Does It Really Take Money To Make Money (Online or Offline)? A Reality-Check of 2 Case Studies

The short and simple answer to this question is NO!

Now, before you start screaming that I am crazy, out of my mind, have lost my marbles and all the other things that generally get tossed around when someone has the nerve to state something like that, let me clear a few things up.

It does not take a monetary investment to get your business off the ground (aside from the everyday items you already have around your house).

It does take time, effort, drive and determination on your part to do it though, a good dose of imagination, sprinkle in some luck for good measure and most importantly, it takes a dream. Now I am not going to go into any of the usual dream-building, nor will I tell you exactly what to do, or how hard you have to work to do it. You already know the answers to these things.

NOW, to make it big (and trust me, what you consider to be 'big' may differ greatly from every other reader of this article) it will at some point take monetary investments. There, I said it. At some point, if you really want to break out and make some serious money, you will have to invest some money in your business.

But that does not mean you can't get started for free, work hard, and see your cashflow begin to roll in. At that point, reward yourself, you've earned it, maybe take your loved one out for a dinner, because he/she probably had to put up with quite a bit already.

Being an entrepreneur is not hard, but the dedication it demands can be hard on any relationship, so take a night off.

Ok, now we're back, had a great and wonderful evening, time to get back to work. The next step is to take some of the money you are making and if at all possible, invest it all in growing your business (after all, you probably still have a job that pays your bills at this point).

If you reinvest at least a healthy part of what you earn from your new venture, you can achieve the success you dreamed of, but beware, it can be an pretty strong temptation to start tossing your money out the window, but I know you are strong enough, deep inside (go ahead, grab yourself by the collar and shake a little) to overcome it.

Let me give you two examples from my own experience that I hope will inspire you to take your dream, embrace it and get you rolling with your own vision.

Case Scenario 1: Offline Food Delivery Service

While still living in San Antonio, I was working part time at a Pizza joint delivering pizzas a few nights a week. I had a full time job as a dispatcher, but with a wife (now ex-wife), two kids, a dog and a cat, and all the bills that come with a family, things can get tight. The team that managed this little franchise was doing a pretty poor job at marketing, and an even worse job at managing. Well, enough of the ugly picture, it just gets worse. Time to talk shop...

I wanted to do something a little different, help my colleagues (who were just as fed up as I was), so I happened to notice that most of the deliveries (and probably the only thing really keeping that pizza shop going) was the local Air Force training facility.

So I sat down one weekend, with my ex-wife and laid out the plan (You have to have a plan. Let it start as a vision and a dream, but make sure you write it out step by step).

The plan was simple, take orders from the Airmen, pick up food, take the food to them, and get paid. Easy, huh?

Ok, here's what I did, I made some flyers on my beat up old computer, used a freeware contact management software to keep track of customers and an old tin lockbox I had in the garage for a change drawer. Bingo, N.E. Deliveries was born.

We would take calls from the local servicemen and my ex-wife would jot down their order. She then paged me, since I normally hung out (if I wasn't on a run) near Fast Food Central (a little corner where a bunch of the main chains all had a shop). I called her back from the payphone (I didn't have a cell phone at the time), took the order, grabbed it from the store and took it to the Airbase. Cost to the Airmen? Price of the food, plus a $5 delivery charge and whatever they wanted to tip me. Understand the scenario please, these men and women, come out of basic training and haven't even seen a Big Mac in ages. Now they are at a technical school, which still doesn't give them the freedom to run down the street and grab a taco.

It only took one weekend and I had made more money with this venture than I had during the whole week of delivering pizzas every night.

But here's the kicker. Word spread real fast, I got too busy and I was even getting orders to go pick up pizzas at my old shop (they couldn't deliver fast enough and people were willing to pay the delivery charge for good and fast service). We even started getting calls from the local neighborhoods, were our fliers had spread to, or other personnel, who were not in training at the airbase, lived.

Uhoh, we ran into a big problem, too much business. (What a wonderful problem to have). It happened that I kept running into some of my former colleagues, and boy I tell you, the first few times they saw me show up at their shop to grab a pizza and then a little while later some others saw me deliver their pizza to the airbase, wow, what a rush that was and it was the turning point for my company. 4 of the drivers that I was pretty close to and that I had great respect for came on board with me instead.

The end scenario was that we delivered a lot of food to hungry people and made everyone happy in the process. And the drivers were able to make more money as well.

Scenario 2: Online and offline Telecommunications Brokerage

Unfortunately, N.E. Deliveries had to stop when we were transferred to Japan (thinking back, I know I could have sold the concept and kept it going, but I was still new to business thinking).

So, here we were, overseas in a new country, not a lot of jobs to even start with, what to do.

