TeenBiz - Small Business for Students

Free Link Exchanging for Wordpress

2011-02-01T11:05:00.000-08:00

We all know how powerful a good link exchange can be. We also know how hard they can be to find. RollWorthy is a new system that changes all that. It's a simple, automated way to exchange links with other wordpress blogs and websites. Here's how it works:

1) Create a free account.
2) Add your website to your account and place the free widget on your Wordpress site.
3) Request exchanges from other members.
4) When they accept, the links show up automatically on your blogs.

Sign up is free, and takes less than 30 seconds.
http://www.rollworthy.com

Free Link Resource

2010-10-20T09:45:00.000-07:00

Just working with a partner of mine and they are starting up a blogroll link exchange with blogs that are related to the small business field.

If you'd be interested in getting your link on their blog for free, head here:
http://bit.ly/9oOqD6

Hardly Working: Website Ideas

2009-08-18T13:28:00.001-07:00

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

One of the most inspirational stories I have ever heard.

2009-03-30T10:24:00.000-07:00

If this doesn't inspire you...I don't know what will!

The story of Sylvester Stallone that no one seems to know about.

Its Time to Think Big...Six Figures Anyone?

2009-03-26T12:46:00.001-07:00

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Student entrepreneurs are successful...but what about when we graduate? In this episode we discuss the mindset and goals we need to have in order to truly live the lifestyle we want AFTER we graduate.

How big can you dream?

The New Entrepreneur: Is it YOU?

2009-02-11T11:25:00.000-08:00

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A new style of entrepreneur is emerging from college campuses all over the country. He's successful, but you don't have to be him to find the same rewards in your own endeavors. Learn the attributes that will lead you to success as an entrepeneur without having to be someone you're not.

In this episode I mentioned a TED Talk about success, watch it here.

Interview with Ted Murphy, CEO of Izea.com

2008-11-19T14:04:00.000-08:00

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In this episode I sit down with the successful Ted Murphy, the Creative Superfreak himself. Ted is an awesome guy that is really doing some amazing stuff in the blogging/social networking world (don't believe me? check out his company IZEA, 250,000 bloggers can't be wrong. In this interview Ted talks about his first business, how he got to where he is, and what the future holds.

To learn more about Ted and his story, visit his blog at www.ted.me, you could even enter his contest to win 52 bags of your favorite cold cereal...and you thought he wasn't creative :)

Ask Ted Murphy, CEO of IZEA & Is This Really Marketing?

2008-10-31T14:54:00.000-07:00

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Ever wanted to as a student entrepreneur turned CEO a question? Here is your chance...Ted Murphy, CEO of IZEA.com and former student entrepreneur (former because he graduated) is going to sit down for a Skype interview with me in just over a week. Use the comments feature below to let me know what questions you want me to ask Ted.

Plus, we finally get down to talking about marketing and how two things that many people usually don't think of as marketing are vital parts to the success of your business.

Interview With Michael Shumway, Co-Creator of AudioCouch.com

2008-10-15T00:18:00.000-07:00

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In this episode I talk with Michael Shumway, Co-Creator of AudioCouch.com and discuss the concerns and questions you came up with from the "Will it work" episode from a few weeks ago. The question I have for you now is...

HAS YOUR OPINION CHANGED?

Why or why not? Knowing what you know now after listening to Michael's side of the equation, what do you think about AudioCouch's future? Leave your thoughts in the comments area below.

How to Get Legit Site Traffic That Lasts

2008-09-22T10:29:00.000-07:00

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Learn how to get traffic from forums and blogs that actually lasts. Plus, if you do it right you will actually setup your site for big success in the future. Don't just spam these guys...give them what they want and it will pay off in the long run.

Will This Business Fail?! AudioCouch.com

2008-09-16T20:06:00.000-07:00

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Hey guys...here is a chance for you to all test your entrepreneurial savvy. A friend of mine just started this site, AudioCouch.com and its in BETA right now...getting ready to launch soon. The question I have for you is...

WILL THIS BUSINESS WORK?

Why or why not? What do you think are it's strong points? What are it's weak points? Visit their site, check it out, and post your thoughts in the comments section below. Best comment wins a free copy of "The 7-Day Startup".

New TeenBiz Listener Business: Forward Slash Media

2008-09-11T12:02:00.000-07:00

Ben C, a TeenBiz listener just started a new video editing business called Forward Slash Media. To test his skills I had him create the new video that is found on the top of the right sidebar of the site at teenbizideas.org...he did a great job and his fees were very reasonable.

Right now Ben is offering a 50% discount to new customers on their first project. If you need any video editing or production done in the next little while, shoot Ben an email at ben.fsmediaproductions@gmail.com . I guarantee you won't find anyone else that can edit video at prices like Ben's.

Great job Ben and best of luck!

The Greatest Product You Could Ever Sell

2008-08-19T16:08:00.000-07:00

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In this podcast we talk about two products. One that will make you many times more money than the other. The difference between the two is not large and you may find that you have been selling the wrong product for weeks, months or even years!

Got any thoughts on this podcast? Leave a comment below!

July Free Business Idea #4 (of 4) + TeenBiz: The Course!

2008-08-01T12:12:00.000-07:00

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Idea #4: Make $20 Over and Over Again

Wanna make money while you make money? That is the 4th business idea for the month of July! Tell people about TeenBiz: The Course v2.0 that is officially named "The 7-Day Startup" and every time someone you sent to the site places an order...you make $20. Send emails to friends, put a link on your blog, put ads on Google...do whatever you want, every time someone buys...you get 75% of the profits. Click here for details:

https://paydotcom.com/a.page.php?id=14910&u=rowsbydog

Secret Hidden Link for TeenBiz Listeners

The price for the 7-Day Startup is $27...but here's a little secret that is exclusive for TeenBiz listeneres. When you visit the website (http://www.the-sse.com/) click on the little house made of folded $50 dollar bills at the top...instead of paying $27 you will only pay $9! It doesn't look like a link, its just the top banner, but I stuck a hidden link in there so that TeenBiz listeners could get a sweet deal.

July Free Business Ideas #3 (of 4)

2008-07-21T23:02:00.000-07:00

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Every week for the month of July get a free, super-rad business idea that you can start quickly and easily. If you spend a few hours on this idea this weekend, you are guaranteed to make some money...I did. Listen to the podcast for details!

July Free Business Idea #2 (of 4)

2008-07-14T15:28:00.000-07:00

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Every week for the month of July get a free, super-rad business idea that you can start quickly and easily. Today's idea is pretty darn simple and might even help you pass your next english class. Listen to the podcast for details!

July Free Business Idea #1 (of 4)

2008-07-07T18:44:00.000-07:00

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Every week for the month of July get a free, super-rad business idea that you can start quickly and easily. Today's idea takes only a digital camera or camcorder and can make you as much as $50-$75 an hour. Listen to the podcast for details!

How to Grow ANY Business in Three Steps

2008-05-26T18:05:00.000-07:00

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Join the early notification list for TeenBiz: The Course V2 and get a free guide that shows you how to get a free website, autoresponder, and membership site. Use the form on the top right of this page to sign up.

Exposures x Conversion Rate x Price = Revenue
Exposures
-People who see your ad or visit your website
Conversion Rate
-Percentage of people who see your ad or site that become customers
Price
-The value of the product each customer purchases from you

EBOOK REVIEW: Kids Business Ideas

2008-05-09T14:46:00.000-07:00

On the podcast last week I mentioned a new product, Kids Business Ideas, that TeenBiz listener Tessa Smolinski created. A couple days later Tessa emailed me a copy of her book to check out. To say I was impressed would be an understatement!

Kids Business Ideas is full of a lot of really, REALLY solid stuff. Tessa really has the entrepreneurial spirit and mindset.

I can easily see how someone could flip through this book and say, "man, there's nothing really new..." but they would be wrong. If you decide to give this book a try, take it slow. Chew on each idea for a few minutes and let your creativity explore the possibilities. Print out a copy and make notes on the book as you go. Do this and you WILL finish with a fat list of high-potential businesses you could start very easliy.

The only downide I saw was the formatting. It was a little bit difficult to follow simply due to the text formatting but I talked to her about it and it sounds like that is not permanent and it will be all snazzy very soon.

Check out the Kids Business Ideas website.

TeenBiz - 4/30/08

2008-04-30T15:36:00.000-07:00

Three Key Skills for Student Entrepreneurs

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Marketing
-BOOK: Made to Stick - Chip and Dan Heath
Interpersonal
-BOOK: How to Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie
Presentation
-BOOK: Beyond Bullet Points - Cliff Atkinson

Business Idea
-PowerPoint Doctor

New Listener Product
-Kids Business Ideas

Exclusive TeenBiz Access to Sendside Beta!!

2008-04-08T07:54:00.000-07:00

Sendside, THE next generation of email (100% secure and ridiculously powerful) has released their Beta version by INVITATION ONLY! Seriously, go to their site and try to join...all you can do is request a membership and hope they pick you...seriously.

