Make a Mint with a Highly Specialized Local Directory Project
Here is a great money making idea sent in by one of my ezine
subscribers, Skip Rosell. Skip is a real go-getter who is working on
several business-to-business advertising sales projects.
Here is Skip's idea:
Use the classified section of your local paper online and find "Moving
Sales" ads. These ads will have a street address and city but usually
not a zip code. Copy the address and go to:
http://zip4·usps·com/zip4/welcome·jsp
Enter the address, city and state. This will give you the zip code of
the house that is having the moving sale. Copy the complete address
into a spreadsheet or database.
Do all the moving ads in your paper. You will find them under
merchandise for sale, yard sales, etc. The best way is to insert the
word "moving" into the search box of your local online paper's
classified section.
Now that you have the names and addresses of the people moving
sort them by zip code according to area. You know your area and if
there are several zip codes within say 20 miles then you can group
them together in one list.
Next, in the same newspaper search for "Cleaning". This will bring up
all the ads that have cleaning in them. Most of these will be oneperson
businesses advertising cleaning services.
Copy these and bring back to a new spreadsheet or database.
Almost all people that move will clean the place up and a lot of them
would prefer to hire someone else to do it.
Now you are ready to make some money. How much money you
make is up to you. It will be decided by how much "work" you do.
This is not hard work but you must start and work at it. You can do
the same thing for all the painters, man with a truck, carpet cleaning,
and many, many other businesses.
The best way to tell you how you make money with this business is
to let Skip describe how it came about:
I sold a cleaner an ad in my mini directory (Editor's note: the
mini directory is one of Skip's other Advertising
businesses) and then he asked if I knew of any other low cost
ways of getting business.
Since I was in the classified section of my local newspaper I
told him he could send a post card to all the people that are
moving. I explained how to do this and he asked how much I
would charge to do it for him. I told him fifty cent each to
address and mail a lead generating post card.
I then asked how many he would like mailed each week. Since
he thought that these movers were about the best prospects he
could get for his cleaning business, he said all I could get. I
had to slow him down. I told him I can get about 15 per week
in his zip code and I could work out from there and get as
many as he wanted. The more he took the more travel he
would have to reach each sale he made. We decided on 50 per
week for a month's trial. Total $100.00 for a month.
I then printed up 15 sheets of 32lb stock with four post cards
on each. Using an excel database I mail merged the addresses
with a filter on the database for his zip code. Then did the
same for the zip codes next to his until I reached 50.
Total time to print and address the cards was 15 minutes. It
took me a little time to get the names into the database and
doing only one business would not be very profitable. So I
called a painter and told him about the post cards. Sold him on
50 post cards a week also.
Now why am I telling you about this business?
I have too much on my plate right now to start & test another
unknown business. But it looks promising and I would like
someone to try it out to see if it can be profitable. The price
has to be tested, the wording on the post cards need testing,
etc.
(end of Skip's message)
Skip has given you the basic concept so now I want to expand a little
bit and show you how to make this more profitable.
First off, instead of sending a postcard for each business what will
work better is to come up with a Moving Out Directory.
People who are moving need the services of many different types of
businesses and your directory would list these businesses. Contact
each of these businesses as Skip explained above and sell them on
the idea of being included in your directory. Here is a list of possible
businesses that offer services to people who are moving:
. Gutter Cleaning
. Heating and Air Conditioning Servicing
. Pressure Washing
. Off Site Storage Facility (or PODs)
. Painting
. Moving Service
. Tree Removal
. Lawn Service/Landscaping
. Handyman
. Driveway Pavement Repair
. Deck Cleaning
. Window Repair
. Hauling
. Roofing Repair
. Property Management Service
. Exterminator
. Carpet Cleaning/Replacement
. Real Estate Agent
. Mortgage Broker
. Appraisal Service
. Home Inspection Service
. eBay Consignment Service (don't you think people who are
moving would love to make some extra cash for their unwanted
items? Talk about a match made in heaven!)
If you can get one business from each of these categories to pay you
50 cents per directory and you mail 200 directories a month that
would earn you an easy $2000.00 a month. These businesses should
jump at the chance to be in your directory because:
1. You offer them exclusivity (only one business per category
allowed)
2. They could do this themselves BUT it would cost them more
then 50 cents per address.
3. All the businesses above advertise in my local newspaper. They
are spending much more then $100.00 a month and they are
not getting anywhere near the targeted exposure you could
offer them.
That is the idea in a nutshell. GO FOR IT!