Question About Expansion and diversification

OK, this may be real small-potatoes to the rest of you, but I would like
some sound advice from the more experienced...

About 2 years ago I found myself financially challenged to do such little
things as pay the bills, etc. I was worried about the holidays for my
family so I decided to do something about it. I looked into several "online
opportunities" and found them lacking, so I set my own course of action with
minimal funds.

I took my $40 or lunch money for the month and purchased a CDRW on sale. I
compiled a few CD's worth of information and sold them on Ebay until I had a
few hundred to play with. With that money I invested in an out-dated
laminate press (a heat press) and procured a wholesale source for T-shirts
and blank high-quality heat transfers.

I designed about 60-70 T-shirt designs that showed attitude and humor and
began to market them on the internet. I had no real marketing plan, no
capital,no materials initial stock purchases, and just an idea and a lot of
creativitity.

In 2002 I had a net loss of about $200 thanks to my tax accoutnant although
I did pull in more than I spent. In 2003 my net figures are showing a
profit of close to $1000. although this is very small time, I started with
$40, so I see it as a good payoff for a part-time project.

Although my extra income has allowed me to pay the bills I now see both the
desire to expand my volume potential and marketing; I also have the desire
to potentially turn this side-project into a lucrative full-time operation.

I looked over every facet of my business and identified every hurdle that
was limitng either the quality of my product or my caapcities to do a large
volume and have began the steps to quickly and cheaply solve them.

I have re-invested my profits into upgrading my equipment (I was actually
using the old press and a standard-grade, consumer model printer )to more
reliable equiment that will net me professional quality with a minimum of
material losses, and have been redesigning my website to accomidate the new
designs and superior quality. Likewise, I have decided upon a new system to
use that will open up hundreds of other products that I can put images and
logos, etc. on. This does increase my per-unit cost by $1 or so, but the
durability and quality of the product will be increased several times over;
which will allow my end-user price to be more even with my competitors in
the marketplace, but still cheaper for what now will be the same quality.

This will open me up for bulk-sized orders, company jobs, promotions, etc.
Needless to say, I am looking forward to a much better year, which is
serendipitous because the company that I work for in the day is more than
likely going to fold due to the economy.

My question is this. Given the background I have outlined above, can anyone
recommend a good source for a cheap or free marketing campagin? I am a very
educated person and I have no problems with cold-calling, hitting the
streets myself, etc. However, what little marketing education I have is
outdated and I would like to increase my knowledge before I jump in again
with no experience or idea.

I know that my measley 1K in 2 years is nothing compared to what most do,
but then again I jumped into the business without any knowledge or
experience or outside help and I do everything from design to manufacture to
shipping and all of the other sales-support things as well as all of the
sales myself.. However, I do have imagination, vision, education, the
willingness to work long and hard to acheive my goals, and I also realize
that "failure" is just an excuse non-successful use to quit. I have had
many large mistakes and failures in this little project and I have learned
from them and turned them into a learning experience that allows me to
rectify the problems and profitably move on.

I see the now as time to either quit altogether or to get organized and
become a veritable force in my niche. Any help or advice on how to
implement a field or internet marketing campaign would be most helpful.

so if you can give any advice, tips, or sources on where I can learn some
good marketing strategies and practices to be able to allow my business to
grow then I would appreciate it very much.

thank you
Gladen

"Gladen Blackshield" <gladen@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:bsn0ti02lc6@enews4.newsguy.com...
> OK, this may be real small-potatoes to the rest of you, but I would like>
some sound advice from the more experienced...
> About 2 years ago I found myself financially challenged to do such little>
things as pay the bills, etc. I was worried about the holidays for my>
family so I decided to do something about it. I looked into several
"online> opportunities" and found them lacking, so I set my own course of
action with> minimal funds.> I took my $40 or lunch money for the month and
purchased a CDRW on sale. I> compiled a few CD's worth of information and
sold them on Ebay until I had a> few hundred to play with. With that money
I invested in an out-dated> laminate press (a heat press) and procured a
wholesale source for T-shirts
> and blank high-quality heat transfers.> I designed about 60-70 T-shirt
designs that showed attitude and humor and
> began to market them on the internet. I had no real marketing plan, no>
capital,no materials initial stock purchases, and just an idea and a lot of>
creativitity. > In 2002 I had a net loss of about $200 thanks to my tax
accoutnant although> I did pull in more than I spent. In 2003 my net
figures are showing a> profit of close to $1000. although this is very
small time, I started with
> $40, so I see it as a good payoff for a part-time project.> Although my
extra income has allowed me to pay the bills I now see both the> desire to
expand my volume potential and marketing; I also have the desire> to
potentially turn this side-project into a lucrative full-time operation.> I
looked over every facet of my business and identified every hurdle that> was
limitng either the quality of my product or my caapcities to do a large>
volume and have began the steps to quickly and cheaply solve them.
> > I have re-invested my profits into upgrading my equipment (I was
actually> using the old press and a standard-grade, consumer model
printer )to more> reliable equiment that will net me professional quality
with a minimum of> material losses, and have been redesigning my website to
accomidate the new> designs and superior quality. Likewise, I have decided
upon a new system to> use that will open up hundreds of other products that
I can put images and> logos, etc. on. This does increase my per-unit cost
by $1 or so, but the> durability and quality of the product will be
increased several times over;> which will allow my end-user price to be more
even with my competitors in> the marketplace, but still cheaper for what now
will be the same quality.
> This will open me up for bulk-sized orders, company jobs, promotions,
etc.> Needless to say, I am looking forward to a much better year, which is>
serendipitous because the company that I work for in the day is more than>
likely going to fold due to the economy.> My question is this. Given the
background I have outlined above, can anyone> recommend a good source for a
cheap or free marketing campagin? I am a very> educated person and I have
no problems with cold-calling, hitting the
> streets myself, etc. However, what little marketing education I have is>
outdated and I would like to increase my knowledge before I jump in again>
with no experience or idea.> I know that my measley 1K in 2 years is nothing
compared to what most do,> but then again I jumped into the business without
any knowledge or experience or outside help and I do everything from design
to manufacture to> shipping and all of the other sales-support things as
well as all of the> sales myself.. However, I do have imagination, vision,
education, the> willingness to work long and hard to acheive my goals, and I
also realize> that "failure" is just an excuse non-successful use to quit.
I have had> many large mistakes and failures in this little project and I
have learned
> from them and turned them into a learning experience that allows me to>
rectify the problems and profitably move on. > I see the now as time to
either quit altogether or to get organized and> become a veritable force in
my niche. Any help or advice on how to> implement a field or internet
marketing campaign would be most helpful.> so if you can give any advice,
tips, or sources on where I can learn some> good marketing strategies and
practices to be able to allow my business to> grow then I would appreciate
it very much.> thank you> Gladen
-------------------------

