Urmila is a mother of two young children - the boy is 2 years old and the girl is six months old. "I have a baby-sitter and so I have plenty of time at my disposal. I am looking for a good home based self-employment opportunity. I am ready to learn new things and work hard. I can invest a few thousand rupees in the project," Urmila told me.
I looked at her kids and then told Urmila, "Einstein and Marie Curie are cute." Urmila smiled broadly and said, "He is Chandan and she is Charu." I said, "Well, if you want you can rename them as Einstein and Marie."
Urmila eyes did not hide her confusion. "I think you have something in your mind. What are you up to?" she asked me. "If you teach your kids English, Science, Arts and Mathematics now, they will be as intelligent as Nobel laureates when they grow."
"They are kids! They are too young to learn and how can I teach them anything now?" Urmila exclaimed. "Have you ever heard about flash cards?"
"Oh, yes. Teachers use those small rectangular cards to teach difficult lessons to their students," Urmila said. "Each flash card contains a bit of useful information. It can have simple information such as 3X4 = 12 or a difficult one such as complicated integration formula. You are supposed to look at it and/or hear it for a few seconds at regular intervals for a certain number of times. Such spaced repetition of multi-sensory presentation helps your mind record the bits of knowledge permanently in its secret chambers. Glenn Doman is an American healthcare worker. A few years ago he discovered that through flash card method you can make your young children intelligent." I told Urmila.
"I think flash cards have been in existence for centuries," Urmila said. "Yes, you are right. Glen Doman did not create flash cards. He discovered that by using flash cards you can accelerate the learning process of infants and young kids. He believes that the tiny children have within them the capacity to learn virtually anything while they are tiny. He wants to give all parents the knowledge required to make highly intelligent, extremely capable, and delightful children, and, by so doing, to make a highly humane, sane and decent world," I told Urmila.
"I would like to teach my kids using this system. Where can I learn it? And you have not yet answered my original question about a self-employment project," Urmila reminded me.
"I am trying to get two fruits with one stone – I don’t want to kill birds." I said with a smile, "As a mother, you will try to learn the system perfectly so that you can use the knowledge to make your kids highly intelligent. You can make money by inspiring mothers and by imparting this knowledge to them. Any mother will happily give you fat fees, if you can make their kids intelligent."
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Urmila’s eyes began to shine. "That’s a wonderful idea," she said. "In our country population keeps growing. The income of most families is increasing. So, you have big market that can afford to pay you well," I told her and whispered, "There are no competitors in this field! It’s true that there are many learning centers. But they don’t teach to mothers of tiny tots. There are just a handful of people in this field. If you run this business professionally, you will have overwhelming response from the market."
"How will I get clients?" Urmila asked. "It’s simple. Talk to the nurses and assistants in the maternity hospitals in your area. Request them to spread your message for some referral fees. Give the best possible service and products at an affordable price to your clients. Happy clients will bring more and more new clients," I told Urmila and continued, "Once you become an expert at one-to-one coaching, you can go for group coaching. You can start a coaching center. You can appoint franchisees. You can create supporting products such as worksheets, flashcards and software and market them through baby shops, websites, hospitals and schools." (Though the possibilities are infinite, the column space is finite! I will write a business plan for this project soon.)
"Is it difficult to learn this system?" Urmila asked me. "Any one, even a below average person, can easily learn it in less than half an hour! It is not a complicated computer science. The secret of success in this project lies in three things: your sustained effort, your right attitude and your true love for the children," I replied.
"Where can I get more information?" Urmila asked me. "Search the web for details on the two books ‘How to Teach Your Baby to Read’ and ‘How to Teach Your Baby Math’ by Glenn Doman and if possible buy them. They will be your starting point. Learn them well, teach your children and then teach other parents. Develop your own system. Glenn Doman does not have affiliates nor authorize others to use his system. Never use his name to promote your business."
Urmila sent me a mail after four months. ‘I don’t know to whom I owe my gratitude: you or Glenn Doman. My kids are able to recognize difficult words, flags of different nations, mathematical formulae and a wealth of other information. Their intelligence has multiplied. I don’t care whether this is a short term phenomenon or long term one. My kids and I have great moments together each day. Yesterday, I got two clients through the recommendation of a labor nurse. I worked for three hours and earned Rs.1,200. This is the first income in my life.’
Monday, October 22, 2007
How to Make Money from Credit Cards
"I avoid friends. I don't take telephone calls. I don't sleep even for a minute. I tell lies. I don't attend meetings..." Rakesh gave me a long list of things that were the direct outcomes of his problem - credit card debts. Sounds familiar?
"I am working in a big company. A few years ago, dozens of banks and finance companies issued credit cards to me without my asking. When I signed up for the cards, I thought 'I will never use these credit cards. Even if I use them I will pay the bills in full every month. However, I will get and hold them for a rainy day.' But, slowly, over time, I got into the habit of using credit cards and now I am in deep trouble. I have exhausted the limit on all cards and monthly payments on all my credit cards are overdue." Rakesh narrated the history of his credit card debt problem.
"Have you thought about how to solve your credit card debt problem?" I asked him.
"That has been my only preoccupation for the past few months," Rakesh said, "I have two ideas. I can run away from this city and become a fugitive. Or I can declare bankruptcy." He was very serious about his ideas.
"Can't you think of something positive? Why don't you come up with an idea or plan to repay your credit card debts in full?" I asked him.
"My monthly salary is Rs.12,000. I pay 70% of my salary to my creditors. I have borrowed from all my friends and relatives. I have not paid even rent for the past three months. I don't know when the house owner will throw me out. It is only a matter of time. I have debts to the extent of Rs.2,00,000. My problem is insoluble," Rakesh said.
"How many litres of water can you pour into one litre bottle?" I asked Rakesh. He looked offended for a moment. But he replied, "The bottle can not contain more than one litre."
"We are like bottles and the issues are like content. Every man has a capacity. He can never get into a problem that is more than his capacity. So, you have the capacity to solve all your problems. You will never get into a problem that is insoluble," I told him.
"Thanks for your positive words. Unfortunately, my creditors will not accept such philosophical explanations. They want only their money back," Rakesh said.
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"The solution to your problem is already built in the problem. I am sure you know, by this time, everything about credit cards," I said.
"Yes, Yes. I know more about credit cards than the creator of the credit card!" Rakesh said.
"Share your knowledge about credit cards with others. Make money in the process. And, repay your credit cards in full," I told Rakesh.
"Is it possible? I am not a professional financial advisor or a practicing accountant. I am willing to work hard and explore all new opportunities. Please explain to me what you have in your mind," Rakesh showed genuine interest in knowing the details of the project.
"Internet exists because of content. People with knowledge created this content. Internet users read the content and gain knowledge. If you have good knowledge that will be useful to others, you can make money with it. Millions of people carry and use credit cards. So, you have a wide audience base. Do you know every third credit card holder has some problem with his card? Create a website, blog, forum, bulletin board, eBook, software, manual, guide or service to help these people. You will make money." I told Rakesh.
"Will people pay me for my work?" Rakesh was doubtful. "You can create a website that helps people find out the right type of card, manage credit cards and get out of debt trap and get sponsorship from a bank. If you have good traffic to your website, banks will pay you good money. Or you can sell your guide or eBook in digital form. There are many ways to make money on internet. You can go for affiliate programs, referral programs, impression revenue or click revenue. You can learn about these methods in an hour or two," I explained to Rakesh about these methods in detail.
I met Rakesh after five months. "I have started to repay my debts," Rakesh said with a smile. "That’s wonderful news. What did you do to solve your insoluble problem?" I asked him.
"In the first month, I visited dozens of websites that have information on credit cards. I learnt what they do and how they make money. In the second month, I learnt how to create website and promote it. In the third month, I learnt to write my thoughts and create content. In the fourth month I prepared business plan and launched my website. This is the fifth month. I have made Rs.8,000. I feel it is going to be a regular income from this month onwards and I am sure the income will go up and up. I have repaid in full the card that had the least balance. I think very soon I will repay all my debts," Rakesh spoke in a cheerful voice.
"I am glad to hear that. I will meet you after a few months to discuss how to invest your savings," I told Rakesh with a smile.
"I am working in a big company. A few years ago, dozens of banks and finance companies issued credit cards to me without my asking. When I signed up for the cards, I thought 'I will never use these credit cards. Even if I use them I will pay the bills in full every month. However, I will get and hold them for a rainy day.' But, slowly, over time, I got into the habit of using credit cards and now I am in deep trouble. I have exhausted the limit on all cards and monthly payments on all my credit cards are overdue." Rakesh narrated the history of his credit card debt problem.
"Have you thought about how to solve your credit card debt problem?" I asked him.
"That has been my only preoccupation for the past few months," Rakesh said, "I have two ideas. I can run away from this city and become a fugitive. Or I can declare bankruptcy." He was very serious about his ideas.
"Can't you think of something positive? Why don't you come up with an idea or plan to repay your credit card debts in full?" I asked him.
"My monthly salary is Rs.12,000. I pay 70% of my salary to my creditors. I have borrowed from all my friends and relatives. I have not paid even rent for the past three months. I don't know when the house owner will throw me out. It is only a matter of time. I have debts to the extent of Rs.2,00,000. My problem is insoluble," Rakesh said.
"How many litres of water can you pour into one litre bottle?" I asked Rakesh. He looked offended for a moment. But he replied, "The bottle can not contain more than one litre."
"We are like bottles and the issues are like content. Every man has a capacity. He can never get into a problem that is more than his capacity. So, you have the capacity to solve all your problems. You will never get into a problem that is insoluble," I told him.
"Thanks for your positive words. Unfortunately, my creditors will not accept such philosophical explanations. They want only their money back," Rakesh said.
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Is it really possible to make money on the Internet working from the comfort of home? Yes. It is. Click here to learn the secret for FREE.
"The solution to your problem is already built in the problem. I am sure you know, by this time, everything about credit cards," I said.
"Yes, Yes. I know more about credit cards than the creator of the credit card!" Rakesh said.
"Share your knowledge about credit cards with others. Make money in the process. And, repay your credit cards in full," I told Rakesh.
"Is it possible? I am not a professional financial advisor or a practicing accountant. I am willing to work hard and explore all new opportunities. Please explain to me what you have in your mind," Rakesh showed genuine interest in knowing the details of the project.
"Internet exists because of content. People with knowledge created this content. Internet users read the content and gain knowledge. If you have good knowledge that will be useful to others, you can make money with it. Millions of people carry and use credit cards. So, you have a wide audience base. Do you know every third credit card holder has some problem with his card? Create a website, blog, forum, bulletin board, eBook, software, manual, guide or service to help these people. You will make money." I told Rakesh.
"Will people pay me for my work?" Rakesh was doubtful. "You can create a website that helps people find out the right type of card, manage credit cards and get out of debt trap and get sponsorship from a bank. If you have good traffic to your website, banks will pay you good money. Or you can sell your guide or eBook in digital form. There are many ways to make money on internet. You can go for affiliate programs, referral programs, impression revenue or click revenue. You can learn about these methods in an hour or two," I explained to Rakesh about these methods in detail.
I met Rakesh after five months. "I have started to repay my debts," Rakesh said with a smile. "That’s wonderful news. What did you do to solve your insoluble problem?" I asked him.
"In the first month, I visited dozens of websites that have information on credit cards. I learnt what they do and how they make money. In the second month, I learnt how to create website and promote it. In the third month, I learnt to write my thoughts and create content. In the fourth month I prepared business plan and launched my website. This is the fifth month. I have made Rs.8,000. I feel it is going to be a regular income from this month onwards and I am sure the income will go up and up. I have repaid in full the card that had the least balance. I think very soon I will repay all my debts," Rakesh spoke in a cheerful voice.
"I am glad to hear that. I will meet you after a few months to discuss how to invest your savings," I told Rakesh with a smile.
Cash from Coupons
Sundar is a clerk in a nationalized bank. He was free from 5 pm to 9 pm every day till a few months ago as he did not have any friends and was not interested in socializing with people. A perfect candidate for doing online business! He used to spend a minimum of 4 hours a day browsing the Internet just because he does not know what else to do.
I wrote an article about making money through free offers and coupons in Money Spinners column recently. “I understood the concept well. Still I feel it is above my head. Can you please give me a stripped down version of the same concept? I want something as simple as copying and pasting. I am contented in earning Rs.3,000 extra pocket money,” said Sundar.
“I am glad that the article inspired you. Can you tell me whatever you know about coupons?” I asked Sundar. He replied, “I will tell you what I read in Encyclopedia. In marketing a coupon is a ticket or document that can be exchanged for a financial discount or rebate when purchasing a product. Customarily, coupons are issued by manufacturers of consumer packaged goods or by retailers, to be used in retail stores as a part of sales promotions. They are often widely distributed through mail, magazines, newspapers, the Internet, and mobile devices such as cell phones. Internet coupons have become popular recently, because there is no postal cost. Mobile coupons have emerged as a new and green alternative as no printing is required whatsoever. Mobile coupons as a method of coupon redemption are gaining in popularity as more consumers utilize their mobile devices for uses beyond voice.”
“What are Internet coupons?” I asked. He replied, “Online retailers often refer to Internet Coupons as "coupon codes," "promotional codes," "promotion codes," "discount codes," "key codes," "promo codes," "shopping codes," "voucher codes" or "source codes." Internet coupons typically provide for reduced cost or free shipping, a specific dollar or percentage discount, or some other offer to encourage consumers to purchase specific products or to purchase from specific retailers. Manufacturers and retailers also consider Internet Coupons to be those that resemble traditional "offline" coupons, but can be printed from a user's computer and redeemed in-store.”
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“Excellent. There are hundreds of websites that post Internet coupons. Every day visit these websites, collect coupons that are current, legal and valid and post them on your websites. Simultaneously promote your website. You will make money,” I told him.
“Is making money that easy?” he asked. I said, “In theory yes and in practice no. Unless you come up with fresh working coupons every day, visitors will not come back to your site. Repeat traffic is the silver key to online income. Unless you are an online business person, you will never understand how difficult it is to update a website every day.”
