Some sellers have emailed me in shock when they realize that they actually have to spend a significant amount of money on their wholesale stock. ‘I always thought that purchasing a container of wholesale plasma TVs would only require a few hundred dollars investment, but it looks more like several thousand,’ wailed one seller recently, ‘Am I looking in the wrong place?’ Well, I’m sorry to shatter your hopes and dreams, but buying wholesale doesn’t always mean huge profits for very little investment. For some items, such a scenario is possible – but only if you do the research!

Myth #4: Niche items can be bought from individual wholesalers.

Finding a niche item that no-one else is supplying at a competitive rate is every sellers dream. However, if you think you’re going to be able to find a wholesaler supplier for the item by doing a quick Internet search for ‘Left-handed Guitar necks’ then you couldn’t be more wrong.

Niche products are hard to find precisely because they aren’t wanted by absolutely everybody. Thus, finding a supplier will take quite a bit of work on your behalf as these items usually can’t be purchased from individual wholesalers. Instead, you’ll have to contact large wholesalers, or even contact the manufacturer directly.

It’ll be a lot harder than you think, but if you’ve done your market research effectively and you take the time to find a good supplier, then your hard work will pay off.

SaleHoo is one of the fastest growing product sourcing portals on the internet. It contains a database of drop ship, wholesale, closeout and manufacturing suppliers offering thousands of product suppliers to consumers! Located at http://www.salehoo.com, visitors are allowed to sign up for unlimited and lifetime access to the completely searchable database of products and suppliers. The database is regularly updated, ensuring that the latest retail products are always available for purchase and SaleHoo carries the BBB Reliability Seal!

Join SaleHoo Today for their Special Startup Offer!

by Wayne M. Davies

For all you procrastinators out there, here’s a nuts ‘n bolts guide on how to legally postpone the filing of your income tax returns.

When it comes to putting things off, you can never plan too far ahead!

In many cases the IRS allows you to file a ‘no-questions- asked’ extension form. Which particular form you file depends on what type of entity your business happens to be.

CORPORATIONS:

Whether you are a “C” Corporation or an “S” Corporation, you must file Form 7004 by March 15. Doing so grants you an automatic 6-month extension for filing Form 1120 (“C” Corp) or Form 1120S (“S” Corp). So now you have until September 15 to file your corporate income tax return.

Note: Since March 15 falls on a Saturday this year, you actually have until Monday, March 17 to either file the corporate income tax return or file the extension.

By the way, this is true of any tax due date: if the due date falls on a weekend or legal holiday, then the return is due on the next business day.

To get a copy of Form 7004, click here:

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f7004.pdf

Note: all the links in this article take you to the IRS forms website. If “irs-pdf” is in the link, then you will be taken to a pdf file that can be saved to your hard drive or printed out; then you can complete the form by hand and mail it to the IRS.

If “irs-fill” is in the link, you will be taken to a pdf file with fill-in-the-blank capabilities, enabling you to complete the form online and then print it out immediately, without having to complete the form by hand.

PARTNERSHIPS:

You need to file Form 8736 by April 15. This obtains a 3-month extension to file Form 1065.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8736.pdf

LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANIES (LLC):

Same as partnerships — File 8736 by April 15 to get a 3-month extension to file Form 1065.

(The LLC is a cross between a corporation and a partnership. Legally, the LLC is similar to a corporation, offering limited liability to the owners. For tax purposes, the LLC is treated like a partnership.)

SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP:

You need to file Form 4868 to get an automatic 4-month extension to file your personal income tax return.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4868.pdf

Now, before you start extending to your heart’s content, please keep the following guidelines in mind.

EXTENSION TIP #1:

Never forget the mantra of all tax extension forms:

The extension to file the return is NOT an extension to pay any tax due. It’s only an extension for the filing of your tax return.

In other words, do not view the extension as an opportunity to legally postpone the payment of your tax.

So if you have a balance due on the return, then you must still pay the tax by the original tax return due date. If you file the extension but do not pay the balance due on time, then you will pay penalty and interest for late payment of tax. (You will legally avoid the penalty for late filing, however.)

So what’s the point in filing an extension if you still have to pay the tax?

Three possible scenarios — first, some folks get most of their “tax stuff” organized and are able to get enough of their return done to get the big picture: “Do I owe or am I getting a refund.” You do the calculations, see where you stand, and if you owe, send in the extension form with a payment that’s pretty close to the final figures.

You may have a few deductions that you need to research, one last shoebox to peruse. You need more time, that’s all.

