A Business Project Example
By Steve Gillman
Before I present the following business project example, I
want to define "business project." I'm using it for
lack of a better term to describe short-term projects that have
a beginning and and end and make you a profit. They are not jobs
because you work for yourself, they are not exactly investments
because you work as much as your money does, and they are not
exactly businesses because they are temporary; they come to an
end. Now, an example...
When I lived in a small town in northern Michigan a clock
factory which had been there for many years closed down. They
had been making decorative wooden clocks for the gift market.
Years after they closed there were still hundreds of wooden clocks
and related items in their warehouse. The owner, it was rumored,
would love to get rid of them cheap. A classic example of a business
project of the sort I'm referring to, would be to buy these clocks
at 10-cents on the dollar and sell them in batches to retail
stores.
In the meantime though, the internet had developed, and it
might have worked even better to buy them and sell them online.
As I was moving out of town, in fact, a man I knew was hoping
to do just that. Now, he could just buy them all and started
selling them, which might have worked. He also had another idea,
which took much of the risk away.
His lower-investment way was to sell everything for the owner
for a percentage of sales. As I recall, his intention was to
take 25% for himself. I'm sure the owner of the clocks would
be happy to have someone doing all the work, and he might even
make more in this way than trying to wholesale the them all.
The whole process could be over in a month and the man who arranged
it might have made several thousand dollars for himself.
More Business Project Examples
Here are a few more examples of short-term projects that involve
a few thousand dollars or less, can make a few hundred to a few
thousand dollars in profits for you, and are usually done in
a matter of weeks.
Garage sale - You can organize and pull off a garage sale
in less than a week. Sell your own things, of course, but you
can also buy things cheap from flea markets and other rummage
sales, and add them to your sale. Remember that not everything
will sell, and this tied-up capital will either eat into your
profits or require another sale. Because of that, when buying
things to sell, try to pay no more than 25% of what you expect
to sell them for, and aim for things that normally move fast.
Flea market - You can use a flea market just like a rummage
sale, but without advertising, and with a virtual guarantee of
customer traffic (check it out beforehand to be sure its busy).
You can also use this venue as a place to sell off closeouts
you find. At the flea market in Tucson, Arizona (we lived there
for two years), we saw a truck pull in, pay the $12 for a space,
and then sell perhaps a thousand sweaters for a dollar each.
I assume they just bought the lot for fifty cents each.
Christmas tree lot - You start in late November, and sell
your last tree by the last week of December. It is not uncommon
for a small lot to make thousands of dollars in profits in four
to six weeks.
Buying and selling equipment - This one requires some knowledge
of an industry and the value of equipment in that industry. I
knew a bakery owner who bought display cases at auction and resold
them for a profit. If you knew the value of drywalling stilts,
carpet cleaning machines, or any other specialized equipment
you might turn a quick profit.
Buy and sell anything - When I was young I had a friend who
bought a boat for $2,000 and sold it for $3,500. He offered to
let me put up half the money for half the profit, but I (sadly)
refused. The point here is that he knew what the boat was worth.
Knowledge of values opens up all sorts of opportunities.
How Much Can You Make?
There is no answer for this other than to state the obvious:
It depends on the nature and size of the deal you find.
Ways to Make More | Related Opportunities
| Tips
If you have no money to use for a business project, you can
use credit cards or get a friend to invest with you for a share
of the profits.
Qualifications / Requirements
A willingness to take a risk is required.
First Steps
Look for an opportunity in nay of the areas suggested above
and in the resources below. Choose one that seems relatively
safe for your first try, and one that you can afford (keeping
in mind that even with the best plans you can lose money).
Resources
http://www.howtodothings.com/business/how-to-buy-closeout-lots
- Information on buying and selling closeouts.
How To Buy And Sell Cars For Profit - Buying
and selling a car is a great business project example.
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