First of all I want to say "congrats" on your success. And it is a success
that you can be proud of. Keep on going. Giving up too soon is a mistake.
You will always make some mistakes so learning from them is important. Move
slowly until you feel comfortable. I did the same thing, started from
almost nothing. Used materials I had in the house, put together a sample
line and went out and knocked on doors. My product line haunted me until I
gave in to it and pursued the dream. I told my accountant that "I'm trying
not to spend money", to keep my expenses down. I nearly drove myself into
the ground from overwork so this year I slowed down considerably (this being
my 3rd year). I saw that I hit an untapped market and ran with it.
Although I will probably show a loss for 2003, I consider myself, my product
and my direction, a success. I have been buying machines and letting the
business grow on its own.
As far as marketing is concerned, every product has a different image to
relay and should be marketed in a differently. There are tons written on
successful and catchy marketing gimmicks. Read and pick one that you feel
comfortable with. Inexpensive marketing is a ratio between amounts spent on
the campaign and the sales realized. Remember the I Love Lucy Show where
Ricky was always talking about publicity stunts? Somehow there was a gain
from the various stunts acted out to get attention, to him, to his club, to
his act, etc., thus hopefully gaining fame. There are many ways to generate
interest in your business or product. Freebies, incentives, charitables.
Working hand in hand with an organization to raise money for a good cause.
My business consists of cards and gifts made from photographs. I have sold
some of my cards touting a charitable donation from each sale. Everyone
including me, is happy. I have other plans to promote my site adding hiking
news and calendar of events to it eventually. I also plan an inexpensive
print ad campaign to draw even more. I have a brochure out too and I get
inquiries all the time from it. I can picture your 60-70 T shirt images in
a brochure to choose from. I make my own brochures so that I can change them
all the time. Also I make sure that I am not a slave to anyone.
Having sales reps passing the brochures around or taking orders from them
for a commission could be productive.
Think about what Avon does and follow their format.
Good luck to you, Harriet
Paper & Images http://paperandimages.home.att.net