TeenBiz has secured approval for exclusive Sendside invitations which we will start sending out on Thursday, April 10, at 4:00pm ET.

So what does it take to get an invite?

Send an email to teenbizideas@yahoo.com and put the word "Sendside" in the Subject line. We will offer invitations on a first come first serve basis...so don't dilly dally.

Once you have an invite all you have to do is click the link in the email for instant access to Sendside's powerful, beta version of what is geared up to possibly be the biggest thing since Google...no joke. Talking with one of Sendside's investors the other day he said that investors everywhere all green with envy that they are not on board this big-time project.

New, Short 10 Second Poll

2008-03-31T10:02:00.000-07:00

TeenBiz: The Course v1.0 was good, but it we really want to set a new standard. Version 2.0 is going to rock and fit the needs of student entrepreneurs in some really cool ways. Right now though, we need to know what YOU want so that when you crack open v2.0 for the first time, you smile big and say "this is exactly what I needed." There is a little poll in the sidebar that will help us understand what you are looking for. There are only three choices...it will take you less than 10 seconds. Thanks guys...you rock!

Free Beginners Guide to SEO

2008-03-27T09:18:00.000-07:00

As alluded to in the podcast SEOMoz.org offers a free, beginner search engine optimization (SEO) course that I would highly recommend. It covers a lot of quality content:

--Keyword research
--Building friendly sites
--Link building
--Search engine operation

Plus many other topics that are worthy of your time. It will take you about an hour to an hour and a half to go through this (don't skim, print it off and highlight as you go, really study this stuff) and will be one of the more valuable hours spent on your business.

Click here to download

TeenBiz - 3/22/08

2008-03-22T11:20:00.000-07:00

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Basics

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Tools from Podcast
-Keyword Tool

Link Directories
-Domaining.in
-LiveLinkDirectory
-The Link Catalog
-Dmegs
-TagTooga

If you want your link to be added to the right bar on the TeenBiz website, join the TeenBiz Facebook Group and post your website link!

TeenBiz The Course...v2.0 Coming Soon!

2008-02-22T13:56:00.000-08:00

We need your help and want to give you something free at the same time. We are in the process of updating (a nice word for completely overhauling) the old "TeenBiz Course" and need your input on what you want included or don't want included in the next version.

Download TeenBiz v1.0

Give us your feedback and when the new version is ready we'll make sure you are the first to get a free copy. Send your feedback to:

teenbizideas [at] yahoo.com

Be as harsh as you want, the old version has some pretty shabby parts to it so we are hoping for some really mean feedback...bring it on!

TeenBiz - 2/4/08

2008-02-04T22:25:00.000-08:00

The Keys to Info Product Success

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Keys to Info Product Success
-You don't always have to innovate
-Avoid "how to make money" products
-Stick to things you are good at; unique is good
-Look to the future, see a bigger picture
-Don't leave the website and traffic to the end
-Create the headline first THEN the product

If you want your link to be added to the right bar on the TeenBiz website, join the TeenBiz Facebook Group and post your website link!

Free Stuff: Nice Backlink and $10!

2008-01-26T08:01:00.000-08:00

We're getting ready to record the next podcast but didn't want to wait to tell you about a couple bits of juicy info:

First, we have officially started the TeenBiz Student Entrepreneurs group on Facebook. Plus, get a link to your site (no affiliate links please) placed in the right column of the TeenBiz Podcast site when you:

1) Join the TeenBiz Student Entrepreneurs group on Facebook
2) Are one of the first 10 people to post your link on the group page

Facebook is great for networking, you can start discussions, post links and news, and meet like-minded entrepreneurs to work on ideas with. I am planning on using the TeenBiz Group to meet the graphic designer for my next project!

Second tidbit. Right now if you go to BUY.COM and use Google Checkout to pay for your swag, they will take $10 off your order. I believe it has to be the first time you use Google Checkout with BUY.com to apply. Trey Morris let us know about this one, so props to Trey. He used it to buy "The E-Myth", a book we have recommended many times for student entrepreneurs. Heres the steps:

1) Go to BUY.com
2) Look for and add The E-myth to your cart.
3) Proceed to checkout.
4) Rather than checking out with BUY.com click on Google Checkout.
5) Fill in all of your information and go through with the order.

Thats all for now, the new podcast will be coming out very soon. If you haven't done it yet, please use the poll in the right column to tell us what you want to learn about most on TeenBiz in the upcoming months!

Don't Settle! You CAN Do It!

2008-01-11T11:37:00.000-08:00

I received an email this week from an enthusiastic 15 year old TeenBiz listener who wanted to know how feasible it was for him to consider starting a web design business. At the end of his email he said, partly as a joke, "Who knows, maybe I'll just end up flipping burgers in college to make some extra money instead."

Going off of the last podcast, this is one of the things we will face over and over again...settling for the "norm". All your friends work normal jobs, all your friends make $8 an hour, and starting your own business is hard and will take a lot of work. So why try? Because you are different, you can do it, and its worth it. Because this 15 year old is trying and already thinking about his future tells me he has a bright one.

I recently found a video of Steve Jobs' (the guy that helped start Apple and Pixar) giving a commencement address at Stanford University. Towards the middle of his address his said this:

(to watch the video of his entire address click here, to read the transcript click here)

Take the last two words of that quote and carve them into a big slab of rock and mount it by your bed so you see it every night. Don't settle for something you are better than. Simply by the fact you are reading this blog and listen to TeenBiz podcasts shows that you are different, you have a desire to try, and you are way ahead of your peers.

Let me say it again...DON'T SETTLE!

Now is the perfect time to start a business, you have little to lose and everything to gain. Get out there and get started on your business right now. As Warren Miller says, "If you don't do it this year, you'll be one year older when you do."

TeenBiz - 1/4/08

2008-01-04T12:56:00.000-08:00

Four Things That Will KILL Your Business in 2008

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#1) Fear - Everyone feels it, what you should do about it.
#2) Doubt - The universal entrepreneurial enemy, how to overcome it.
#3) Trying to Do It All - What parts of your business you shouldn't be working on.
#4) Time Killers - Video games, movies, sleep...only in small amounts.

Merry Christmas...Free Video!

2007-12-24T11:26:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas time, the time for giving. So we decided to share a freebie with you that really is something special. Many of you may have heard of StomperNet, they are famous for some pretty rad free content. Well, they've done it again with their "Going Natural 2.0" videos...trust me, they are well worth the time it takes to watch them. So, we didn't create the content, but we are telling you about it...that counts as a gift...right?

What you learn from these videos:
-How to double conversions
-How to double traffic
-How a visitors eyes move around your page
-How to create a smooth course for your visitors eyes
-How to make your page better...period

Stuff this good shouldn't be free...but it is! So here is the link:

Free Videos:
http://www.stompernet.net/gn2/index.asp

Hope you enjoy, best of luck with your businesses and Merry Christmas!

TeenBiz - 12/17/07

2007-12-17T15:45:00.000-08:00

3 "Secrets" To Becoming an Expert in Your Field

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Books
-No one our age reads books, if you do, you'll be ahead of the pack
-The E-Myth: Michael Gerber

Blogs
-Subscribe to a couple but not too many, don't bog yourself down
-CopyBlogger
-Dim Bulb

Podcasts
-Great if you can find you on your field, learn on the go
-Internet Business Mastery

Tell us the story of your business and we may feature it on an upcoming show. Email us your story to teenbizideas AT yahoo.com Happy Holidays!

New, Free Productivity Tool - Toggl

2007-12-07T09:01:00.000-08:00

I had been looking for something like this for a while. An online time tracking program that would help me see where I am spending most of my time and also help me track the time I spend working on design and marketing projects for clients. I found a few, self-hosted systems and pricey options but nothing that really worked for my needs.

Then a week and a half ago I found Toggl, a free, web-based time tracking service.

They aren't paying me to say a word of this by the way, this is something I absolutely needed and their product fit my needs like a glove. Tracking my time has helping me immensely in a few ways.

First, knowing that it is tracking my time for a specific project helps be stay on task and focus on that one project. No more skipping to YouTube every few minutes to watch another vid.

Second, I can look back and see where I am spending all my time and evaluate if my time could be better spend elsewhere. Sometimes, I get into a mode where I don't realize how much time passes, like when I am deep into a site design project.

Third, it helps me break down my "to do" list. Knowing I will be working on one task as a time forces me to break up my list (either in my head or written down) into managable, measurable parts so I can take them one at a time and don't get overwhelmed with all the things I need to do.

We're students, and we don't have a lot of time; tools like Toggl will help you make better use of the time you have.

