Tag Archives: make money

Making a Fortune With Food

When I was in high school in the 1980’s, a career in the food industry was not considered to be a practical choice for ambitious students. Back then, you only took Home Economics if you were struggling with those ‘prestigious’ subjects that would lead you to more profitable professions.

Today, it’s almost fashionable to declare that you want to make money with food. Thanks to cable TV food shows, the resurgence of fine dining, as well as notable recognition programmes such as the annual Jamaica Observer Food Awards, many persons are now proud to be earning with food.

However, while your co-workers may rave about the bread pudding that you sell on Fridays, it may not necessarily mean that you should venture into opening a dessert business. Earning part-time income from your hobby is one thing, but starting an enterprise requires careful deliberation. Continue reading Making a Fortune With Food

All That Glitters

If you are an aficionado of jewellery, there is nothing quite as enticing as seeing artfully crafted golden trinkets, inlaid with precious stones, in a shop window. As the saying goes, “A diamond is a girl’s best friend,” and many women would love to deepen this particular bond of friendship!

In the world of investing, it is also easy to become enthralled by the glitter of an investment that promises to transform your fortunes by making you very wealthy. As you struggle along trying to make ends meet, the thought of being able to live more abundantly can be very appealing indeed.

An unwitting window-shopper is often tempted to pay large sums to acquire a beautiful new piece of gold jewellery. An inexperienced investor, lured with thoughts of getting wealthy from a seemingly attractive investment option, can similarly be enticed into making inappropriate financial decisions.

In The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare opined, “All that glitters is not gold.” This quote cautions you not to be swayed by external features when determining the worth of a person or an item. The same holds true for many investments, as you need to look beyond the surface to verify their real value. Continue reading All That Glitters

More Money: Use What You Have

Patrick owned a small pharmacy that had been struggling in recent years. Rising overheads, declining sales and a burdensome debt situation were some of the factors that were crippling the cash flow and profitability of the business. Patrick was in a quandary – there wasn’t enough capital to either cease or continue operations.

To pay off long-standing bills and restock his store, Patrick tried to obtain additional financing, but his poor credit rating prevented him from getting another loan. In desperation, he decided that the only option to generate extra cash was to have a massive sale on most of the items that had been sitting in his establishment for a long time.

With little concern about the original cost of his ‘dead’ stock, Patrick slashed prices on all non-performing goods to J$1,000 and less. Then he put up sale signs and displayed some of the articles on a table outside the store. To his surprise, during the first week he made over J$40,000; and the increased traffic also boosted his sales of regularly-priced items in the store. Continue reading More Money: Use What You Have

More Money: Eat, Drink, Earn

It would definitely be an understatement to say that Jamaican people love to eat. It is a treasured part of our culture to celebrate food; we enjoy not just partaking of a good meal, but preparing it as well. There are tremendous opportunities for persons to create profit from satisfying our never-ending demand for food.

The Jamaica Observer newspaper showcases many established and nascent businesses in our local food industry at its Annual Food Awards [last held May 31, 2012]. All of the participants have devoted considerable time, money and effort to create products that bring pleasure to people who love to eat and drink Jamaican fare.

Although it may take a relatively large investment to make it big in the food business, there is plenty of room for ordinary persons to get involved as well. As we continue to look at different ways to make extra money in these challenging economic times, let’s look at some practical possibilities to generate income in your spare time with food. Continue reading More Money: Eat, Drink, Earn

The Art and Science of Making Money

Despite the developments in technology and differences in trends that emerge over time, there is one financial certainty that will probably remain constant. Most persons – regardless of age, gender, education, nationality, status or creed – will express the desire to have more money.

The ability to increase income levels far in excess of spending needs is desired by many, but discovered by very few. Could it be that some people are blessed with an inherent flair for making money that escapes the less talented majority? Or is there a scientific approach to money multiplication which can only be exploited after years of dedicated study?