I happened to notice that a lot of the phone services for calls back to the States were very expensive and even more so in my case, since most of my family lives in Germany.

I also happened to have noticed this online company, which was giving away free dealerships for long distance calls, callback programs and a few other telecommunications services. And who doesn't like free? Not only that, but their rates were pretty good, they offered not just one service from one company, but a lot of them together. So I sat down at that old beat up computer again, cleared out all the contacts from N.E. Deliveries out of the same old freeware contact manager, and created some new flyers. I was able to hang them up in a lot of areas at no charge and started to get some calls in. Now, part of my online business meant, I could literally just send them to a website, let them pick the service they wanted and just wait for my check. The problem I saw though was that a lot of military people overseas at the time were not familiar with what a callback service is, so I decided to help. I put my phone number on the flier, and when someone called, I explained to them briefly the cost, how it works and what makes it better for them than using, say a calling card. I would even go visit them to show them how and even set up an account I used for myself as a demo account and would allow them to call home to the United States for 5 minutes for free, just so they could say hi to someone special in their life.

Just doing something simple like that (and it really didn't cost me much on my phone bill) generated a lot of extra sign ups, since I went out of my way to give them more information than any of the other companies that were trying to push their services.

Ultimately, this lead to a steady, monthly stream of income and several other opportunities to work with other companies as a telecommunications consultant. The best part? I learned everything I needed to know from the online company I signed on with, I still learn a lot even now. I am still receiving paychecks from clients that signed up with me all those years ago, who now have services through me in either the United States or in some of the other countries they are now stationed in. And once I took some of that income and placed a small display ad in the local military paper, wow, things really started to take off.

The overall thing I want you to leave with after taking the time to read all of this is plain and simple: YOU CAN MAKE MONEY OFF-LINE AND/OR ON-LINE, without investing any additional money (I only gave you two examples, but your imagination will guide you well, as long as you think outside of the box). And you can grow your business even more by reinvesting some of your earnings (if not all) into your new venture.

I know you've heard it a thousand times before, but I have to say it anyway. If I can do it, so can you. I have no special education (aside from the school of hard knocks), no degree, none of those things. I am just an average guy, with a computer, an internet connection, a printer and most importantly the dream, desire, vision and determination to succeed.

Here's to your success,

Xavier Nelson is the publisher of eBusinessCornerNews, your source for reviews, articles, free resources and more. Get your free subscription at http://blog.makemoneymarketingonline.com right now.

Don't forget to grab your free copy of the new, rebrandable ebook "Time to laugh" at http://freestuffbazaar.com/timetolaugh and promote your website and grow your list further. My gift to you.

RELATED ARTICLES

How to Start a Franchise
Franchising Information

The Magic of Float
If you've ever received a service today and paid for it in 30 days you've experienced the concept of "float" ? the time difference between when you receive a service and when you paid for it. In most cases this time period is a convenience to you as a customer, but in the world of business marketing it can absolutely transform your business. In the last 18 months we've grown our marketing budget at Swapalease.com (the company that owns me) by more than 1000% by simply leveraging the concept of float.

The Power Of Personal Environments
I've got to admit, I'm a big fan of comfort. I like it when things in my world are stable and reliable. For example, my home is my sanctuary. I live here, and I work here. I like it to reflect peace, order and beauty, so when a messy remodeling project was underway - like the recent replacement of a water-damaged bathroom ceiling - it affected me. I was stressed and cranky. My husband might not have been quite so generous and called me downright crazed.

Franchise Business and Franchise Businesses
Franchise business is being part of a successfully proven business that has a name or trademark that is well known and profitable. Franchise businesses are strategically tried and marketable with options to expand by offering products and services that appeal to the consumer. Having to make the decision on which franchise business to buy can be challenging. Franchise business consultants can offer assistance to evaluate current franchise opportunities with valued insight. A franchise business consultant may also be able to offer assistance to the business owner who wants to make a current business franchisable.

Self-Esteem and the Entrepreneur
Isn't it funny how people think that being self-employed is so cool? They think that you get to take lots of vacation time and spend all of the profits. What they don't realize is that you put in outrageous amounts of blood, sweat, and tears to get there. They don't know that you have to take the blame for every single thing that goes wrong. They don't know how many times you fell flat on your face before making it work. They think that you simply come up with a cute little idea over dinner one night and within a couple of months you're flying high living the rich man's life. The reality of the situation is very different. Statistics consistently show that most successful entrepreneurs failed a handful of times before finally finding that winning formula. It's during the failure years that you earn all of those future vacations and big fat salaries. Delayed gratification takes on a whole new level, doesn't it?