TeenBiz - 12/1/07

2007-12-01T09:56:00.000-08:00

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6 Reasons to Include a Phone Number on Your Site

1-It shows you are legit
2-It gives computer illeterate visitors an easy way to contact you
3-Lets the "internet scared" offline ordering options
4-Tells your customers you aren't afraid to talk to them
5-Answers question on the phone is almost always faster than email
6-Builds business communication skills

Ways to Use Camtasia in Your Business

-Teaching, create video tutorial products to sell
-Selling, take visitors on tour of your products selling points
-Supper, startup and troubleshooting guides to helps buyers

When a Need is Not Demanded

Sometimes, just because something is needed, doesn't mean that it is demanded

TeenBiz in Top 100...Twice

2007-11-29T13:12:00.000-08:00

The Bootstrapper Blog just released their Top 100 Entrepreneur Podcasts and lo-and-behold, we we're #19! Bootstrapper is a great resource that puts our many different "Top Lists" and I was psyched to see TeenBiz show up on their latest! Check out the Boostrapper List.

I was also excited to find that TeenBiz made the Top 100 list for Small Business Trends recent top entrepreneur podcasts list! Small Business Trends is a very deep resource for small business owners that includes internviews, reviews, and news. I feel lucky that Anita Campbell (the editor and host of SMBT) included us in her list. Check out Small Business Trends and you'll see why I suddenly feel so cool.

Get Camtasia Studio 3...FREE!

2007-11-28T17:39:00.000-08:00

Almost Too Good To Be True!

You read right, TechSmith's powerful screen capture software that normally sells for $300 is free for a limited time! Now, put your pants back on, it isn't their latest version, it is only version 3, but once you download and give it a try you will quickly see that version 3 is hardly lacking. Here's the goods:

Download
Click the link below to download Camtasia 3:
http://download.techsmith.com/camtas...

Register
Once you have downloaded and installed the software, it will ask you if you want to register, click the link below to obtain your registration key, but hurry, no one really knows how long they are going to keep this up!
http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia/pcpls.asp

I got so excited about the announcement I scrapped my old screen capture software and will be rerecording a few tutorials that will surely find their way to TeenBiz here in the next couple of weeks! Plus, a new podcast is on it's way about how to use Camtasia to make a pretty penny online so that this software doesn't sit on your computer like a that bowl of mac is you never finished last week.

Free Web Traffic and List Building Tools

2007-07-03T09:39:00.000-07:00

We have received some emails recently regarding the best ways to get free traffic to you site. While free traffic often doesn't convert as well there is one new method you may want to try...

Instant Buzz Toolbar
Instant Buzz is the brainchild of Mike Filsaime, one of the most trusted internet marketers around. Basically, you put a small bar at the top of your browser that shows a short text ad, every page you visit earns you credits that you can use to have your own ad displayed!

Traffic Swarm
Similar to instant buzz, another simple way to earn some free advertising credits.

We have also had questions regarding the best way to quickly build your email list. Giveaways (you give away a free product if they join your list) are a common way to get a list quickly started. Some recent ones to join...

Viral Marketing Giveaway
Brett Ingram's VMG6 is the latest in a long line of quality giveaways.

Marketing Central Giveaway
Another giveaway you can use to build your list.

PLR Wolf's Giveaway
Not as popular as the others but still nice.

PLR Vault Giveaway
We personally used this one with surprisingly good results.

Hopefully these help, if you have any questions, email us at teenbizideas [at] yahoo.com!

TeenBiz - 6/28/07

2007-06-28T16:07:00.000-07:00

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Doubling Your Income
-Repeat/Return Customers
-4 Ways to Get 'er Dun
Patience
-Sometimes the money comes at the end
Business Idea
-Logo cleanup

TeenBiz - 6/7/07

2007-06-07T11:40:00.000-07:00

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Internet Business Basics

Step 1: Start Building a List
- Free Autoresponder
- AWeber
Step 2: Find products to sell
- RowsbyDog
- Special RowsbyDog Price for TeenBiz Listeners
Step 3: Create products to sell
- Sell on ClickBank
- Sell on PayDotCom
Step 4: Recurring Products (membership sites)
- Software aMember
- RowsbyDog: Affiliate Program

TeenBiz: The Course and The SSE findings
#1 – Affiliates are HUGE!
#2 – Launch is HUGE!
#3 – Give away free later to Build Your List

Worth the Wait...

2007-05-28T16:13:00.000-07:00

First, we just wanted to apologize for the delay since the last podcast. We haven't been playing much, in fact, the delay was caused by a couple deadlines and a lot of work with some recent projects. However, we will be releasing the next episode about internet business later this week or early next so don't fret...it is coming. We will be talking about the products we have released since the beginning of the year and why they are FREE now (click the TeenBiz: The Course link on the top right to download), the results from that project, a cool new resource to use with your internet business, and much more...

TeenBiz - 5/9/07

2007-05-09T13:11:00.000-07:00

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Helpful Resources
-SMB Trendwire
-Small Business Podcast
-Managing the Gray
-Energybyte w/ Cristian
Business Idea
-Textbook Buybacker
Final Word
-What to do when others don't get it

TeenBiz - 4/16/07

2007-04-16T11:28:00.000-07:00

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Summer Business
-7 Tips to Summer Success
Business Idea
-Local, door-to-door group
Final Word
-A simple webpage for your business
-StartLogic Hosting
-HTML Goodies

TeenBiz - 3/23/07

2007-03-26T11:50:00.000-07:00

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Talking vs. Doing
-Having a vision

Business Idea
-Concerts

Final Word
-Sitepoint.com

TeenBiz - 2/26/07

2007-02-26T14:53:00.000-08:00

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Planning Your Business, From Idea to Income
-Plan to Prepare to Plan
-Creating a Structure for Solid Foundation

Business Ideas
-Fence Staining

Final Word
-A little motivation
-You can do anything you put your mind to
-Prove others wrong

Mentioned in Podcast
-The E-Myth

TeenBiz - 2/12/07

2007-02-12T08:47:00.000-08:00

Play Now
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Young Entrepreneurs and Innovation
-Is there such thing as over innovation?
-What to do with our amazing ideas

Business Ideas
-Small Engine Repair
-Garage Organization/Seal Coating

Final Word
-Sly as a Fox
-Niche Profits Course
-Ron Sharon's Million $$ Challenge

TeenBiz - 1/26/07

2007-01-26T09:00:00.000-08:00

Creating a brand, communication, affiliate program, getting parents' support.

Play Now
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SHOW NOTES
What's Hot/Not
--Creating a Positive Image/Brand
--Communication and Networking
--Use Business Cards to Create Contacts
Business Idea
--How to use TeenBiz's SSE Affilliate Program
Final Word
--Getting Your Parents to Support Your Business Efforts

Mentioned In Podcast:
On Communicating: Mark McCormack
The SSE Affiliate Program

TeenBiz - 1/11/07

2007-01-11T17:57:00.000-08:00

Episode for 1/11/07
Business cards, common mistakes, new idea, and affiliate product.

Play Now
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SHOW NOTES
---------------
Whats Hot - Advertising
-Business Cards, when and how to use them

Whats Not – Startups
-Trying to start a business you stink at just because it pays

Business Idea – Flyer Guy
-Create your own ValPak mailer

Final Word - SSE
-The new TeenBiz affiliate product

Short Delay...

2007-01-08T08:48:00.000-08:00

We apologize but there will be a short delay in the release of the first NEW TeenBiz episode. We have had some technical issues but they will be resolved very soon.

Thank you for your patience and look for the Podcast later this week!

Changes for 2007

2006-12-27T14:54:00.000-08:00

What's New in '07
New Podcast Format and Affiliate Product

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During the first week of 2007 we are launching the new affiliate product for all TeenBiz listeners to sell on their own websites or to friends or contacts that are interested in starting their own small businesses.

It's a powerfully simple and direct program that teaches a student step-by-step how to start a small business without spending a ton of money or having to quit a job they already have.

We have taken everything we know about small business and then done days of research to fill in the cracks to create this program.

What we need are a handful of TeenBiz listeners to check out the system (yes you will receive a free copy) and then provide a testimonial to feature on the website as well as any feedback you may have about the product.

Everyone that participates will get a free copy of the program and will also get their website address features below their name and testimonial on the website.

To sign up just send a quick email to teenbizideas@yahoo.com and we will send you a copy later this week!

Also, the podcast will be totally revamped and will run 20-25 minutes with a few different segments. It will no longer be weekly because of the increased length but will definitely be worth the wait for each episode! See you in a couple weeks!

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-25T10:47:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all you TeenBiz listeners out there!

We hope you all have a safe and successful Christmas holiday!

As a quick side note, we need 5-10 listeners to provide testimonials for the new TeenBiz product coming out in the next week or so. Each participant will receive a free copy of the new program and will be featured along with their website address on the main sales page!

To sign up send an email to teenbizideas@yahoo.com

Look for an audio update later this week!

Business Idea Analyzing Tool

2006-12-18T14:26:00.000-08:00

Free Analyzing Tool
A simple excel model to help you start a business

Play Now
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*Microsoft Excel Required*

Download the free Excel Spreadsheet by rightclicking the link below and selecting, "Save target as..."
Excel Business Analyzing Tool

This tool allows you to quickly input basic factors of income into a model to determine if a business idea would be worth the time taken.

Listen to the podcast for details and a tutorial.