Second, you’re running way behind on tax matters this year. Hey, it happens! There’s no way you’re going to get the return done on time, and you know you’ll probably owe, so, be sure to file the extension, even if you don’t know how much you may owe or even if you can’t make a payment with the extension. The reason? Because there are penalties for late filing and penalties for late payment of tax. By filing the extension, at least you avoid the late filing penalties.

In short, by filing the extension, you can save yourself some money!

The third scenario is even more common — you know you’re getting a refund; you always get a refund. Maybe you’re self-employed and your spouse has a W2 job, and the spouse’s tax withholdings are always enough to cover both of you. And you’re in no hurry to get the refund.

Which brings me to:

EXTENSION TIP #2:

If you are getting a refund on your personal return, you have 3 years to file the return to claim the refund, without any fear of a late filing penalty.

That’s right. As long as you file your return within 3 years of the original due date (for Year 2002 returns due April 15, 2003 — that would be April 15, 2006), you’ll get your refund and there is no penalty for “filing late” — even if you file after the extended due date of August 15.

Bottom line: if you think you may owe, if at all possible, do enough calculating to send in a payment with the extension; if you’re getting a refund, still send in the extension (just to be safe), but relax, you’ve got plenty of time to get your money back (assuming you didn’t need it yesterday!).

Oh, one more thing:

EXTENSION TIP #3:

This article only deals with federal extension rules. State rules vary considerably, so be sure to check with your state’s tax department or your local tax professional to get the scoop on the extension rules for your particular state.

Some states simply piggyback off the federal rules. Others don’t. So be careful here or you could be penalized severely for assuming that your state’s rules are the same as the feds.

Many Happy Returns!

Copyright 2003 Wayne M. Davies Inc.

Wayne M. Davies is author of the new eBook, “The Tax Reduction Toolkit: 29 Little-Known Legal Loopholes That Will Reduce Your Taxes By Thousands (For Small Business Owners and Self-Employed People Only!)” Don’t file another tax return until you visit The Tax Reduction Toolkit, part of the Ultimate Tax Reduction Guide.

Although there are advantages to selling your own proprietary products and services, there are also drawbacks. For example, the time and investment required to produce your own book, invention, or other product could mean a long delay in receiving profits and cashflow essential to your business survival.

For this reason, you may decide to sell other people’s products and services, either exclusively, or to complement your own product line.

You could stock an entire retail store with products, buy a franchise or other business, or obtain a distributorship or dealership. However, this could require a substantial financial investment.

Here, then, are just a few, low-cost ways to profit from selling other people’s products and services.

1. Commission Sales

Act as a sales representative or agent of a company and sell their products or services for a percentage commission of the sales price.

Many companies on the Internet offer associate or affiliate programs that you can join to earn commissions selling their products and services. Sometimes you can even make money from the efforts of other affiliates who sign up through your website.

Thus, without having a product of their own, some persons are earning their sole but substantial income from affiliate programs.

2. Consignment Sales

You can take other people’s products on a consignment basis, making your commission when you sell the item. Many second-hand shops, arts and crafts stores, and other retailers operate this way.

You can also sell products of others through Internet auction sites such as eBay or Yahoo! Auctions.

3. drop shipping

You could buy inventory wholesale and try to sell it retail, but what if it doesn’t sell? Even if you do sell, do you really want all that money tied up in stock? For these reasons, many businesses use drop shipping as a method of doing business.

Whether from your home, retail store, directly from your website or through an online auction, you can arrange to sell an item before you purchase it. That way you have nothing invested in inventory and won’t get stuck with stock that won’t sell.

For example, let’s assume that you have just sold a product to a customer for $100.00 plus shipping charges of $15.00. Having received the customer’s payment, you now need to e-mail or fax your order to your drop ship supplier. You will need to pay your supplier your cost of $50.00 plus $15.00 shipping, leaving you a $50.00 gross profit. Your supplier will now ship the product to your customer.

4. Finders’ Fees

Did you know that you can earn fees simply by introducing buyers and sellers?

For example, a mining company may need to buy certain hard-to-obtain equipment for their operations. You could negotiate a percentage finder’s fee for finding this equipment for them.

Conversely, you could also obtain a finder’s fee from a company that is trying to sell off their excess machinery but is having difficulty finding a buyer.

5. Joint Ventures

Joint venture arrangements can be profitable. As an example, you could arrange to feature someone else’s product in your e-zine or newsletter in return for a commission, even if they don’t presently have an affiliate program.

The above list of low-cost ways to make a profit from other people’s products and services is by no means exhaustive. However, it certainly illustrates that, with some effort, other people’s products could make you rich.

