Great Ways To Make A Lot Of Money

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PREPARING CURRICULUM VITAE

This rather ominous-sounding title may at first seem a little off-putting, and I
wouldn't blame anyone tempted to skip this section in favour of more familiar
sounding business ventures. But think again, for here we have an excellent
opportunity to make up to œ25 each time a conversation take place with the
potential customer, and the details of that conversation are put to paper.

A curriculum vitae is nothing more than the biographical details, both personal and
career related, of persons wishing to change jobs or seek advancement, training,
and virtually any other change within their working lives, which necessitates them
giving interviewers, employers, and college heads, sufficient details to make a full
and accurate assessment of the candidate.

At one time the humble application form was the order of the day requiring one to
neatly present personal data in little boxes on the employer's, or whoever's
individual forms.

Forms presented several problems, not the least being that their designer, who like
the rest of us are not infallible, often asked ambiguous questions, or else allowed
no space on the form for the inclusion of information which those labouring over it
considered of vital importance. In the latter case the astute applicant would add a
typed or hand-written addendum to the form before submission.

On too many occasions though, even the experienced applicant could be left with
that niggling feeling of, albeit inadvertently, answering a question 'not quite
adequately' or wishing that extra space had been available to include more detailed
information.

Here the curriculum vitae comes to the rescue, offering the candidate the facility to
include in the application, all of those details which he and the intended recipient
feel necessary for a fair assessment to be made. It contains therefore all of the
information required on a standard application form and those additional points
peculiar to the individual applicant. But how does the inexperienced applicant or
those with insufficient time or inadequate facilities, go about the task of preparing
this rather ostentatiously named document in a neat, orderly and professional
manner? The answer is - they don't! They get someone more experienced to
prepare the document on their behalf!

This service, much needed in today's competitive job and education markets, has
led t the emergence of many specialist 'C V' enterprises. Fees range from œ10 to
œ25 and more, and all for what essentially amounts to handing over a few copies
of a short document.

Some offer the document in a 'designer' folder, often with the customer's name
gold-leafed on the front. 'Very nice' you might think and yes it is - also very
expensive, and to my mind unnecessary. The documents will not be forwarded to
the employer in their glamorous cases, and surely, the more costs are kept to a
minimum, whilst still providing a reliable and accurate service, the more competitive
will be the price asked of the customer and the more customers will thereby be
attracted.

The person who decides to enter this lucrative business must of necessity have
two prime qualifications: an ability to put his or her customers at ease as personal
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unique ways to convey the everyday greeting in a truly unforgettable way, and one
that will ensure the messages will not go unnoticed in the mass of traditional cards
the lucky recipient will be inundated with.

A similar idea exists in the business of providing gimmicky or suitably original
goods and services, which tough not necessarily linked to the conveyance of the
greetings message, still provide something just that little bit different with which to
celebrate the many festivities and special days throughout the year.

Mother's Day sees a wealth of mugs and plates, suitably inscribed to make the
heart of any mother melt when confronted with words she never hears via the lips
of her offspring. Mugs and plates though, are a much overdone medium. Anyone
who can think of something different, and market the idea on a national or local
basis, could well find his or her profits for this one celebration sufficient to finance
life's little luxuries for the coming year.

I heard of one man who, gaining access to a word processor which enables the
operator to insert words into set spaces in a standard text, used this facility to
create Christmas Story books incorporating the names of his customers' children,
their brothers and sisters, pets, school friends and hobbies, thereby offering a
highly personal and supremely individual gift idea. I doubt it you'll find anything
remotely as captivating for the child in your life in any High Street store. Brilliant
idea, and since I see his advertisement every year as Christmas approaches, I must
assume it's highly profitable one to boot.

This type of business proposition is one with which the originator could well
corner the market, and if sufficiently different and attractive it may well be one that
should be marketed nationally.

Think of all of the other festivities and occasions you could cater for. Christmas of
course is perhaps the most profitable time to channel your efforts towards, but
don't forget the vast potential of birthdays, Easter, New Year, Father's Day,
Valentine's Day - a great opportunity for the slushier and even gimmicky
propositions you might have in mind.

Different ways of saying 'Good Luck' on passing an examination or a driving test,
a more personal means of conveying a 'Thank You' than is offered via the cards
and flowers, are but a few of the other messages your service could cater for. And
can you think of something to take over from those pink or blue pot creations and
their everlasting flowers, with which to mark the importance of the birth of a new
baby? You can? Great!