Let There Be Lights

2006-12-12T10:25:00.000-08:00

Let There Be Lights

Inexpensive, quick home light decorating

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Basic Idea
People want to put up light but they just don’t have the time or money to hire a professional service. You show up on their doorstep with lights in hand and offer to decorate the home for a low price.

How Much To Charge
String of Lights Costs about $5.00
Don’t mark up the cost of the lights much or At All
Tell Them You Will Decorate Their House and Trees, whatever they want for $40+ cost of lights, you can it in 30 minutes if you work quick

What You Will Need
Ladder
Light Clips
Lights
Cheap Extension Chords You Can Include in Cost

Advertising
None, just door to door, Word of Mouth
Neighbors Will See You (wear matching somethings so they know you are not just a random group of people)

White Christmas Inc.

2006-12-05T15:22:00.000-08:00

White Christmas Inc.

Making snow for the holidays

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This idea is thanks to Second Nature Snowmaking.

Buy just the plans, inexpensive way to get started…total cost, $75

How snowmaking works
-Compressed air creates an ultra-fine mist and as air expands it freezes the mist to create snow
-A very fine mist from a pressure washer is introduced to freeze onto the original mist to multiply output

Snowmaking requires an air compressor and pressure washer
Borrow both to get started so you can practice whenever it is cold enough

Practice a few times before you do your first job

For the jobs, rent the equipment from Home Depot, use two snowmaking machines

You can charge upwards of $100-$150 an hour for this service!

They have lots of stuff to help you get started.
http://www.snow-maker.com

Planning Your Business

2006-11-27T09:08:00.000-08:00

TeenBiz – Planning Your Business
Turning Your Idea Into A Working Company

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The software I use is called “Free Mind” and allows me to create an unlimited web of ideas and thoughts.

I start with my business idea in the middle and then add sub-points.

I usually start with just four simple points.
Name – simple yet descriptive, logo, sub title
Advertising – how, where, when, how much cost, flyer ideas, slogans
Service – how, selling points, steps required, time required, how much to charge
Equipment – tools or equipment needed, maintenance costs

From there I can see if I can actually accomplish what I am going after.

There is a simple formula you must remember when planning your business…

People Who See You Ad x Conversion Rate x Cost Per Job = Income

If you want to make money with your business you need to…
Get Your Ad in Front of Lots of People
Get Those People To Act
Get Them to Pay the Highest Amount Possible For Your Service

If your service isn’t worth a lot, and few people need it, it just won’t work…period.
If your service is worth a lot and a lot of people need it, you make money….period.

Planning your business and looking at all the aspects, especially COST and TIME will help you see if your business idea is worth it.

Working in Groups

2006-11-20T11:07:00.000-08:00

Working in Groups
The benefits of a partner

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New Bonus Content For This Episode on Wednesday! Sign up for the Newsletter So You Don't Miss It!

There is great benefit to working in groups or pairs.
-Bounce ideas off each other
-Share the work load
-Get different talents
-Get different points of view on new ideas
You will resist the urge because you want to fly solo and make all the money yourself, but experience has shown that often you can benefit from working with someone else.

Tips
You are an entrepreneur, find someone who is not
Your partner will have a very different perspective, resist the urge to close up and ignore them
Find someone that has a different work background from you
Look for someone that is very reserved, managerial, and cautious; you don’t necessarily have to use their ideas but they will point out potential flaws and weaknesses in your plan because they can see all of them.

Refurb Inc.

2006-11-13T12:07:00.000-08:00

TeenBiz – Idea #14
Refurb Inc.

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Idea
Buy old wooden furniture, fix it up, and resell it. You can also simply do “wood repair”, pick up the piece from customer’s home, fix it up, return it.

Where To Buy
-Thrift Stores
-Yard Sales
-Moving Sales

What to Do
With wood, you can easily restore the original look using a few simple tools. Sand paper (easiest if you have a disc or belt sander), stain, paint brushes and polyurethane finish. First you will want to clean the entire piece by removing old stuck on boogers, food, etc. While you can restain anything without sanding, sometimes it is good if there are faded or darker areas to sand them a bit to match the rest of the piece. You can only go to a darker or brighter color without sanding. If you sand the whole thing down to the original bare wood you can go with any color you would like. One its ready, use a couple coats of stain over the entire piece with the color of your choice. Let dry between coats, slap on a couple coats of polyurethane after you are done to protect the surface and give it a glossy sheen.

Where to Work
If you do not have a garage or shed to work in, try a storage unit, a decent sized one is only $25 a month and will give you plenty of room to work and get your business started.

Where to Sell
Find a family with a house on a prominent corner and ask them if you can have a furniture sale on their lawn if you give them a cut of the profits.

You may also want to pass out flyers when left without anything to do for wood furniture refurbishing. Pick the piece up at their house, fix it up, bring it back a couple days later (it may only take you a few hours but keep it for a couple days so it seems like it took a lot of time and work)

ValPak is perfect for this. In the bonus content we will talk about how much to charge so make sure you sign up for the newsletter so you don’t miss that.

Walking Ads

2006-11-06T12:12:00.000-08:00

TeenBiz – Idea #13
Walking Advertisements

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Concept
Rounding up a group of 25-50 people in your school/university that are willing to wear a T shirt one day a week that features an cleverly design (disguised) ad.

To Do List
Do some research; find out how much local Banks, CC Companies, Companies that Hire A Lot spend on advertising.
Find a few friends to help you get it started, maybe start with a ground of 10-15
Create a proposal, “For $XX a month 15 students in my HS or College Campus will wear a T shirt featuring your ad one a week to school.
Create the ad tshirts

Benefits for the Advertisers
Kids notice what others wear, they will notice when many people are wearing the same thing and they will take that as “they shopped there, so should I”

Other
You will need a way to have your partners “check-in” when they wear the shirt
If it is done with college students, you may want to work out a deal with the advertisers where they can get their textbooks for free if they wear two shirts a week all semester
A contract will be needed in the event that “employees” don’t wear their shirt so there are rules/consequences attached

TipSet #4

2006-10-30T08:37:00.000-08:00

TipSet #4
Designing Killer Flyers

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Many of the small businesses you start can benefit from a simple, well designed flyer. Whether they are posted on doors, cars, or handed out one-by-one, a good looking handbill can really boost your business.

6 Tips for Designing Professional Flyers
1) Color
-Black and White may be cheaper but Color gets customers
-For the time it takes to hand them out it is worth it to do it in color
2) 2 Fonts Only
-Resist the urge to use lots and lots of different fonts
-Make sure the two you choose compliment each other
3) Avoid Times, Arial, etc.
-Professional ads don’t use fonts people are sick of
-I write papers in Times, I hate papers, don’t write an ad you want me to like in Times
4) A Call to Action w/ Expiration
-An offer, “50% if you call by 11/12/06”
-“Call today and save $25”
5) Show Them What’s in it for Them
-Create a need in them, “Don’t have time to make it to your kid’s soccer games?”
-Don’t just tell them what you do, tell them what they will be getting
6) Headline
-Not too big but noticeable
-Attention getter, “17,000 house fires are caused by dryers each year!”
7) Picture
-Relevant! Professional quality
-Make it big enough to see
8) Size…Half Sheet Works
-Half sheet works better than quarter size
-Full page looks too much like it came right from your home printer
9) If you Can Say it in Fewer Words…Say it in Fewer Words!
-Don’t waste their time
-5 Second Rule, make sure that in 5 second they know exactly what your flyer is about

At-Home Oil Change

2006-10-23T11:34:00.000-07:00

TeenBiz – Idea #12
At-Home Oil Changes

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What needs to happen every 3,000 miles with your vehicle? An oil change, right? How many of you forget or only remember to get your oil changed when you don’t have time? I do nearly every 3,000 mile cycle and so do thousands of other people. There are a few companies that already do this but most focus mainly or fleets of cars and trucks for larger companies instead of the household. The niche here is to go right to people’s homes and change their oil in the driveway.

What You Need
-You first need to know how to change your own oil. It really is not that difficult to learn but knowing how to do it on many different types of cars and trucks (especially older ones) will take some time and research. EHow has a good article available here.
-You can use ramps or a jack and jack stands. I would recommend jack stands because they are easier and faster
-A way to figure out which type of oil and oil filter are required for each vehicle. This can be done by doing a quick web search for each car you have to change or by reading the owners manual once you get there and returning with the parts later.
-An oil filter wrench, Rags, Oil Pan, Funnel, a larger oil holding container

How It’s Done
-Once again, flyers are the way to advertise this time but professional, COLOR flyers are the key. Remember, professional does not mean fancy. It can mean simple and plain but make it look like nice. Example, IPOD ads, simple but professional. They have to be professional because these people are trusting you with their car and they have to immediately sense that trust.
-Once you have capital built up definitely do ValPak or MoneyMailer. Why? Even though your service may only cost $40 you can create repeat customers that you can go back to every couple of months (if you do a good job the first time)
-When you get your first job, do a quick web search and find out which motor oil and oil filter the vehicle will need (make sure you get the make, model, etc for the vehicle)
-Roll up, jack up the car, slip the jack stands under, change the oil, do something extra (like wash their windshield or something that they will notice), and then leave something as a reminder for their next change (like a air freshener with the mileage or date then need their next oil change at)

Other Resources
Engine Oil Bible
How to Select a Filter

TeenBiz: The Host - Gregg Blanchard

2006-10-17T23:03:00.000-07:00

Who I Am
I love small business, I love running my own business, and I love learning, sharing, and improving my skills when it comes to internet marketing, small business, entrepreneurship, and other aspects of running a small business.