if you want to drive traffic to your site to sell them tshirts, --vs
traditional sales, I would start with ebay and list your tshirst there and
go through the process of setting up a payment system, shipping, dealing
with people worldwide. Once you master the ebay market, move to your own
web site and do internet marketing: pay per click, site optimization
techniques, banner ads. If you are willing to study and learn, pick up HTML
and use it to create emails, newsletters, etc. Ebay is the training grounds
for both beginners and advanced sellers looking to go to the next level.
Continued success!!!!!
"Harriet" <none@nowhere.com> wrote in message
news:bso2m802fbq@enews2.newsguy.com...
>
>
> "Gladen Blackshield" <gladen@verizon.net> wrote in message
> news:bsn0ti02lc6@enews4.newsguy.com...
> > OK, this may be real small-potatoes to the rest of you, but I would
like>
> some sound advice from the more experienced...
> > About 2 years ago I found myself financially challenged to do such
little>
> things as pay the bills, etc. I was worried about the holidays for my>
> family so I decided to do something about it. I looked into several
> "online> opportunities" and found them lacking, so I set my own course of
> action with> minimal funds.> I took my $40 or lunch money for the month
and
> purchased a CDRW on sale. I> compiled a few CD's worth of information and
> sold them on Ebay until I had a> few hundred to play with. With that
money
> I invested in an out-dated> laminate press (a heat press) and procured a
> wholesale source for T-shirts
> > and blank high-quality heat transfers.> I designed about 60-70 T-shirt
> designs that showed attitude and humor and
> > began to market them on the internet. I had no real marketing plan, no>
> capital,no materials initial stock purchases, and just an idea and a lot
of>
> creativitity. > In 2002 I had a net loss of about $200 thanks to my tax
> accoutnant although> I did pull in more than I spent. In 2003 my net
> figures are showing a> profit of close to $1000. although this is very
> small time, I started with
> > $40, so I see it as a good payoff for a part-time project.> Although my
> extra income has allowed me to pay the bills I now see both the> desire to
> expand my volume potential and marketing; I also have the desire> to
> potentially turn this side-project into a lucrative full-time operation.>
I
> looked over every facet of my business and identified every hurdle that>
was
> limitng either the quality of my product or my caapcities to do a large>
> volume and have began the steps to quickly and cheaply solve them.
> > > I have re-invested my profits into upgrading my equipment (I was
> actually> using the old press and a standard-grade, consumer model
> printer )to more> reliable equiment that will net me professional quality
> with a minimum of> material losses, and have been redesigning my website
to
> accomidate the new> designs and superior quality. Likewise, I have
decided
> upon a new system to> use that will open up hundreds of other products
that
> I can put images and> logos, etc. on. This does increase my per-unit cost
> by $1 or so, but the> durability and quality of the product will be
> increased several times over;> which will allow my end-user price to be
more
> even with my competitors in> the marketplace, but still cheaper for what
now
> will be the same quality.
> > This will open me up for bulk-sized orders, company jobs, promotions,
> etc.> Needless to say, I am looking forward to a much better year, which
is>
> serendipitous because the company that I work for in the day is more than>
> likely going to fold due to the economy.> My question is this. Given the
> background I have outlined above, can anyone> recommend a good source for
a
> cheap or free marketing campagin? I am a very> educated person and I have
> no problems with cold-calling, hitting the
> > streets myself, etc. However, what little marketing education I have
is>
> outdated and I would like to increase my knowledge before I jump in again>
> with no experience or idea.> I know that my measley 1K in 2 years is
nothing
> compared to what most do,> but then again I jumped into the business
without
> any knowledge or experience or outside help and I do everything from
design
> to manufacture to> shipping and all of the other sales-support things as
> well as all of the> sales myself.. However, I do have imagination,
vision,
> education, the> willingness to work long and hard to acheive my goals, and
I
> also realize> that "failure" is just an excuse non-successful use to quit.
> I have had> many large mistakes and failures in this little project and I
> have learned
> > from them and turned them into a learning experience that allows me to>
> rectify the problems and profitably move on. > I see the now as time to
> either quit altogether or to get organized and> become a veritable force
in
> my niche. Any help or advice on how to> implement a field or internet
> marketing campaign would be most helpful.> so if you can give any advice,
> tips, or sources on where I can learn some> good marketing strategies and
> practices to be able to allow my business to> grow then I would appreciate
> it very much.> thank you> Gladen
> -------------------------
>
> First of all I want to say "congrats" on your success. And it is a
success
> that you can be proud of. Keep on going. Giving up too soon is a mistake.
> You will always make some mistakes so learning from them is important.
Move
> slowly until you feel comfortable. I did the same thing, started from
> almost nothing. Used materials I had in the house, put together a sample
> line and went out and knocked on doors. My product line haunted me until
I
> gave in to it and pursued the dream. I told my accountant that "I'm
trying
> not to spend money", to keep my expenses down. I nearly drove myself into
> the ground from overwork so this year I slowed down considerably (this
being
> my 3rd year). I saw that I hit an untapped market and ran with it.
> Although I will probably show a loss for 2003, I consider myself, my
product
> and my direction, a success. I have been buying machines and letting the
> business grow on its own.
> As far as marketing is concerned, every product has a different image to
> relay and should be marketed in a differently. There are tons written on
> successful and catchy marketing gimmicks. Read and pick one that you feel
> comfortable with. Inexpensive marketing is a ratio between amounts spent
on
> the campaign and the sales realized. Remember the I Love Lucy Show where
> Ricky was always talking about publicity stunts? Somehow there was a gain
> from the various stunts acted out to get attention, to him, to his club,
to
> his act, etc., thus hopefully gaining fame. There are many ways to
generate
> interest in your business or product. Freebies, incentives, charitables.
> Working hand in hand with an organization to raise money for a good cause.
> My business consists of cards and gifts made from photographs. I have
sold
> some of my cards touting a charitable donation from each sale. Everyone
> including me, is happy. I have other plans to promote my site adding
hiking
> news and calendar of events to it eventually. I also plan an inexpensive
> print ad campaign to draw even more. I have a brochure out too and I get
> inquiries all the time from it. I can picture your 60-70 T shirt images
in
> a brochure to choose from. I make my own brochures so that I can change
them
> all the time. Also I make sure that I am not a slave to anyone.
> Having sales reps passing the brochures around or taking orders from them
> for a commission could be productive.
> Think about what Avon does and follow their format.
> Good luck to you, Harriet
> Paper & Images http://paperandimages.home.att.net
>
>
>