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details are elicited as fully and accurately as is possible, and, access to a good
typewriter or if possible one of the most ingenious and invaluable inventions of our
time, a word processor.

The document must be presented in typewritten form, but whereas even the most
accurate of typists, working with the best of typewriters, will inevitably be tempted
to cover up one or two odd mistakes with that old favourite 'The Corrector Fluid', a
word processor allows all errors and amendments to be made before the document
ever appears in print. The end result is professional, and in the vast majority of
cases, completely free of typing and spelling errors.

RESEARCHING FAMILY TREES

Recent years have seen the emergence of a great interest in our heritage. More and
more people are interested in discovering their roots although not necessarily, as
some mockingly suggest, to discover possible family fortunes, or hidden links with
royal house, thereby allowing them to claim the titles they always felt rightly to be
theirs. As memories fade or the older of our relatives die, essential information is
often lost for ever. Or is it?

In Government records, Parish registers, graveyards, and in many other places
there are segments of information which when located, and pieced together, offer
an extremely accurate and interesting profile of one's family history.

Here a problem presents itself which precludes many a man or woman from
researching his or her family history - time in many of our lives is a valuable
commodity, and other demands allow insufficient time to undertake the painstaking
research which might of necessity take us to the far ends of the country, even the
world.

For a specialist researcher, several histories may be researched during one trip to
the appropriate archives or whatever, and since he or she will be paid for hours
worked, there will be little worry over long hours researching, with not bean to
show for it. Because costs can rise alarmingly due to these fruitless hours
searching for marriages or births that have been inaccurately recorded by those
before us, it is advisable to keep the customer informed of the progress made on
his behalf, and inform him or her that further research is likely to be
time-consuming and subsequently expensive. He or she may then by content to
accept what you already have discovered. In the vast majority of cases it is
relatively quick and easy to accurately present the details of the previous couple of
centuries since official records were made mandatory. For many people, the
information you already have will prove adequate.

The end product should be presented attractively and in an easy to understand
way, perhaps with a family tree format, to guide the customer through the maze of
dozens of forebears who often bore common ancestral names through several
generations.

YOU NAME IT

Recently, I came by a business which would not have surprised me to discover
had been started by a consumer competitions addict, but I sadly have no evidence
to support this deduction.

The business concerned was the invention of names for all manner of businesses.
Slogan creating skills were much in evidence in the shape of a neat play on words,
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or use of those double-meaning words and phrases which play such a big part in
the life of the ardent competitor.

The price for creating these names was something in the region of œ14,000 a time.
Now I'm not suggesting you set out immediately to compete nationally with the
firm concerned, but just think what opportunities await you at a local level.

There are openings too for anyone who can provide slogans for delivery vans and
business premises, perhaps even for the firm's advertising literature. My local
florist and greengrocer bears the name 'Bloom n' Fruit'; another is 'Top of the
Crops'. The latter was my suggestion in a competition to name the shop, but
sadly someone beat me to the post with an identical suggestion. This is a
business idea currently in its infancy and well worth exploiting by someone with a
good feel for words.

INVENT-A-GAME

The creator of 'Monopoly' can surely not have suspected what a massive cult
following his brainchild would attract. Professor Rubik too, must have been ore
than a little pleased with the enthusiasm that greeted his famous cube and Trivial
Pursuits, it is sail, created almost instant wealth for its creators.

Look at the above examples of extremely popular games and pastimes and it
should strike you that they all have one thing in common - each and every one
possesses that most unique of qualities, in the shape of uniqueness itself!

Look into any toys, hobbies or pastimes shop and you'll find masses of games
much akin to the admittedly, ever-popular, Snakes and Ladders and Ludo. But
once you've played one you've played them all, and it's unlikely that any new
game of a similar nature will attract more than a passing interest, and this will reflect
itself in the relatively modest rewards the creator is likely to achieve. Create
something different as did the brains behind Trivial Pursuit, and that maddeningly
frustrating cube, and you could be onto one of the biggest money-spinners ever
to force its welcome advances onto a population with much more leisure time at its
disposal than ever before.

CHERISHED CAR NUMBERS

This is the re-name of what once were called 'private plates', and the term usually
refers to all of those vehicle registration number that either have no year of
registration letter, or else forms a combination of letters and numbers, which when
read, convey some message, or resembles to a great or lesser extent, some familiar
word or name. Sometimes though, the letter indicating the year of registration can
form an essential part to the message or name suggested. For example, a car I see
regularly bears the registration 'JEN 1F' - clearly the property of someone named
'Jennifer'.

