There are times in life when you will feel like no progress is being made. That can be a bit frustrating especially if you are working hard and are eagerly anticipating the movement of the needle.  In times like that, it is best to keep going.  Being busy will keep you distracted and keep you productive.  Eventually one of these times you will look up and things will be as you had hoped.  All the while you have just been busy having fun and sticking with it.

Remember, nothing gets accomplished without work.

Anything worth having is worth working for.

Hang in there!

Here is an easy way to make money.  In fact, several big businesses have already caught on to this long ago.  Now it’s your turn.  The idea is offshore arbitrage.

What do I mean by offshore arbitrage?  I mean simply, buy resources offshore and sell them here in the US for more than they cost.  This is very straightforward and seems a bit too obvious.  If this is the case, then why aren’t more people doing this?

Go to any website where people are looking for work and see what they are willing to pay.  The work I’m talking about can really be anything, but some ideas are copywriting, web design, web development, SEO, link building, virtual assistant, ghost writing, etc.  The next step is to see what that same type of activity can be purchased for from an offshore resource.

Where do you find an offshore resource?  Look into Elance, oDesk, TextBrokers, and sites like these to find options.  Go onto those sites, post your job, and then watch as multiple offers come streaming in for the work.

Essentially you need to think of yourself as a talent broker.  You find the work that needs done, then you offshore it to a capable team for less money than you are charging.  You pocket the difference and enjoy!

Here is an example.  Find someone who is willing to pay for a new website or a website redesign.  Let’s say they are willing to pay $10,000 to complete the job.  You win the contract.  You then proceed to subcontract the work for $2,000 using resources at Elance.  Now you are sitting pretty with a little extra money in the bank.

As with several of these money making ideas, you have to supply a bit of the brain power.  This is the idea, you add your own twist and expertise to the mix and run with it.

Here’s an idea for those of you who don’t like sitting behind a computer all day.  I did this as a kid, you may have too, and it isn’t that hard.  In fact, it’s quite a bit of fun.  Mow yards.

Here is what I’m suggesting.  I know this works because I’ve tried it and my phone won’t stop ringing. Buy yourcitymowing.com domain names and get ready to roll.  Of course, you are going to need mowing equipment, but my guess is you already have it. 

So what did I do?  I bought all kinds of mycitymowing.com domains, got them to rank because that’s what I do, and now my phone rings constantly.  I’m serious with the phone ringing bit.  It literally rings constantly.  Almost to the point of annoyance because I am trying to run a real business and this mowing thing was an idea I put into place to help out some of my friends.

Here’s the plan:

1. Buy yourcitymowing.com, or yourcitylawn.com, or yourcitylawncare.com, yourcitylawnservice.com or something like that.  You get the idea.
2. Build out a website.  I suggest a simple WordPress template with a keyword-rich homepage.  Add a nice picture and a phone number and you are off to the races.  Note: Get yourself a Google Voice number if you want to screen your calls.  They also allow for some nice vanity numbers like 222-333-MOW1 or something like that.
3. Implement basic SEO and web marketing tactics.  Check out the links on the previous sentence if you need help.  You can also call my agency, but that is going to be a bit pricey and doesn’t warrant the expense for a mowing business.

Bonus #1: Don’t forget to set up your business on Google Places.

Bonus #2: If you live in a large metropolitan area, buy the names of the suburban cities you want to service as well.  In most instances, when people search local, they will utilize their suburb anyway.  I know that is my typical search behavior and it’s likely yours too.

Bonus #3: Remember that brand is not as important as the keyword targets in this particular instance. Go for the keyword-rich domain names and you will be better off. You can always run your brand in the footer or anywhere else in the website copy.

Here’s a few domains I bought.  You are welcome to check them out.  There’s nothing pretty or sexy about the websites, but they work.  Also keep in mind that most people don’t think of these things.  That means the domains are available and nobody is competing with you on the search engines.  You can easily be the first company there.

My Mowing Domains (This is only a few of them. Yes, I live in Kansas City.):

• OverlandParkMowing.com
• OlatheMowing.com
• TopekaMowing.com
• LawrenceMowing.com
• LenexaMowing.com
• LeawoodMowing.com
• SuburbanLawnService.com (The brand. And it’s keyword rich in it’s own right.)

Bonus #4: Mowing is one of several services you can easily offer and market online.  You should also consider landscaping, snow removal, sprinkler systems, tree trimming, mulch, topsoil, etc.

How profitable could this be for you?  You will typically add yards in proportion to your metro/suburb size.  Keep in mind that yards go anywhere from $20 on up and typically get mowed every 5 – 7 days.  This happens for about 30 weeks/year in middle America.  You can mow year-round in the warmer areas like Phoenix and southern California.  These key statistics should help you estimate the opportunity for your own area.

