Another stolen idea

So it looks like howtomakeadollar is full of good ideas.  One of our ideas... which we actually didn't blog about because we were working out the details of our idea... was to start a website called "whatwillyoudoforadollar."  Kind of a long name and not very catchy... but the idea behind the website would be to have people post things they are willing to do for $1 and/or post things they are willing to pay people to do for $1.

Well... it looks like this idea has been stolen from us!  Somehow, even though we never blogged about it, someone found out about our idea and made it better.  Sort of the like the pot head guy and the jesus toaster.  The better/cooler/very well executed website that stole our idea is FIVERR.COM

They one-uped us by charging $4 instead of $1... and they actually created a cool website... we did not.

Good source for inspiration!

Howtomakeadollar thinks finding inspiration is important.  Inspiration is key to finding both meaning and significance in life.  Thankfully, there is a website that we have become aware of that provides both meaning and significance!  http://meaningandsignificance.blogspot.com/

http://meaningandsignificance.blogspot.com/ is a great blog for finding both meaning and significance in life.  It is a well crafted piece of work.  The blog will provide you with hours and hours of wonderful reading.  Head on over there and check it out!

Looking for a unique way to promote your website or business?  Check out our PromoteME! feature.

When you fall down... get up again, and again, and again, and again

This video doesn't really have anything to do about making money... but it does have to do with not giving up.  Whenever you fail... in life or in business.... trying again and again is vital to success!

Enjoy the video... we hope it is inspirational for everyone to be thankful for what we have in life as well as helping us to not give up.  Try again and again and again every time we fail in life and business!

Hard work: the only way to make money!

Ideas are good, but if you never do anything with them they are worthless.  So take an idea, any idea and try it out.  It may just make you rich!

Howtomakeadollar has been able to offer our readers over 250 ideas... so take one of them and try it out.  We have been able to take our ideas and have made almost $400 so far.  Thats pretty good considering we only expected to make $1 off of each of our ideas.  We are averaging $1.60 for each of our ideas.  Not too bad.

Don't take our word for it though.... take God's word: "All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty."  Proverbs 14:23

Flying Pets and the Airlines that Love Them

Every now and then Howtomakeadollar likes to link to real businesses that make money by coming up with unusual services. Usually we do this to inspire you and help get you into an entrepreneurial spirit, but today we are doing something a little different. Today we are discussing a company called Pet Airways. The website is http://www.petairways.com/

I am only about 70% certain that this is a real company. I have to admit up front that this could be some kind of hoax. I really don't know if its a real thing or not. However, the website is just realistic enough that I lean toward it being real. I'm skeptical, but we live in a crazy world, and I think it is for real. There are other sites that confirm the existence of Pet Airways, and these sites do not seem to be joking.

There really isn't much that can be said about Pet Airways. Its an airline that is exclusively dedicated to flying people's pets around the country. You stick your pet in a carrier, drop it off at the Pet Airways terminal, and they fly it to whatever destination you have booked for it. You aren't allowed to fly with your pet. It is for pets only.

Now this is all well and good. I suppose if you have enough money and you have a pet that you love dearly, and you happen to be going on vacation in one of the few cities that Pet Airways services, then maybe you would consider putting your pet on the airplane. Of course, regular airlines also provide this service, but maybe you want your pet to have the added benefit of flying first class, and the other airlines just don't offer that for you. Seriously. Pet Airways claims that your pet will "have a first-class travel experience."

Is a first class travel experience really necessary for your pet? Thats your decision to make. Maybe you really want your beloved Shih Tzu to have the benefit of riding with other people's pets in first class, where he can party with a cage full of canaries and some rabbits. Maybe after a few designer chew toys he will get confident and hit it off with an attractive Pomeranian female. That is your decision. People may laugh at you, but whatever. As a consumer you are entitled to buy whatever services you want, and no one will stop you.

Putting accidental mile high designer breeds aside, Howtomakeadollar is more interested in the business end of things. Namely, we are interested in profitability. It is a well known fact that the airline industry is constantly going bankrupt and is subsidized heavily by the government just to remain in operation. If Pet Airways is profitable, and I have serious doubts that it is, then surely it opens up a whole new world of entrepreneurial possibilities. If a pet airline can be profitable while human airlines go bankrupt, then surely other ridiculous ideas can be profitable too. This is where you come in.

