HOW TO MAKE $200.00 PER HOUR
WITH YOUR VIDEO CAMERA


Sideline Businesses With Mainstream Profit Series

By Ralph D. Thomas

 

 

 
 
Here is a little start-up business idea I found this month by running into a fellow by the name of Jack Compton on the Internet. Jack used to be a brick mason here in Texas. Remember the list of Ten Top Success Principles I posted in December from Dr. Walter Doyle Staples new book, Think Like A Winner?
 
One of them was:
 

SUCCESS RULE NUMBER FOUR:

There is some benefit to be had from every adversity......

 
 
This business start-up turned into a little goldmine for one man because of an adversity he had. In the 1980's Jack Compton's home was burglarized while he lived in Irving, Texas. The insurance company wanted pictures and serial numbers of all items taken. He learned a valuable lesson from that experience. It was so valuable, that he turned it into a moneymaking enterprise. A few years later, he used this adversity and turned it into a business. He offered services as a photo shoot and safe-keep file service. In essence, he would spend approximately an hour shooting a customer's home, valuables and automobiles for a flat $200 fee. He would then give them a duplicate of the pictorial file, and a certified copy of the items on file. The following year, a $50 safe-keep file renewal was due, or he just returned the safe-keep file. Add on items were an additional $50 per photo session and added to the customer file. Discarded, sold or other wise customer items, were deleted from the file with a signed authorization from the customer. Basically, you can earn $200 an hour per photo session. Jack ended up selling this business and moving to another state.
 
If you already are a private investigator with good photography skills with a video camera, you already have all the equipment and skill to do the job. After that, everything is marketing.
 
In this type of little sideline business, there are lots of add-on items you could offer that would increase your income from it. Mr. Campton ended up in the home security alarm business which became a natural add-on item and service from his Video Evidence Insurance Service. Other add-on products that might do well are any security related product such as:
 
 
These are all good ideas. The key word for doing business in today's market place is not market share but customer share. With that concept in mind, instead of developing more market share by expanding your client base, you find new services and products to offer existing clients. Now it's your turn for brainstorming! By usually your creative mind God gave you, you already have all the tools you need to succeed. I challenge you to do something new this year--try something different.
 
MAY 1997 Bring You The Goals The You Have Set For You And Your Business.
 
Ralph
 
 
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