Create Your Entrepreneur Dream Team
I hear it all the time. "What should I do about . . .?" As a business owner you're faced with the daunting task of making all the decisions that affect your business. Should I remain a sole proprietor, become an LLC or is an S Corp better? Should I start using an electronic PDA or stick with my trusty, but out-dated, Day Runner? In what direction should I take my marketing? Is the color right on this logo? PC or Mac? Paper or plastic? Aargh! Big decisions. Little decisions. It can be overwhelming, especially when you consider how each decision has a bearing on the success of your business.

The Cockroach Test
Let me ask you a question? Imagine I would offer you $10 for eating 10 living cockroaches. Would you do it? Now listen, I raise the ante and offer you $100. How does that feel? If you hear me saying "you get $1000 bucks" does that change something? Here is the ultimate offer 1 million dollars for eating 10 living cockroaches right now. What is your feeling now?

Cross Polination of Innovations in the Cleaning Industry
According to the latest edition of Pool and Spa news; the costs of maintaining a pool, maintenance service averages about $30.00 to $150 per month depending on competition, size of pool and area you live in. This seems similar to maintenance costs associated with cleaning of the family cars if you hire out a mobile detailing service or mobile car wash. For this reason we have been studying their industry for parallels and ways to incorporate some of their methodology, software for scheduling and other anomalies associated with that industry for ideas to incorporate into ours.

Lessons Learned from One Entrepreneur on Vioxx
For the past ten-months, I tried every drug from the popular Vioxx, Celebrex and Aleve, to the long-standing Percocet, Ibruprofen 800, with some other fabulous ones like Fexeril, Ulltram, Naproxyn, and Antevert. (And, this is my short list).

Protect Your ASSets in Business
Many people are starting an online business without a thought about the danger this may pose to their personal assets. The type of protection you need depends upon the nature of your business and the amount of your personal assets.

Envisioneering
It never ceases to amaze me. Almost everyone peers into the future through a rear-view mirror. The future is imagined as a continuation of the past. I suppose there is a certain security in that; much like a padded cell. Hardly anyone practices creative envisioneering.

Entrepreneurs - 9 Top Mistakes to Avoid
1. Isolating Yourself When setting up a business, you can get so overwhelmed with the administration that you don't focus on building up your network. Networks can provide a way to catapult your business forward through referrals, joint ventures, or providing industry knowledge. Networking does not need to be through formal events but can come in many forms. Even using websites to become aware of who and what is out there is useful. Giving time for self development and training activities to grow your skills, can be one area that is given a lower priority which can often lead to unwise decisions.

Territory Limitations Policies for Franchised Companies
All franchised companies must have Territory Limitations to maintain the peace within their systems. Often the unspoken ethics of territory limitations are blurred with mobile, home based or online franchise companies. Territory limitations in fixed site franchises are fairly cut and dry. There is your store, no other stores will be placed in the surrounding area delineated on this map within your franchise agreement. Generally things run pretty smoothly in this case. However as co-branding methods, partnerships and online sales increase as consumer demand for the brand increases we often see the franchised companies embattled in encroachment lawsuits in an already litigious industry.

Seven Key Qualities of Successful Entrepreneurs
A recent poll conducted by Forbes magazine shows that majority of its readers would prefer to become a billionaire rather than a Nobel peace prize winner, a great scientist or a famous athlete. There is no secret that most of the average people dream about getting rich albeit very few makes any real effort to become one.

PTO; Justification of the Means and the Ends
Some would say about certain issues that the means do not justify the ends. Well more often the ends do not justify the means. For instance if you are trying to accomplish something and know that if you do use the most approved PC methods then you cannot get to the desired results, but use those methods anyway as to not appear to offend anyone, then in the end you offend everyone by wasting their time and by failure of the project.

Two Types of Business Plan Executive Summaries
Companies seeking capital often ask how long the Executive Summary of their business plan should be. The answer depends upon the use of the summary, mainly determining if 1) it precedes the full business plan, or 2) it will be used as a stand-alone document.

5 Tips to Step Boldly into the World & Set Yourself Apart from Others
"Real champions believe in themselves even when no one else will!" Author Unknown

Top 10 Business Plan Myths of Solo Entrepreneurs
Don't let these stop you from having a business plan for success!

Leadership Attributes for Business Success
Business success is essentially the result of successful leadership. Contrary to the popular myth, leaders are not just born. Leadership skills can be learnt and developed. A business is a distinct reflection of the leader, who may be the owner or manager. A business is never successful despite the leader, it is always successful or otherwise because of the leader.

Starting Up and Keeping Going
So you had that fantastic business idea, the one that's going to be wildly successful and make you a fortune - and even better, you actually did something about it and started your own business. Good for you! Not everyone gets even that far. Most people sit and day dream about what they might do if only ....

Home |Site Map