My Main Business
I started Second Nature Snowmaking in 2005 and since have been able to double the total income each year since. Largely internet based, it has not only been a perfect income for a student, it has given me real-time access to test and implement marketing principles.

What Else I Do
I also do freelance web design work for small businesses and entrepreneurs. For example, I love helping people with unique, talents, and skills start their own small business around their abilities to generate a part-time income.

I spend about 10 hours a week with a small software company in Northern Utah where I am responsible for the internet marketing; including web design, search engine optimization, newsletter marketing, and more.

Making Money Online

2006-10-16T10:58:00.000-07:00

Making Money Online
4 Common Ways To or NOT To Try

Click Here to Listen to the Audio/PODCAST Version

There are numerous ways to make money online, we are going to review a few of the most commonly heard of ones out there. Personally I think the internet is a great way to supplement an income or help grow a business but making money off of info products, affiliates, or advertising specifically is tough. Being online is all about getting established, getting the word out, getting ranked in search results; all of which takes time. If you need money quickly, I would try to stay away from the net. However, there is so much money out there for the taking online patience and hard work are the keys for cashing in.

Online Surveys
Bogus, few people actually make money, the rest get scammed. It is true that many people do make money but most just lose time and money that could have been spend elsewhere.

Affiliate Marketing
Speaking of affiliate marketing this is also a growing way to make money online. People set up sites that refer people to products they may be interested in. ClickBank is the most popular method for affiliate marketing. For instance, you set up a site where you have reviews on 5 golf lesson ebooks. People click on your link, purchase the product and you get a cut (usually 50%). The trick? Getting visitors. Pay per click (PPC) campaigns are usually too expensive for most affiliate products. With one I did once I made an average of 50 cents for every $30 I spent it PPC advertising. So the trick is to get listed on search engines and get natural, free traffic…and lots of it, otherwise it just won’t pay.

Selling Advertising (Adsense & Adbrite)
The same goes for selling advertising using Adsense or Adbrite. You have to have a lot of natural traffic or you just will not make any money. Adsense sites exist but as I mentioned at the beginning, it takes a lot of time to get them going so this is kind of a part time project you would have to slowly feed until it blooms.

Info Products
-This I think is the heart of making money online so I will spend a lot of time here.
-We personally are trying to create more and more information products. Why? Immediate delivery via email, no stocking or shipping costs, and 100% profit is achieved with each sale. An example is a contributor to TeenBiz from Second Nature Snowmaking. They niche is selling inexpensive home snowmaking equipment. At one point they realized that if they just tweaked their snowmaker designs slightly they could build them almost entirely with locally found parts. And if they could build them, anyone could So they made plans in PDF format and sold them on the site. Snowmaker sales did not decline but those that couldn’t afford the machines bought plans. Profits increased about 25% overnight.
-If you have a specific talent or skill, think about what others may need to know that IS NOT found in free articles or websites.
-Here is another angle you could take, if you are doing let’s say home winterization for a fall business, set up a site and then on the site create an inexpensive (but not too inexpensive) alternative. Write a quality ebook guide on winterizing your home and sell it for $25 on your website. People come after seeing your flyers or what-not and have the thought, “I could do this myself really” then they see the book and realize they don’t know what quite to do and they buy the book.
-Creating products that can be delivered via email are the way to go. We are currently working on a info product to feature on TeenBiz that the listeners can market and make most of the profit on (we are thinking you will take at least an 80% cut).

Remember, unless you have a 100% unique product, creating an online presence will be very difficult, competition will be still am you may not see significant profits for months. The key is natural search engine rankings, that is where most of your traffic will come from. This is not to discourage you from making money online because there is huge potential, it will just take time so be patient.

TipSet #3

2006-10-09T16:26:00.000-07:00

TipSet #3
If at first you don’t succeed…maybe failure is your thing.

Click Here to Listen to the Audio/PODCAST Version

Finding a Niche
6 Tips
1) Look at where you spend most of your money
-Where there is money there are business opportunities
-Look for ways to cash in
2) Look at where you spend most of your time
-That is the basis behind lawn mowing
-What kills your weekends and spoils relaxing evenings
3) Look for a lack of knowledge
-“What I wish I’d know in…” books
-Class for HS grads about entering the real world
4) Look for complaints
-When people say, “I wish that…” take notes
-People create business ideas but joke about it, take those seriously
5) Look for ways to make things better
-You don’t have to invent a new lawn mowing system to mow lawns
-Basis behind fast food, people want to eat out but don’t have the time
6) Look for ways to connect two parties with similar needs
-FedEx is a classic example
-Delivery service from all restaurants w/ “to go” service

From Idea to Income
1) Create a plan
-Write down a sketch of everything you will need to get started
-Make goals, plan a timetable for finishing things
2) Do research
-Starting a dog teeth brushing service, find out if people actually care about that
-Do surveys, talk to friends, neighbors, and relatives
3) Simplify
-Since we focus on keeping costs down, keep things simple
-Eliminate unnecessary equipment, costs, etc.
4) Test if Possible
-Look for ways to perform real-life tests
-Pass out a couple thousand flyers to test the return rate
5) When You Start, Dive In
-I call this the “cold pool principle”, jump in or don’t touch the water at all
-Commit 100% to making your business work
6) Don’t Give Up
-Realize that your company will not become a trusted, household name overnight
-Trust your research, trust your instincts and your niche; and do as Winston Churchill said, “Never, no Never, give up!”

Home Winterization

2006-10-02T14:54:00.000-07:00

TeenBiz - Idea #10
Home Winterization Inc.

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Every homeowner needs to take certain preventive maintainance step each fall call home winterization. Nearly everyone knows that certain things need to be done to prepare you home for winter but rarely if ever do homeowners get around to taking care of these small but important projects.

The service you can offer is simply a complete home winterization service which could include the following…

Check the furnace filter, replace if necessary

Check all the windows in the home, inspect the caulking for wear and deterioration. Use caulk to fix holes if necessary.

Check all doors for old, worn out weather stripping, replace if necessary

Clean the old leaves and junk our of the gutters and downspouts

Check gutters for leaks that could drip onto porches and sidewalks and cause ice

Trim long, overhanging and dead branches off trees that could break under the weight of ice or snow.

Check the foundation for gaps and cracks

Prune shrubs for protection against snow and ice

Check for loose shingles

Check the flashing around the chimney for any gaps and to be sure it’s watertight

Check attic for poor insulation and drafts

Right there you have, let’s see, about a dozen things you can inspect. Each one carries a few different pieces that need inspection. Once you break it down you could have a 25-30 point home winterization inspection/repair job. You can easily charge $100-$150 for this because I did it last year.

It took me about 2-3 hour to do a complete check depending on how many repairs I did. I simply offered a complete checkup that included repairs at no extra cost. I think that one line got me many jobs because so many people are afraid of people coming over and then scamming them into thinking they needs tons of repairs. The repairs needed for winterization or minimal. For exampmle, a new fiberglass disposable furnace filter costs about $5 a piece and caulk needed for an entire home will be only a few dollars.

The supplies you will need are a ladder to get to the gutter and roof. Caulk and caulk gun. I would bring a tool set with you just in case you need it and if you have a tool belt, wear it. You will look 10x more legit with a tool belt.

That’s it, home winterization is simple, everyone knows they need to do it but few people get around to taking care of it. I would just do flyers and door to door for this one. If you have the money to get a ValPak or Money Mailer out before the window closes for the need for home winterization then go for it, this would be an ideal ValPak business. High individual cost and huge need. Best of luck!

Sports Camp

2006-09-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

TeenBiz – Idea #9
Follow up on listeners’ comments and Casual Sports Camp

Click Here to Listen to the Audio/PODCAST Version

First, let me thank all of you that left comments on the blog. I appreciate the time you took to do that, if you haven’t done that yet, please do so, your feedback is very important.

One comment requested that we do more motivational podcasts to get people more excited about these opportunities. We will do our best on this one but let me address why we may not hit this as hard as you may like. An entrepreneur needs to be self motivated. If he/she is in constant need of other peoples help to stay motivated they future being self employed looks grim. Now, if you aren’t excited all the time about the ideas you have, don’t worry. Motivation is more than enthusiasm, it is an understand of the rewards and a willingness to do what it takes to get there; sometimes that road is rough and enthusiasm is the last thing on you mind. So we will seek to motivate but we also want to be very real and not get you excited about something you are not ready for.

