Video Professor

Risky business is more than just one of my favorite expressions or a movie from the ’80s starring Tom Cruise. Risky business is what scares away many people from trying to create something unique. Not that I blame them. The fear of failure is something few people are immune to. But in this day and age when the power of the Internet is capable of reaching millions, any ideas may just have an audience. You’d be surprised.

The Not-So-Risky Business of Pets

Pet people can be a little nutty. All my friends who love their furry friends would agree. If you can think up an idea for pets, there is a good chance that it is not-so-risky business after all. How about these.

Are you looking for that perfect accessory for your pooch? Do you enjoy changing his/er “look”? How about a unique custom-designed wig? Wiggles Dog Wigs, the brainchild of Ruth Regina offers a variety of wigs and hair extensions for your dog. And while they are seriously adorable (and I’m not even a dog person!), they are not cheap. The wigs run from about $30 to $60, and the extensions are about $25.

How about the smell of your pooch? Could it be improved? If so, you can try out of Mungo & Maud’s Petite Amande dog fragrance. At $75 a pop, you bet your dog will smell much better than the backyard. There is even a matching shampoo.

Lastly, is your dog too cool for all the other dogs around? Yes? Then check out  some cool shades, and fancy outdoor gear or jewelry at Doggles.com. The company is doing so well, they will soon be opening stores!

Would these pet-friendly business ideas seem like risky business to you? Well, I’m sure they did to the people who started up these wacky businesses, but they went for it, and it seems that it sure has paid off!

Other Not-So-Risky Businesses

Diving into a seemingly risky business is not reserved for the pet obsessed. How about these risky business ideas gone right.

Luckybreakwishbone.com sells fake wishbones. In 2006, it made $1 million in sales. Not bad for it not even being Thanksgiving!

Are you into acting? Well, maybe this risky business is not so much acting, but it is successful. Santamail.org made $1 million in 2006, and all you’d have to do is pretend you’re Santa and get paid by parents to send mail to their kids.

I personally do not like dolls, especially ugly ones, but apparently there are plenty of people who do. Uglydolls.com specializes in selling ugly dolls and in 2006 made $2.5 million in sales doing so.

So this might all sound like more than just risky business ideas, it may sound downright wacky. But in this world, nothing should be too surprising. And if one thing is for sure, risky business sells.

To sell or not to sell, that is the question. When it comes to eBay, the question is not whether or not an item will sell, it is how long will it take? Veteran eBay users differ on selling standpoints. Is it better to have a hot product, or a more rare product? Many agree that the “hot” product of the moment isn’t a great idea. With hundreds of people trying to sell the same thing, you need to either be the first, or the cheapest to make a sale. So when deciding when and how to list on eBay, you need to first learn how to sell on eBay.

So, why not ask a professional how to sell on eBay. I have set out to find the ‘secrets of the trade.’ Many successful eBay sellers will tell you to research the marketplace and the competition to determine the profitability of your product. Ask yourself the following questions:

1. How many people are selling this same product?
2. What is the lowest and highest listed price?
3. On average, how long are the auctions?
4. In which categories is this product listed?

When wondering how to sell on eBay, try testing the market with one or two units before committing to an entire product line. You may end up tying up your cash reserves in inventory that will never sell! The last thing you want is to be stuck with a product that no one wants and that won’t be profitable.

Experienced eBay sellers know to adjust their product offerings until they find a product or product line that sells consistently. Understand the market you are selling to. When you understand your market and who wants your product, you will learn how to sell on eBay much faster. Ask yourself whether or not you are in for the long haul, or if you just want to sell a few items to make a quick buck. Long-term success on eBay doesn’t come from on and off sales. So, if you are interested in generating some side income, the key is to find a product that sells well and then sell that product over and over again.

Timothy Mina wrote a book called “The Online Auction Expert’s Bible to Selling on eBay.” It is about his thoughts on launching a successful eBay business. According to Mina, those who want to start an online business should heed the following when learning how to sell on eBay:

1. When you find a profitable niche, you’ll become a certified guru of the items you sell and ideally be the only one on eBay offering the products.
2. Your expertise will make it 10 times as easy to spot bargains when you’re shopping for products to resell. Bargains might be all around you, but if you don’t know anything about what you’re selling, you won’t know how to spot bargains that are right in front of you.
3. You’ll find different ways to add personal value to your products. These low-cost add-ons or unique twists to your products will drastically increase your sales and profits by making your items unique and desirable.
4. You’ll have little or no competition from other sellers, so you can corner your niche market.
5. By dealing with the same type of customer over a long period of time, you’ll get to intimately understand the mindset of your target customer and what your customer wants. This will help you sell your products better and allow you to market your products in ways others haven’t thought of.
6. You’ll be knowledgeable and enthusiastic about what you sell, and you’ll be attentive to your customers’ desires. This results in satisfied customers, name recognition and a lot of repeat business.
7. You’re going to find something you’re passionate about and specialize in it. If you love what you’re doing, you have a much greater chance of sticking to it and loving it. It won’t even feel like work–it’ll be like you’re getting paid to play.

Good luck, and get started, learn how to sell on eBay!

You know that time of the year. Time to take out the red ribbons, the mistletoe and the plastic Christmas tree and decorate the home and office. As the lights twinkle around the receptionist’s desk and the cards begin to pile up from other companies, did you remember to send yours out? Business Christmas cards are not like family Christmas cards. You aren’t required to send some over-smiley portrait of you and your office staff, but if you want to build good business relationships, business Christmas cards do require a little bit of thought and a nice note.

