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Feedback on Potential 10K+/Month Biz Concept

RNoles19

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So I've been reading a lot of Jay Abraham recently. Particularly his book on joint ventures. You can read the whole thing for free here if you want.
(http://grumomedia.com/files/Jay_Abraham-From_Mediocrity_to_Millions.pdf)

Anyways, I had a business idea that he doesn't mention explicitly in the book and I'm curious to hear what people think of it. I'm not saying it's guaranteed to be profitable or anything, but I do think it has the potential to generate 10K a month or more....if executed properly.

So Jay's basic premise is that most businesses spend an enormous amount of time, effort, and capital to build assets that they don't really take advantage of. He essentially acts as a consultant and shows these businesses all the ways they can make more money and utilize their assets fully.

One example he uses is a high end software company selling their programs for 25K-250K. They made good money, but didn't do anything with the leads that didn't convert. So Jay had them sell the unconverted leads to a company with more affordable software in exchange for 50% of the profit and they ended up making millions in additional profit.... Shit like that. You get the point.

So another example that struck me.... One of Jay's first joint venture deals. He found an 8 track wholesaler that had an excess supply and no way to get rid of them. Jay struck a deal with a chain of mini marts and told them if they put them in their stores, he'd give them 25% for every sale. No risk for the store if they don't sell. Just additional income. Makes total sense for them, right?

So he basically found a business...the mini marts...the had spent millions of dollars and countless hours to build a business over the years. Their untapped asset was all the foot traffic that went through their stores every day. Thousands of people shopped there daily. And Jay used that untapped asset to sell the 8 track players and create a new income stream for himself without spending a dime of his own money.

That led me to my own a-ha moment.

What if I paid large retail stores in my city....not to sell physical products like 8 track players....but to hand out flyers advertising the services of other non competitive companies.

So essentially I would talk to owners/managers of supermarkets, Home Depots, Nordstrom, Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, Best Buy, etc....stores that routinely have tens of thousands of customers a month...and see if they would hand out a flyer promoting a non-competitive business to their customers when they leave the store. Just put it in the bag when they leave. That's it. In return they could make an additional 1k-5K a month.

They key would be to show these companies that they have an untapped asset that they're not using that could net them a few more thousand in profit a month.

The question then becomes....what companies would pay the most for the right to advertise directly to, say, 30 thousand Whole Food customers a month? A few ideas I had:

-A Laser Eye surgery business that advertises on local radio all the time costs up to 5K per customer.
-Luxury Car dealerships.
-Storage facilities.... Say you get 10 new customers a month. Average customer spends $200/month for 5 months. Thats 10K in additional profit.
-High priced gyms like Equinox that charge $200/month. 10 new customers a month is $2,000 in additional income per month.
-Real estate companies. If you find a buyer for a 500K home, you're talking about a potential 7K profit for the agent + brokerage.
-Lawyers.... One client can be worth 10K.
-Dentists.

So I guess my question for the forum members would be:
1) What are your thoughts? Is this doable? Does it make sense? Why/why not?
2) What companies do you think would spend the most to advertise to 30K customers a month?

I think, for example, the Laser procedure clinic and lawyer would be willing to pay 3-5K a month. Put one ad on each side. That could be 10K in revenue per location.

Alright. I don't want to get too ahead of myself. Let me know what everyone thinks. Looking forward to hearing the feedback.
 
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Late Bloomer

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Jay's a huge inspiration to me for fresh, out of the box thinking, but he himself admits he's very disorganized, intuitive, and improvisational in how he presents his ideas. I would really love to include Jay's concepts for growth and expansion, once I have an MJ-style practical Fastlane venture started up and cruising along.

I'd love to participate in a discussion/mastermind group here trying to apply Jay's concepts within a Fastlane context.

I hadn't seen this JV book from Jay before, thanks!

Jay is definitely all about finding companies that have loyal customers who'd willingly buy something else from those businesses... and companies that have production capacity but marketing weaknesses... and being the matchmaker, for a share of the loot. Makes sense to me!

I've seen a lot of businesses that already run ads on their receipts. If I buy three things at the grocery store, I get a foot of receipt paper because of all the ads on the back.