My dentist has two private plates, each bearing a group of letters highly
appropriate to his profession, namely: 'JAB' and 'GUM'. The comedian Jimmy
Tarbuck is the owner of 'COM 1C' and magician Paul Daniels flits around town
flaunting his own 'MAG 1C'.

Recent auctions of numbers by the Government, where extremely high prices were
paid for sometimes not too obvious combinations, must be enough to convince
you of the massive profits that are made every day by leading dealers in the field.
Even one sale can yield several thousands of pounds, and the procedure for
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sale and promotion spaces at once-off exhibition. What these businesses need
above all else are lists - lists of potential customers who might otherwise remain
unaware of their existence.

Having acquired this list of potential customers they themselves contact the firms
and individuals concerned, in contrast to normal business procedures where it is
usually the customer who arranges to approach the seller or service industry of his
choice.


For firms requiring these contacts, the task of compiling lists for themselves would
no doubt be so arduous and time-consuming a task as to leave little or no time for
normal business obligations.

The specialist list supplier therefore collects or co-ordinates all of the necessary
information, and either sells his list outright, or hires the addresses out for once-off
use only.

But it's not just potential business customers who can be contacted by means of
a suitable list. Addresses can be similarly provided for: Private individuals requiring
set services and products; Specific businesses eg. undertakers, grocers, hotels;
Schools; Persons involved in particular sports or hobbies; Craftspeople; Those of
a particular profession

I have seen recently the offer to sell or rent lists of persons who take an active
interest in consumer competitions, those who collect ephemera and books, stamp
collectors, even those interested in being placed in contact with pen pals.

The person involved in the Mailing List Business can compile lists from scratch, (a
time consuming exercise), or else he or se can act as the middleman or woman for
other people's lists, renting the list in at one price and subsequently renting it out
at another, obviously higher price.

The middle man or broker often buys or rents many very large lists, then splits
them for hiring or sale to firms who would not be able to afford, or would simply
not be interested in the larger list.

Ideally the names and addresses are offered on self-adhesive labels to facilitate
easier usage by the ultimate user, and also to lessen the temptation to use a rented
list more than once, thereby breaking the conditions upon which it is rented.

Lists should be kept 'clean', that is, free of people no longer living at the stated
address, or perhaps no longer an interested member of that group the list
represents. This can be done by making frequent mailings yourself, or else by
analysing the results of someone else using the list, and removing from the list all
letters returned as 'gone away' or whatever.

Prices vary greatly for these lists and it is not unusual to sell or rent the same list
several times each year at a price ranging from œ25 - œ125 or more each time. Very
nice!

GIMMICKS AND SEASONAL ITEMS

In a previous section we considered the sometimes vast profits that can be made
by those pandering to the whims of the incurably romantic. Teddy bears and
balloons winging their way to all parts of the world are only two of the many
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The newsletter itself might be another lucrative proposition and can even achieve
independent status. Some clients have no need to contact others of a similar
disposition, and find their needs adequately fulfilled via a good and informative
newsletter. Whether articles are introduced into the publication is entirely for you
or the needs of the group to decide.

What a good newsletter and a profitable one needs, amongst other things, are
such as a Diary of Events, update of the club scene in general, and advertisements
from clients or other suitable sources.

Loneliness as mentioned earlier might be the motivating factor in the formation of
many groups. Sometimes the gathering consists of business people or those
seeking opportunities to earn or learn, and so on, but without any positive
intention to meet or correspond with their counterparts.

Some magazines therefore co-ordinate activities or publications which serve to
identify many of the business opportunities currently available or perhaps firms
needing homeworkers.

A good example of one set up to list activities rather than individuals is a new
business venture I recently came by. Thousands of people up and down the
country make their living at the car boot sales, never knowing what opportunities
for buying and selling exist in other parts of the country. A newsletter now carries
details of other venues, thereby eliminating the need to carry out extensive
investigations to discover new opportunities for oneself. It also carries very
informative articles on the 'finds' one can make in the course of buying and selling
everyday items. Perhaps its biggest advantage though, is that it takes
advertisements from nation-wide dealers and lists their special requirements.
Obviously by selling directly to them, the everyday car boot trader can make a
handsome profit without waiting for the next venue to materialise, and without the
need to guess as to the likely value of those items about which he really has very
little knowledge.

