Finding your own fortune-building opportunity is
not that difficult. Sell your services as a
consultant. Look at problems as opportunities. Look
for business opportunities that fill the needs of
others. Then fill them more efficiently than your
competitors. For example:
* Turn waste products into useful products -- or sell
your services as a recycler
* Satisfy the growing need for personal security
* Provide services that offer fun and recreation
* Fill needs for convenience and speed -- whether it's
shopping, cooking, child care, or even dog-walking and
house-sitting
* Turn your home into a bed and breakfast, rent it out
to seasonal visitors, or rent rooms to college
students; these are businesses that use a maximum of
home space for business purposes, which will net you a
maximum tax deduction
* Turn a flair for designing or producing craft
products into a business
* Build a talent-based business, such as motion picture
productions, from your noncraft talents
* If you love to drive, start an auto-delivery service.
Sell your driving talents to people who need to move
their cars across the country. In addition to your
fee, they pay for the gas, and you get a free trip
through America
* Be a reviewer...of films, books, or restaurants; as a
critic, not only do you enjoy the respect of your
review material, but you also receive free books, movie
tickets, and restaurant meals
* Use your boat, plane, or motor home in your small
business. For example, if you love to fish from your
own boat, sell some of your catch to restaurants and
start taking tax deductions. Use your boat to display
equipment. When used for business, the costs of the
boat, fuel, and sample equipment can be deducted about
50%. That means if you normally spend $10,000 per year
on this hobby, you could get a refund of $5,000. The
government pays you to go fishing!
* Buy a relocatable business. Many mail order and
publishing businesses are easy to relocate, and you may
find something that fits your skills for a price that
will be less than the cost of starting from scratch and
building up a market. There is a newsletter called
Relocatable Business which lists a number of these
businesses for sale in each issue. A recent issue
included gourmet foods, a hobby magazine publisher, a
jewelry business, a map publisher, a specialized
computer software firm, a stuffed toy wholesaler, a
stoneware tile manufacturer and a health care products
mail order company. The publisher will send you a
sample copy and subscription information. Contact:
Relocatable Business, P. O. Box 1248, Highland Park IL
60035; tel. (800) 927-1310; fax: (708) 433-4711.
