"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.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
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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