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Small Business Ad-Man
2007-02-05 16:53:01
SMALL BUSINESS ADVERTISINGClick Here to Listen to the Audio PODCAST VersionA 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...
More About: Business , Small Business , Ness , Mall

Let There Be Lights
2007-02-05 16:53:01
Let There Be Light sInexpensive, quick home light decoratingPlay Now(or right click here and select "save target as..." to download)Basic IdeaPeople 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 ChargeString of Lights Costs about $5.00Don?t mark up the cost of the lights much or At AllTell 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 NeedLadderLight ClipsLightsCheap Extension Chords You Can Include in CostAdvertisingNone, just door to door, Word of MouthNeighbors Will See You (wear matching somethings so they know you are not just a random group of people)
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White Christmas Inc.
2007-02-05 16:53:01
White Chris t mas Inc.Making snow for the holidaysPlay Now(or right click here and select "save target as..." to download)This idea is thanks to Second Nature Snowmaking.Buy just the plans, inexpensive way to get started?total cost, $75How 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 outputSnowmaking requires an air compressor and pressure washerBorrow both to get started so you can practice whenever it is cold enoughPractice a few times before you do your first jobFor the jobs, rent the equipment from Home Depot, use two snowmaking machinesYou can charge upwards of $100-$150 an hour for this service! They have lots of stuff to help you get started.
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Business Idea Analyzing Tool
2007-02-05 16:53:01
Free Analyzing Tool A simple excel model to help you start a businessPlay Now(or right click here and select "save target as..." to download)*Microsoft Excel Required*Download the free Excel Spreadsheet by rightclicking the link below and selecting, "Save target as..."Excel Business Analyzing ToolThis 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.
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Merry Christmas!
2007-02-05 16:53:01
Merry Chris t mas 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.comLook for an audio update later this week!
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Thank You For Joining!
2007-02-05 16:53:01
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 ToolSimply 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!
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Changes for 2007
2007-02-05 16:53:01
What's New in '07New Podcast Format and Affiliate ProductPlay Now(or right click here and select "save target as..." to download)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 ...
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Short Delay...
2007-02-05 16:53:01
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!
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TeenBiz - 1/11/07
2007-02-05 16:53:01
Episode for 1/11/07Business cards, common mistakes, new idea, and affiliate product.Play Now(or right click here and select "save target as..." to download)SHOW NOTES---------------Whats Hot - Advertising -Business Cards, when and how to use themWhats Not ? Startups -Trying to start a business you stink at just because it paysBusiness Idea ? Flyer Guy -Create your own ValPak mailerFinal Word - SSE -The new TeenBiz affiliate product

Working in Groups
2007-02-05 16:53:01
Working in Group sThe benefits of a partnerPlay Now(or right click here and select "save target as..." to download)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 ideasYou 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.TipsYou are an entrepreneur, find someone who is notYour partner will have a very different perspective, resist the urge to close up and ignore themFind someone that has a different work background from youLook 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.
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Refurb Inc.
2007-02-05 16:53:01
TeenBiz ? Idea #14Refurb Inc.Play Now(or right click here and select "save target as..." to download)New Bonus Content For This Episode on Wednesday! Sign up for the Newsletter So You Don't Miss It!IdeaBuy 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 SalesWhat to DoWith 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 yo...

At-Home Oil Change
2007-02-05 16:53:01
TeenBiz ? Idea #12At-Home Oil Chan g e sPlay Now(or right click here and select "save target as..." to download)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 ...

Making Money Online
2007-02-05 16:53:01
Making Money Online 4 Common Ways To or NOT To TryClick Here to Listen to the Audio/PODCAST VersionThere 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 SurveysBogus, 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 MarketingSpeaking of affiliate marketing this is also a growing way to make money...
More About: King , Line , Maki

Home Winterization
2007-02-05 16:53:01
TeenBiz - Idea #10Home Winter ization Inc.Click Here to Listen to the Audio/PODCAST VersionEvery 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 necessaryCheck 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 necessaryClean the old leaves and junk our of the gutters and downspoutsCheck gutters for leaks that could drip onto porches and sidewalks and cause iceTrim long, overhanging and dead branches off trees that could break under the weight of ice or snow.Check the foundation for ga...
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Sports Camp
2007-02-05 16:53:01
TeenBiz ? Idea #9Follow up on listeners? comments and Casual Spor t s Camp Click Here to Listen to the Audio/PODCAST VersionFirst, 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 als...
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Waxing To Go
2007-02-05 16:53:01
Idea #8 ? Ski Waxing ?To GoThe ski tuners that come to youClick Here to Listen to the Audio/PODCAST VersionIn 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...
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Super Can Cleaner
2007-02-05 16:53:01
SUPER CAN CLEANERMaking the world a better smelling place...one garbage can at a time.Click Here to Listen to the Audio/PODCAST VersionThis 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 1...
More About: Super , Lean , Clean , Cleaner

Part Timers
2007-02-05 16:53:01
PART TIME IDEAS & CASE STUDY REPORTTwo simple, part-time ideas especially for students and the report on dryer vent cleaning.Click Here to Listen to the Audio/PODCAST VersionSorry 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...
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Web Designer Guy
2007-02-05 16:53:01
WEB DESIGN and ADVERTISINGPros and cons of web design as a business and a discussion on small business advertising.Click Here to Listen to the Audio/PODCAST VersionDryer 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 feeCons-Still competition, lots of low cost companies-Once you start, you gotta stick with it, each organization may need updates indefinitelyKeys-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 offWhat I Might Try-Do things simply in HTML, use tags to identify be...
More About: Web Design , Design , Desi , Designer , Sign

Dryer Vent Cleaner
2007-02-05 16:53:01
DRYER VENT CLEANERSClick Here to Listen to the Audio/PODCAST VersionI 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 ...
More About: Lean , Clean , Cleaner , Vent , Dryer

Solicit No Soliciting
2007-02-05 16:53:01
SOLICITING NO SOLICITINGClick Here to Listen to the Audio PODCAST VersionDoor-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 ...
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Walking Ads
2007-02-05 16:53:01
TeenBiz ? Idea #13Walk ing AdvertisementsPlay Now(or right click here and select "save target as..." to download)New Bonus Content For This Episode on Wednesday! Sign up for the Newsletter So You Don't Miss It!ConceptRounding 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 ListDo 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 10-15Create 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 tshirtsBenefits for the AdvertisersKids 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?OtherYou will need a way to have your partners ?check-in? when they wear the shirtIf...
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TipSet #4
2006-10-30 16:47:00
TipSet #4Designing Killer FlyersPlay Now(or right click here and select "save target as..." to download)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 Flyers1) 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 color2) 2 Fonts Only-Resist the urge to use lots and lots of different fonts-Make sure the two you choose compliment each other3) 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 Times4) 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...