The newsletter itself consists of about 24 pages and sells at 50p, a very small price
to pay for the wealth of information it contains. Advertising revenue will increase
the profits for the producer of this publication. When you think of the number of
traders who will benefit from subscribing to this service I'm sure you'll agree the
potential profits are enormous. How about trying a similar thing amongst the
antiques and collectors' fair in your area.

LIST SELLING

This is one big business proposition that requires an absolute minimum of capital
but nevertheless offers extremely high rewards in the process.

'It's not what you know that counts, it's who you know' or so they say. In the
business world this is undoubtedly true. Some firms survive very nicely from
dealings only with 'passing trade', or with customers drawn as a result of effective
local advertising campaigns. Many firms though, and primarily those with no
obvious premises for attracting the customer, depend heavily upon postal contacts
to sustain an adequate level of trade.

In this category we find mail order traders and those dealing in specialised
products for particular sections of the public. There are also those firms for whom
business premises might by wholly unnecessary, perhaps because they operate in
short-term undertakings, as would be the case for someone seeking to rent out
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transferring the plate from the donor vehicle to the recipient is fairly straight
forward.

Rules are however set down by the Government and include such as the
requirement that the donor vehicle must have been taxed, tested etc., within a set
period. Obviously those seeking a slice of the tempting profits to be made must
obtain these rules before undertaking any transactions. Contact your local vehicle
licensing department to avail yourself of these easy to understand regulations.

Many local or part-time dealers in cherished numbers buy their stock via local
papers, either from advertisements placed themselves, or by the intending seller.
The buyer can then decide whether to resell the plate privately, or else offer it to
one of the national dealers who advertise in such as 'Motoring Exchange and
Mart'.

Even hanging on to a plate for several years will result in an investment return that
would batter the Building Societies' rates into submission. A few years ago I saw
the plate 'AH 4', something that would have been highly suited to my name, and
bearing the low number '4', it would invite a much higher price that would say the
number '100'. Its asking price was in the region of œ3500, but sadly though more
than a little tempted, I didn't buy it. About five years later it was advertised for sale
again, at a much, much higher figure, and since it was advertised for only a short
period, I must assume that it sold. Today I see 'AH 50', a much less desirable
combination, with a price tag of œ13,000, and I agonise over just how much that
'AH 4' is currently worth.

WHEN WORDS ARE SIMPLY NOT ENOUGH

Despite what we say to the contrary, most of us are sentimentalists at heart, and
here we have a trait which when capitalised upon, has created highly successful
businesses or those who have simply come up with a unique or sufficiently
different way of pandering to our afflictions.

Baby's first shoes can be preserved for ever in a coating of gold, silver or bronze,
thereby sealing those cherished memories of the owner's first tottering steps for
doting grans and grandads.

Every Valentine's Day finds a rush of firms offering Heart-shaped this, that and the
other, with which to woo the recipient of an overt and often eccentric means by
which to convey undying love.

Messages trail most conspicuously, on long, bright and highly noticeable
streamers behind the tail of a suitable noisy light aircraft.

'Teddy' in the shape of an individually dressed bear, can be delivered almost
anywhere, usually at very little notice. The message printed on his sash will
accomplish more than any gift card could ever dare to hope.

Champagne and baskets of 'not on my wage' goodies can be delivered to the
recipient's door, and almost every service offered can be individually tailored to
reflect the occasion. Silver weddings, 21st birthdays and the birth of a baby are
but a few.

Wedding cushions on which the rings are proudly displayed for blessing and
subsequent presentation, are neatly and lavishly embroidered in pastel silks and
tassels. The bride has a souvenir to cherish for ever, and the skilled needle smith
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finds his or her bank balance suitable inflated. I've seen to, the chance to have
hand embroidered the wedding table cloth upon which the guests have placed
their signatures.

In a recent crafts magazine I find the offer of embroidery and needlepoint kits,
specially created from photographs the customer provides. Our dogs and children
at their most appealing can be recorded on cloth or canvas for ever. This I must
confess is something I could not resist, and when time allows, my precious boxer
dog, sadly no longer with me, will gaze down at me from the space I will clear
above our fireplace, for the embroidered replica of her.