1. Think up something silly that you can't imagine anyone ever buying, such as glow in the dark lightbulbs.
2. Find a way to apply your ridiculous idea to an industry that is already failing.
3. Good. now you've done something similar to Pet Airways. Lets hope it works for you.

Make money buying trash from hoarders

We recently blogged about how to make money selling trash to hoarders.  Children of hoarders did not like this idea.  They thought it was "Completely tasteless.  Not funny." and wanted us to "Get a life."

So our new idea is to make money by buying trash from hoarders and reselling it to people who have so much money they don't know what to do except buy trash.  Now to the people buying the trash... its not trash... its vintage rusty goodness.  This is a perfect opportunity to start your future as a recirculation specialist (aka flipping).

Step by Step Business plan
1) Find hoarder
2) Watch out for their children because they don't like you no matter if you buy or sell their parents trash
3) Hoarders are easy to spot... but for a "good" hoarder with junk (not just trash) look in between the pizza boxes and McDonald's Happy Meal toys for the rusty cars, bicycles, vintage signs and coins.
4) After picking through the trash tell them all they have is junk and they should pay you to take it off their hands before the government kicks them out of their house.
5) If they don't want to just give it to you, pay them at least $1 for their items
6) Put junk/trash/vintage rusty goodness on ebay and make a ridiculous amount of money.

Want some inspiration on taking hoarders junk and selling to rich people who need something to spend their extra money on?  Check out the new History Channel show American Pickers.

Make money by keeping a list

Scenario:
You're laying in bed thinking about all of the brilliant ways you can make money... and then it comes to you...  THE BEST IDEA OF YOUR LIFE!  You think to yourself "this is such a good idea I'll never forget it."  And you go to sleep happy that you will soon be a millionaire.  You wake up in the morning and as you're taking a shower you remembered that before you fell asleep you had THE BEST IDEA OF YOUR LIFE... but the problem is: you can't remember what that idea was!

Don't let this scenario happen to you.  You never know when inspiration will hit you.  So when it hits you, be prepared.  KEEP A LIST.  I recommend keeping a ipod or iphone with you at all times so you can add all of your ideas to a list.  But if you don't have an ipod or iphone and don't want to spend money on cool technology, all you need is a pen and paper.  Write down all of your ideas, you never know which one will be THE ONE!

Many Ways to Make a Dollar

Howtomakeadollar is pleased to report that in its first two months of existence, anyone who had actually bothered to try each of our ideas would have made over $335 million. I don't know anyone who is able to make that much money in that short a period of time, except maybe Ben Bernanke, who literally makes money, which is kind of an ethical grey area if you ask me. Click here to see how it is done.

So far we have posted 61 excellent business ideas and one very good video that did not put me to sleep. The bulk of our success came from two ideas. Our best idea is to plan an invasion of the island of Nauru, which has made over $310 in the past few years by making various deals with Russia and China.

Our next best idea is to catch Osama bin Laden, who currently has a $25 million reward attached to his head. Our post is pretty long, but you will see that catching him is actually rather simple, and no one else seems to be after him.

Not only would you have made tons of cash, but you would also have made some close friends in Nigeria, gotten a promotion at work, and would be living on your own hand-made island. 

24,000 $100 ideas

Worth taking a look at...   Every Word is for Sale!

It's a website that sells every word on its page.  When you buy a word, it becomes an advertisement to your website.  It looks like its only made $1,000 so far.  But hey, thats $1,000 more than we've made at this point.  Click here for other inspirational websites we have blogged about.

How to Start a Business in 2010

I personally dare you to start a business this year. I dare you. Read on for two good ideas and one extremely important rule.

Warning: This blog post is not funny. It does not contain any jokes or humorous anecdotes. It is actually quite boring and very long. However, it contains the most important rule of starting a business, and provides two good business ideas. One that I've tried, another that I haven't.

How to start a business in 2010


The Rule: The best way to start a business is to start with as little risk as possible. Thats the most important rule. If you have a lot of money already, you probably don't need to be reading a blog about how to make a dollar. If you are a normal person who is afraid of the economy and wants to get started on a side business, then this is for you. The key, again, is to risk as little as possible at first. That's the most important rule. Don't risk anything at first. This gives you the freedom to try lots of ideas without the possibility of losing.

Thats because people who are just starting out are prone to making mistakes. Better that the mistake not cost you very much.