You mentioned a lot of big box, chain and franchise stores. I'm not sure how much discretion the individual store managers would have for your marketing concept, without having to run it by Corporate.

As for what companies are already advertising a lot... simply sample your local newspaper, Yellow Pages, TV and radio stations, junk mail in your mailbox, etc. to see who's a big spender on traditional ads. But if they are using targeted direct mail lists, or some kind of stealthy online strategy, you might never find out!

There may be a local Business Journal or Advertising Trades publication for your town or state, who could easily tell you who are the top local advertisers in terms of dollar volume. Then, you'd need to narrow it down to who would do business with a little guy.

Could you get a foot in the door? Or would you be better off creating your clientele from lots of little companies, where you can walk in and ask to meet the owner directly? I don't know, I think it's something you should think through.
 

RNoles19

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Jay's a huge inspiration to me for fresh, out of the box thinking, but he himself admits he's very disorganized, intuitive, and improvisational in how he presents his ideas. I would really love to include Jay's concepts for growth and expansion, once I have an MJ-style practical Fastlane venture started up and cruising along.

I'd love to participate in a discussion/mastermind group here trying to apply Jay's concepts within a Fastlane context.

I hadn't seen this JV book from Jay before, thanks!

Jay is definitely all about finding companies that have loyal customers who'd willingly buy something else from those businesses... and companies that have production capacity but marketing weaknesses... and being the matchmaker, for a share of the loot. Makes sense to me!

I've seen a lot of businesses that already run ads on their receipts. If I buy three things at the grocery store, I get a foot of receipt paper because of all the ads on the back.

You mentioned a lot of big box, chain and franchise stores. I'm not sure how much discretion the individual store managers would have for your marketing concept, without having to run it by Corporate.

As for what companies are already advertising a lot... simply sample your local newspaper, Yellow Pages, TV and radio stations, junk mail in your mailbox, etc. to see who's a big spender on traditional ads. But if they are using targeted direct mail lists, or some kind of stealthy online strategy, you might never find out!

There may be a local Business Journal or Advertising Trades publication for your town or state, who could easily tell you who are the top local advertisers in terms of dollar volume. Then, you'd need to narrow it down to who would do business with a little guy.

Could you get a foot in the door? Or would you be better off creating your clientele from lots of little companies, where you can walk in and ask to meet the owner directly? I don't know, I think it's something you should think through.

Appreciate the response. Ya I'm not sure if I the corporate stores would go for it to be honest. I may have to focus on independent grocery stores, coffee shops, etc. In theory, you would think any business would be at least open to any idea that could generate them an additional 5K a month. but who knows.

As for the advertisers, I did get a lot of those ideas from local radio ads that I've been tracking. The Lasik company advertises a lot. There are a few fat loss companies that advertise a ton. A bunch of car dealerships. So I think it would make sense to start there.

Jay has really got the wheels spinning. The Lasik company alone charges 5K per procedure. If I am able to get them 5-10 new clients a month. You can see how much value that would bring to them.

If you can get 2 companies to pay 5K a month to advertise, you're talking 10K in revenue per location. Split that with the host. 5K profit per location monthly. And then just repeat that in as many locations as possible. In theory, the sky is the limit.

I'm surprised you were the only one to respond to the post to be honest. It's replicable in most locations too so anyone could do this.
 

AgainstAllOdds

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Your offer has to be valuable. No grocery chain is going to put advertisements in their bags that piss off customers. It has to be something that makes the customer happy and gives them VALUE. Coupons are a possibility.

Here's an idea for you of instant value, but the economics are questionable:

Chicago charges a 7 cent tax per plastic bag as of last year. I'm sure other cities do the same.

It's an annoyance and something Chicagoans hate.

Maybe you can offer free plastic bags (pay the city 7 cents per bag) that put your advertisements inside the bag.

Problem is the economics. Will advertisers pay 7 cents per bag? At 4 bags average (guessing), that's 28 cents per customer in tax costs. Then you have to pay for the advertising materials and your profit.
 

