Subject: September Newsletter
September 7, 2007. Today the AP Business Writer and just about every other media reported the first decline in jobs in four years. The loss is attributed to the housing market, sub prime loans and a general slowing in the economy. AP stated :
Investors were unpleasantly surprised by the Labor Department's report that payrolls fell by 4,000 in August, the first decline since August 2003. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.6 percent as expected.
Wall Street has been awaiting the report as it tries to determine how well the economy is holding up under the weight of a faltering housing market, a rise in mortgage defaults and tightening availability of credit. While the report is backward looking and not predictive, investors regard it as an important reading of the economy's health.
The bad news is that job availability is tightening and the good news is that with planning you can increase your income or totally change the source of your financial dependency. In December I shared with you innovated ways that you could increase your income. Since then we have added some very strong vendors that make the December writing much more probable. Below are my suggested opportunities.
Existing Retailers - Convenience stores, dollar stores and rural general stores can increase their assortment where product may not be available from manufacturer's representatives. Most importantly, they can order big ticket goods on demand without having to inventory the product.
Service Storefronts - Restaurants, hair dressers, coffee shops and anywhere with consumer traffic can display a case of goods such as watches, knives, hardware or apparel. They can also print a catalog and custom order big ticket items such as plasma TV's without holding inventory. This could be very lucrative in inner-city and very rural locations.
Home Parties - Specialize in luggage, leather, health care or some other product. Again, any individual reseller can also print a catalog and custom order all the big ticket goods.
Swap Meets - Find an inexpensive location with good traffic and specialize in a line of product and custom order all big ticket goods. One recent trend I have noticed is sub-dividing old abandoned stores into 10x10 booths that are being populated with small independent merchants. These are in fact micro swap meets.
Garage Sales - If not prohibited by home owner associations or local code, you may be able to sell from a garage or out building, even the trunk of your vehicle.
Internet Sales - selling on eBay is becoming a matter of price search. He that has the lowest price gets the sale. Margins and have been driven down to almost nothing and this method of selling is slowly disappearing. You can however buy something like Whittier Wood furniture and then paint or finish it and resell it at a profit.
Association Sales - Get your school or sports organization, neighborhood association, church group and others together and take orders. I suggest that you not try to sell the world of product but specialize in appliances, music, hardware or other category. You can custom order much of this.
At work - Let it be known that you are a ValueSetter reseller.
Installers and Handymen - ValueSetters has recruited a cabinet manufacturer, a sprinkler manufacturer, a spa manufacturer and a building maintenance products supplier. Here you can make income from markup on the product as well as installation income. These products will appear in the next month.
Innovative Entrepreneurs - The number of different ways to go to market are endless. You are smarter than me so be inventive, go out there and create an environment where you can take advantage of the current 65,000 items we offer.
I wish you well and remind you that the power of success is always in the hands of the individual.
Sean Lee
CEO ValueSetters
Understand the present. Create your future.