“Can you give me some tips on running this project?” Sundar asked. Though there are hundreds of types of coupons, it is better to concentrate on coupons for Internet related online services such as domain names registration and web hosting services. Though there are many ways to make money, I think online ads and commission sharing methods will work for you. Online ads are those contextual ads and banners ads from companies like Google. The other way is to become affiliate of online service providers and get your special coupons. Ask your visitors to use your coupons, buy the service, and email you the bill and proof of payment. Based on this information you can find out from your affiliate account how much commission you have earned on this particular customer account. You can split the commission between you and him. For example, if an online service provider offers you $100 commission, tell your customer that you’ll give him $50 on receipt of the proof. You are happy because you make a cool $50 and the customer is happy because he makes $50 that he would not have received had he signed up directly. Hundreds of web entrepreneurs are doing it. You too can do it. It is easy because it does not involve writing or creating, original, readable content. But remember you will not be able to make big money through this method unless you automate the process.”
“I understand. I’m just looking for some pocket money without any investment,” said Sundar with a big smile.
Do I have to add that Sundar is running a blog and making Rs.2,000 a month? It is not big money. If he works hard and automates his business, he can even make Rs.20,000 a month. But he is a happy-go-lucky guy.
I wrote an article about making money through free offers and coupons in Money Spinners column recently. “I understood the concept well. Still I feel it is above my head. Can you please give me a stripped down version of the same concept? I want something as simple as copying and pasting. I am contented in earning Rs.3,000 extra pocket money,” said Sundar.
“I am glad that the article inspired you. Can you tell me whatever you know about coupons?” I asked Sundar. He replied, “I will tell you what I read in Encyclopedia. In marketing a coupon is a ticket or document that can be exchanged for a financial discount or rebate when purchasing a product. Customarily, coupons are issued by manufacturers of consumer packaged goods or by retailers, to be used in retail stores as a part of sales promotions. They are often widely distributed through mail, magazines, newspapers, the Internet, and mobile devices such as cell phones. Internet coupons have become popular recently, because there is no postal cost. Mobile coupons have emerged as a new and green alternative as no printing is required whatsoever. Mobile coupons as a method of coupon redemption are gaining in popularity as more consumers utilize their mobile devices for uses beyond voice.”
“What are Internet coupons?” I asked. He replied, “Online retailers often refer to Internet Coupons as "coupon codes," "promotional codes," "promotion codes," "discount codes," "key codes," "promo codes," "shopping codes," "voucher codes" or "source codes." Internet coupons typically provide for reduced cost or free shipping, a specific dollar or percentage discount, or some other offer to encourage consumers to purchase specific products or to purchase from specific retailers. Manufacturers and retailers also consider Internet Coupons to be those that resemble traditional "offline" coupons, but can be printed from a user's computer and redeemed in-store.”
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“Excellent. There are hundreds of websites that post Internet coupons. Every day visit these websites, collect coupons that are current, legal and valid and post them on your websites. Simultaneously promote your website. You will make money,” I told him.
“Is making money that easy?” he asked. I said, “In theory yes and in practice no. Unless you come up with fresh working coupons every day, visitors will not come back to your site. Repeat traffic is the silver key to online income. Unless you are an online business person, you will never understand how difficult it is to update a website every day.”
“Can you give me some tips on running this project?” Sundar asked. Though there are hundreds of types of coupons, it is better to concentrate on coupons for Internet related online services such as domain names registration and web hosting services. Though there are many ways to make money, I think online ads and commission sharing methods will work for you. Online ads are those contextual ads and banners ads from companies like Google. The other way is to become affiliate of online service providers and get your special coupons. Ask your visitors to use your coupons, buy the service, and email you the bill and proof of payment. Based on this information you can find out from your affiliate account how much commission you have earned on this particular customer account. You can split the commission between you and him. For example, if an online service provider offers you $100 commission, tell your customer that you’ll give him $50 on receipt of the proof. You are happy because you make a cool $50 and the customer is happy because he makes $50 that he would not have received had he signed up directly. Hundreds of web entrepreneurs are doing it. You too can do it. It is easy because it does not involve writing or creating, original, readable content. But remember you will not be able to make big money through this method unless you automate the process.”
“I understand. I’m just looking for some pocket money without any investment,” said Sundar with a big smile.
Do I have to add that Sundar is running a blog and making Rs.2,000 a month? It is not big money. If he works hard and automates his business, he can even make Rs.20,000 a month. But he is a happy-go-lucky guy.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Internet Enterprenuer
I was traveling in a bus from Hamilton to Wellington in New Zealand. An Indian in his late twenties was sitting next to me. He was restless, looked tired and avoided eye-contact. As I had to travel with him for 6 hours, I decided to break the silence.
"Do you like this country?" I asked him. "A fugitive has no choice. He must live wherever he can find shelter and food and must be ready to leave that place at a moment’s notice," Akash, that was his name, replied.
"What’s your problem?" I asked him. Akash said, "I was running a small real estate business in India and I was doing well. A few months back, I collected Rs.5 lakhs as fixed deposits from my customers. I lost that money in a fateful ‘cash’ transaction. I requested my depositors to wait for a few months so that I could set things right. But, the moment they came to know that I did not have any money, everyone demanded one’s money back! So, I left India without informing anyone. My sister is living in this country. I don’t know how long I can stay with her. I do menial part-time jobs in restaurants. This petty cash takes care of my personal expenses. But, how am I going to repay my debts? I did not steal the money and I want to repay my debts. But, no one believes the truth in my heart. I am a fugitive without a future."
"What a coincidence! Tomorrow Kiwi Television will start telecasting the serial ‘The Fugitive.’ It will run for more than two years. Have you ever heard about it?" I asked him. "No," said Akash.
I narrated the story, "It is the story of a pediatrician, Dr. Richard Kimble, an innocent victim of blind justice, falsely convicted for the murder of his wife, reprieved by fate when a train wreck freed him en route to the death house, freed him to hide in lonely desperation, freed him to change his identity, freed him to toil at many job, freed him to search for a one-armed man he saw leave the scene of the crime, freed him to run before the relentless pursuit of the police lieutenant obsessed with his capture…" Akash interrupted, "It’s quite moving."
"Richard Kimble is a man of higher values. His fugitive life brings him into contact with all types of people and he becomes a master of human nature. Finally, the truth in his heart – even though it is a drop in the ocean – saves him and he becomes more prosperous and more famous than he was before becoming a fugitive. There is no reason why you can not solve your problem with the truth in your heart and higher values," I told him. Akash did not reply.
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"The Fugitive is one of the most successful television serials in the world. Rosenzweig, a devotee of the serial, says that the Fugitive has entered into American cultural history as an influential icon. When the last episode aired in 1967, it was seen by 82 million people, that is, 72% of American households. But the story of Richard Kimble went on to inspire many future events and trends in the society. In 1972, the American Supreme Court handed down its landmark decision in Furman v. Georgia case that invalidated hundreds of scheduled executions. It noted that because of ‘the difficulties inherent in reliably determining whether one-armed men or other unknown parties may in fact be responsible for the crimes attributed to pediatricians and similarly innocent citizens falsely convicted of murders,’ capital punishment should be abolished," I told him.
"Yes, television serials and movies have the power to influence the society. But, what is there for me in this serial?" Akash asked me.
"You understand the power of the television serials. Each popular serial has millions of fans. Why don’t you create a web site or an Internet discussion forum on a good serial and publish transcripts, comments, behind the scene stories and trivia? You can earn money through ads and sale of related books, posters and video. Even if a fraction of the fans come to your site, you can make decent money working from home."
Akash meditated over my suggestion for a few minutes and then said in a hesitant voice, "I don’t have interest in computer or the Internet business. I would like to do something related to real estate." I smiled and told him, "A fugitive has no choice. He must do whatever work he gets." Akash too smiled.
"Yes, you got me. I would like to start a website on the Fugitive television serial," he said. "It’s a resourceful idea. In the past 30 years, it has been a popular drama whenever and wherever it was telecasted. Go ahead with it," I encouraged him.
Akash called me over telephone after three months, "I borrowed tapes from the video library and watched all the episodes. Then I learnt how to create a website and promote it. Last week I launched my website. I am updating it regularly and promoting it actively." I became a regular visitor to his discussion forum. Whenever I visited the website, I saw some improvement and progress.
After two years, Akash called me and said, "In the first four months, I did not see even a cent. But I did not give up. I kept asking myself how I could improve my site and how I could serve my visitors better. Then a small stream of income started. Over time it grew. In the last two years, I have earned more than Rs.8 lakhs and I have repaid all my debts. I have a savings of Rs.3 lakhs. I am going back to India," Akash said happily. "I am glad to hear that. I wish you all the best in your new real estate business," I told him.
"What do you mean?" Akash asked me, "I have nothing to do with real estate business. I am an Internet entrepreneur."
* * * *
"Do you like this country?" I asked him. "A fugitive has no choice. He must live wherever he can find shelter and food and must be ready to leave that place at a moment’s notice," Akash, that was his name, replied.
"What’s your problem?" I asked him. Akash said, "I was running a small real estate business in India and I was doing well. A few months back, I collected Rs.5 lakhs as fixed deposits from my customers. I lost that money in a fateful ‘cash’ transaction. I requested my depositors to wait for a few months so that I could set things right. But, the moment they came to know that I did not have any money, everyone demanded one’s money back! So, I left India without informing anyone. My sister is living in this country. I don’t know how long I can stay with her. I do menial part-time jobs in restaurants. This petty cash takes care of my personal expenses. But, how am I going to repay my debts? I did not steal the money and I want to repay my debts. But, no one believes the truth in my heart. I am a fugitive without a future."
"What a coincidence! Tomorrow Kiwi Television will start telecasting the serial ‘The Fugitive.’ It will run for more than two years. Have you ever heard about it?" I asked him. "No," said Akash.
I narrated the story, "It is the story of a pediatrician, Dr. Richard Kimble, an innocent victim of blind justice, falsely convicted for the murder of his wife, reprieved by fate when a train wreck freed him en route to the death house, freed him to hide in lonely desperation, freed him to change his identity, freed him to toil at many job, freed him to search for a one-armed man he saw leave the scene of the crime, freed him to run before the relentless pursuit of the police lieutenant obsessed with his capture…" Akash interrupted, "It’s quite moving."
"Richard Kimble is a man of higher values. His fugitive life brings him into contact with all types of people and he becomes a master of human nature. Finally, the truth in his heart – even though it is a drop in the ocean – saves him and he becomes more prosperous and more famous than he was before becoming a fugitive. There is no reason why you can not solve your problem with the truth in your heart and higher values," I told him. Akash did not reply.
A Free Forum Teaches You How ToMake Rs.1,000 ($25) in 2 minutes!
Is it really possible to make money on the Internet working from the comfort of home? Yes. It is possible. How much you will earn depends on how much efforts you are actually taking and how hard you are working. Join this new forum for free and learn how to make $25 (Rs.1,000) without investing a paise or cent.. Click here to learn the secret for FREE.
"The Fugitive is one of the most successful television serials in the world. Rosenzweig, a devotee of the serial, says that the Fugitive has entered into American cultural history as an influential icon. When the last episode aired in 1967, it was seen by 82 million people, that is, 72% of American households. But the story of Richard Kimble went on to inspire many future events and trends in the society. In 1972, the American Supreme Court handed down its landmark decision in Furman v. Georgia case that invalidated hundreds of scheduled executions. It noted that because of ‘the difficulties inherent in reliably determining whether one-armed men or other unknown parties may in fact be responsible for the crimes attributed to pediatricians and similarly innocent citizens falsely convicted of murders,’ capital punishment should be abolished," I told him.
"Yes, television serials and movies have the power to influence the society. But, what is there for me in this serial?" Akash asked me.
"You understand the power of the television serials. Each popular serial has millions of fans. Why don’t you create a web site or an Internet discussion forum on a good serial and publish transcripts, comments, behind the scene stories and trivia? You can earn money through ads and sale of related books, posters and video. Even if a fraction of the fans come to your site, you can make decent money working from home."
Akash meditated over my suggestion for a few minutes and then said in a hesitant voice, "I don’t have interest in computer or the Internet business. I would like to do something related to real estate." I smiled and told him, "A fugitive has no choice. He must do whatever work he gets." Akash too smiled.
"Yes, you got me. I would like to start a website on the Fugitive television serial," he said. "It’s a resourceful idea. In the past 30 years, it has been a popular drama whenever and wherever it was telecasted. Go ahead with it," I encouraged him.
Akash called me over telephone after three months, "I borrowed tapes from the video library and watched all the episodes. Then I learnt how to create a website and promote it. Last week I launched my website. I am updating it regularly and promoting it actively." I became a regular visitor to his discussion forum. Whenever I visited the website, I saw some improvement and progress.
After two years, Akash called me and said, "In the first four months, I did not see even a cent. But I did not give up. I kept asking myself how I could improve my site and how I could serve my visitors better. Then a small stream of income started. Over time it grew. In the last two years, I have earned more than Rs.8 lakhs and I have repaid all my debts. I have a savings of Rs.3 lakhs. I am going back to India," Akash said happily. "I am glad to hear that. I wish you all the best in your new real estate business," I told him.
"What do you mean?" Akash asked me, "I have nothing to do with real estate business. I am an Internet entrepreneur."
* * * *
How to Create Money Out of Nothing--NEWZEALAND'S STORY
I was sitting in my white Honda car and looking at the cheerful ducks swimming in the beautiful Hamilton Lake in New Zealand. It was a peaceful evening. Suddenly someone tapped at the window. It was Pratap, an Indian settled down in New Zealand. I let him inside my car.
After a few minutes of general chat, Pratap said to me, "I am in depression. I came to New Zealand to earn money and become rich. But, I am not able to get any good job. I am a postgraduate in Economics and am working as a part-time truck driver and earn less than $500 a month. Without $1500 a month it is difficult to have a tolerable standard of living. My friends say encouraging words whenever I need them. But that won’t do any good because I have to pay bills. Can you help me?"
I replied, "I am a strong believer in self-employment. You have a lot of free time. If you are willing to take up internet related projects, I can give you some ideas." "That’s what I want from you. I know how to browse websites and use email system. I am not sure whether there will be any suitable projects for my humble skills," Pratap was not confident.
"Internet is subtle and is many times bigger than physical world. It offers opportunities for all levels of skills and talents," I assured him and asked, "Do you think there would be other migrants who have problems similar to the ones you have?" "There are millions of migrants all over the world. I am sure at least 15% of them have difficulties," said Pratap. "Well, very well, then we have a hot project," I told Pratap, "If you start a blog for migrants, you can make money."