So five yards roughly estimates to $100 of billings per week on the low end of the scale.  I would shoot for better neighborhoods and bigger yards.  This will generate a better return.  Ten yards at $30/mowing gives you roughly $300/week in billings.  Five to ten yards should be child’s play.  I get multiple calls per day and you should too.  You should be able to add 5 – 10 new yards per week.  It doesn’t take long at that pace before you will need some help and you will have a serious business on your hands.

If you really want to be a mowing tycoon, then you target multiple cities at once.  Add multiple lawn service offerings.  Get yourself a crew (cuts down your profitability, but allows for scalability).  You take the calls and handle the logistics.  Let the crew(s) mow.

If you want to take it a step further, you can hang flyers, buy yard signs for busy corners, run adds in the paper, do direct mail, etc.

Bonus #5: The peak season for creating new business is early in the spring.  This is when people start looking for lawn service because it is starting to warm up and they don’t feel like coming out of hibernation themselves.  Strike while the iron is hot.  Answer the phone when it rings.  Return calls promptly if you miss them.

Final Bonus: Reinvigorate your marketing efforts during the dog days of July and August.  Those people who thought they were going to handle their own mowing are now more likely to call and let someone else handle it.  The heat rids them of their desire to mow.

No, I don’t literally mean sell babies.  Although, some people do make money at that, but it’s not exactly legal.  Well, there is sperm donation and egg donation.  I’m reminded of that today because a high school classmate of mine wrote a new book (Sex Cells) and posted it out on Facebook.  Nice work Rene!

What I’m talking about is that babies sell.  Anything baby”ish” sells.  People and companies make a fortune selling to new moms, dads, grandparents, aunts, and uncles.  You can do the same.  Do a little bit of research and you will see that the market is booming.  These crazy buyers are willing to pay top dollar for stuff they will literally throw away in a matter of months.  Ask me how I know.

Anyway, get out there and find a product for the baby market and get selling.  It will work.  Have some faith.

Note: Everything I ever write about babies does very well online.  In fact, I have an insurance site that I posted pictures of “cute babies” a long time ago.  Those are still some of my best traffic driving terms.

The title of this post came from the movie Dumb and Dumber and I think it’s appropriate for what I’m about to say. People love pills. Why do they love pills? I think it’s because they are lazy and impatient. Again, this harkens back to the title of this blog. Most people miss opportunity because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

So what does that have to do with pills? And what in the hell does it have to do with this blog?

Lazy people look for convenient solutions. Convenient solutions many times show up in pill form. Several cases in point follow.

• Weight loss pills
• Increased intelligence
• Increased concentration
• Fertility pills
• The ever popular erection pills
• Desirability
• Headaches
• Energy
• Protein
• Vitamins
• Depression
• Pre-natal
• Heartburn

So what does this mean for you?  Find a problem that people have and develop a pill for it.

The trouble:  FDA approval

The solution:  Not sure on that one, but I know you can get supplements, energy pills, vitamins, etc. that have never been approved by the FDA.

If you don’t want to create a pill, then how about using the concept of simplicity and convenience for your product or service.  You will do great by focusing on these two items alone.

I’ve been away from this personal project of mine for a while now and I need to get back to what I had started here. I have been in the process of starting a new marketing agency called Go Local. We are bringing a lot of ideas to life and ultimately making money off of them. Even though that is the case, I continue to generate new ideas and I still cannot get to them all. That’s good news for this blog, because I will continue to share those ideas here.

I still have a list of 60+ items to post here and new ideas are generated every day. It’s a blessing and a curse. Look for a new post yet tonight. I will try to be a bit more real-time with posts in the future. New ideas will be uploaded from my phone as they are generated. That means they will be a bit more raw, but they will be much more timely.

Jason

Most of you know how popular eCommerce is today. It should come as no surprise to you that I am recommending you get onboard and reroute some of this money to your own bank account. Here is a quick video I put together to help you get that done.

And if that does not convince you enough, here is a good infographic thanks to the kind folks at Mashable. See what you think. Click the image to view the full size version.

I realize I have been quiet this week. It’s not that I’ve forgotten you, its that I had a new baby boy! I will get back to writing and posting videos soon. I may even have something posted later today.

Lead generation is a hot area online.  There are several companies who are making a mint simply generating and selling leads.  There is Service Magic in the home services space, Surehits in insurance, and T3 Leads in the payday loan space.  Lead values vary in price, but can range anywhere from pennies on the dollar to hudreds of dollars each.

Here is a video I put together to give you an overview of lead generation and to pique your interest in the opportunity.  Let me entice you a bit more by saying that if you get this in place and get it right you should be able to live any kind of lifestyle you choose.

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Do you have a notebook?  How about a piece of scrap paper?  Do you have a phone, iPod, iPhone, or device with note taking capability?  Do you have a post-it note?

You need somewhere you can write down notes.

I write pages and pages of notes on a 5 inch by 8 inch pad.  That’s the only way I can get all this stuff down and not forget it.

What do you do to make sure you are capturing all of your important thoughts?

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