RNoles19

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Your offer has to be valuable. No grocery chain is going to put advertisements in their bags that piss off customers. It has to be something that makes the customer happy and gives them VALUE. Coupons are a possibility.

Here's an idea for you of instant value, but the economics are questionable:

Chicago charges a 7 cent tax per plastic bag as of last year. I'm sure other cities do the same.

It's an annoyance and something Chicagoans hate.

Maybe you can offer free plastic bags (pay the city 7 cents per bag) that put your advertisements inside the bag.

Problem is the economics. Will advertisers pay 7 cents per bag? At 4 bags average (guessing), that's 28 cents per customer in tax costs. Then you have to pay for the advertising materials and your profit.

Well ya....you're not going to put in ads that piss off customers. It has to be a win-win for both parties.

Say a LASIK company agrees to advertise.

The offer is for a "free consultation". A certain percentage of the customers would be interested. I know I would. (could also be a free month trial gym membership)

Say they get 3 customers out of it, each paying 5K for the procedure, that's an additional 15K in revenue for them. They're happy.

The grocery store gets an additional 1-5 thousand in profit each month for putting a flyer in their customers bags. They're happy. Win-Win.
 

GSF

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Well ya....you're not going to put in ads that piss off customers. It has to be a win-win for both parties.

Say a LASIK company agrees to advertise.

The offer is for a "free consultation". A certain percentage of the customers would be interested. I know I would. (could also be a free month trial gym membership)

Say they get 3 customers out of it, each paying 5K for the procedure, that's an additional 15K in revenue for them. They're happy.

The grocery store gets an additional 1-5 thousand in profit each month for putting a flyer in their customers bags. They're happy. Win-Win.
Probably have this in the U.S, In the U.K for many years, when you buy something online from one of the big retailers, you often receive inside the packaging a £60 off voucher for a wine crate company, must be very effective advertising as it's been going on for years and multiple retailers do it. The customer gets (or feels like they're getting) £60 off a crate of wine. The retailer gets an additional revenue source as an affiliate just by inserting the coupon in the packaging, the wine company acquires a new customer (monthly wine subscription).
 
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Merging Left

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Why would Starbucks want to advertise for LASIK? That's the piece that I think you're not connecting.

It's not win-win. It's sketchy. It's why consumers don't trust major corporations.

Jay's example works because in his example, he's basically cultivating warm leads for a smaller company, and allowing the larger company to recover lost revenue.

Since you're attached to LASIK, what you would want to do is actually find a company that performs a similar (or same) procedure for LESS than $5k (or maybe an alternative procedure that's covered by insurance). Then you'd contact LASIK and tell them that you can still earn them money from their leads that back out due to price, by referring them to a less expensive alternative. You could also refer out to glasses or contact lens companies.

Starbucks and LASIK are far too different for it to make any sense to either party. Why would LASIK even want to agree to that? It's totally untargetted advertising. Your argument would need to be that "people who drink Starbucks are more likely to get laser eye surgery, you should totally capitalize on that!"

What about connecting a private nutritionist to a local gym? People are coming in to learn about how to live healthier through nutrition - it wouldn't be too off-beat to recommend a handful of local gyms to complement the new diet. Similarly, connect a nutritionist to a private trainer.

Or connect the huge banks with local credit unions, for people who were denied loans by the Chase/Wells Fargo/Bank of America's of the world. Local banks can usually be far more lenient in their lending practices than the major players. Word of caution: it's extremely unlikely that any companies as big as Chase will even talk to you without any prior experience.

tl;dr: You're on the right track here, but you need to focus your efforts on finding two companies that are related to each other in some way, such that the customer would be open to the offer. Starbucks and LASIK don't mesh.
 

ApparentHorizon

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Your offer has to be valuable. No grocery chain is going to put advertisements in their bags that piss off customers. It has to be something that makes the customer happy and gives them VALUE. Coupons are a possibility.

We have Wal-Marts all over the place, down south, selling DirectTV and other cable bundle garbage.

The store gets a cut of the profits, and college kids come in and haggle people all day in the electronics dept.

Rarely is it ever a good deal for the customer, and many come back with buyers remorse because they're pressured into the sale.