Pratap was silent for a few moments and said, "That is not possible. These people don’t have enough money for survival. Do you think they will pay to access my blog? And I don’t know what a blog is." "You pay a few cents to buy a copy of the newspaper, though the actual cost will be more than $10. The major portion of the production cost is borne by the advertisers. So, you get it at a low price. I will tell you how to make money without taking money from your customers," I told him.
"But I don’t have any money to invest in the project," Pratap was worried about money. "I will tell you how to make money out of nothing. You will learn to create money without investing any money. But there is a catch. You must work hard." "That makes sense. I am ready to work for 48 hours a day!" Pratap was all smiles and asked me, "What is blog?"
"I got some definitions from a website on blog. A blog is basically a journal that is available on the web. The activity of updating a blog is ‘blogging’ and someone who keeps a blog is a ‘blogger.’ Blogs are typically updated daily using software that allows people with little or no technical background to update and maintain the blog. Postings on a blog are almost always arranged in chronological order with the most recent additions featured most prominently," I told Pratap. "Please tell me more," Pratap requested me.
A Free Forum Teaches You How ToMake Rs.1,000 ($25) in 2 minutes!
Is it really possible to make money on the Internet working from the comfort of home? Yes. It is possible. How much you will earn depends on how much efforts you are actually taking and how hard you are working. Join this new forum for free and learn how to make $25 (Rs.1,000) without investing a paise or cent.. Click here to learn the secret for FREE.
"A blog is a type of website that is usually arranged in chronological order from the most recent entry at the top of the main page to the older entries towards the bottom. If you start a blog on non-vegetarian cooking, you will publish your thoughts, ideas, experiences, advice, stories, jokes and tips on cooking on your blog regularly using internet. Each thought is an entry. Your readers will post their comments on your thoughts on your blog site. You can start a blog on any topic. But your topic must be useful to others. Only then they will read your blogs." I told him.
"I have heard about bulletin boards and forums. How does blog differ from them?" Pratap asked me. "Any member can start a thread – topic – and others can join the discussion. However, in a blog, only the blogger can start a topic. Others can only comment on the blogger’s topic."
"Is it easy to learn how to blog?" Pratap asked. "If you know how to browse internet, you can start your own blog. In fact, blogging is as easy as configuring your email accounts!" I replied. "So, you think I can start a blog about the problems of migrants. Other migrants will visit my blog and read my online journal. How will I make money?" Pratap asked me. "Sponsorships, network advertising, RSS advertising, saleable content, affiliate programs and professional blog writing are some of the ways you can make money from your blogs," I told him and I spent the next fifteen minutes explaining to him about the income generation methods.
"How will people find my blog?" Pratap asked me. "You will have to promote your blog offline and online just like a website. There are blog search engines and blog networks. If you visit websites on blogging, you will get tones of ideas to attract readers," I replied.
"How much will it cost to start a blog?" Pratap asked me. "There are many blog hosting services where you can get a free account. First you start with a free service and learn all the tricks of the trade. Then when you start earning money, you can move on to commercial blog hosting services. This means you can start your own blog without spending any money," I told Pratap.
"I will start my blog within a week," Pratap said with confidence and took leave. I received an email from him recently. "…I was able to setup my own blog within a week. I worked hard, did a lot of research and created useful content. Though I did not get even one visitor in the first two months, I kept my blog always fresh. In the third month, my blog attracted a few visitors and every day the number of visitors increased. Now I am in the tenth month and I have thousands of regular visitors. Just now I received my first cheque from the advertisers for Rs.35,000 and I feel this amount will go up and up in future. My investment is my idle time and hard work. I have made this money without investing any money. Thanks
After a few minutes of general chat, Pratap said to me, "I am in depression. I came to New Zealand to earn money and become rich. But, I am not able to get any good job. I am a postgraduate in Economics and am working as a part-time truck driver and earn less than $500 a month. Without $1500 a month it is difficult to have a tolerable standard of living. My friends say encouraging words whenever I need them. But that won’t do any good because I have to pay bills. Can you help me?"
I replied, "I am a strong believer in self-employment. You have a lot of free time. If you are willing to take up internet related projects, I can give you some ideas." "That’s what I want from you. I know how to browse websites and use email system. I am not sure whether there will be any suitable projects for my humble skills," Pratap was not confident.
"Internet is subtle and is many times bigger than physical world. It offers opportunities for all levels of skills and talents," I assured him and asked, "Do you think there would be other migrants who have problems similar to the ones you have?" "There are millions of migrants all over the world. I am sure at least 15% of them have difficulties," said Pratap. "Well, very well, then we have a hot project," I told Pratap, "If you start a blog for migrants, you can make money."
Pratap was silent for a few moments and said, "That is not possible. These people don’t have enough money for survival. Do you think they will pay to access my blog? And I don’t know what a blog is." "You pay a few cents to buy a copy of the newspaper, though the actual cost will be more than $10. The major portion of the production cost is borne by the advertisers. So, you get it at a low price. I will tell you how to make money without taking money from your customers," I told him.
"But I don’t have any money to invest in the project," Pratap was worried about money. "I will tell you how to make money out of nothing. You will learn to create money without investing any money. But there is a catch. You must work hard." "That makes sense. I am ready to work for 48 hours a day!" Pratap was all smiles and asked me, "What is blog?"
"I got some definitions from a website on blog. A blog is basically a journal that is available on the web. The activity of updating a blog is ‘blogging’ and someone who keeps a blog is a ‘blogger.’ Blogs are typically updated daily using software that allows people with little or no technical background to update and maintain the blog. Postings on a blog are almost always arranged in chronological order with the most recent additions featured most prominently," I told Pratap. "Please tell me more," Pratap requested me.
A Free Forum Teaches You How ToMake Rs.1,000 ($25) in 2 minutes!
Is it really possible to make money on the Internet working from the comfort of home? Yes. It is possible. How much you will earn depends on how much efforts you are actually taking and how hard you are working. Join this new forum for free and learn how to make $25 (Rs.1,000) without investing a paise or cent.. Click here to learn the secret for FREE.
"A blog is a type of website that is usually arranged in chronological order from the most recent entry at the top of the main page to the older entries towards the bottom. If you start a blog on non-vegetarian cooking, you will publish your thoughts, ideas, experiences, advice, stories, jokes and tips on cooking on your blog regularly using internet. Each thought is an entry. Your readers will post their comments on your thoughts on your blog site. You can start a blog on any topic. But your topic must be useful to others. Only then they will read your blogs." I told him.
"I have heard about bulletin boards and forums. How does blog differ from them?" Pratap asked me. "Any member can start a thread – topic – and others can join the discussion. However, in a blog, only the blogger can start a topic. Others can only comment on the blogger’s topic."
"Is it easy to learn how to blog?" Pratap asked. "If you know how to browse internet, you can start your own blog. In fact, blogging is as easy as configuring your email accounts!" I replied. "So, you think I can start a blog about the problems of migrants. Other migrants will visit my blog and read my online journal. How will I make money?" Pratap asked me. "Sponsorships, network advertising, RSS advertising, saleable content, affiliate programs and professional blog writing are some of the ways you can make money from your blogs," I told him and I spent the next fifteen minutes explaining to him about the income generation methods.
"How will people find my blog?" Pratap asked me. "You will have to promote your blog offline and online just like a website. There are blog search engines and blog networks. If you visit websites on blogging, you will get tones of ideas to attract readers," I replied.
"How much will it cost to start a blog?" Pratap asked me. "There are many blog hosting services where you can get a free account. First you start with a free service and learn all the tricks of the trade. Then when you start earning money, you can move on to commercial blog hosting services. This means you can start your own blog without spending any money," I told Pratap.
"I will start my blog within a week," Pratap said with confidence and took leave. I received an email from him recently. "…I was able to setup my own blog within a week. I worked hard, did a lot of research and created useful content. Though I did not get even one visitor in the first two months, I kept my blog always fresh. In the third month, my blog attracted a few visitors and every day the number of visitors increased. Now I am in the tenth month and I have thousands of regular visitors. Just now I received my first cheque from the advertisers for Rs.35,000 and I feel this amount will go up and up in future. My investment is my idle time and hard work. I have made this money without investing any money. Thanks
The Day of prosperity
Ram had a complaint against me. "I have been reading your articles for months. I visited dozens of websites last week. But, no website gave me any money. I don’t know what to do!"
"Who told you that you would get money if you browsed internet? Don’t you know that there is no free lunch in the world?" I asked him. "You want to become a doctor. I tell you that there are many medical colleges in the country and I give you the details of the courses and opportunities available for a medical college aspirant. Do you think you will get a seat in a medical college after just listening to my words or after visiting dozens of medical colleges?"
"No. I must prepare for the entrance exam, work hard, score high marks and then apply for a seat," Ram replied.
"Internet world is a newer and higher version of physical world. It removes many of the obstacles and barriers we face in the physical world. But, the fundamental rules of business have not changed," I told Ram and continued, "Websites are internet versions of physical offices, physical businesses and physical organizations. Many people think that if they visit some websites, they will get money. That is superstition. For example, you want to have your own house. You visit the offices and construction sites of all the builders in the world. Will the builders give you a free house? If you want to make money on the internet, you must start a business or provide a service."
"Do you mean it is difficult to make money on the Internet?" Ram asked me. "Making money on the Internet is easier than making money in the physical world. I think you have misunderstood the term ‘easy.’ If you acquire good knowledge of how internet business works and then work hard, you will make decent money. There can be no doubt about it," I replied.
"I see many websites on the world wide web that promise to give me high income assignment if I pay them $100. Can I try a few of them?" Ram asked me innocently. I replied, "If you have a lot of money and don’t know how to spend it, send the money to National Relief Fund or just buy something useful to your parents or children. Please don’t waste your hard earned money on such dark offers. Here is the golden rule. Never pay upfront fees to get paid. I don’t say that all the offers are bad. But, individuals don’t have the resources to evaluate such offers. For each good offer, there are hundred scams. It is always better to err on the safer side."
A Free Forum Teaches You How ToMake Rs.1,000 ($25) in 2 minutes!
Is it really possible to make money on the Internet working from the comfort of home? Yes. It is possible. How much you will earn depends on how much efforts you are actually taking and how hard you are working. Join this new forum for free and learn how to make $25 (Rs.1,000) without investing a paise or cent.. Click here to learn the secret for FREE.
Ram was silent for a few moments and then mumbled, "Last week I paid $75 to a website. They promised to get me work worth $10,000 every month. But, after I paid the money, I did not hear from them."
"And you are educated!" I exclaimed. "If you had paid the money through credit card or pay pal, you are in luck. Contact the credit card processing company or the merchant and ask them to cancel your order and refund your money immediately. They will certainly try to change your mind by sending you beautiful and well-written emails. But, ignore these mails. Demand your money back. If they don’t cancel your order and refund your money within five business days, contact your bank or credit card company, and request them to reverse the charge. Don’t forget to print out the emails and web pages and keep them safe in a file. In 99.99% cases, you will get the money back. However if you had paid by cash or by other means, you can debit your account book with ‘Purchase of Knowledge Account’ and pray to God for the recovery of money."
"Thank you. I paid by credit card and I hope to get my money back." Ram was relieved and said, "I am unable to work out a good business plan. I don’t know what to do or where to begin. On behalf of all the readers, I request you to start step by step self-employment money making courses. That will help us to have a concrete direction."
"I agree. I will start a few step by step money making courses on the website http://Seekluck.com/. I will launch these free courses for the benefit of the New Indian Express readers on December 27th. I will take up projects that can be done by all. But, please understand that reading the course materials can only give you knowledge. You must work hard to build your own business. Are you happy now?" I asked him. Ram smiled with satisfaction and said, "I hope that day turns out to be my prosperity day."
I said, "I wish sincerely that December 27th becomes the prosperity day for all entrepreneurship-aspirants in India."
"Who told you that you would get money if you browsed internet? Don’t you know that there is no free lunch in the world?" I asked him. "You want to become a doctor. I tell you that there are many medical colleges in the country and I give you the details of the courses and opportunities available for a medical college aspirant. Do you think you will get a seat in a medical college after just listening to my words or after visiting dozens of medical colleges?"
"No. I must prepare for the entrance exam, work hard, score high marks and then apply for a seat," Ram replied.
"Internet world is a newer and higher version of physical world. It removes many of the obstacles and barriers we face in the physical world. But, the fundamental rules of business have not changed," I told Ram and continued, "Websites are internet versions of physical offices, physical businesses and physical organizations. Many people think that if they visit some websites, they will get money. That is superstition. For example, you want to have your own house. You visit the offices and construction sites of all the builders in the world. Will the builders give you a free house? If you want to make money on the internet, you must start a business or provide a service."
"Do you mean it is difficult to make money on the Internet?" Ram asked me. "Making money on the Internet is easier than making money in the physical world. I think you have misunderstood the term ‘easy.’ If you acquire good knowledge of how internet business works and then work hard, you will make decent money. There can be no doubt about it," I replied.
"I see many websites on the world wide web that promise to give me high income assignment if I pay them $100. Can I try a few of them?" Ram asked me innocently. I replied, "If you have a lot of money and don’t know how to spend it, send the money to National Relief Fund or just buy something useful to your parents or children. Please don’t waste your hard earned money on such dark offers. Here is the golden rule. Never pay upfront fees to get paid. I don’t say that all the offers are bad. But, individuals don’t have the resources to evaluate such offers. For each good offer, there are hundred scams. It is always better to err on the safer side."
A Free Forum Teaches You How ToMake Rs.1,000 ($25) in 2 minutes!
Is it really possible to make money on the Internet working from the comfort of home? Yes. It is possible. How much you will earn depends on how much efforts you are actually taking and how hard you are working. Join this new forum for free and learn how to make $25 (Rs.1,000) without investing a paise or cent.. Click here to learn the secret for FREE.
Ram was silent for a few moments and then mumbled, "Last week I paid $75 to a website. They promised to get me work worth $10,000 every month. But, after I paid the money, I did not hear from them."
"And you are educated!" I exclaimed. "If you had paid the money through credit card or pay pal, you are in luck. Contact the credit card processing company or the merchant and ask them to cancel your order and refund your money immediately. They will certainly try to change your mind by sending you beautiful and well-written emails. But, ignore these mails. Demand your money back. If they don’t cancel your order and refund your money within five business days, contact your bank or credit card company, and request them to reverse the charge. Don’t forget to print out the emails and web pages and keep them safe in a file. In 99.99% cases, you will get the money back. However if you had paid by cash or by other means, you can debit your account book with ‘Purchase of Knowledge Account’ and pray to God for the recovery of money."