There was also a request for case studies. I will start to include more but I will focus on those done by people I know. The problem with case studies is they are the exception, not the rule, and sometimes they are a fluke and it gets people excited over something that is really nothing. Also, they never report standard, everyday studies, only the ones that are really amazing which often gives people false expectations. However, I will get in touch with my contacts and come up with some real, true, useful case studies to feature..

Keep the comments coming they are extremely helpful. And to the listener who posted that we need to get the word out about our podcast thank you for speaking up and saying something. We are going to double our efforts to spread the word about TeenBiz and we would ask that you would too. If you have any friends that have the entrepreneurial spirit or have thought about making money on their own, please send them an email and invite them to stop by and subscribe to the podcast on itunes or whatever they prefer. Oh yes, and about the website, it is coming, but it will probably be sometime this week. I decided to change things around a little bit from my original plan.

Anyways, on to today’s idea which is called “Casual Sports Camp.”

For this idea you will either need to know people to are really good at sports or music or be very good yourself.. When I was in my early teens I used to play golf almost every day. After school it was a given that you could find me and my older brother at the golf course. By the time I was in high school I was playing well enough to be the captain of the school golf team. I had developed a smooth, fluid swing that I often got compliments on and after multiple requests for help I learned to patiently coach people on their swings.

When I was 18 I taught a golf class with my father. The class consisted of about 20 students, most of which had only touched a golf club a few times. We bought 400 plastic golf balls wholesale and then gave each student 20 during each lesson to hit. The class was held with permission on the field of a local elementary school. Each student paid $40 for an 8 week course.

During each lesson my father and I would walk up and down the row of students and watch a few swings and then give pointers and praise. Since this gave them a chance to hit on their own but also be watched and coached. We kept it fun and laid back and all the students had a great time and really did develop nice golf swings.

Many times the class was taught by just one of us and we managed just fine. So for 8 hours work we made $800. Since then I have looked back on my little league baseball and basketball years and realized how nice it would have been to play once a week with a coaches who would teach us for 30 minutes and then let us play and be coached for 30 minutes.

If you don’t have a lot of sports talent, think of other things you are good at. Do you play a musical instrument you could teach individually or in groups? Do you have a skill that people are often asking you to teach them? Or do you know someone, just hire them to do it, give them $25 an hour and you walk away sitting pretty.

The steps for this idea really are simple. Advertise through flyers, posters at the local golf course (or equivalent for your talent), and maybe even an ad in the local paper. Sign up as many classes as you can get people for. Buy some plastic golf balls (or whatever supplies you need), schedule a local school gym or field and you are set. The best part is that for students you can do this all in the evenings when you don’t have school!

That’s all for this week, make sure you keep the comments coming and we will see you next week!

Waxing To Go

2006-09-18T09:51:00.000-07:00

Idea #8 – Ski Waxing…To Go
The ski tuners that come to you

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In honor of the first snow falling on high, mountain peaks in the Rockies this week’s idea will be one that can be used during the upcoming ski season. For those of you in not-so-cold areas of the world that don’t have ski areas, I apologize you may not be able to use this one but think of similarly popular things in your area you might be able to cash in on.

I snowboard…a lot. Usually I am on the hill 30 days each season. Most people don’t wax their skis and boards, even experienced riders that I snowboard with. In fact, some friends of mine go full seasons without doing any type of tuning. The dumb thing is they know they should and when I am gliding smoothing their boards are sticking to the snow like glue; yet they still don’t wax. I also had a season pass for three years to a ritzy resort where 75% of the skiers were from out of state. They come and spend $300 a night on a fancy hotel room, eat at $30/meal restaurants, and ski on amazing skis that haven’t been waxed or tuned since they bought them. Here is where you come in.

Waxing is not very hard to do but it does take some practice and training. The best part is how little equipment you need to do it well. An iron, scraper, diamond stone, wax, and work bench are all you need; all of this will cost about $50. To learn how to wax I would recommend doing some internet research at the following sites...
http://www.montblanclodge.com/wax.asp
http://www.sgmag.com/snow/waxsnowboard/
Or call your local ski shop or outdoor store and see if they do any classes on waxing or will let you come sit in and watch them work.

For advertising, go to hotels and motels near the local ski area and let them know about your service. For a list of hotels to go to first, visit the ski area or their website, often they will have a listing of nearby lodging that they recommend. Tell them that you will come right to the hotel, pick up their skis and have them ready for them by the next morning when they hit the slopes. Charge a little less than the local ski shop will wax for and then split the profits with the hotels that let you offer your service. Make business cards and leave a stack at the front desk. Ask them if they will mention your service each time someone checks in and perhaps even have the room cleaners leave another card on the table in the room.

So that is it. You pick up the skis in the evening, work through the evening, drop them off in the morning, pick up your cash, stop by the hotels and give them their share as well as drop off more business cards, and then, if your like me, you grab your own stick and take for a few runs before you head back home.

Soccer Mom Productions

2006-09-11T12:39:00.000-07:00

TeenBiz – Idea #7
Establishing credibility and idea #7, Soccer Mom Productions

Click Here to Listen to the Audio/PODCAST Version

First I want to respond to the comment asking about how to gain credibility in the eyes of your customers. That is tricky and I will just say a couple quick tips now, I may revisit this later.
1) Look Professional. As soon as you can, spend the money to get nice equipment that will make you look legit. Dress the part, don’t show up in basketball shorts and a tank top, look like someone that knows what’s up.
2) Act Professional. Know your stuff and act like it. Say things like “I believe” instead of “I think.” “I think” shows you are young and lack confidence; even though the two phrases mean the same thing they have very different effects. Look for other words and phrases that you can eliminate from you “teenager” vocab…like…dude.
Basically, to gain credibility, be credible. Be on time and professional.

Ok, today’s idea is called “Soccer Mom Productions.”
IDEA
The main idea is to video record little league sporting events like baseball, soccer, football, and basketball and then sell these videos to parents who are either to busy to come and wan to see their child play, want to record their games but would rather watch, or just want to have those memories preserved.

EQUIPMENT
Video camera is obviously the most expensive but most people have video cameras these days and if you don’t it is pretty easy to borrow one. I would say borrow or use your own camera if you want to do this idea and then when it takes off buy your own.
Tripod, $20 if you don’t have one.
Headset, dead serious, you really don’t need it but it makes you look 10x more professional. If your camera doesn’t have a headphone jack, duct tape the end to the camera somewhere so it looks like its attached. A local comedy group once bought a head set and saw how far one of their actors could get into a major college football game without credentials. He watched the whole thing from the sideline and spent halftime in the locker room…behold the power of a headset!
Another thing is a way to edit the video, if you have the stuff or access to it (many universities give students free access to sweet editing equipment). If you don’t have access, no worries, you can startup just fine without it. If you can though, add a menu to a DVD, graphics with the score, time, etc.

ADDITIONAL THINGS YOU CAN DO
If you know the team well like if your brother or friend is on the team and you have a voice for it, try doing a little announcing and commentary. Don’t forget to really talk up the players so the parents, your customers, like what they hear.
Websites are great for this idea because you can put up a sample movie to download, have a way for the parents to pick and choose which games they want to buy and it’s a great way for you to list all the games you have covered.
If you have the editing capabilities you can double the price you charge per game if you have individual player highlights on the DVD main menu. This will be huge for busy parents that can’t come to the game and don’t have time to watch the whole thing.
Do interviews with the players. This will make them feel important and they will want to see themselves on TV so they will want to buy the video.
Watch a pro version of the sport you will cover, see what the main camera angle is and try to match that to give a professional effect.
Have a “please take one” tube with flyers on your tripod for people to read over when they see you filming.
Wear a T shirt with your company info on it.
Stick your logo and contact info somewhere visible on your setup.
Get there early so you can assure yourself a clear view of the game.
Try to cover 3-4 teams as once from different levels and leagues so their schedules don’t overlap.
At halftime stick flyers on all the cars in the parking lot.
Make sure you have nice, professional, color flyers.

This idea is full of potential. If you have any experience with video and editing you have a huge advantage. If you don’t then just start with the basics and go from there and slowly work your way up! Good luck!

Tipset #2

2006-09-05T09:18:00.000-07:00

TIPSET #2
ValPak, Websites, and Fabulous Books to Read

Click Here to Listen to the Audio/PODCAST Version

Welcome to episode #8 where we talk about TipSet #2

Before we get into the tipset let me quickly respond to a couple questions from listeners about the last episode.

The first question was about which businesses ValPak works the best for. That is a great question, for businesses whose services cost $300-$400 its a no brainer, you get two call from 30,000 flyers and you break even. However, if you have a $20 service like the garbage can cleaners we talked about last week it becomes a little more of a gamble. I wouldn't say that there is a certain type of business that is suited for ValPak advertising it depends on what type of return you get on your flyers.

As a rule of thumb I have found that if I get 1 call per 100 flyers that I stick on doors I will usually get 1/5 that with ValPak. So I will get 1 call per 500 flyers. That is not exact but its what I have usually seen happen. So take a look at your flyer effectiveness and use that to judge whether you should try ValPak or Money Mailer. Speaking of which, Money Mailer usually costs a bit less that ValPak and is a lower cost way to test that style of advertising.

