"Finding
Gems In The Dirt."
By Charles Burke
On my morning walk last week, I looked down and
saw a diamond earring lying on the sidewalk.
Yes, a real diamond, approximately a fifth of
a caret, and excellent quality.
It was lying right out in plain sight, perfectly
visible and sparkling in the sunlight.
But nobody else saw it -- most people DON'T see
the things that are right underfoot. Especially the opportunities
that lie scattered all around us.
A few months ago, just as my wife and I exited
the train station near our house, I found a wallet. Filled with
money, but no identification. We turned it in at the train station,
hoping its owner would reclaim it.
Six months went by, however, and the other day
they called to say that the wallet and money (about $350.00) was
ours.
But finding wallets or diamonds is not the only
way to gain unexpected riches.
There are a million opportunities -- little gems
just waiting for somebody to pick them up, brush them off and
profit from them.
These days, thousands of people are being downsized,
laid off or otherwise tossed out on the street. No job. No prospects.
No hopes.
What can they do?
Let's talk about SMALL opportunities... things
the average, non-rich person without huge assets, and maybe without
a job or savings, can turn into a profit.
Mike, a friend of mine first came to Japan in
1965 with just enough money saved to study Judo for a few months.
His dream was to become better at a sport he loved.
The mid-sixties was a time of fabulous growth
in Japan. Companies were turning out massive quantities of goods
for export to the Western countries. And all those products needed
brochures and manuals in English, the near-universal language
of business.
Mike may have been studying Judo, but he had
a sensitive nose for opportunity. He visited several translation
agencies and asked if they needed somebody to smooth out the English
in their translations.
They did, and a new career was born. Mike went
on to live many years in Japan, working first as a rewriter and
advertising copywriter (neither of which he'd had training in),
then eventually as a very successful translator.
Many years ago, I was out of work in a new city.
I was not quite broke, though it was close, so I decided I'd start
up a small part-time business while I looked around for something
more substantial.
I decided on house painting. It's easy to get
into because few people want to do their own, and some of the
professionals in the business are not very professional.
Art is not my strongest talent, but I spent about
three hours drawing and re-drawing a simple, perky little painter
character. It took me that long to get it looking good enough
to use. Then I had an instant printer run me off a batch of business
cards featuring that character as my logo.
Charles Burke
The Careful Painter
Note that catch phrase. A lot of people worry
that when they hire a stranger, he'll come in, sling paint around,
and make a mess. Whatever business you decide on, try to identify
a fear that you can soothe, making you a hero to your potential
customers.
Next, I had the printer do up some more business
cards, but these were on regular copy paper. He made them into
pads of 50 each. I glued each pad of these "cards" onto
a 3 by 5 inch index card and wrote "Take One" at the
top. Dead simple concept.
About half of the grocery stores in the area
had bulletin boards so that's where I thumbtacked my little ads.
I figured it'd take months to get semi-busy.
I was wrong.
The phone started ringing within two days, and
after one month, I was working seven days a week and had a month
and a half of work backed up.
Two years later, when I moved on, I sold the
painting business to a friend for a nice little profit.
Moral of that story? If you don't mind doing
what others don't want to do or can't do, you've got a real opportunity
on your hands.
Oh, I forgot to mention, I had never painted
a house nor hung wallpaper before in my life. I just went to the
library and checked out how-to books. For other info, I asked
advice at the paint stores where I bought supplies. They were
happy to help me.
Another time, I was in a small city of about
150,000. This was well before the age of computers.
I looked around and saw that there were only
two or three fairly large typewriter repair shops, and they were
expensive, so I went to the library and looked up a supplier of
typewriter parts and tools.
The next day, I put a small classified ad in
the newspaper, offering to repair typewriters.
Your Typewriter Repaired Fast
Satisfaction absolutely guaranteed
If it doesn't work right, you don't pay
That supplier gladly sold me parts in lots of
one and two, and resurfaced the rubber plattens when they required
it.
Again, I had never repaired a typewriter, but
I managed to fix every machine, manual or electric, that came
my way. My price was good, and I delivered fast.
Although I wasn't flooded with work, it paid
the rent, put groceries on the table and left me with considerable
free time to read and goof off.
Today, the opportunity won't be in typewriters.
Think computers, web design, ad writing. If you have strong English
skills, you can even do rewriting, like I did for more than 16
years here in Japan.
But you don't have to go to Japan to find customers.
Consider how many non-native English speakers
need help with the English on their websites. Visitors judge them
by the quality of their English, and if they are not a native
speaker, they will be judged harshly. It's not fair, but they
will be judged.
You could help them present a more professional
face.
That's just one possibility. There are literally
millions of small (and not-so-small) opportunities out there.
With some clever promoting, you could end up making a six-figure
income without even having a product.
I've found that if you'll just try, you can do
nearly anything. There are always small gems, little opportunities,
lying around just waiting for somebody to come along and pick
them up.
But they're often lying in the dirt. If a little
dirt's no problem, you can always make a decent living.
By the way, that wallet I found? It also contained
20 lottery tickets. When I checked them, there were no big winners,
only two very small ones - but they did provide me 200 yen (about
$1.50 or so).
Who says you have to win big to be a winner?
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