"Thank you. I paid by credit card and I hope to get my money back." Ram was relieved and said, "I am unable to work out a good business plan. I don’t know what to do or where to begin. On behalf of all the readers, I request you to start step by step self-employment money making courses. That will help us to have a concrete direction."
"I agree. I will start a few step by step money making courses on the website http://Seekluck.com/. I will launch these free courses for the benefit of the New Indian Express readers on December 27th. I will take up projects that can be done by all. But, please understand that reading the course materials can only give you knowledge. You must work hard to build your own business. Are you happy now?" I asked him. Ram smiled with satisfaction and said, "I hope that day turns out to be my prosperity day."
I said, "I wish sincerely that December 27th becomes the prosperity day for all entrepreneurship-aspirants in India."
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Create and sell templates
Deepak pulled out a big, thick file from his shoulder bag and handed it over to me. "What is it?" I asked him. "I contacted more than ten bank managers and collected from them copies of various project reports. I have put all those reports in this file," Deepak replied. "Why do you need them?" I asked Deepak. "I want to start my own business. I don’t know what to do and I don’t have money. So I decided to collect as many project reports as possible, select the best one, prepare a similar project report and then apply for a bank loan. But now I am in trouble. Because I am an M.Com graduate, I am able to understand how the project reports are prepared. But I don’t know which one is suitable to me. Can you please have a look at it and decide for me?" replied Deepak
I returned the file without even opening it and told him, "You have to decide for yourself. However I can suggest you a project that you can do without borrowing money." Deepak looked at me with some suspicion in his eyes. "Is it really possible to start a project without bank loan or private loan?" he asked. "Do you know how to use computer and Microsoft Excel program?" I asked Deepak. "Yes, I do know. But I have limited knowledge," replied Deepak. "Most people that apply for loans need to submit project reports. Many of them depend on consultants and Chartered Accountants. If you can help them by creating templates for project report preparation, you can make money," I told him. "Can you explain it?" Deepak asked me. "In a spreadsheet template of a project report and application form for loan, the applicant needs to fill in only the information he knows. All calculations will be done by template automatically. For example, there are dozens of ratios that are used by the finance companies to calculate the viability of a project. Liquidity ratio is one of them. To find out the liquidity ratio, you need to use a formula over a series of financial figures. Your template will automatically do the calculations. Your template will allow the users to enter only valid data. It will guide them in preparing the project report. Both the borrower and the company can save time and prepare error-free reports." Deepak considered my idea for a few seconds and then replied, "Will this be a viable project? My distant dream is to make Rs.10,000 a month. I believe many institutions already supply project reports in spreadsheet template format."
There are tens of thousands of small and medium sized finance companies and institutions. Each company has dozens of schemes that change from time to time. Only a fraction of them use such templates." I told Deepak. "If what you say is true, there is a big untapped market. But, what is your idea? Do you want me to create templates and sell them to borrowers or to the institutions?" Deepak asked me. "I think you must sell the templates to the borrowers through the institutions. Usually, the borrowers are concerned about the loan. They would not mind about such small charges. The companies benefit from the templates because they know all the requirements would be met with and the calculations would be correct."
"Where would I begin?" Deepak asked me. "First master a spreadsheet program such as Excel. Study as many excel templates as possible. You can go to websites that sell excel templates and download free or trial templates. Then you must contact small and medium sized companies and offer them a proposal. Make it clear that they are not under an obligation to pay you. Once you overcome their initial resistance, you will start making money."
After two months Deepak met me. He had a broad smile on his face. It was clear that he had some good news. "I spent four months in learning how to program Excel," he said. "Come on, how can that be true? We met only two months ago," I said to Deepak. "I worked day and night. What others learn in four months, I learnt in two months. Then I downloaded hundreds of templates from the worldwide web and learnt how others create templates," Deepak said and continued, "Once I was confident, I contacted six companies. You told me that there would be some resistance in the beginning. But, you are wrong. All of them were very receptive. Yesterday, one of the companies has approved a template for the use of its buyers."
"What are the terms?" I asked that important question. "The applicant has to pay Rs.100 for a form that is supplied on a disk. The company will take Rs.40 and I will get Rs.60. The company says every month there would be 25 applicants. That means Rs.1500 a month from one template. The company has asked me to develop templates for other schemes. Five-digit income is not a distant dream anymore."
I returned the file without even opening it and told him, "You have to decide for yourself. However I can suggest you a project that you can do without borrowing money." Deepak looked at me with some suspicion in his eyes. "Is it really possible to start a project without bank loan or private loan?" he asked. "Do you know how to use computer and Microsoft Excel program?" I asked Deepak. "Yes, I do know. But I have limited knowledge," replied Deepak. "Most people that apply for loans need to submit project reports. Many of them depend on consultants and Chartered Accountants. If you can help them by creating templates for project report preparation, you can make money," I told him. "Can you explain it?" Deepak asked me. "In a spreadsheet template of a project report and application form for loan, the applicant needs to fill in only the information he knows. All calculations will be done by template automatically. For example, there are dozens of ratios that are used by the finance companies to calculate the viability of a project. Liquidity ratio is one of them. To find out the liquidity ratio, you need to use a formula over a series of financial figures. Your template will automatically do the calculations. Your template will allow the users to enter only valid data. It will guide them in preparing the project report. Both the borrower and the company can save time and prepare error-free reports." Deepak considered my idea for a few seconds and then replied, "Will this be a viable project? My distant dream is to make Rs.10,000 a month. I believe many institutions already supply project reports in spreadsheet template format."
There are tens of thousands of small and medium sized finance companies and institutions. Each company has dozens of schemes that change from time to time. Only a fraction of them use such templates." I told Deepak. "If what you say is true, there is a big untapped market. But, what is your idea? Do you want me to create templates and sell them to borrowers or to the institutions?" Deepak asked me. "I think you must sell the templates to the borrowers through the institutions. Usually, the borrowers are concerned about the loan. They would not mind about such small charges. The companies benefit from the templates because they know all the requirements would be met with and the calculations would be correct."
"Where would I begin?" Deepak asked me. "First master a spreadsheet program such as Excel. Study as many excel templates as possible. You can go to websites that sell excel templates and download free or trial templates. Then you must contact small and medium sized companies and offer them a proposal. Make it clear that they are not under an obligation to pay you. Once you overcome their initial resistance, you will start making money."
After two months Deepak met me. He had a broad smile on his face. It was clear that he had some good news. "I spent four months in learning how to program Excel," he said. "Come on, how can that be true? We met only two months ago," I said to Deepak. "I worked day and night. What others learn in four months, I learnt in two months. Then I downloaded hundreds of templates from the worldwide web and learnt how others create templates," Deepak said and continued, "Once I was confident, I contacted six companies. You told me that there would be some resistance in the beginning. But, you are wrong. All of them were very receptive. Yesterday, one of the companies has approved a template for the use of its buyers."
"What are the terms?" I asked that important question. "The applicant has to pay Rs.100 for a form that is supplied on a disk. The company will take Rs.40 and I will get Rs.60. The company says every month there would be 25 applicants. That means Rs.1500 a month from one template. The company has asked me to develop templates for other schemes. Five-digit income is not a distant dream anymore."
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Air travel ticket and accomodation--- Ticket to prosperity
"I read your column regularly. But, I don’t know whether I have any skill that will help my in becoming self-employed. Perhaps, my fate is that I must be an employee in this XYZ travel company for an eternity," Vidya said. "If you have knowledge and will, you can always change your destiny and fate. If you look inside yourself and change things that ought to be changed, you can become the master of your life," I told Vidya and continued. "If you have ever gone for employment, you have a saleable skill. A skill, whatever its level, got you the job. If an employer does not derive benefits by employing you, then why would he employ you and pay you every month? You earn money in the form of salary from one employer because you have a skill that is useful to your present employer. Using the same skill, can’t you receive money as income from many customers? Will it not have multiplier effect on your income? Do you think it is impossible to do it?"
After a few moments of silence Vidya replied, "Perhaps it is possible. But I am not sure…" I told her, "I will tell you the success story of Barbara, a good friend of mine."
Barbara Whiteman was an assistant in an international school in London. Though she always wanted to pass the registration examination and obtain Registered Teacher License, her family commitments made it a distant dream. Her work involved receiving students and their parents, briefing them about the procedure and helping them in finding suitable accommodation. She worked for four hours in the mornings.
Every day there would be some confusion as hotels and airlines were not in the students’ or Barbara’s control. There would be frequent changes in plans due to unexpected developments. Invariably there would be unnecessary expenditure. Though Barbara really wished everything should go as planned, in real world such wishes were seldom fulfilled.
Barbara never thought such a fugitive wish had the power to make her financially independent.
She lived in Eastham, a budget residential area in London. On a December evening, when she was returning home by walk, she met Rajesh. He was standing on footpath with a travel bag and fear in his eyes. On seeing Barbara, he approached her and said, "Good evening. Do you have a moment, please?"
"Yes?" Barbara said and got ready to handle any unpleasant situation. She knew that Eastham was not a pedestrian friendly area at evenings and late nights.
"I am a doctor from India. I came to London to take up medical registration exam. My friend used to live in this area. I came to stay with him. But, now I learn that he is not living here anymore. I’ve been standing here for more than an hour. I don’t know what to do. I tried to find out a budget accommodation. But I’m unable to find any in this busy season. Do you have any idea that will solve my problem?" Rajesh asked her.
Barbara smiled and said, "I think I can help you." She called a few numbers on her mobile phone and fixed an accommodation within two minutes. She arranged for a cab to pick Rajesh from the place where they were standing. Then, she told him, "Don’t worry. A cab will be here within 3 minutes. I’ve booked a room for a week. If you don’t like the place, give me a call." She gave him her number. Rajesh was relieved and thanked her again and again. Even before he could finish his finest thanksgiving speech, a cab came to pick him up. Suddenly, Rajesh opened his wallet and pulled out 50 Euros - that’s lots of money - and pushed it into her hands and said, "Thank you. You are a professional travel planner." Then he got into the cab and disappeared.
Professional Travel Planner!
Would there not be thousands of people like Rajesh? If each of them paid her 50 Euros, how much she would earn? Suddenly waves and waves of energy began to enter her.
As soon as she reached her house, she began to research the web for information on travel planning. She got hundreds of useful websites and details about many software products. She particularly liked a Travel Plan software tool. The price was 50 Euros. Barbara was thrilled and ordered it. Within a fortnight, she launched her part time business as a travel planner.
She knew she would not be able to compete with tourist operators. So, she decided to specialize in making travel arrangements for small business persons and students. She had contact details of hundreds of students who had left the school. After taking permission from the school principal, she sent snail mails and emails to all of them.
Most of them remembered Barbara as she was the first person to receive them in London. Within a month she began to get regular business. Many hotels and airlines offered her referral fees.
She needed only 15 clients a month to match her salary. When she began to earn more than her salary, she quit the job. Now, she is studying for her teacher registration exam. Once she is a teacher, she’ll sell her business for a big sum.
"Give me three months and I will be on my own," Vidya said with a big, confident smile. Her eyes dazzled with new light. I smiled.
I am looking forward to write about her success story in this column next year.
After a few moments of silence Vidya replied, "Perhaps it is possible. But I am not sure…" I told her, "I will tell you the success story of Barbara, a good friend of mine."
Barbara Whiteman was an assistant in an international school in London. Though she always wanted to pass the registration examination and obtain Registered Teacher License, her family commitments made it a distant dream. Her work involved receiving students and their parents, briefing them about the procedure and helping them in finding suitable accommodation. She worked for four hours in the mornings.
Every day there would be some confusion as hotels and airlines were not in the students’ or Barbara’s control. There would be frequent changes in plans due to unexpected developments. Invariably there would be unnecessary expenditure. Though Barbara really wished everything should go as planned, in real world such wishes were seldom fulfilled.
Barbara never thought such a fugitive wish had the power to make her financially independent.
She lived in Eastham, a budget residential area in London. On a December evening, when she was returning home by walk, she met Rajesh. He was standing on footpath with a travel bag and fear in his eyes. On seeing Barbara, he approached her and said, "Good evening. Do you have a moment, please?"
"Yes?" Barbara said and got ready to handle any unpleasant situation. She knew that Eastham was not a pedestrian friendly area at evenings and late nights.
"I am a doctor from India. I came to London to take up medical registration exam. My friend used to live in this area. I came to stay with him. But, now I learn that he is not living here anymore. I’ve been standing here for more than an hour. I don’t know what to do. I tried to find out a budget accommodation. But I’m unable to find any in this busy season. Do you have any idea that will solve my problem?" Rajesh asked her.
Barbara smiled and said, "I think I can help you." She called a few numbers on her mobile phone and fixed an accommodation within two minutes. She arranged for a cab to pick Rajesh from the place where they were standing. Then, she told him, "Don’t worry. A cab will be here within 3 minutes. I’ve booked a room for a week. If you don’t like the place, give me a call." She gave him her number. Rajesh was relieved and thanked her again and again. Even before he could finish his finest thanksgiving speech, a cab came to pick him up. Suddenly, Rajesh opened his wallet and pulled out 50 Euros - that’s lots of money - and pushed it into her hands and said, "Thank you. You are a professional travel planner." Then he got into the cab and disappeared.
Professional Travel Planner!
Would there not be thousands of people like Rajesh? If each of them paid her 50 Euros, how much she would earn? Suddenly waves and waves of energy began to enter her.
As soon as she reached her house, she began to research the web for information on travel planning. She got hundreds of useful websites and details about many software products. She particularly liked a Travel Plan software tool. The price was 50 Euros. Barbara was thrilled and ordered it. Within a fortnight, she launched her part time business as a travel planner.
She knew she would not be able to compete with tourist operators. So, she decided to specialize in making travel arrangements for small business persons and students. She had contact details of hundreds of students who had left the school. After taking permission from the school principal, she sent snail mails and emails to all of them.
Most of them remembered Barbara as she was the first person to receive them in London. Within a month she began to get regular business. Many hotels and airlines offered her referral fees.
She needed only 15 clients a month to match her salary. When she began to earn more than her salary, she quit the job. Now, she is studying for her teacher registration exam. Once she is a teacher, she’ll sell her business for a big sum.
"Give me three months and I will be on my own," Vidya said with a big, confident smile. Her eyes dazzled with new light. I smiled.