These DirectTV guys are resellers, not the actual company itself.
 

Merging Left

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We have Wal-Marts all over the place, down south, selling DirectTV and other cable bundle garbage.

The store gets a cut of the profits, and college kids come in and haggle people all day in the electronics dept.

Rarely is it ever a good deal for the customer, and many come back with buyers remorse because they're pressured into the sale.

These DirectTV guys are resellers, not the actual company itself.
They do that in my local Costco as well. It's super annoying, and part of why we won't even consider DirectTV...
 
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Late Bloomer

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I'm surprised you were the only one to respond to the post to be honest. It's replicable in most locations too so anyone could do this.

I can't speak for MJ. I do have the impression that it's kind of tacky to flag the forum owner on something that really doesn't need his personal attention... we do know he browses the forum and jumps in when he's got something to say. Otherwise, I get the feeling it's kind of like saying, "Hey host, great party but we're piling up some dirty dishes, better start washing 'em!"

Jay is definitely an acquired taste. This book is new to me, and it's FAR better organized than most of his work. Maybe he had a really great editor for this book, that he should have used more! Or maybe he just had more time to think through how to make this one clear.

Even here, Jay's got a somewhat nonlinear, floating, semi-formal writing style that takes getting used to. He's like the squarest Hippie or the grooviest Executive ever, or some of each.

Jay could explain how the chicken crossed the road, and a bunch of people would get confused as Jay discussed the curb, the sidewalk, the fire hydrant, the grass, the berries, the trees, the clouds, the yellow and white stripes on the pavement, and by the way, did you realize that these are all the things that the chicken encountered before it was even halfway across?! Most people don't even think about that!! What else can we sell the chicken that will help it enjoy its journey?

Then there are his ideas themselves. He's definitely far-out there, on purpose. It's inspiring, but it's a real mind twister until you start tracking with him.

This is a big book. I'm a fast reader, but only partway through. It's a huge amount of material for someone who's not already a Jay fan to learn in a day, so they can discuss it with you.

There might also be some forum members who would rather see your actual face (unless you really are a great Jesus impersonator for parties), and see your report on a plan already in motion.

In this book, Jay talks a LOT about finding something simple you can do right away, that will probably work. He really wants his audience to start small, start local, start controllable, start with what they know. He keeps saying, unless you've already got an in with the president of IBM, don't go there. I encourage you to highlight all of those risk-reduction parts of his book, and think some more about how they apply to you.

LASIK: Jay says, look at what happens before, simultaneous, and after the sale.
After the surgery, people will need to get rid of their glasses and contacts!
What else is before, during, and after... directly related, not just the coffee shop visit?
 
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Late Bloomer

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. Edited: Combined with my previous comment.
 
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pwilliams84

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So I've been reading a lot of Jay Abraham recently. Particularly his book on joint ventures. You can read the whole thing for free here if you want.
(http://grumomedia.com/files/Jay_Abraham-From_Mediocrity_to_Millions.pdf)

Anyways, I had a business idea that he doesn't mention explicitly in the book and I'm curious to hear what people think of it. I'm not saying it's guaranteed to be profitable or anything, but I do think it has the potential to generate 10K a month or more....if executed properly.

So Jay's basic premise is that most businesses spend an enormous amount of time, effort, and capital to build assets that they don't really take advantage of. He essentially acts as a consultant and shows these businesses all the ways they can make more money and utilize their assets fully.

One example he uses is a high end software company selling their programs for 25K-250K. They made good money, but didn't do anything with the leads that didn't convert. So Jay had them sell the unconverted leads to a company with more affordable software in exchange for 50% of the profit and they ended up making millions in additional profit.... sh*t like that. You get the point.

So another example that struck me.... One of Jay's first joint venture deals. He found an 8 track wholesaler that had an excess supply and no way to get rid of them. Jay struck a deal with a chain of mini marts and told them if they put them in their stores, he'd give them 25% for every sale. No risk for the store if they don't sell. Just additional income. Makes total sense for them, right?