J. Stephen Pope, President of Pope Consulting Inc., has been helping clients to earn maximum business profits for over thirty years.
]]> http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/2426/other-peoples-products-can-make-you-rich/feed/ 0 http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/2139/can-i-shop-if-i%e2%80%99m-stay-at-home-mom-or-dad-i%e2%80%99m-disabled-or-if-i%e2%80%99m-retired/ http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/2139/can-i-shop-if-i%e2%80%99m-stay-at-home-mom-or-dad-i%e2%80%99m-disabled-or-if-i%e2%80%99m-retired/#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:28:40 +0000 admin http://www.businessideasdirectory.com/?p=2139

The answer is a resounding yes, you can. In fact, most mystery shopping assignments are performed by shoppers on a part time basis and this is perfect scheduling for stay at home moms, dads, retired or disabled persons.

Mystery shopping can be done by almost any adult over 18 years old. Since businesses can be patronized by almost anyone, a mystery shopper who blends in with the typical shopper at that establishment is definitely an asset.

There are even mystery shops which require customers of a demographic segment, such as race, or children, seniors, or disabled customers.

The goal of mystery shopping is to see how the customer is treated by employees especially if they don’t fit the profile of the “typical” customer.

There are some assignments which require you to bring along children for authenticity sake, and if you organize your day and schedule, you can plan to complete the assignment with your well behaved children in tow.

There are also assignments where age requirements must be met, such as the purchase of tobacco products or alcohol, where the purchaser must be of legal age. Many students accept these types of assignments and earn good part time money with age requirement shopping assignments.

Have you ever walked into a retail establishment, or restaurant and the employee took one look at you, or not, and decided that you were not worthy of their best service? For whatever reason?

This is the basis for mystery shopping, which requires that all customers must be treated with dignity and courtesy, regardless of their background. The Mystery shopping tool enhances that commitment to treat all customers fairly and to assist businesses from avoiding bankruptcy through failure to observe and practice legal regulations, loss of customers or even lawsuits.

When you sign up to be an independent contractor with a mystery shopping company, they frequently ask you to identify your ethnicity, age or economic status for this very purpose and some mystery shops require shoppers who have limited financial resources or poor credit report.

There are even companies who specialize in disabled mystery shoppers since the Americans with Disability Association requires that establishments be accessible to disabled patrons and that reasonable accommodations be made for those with disabilities.

Remember, mystery shopping can be a rewarding experience where you get to interact with people from all walks of life. It can be a learning experience, and best of all, you get to make a valuable contribution to improve and enhance the customer service provided in your community.

LOANS FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONALS–can build your wealth in Financial Brokerage. Why? Because Health Professionals, as a group, are:

• Well-educated, alert, intelligent, capable.


• High-earning individuals who seek a good life style.


• Hard workers who are ambitiously upwardly mobile.


• Honest and reliable who do honor their loan promises.

FOR THESE, AND MANY OTHER GOOD REASONS, being a loan broker for health professionals–medical doctors, dentists, podiatrists, nurses, chiropractors, etc.–can be highly lucrative to you. To get started:

1. Develop a list of lenders who specialize in health clients.
2. Contact several of these lenders to act as a broker for them.
3. Run small classified ads in local and health publications saying:

LOANS for health professionals. Call day or night 123-4567 for details about these loans.

4. Get full info from each caller, namely: Amount needed; Time for which loan is needed (its Term); Purpose for which the money is needed; Interest rate that’s acceptable; Professional’s Education; Health Speciality, etc.
5. Give information to your lender, after the Health Professional gives you permission to do so. Use a Release Form so you’re not accused of giving out personal info without permission.
6. Collect your fee from the Health Professional after the loan is obtained. Your fee will usually be 5% of the loan amount on loans up to $1-million. Thus, your fee on a $1-million loan will be $50,000. Most health professional loans are less than this.
7. Expand your loan services to other health professionals by asking the person you’re serving to suggest his/her associates who might need your expertise. Word-of-mouth is the best kind of advertising you can get because one friend tells another about you and the good service you’ve provided.
8. Try to attend local medical, dental and other professional meetings to present information about your services. You can do this by giving a talk on financing for health professionals. Or, if you don’t enjoy speaking in public, you can pass out leaflets describing your services to the attendees. You can then answer any questions they call into you on the phone. Soon you’ll be the “Most Wanted Person in Town,” earning a high income helping health professionals get funding they need!

Tyler G. Hicks, the president of International Wealth Success Inc., is the author of many wealth building publications, including the Four Doctor Loan Programs Kit.

Overcome the eBay digital product ban and increase the perceived value of your product. Completely automate your eBay business and build your list at the same time.