I am looking forward to write about her success story in this column next year.
Screen Saver Software-- A Life saver
When my husband and I migrated to Australia, we thought we were entering into a beautiful dreamland. It took us just a month to realize that we had in fact entered into a land of nightmares," said Ramya.
I met Ramya in a Chinese restaurant in Sydney a few years ago. "What makes you feel so?" I asked her. "My husband is not good in English and he has limited communication skills. He finds it difficult to get a job. My educational qualifications are not recognized here. So, I could get only the job of part time customer support clerk in XYZ bank. We have a hand-to-mouth existence. I am in so great financial difficulty that I don’t have money to pay for even bus fare. Everyday I walk 10 Kms in bad weather!" Ramya said and wiped her eyes with her handkerchief.
"Are you not eligible for income support from the government?" I asked her. "A few years ago all migrants in financial difficulty received benefits and income support from the government without any problem. However, some migrants abused the system and now it is not as easy as it was then," Ramya replied. "It is human nature to treat concession as right," I said.
"We will be eligible for benefits only from next year. But, I don’t want to apply for income support. I feel ashamed of doing it. I don’t want to depend on others for my survival," Ramya said. "That is a magnificent attitude. This attitude will soon make you prosperous," I told her and asked her, "Wise men say that if you really lack something important, then life compensates the loss by giving another thing. Some blind men develop special faculties that are not available to people with good eyes. Your husband lacks good communication skills and he is poor in English. He can improve his English by attending self-improvement courses. But, it will take months and you need money to pay for it. Does he have any other skills?" "I don’t think he has got any skills. He wastes all his time surfing the Internet and tweaking our computer. Perhaps he is good in computer though he is not a professional," she replied.
I thought about it for a few moments and told her, "You are a customer representative in XYZ bank. You interact with customers regularly. You know what your customers want. You husband has good working knowledge in computer. Any bank would like to improve its business and its relationship with the customers. All customers, irrespective of their status would love to receive freebies. Now, can you think of any project based on the above facts?" Ramya’s response was instantaneous, "No."
"Most customers have computers at home or office. They want to show off their individuality by customizing the desktop of their systems. They download all types of images and screensavers to decorate their desktops. Your husband can create beautiful screensavers that give information about the products and services of your bank. You already know about the preferences and needs of your customers. You can help him. Your bank will give away the screensavers as freebies to its customers. For your bank, these screensavers will be business promotion tools. You can even create web-enabled screensavers so that whenever the bank changes its terms or products, the information will automatically updated on customers’ computers. Your bank will pay to your husband for the development of the screensavers," I explained the project to Ramya.
"Do you think this will work? What will I do if my bank turns down the proposal?" Ramya was pessimistic. "Have a positive attitude. If your employer does not like the project, then approach other banks, credit card companies, insurance providers and financial institutions. Leave no stone unturned until you succeed," I tried to make her feel confident. After discussing the project for a few more minutes, I left the restaurant.
Four months later I received an email from Ramya.: ‘Ken, I told about the project to my husband as soon as I reached home after our meeting. He was excited and immediately started his work on the project. He downloaded trial version of dozens of screensaver creation software and became an expert in 6 weeks. Then we wrote a project plan using Palo Alto’s Business Plan Pro software. When I submitted the project plan and sample screensaver to my boss and the management, an unexpected thing happened – they appointed me as a full time employee! They accepted our proposal and agreed to pay a good amount of money to my husband. We completed the project two days ago and my husband received a cheque from the bank yesterday. Please go to the link (here is link) and download our product. Thank you, - Ramya.’
I met Ramya in a Chinese restaurant in Sydney a few years ago. "What makes you feel so?" I asked her. "My husband is not good in English and he has limited communication skills. He finds it difficult to get a job. My educational qualifications are not recognized here. So, I could get only the job of part time customer support clerk in XYZ bank. We have a hand-to-mouth existence. I am in so great financial difficulty that I don’t have money to pay for even bus fare. Everyday I walk 10 Kms in bad weather!" Ramya said and wiped her eyes with her handkerchief.
"Are you not eligible for income support from the government?" I asked her. "A few years ago all migrants in financial difficulty received benefits and income support from the government without any problem. However, some migrants abused the system and now it is not as easy as it was then," Ramya replied. "It is human nature to treat concession as right," I said.
"We will be eligible for benefits only from next year. But, I don’t want to apply for income support. I feel ashamed of doing it. I don’t want to depend on others for my survival," Ramya said. "That is a magnificent attitude. This attitude will soon make you prosperous," I told her and asked her, "Wise men say that if you really lack something important, then life compensates the loss by giving another thing. Some blind men develop special faculties that are not available to people with good eyes. Your husband lacks good communication skills and he is poor in English. He can improve his English by attending self-improvement courses. But, it will take months and you need money to pay for it. Does he have any other skills?" "I don’t think he has got any skills. He wastes all his time surfing the Internet and tweaking our computer. Perhaps he is good in computer though he is not a professional," she replied.
I thought about it for a few moments and told her, "You are a customer representative in XYZ bank. You interact with customers regularly. You know what your customers want. You husband has good working knowledge in computer. Any bank would like to improve its business and its relationship with the customers. All customers, irrespective of their status would love to receive freebies. Now, can you think of any project based on the above facts?" Ramya’s response was instantaneous, "No."
"Most customers have computers at home or office. They want to show off their individuality by customizing the desktop of their systems. They download all types of images and screensavers to decorate their desktops. Your husband can create beautiful screensavers that give information about the products and services of your bank. You already know about the preferences and needs of your customers. You can help him. Your bank will give away the screensavers as freebies to its customers. For your bank, these screensavers will be business promotion tools. You can even create web-enabled screensavers so that whenever the bank changes its terms or products, the information will automatically updated on customers’ computers. Your bank will pay to your husband for the development of the screensavers," I explained the project to Ramya.
"Do you think this will work? What will I do if my bank turns down the proposal?" Ramya was pessimistic. "Have a positive attitude. If your employer does not like the project, then approach other banks, credit card companies, insurance providers and financial institutions. Leave no stone unturned until you succeed," I tried to make her feel confident. After discussing the project for a few more minutes, I left the restaurant.
Four months later I received an email from Ramya.: ‘Ken, I told about the project to my husband as soon as I reached home after our meeting. He was excited and immediately started his work on the project. He downloaded trial version of dozens of screensaver creation software and became an expert in 6 weeks. Then we wrote a project plan using Palo Alto’s Business Plan Pro software. When I submitted the project plan and sample screensaver to my boss and the management, an unexpected thing happened – they appointed me as a full time employee! They accepted our proposal and agreed to pay a good amount of money to my husband. We completed the project two days ago and my husband received a cheque from the bank yesterday. Please go to the link (here is link) and download our product. Thank you, - Ramya.’
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Pyschic Reading and astrology
"I want to earn money working from home. Though several options are available, I believe, internet business is the best one," Kanchana told me. "There can be no question about it. However, unless you have clear goal, great business plan and sound knowledge about what you intend to do, you may find it difficult to make reasonable income. It is true for any business. Now, tell me, what is your plan?" I asked Kanchana.
Kanchana is a B.A graduate. She is a housewife. Her husband is a software engineer in Bangalore. They belong to upper middle class society. Though she does not have any financial difficulty, she wants to spend her time usefully. She wants to show to her family members and friends that she too can achieve great things in life.
"I have always been impressed by the success of Amazon.com. It started as the biggest online book seller and now has grown into online seller of millions of products. I would like to start a big online bookshop like Amazon.com," Kanchana said. "Amazon.com invested millions of dollars in the venture and several hundred software experts work for the company. Do you have someone who can invest huge amount of money in your venture?" I asked Kanchana. "I thought if I learn how to use a software program such as Frontpage, I too can build a website like Amazon.com! Now I realize it is not simple and easy. I want to earn a few thousand rupees a month by selling books online. Is it possible to achieve that humble goal?" Kanchana asked me.
"That is not difficult. What type of books do you want to sell?" I asked her. "All types of books," replied Kanchana. "If you build a general website, earning even a few hundred rupees will be difficult. People must have better reason to go to your website than to go to Amazon. So, I suggest that you must focus on a niche. Concentrate on something special. Build your website around that theme. Then people will have a strong reason to come to your website," I said.
I know a lot about astrology and numerology. Will that topic work?" Kanchana was not confident about the theme of her business. "It’s an interesting subject. Most newspapers and magazines carry a regular feature that tell the readers what is going to happen in the next few days. Though no one takes those predictions seriously, millions of people read them regularly! So, that topic will certainly work," I replied her.
"Do you believe in astrology?" Kanchana asked me. "What I think is not important. You must give customers what they want if it is within law. In our country, people do consult astrologers before taking up any important activity such as marriage, starting business and buying a house. So, there is a big market for it. Any instrument, whether positive or negative or neutral, can be an instrument of infinite progress. So, use your knowledge to inspire people and help them make progress. If you work with this attitude, your business will be successful," I said.
"Can you please give me specific suggestions?" Kanchana requested me. "First of all you must make the site useful to the visitors. Then you must make them come again and again. Create a section with useful information and articles for each important aspect in our life such as marriage, business, job and education. Then update the content regularly. These two activities will attract visitors to your website and make them repeat visitors," I told her.
"How will I make money?" Kanchana asked me. "Join the affiliate programs of big online book sellers. If you refer visitors to their websites, they will pay you commission for each purchase the visitors make. There are software programs that will get content from big websites and show them on your website. Use them to create content rich website. There are thousands of other useful services and products that are not listed in online stores. Then promote your website through search engines. If you do these tasks right, earning a few thousand rupees a month will be easy," I replied. Then we discussed the project in detail for an hour.
Kanchana spent the next four months in developing content for her new website. Once her site was ready to go online, she applied for affiliate programs. One of the websites is a big online astrology website and has tens of thousands of visitors. In response to her application for affiliate program, this website sent her an email: ‘Our website has content on western astrology. When reviewing your site, we felt we must include content on eastern astrology also. We are pleased with the quality of your content and the presentation. We are willing to buy your website for $6000. You can continue as webmaster for $250 a month… ’
You don’t need the services of an astrologer to guess what Kanchana’s response to that email was.
Kanchana is a B.A graduate. She is a housewife. Her husband is a software engineer in Bangalore. They belong to upper middle class society. Though she does not have any financial difficulty, she wants to spend her time usefully. She wants to show to her family members and friends that she too can achieve great things in life.
"I have always been impressed by the success of Amazon.com. It started as the biggest online book seller and now has grown into online seller of millions of products. I would like to start a big online bookshop like Amazon.com," Kanchana said. "Amazon.com invested millions of dollars in the venture and several hundred software experts work for the company. Do you have someone who can invest huge amount of money in your venture?" I asked Kanchana. "I thought if I learn how to use a software program such as Frontpage, I too can build a website like Amazon.com! Now I realize it is not simple and easy. I want to earn a few thousand rupees a month by selling books online. Is it possible to achieve that humble goal?" Kanchana asked me.
"That is not difficult. What type of books do you want to sell?" I asked her. "All types of books," replied Kanchana. "If you build a general website, earning even a few hundred rupees will be difficult. People must have better reason to go to your website than to go to Amazon. So, I suggest that you must focus on a niche. Concentrate on something special. Build your website around that theme. Then people will have a strong reason to come to your website," I said.
I know a lot about astrology and numerology. Will that topic work?" Kanchana was not confident about the theme of her business. "It’s an interesting subject. Most newspapers and magazines carry a regular feature that tell the readers what is going to happen in the next few days. Though no one takes those predictions seriously, millions of people read them regularly! So, that topic will certainly work," I replied her.
"Do you believe in astrology?" Kanchana asked me. "What I think is not important. You must give customers what they want if it is within law. In our country, people do consult astrologers before taking up any important activity such as marriage, starting business and buying a house. So, there is a big market for it. Any instrument, whether positive or negative or neutral, can be an instrument of infinite progress. So, use your knowledge to inspire people and help them make progress. If you work with this attitude, your business will be successful," I said.
"Can you please give me specific suggestions?" Kanchana requested me. "First of all you must make the site useful to the visitors. Then you must make them come again and again. Create a section with useful information and articles for each important aspect in our life such as marriage, business, job and education. Then update the content regularly. These two activities will attract visitors to your website and make them repeat visitors," I told her.
"How will I make money?" Kanchana asked me. "Join the affiliate programs of big online book sellers. If you refer visitors to their websites, they will pay you commission for each purchase the visitors make. There are software programs that will get content from big websites and show them on your website. Use them to create content rich website. There are thousands of other useful services and products that are not listed in online stores. Then promote your website through search engines. If you do these tasks right, earning a few thousand rupees a month will be easy," I replied. Then we discussed the project in detail for an hour.
Kanchana spent the next four months in developing content for her new website. Once her site was ready to go online, she applied for affiliate programs. One of the websites is a big online astrology website and has tens of thousands of visitors. In response to her application for affiliate program, this website sent her an email: ‘Our website has content on western astrology. When reviewing your site, we felt we must include content on eastern astrology also. We are pleased with the quality of your content and the presentation. We are willing to buy your website for $6000. You can continue as webmaster for $250 a month… ’
You don’t need the services of an astrologer to guess what Kanchana’s response to that email was.
Knowledge about pregnancy and money
A few months ago, I wrote an article with the title ‘The human aspiration’ in this column. It was about a young man who decided to work on a project that would help pregnant women during pregnancy. Dozens of housewives have sent me emails asking me whether they would also be able to do similar projects. Some of them asked me whether people would really pay for such products. This article answers their questions.
In 1998, I was living in Hamilton. On a rainy evening in August, I visited a friend for dinner. When I entered into his house, Mary Clapton, his wife, was doing something on their computer. As anything that is related to computer excites me, I looked at her work from the corner of my eyes to figure out what software she was using. But it was something I had never seen before. "Mary, what is the name of the software program that you are working on?" I asked her. She smiled and said, "PregProXyz. It is for pregnant women. I developed the software." (I have changed the name of the software program.)
"You developed!" I exclaimed and asked her, "When did you become a software developer?" Mary replied, "I never learnt how to develop software. I had a solid idea for a software program. I created the concept. I asked myself ‘If I were a pregnant woman and the user of this software program, what would be the features that I would like to have in it?’ I created an exhaustive list of features, content, questions and answers. I drew the screens with good old paper and pen. When I was satisfied, I hired a software developer and created the product."