So he basically found a business...the mini marts...the had spent millions of dollars and countless hours to build a business over the years. Their untapped asset was all the foot traffic that went through their stores every day. Thousands of people shopped there daily. And Jay used that untapped asset to sell the 8 track players and create a new income stream for himself without spending a dime of his own money.

That led me to my own a-ha moment.

What if I paid large retail stores in my city....not to sell physical products like 8 track players....but to hand out flyers advertising the services of other non competitive companies.

So essentially I would talk to owners/managers of supermarkets, Home Depots, Nordstrom, Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, Best Buy, etc....stores that routinely have tens of thousands of customers a month...and see if they would hand out a flyer promoting a non-competitive business to their customers when they leave the store. Just put it in the bag when they leave. That's it. In return they could make an additional 1k-5K a month.

They key would be to show these companies that they have an untapped asset that they're not using that could net them a few more thousand in profit a month.

The question then becomes....what companies would pay the most for the right to advertise directly to, say, 30 thousand Whole Food customers a month? A few ideas I had:

-A Laser Eye surgery business that advertises on local radio all the time costs up to 5K per customer.
-Luxury Car dealerships.
-Storage facilities.... Say you get 10 new customers a month. Average customer spends $200/month for 5 months. Thats 10K in additional profit.
-High priced gyms like Equinox that charge $200/month. 10 new customers a month is $2,000 in additional income per month.
-Real estate companies. If you find a buyer for a 500K home, you're talking about a potential 7K profit for the agent + brokerage.
-Lawyers.... One client can be worth 10K.
-Dentists.

So I guess my question for the forum members would be:
1) What are your thoughts? Is this doable? Does it make sense? Why/why not?
2) What companies do you think would spend the most to advertise to 30K customers a month?

I think, for example, the Laser procedure clinic and lawyer would be willing to pay 3-5K a month. Put one ad on each side. That could be 10K in revenue per location.

Alright. I don't want to get too ahead of myself. Let me know what everyone thinks. Looking forward to hearing the feedback.

does this address or solve a need?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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RNoles19

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Why would Starbucks want to advertise for LASIK? That's the piece that I think you're not connecting.

It's not win-win. It's sketchy. It's why consumers don't trust major corporations.

Jay's example works because in his example, he's basically cultivating warm leads for a smaller company, and allowing the larger company to recover lost revenue.

Since you're attached to LASIK, what you would want to do is actually find a company that performs a similar (or same) procedure for LESS than $5k (or maybe an alternative procedure that's covered by insurance). Then you'd contact LASIK and tell them that you can still earn them money from their leads that back out due to price, by referring them to a less expensive alternative. You could also refer out to glasses or contact lens companies.

Starbucks and LASIK are far too different for it to make any sense to either party. Why would LASIK even want to agree to that? It's totally untargetted advertising. Your argument would need to be that "people who drink Starbucks are more likely to get laser eye surgery, you should totally capitalize on that!"

What about connecting a private nutritionist to a local gym? People are coming in to learn about how to live healthier through nutrition - it wouldn't be too off-beat to recommend a handful of local gyms to complement the new diet. Similarly, connect a nutritionist to a private trainer.

Or connect the huge banks with local credit unions, for people who were denied loans by the Chase/Wells Fargo/Bank of America's of the world. Local banks can usually be far more lenient in their lending practices than the major players. Word of caution: it's extremely unlikely that any companies as big as Chase will even talk to you without any prior experience.

tl;dr: You're on the right track here, but you need to focus your efforts on finding two companies that are related to each other in some way, such that the customer would be open to the offer. Starbucks and LASIK don't mesh.

Appreciate the feedback. I think your/Jay's example of recovering lost leads is a good idea.

I think you're getting hung up on the examples a bit too much though. It doesn't have to be Starbucks. It definitely doesn't have to be LASIK. Just an example of a company that spends a bunch to advertise on the radio so they would likely be interested. I hear their ads all the time. It could be a free 30 day gym membership. It could be a car dealership. Window replacement companies. Any company that advertises frequently.

The idea is just to get a business that has a lot of monthly customers (like a grocery store).... and use that asset... to have them advertise a product that appeals to the general population.