Second comment was about setting up a website for your business, if I had any experience with that, and how effective that would be with something like garbage can cleaning. I do have quite a bit of experience with this. I have created websites for about 6 of the businesses I have started. The way I see it, if you can afford to set up a website: do it. It is a perfect way to establish credibility for your business, give your potential customers a visual idea of what they can expect from your service, and also advertise online for your business using Google local results and similar methods.

So if you can afford it, do it. There is very little to lose. I did not set one up for garbage can cleaning only because I didn't have time. Had I done it more I certainly would have because the before and after pics of a really dirty garbage cans and the praise I received from customers would have been perfect to feature on the web since they didn't fit on the flyer.

The tipset for today is actually a list of 3 books I have read recently that have really helped me in my entrepreneurial efforts. Here are a few amazons links to the books.

1) If at First You Don't Succeed
A great book to help you evaluate which attribute you have, which you can develop, and many many useful examples of each.

2) How to Win Friends and Influence People
The classic is useful today as it was the day of its first printing. In any business you have to sell and interact with people. This book will help you do it better.

3) The Tipping Point
This book is really really interesting. In short, its about how fads form, why some thing find their way into everyone's closet and others don't.

That is it for today. The next episode will be another business idea so don't forget to tune in!

Super Can Cleaner

2006-09-01T15:27:00.000-07:00

SUPER CAN CLEANER
Making the world a better smelling place...one garbage can at a time.

Click Here to Listen to the Audio/PODCAST Version

This is what I did to make money during August. Luckily, I already had everything I needed so it didn't cost me a cent to start. If you buy everything on your own it will be around $250 but let me also explain how to work around that at first.

The concept is to clean outside garbage dumpsters at peoples' homes using a pressure washer. The pressure washer is the most expensive thing obviously and it also requires that you have a truck or something to carry it around in. Both of these can be avoided, let me first tell you how to go about cleaning then I will talk about getting equipment and advertising.

Lay the cans down on their side with the bottom elevated to let the water and junk run out. I laid the open end of the can in the street and the bottom on the curb, that way all the junk that got washed out just went straight into the gutter. I used a 15 degree nozzle for the pressure washer and just blasted away at the inside, removing all that junk that had built up of the months and years. It comes off suprisingly easy with a pressure washer and takes only about 5 minutes per can. I would also spray the inside with a lysol type concentrate, scrup the inside quickly, and rinse with the pressure washer before spraying another round of the lysol and letting that stay to finish up the cleaning.

My setup was my pressure washer attached to the tailgate (down, not closed) with the bucked of lysol stuff and a coil of hose next to that. I would pull up, attach the hose, and start cleaning. From pulling up to driving away I could clean 3 dumpsters in less than 15 minutes. I would charge $10 for 1, $15 for 2, and $20 for 3. When I had a day full of appointments I would make about $50 an hour.

To advertise I would go door to door. I tried flyers and got an ok response rate but door to door worked incredibly well. Some days I would get a job at half the doors I knocked on. Heres what to do if you want to get started with no money.

Make a flyer that is 4 to a page. Make 100 copies so you end up with 400 flyers. Go out either at 10pm the night before the garbage comes or early the morning of and stick flyers on garbage cans and doors. With that you will proably get at least 3 calls which will be enough to rent the pressure washer for the first week. Rent a pressure washer (make sure its gas so you don't have to carry a long cord and find a plug also) that can fit in whatever vehicle you have. If you have a truck, you are set. If you do not you can go door to door just pushing the pressure washer along. Coil the hose around the handle, hang a gallon of the lysol stuff from the handle with an S hook.

Now this may be a ghetto setup but this is just until you can buy a hitch and trailer for your car (approx $200) and buy a pressure washer of your own. Once you have the equipment though its all profit. I used one gallon of lysol to clean nearly 40 cans to make about $300 so its not like you have a lot of money to spend once its all paid off.

Here is a very important key if you plan to try this. After each and every job ask them if they want you to come back every month to keep them clean and fresh. Offer a really good deal since it will only take you a minute or two per can to clean them again, and within a month you can have jobs setup for months and months to come.

You may want to look into advertising with the local money mailer or ValPak too, I never did so I can't tell you how effective it is but give it a go and let us all know how it goes!

That's it for now...see you next week!

Part Timers

2006-08-28T12:49:00.000-07:00

PART TIME IDEAS & CASE STUDY REPORT
Two simple, part-time ideas especially for students and the report on dryer vent cleaning.

Click Here to Listen to the Audio/PODCAST Version

Sorry this episode is a bit belated, the weekend held more than expected and I needed an extra day or two to finish up some projects.

First, the results of the Dryer Vent Cleaners experiment. I started with basic flyers to get an idea of what kind of return I would get on that...it was poor to say the least. I got two calls from 500 flyers. That was expected, now I tried something new to compare to that. I made a flyer that offered "free dryer vent safety checks" and then the option, if THEY felt it was necessary to have them cleaned for $35. I checked lots of vents and got a lot of sales! About 1 in 4 vents I checked let me clean them, 1 in 4 doors let me check, and half the people answered.
100 flyers, 50 doors answered, 14 let me check thier vents, 4 let me clean them. Over all I spent 1 hour passing out flyers and 3 hours knocking doors making a total of $140 in 4 hours.

A few more tips on advertising that I want to stress after the dryer vent cleaning project. Offer something free! People like free stuff like a free vent safety check. Show them what is in it for them. Show them that this vent check could be what protects their family from a devastating fire, no obligation, no reason not to.

If you any more information on this project just post a comment to this blog entry.

The two ideas that any student can do.
First, funeral housesitting. This is the easiest job to complete and easiest to advertise for in the world. You open up the newspaper each day, check the obituaries, look up who each deceased person was "survived by," call them and say "I was wondering if you would be interested in having someone housesit your home during the funeral to prevent buglaries from taking advantage of your situation," charge a modest fee, and then go sit and do your homework for 5 hours while the family is gone. The only trick is working around your schedule so try to keep a couple mornings a week open to do this.
Second, vacation housesitting. This is not a live-in job but just a checkup job. During the early weeks of summer when everyone goes on big family trips and around the holidays when everyone departs once again, offer a housesitting/watching service for the neighborhood. Tell them you will feed their pets, bring in their mail/newspaper, water inside plants, and do a nightly patrol through the neighborhood twice each night to watch for suspicious activity. Charge them $20 a day, get 10 homes to do it and you are making $200 a day for as long as they are on vacation.

I am going to keep this entry a bit short because I want to share an idea I did this last month to earn some extra cash around the other jobs I was trying. It's not for the germophobics out there and takes a little more capital to start but I will share some ways around the latter and talk about the ways I got people to buy in.

Web Designer Guy

2006-08-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

WEB DESIGN and ADVERTISING
Pros and cons of web design as a business and a discussion on small business advertising.

Click Here to Listen to the Audio/PODCAST Version

Dryer vent cleaning service is going well, there will be a full update on Saturday when I give the final results.

There was a comment posted on the web site about doing web design. I have done in the past, a total of probably12 sites, it’s a good idea but let me do tell you some quick pros and cons…

Pros
-High demand, everyone needs a webpage because consumers expect it
-High pay, updates go for at least $25/hr aside from initial setup fee

Cons
-Still competition, lots of low cost companies
-Once you start, you gotta stick with it, each organization may need updates indefinitely

Keys
-Go local, get to the businesses that know they need it but haven’t started looking yet
-They will like dealing with someone locally
-Build a portfolio of pages that you can show off

What I Might Try
-Do things simply in HTML, use tags to identify beginnings and ends of things that would need updating, create an html handbook and train them to do updates themselves to save money

Ok on to advertising…
Start with the basics.
Flyers
-Be unique and original, find examples and see what catches your eye and try it
-Color vs. Black and White, color is best but most expensive
-Size, half of an 8.5” x 11” seems to be a very efficient size
-Put flyers everywhere; grocery store lines, bulletin boards, post office box sets, get out as many as you can but also try to get them to a target audience as much as possible
Door to Door
-In my opinion, it won’t take long before door to door sales are almost non existent
-People don’t like to be sold to
-Make them trust you, don’t sound corporate, sound like their helpful neighbor
-Announce your visit with flyers so they know who you are and when you are coming
-Keep your approach fresh, don’t let it get stale
Flyers and Door to Door is not a permanent advertising solution it’s a step towards someone else doing it for you
ValPak and Money Mailer
-30,000 color flyers for $500 and you don’t have to pass out a thing!
-Newspaper ads, do your prospective customers read the newspaper
-Car Decals, advertise wherever you drive
-T-shirts, advertise wherever you walk
-Stickers, think of places you can tag
Leave Something behind if you want to return
-At-home car washing service, leave an air freshener with your contact info on it
Walk a day in your customers’ shoes think of what they will see and where you can put your ads and flyers along their way
Be creative, try new things, have fun, keep a record or what works and what doesn’t!

