Millionaire Challenge

Little_Miss_Uni-Debt

Hello, I'm back to keep my promise and throw some suggestions around for discussion! Hopefully some useful ideas will come out of it!

mrsyardbroom wrote: »

I am retired so now I have the time to make money. I already have a website that makes a small amount from affiliate marketing, Adsense and ebay. My interests are dog agility, bird watching, writing and jewellery. Any ideas? The main interest is really dogs and anything to do with dogs.

Hello Mrsyardbroom, sounds like you have a good start if you're into Adsense and affiliate marketing.

Personally I would start by building up content on this site of yours. Why not combine your two interests, dog agility and writing! It helps to establish your credibility in a new industry/area if you are open to share your advice/interest and not charging for a product straight away. Offer something useful and free, like a free e-book for beginners to download. You can maybe grow the site into a useful resource. A mini doggy-directory This could even include useful products, books you've found helpful, pet friendly holiday destinations, it will also help with the Adsense income.

This is the kind of thing you can start just with your own time and no expensive outlay. It also draws in a large market (dog owners) and directs them to a new interest (dog agility)

Then I would do some research into your target market. Imagine your ideal customer, what age are they, what are their interests, what are their biggest expenses, biggest barriers to participating in dog agility courses/competitions, what do they regularly purchase.

Once you have your community, you could either look into stocking products useful to your readers or even designing your own product!

Other ideas include offering dog agility classes, however don’t forget it is difficult to scale any business to a large profit when the business is you.

For example - it's you and your experience only, providing a service like one to one dog training. There just aren't enough hours in the day to reach that million - Though you can expand to larger group sessions. However you may find this kind of business more enjoyable which I think is more important than £££'s.

usa1

Hi

Please can I join. I know its sounds a bit vulgar (in some circles) but its my life time ambition to be a millionnairess. I have 2 kids so there are practical limitations on what can be achieved within the restraints of working full time and running a house.

So here my plan or what I currently do: (Source: Kiyosaki)

Increase Passive income; Lodgers, Foreign students in the school holidays, keep a Blog and I have 1 BTL.

Increase Portfolio Income; Now i have a big gap in this area as I think ISA`s on the whole have a poor return. But I do invest in Zopa (Peer to Peer lending) and Premium Bonds. I am unsure about investing due to unfunded money rolling about the system. This is an area I need to work on.

Earned income; mainly from the full time office HR job: Also on-line surveys, Mystery shops, selling on Ebay and Amazon. Shop and Scan , Food Diaries, product testing and using cash back website and I have OCD about using Money-off-Coupons.

Now, I try and give or tithe 10% of my income to Church or animal welfare charties as I believe that in reaping what i sow..

So with 2 kids I need to increase my passive income. My DH used to be very embrassed by my `coupon-clipping lifestyle` but he has been a bit of a convert now. We have agreed that once we have paid off the car loan then we can try and save 2-3k a month.

tinktay84

Well Little Miss Uni Debt I am bowled over with your enthusiasm and ideas!

I cant remember the names of all the new peoople but hello!

I am currently trying to put some kind of package together to sell on my website, something such as a feature wall pack. i.e. a photo wallpaper along with pack of paste and basic paperhanging kit and instructions. i know this is a pretty easy package to come across via ebay etc but im not looking at high profits, just a bit more turnover.

I am also working towards my next BTL but am possibly one of the most complex scenarios for the mortgage advisor haha. she still seems hopeful though as we have a (very) small deposit and near us there are several properties for around £40-50k.

we have wiped another few hundred off our debt and i am making sure our interest free payments are paid in full before they come up for interest as the rate is around 45%!!!!!!

Summer holidays are wiping me out a bit as I am paying for holiday clubs and losing an hour each day with only being abble to drop my son off at 9 (school opens at 8)

Little_Miss_Uni-Debt

Hi usa1, glad you're joining in! I think some people get annoyed by others that aim high or think big, that it is showy. Maybe because it makes them feel bad for their achievements.

Folks with those attitudes, even when you get to your million will probably be the ones saying "it's ok for you, you're just lucky" no matter how much hard work you put in.

For me, I love being motivated by crazy ideas. Starting off with an unusual aim makes you think differently, approach problems in different ways and make great leaps of progress.

There's nothing wrong with expecting a lot from yourself or from life. It doesn't really matter if you get the exact digits in your account or not. What is more important is that you build a life that you're happy with.

No one has to work a 9-5 for 45 years for a retirement they can't enjoy. You just have to be bothered enough to find a different approach! Even if that's selling all your belongings and living on a carribean island if that's what you want most of all!

Well done on your BTL! That's a huge nest egg to have!