What does LASIK or a fat loss company have to do with sports talk radio or a Television show too. It's just demographics. People with discretionary income, ie Starbucks/Whole Foods/an upscale grocery store customers would be more inclined to spend on a semi-expensive procedure like LASIK.

Why would a company like Lasik want to advertise in a grocery store? Pretty simple. It's an opportunity to find new customers. You have access to their 10K-30K monthly customers.

I used them as an example because finding a single customer would make it worth it for them. If they are able to get 5 new customers a month at 5K per procedure, that's 25K in additional revenue per month. I think they'd be interested in that.

Why would the grocery store be interested? Because they can make between 1-5K more a month just by putting an advertisement in their customers bag. It's not intruding on their customer. There is no sales pitch. It's easy money.
 

RNoles19

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We have Wal-Marts all over the place, down south, selling DirectTV and other cable bundle garbage.

The store gets a cut of the profits, and college kids come in and haggle people all day in the electronics dept.

Rarely is it ever a good deal for the customer, and many come back with buyers remorse because they're pressured into the sale.

These DirectTV guys are resellers, not the actual company itself.

Right. This would be way less intrusive. It would be more like the cashier handing out a flyer to the customer as they leave the store. Or just putting it in the bag. No sales pitch or anything.

But the same general concept.... If we're using your example.... Direct TV would pay for the right to advertise to a grocery's store customers.

Direct TV gets more customers. The store gets a new income stream. Win-Win.
 

RNoles19

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They do that in my local Costco as well. It's super annoying, and part of why we won't even consider DirectTV...

Ya. No one likes that. This would just be handing out a flyer to the customer or putting it in the bag. No selling whatsoever.
 
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RNoles19

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does this address or solve a need?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don't see how it doesn't. It finds new customers for the advertiser and creates a new income stream for the host company for minimal effort.

Both parties benefit.
 

RNoles19

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I can't speak for MJ. I do have the impression that it's kind of tacky to flag the forum owner on something that really doesn't need his personal attention... we do know he browses the forum and jumps in when he's got something to say. Otherwise, I get the feeling it's kind of like saying, "Hey host, great party but we're piling up some dirty dishes, better start washing 'em!"

Jay is definitely an acquired taste. This book is new to me, and it's FAR better organized than most of his work. Maybe he had a really great editor for this book, that he should have used more! Or maybe he just had more time to think through how to make this one clear.

Even here, Jay's got a somewhat nonlinear, floating, semi-formal writing style that takes getting used to. He's like the squarest Hippie or the grooviest Executive ever, or some of each.

Jay could explain how the chicken crossed the road, and a bunch of people would get confused as Jay discussed the curb, the sidewalk, the fire hydrant, the grass, the berries, the trees, the clouds, the yellow and white stripes on the pavement, and by the way, did you realize that these are all the things that the chicken encountered before it was even halfway across?! Most people don't even think about that!! What else can we sell the chicken that will help it enjoy its journey?

Then there are his ideas themselves. He's definitely far-out there, on purpose. It's inspiring, but it's a real mind twister until you start tracking with him.

This is a big book. I'm a fast reader, but only partway through. It's a huge amount of material for someone who's not already a Jay fan to learn in a day, so they can discuss it with you.

There might also be some forum members who would rather see your actual face (unless you really are a great Jesus impersonator for parties), and see your report on a plan already in motion.

In this book, Jay talks a LOT about finding something simple you can do right away, that will probably work. He really wants his audience to start small, start local, start controllable, start with what they know. He keeps saying, unless you've already got an in with the president of IBM, don't go there. I encourage you to highlight all of those risk-reduction parts of his book, and think some more about how they apply to you.

LASIK: Jay says, look at what happens before, simultaneous, and after the sale.
After the surgery, people will need to get rid of their glasses and contacts!
What else is before, during, and after... directly related, not just the coffee shop visit?

Appreciate the response. I'll try to respond to a few of your ideas.

-You may be right. Maybe I shouldn't have tagged MJ. I obviously respect the hell out of him, so I was hoping to get his thoughts. I think it's an interesting idea. I'm looking for feedback and figured it couldn't hurt to tag him. I honestly didn't know tagging him was frowned upon so that's my mistake.