"That’s brilliant. Have you been able to sell your product? " I asked her. She did not reply. She looked through the window. I followed her eyes. A new shiny four wheel drive was standing majestically in the garage. I told her, "I understand. Can you please tell me your success story?"
Mary Clapton gave birth to three children before the end of her fourth wedding anniversary. It was clear that she must stay at home for the next four years. She began her search for home-based project that would give her a few hundred dollars a month. She read dozens of books on small businesses, money and entrepreneurship.
Mary became so obsessed with the idea that she would discuss it even in birthday parties with strangers. But, the more ideas she came across, the more she became depressed, as she was not confident of anything. She tried things like mail order business, telemarketing, transcription and direct marketing business. She gained substantial knowledge about real world after losing $2,000.
Sudha was Mary’s neighbor, a cute Indian girl who never understood the concept of privacy. One day Sudha asked Mary, "Why do you always look depressed? Do you have any problem with your husband?" May was taken aback but politely said, "No, we are fine." But, when sudha insisted on knowing the truth, Mary grew impatient and said, "Look, I can’t go for a job leaving kids at home. But I want to make money. That’s my problem." Sudha innocently replied, "You have three children. Be happy about it. Your children are your real wealth."
There was a spark in Mary’s head. She told Sudha, "Just now I got a great idea. I know many things about pregnancy and child birth. I know answers for many questions that trouble the brides and the would-be mothers. I can help them and make money." Sudha felt sorry for her and said, "Please don’t think too much about money and business. Forget them and play some computer games with your kids. That will relax your mind."
Computers! There was another spark in Mary’s head. ‘I can combine computers and pregnancy to make money,’ Mary thought.
What an uninspiring combination of computers and pregnancy! However, for Mary it was real. Mary browsed hundreds of web discussion forums and prepared a list of common questions that future mothers asked. Then, she visited medical websites and library to find accurate answers. Then, she verified the answers with a registered nurse practising obstetrics and gynecology. Once she was confident, she hired a software programmer to create an interactive software program on pregnancy. Her software gave answers to all frequently asked questions including speculative questions such as favorable days and lucky days for pregnancy!
She sent pamphlets to all O&G practitioners and nurses. The professionals were pleased with the quality of the program. They understood that this program would save their time as it answered common questions that pregnant mothers would ask. So, they happily recommended it to their clients. She sold hundreds of copies of software on CD-ROM at $15 in the next few months. Then she started to offer the product as a subscription service over internet. Her business has grown into a prosperous one in two years.
The right combination of a computer and a great concept can give you an immediate self-employment opportunity to serve a limited local market. If you combine your computer with the ever-expanding Internet, you will have mind boggling number of global income opportunities.
In 1998, I was living in Hamilton. On a rainy evening in August, I visited a friend for dinner. When I entered into his house, Mary Clapton, his wife, was doing something on their computer. As anything that is related to computer excites me, I looked at her work from the corner of my eyes to figure out what software she was using. But it was something I had never seen before. "Mary, what is the name of the software program that you are working on?" I asked her. She smiled and said, "PregProXyz. It is for pregnant women. I developed the software." (I have changed the name of the software program.)
"You developed!" I exclaimed and asked her, "When did you become a software developer?" Mary replied, "I never learnt how to develop software. I had a solid idea for a software program. I created the concept. I asked myself ‘If I were a pregnant woman and the user of this software program, what would be the features that I would like to have in it?’ I created an exhaustive list of features, content, questions and answers. I drew the screens with good old paper and pen. When I was satisfied, I hired a software developer and created the product."
"That’s brilliant. Have you been able to sell your product? " I asked her. She did not reply. She looked through the window. I followed her eyes. A new shiny four wheel drive was standing majestically in the garage. I told her, "I understand. Can you please tell me your success story?"
Mary Clapton gave birth to three children before the end of her fourth wedding anniversary. It was clear that she must stay at home for the next four years. She began her search for home-based project that would give her a few hundred dollars a month. She read dozens of books on small businesses, money and entrepreneurship.
Mary became so obsessed with the idea that she would discuss it even in birthday parties with strangers. But, the more ideas she came across, the more she became depressed, as she was not confident of anything. She tried things like mail order business, telemarketing, transcription and direct marketing business. She gained substantial knowledge about real world after losing $2,000.
Sudha was Mary’s neighbor, a cute Indian girl who never understood the concept of privacy. One day Sudha asked Mary, "Why do you always look depressed? Do you have any problem with your husband?" May was taken aback but politely said, "No, we are fine." But, when sudha insisted on knowing the truth, Mary grew impatient and said, "Look, I can’t go for a job leaving kids at home. But I want to make money. That’s my problem." Sudha innocently replied, "You have three children. Be happy about it. Your children are your real wealth."
There was a spark in Mary’s head. She told Sudha, "Just now I got a great idea. I know many things about pregnancy and child birth. I know answers for many questions that trouble the brides and the would-be mothers. I can help them and make money." Sudha felt sorry for her and said, "Please don’t think too much about money and business. Forget them and play some computer games with your kids. That will relax your mind."
Computers! There was another spark in Mary’s head. ‘I can combine computers and pregnancy to make money,’ Mary thought.
What an uninspiring combination of computers and pregnancy! However, for Mary it was real. Mary browsed hundreds of web discussion forums and prepared a list of common questions that future mothers asked. Then, she visited medical websites and library to find accurate answers. Then, she verified the answers with a registered nurse practising obstetrics and gynecology. Once she was confident, she hired a software programmer to create an interactive software program on pregnancy. Her software gave answers to all frequently asked questions including speculative questions such as favorable days and lucky days for pregnancy!
She sent pamphlets to all O&G practitioners and nurses. The professionals were pleased with the quality of the program. They understood that this program would save their time as it answered common questions that pregnant mothers would ask. So, they happily recommended it to their clients. She sold hundreds of copies of software on CD-ROM at $15 in the next few months. Then she started to offer the product as a subscription service over internet. Her business has grown into a prosperous one in two years.
The right combination of a computer and a great concept can give you an immediate self-employment opportunity to serve a limited local market. If you combine your computer with the ever-expanding Internet, you will have mind boggling number of global income opportunities.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Freelance Accountant & Accounting Services
"We are in need of an additional income stream. Without it we will soon be forced to jump into the Bay of Bengal," Krishnan said. Chitra, his wife, nodded her head and said, "Many of his friends have their own workshops and small factories. His dream has always been to own a small workshop. But, we know it is a dream impossible."
"We have heard from our forefathers that we become what we want to become. But we never take that truth seriously. If you really want to earn money, you will. If you don’t make money, it means that you don’t really want to make money. Only a strong will can help you make money. Lazy wish will not help you," I told them.
Chitra smiled dryly and said, "I married Krishnan immediately after I completed Plus Two. He is a diploma holder in Mechanical Engineering. At present he works in a small private business firm and earns Rs.3,000 a month."
"Don’t you want to go for a job?" I asked her. "Though I am ready to go for a job, I have to stay at home as my aged parents-in-law are in need of constant physical help. So, I think I can do only work-from-home projects. But, for my qualification, I don’t think there will be even one suitable project," Chitra replied.
"Most of us have gone to schools and acquired some knowledge in different subjects. Even basic knowledge in one of the subjects you studied in school can create a self-employment opportunity. Your knowledge need not be specialized or professional," I told Chitra and asked her, "What subjects did you study in your school?"
"I studied Economics, Commerce and Accountancy. But, I don’t think I can earn with what I studied in school," Chitra replied.
"I am sure that Krishnan has good relationship with the owners of many mechanical workshops. These workshops are too small to employ full time accountants. Yet, they must submit sales tax returns and other account statements to government departments. You have studied Accountancy in Plus Two for two years. You can work from home as part-time accountant. You need a computer and an accounting software package to make money," I told Chitra.
"I know that Tally and EX are the two leading accounting software packages. I don’t know how to use them. I don’t have money to buy computers and software. I will not be able to go out frequently to meet prospects and clients," Chitra gave a long list of her weaknesses. Then we discussed about how we could overcome her difficulties.
Chitra decided to learn EX, a good accounting software package from Tata Consultancy Services. But, she did not have Rs.30,000 to buy a computer and Rs.10,000 to buy EX. A friend had an old computer and printer. He had a licensed version of EX. He had stopped using it after switching over to QuickBooks. He was so moved by their sincerity that he gave them even a table along with the computer system and the software. The couple promised to pay him Rs.20,000 over time when they earned money.
Krishnan met his friends and offered to do accounting work. Two of them immediately accepted the offer. Every evening Krishnan would go to the workshops and prepare statements. Chitra would do all accounting work at home. The work generated an additional income of Rs.1,500 a month within a few weeks.
Krishnan would help both the clients, who were uneducated, in writing letters and preparing quotations. Sometimes, he would even mange the show, when the clients were out. They began to like him and trust him. After a few months, they offered to take him as a working partner. Krishnan resigned his job and became a partner in both the companies.
When I spoke to Krishnan a few months ago, he said that he was earning above Rs.25,000 a month and the business was expanding. He was in need of many workers. He asked him whether I would be able to find new skilled workers so that he could bag all the orders that were in the pipeline!
Chitra still continues her accounting work. She earns Rs.3,000 a month and uses it for her personal expenses.
"We have heard from our forefathers that we become what we want to become. But we never take that truth seriously. If you really want to earn money, you will. If you don’t make money, it means that you don’t really want to make money. Only a strong will can help you make money. Lazy wish will not help you," I told them.
Chitra smiled dryly and said, "I married Krishnan immediately after I completed Plus Two. He is a diploma holder in Mechanical Engineering. At present he works in a small private business firm and earns Rs.3,000 a month."
"Don’t you want to go for a job?" I asked her. "Though I am ready to go for a job, I have to stay at home as my aged parents-in-law are in need of constant physical help. So, I think I can do only work-from-home projects. But, for my qualification, I don’t think there will be even one suitable project," Chitra replied.
"Most of us have gone to schools and acquired some knowledge in different subjects. Even basic knowledge in one of the subjects you studied in school can create a self-employment opportunity. Your knowledge need not be specialized or professional," I told Chitra and asked her, "What subjects did you study in your school?"
"I studied Economics, Commerce and Accountancy. But, I don’t think I can earn with what I studied in school," Chitra replied.
"I am sure that Krishnan has good relationship with the owners of many mechanical workshops. These workshops are too small to employ full time accountants. Yet, they must submit sales tax returns and other account statements to government departments. You have studied Accountancy in Plus Two for two years. You can work from home as part-time accountant. You need a computer and an accounting software package to make money," I told Chitra.
"I know that Tally and EX are the two leading accounting software packages. I don’t know how to use them. I don’t have money to buy computers and software. I will not be able to go out frequently to meet prospects and clients," Chitra gave a long list of her weaknesses. Then we discussed about how we could overcome her difficulties.
Chitra decided to learn EX, a good accounting software package from Tata Consultancy Services. But, she did not have Rs.30,000 to buy a computer and Rs.10,000 to buy EX. A friend had an old computer and printer. He had a licensed version of EX. He had stopped using it after switching over to QuickBooks. He was so moved by their sincerity that he gave them even a table along with the computer system and the software. The couple promised to pay him Rs.20,000 over time when they earned money.
Krishnan met his friends and offered to do accounting work. Two of them immediately accepted the offer. Every evening Krishnan would go to the workshops and prepare statements. Chitra would do all accounting work at home. The work generated an additional income of Rs.1,500 a month within a few weeks.
Krishnan would help both the clients, who were uneducated, in writing letters and preparing quotations. Sometimes, he would even mange the show, when the clients were out. They began to like him and trust him. After a few months, they offered to take him as a working partner. Krishnan resigned his job and became a partner in both the companies.
When I spoke to Krishnan a few months ago, he said that he was earning above Rs.25,000 a month and the business was expanding. He was in need of many workers. He asked him whether I would be able to find new skilled workers so that he could bag all the orders that were in the pipeline!
Chitra still continues her accounting work. She earns Rs.3,000 a month and uses it for her personal expenses.
Info Pro--Online,Internet and web research
Last month I spent several days on the Internet in search of the most profitable income opportunities for entrepreneurs. I collected hundreds of pages of useful information. I analysed the information and have come up with a list of ten exciting opportunities. However, they require a huge investment of money," Vivek said to me with disappointment. "I’ll tell you of an opportunity that would not cost you an arm and a leg. You can start an Online Information Research Business and make money working for yourself as information professional," I suggested to Vivek.
"What do information professionals actually do?" Vivek asked me. "Information professionals are sometimes called as information broker and information researcher. They provide information services to their clients. Such services include collection, research, analysis, organization and presentation of information," I replied.
"Do you think there is really a market for such services?" Vivek asked. "There are giants in this business making billions of dollars every year. However, they concentrate on big companies, government agencies and institutions that can afford to hire their services. There are millions of small businesses and individuals who need researched information to help them make important decisions. They will certainly hire you, if you provide excellent service. I believe that there has always been, and there will always be, a market for high-quality, value-added research and information services," I replied.
"Who will hire individual researchers?" Vivek asked me in a doubtful voice. "Researchers who need to outsource a part of their research activities, Consultants who need information that will be passed to their clients, Book authors who want to have supporting materials for their writings and Small businesses that want to research their competitors or a particular market are some of your prospects," I replied.
"All the information one needs is available on the web for free. Do you think people would still pay me for collecting information from web?" Vivek asked me. "For each search, Search engines return thousands of web pages as search result. Most of them are not related to the ideas we have in our mind. Even if we assume that all the results are relevant, who has the time to go through all the web pages?" I asked Vivek and continued, "Most of the useful information never show up in the search engine results. You will get high-quality and accurate information only if you pay for it. Most people don’t know this truth. They think they can get everything for free on web. Articles, white papers, statistics and reports are buried deep in the websites of government departments, agencies, institutions and social organizations."
"I always believed that I could get information on anything on free web," Vivek said. "Dialogweb.com, LexisNexis.com and Factiva.com are some examples for online information websites that provide quality information. Instead of spending days on free web, by paying a few dollars to these service providers, you can collect the information you need in a few hours if not a few minutes. Then there are boards, and newsgroups that give information that will never be indexed by search engines. An average web user will have no time to visit them and find important data. In addition to collection of information, you will analyze it, organize it and provide ready-to-use information," I told him.
"Where can I find more information about this occupation?" Vivek asked me. "You can start with the website of Association of Independent Information Professionals. The website address is http://www.aiip.org/ " I replied.