Best business model for passive income is - create something once, sell it many times. Something that sells while you sleep It could be a digital product (music, software, ebook, video) or a physical product that you design and then a manufacturer produces. Oh the possibilities! :rotfl:

A million doesn't have to be in £'s but it's good to imagine what it would take to make you feel like a millionaire. :A

tinktay84

haha I now use sentances such as 'when im rich...' or 'when ive got 10 houses on the go...'

Went seeing my mum today and she was asking how im getting on and when I said we have costed out a possible BTL she was really excited for me. That spurs me on knowing people think my plans are possible. Im very lucky that my husband answers most of my moneymkaing scheme questions with ' yeah lets give it a try and see' cant see many men being so supportive

Well im still toying with ideas for products to sell via my website. I know it wont be big money whatever it is but I want it to be something that is a fairly low price but not available cheaper elsewhere.Im also very conscious of the possible pitfalls of selling items and posting on etc.

Little_Miss_Uni-Debt

Hey tinktay,

Sounds like your hubby is very supportive! Wish my OH was as interested!

I think if you've got a unique product then you have no worries, that's why designing product your own is perfect. I remember my bro-in-law saying (he genuinely IS a millionaire) "There will always be someone who will come along and sell the same thing SO cheap, it will put you BOTH out of business"

Also remember - being cheaper is NOT a selling point you can be better quality, faster, more features. If cheaper is the only thing going for your product then a)you wont have loyal customers - they'll flip to the cheapest b)your competition will beat you easily and then put their prices back up when you're out of the game.


I think posting is a huge cost and can be annoying sometimes. Returns/faulty products too. I think if you have a good set procedure that people can't take advantage of then it works ok. Clear Terms and Conditions help too.

Even better than that is selling digital products! no postage required and instant delivery!

What other products are you considering?

tinktay84

ive no idea at the moment. like I say I dont want to try and do something I dont know about as im realistic and also want it to work and want to know what im talking about. Its basicaly just something to have a small turnover just to increase my figures by a small amount.
Yes my husband is supportive but he seems to want to go cheap and cheerful with things all the time whereas I want to do things on a small budget but not 'cheap' With regards to buy to let properties, im sick of seeing carbon copies of hosues, magnolia walls, brown carpet, basic kitchen and bathroom. I have a few touches i want to add that will cost less than £100 but will make a bit of a difference. There is one item that would cost say £500 that I think would add a little value (£25 /month maybe) but would make it more appealling but as I say my husband says no chance, cheap and quick who cares if you are getting the same rent. I tried saying its not about getting the same rent its about making sure ours isnt stood empty like some are, if it has a little extra touch it may well be more appealling and therefor be rented quicker

Little_Miss_Uni-Debt

Hey tinktay,

I have to agree with you on that one! As a renter myself we opted for the house just a few extras and we are paying £100 a month more than we were before in our old house which is just a few streets away. The only difference is the quality of the finish. Nicer tiles, nice carpet, better shower, better quality wallpaper (something with a bit of style!) good (fashionable) storage cupboards. It all makes the difference that we want to live here and not elsewhere.

I also think if you go over and above the general "quick fix" a)it shows you care about your property and are therefore likely to be better,more responsive landlords b) you'll probably get tenants that are there longer term that look after the house.

I think so long as you aren't spending money that you'll never see back it makes sense to offer a better place to live. You want your house to be snapped up and people want houses to live in that they love - even renters!

Maybe if you shopped around for your extra items then you could have a win win situation. I know someone that was looking at a £1000 curved glass shower screen. They got the same thing for £82 on ebay still in it's wrapper!!!

gingababe

Just caught up with this thread. I'm loving it

Little_Miss_Uni-Debt

Hey gingababe,

Will you be joining in on this challenge? We're throwing ideas around based on peoples interests!


Tinktay, is your site up and running yet? It's good that you're realistic and looking for something you know about. This shows that you want to add value to the service/product that you're offering. Have a think about your skills, no matter how small.

You were mentioning about the photo wall and paper hanging. While I'd consider that a luxury product with quite a lot of competition, if that is what you're good at start around that idea. Why not flip the idea on it's head. In times of recession people are looking to save money and are actively searching for home improvement skills. Why not do a video course on wallpaper hanging? Showing people how to do it right & save a fortune, very MSE!!!

You could do the video yourself or maybe even pay a painter and decorator to be in it and show it in real detail. Maybe if that's popular you could do a whole series. THIS is the kind of thing that draws people onto websites. You could either sell the course of videos OR give the videos away for free and sell products on your site like your photo wall idea! People are more likely to do it if they have the skills already!

That way everyone to your site is a qualified lead, they're already interested in home DIY, learning how to do their own home improvements. Then your products are right up their street!