Idea 1: Snow Shoveling
When I was in college I was out of money. Completely out. All I had was a willingness to make money, and a little bit of time. I also had snow. So I found a snow shovel for $9.99 (which I needed anyway) and walked around town (my car was out of gas, and I had no more money after buying the shovel) looking for driveways that needed to be shoveled. I made over $100 that day. I risked $10, and made $90 in profit. I was happy with that, and I did it again the next two times it snowed. I made good money and then quit. Thats one way to do it.

But that was when I was in college. I had no intention of starting an actual business back then, so I just kept the money and did whatever I wanted with it.

Lets say you want to actually start this as a business and make it work long-term. Well, then you don't want to just keep the money. You want to reinvest it. Think about it. You now have $100.00. What can you do with $100 to help promote your business? Well, you can make an ad on a sheet of paper and make about 100 copies of it for about $20.00. and you can make about 100 business cards for another $10. Then you can go stick the ad in people's doorways and leave your card with anyone you bump into. Be friendly, and start in the same neighborhood that you've already worked. This way you can tell people that you already shoveled out their neighbors, and they will trust you more. Don't spend all $100 on advertising. You don't know how effective it will be, and you don't want to lose all of it. Again: don't risk any more than you have to.

Now you've advertised to 100 new potential customers for only about $30.00. Keep the other $70 in case you need to try a different advertising approach, or save it for the eventual purchase of a snow blower or plow.

Every penny that you earn should either be spent on expanding your business or should be saved for the purpose of buying better equipment in the future. I made $100 in one day, starting from nothing. No list of clients, no advertising. Nothing. I spent more time trying to find customers that actually shoveling. But after the first day I had a list of clients, and I didn't need to walk all over town again.

If you can get five or six snowstorms in your region, then you should easily make enough to buy a snow blower, which will allow you to work twice as fast. This in turn, will allow you to expand into new neighborhoods and eventually, to buy a plow. All of this with no money out of your pocket.

The point is to only spend money that you have already earned. Do not spend your own personal savings, or your paycheck from your regular job. Do not go into debt under any circumstances. Only expand your business when it has already earned enough to pay for the expansion in cash. This way you can never lose.

Shoveling is a seasonal job that can only be done by people who are able to work outside in the cold for a long time. What about an easier, year-round job?

Idea 2: How about baking cookies?
Here's how I would do it:
1. Get a big cookie mix from Costco or Sams or some place like that. Cost: $10
2. Get a silver dollar coin Cost: $24 (silver "dollars" are actually worth about $24)
3. Make ten batches of ten cookies, and mix the silver dollar into one of the cookies. (wash it first)
4. Put them in airtight ziplock freezer bags (or any other airtight contraption that will keep them from getting stale) Cost: $2
Total Cost: $36.00
Sell the homemade cookies on Ebay, and explain that there are ten batches, one of which contains a $24 piece of silver. Start bids at $10.00 each.

Assuming you can sell all ten batches, you will make a $64.00 profit. Many people will be willing to pay $10 for the cookies because at the very least they will still get a batch of homemade cookies. They don't risk much, so they won't mind trying it. It shouldn't take you more than an hour and half to make 100 cookies.

If you can do this once a week, you'll make $3,328 in a year. Obviously you could do this with any kind of prize. I think a silver dollar would work because they are small, valuable, and would not be damaged by being baked into a cookie. However, you could use just about anything that meets these criteria.

Invest your earnings back into your company and try to expand into other baking-related markets, or save your earnings and use them to start a completely different business that has a higher entry cost. Again: Don't risk anything that your business has not already earned.

The slogan of this blog is "Millions of ways to make a dollar." We believe that your first business idea probably won't make you a millionaire, and it probably won't even replace your day job. However, an extra stream of income every month can really add up, and can give you a little bit more leeway if your company cuts wages, or if your taxes go up. If you keep working at it, and if you try lots of ideas, you may stumble on one that can grow into something much bigger.

Throughout this year we will be posting various business ideas to help inspire you and to help you think creatively. Many of them will probably be goofy, and we can't promise that they will all work, but if you can just make one dollar, we will consider it a success.
I personally dare you to try a business in 2010. If you follow the rule in this post you won't have anything at risk. Give it a try. If you don't risk anything then you can't lose, so there is no reason not to try. 

Find inspiration

I came across this website the other day while thinking about developing howtomakeadollar. I find the website inspirational.
http://milliondollarhomepage.com/
It is a website some guy developed where he sold one million pixels. Each pixel was sold for $1. Some people would look at this idea as a million dollar idea. But, I think it is a perfect example of one million $1 dollar ideas.