Business Opportunities

Get Help In Achieving Your Vision of Becoming A Small-business Owner
Via remote support or face-to-face consultations I will walk you through the steps necessary to achieve your vision. One method to achieve your vision of becoming a small-business owner is by choosing a business with little-to-no upfront cost. That's right! Starting with a business model based on selling "re-packaged" public domain works or by choosing a distributorship (thus leaving the manufacturing to someone else), you can start an online or brick-and-mortar business with limited financial resources. However, a successful effort will demand a serious commitment of time and energy.

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

The next time you are searching

for that perfect gift consider giving someone a

micro-business. Setting someone up with a micro-business is a way to not only help increase their income by providing an additional revenue stream but, studies also document less tangible benefits, such as personal empowerment and overall family well-being. Specifically, clients report that self-employment through a micro-business provides flexibility to support family roles, and results in a greater sense of workplace control, autonomy,personal development and self-esteem.

Who could benefit from your gift of a micro-business?
The following are some folks to consider:

Relatives on a fixed income
Your teen and pre-teen children
Stay at home parents
Your church or social group
Anyone needing an additional income stream

Factory Direct, Independent Dealer
Buying factory direct or becoming an independent dealer is a great way to start your own business with little-to-no start-up capital. Basically you are in business selling a product or service that is being produced by someone else. The difference between what you purchase the product or service for and what you sell it for is your profit. More often than not you are taking orders and having those orders filled either directly from the factory (dropped shipping), or you are repackaging orders from the factory and shipping them out to your customers. You can find businesses selling everything from vitamins & supplements to advertising give-aways through this type of business arrangement.

The challenge in following this type of business model is in finding a reputable supplier with a long tract record. You do not want to make promises to your customers that you are unable to keep because your supplier failed to deliver on the promises that they made to you.

What are the benefits of using a factory direct or independent dealer arrangement as opposed to marketing your own products?

Points to consider:

Very little start-up capital is needed
Most guarantees are handled by your supplier
You are usually free to set your own prices therefore determining your profit
Generally there is no inventory to stock
Increase your chances of success by selling an already known commodity

Owning and growing a business can be both fun and profitable. Regardless of the business model you decide to follow being successful is going to take a whole lot of hard work and dedication. If hard work and dedication become your mantra and you commit to learning as much as possible about your industry, customers, and what constitutes good service you will surely find success.

Quick Links

How To Start A Business w/ Public Domain Works!

If you have ever wanted to open a business but the start-up cost has kept you on the sidelines maybe publishing public domain works is the answer for you.

A public domain work is a creative work that is not protected by *copyright and which may be freely used by anyone. Some of the reasons that a work is not protected include:
(1) the term of copyright for the work has expired; (2) the author failed to satisfy statutory formalities to perfect the copyright or (3) the work is a work of the U.S. Government.

There is an unlimited supply of books, posters, sound recordings, films, photographs and much more available free for the taking. You probably come across businesses selling re-packaged public domain works everyday without even knowing it. That art store at the mall selling those classic black-and-white posters and photographs, the online bookstore selling those repackaged/re-illustrated children's classics and cookbooks, Grimm Fairy Tales repackaged as Disney cartoons or maybe you viewed a Turner Classic Movie colorized version of a public domain film. As you can see there are a lot of possibilities available when considering starting a business based on public domain works.
* More detailed info regarding copyrights can be found at: http://www.copyright.gov/

What are the benefits of you using public domain information, or works, to create your own products?
The following are some points to consider:

Low-to-no start-up fees
Initial investment is one of time more so than money
No royalties or copyright fees to pay
You control profits by setting the price of your product
Increase your chances of success by selling an already popular image or title

What are some ideas for using public domain information, or works, to create a business?

Here's a list to stimulate your imagination:

Selling on ebay - there are a lot of ebay stores selling public domain images as matted & framed artwork
Selling at flea markets and trade fairs
P.O.D. publishing - print-on-demand publishing has become a very popular way to sell artwork on mugs, tee-shirts, calendars, and a host of other objects. See Zazzle
Self-publishing using your home computer and printer or CD/DVD recorder
Illustrating classic children's books and republishing - being a little artsy may help for creating original art to use but there are plenty of sources of public domain clipart suitable for any project

Your success in starting a business based on public domain works will depend mainly on your determination to succeed.

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