How can you be the first one to every garage sale, every time? How can you get their first, and still get the absolute best prices? How can you just flat wipe out any competition? How can you make a big business out of buying garage sales? Find out right now!I cleaned out my shop last month – it made me think about garage sales. We (my wife and I) have also been business partners for 30 years. We have always been fascinated by business and business marketing, even on the micro start-up level. As I cleaned out my shop, I had the following thoughts a home-based-business based on garage sales.Thought #1: Make an offer they can’t refuse. If you have just one or two thousand dollars in capital to start your home-based-business, you can go to almost any garage sale, survey everything there and make an offer on all of it.This is true today, but it would have been risky home-based-business not that long ago. Simply scan the stuff for the most valuable items. Write down what they are. Walk town the block and get on the internet and check eBay’s Completed Items category to check the actual value – this will show you what actually sold.Garage Sale Home-Based-Business Thought #2: Make the offer for everything. Make your offer is based on the value of the key items, but take everything. You may not want to take everything, but by offering to take everything, you’ll get all the small stuff for free or nearly free because you are taking the problem away for the seller.In other words, do what others won’t and you’ll win. No other buyer is going to mess with the small stuff, so their offers on the good stuff will not have as much value as your offer.You may be saying to yourself as you read this that you don’t want to deal with the little junk – I understand that. However, if you just set up a simple sorting system and donate what you don’t want to resell, you’ll get great deals from the sellers who REALLY don’t want to deal with the small stuff. Dealing with things fast and right is what being in a real home-based-business all about.Garage Sale Home-Based-Business Thought #3: How can you eliminate the competition?How can you always be first to a garage sale without competition? Run Craig’s List ads that say, “I’LL BUY YOUR ENTIRE GARAGE SALE NOW!” Place it in the “wanted” category. In the body of the ad, tell them you’ll pay a price that will make them happy and you’ll take everything to save them the trouble of having a garage sale – you can even offer to sweep the garage out in the bargain. Why? The more you make it a “service” the more seriously your offer will be considered. In fact, it would be good to use the word “service” in everything you do with your new home-based-business.Why? It’s because we are all human. If someone wants to help you, even if they are buying everything you have at a bargain, you’ll be more inclined to think kindly of them and accept their offer. Contrast with the hard and crusty professional buyers you see at garage sales who are simply trying to make low ball offers on only the items they want. You want to be providing a service – the service eliminating all of the hassle for your customer.What are you risking by softening the blow of your offer by offering to sweep the garage? The vast majority will appreciate the offer but won’t have you sweep. Why? It’s because most of them are neat freaks – that’s why they are selling everything at a bargain! They just want to get to the good part, the part they like, cleaning up.This is important: Please understand this – you are advertising to people who are thinking about having a garage sale. You are offering to save them time because they won’t need to have a garage sale at all, because you’ll take all of it. Can you see how you won’t have any competition? You’ll be the only buyer there because you’re there when they are just in the thinking stage – just thinking about having a garage sale!WARNING:Always think in terms of massive action when it comes to business. Advertise on CL and your local throw-away paper like The Penny Saver. Also, make up a flyer and make 5,000 copies for very little money by finding a printer online. Put out 1,000 at a time and see what you get. Be sure to use the same language – you want to buy their entire garage sale of items.Buying at garage sales and reselling on eBay and CL always sounds like a tiny business. STOP thinking small. You could get rich fast doing this home-based-business.What should you do next?
Three Reasons Not To Fear Your Home Based Business Competition
As today’s economy is still struggling, many people are finding themselves too fearful to take their first step toward operating a home based business. They are afraid of many things, but one of the things they are most fearful of is their competition. They just do not think they could start up their own company and compete with a company that is already established and may be bigger. If you are too fearful to start your own company in your home, the following are just three reasons why you should not fear any of your competitors:The main reason you should not fear your competition is that they will be providing you with the motivation to do better. When many people start a home based business, they often find they have difficulty staying on task and getting their work done. No one is hovering over them, telling them what to do, and, well, there really isn’t any personal punishment for not getting the work done (beyond the fact that you don’t get paid). However, knowing your competition is taking your customers away from you will give you the motivation you need to do your best.Another reason to not fear any of your competitors is you can use their business to better your own. One of the best things you can do is evaluate your competition and see exactly what they offer and how they are promoting it. You can use your own company to fill in their missing gaps. By offering better quality products and services to your target market, you can be sure your competition is not going to stand a chance against your own business.
Last, you must not fear your home based business competition as there is always room in today’s world. The key is to not give up. You are going to have to work hard, especially if you are competing with a much larger company. However, if you take advantage of all of the promotional opportunities on the Internet, there is no reason why your own company can not be successful and make your own place in the world.
Reasons Why You Might Need a Property Management Company
Having a rental property can be overwhelming for any landlords or owners. And one of the biggest decisions that you can come up with is whether you should hire a property manager to look after your properties. There are many factors that may influence a property owner’s decision it may be his or her accessibility to the property they own, their availability to manage and check their tenants and if they can afford the cost of employing a professional property management firm.
If you live near your property you will be able to keep a close eye on things. Also, you will be able to visit your rental property on regular basis which is required for maintenance, inspections, and collections. On the other hand, if you live further from your rental house or apartment it would cost you so much time and money to visit it regularly. Scheduling a monthly visit to check the condition of your properties and tenants and responding to their calls in the middle of the night can be burdensome for landlords. A property manager can make these things easy for you and ensure you that your property is taken care of even if you are in the comfort of your home.
Not every one of us has the special gift of negotiating with people under pressure. At the end of the day it takes a professional person to handle the ups and downs of your business. Aside from collecting the monthly rent and making a regular inspection and maintenance there are more other problems that may encounter everyday that can push people to their limits.
As the number of rental properties you own increase the more problems you will face as you manage your own properties. Many investors with large portfolios take advantage the service of property managers. It would be more efficient to hire the skilled people to take care of your investments. Moreover, if you do not have the experience in home maintenance and repairs they are the one who can help you get things done. And with the help of a professional property management company you can ensure that the work is done well in timely manner.
Another advantage of hiring a property management firms is they can help you in advertising, fielding calls, help you find a good tenant to decrease your vacancy rate. They can also help you handle the accounting and keeping records for your property.
Customer service is very important in rental property business. We know that each tenant requires attention even to their smallest concerns. The management team you respond to your tenants when an emergency happens in your property. They can quickly fix your property and handle problems immediately. Furthermore, they can help you instantly resolve problems with tenants like late payments. They could also help you ensure that your property is run legitimately to prevent lawsuits.
Finally, your decision whether to hire or not a management firm to handle your business will depend if you are financially capable of employing one to manage your rental property dealings. Assess first the opportunity cost that you will be taking once you finally employ a property manager.
Before you decide if you will hire an expert in managing properties think first if you really need them and if it will be beneficial for you to seek for their help.