These examples, and I apologise for including so many but I have actually barely
touched the surface, must surely convince you of the potential goldmine out there,
for anyone who can dream up an idea to compete with or better those services
already available.

HOW TO DO THIS, THAT, AND THE OTHER

Advice they say, is free. But I personally doubt this oft-quoted statement, if the
frequency with which new information guides spring up is anything to go by. For
anything from one to ten pounds, sometimes more, you can learn exactly how to:
Avoid paying your debts; Get Rich Quick; Live and Work Abroad; Make Your own
Cosmetics and, Unlock the Secret Power of your Mind.

Imagine the profits you could make by selling a hundred or so guides each week.
Relatively inexpensive to produce, a good guide can have customers clamouring
for copies, sometimes at a profit of several thousand per cent. You'll not I said
'good', and here the secret lies. Offer the same manual as your competitors and
you'll share the potential profits with them. Offer something different, hopefully
unique, and the market is yours, as is the decision as to what price your guide will
command.

I see one of the larger suppliers of business and self-improvement guides offers,
they boast, the only typewriter art manual on the market. Very good it looks too,
but how like y luck to find this manual, now that I have no time to make designs
on my typewriter, instead of twenty years ago when I scoured the shops for this
exact information.

Opportunity never knocks twice, so if you have access to information which is
currently not easily available, then write it up, have it neatly typed, photocopies,
and marketed in appropriate specialist magazines, or in such as 'Exchange and
Mart'.

As a keen entrant of consumer competitions with many years experience, I realised
that short of buying or borrowing copies of the many available listings and
dictionaries of clich s, well-known sayings, proverbs and so on, there was no
effortless way to avail oneself of this information which so readily lends itself to the
all-important task of creating slogans.

I set out initially to pull together all of the relevant information and incorporate it
into one volume for my personal use, but ended up with something so useful, I
decided to advertise my 'Word master' in 'Competitors Journal'. Now I do so
regularly and recoup handsome dividends for my initial efforts.

I can almost her some of the complaints of 'never written anything for years - not
since I left school in fact'. This however is the very least of your worries. If you
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know your subject and can write it up in a manner that conveys it simply and
clearly to the reader, then it makes not one iota of difference that your grammar
might not satisfy the Examining Board of some high level English examination.
You are selling information and guidance, and that is all your readers require.
Errors in your presentation will be swallowed up in the value of the information you
impart.

When you've collected your facts and written them up, put the whole thing to one
side for a week or so and then read your work again. This is the time when
ambiguities and errors will show themselves and allow you to make the necessary
amendments. Of course if you have the opportunity, and modesty allows, ask a
friend or relative to read what you have written and ask for their uncensored,
constructive comments and criticisms.

Then with one guide neatly tucked under your belt, get the drawing board back
out, think what else you have to offer or else could adequately discover, and start
all over again.

COME AND JOIN US

Rapidly growing towns and cities, and the need for many young people to leave
home in search of jobs, undoubtedly contribute to the feelings of isolation and
loneliness many people experience in their daily lives.

'Lonely in a crowd' they say, a term that very accurately describes the inability of
some individuals to find friends, or for small special-interest groups to evolve from
amongst millions of people in the swirling streets of the bigger towns and cities.

Some mechanism is needed to facilitate the coming together of the thousands of
currently isolated individuals who share a common need or interest. This is where
the astute business person comes into play, capitalising upon a much needed
introductory service which can offer extremely high rewards, for often little outlay,
and relatively short working hours.

This middleman co-ordinates, collates and acts as the link between members and
subscription holders of whatever club, society or group is involved. Interested
parties initially do nothing more than contact the 'leader', who then pulls together
the details of all clients; often the names are listed and distributed to all other
members, or else a sub-group, within the overall membership. The co-ordinator
normally undertakes all business by mail, sometimes never meeting any of his
clients.

The list he circulates is updated at regular intervals and necessary amendments
made, with a summary or a completely fresh list being forwarded to all clients. Fees
charged for the service are normally made on an annual basis

Many Pen Pal services operate in this way, as does the Collectors' group, The
Ephemera Society with its constantly updated register of members, who are then
free to contact any whose collecting or business interests coincide or complement
one another.

Sometimes a monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly newsletter is forwarded to all clients,
as is the case in many Collectors' Societies, and such as the many clubs which
cater for the needs of those of us with an interest in consumer competitions,
allowing us to correspond with fellow competitors for the sharing of news, views,
advice and the all-important entry form.