The 2012 Money Manifesto, our 12-step guide to creating financial success, provides a recipe for increasing your income and putting your money to work for you. It is virtually impossible to budget successfully, save towards a nest egg, avoid debilitating debt, and plan for future goals, without having the means to boost your earning power. Continue reading The Art and Science of Making Money

Revenues from Referrals

Recently we looked at one of the secrets of making money – applying the law of attraction to manifest wealth. The law of attraction states that whatever you think about and focus on will determine your results.

So if you concentrate on earning money instead of worrying about your bills and debts, then you will be more likely to succeed in achieving the money you desire.

I decided to take my own advice by carrying out all the recommended steps to create abundance. One ‘pretend-I-have-money’ technique I used is visualizing cheques coming to me in the mail. In less than a week, I received a completely unexpected cheque rewarding me for a business referral I had made over a year and a half ago.

Yes, I know I probably would have received this money even if I hadn’t visualized it, but it was definitely a sign that the law of attraction was in effect!

After getting this sizeable referral payment, I was re-energized to seek other customers for this overseas-based training company. If I could earn all that money for simply enlightening my associates about the benefits of their business, then I would be happy to be a walking advertisement for them.

This experience was a perfect example of the power of referral marketing for increasing business revenues. A satisfied customer, armed with a strong motivation to tell others about your business, is a marketing medium that will keep providing customers long after the print ad has faded and the radio commercial is forgotten.

Word-of-mouth marketing can be especially beneficial to start-up operations that might not have the funds to spend on traditional forms of advertising.

Marketing coach, John Jantsch writes about ‘Referral Madness’ in the June 2008 issue of Entrepreneur magazine, “Referrals are probably the ultimate measure of success for your marketing efforts.” Jantsch explains that people refer for logical reasons because they know that your company offers good products and deals, and also for emotional reasons because they like doing business with you.

Unfortunately, too many entrepreneurs fail to take advantage of the potential profit that enthusiastic customers can bring.

How can you kick-start this referral process to enhance your business revenues?

Jantsch reveals that it’s important to develop your customers’ trust in your company and your products, by ensuring that you deliver what you promise all the time. “You must intentionally build processes that allow you to deliver such a wonderful experience that your customers have little choice but to rave about your company and its services.”

Let’s look at some steps recommended by Jantsch to convert prospects into customers who can become referral agents for your business:

1. Know: People need to get familiar with your operation. Identify your ideal target market and use direct advertising, networking opportunities, newspaper articles, and PR events to get their attention. If they don’t know that you exist, they can’t recommend you!

2. Like: Ensure that you create a great first impression. ‘Fake it until you make it’ so that your prospective customers see an image of where you want your company to be, not where you are today. Spend a little extra to make your marketing materials and office area really stand out.

3. Try: Encourage new customers to experience your service. You may have to offer free products or services, use supermarket sampling opportunities, or provide some kind of worthwhile reward to entice them to give you a try.

4. Buy: Make it simple and effortless for your customers to buy from you. Offer payment options, delivery services, fast turn-around time, and superior after-sales service to remove any hesitations they may have in purchasing from you.

5. Repeat: Keep them coming to you over and over again. Use customer appreciation events, frequent buyer rewards, complimentary product lines and cross-selling offers to ensure that they buy repeatedly. Remember, consistent clients make great referrals.

Once you have hooked your customers to your products and services, many of them will naturally tell their friends and family about you. However, to maximize your referral business, it’s best to establish a formal programme that will provide customers with tangible rewards.

Customers will be more motivated to spread the word if they will receive a direct benefit.

Here are a few ideas that you can utilize in your referral programme:
– Give free or discounted services for a specific number of new customers brought in;
– Provide monetary commissions based on new sales brought in;
– Offer free gifts from a joint venture partner which may also want to advertise its services (e.g. travel destinations, book vouchers);
– Create a free information guide to be given out in exchange for new leads such as email addresses;
– Ask your customers how they would like to be rewarded if they help to increase your business.

Remember, your own customers can potentially be your most productive marketing and sales team. Encourage referrals and watch your business revenue grow!