Whether you are trying to build a relationship with your clients and future business partners or you have some longstanding business contacts in your Rolodex, business Christmas cards will convey to the recipients that you took time out of your day to acknowledge them personally. And really, all that time and effort goes a long way!

When sending them out, remember not to go too far overboard with glittery and fancy cards or labels, stickers and messages. You needn’t spend the time writing out the addresses or the return labels by hand because really, everyone knows you have an office to run. If you really want that handwritten effect, talk to your assistant or secretary.

In all of the business Christmas cards you send out, make sure to include your business card. Never underestimate the number of Johns people know, and just because you think you are 100 percent memorable, everyone else might not. As well as sending your business card, write the name of your company underneath your signature in case the business card gets lost somewhere after opening.

While the envelope may have labels, make sure that the note inside the business Christmas cards is handwritten. Keep it short, keep it sweet and make sure to spell the recipient’s first and last name and company name correctly. You can imagine how it would feel to send out all your business Christmas cards and realize that you spelled some of the recipients’ names wrong, embarrassing. A note along the lines of, “Happy holidays and all the best in the New Year, John!” is perfect. It’s not too long, it’s not too short, and you include their name. This being said, be aware of the recipient’s religious beliefs. Not everyone celebrates Christmas. If you know that a client or customer has different religious beliefs, choose and send a holiday card appropriate to the client’s beliefs, or choose and send a holiday card with a more generic holiday theme and message, such as “Happy Holidays” or “Season’s Greetings”.

Finally, make sure to send the business Christmas cards in time to arrive during the holiday season. For cards that are being sent locally or nationally, Dec. 15 is a convenient cut-off date for having your cards in the mail. If you’re sending business Christmas cards internationally, they’ll have to be in the mail much sooner.

Placing eBay bids can really be done by anyone with a fundamental knowledge of eBay, but placing eBay bids should not be taken lightly because things can go wrong with your purchase if you are not careful. And you also want to ensure that your eBay bid is not higher than it needs to be. After all, the point of purchasing items on eBay is often to get what you want at the most reasonable price.

 Before Placing an eBay Bid

It is absolutely necessary to always check the seller’s feedback before placing an eBay bid. There’s a link from each item to the seller’s feedback. Feedback is a list of comments that other buyers have left after buying an item or items from that particular seller. The feedback is intended for future buyers to use as a guide to judge each seller’s reputation. Before placing an eBay bid, it is best to look for sellers with less than 2 percent negative or neutral feedback. It is also a good idea to read the negative comments so you can get an idea of what the complaints are, if they are legitimate, and how the seller responded to the complaint. 

Follow your gut. If you are feeling unsure about an item or a seller before you place an eBay bid, don’t. Ebay is massive and there is almost always more of the same items.

Always be cautious of postage or shipping and handling costs before placing your eBay bid. Sometimes, it is an exorbitant amount, and if you place that eBay bid and win the auction, you will be responsible for that cost.

 When Placing an eBay bid

One trick is not to bid in round numbers, because that is what most people do. If you place an eBay bid that is a couple cents higher, it can sometimes give you the upper hand.

What I always do, so I am not stuck constantly monitoring my eBay, is to figure out the highest amount I am willing to pay for the desired item and bid that amount. For example, if you see an item where the current bid amount is $5 but you are willing to pay up to $20 for it, don’t bid $6, bid $15.04. If no one bids more than $20.06 on it, then it’s yours, but if no one bids on it or placing a high bid that is lower than your high bid, you will get it for a lesser amount. And you won’t have to pay that eBay bid anymore attention.

Ask anyone who has ever started their own business, and they will tell you that perhaps the most important step they took was writing their business plan. And while some may not enjoy the business plan writing process, they are an essential part of any start-up business.

For those of you new to the entrepreneurial world, the importance of a solid business plan cannot be stressed enough. No successful product was launched or service provided without first starting its life as an idea translated into a business plan. The process may intimidate some of you, but there is no reason to put off writing your business plan due to intimidation. As you will find, writing a business plan does not have to be a painful task.

So why write a business plan? As every entrepreneur knows, an idea only goes so far. Unless it is fleshed out and thoroughly examined, there is no way to know if the idea is strong. By writing a business plan, you will know beyond a doubt if your idea is worth building a business around. The business plan will expose the idea’s weaknesses and highlight its strengths.

The first step in writing a business plan is to decide what type of business plan you are going to write. To do this, you need to identify what you want your business plan to accomplish. Are you looking for investors, or are you already funded? Are you launching a service, or selling a product that will need to be manufactured? Will you operate out of a storefront, or is the business online? Is the business plan going to be read by a large audience, or is it an internal document? Answering those simple questions will help determine the scope of your business plan. If you are looking for capital and investors, your plan needs to detail every facet of your business. If the business plan will serve as an internal document that will provide guidance as your business grows, then you can bypass some of the discussion points laid out in a more formal business plan. However, every business plan must include the business objective and strategy for implementation, target market, company mission, development stages and leadership roles.

The second and perhaps most time consuming part of writing your business plan involves doing your research. It cannot be stressed enough how important it is to thoroughly research your target, competition and industry. Too many businesses fail because they did not do their homework. You may think your product is perfect for your market, but what happens when your research shows that you were wrong? Better to find out early than to find out after you’ve spent your time and money launching a product that stood no chance of succeeding.

Finally, you need to sit down and write. Take your time, but don’t feel like everything has to be perfect. Find a few people you trust and have them read and edit your business plan. Once you feel like your plan is done, take a breath and relax, the easy part is over! But remember, your business plan is a dynamic living, breathing document. As your business changes, so can your business plan.