-I definitely didn't expect anyone to read the book. I just put a link to it because I thought it was a great read. If you're halfway through you're flying haha. Took me a week probably..... I tried to explain the concept in general terms so that people could understand it without reading book.

And yes.... I'm sure people would like to hear about a plan in motion.....but I'm not in motion yet. We're in the early stages. I'm literally just trying to get feedback on the idea. See if like-minded people thought it was a good idea or had any suggestions.

I do plan on starting with smaller joint ventures.... I was thinking of starting with storage facilities and convenience stores because you can talk directly with the owners. Less middlemen involved like Jay says. That part wasn't lost on me.....

A lot of storage facilities offer "first month free" too, so I would think if you put those ads in front of thousands of people each month, you could definitely get them a few clients.

So ya, that's where I'm at. Appreciate the discussion. Glad you're liking the book.
 

CPisHere

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I had a similar idea after reading his book. My idea was to create a network with a group of local businesses (1 woman's retail store, 1 family restaurant, etc), where I charge each one say $500/month & then create cross-promotions.

It's not a bad idea. In that form, it's not scalable but could be an easy $5k/month once developed.

Another way to do it... identify a dozen local businesses that seem to spend at least $2k/month on advertising (most locally owned small businesses aren't spending that much except maybe in major cities), ask them what kind of results they are getting, and offer to beat those results for the same spend. Then you have a budget to get X numbers of customers/month & the less you can do it with, the more money you make. The issue with this iteration is they probably want to waste money on "brand building".
 
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RNoles19

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I had a similar idea after reading his book. My idea was to create a network with a group of local businesses (1 woman's retail store, 1 family restaurant, etc), where I charge each one say $500/month & then create cross-promotions.

It's not a bad idea. In that form, it's not scalable but could be an easy $5k/month once developed.

Another way to do it... identify a dozen local businesses that seem to spend at least $2k/month on advertising (most locally owned small businesses aren't spending that much except maybe in major cities), ask them what kind of results they are getting, and offer to beat those results for the same spend. Then you have a budget to get X numbers of customers/month & the less you can do it with, the more money you make. The issue with this iteration is they probably want to waste money on "brand building".

Interesting idea. Did you ever pursue the cross promotion idea?

Regarding the second idea....it might be tough to get a business to give someone off the street 2K to spend on advertisements. There would have to be significant trust there before handing over 2K.

Jay is big on risk reversal. "Make it easier for the client to say yes than no". "Make them an offer they can't refuse", etc.

One of the reasons I think my model could work is because you could offer them a risk free trial.

Give them 2 weeks to try it for free. If they determine that it helps their business, that's great. You now presumably have a recurring customer for as long as it continues to be profitable.

If it doesn't work out, you can move on to another client.
 

CPisHere

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Interesting idea. Did you ever pursue the cross promotion idea?

Regarding the second idea....it might be tough to get a business to give someone off the street 2K to spend on advertisements. There would have to be significant trust there before handing over 2K.

Jay is big on risk reversal. "Make it easier for the client to say yes than no". "Make them an offer they can't refuse", etc.

One of the reasons I think my model could work is because you could offer them a risk free trial.

Give them 2 weeks to try it for free. If they determine that it helps their business, that's great. You now presumably have a recurring customer for as long as it continues to be profitable.

If it doesn't work out, you can move on to another client.
I never pursued the cross promotion idea. If I ever pursue something like this, and I don't think I would, it would be taking on individual clients & managing their marketing. I would do cross-promotions & use that as an "in" at the other businesses - rather than utilize them as a group. That way I could do more than just cross-promotions, but actually write their radio ads, design their flyers, etc.
 

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My idea was to create a network with a group of local businesses (1 woman's retail store, 1 family restaurant, etc), where I charge each one say $500/month & then create cross-promotions.

I've read that this is actually a major part of the success now for Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate. As he adds a new business, he cross-promotes it to all the other businesses, and to the shareholders, and to the many people who read his investment reports.
 
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