Two months later I received an email from Vivek. He wrote: ‘I visited Amazon and bought some books on Online Research business. I learnt the research, methods and techniques thoroughly and started to market my business both online and offline. One of my friends referred my name to a New Zealand Dairy products manufacturing company. This company asked me to provide some details about Indian dairy products. I contacted milk processing companies’ association and collected old and recent trade journals. I read dozens of annual reports of milk processing companies. Within a week I was able to prepare a 20 page report. I was paid Rs.16,000! Another friend is a Urologist in the United States. His friend wanted to outsource medical transcription activities to India. He asked me to prepare a report on it. I worked on this project for 15 days and earned Rs.12,000! I have made Rs.28,000 in three weeks…’
"What do information professionals actually do?" Vivek asked me. "Information professionals are sometimes called as information broker and information researcher. They provide information services to their clients. Such services include collection, research, analysis, organization and presentation of information," I replied.
"Do you think there is really a market for such services?" Vivek asked. "There are giants in this business making billions of dollars every year. However, they concentrate on big companies, government agencies and institutions that can afford to hire their services. There are millions of small businesses and individuals who need researched information to help them make important decisions. They will certainly hire you, if you provide excellent service. I believe that there has always been, and there will always be, a market for high-quality, value-added research and information services," I replied.
"Who will hire individual researchers?" Vivek asked me in a doubtful voice. "Researchers who need to outsource a part of their research activities, Consultants who need information that will be passed to their clients, Book authors who want to have supporting materials for their writings and Small businesses that want to research their competitors or a particular market are some of your prospects," I replied.
"All the information one needs is available on the web for free. Do you think people would still pay me for collecting information from web?" Vivek asked me. "For each search, Search engines return thousands of web pages as search result. Most of them are not related to the ideas we have in our mind. Even if we assume that all the results are relevant, who has the time to go through all the web pages?" I asked Vivek and continued, "Most of the useful information never show up in the search engine results. You will get high-quality and accurate information only if you pay for it. Most people don’t know this truth. They think they can get everything for free on web. Articles, white papers, statistics and reports are buried deep in the websites of government departments, agencies, institutions and social organizations."
"I always believed that I could get information on anything on free web," Vivek said. "Dialogweb.com, LexisNexis.com and Factiva.com are some examples for online information websites that provide quality information. Instead of spending days on free web, by paying a few dollars to these service providers, you can collect the information you need in a few hours if not a few minutes. Then there are boards, and newsgroups that give information that will never be indexed by search engines. An average web user will have no time to visit them and find important data. In addition to collection of information, you will analyze it, organize it and provide ready-to-use information," I told him.
"Where can I find more information about this occupation?" Vivek asked me. "You can start with the website of Association of Independent Information Professionals. The website address is http://www.aiip.org/ " I replied.
Two months later I received an email from Vivek. He wrote: ‘I visited Amazon and bought some books on Online Research business. I learnt the research, methods and techniques thoroughly and started to market my business both online and offline. One of my friends referred my name to a New Zealand Dairy products manufacturing company. This company asked me to provide some details about Indian dairy products. I contacted milk processing companies’ association and collected old and recent trade journals. I read dozens of annual reports of milk processing companies. Within a week I was able to prepare a 20 page report. I was paid Rs.16,000! Another friend is a Urologist in the United States. His friend wanted to outsource medical transcription activities to India. He asked me to prepare a report on it. I worked on this project for 15 days and earned Rs.12,000! I have made Rs.28,000 in three weeks…’
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Virtual Secretary& Virrtual Offices
I met Rani in my friend’s office a few years ago. I immediately liked her because she was cheerful and energetic. "You are the most cheerful girl I have ever met." I told her. After a few moments of heavy silence she said in a voice tinged with sorrow, "I force myself to be cheerful and happy. That’s the only way to protect my sanity."
"I’m sorry. I think I have embarrassed you," I told her in an apologetic voice. "No, you didn’t. When I was studying in Plus Two, my father died in an accident. My brother and sister were still in primary school. So, I had to quit the school and take up the job of a typist to generate some money for the survival of our family," Rani said.
"On job, she learnt how to use the computer, Internet and email. She is very efficient and extraordinarily sincere in her work," My friend said. "Job has never had an attraction for me. I sincerely wish to be on my own once I overcome my financial difficulties," Rani said. "What will you do? You will fail if you do something of which you don’t have any knowledge," my friend said in a doubtful voice.
I said, "Recently I read a funny story in a book. Three monks – two were experienced and one was a newbie – decided to practise meditation together. They sat by the side of a lake and closed their eyes. Then suddenly, the first one stood up and said, ‘I forgot my umbrella.’ He stepped miraculously onto the water in front of him and walked across the lake to their hut on the other side. When he returned, the second monk stood up and said, ‘I forgot my towel.’ He too walked calmly across the water and returned the same way. The third monk, the newbie, thought ‘If these two can walk on water, I too can do it right now,’ and rushed into the lake. He fell into the deep water. Undeterred, the monk climbed out of the water and tried again, only to sink into the water. This went on for sometime. After a while, the second monk turned to the first and said, ‘Do you think we should tell him where the stepping-stones are?’"
With a smile my friend asked, "It’s a lovely story. But what’s your point?" I replied, "There is no short-cut route to success in self-employment. If you learn the process behind a successful entrepreneurship, you will succeed no matter what your occupation is. If Rani learns every rivet of the job of a secretary, in future, she can be on her own. If she tries something without understanding the process, she will be in trouble. " Rani was happy to hear these words. "I will learn everything about my job and try to achieve perfection. I believe it will help me to be on my own."
After a year, her family received money due to her father from his employer. As the financial position improved considerably, her mother decided that it was time for Rani to get married. Elango, Rani’s husband, did not want her to go for a job. Perhaps, life fulfilled Rani’s aspiration through Elango. When she complained about sitting idle at home, he bought her a computer and games software. But, what Rani wanted was work and not wasteful pleasure. One day, when she was browsing the Internet, she came across a website that had some information about Virtual Secretary. She immediately set to collect every bit of information about this new profession. It was just a matter of a few days for her to acquire the complete knowledge. She realised that she had all the skills required of a Virtual Secretary.
Her ex-employer had excellent overseas contacts. He introduced her to some of them. She too marketed her service actively. Soon she got offers from a few website owners to work as a Virtual Secretary. They gave her guidelines, templates for customer support, standards, flow charts and other documents to operate from a remote place through email. And, her dream became a reality.
How does Rani work? She receives copies of all emails sent by the customers. She replies them promptly. If and only if she is unable to solve a problem, she escalates it to her clients. She takes care of many other repetitive online tasks also. Every month she sends activity reports to her clients. She has four clients. As she has regular income, the couple has bought a flat with the help of a bank. Rani earns more than Rs.10,000 a month at the ripe age of 19.
"I’m sorry. I think I have embarrassed you," I told her in an apologetic voice. "No, you didn’t. When I was studying in Plus Two, my father died in an accident. My brother and sister were still in primary school. So, I had to quit the school and take up the job of a typist to generate some money for the survival of our family," Rani said.
"On job, she learnt how to use the computer, Internet and email. She is very efficient and extraordinarily sincere in her work," My friend said. "Job has never had an attraction for me. I sincerely wish to be on my own once I overcome my financial difficulties," Rani said. "What will you do? You will fail if you do something of which you don’t have any knowledge," my friend said in a doubtful voice.
I said, "Recently I read a funny story in a book. Three monks – two were experienced and one was a newbie – decided to practise meditation together. They sat by the side of a lake and closed their eyes. Then suddenly, the first one stood up and said, ‘I forgot my umbrella.’ He stepped miraculously onto the water in front of him and walked across the lake to their hut on the other side. When he returned, the second monk stood up and said, ‘I forgot my towel.’ He too walked calmly across the water and returned the same way. The third monk, the newbie, thought ‘If these two can walk on water, I too can do it right now,’ and rushed into the lake. He fell into the deep water. Undeterred, the monk climbed out of the water and tried again, only to sink into the water. This went on for sometime. After a while, the second monk turned to the first and said, ‘Do you think we should tell him where the stepping-stones are?’"
With a smile my friend asked, "It’s a lovely story. But what’s your point?" I replied, "There is no short-cut route to success in self-employment. If you learn the process behind a successful entrepreneurship, you will succeed no matter what your occupation is. If Rani learns every rivet of the job of a secretary, in future, she can be on her own. If she tries something without understanding the process, she will be in trouble. " Rani was happy to hear these words. "I will learn everything about my job and try to achieve perfection. I believe it will help me to be on my own."
After a year, her family received money due to her father from his employer. As the financial position improved considerably, her mother decided that it was time for Rani to get married. Elango, Rani’s husband, did not want her to go for a job. Perhaps, life fulfilled Rani’s aspiration through Elango. When she complained about sitting idle at home, he bought her a computer and games software. But, what Rani wanted was work and not wasteful pleasure. One day, when she was browsing the Internet, she came across a website that had some information about Virtual Secretary. She immediately set to collect every bit of information about this new profession. It was just a matter of a few days for her to acquire the complete knowledge. She realised that she had all the skills required of a Virtual Secretary.
Her ex-employer had excellent overseas contacts. He introduced her to some of them. She too marketed her service actively. Soon she got offers from a few website owners to work as a Virtual Secretary. They gave her guidelines, templates for customer support, standards, flow charts and other documents to operate from a remote place through email. And, her dream became a reality.
How does Rani work? She receives copies of all emails sent by the customers. She replies them promptly. If and only if she is unable to solve a problem, she escalates it to her clients. She takes care of many other repetitive online tasks also. Every month she sends activity reports to her clients. She has four clients. As she has regular income, the couple has bought a flat with the help of a bank. Rani earns more than Rs.10,000 a month at the ripe age of 19.
Mathemagic --Mind Power and self-improvement
Sudha asked me, "There are hundreds of self-employment projects. Which one shall I choose?" I told her, "In Alice in Wonderland, Alice asks the cat, ‘Which way I ought to walk from here?’ The cat asks, ‘Where do you want to go?’ Alice replies, ‘I don’t care where.’ The cat says, ‘Then it does not matter which way you walk.’ That’s my reply to your question. Unless you know what your goal is and what your skills are, you can start any business. Your success will be decided by your luck." Sudha is a mother of two young children. She is in her mid-thirties. Ten years ago she was a practising lawyer in a metro high court. After her marriage, she gave up her profession.
After a few minutes of silence, Sudha said, "I tried to understand my skills, attitudes and aspiration. But I did not succeed. The more I think the more I become confused. I want to make some money and use it for the education of my children." I said, "You can develop systems that will accelerate the learning process of children." Sudha asked me, "How will it help me make money?" I replied, "When you develop a system for your children, you will try your best to make it as perfect as possible. That system can be taught to others for fees and you can make money."
"It sounds great. I want to teach mathematics, English, Science, Hindi, French and Computer to my children." Sudha said in an excited voice. "If you take up just one subject and spend all your energy and resources on it, you will definitely come up with something marketable," I told her. "Okay, I will take up mathematics," Sudha said.
"Students use computers and calculators so much that their ability to do mental mathematics is diminishing. Parents happily pay in thousands to institutions that teach mathematics systematically using unconventional methods such as abacus. Can you help children learn mathematics easily and quickly? If you do that you will make money," I said. "Can you give me an example?" Sudha asked me.
I will give you a few examples. You can make a kid an expert in 9 times-table in less than a minute by making him use his fingers. Though it is several hundreds years old, not many people are aware of such systems. Hold your hands in front of you with your fingers spread out. For 9X2 bend your second finger down. For 9X3, it would be the third finger and so on. For 9X2: You have 1 finger before the bent finger and 8 after the bent finger. Thus the answer must be 18. This technique works for the 9 times tables up to 10," I said to Sudha. She tried the method and exclaimed, "Wonderful! Please tell me more!"
"Most of us know how to know the number of days in any month by using our fists. You must collect all these easy to do methods and create a system professionally. But, they are physical methods. There are many mental methods that are more powerful than physical methods. You can teach times tables, multiplication, division, trigonometry and what-not using mental images, colors, stories and creativity. Numbers are abstract. You can remember them easily if you make them memorable. For example, two rhymes with shoe, three with tree, four with door and eight with kite. If you want your kid to remember that 4x8=32, tell him this funny story and ask him to visualize it: You make a kite out of a door and fly it. Because there is no door, a tree comes in and steals your shoes. Kite will remind door. Door will remind tree. Tree will remind shoe. If you see this silly mental picture and review it a few times, you will never forget it. It takes several minutes to describe it. But it takes only a fraction of a second for our mind to create a mental picture and retain it forever." I explained.
"I’m sure these systems will be useful to all kids." Sudha said. "I will give you another example. Six rhymes with stick and one goes with pen. To remember 3x6=18, use this story: You beat a tree with sticks because the tree poked a pen into your kite and tore it. When you tell this story to your kid, you teach him 3x6 and also 6x3. One story teaches two tables. There are several such methods. Create a system for mental mathematics using them and you will make money," I told her.
After a week, I received an email from Sudha. ‘Last week I discussed your mental mathematics idea with a rich friend. She was so impressed by the idea that she had offered a proposal to form a partnership firm. I immediately accepted it. I will do the work. She will take care of administration and money. We plan to launch our coaching centre in a few months from now. I will be paid Rs.7000 a month and 50% share in net profit. Thank you.’
After a few minutes of silence, Sudha said, "I tried to understand my skills, attitudes and aspiration. But I did not succeed. The more I think the more I become confused. I want to make some money and use it for the education of my children." I said, "You can develop systems that will accelerate the learning process of children." Sudha asked me, "How will it help me make money?" I replied, "When you develop a system for your children, you will try your best to make it as perfect as possible. That system can be taught to others for fees and you can make money."
"It sounds great. I want to teach mathematics, English, Science, Hindi, French and Computer to my children." Sudha said in an excited voice. "If you take up just one subject and spend all your energy and resources on it, you will definitely come up with something marketable," I told her. "Okay, I will take up mathematics," Sudha said.
"Students use computers and calculators so much that their ability to do mental mathematics is diminishing. Parents happily pay in thousands to institutions that teach mathematics systematically using unconventional methods such as abacus. Can you help children learn mathematics easily and quickly? If you do that you will make money," I said. "Can you give me an example?" Sudha asked me.