That’s all for today, post comments, questions or remarks about this episode on the blog page at teenbiz.blogspot.com and we’ll see you in a few days!

Dryer Vent Cleaner

2006-08-18T14:12:00.000-07:00

DRYER VENT CLEANERS

Click Here to Listen to the Audio/PODCAST Version

I have realized that all we have talked about as far as advertising goes is flyers, valpak, and door-to-door. So in the next blog and podcast we are going to have a whole episode about different advertising ideas. For today though, we have a great idea to talk about.

Every year there are 15,500 house fires cause by lint build-up in dryer vents. The problem is no one thinks of lint build-up as a problem. The trick to this idea is to first of all create the need for the potential customer and second, present a price for a service to solve this problem that matches the need created. The bigger the need is that you create, the more you can charge for this service.

In total dryer vent cleaning takes about 15-30 minutes. I would recommend the LintEater system because it is inexpensive, works like a charm, and is very easy to use. The downside to this idea is the cost to get started. Compared to other ideas the $100 required to get this business of the ground is miniscule: but it is required. Here is a simple way to try this idea out without startup money.

First, read all you can about dryer fires on the internet. Become an expert in the field, even a small amount of knowledge will put you lightyears ahead of the general population. Go door to door with the pitch that you will be in their neighborhood next week cleaning dryer vents and schedule a time for them at least a week in advance. Once you have 5 or so appointments this will guarantee that your investment in the equipment will be covered once you get started. Buy the items on a credit card and then use your first day’s earnings to pay it off.

I have not worked with this idea much but here are a few things I have discovered…
1) Use the term “dryer and vent servicing” or something similar when you pitch your idea door to door. This sounds much more extensive than just cleaning a vent. To service a dryer just use the horse hair brush that comes with the LintEater system to pull out as much lint as you can, it takes only a few extra minutes.
2) Stress the benefits; protection from house fire, faster drying times, and a smaller electric bill.
3) Look professional at the door when going door to door; when discussing servicing expensive appliances they need to trust you.

This will actually be a real-time case study because this week I am going to spend 5-10 hours trying out this business idea and will report on my further findings in the next blog and podcast.

Tipset #1

2006-08-14T23:37:00.000-07:00

TIPSET #1

Click Here to Listen to the Audio PODCAST Version

(podcast notes)

TIPSET #1

#1
Be ready to work hard…
All day passing out flyers at first
Unless you have an amazing product or service you will need to work hard to make your business work…

#2
Don’t be afraid to fail
Some will find their niche on the first try, most will not..
Take each failure as a chance to learn, sit down and review everything you did

#3
Commit 100%, don’t just try to do it casually
This will make you want to make it work
One summer I tried half and half with another job, not until I put all my time into one thing did I succeed.

#4
Take it in steps, don’t expect to start working on Monday and be making hundreds of dollars a day by Friday
-Door to door, no equipment
-Flyers, door to door, no equipment
-Flyers, door to door , equipment
-Money Mailer, Valpak, equipment
-MM VP efficient equipment, more income
-Return customers, Referrals

#5
Test test test
When advertising try everything to see what works best
-Time of day you put out flyers
-Color of flyers
-Door approaches
-What you wear
-Formal vs Casual approaches

Like I said this is the first of many tipsets so take this list, let it sink in try to apply them and get ready for the next idea coming up later this week.

Small Business Ad-Man

2006-08-12T16:08:00.000-07:00

SMALL BUSINESS ADVERTISING

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A good way to get business ideas is to take any old idea and then think of what you might need help with to get it started. Everyone that starts a business needs help advertising. If no one knows about your business then how in the world are they going to make any money? In this episode we are going to talk about three easy ways to make money by helping small, local business in their advertising efforts.

First we are going to talk about flyers. Small businesses like dance studios, dentists, or window washers use flyers very very often. A fee of $0.10 per flyer is not unreasonable because the only other way to get the flyer to the customer in that manner would be to send it through the mail which costs quite a bit. In fact, if they want only a certain area, type of home, or home with certain features like a pool for a pool cleaning company or missing shingles for a roofing business, you can charge even more per flyer because it will take you longer to get them out and there will be no wasted time or flyers. On average you will be able to get out 80-100 flyers and hour.

You can also pass out flyers in high foot-traffic areas. If you plan on doing this make sure you negotiate a fair price with the business you are advertising for because you can get out as many as 1000 an hour this way.

The second method is bulletin boards. Many businesses including copy shops and grocery stores already have a community boards that people and businesses can post short flyers on. Make a list of all the places in the community that offer these bulletin boards, if you find some business that don't have them talk to the manager about getting one put up. Once you have your list start heading to all the local businesses (especially smaller ones like piano lessons, window washers, or other specialty services) and make them your offer. "I can get an 8.5"x11" poster about your business hung in 25 stores throughout the city. Its $50 and I will make all the copies, just provide an original. " You go make some $0.50 color copies and end up making more than $35 for each business owner that agrees.

The final way to make money with local advertising is similar to the second. Business card stands only cost a few dollars and are available at stores like OfficeMax, Office Depot or even Wal-Mart. Approach managers and ask them if you can place a card stand on their front desk with business cards for related companies (not competitors but other businesses that could compliment theirs) . You may need to agree to a monthly fee for them to agree. For an example of how this works, you could approach hotel owners to see if you can put the stand in their lobby and then approach local restaurants that hotel guests might want to dine at. Tell these restaurants you can get their business cards on the desks of 10 local hotels for $20 a month. Each rack holds 10 cards so each set of racks will be worth $200 a month. Find a few complimentary businesses to do this with and you are set.

These ideas can be used separately or together with each other and are not only very simple, but require little or no money to start.

Solicit No Soliciting

2006-08-12T08:37:00.000-07:00

SOLICITING NO SOLICITING

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Door-to-door sales are a great way to quickly make money but the problem is people get sick of these salesmen really really quickly...especially during summer! Here's a tip for you entrepreneurs our there, whenever you see that phrase, "but the problem is..." take notes. Someone is telling you something that could easily be turned into a business idea. In this case, sell no soliciting sign door-to-door.

People will find this so ironic they usually just smile and if you can make your sales pitch light and friendly many people will buy. This business idea is great for many reasons.

First, it requires literally no startup money. Find $10 and go buy three signs at the local hardware store. If they don't sell or if you decide after a few doors that this idea is not for you just take them back for a refund. Or sell the signs door to door with just the pictures and say they will be delivered that night, you just need to know how many to get. You won't sell as many because people are leery you are going to take the money and run but it is an option if you want to get the ball rolling without spending cash.

Find a small shoulder bag and carry the signs in that. It will look much more professional than a backpack or carrying them in your hand. Try to find a few varieties of signs so that your customers can have a choice of which ones they like the best. Have a few that you use as examples, you can even stick them right on the strap of your shoulder bag so they can see what you are up to right away and can laugh at the irony of it all.

Once you build a few hundred dollars of capital and you can see this may go somewhere, buy your signs on the internet. Some retailers will sell you signs for only a dollar a piece which means you make more money per sale or you sell more because you can lower your price a bit.

Decide on a good price that isn't too high. With door-to-door selling if you can make the same amount selling many at a lower price as you can selling only a few at a higher price I would recommend sticking with a lower price. Making lots of sales will keep your spirits up and give you a sense of accomplishment. If you are buying the signs for $3.50 try selling them for $10. If you sell one an hour you make $6.50 an hour whenever you need money. The funny thing is though, you can easily sell 3-4 an hour in the evenings.

Don't forget to have fun. If you have have any questions about this plog just post it as a comment to this blog entry. Don't forget to stopby next week for more new TeenBiz ideas.

Audio/Video/eBook Resources

2006-08-12T00:57:00.000-07:00

The Successful Student Entrepreneur
The first and best audio/ebook course designed specifically for student entrepreneurs. Learn how to start your very own small business while still in school.
Price: $ 7

The 7-Day Startup
The latest course released from TeenBiz showing student entrepreneurs how to start their own, successful online businesses without having to spend a cent for the online tools necessary to do so.
Price: $7

Secrets of Lazy Smart Students
An incredible book that shows students how to make to dominate in the classroom so they have plenty of time to work on their business...instead of studying.
Price: $23

Kids Business Ideas
An incredible list of 93 easy business ideas packed with earning potential that are perfeect to teens and students. Many of them can be started in a single afternoon! Created by a successful student entrepreneur and TeenBiz listener.
Price: $17

How Do I Subscribe?

2006-08-08T14:59:00.000-07:00

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Thank You For Joining!

2006-06-27T23:15:00.000-07:00

As your free gift for joining the newsletter you can download this simple, powerful tool that we use on a daily bases to analyze new business ideas to determine the liklihood of success.

It is an Excel spreadsheet file, to download the "Save target as..."
Excel Business Analyzing Tool

Simply input the specifications for your business and the time you will put towards your business and it will show you instantly how much your business can bring in and how much you will be making an hour.

Welcome to the newsletter and enjoy!