I will give you a few examples. You can make a kid an expert in 9 times-table in less than a minute by making him use his fingers. Though it is several hundreds years old, not many people are aware of such systems. Hold your hands in front of you with your fingers spread out. For 9X2 bend your second finger down. For 9X3, it would be the third finger and so on. For 9X2: You have 1 finger before the bent finger and 8 after the bent finger. Thus the answer must be 18. This technique works for the 9 times tables up to 10," I said to Sudha. She tried the method and exclaimed, "Wonderful! Please tell me more!"
"Most of us know how to know the number of days in any month by using our fists. You must collect all these easy to do methods and create a system professionally. But, they are physical methods. There are many mental methods that are more powerful than physical methods. You can teach times tables, multiplication, division, trigonometry and what-not using mental images, colors, stories and creativity. Numbers are abstract. You can remember them easily if you make them memorable. For example, two rhymes with shoe, three with tree, four with door and eight with kite. If you want your kid to remember that 4x8=32, tell him this funny story and ask him to visualize it: You make a kite out of a door and fly it. Because there is no door, a tree comes in and steals your shoes. Kite will remind door. Door will remind tree. Tree will remind shoe. If you see this silly mental picture and review it a few times, you will never forget it. It takes several minutes to describe it. But it takes only a fraction of a second for our mind to create a mental picture and retain it forever." I explained.
"I’m sure these systems will be useful to all kids." Sudha said. "I will give you another example. Six rhymes with stick and one goes with pen. To remember 3x6=18, use this story: You beat a tree with sticks because the tree poked a pen into your kite and tore it. When you tell this story to your kid, you teach him 3x6 and also 6x3. One story teaches two tables. There are several such methods. Create a system for mental mathematics using them and you will make money," I told her.
After a week, I received an email from Sudha. ‘Last week I discussed your mental mathematics idea with a rich friend. She was so impressed by the idea that she had offered a proposal to form a partnership firm. I immediately accepted it. I will do the work. She will take care of administration and money. We plan to launch our coaching centre in a few months from now. I will be paid Rs.7000 a month and 50% share in net profit. Thank you.’
Friday, April 27, 2007
The Master Move--Sports and chess
Raman asked me, "I know when someone seeks your guidance you suggest to projects related to computer and internet. I am neither computer literate nor internet savvy. I am not interested in learning these new technologies. But, I want to generate some additional income. Do you think I can have any luck?" I replied, "Computer and internet are recently developed technologies. Men have been making money long before. Do you know that 97% of world population earns money from non-computer activities?"
A sudden smile popped up on Raman’s lips. Raman is an employee in a private company. He earns Rs.3,500 a month. "What are the things you are interested in? Do you think you have any special skills or talent?" I asked him. "I have no such money- making skills. I am a big zero." ," Raman saidsaid he replied. "I know you are a good chess player. Don’t you consider it as a special skill? How many people can really play chess well like you?" I asked him. "I have been playing chess for the past 25 years. But, I don’t have enough knowledge or skill to win national and international tournaments and collect the prize money," Raman replied.
"Winning prize money is a nice project! However, I was thinking about something else. Most parents want to empower their children with as many skills as possible. They are ready to pay for it. I know there is a demand for services such as chess coaching and teaching arts. You know Shanthi personally. She teaches pet potsoft toy making and Tanjore painting to kids and earns Rs.2,500 a month. She works only for 2 hours a day," I explained to Raman.
After some thought, Raman said, "My wife, Sneha, is also a good chess player. I think she and I can start teaching chess to school children." I told him, "We take to some hobbies because we love them. We give our heart and soul to them. Many of us are, in fact, more sincere to our hobbies than to our work. We must learn the ways to convert such hobbies into money- making activities."
Raman began to teach chess to school children in the evenings and week ends. Parents would drop their children at Raman’s house at fixed hours and pick them up after an hour or two. When Raman had other pressing work, Sneha would teach. Within two months, he was able to earn Rs.2,500 from teaching chess to ten kids. The couple realised how much time they had been wasting all those years.
When my daughter showed interest in mastering advanced techniques in the game, I requested Raman to teach chess to my daughter her at my house, as I felt that would be very convenient to me. I offered two times double his normal fees for less hours of work as he had to come all the way to my house on a bicycle. Raman immediately accepted the offer.
On realizing the convenience, some other parents also made similar offers. Raman wanted to accept all the offers but was worried about his regular students. At that moment, his wife stepped in to support him. She began to teach the existing students at her home so that existing income would not be lost. Raman started to go to his students’ houses and made Rs.2,500 a month. Income from his hobby rose to Rs.5,000 a month.
To attend tournaments, students must buy chess clocks. Cost of a clock is Rs.2,500. Students usually buy them from sports shops. Sneha met a shop keeper and became a reseller for chess clocks and other chess gear. Naturally all their students buy only from Raman and Sneha. She gets a commission of Rs. 500 per clock. She sells three clocks a month. Other items such as chess boards, books and software generate Rs.750 a month.
Sneha has plans to organize one month concentrated chess course for school children in the summer vacation. Raman is searching for a commercial space where he can start chess coaching centre on a big scale. Now the couple earns Rs. 7,250 a month. Income from a useful hobby has grown to more than 200% of Raman’s monthly salary. In six eight months, their income has crossed five digits. It is big money for any middle class family.
A sudden smile popped up on Raman’s lips. Raman is an employee in a private company. He earns Rs.3,500 a month. "What are the things you are interested in? Do you think you have any special skills or talent?" I asked him. "I have no such money- making skills. I am a big zero." ," Raman saidsaid he replied. "I know you are a good chess player. Don’t you consider it as a special skill? How many people can really play chess well like you?" I asked him. "I have been playing chess for the past 25 years. But, I don’t have enough knowledge or skill to win national and international tournaments and collect the prize money," Raman replied.
"Winning prize money is a nice project! However, I was thinking about something else. Most parents want to empower their children with as many skills as possible. They are ready to pay for it. I know there is a demand for services such as chess coaching and teaching arts. You know Shanthi personally. She teaches pet potsoft toy making and Tanjore painting to kids and earns Rs.2,500 a month. She works only for 2 hours a day," I explained to Raman.
After some thought, Raman said, "My wife, Sneha, is also a good chess player. I think she and I can start teaching chess to school children." I told him, "We take to some hobbies because we love them. We give our heart and soul to them. Many of us are, in fact, more sincere to our hobbies than to our work. We must learn the ways to convert such hobbies into money- making activities."
Raman began to teach chess to school children in the evenings and week ends. Parents would drop their children at Raman’s house at fixed hours and pick them up after an hour or two. When Raman had other pressing work, Sneha would teach. Within two months, he was able to earn Rs.2,500 from teaching chess to ten kids. The couple realised how much time they had been wasting all those years.
When my daughter showed interest in mastering advanced techniques in the game, I requested Raman to teach chess to my daughter her at my house, as I felt that would be very convenient to me. I offered two times double his normal fees for less hours of work as he had to come all the way to my house on a bicycle. Raman immediately accepted the offer.
On realizing the convenience, some other parents also made similar offers. Raman wanted to accept all the offers but was worried about his regular students. At that moment, his wife stepped in to support him. She began to teach the existing students at her home so that existing income would not be lost. Raman started to go to his students’ houses and made Rs.2,500 a month. Income from his hobby rose to Rs.5,000 a month.
To attend tournaments, students must buy chess clocks. Cost of a clock is Rs.2,500. Students usually buy them from sports shops. Sneha met a shop keeper and became a reseller for chess clocks and other chess gear. Naturally all their students buy only from Raman and Sneha. She gets a commission of Rs. 500 per clock. She sells three clocks a month. Other items such as chess boards, books and software generate Rs.750 a month.
Sneha has plans to organize one month concentrated chess course for school children in the summer vacation. Raman is searching for a commercial space where he can start chess coaching centre on a big scale. Now the couple earns Rs. 7,250 a month. Income from a useful hobby has grown to more than 200% of Raman’s monthly salary. In six eight months, their income has crossed five digits. It is big money for any middle class family.
A Housewife's Achievement--Pay per click online advertisments
Most of us to take everything in life for granted and live in complacency. We open our eyes to reality only when we face extreme difficulties. Even then, most of us succumb to the difficulties as we do not know what to do next. Only a few act decisively with knowledge, overcome difficulties and prosper in life. Radha is one among the few. She studied BA (English Literature) course fifteen years ago in a famous college in Chennai. She was groomed by her mother as a housewife. ‘Men work at office; women work at home’ was as natural to Radha as ‘Sun rises in the east and sets in the west.’
Radha got married to Ramanathan, a school teacher and had two children. After her children entered high school, she had a lot of time at her disposal and she wasted it happily. Her favorite hobbies were watching English movies, reading English novels and aimless web-browsing. She believed nothing could disturb her peaceful life until the day her husband was suspended from service.
Two years ago, thousands of employees working in different government departments and schools were shown the door for participating in an unlawful strike. Though many were allowed to join work within a month, Ramanathan was not permitted to resume his duties as he was an active member and an office bearer in the union that organized the strike. He became depressed and weak. He refused to go for any other job. Then, Radha realized how merciless life could be. The family did not have any savings. Who will give you loans when you don’t have a job or a regular income? She managed the first four months by selling off her jewels. What next?
"You are good at computer. You have excellent command over English. You can create original web content and sell it online," I suggested to Radha. "I don’t think I have the capacity to author books or create saleable content," Radha replied. "If you can not create saleable content, can you think of helping other online sellers create text advertisements that will help them sell their content?" I asked her. Radha did not reply as she did not understand what I was up to.
"I’ll explain. Generally good advertising agencies charge fees that are too high for small online merchants. Though there is a widespread talk about emerging multimedia technologies as the way to do online business, lack of common standards and bandwidth constraints have allowed the plain vanilla text to continue to rule the internet. Surfers have become smarter and no longer click on colorful ad banners and buttons," I told Radha. "I think people ignore text ads also. They don’t have time or desire to read ads on computer screen," Radha said. "You are right. That’s why I say it is an income opportunity! If you can write the essence of the benefits that the buyer will get from a product in a sentence or two, people will love to read it. Decades ago, Dale Carnegie wrote a book that was full of ideas the entire world had known for at least 5,000 years. He gave a title of less than ten words that fully explained the content of his big book and that met an important social aspiration. He sold millions of copies. Have you heard of that book?" I asked Radha. "How To Win Friends And Influence People," Radha replied. "Yes. You summarized the essence of your problem in a few sentences. Most people take an hour to do it. Give a serious thought to the idea of starting an online ad business," I told her.
Under normal circumstances she would have laughed at the idea. Now it was question of survival. The pressure for survival released great waves of hidden energy within her. She decided to give her mind, heart, body and soul to this project. She used all available resources to learn ad writing. Within a few days she gained thorough knowledge of it.
I was so impressed by her enthusiasm and sincerity that I requested one of my friends to offer her a small assignment as a test case. He owns a small software development company in Germany. His website content was in German. He was looking for someone who could write effective ad and promotional material for his software in English. She wrote like Dale Carnegie. My friend immediately gave her all the available work for a consideration of Rs.4,000 a month. It was the first reprieve from life.
Radha contacted hundreds, perhaps thousands, of American and British Websites. Her passion for work and excellence brought her a handful of new clients. Each of them pay her Rs. 2,000 (US$40) a month. Now she earns two times her husband’s salary. Her husband slowly came out of depression. Meanwhile, the government decided to take back all terminated employees and he got his job back. Nowadays, Radha does not watch movies or read novels. She doesn’t have time!
Radha got married to Ramanathan, a school teacher and had two children. After her children entered high school, she had a lot of time at her disposal and she wasted it happily. Her favorite hobbies were watching English movies, reading English novels and aimless web-browsing. She believed nothing could disturb her peaceful life until the day her husband was suspended from service.
Two years ago, thousands of employees working in different government departments and schools were shown the door for participating in an unlawful strike. Though many were allowed to join work within a month, Ramanathan was not permitted to resume his duties as he was an active member and an office bearer in the union that organized the strike. He became depressed and weak. He refused to go for any other job. Then, Radha realized how merciless life could be. The family did not have any savings. Who will give you loans when you don’t have a job or a regular income? She managed the first four months by selling off her jewels. What next?
"You are good at computer. You have excellent command over English. You can create original web content and sell it online," I suggested to Radha. "I don’t think I have the capacity to author books or create saleable content," Radha replied. "If you can not create saleable content, can you think of helping other online sellers create text advertisements that will help them sell their content?" I asked her. Radha did not reply as she did not understand what I was up to.
"I’ll explain. Generally good advertising agencies charge fees that are too high for small online merchants. Though there is a widespread talk about emerging multimedia technologies as the way to do online business, lack of common standards and bandwidth constraints have allowed the plain vanilla text to continue to rule the internet. Surfers have become smarter and no longer click on colorful ad banners and buttons," I told Radha. "I think people ignore text ads also. They don’t have time or desire to read ads on computer screen," Radha said. "You are right. That’s why I say it is an income opportunity! If you can write the essence of the benefits that the buyer will get from a product in a sentence or two, people will love to read it. Decades ago, Dale Carnegie wrote a book that was full of ideas the entire world had known for at least 5,000 years. He gave a title of less than ten words that fully explained the content of his big book and that met an important social aspiration. He sold millions of copies. Have you heard of that book?" I asked Radha. "How To Win Friends And Influence People," Radha replied. "Yes. You summarized the essence of your problem in a few sentences. Most people take an hour to do it. Give a serious thought to the idea of starting an online ad business," I told her.
Under normal circumstances she would have laughed at the idea. Now it was question of survival. The pressure for survival released great waves of hidden energy within her. She decided to give her mind, heart, body and soul to this project. She used all available resources to learn ad writing. Within a few days she gained thorough knowledge of it.
I was so impressed by her enthusiasm and sincerity that I requested one of my friends to offer her a small assignment as a test case. He owns a small software development company in Germany. His website content was in German. He was looking for someone who could write effective ad and promotional material for his software in English. She wrote like Dale Carnegie. My friend immediately gave her all the available work for a consideration of Rs.4,000 a month. It was the first reprieve from life.
Radha contacted hundreds, perhaps thousands, of American and British Websites. Her passion for work and excellence brought her a handful of new clients. Each of them pay her Rs. 2,000 (US$40) a month. Now she earns two times her husband’s salary. Her husband slowly came out of depression. Meanwhile, the government decided to take back all terminated employees and he got his job back. Nowadays, Radha does not watch movies or read novels. She doesn’t have time!
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