In response to all of the email I receive, I’ve decided to start a “reader mailbag” to handle a lot of the simpler questions that I get that don’t necessarily warrant a full article by themselves. Each week, I’ll answer questions that are asked in these reader mailbag posts, If you have a question you’d like to ask, leave a comment or send an email.
Harvey:
Can you recommend a site where I can buy a business?
Dane: Have you seen BizzFlip? They’re a free classified ad network for entrepreneurs.
Erika:
I am creating a Christmas card that I hope to sell to family and friends in order to raise money. I have the sketch finished and now I need to get the actual painting done. I need your advise and input. I shared this idea with my group and they all loved it but one lady said that my idea of putting the card on Cafe Press and selling it through this site would not be the best way to raise money as the service takes a large portion of the earnings. In case you are not familiar with this site, you upload your design and choose the products you wish to have it on. The site sets a base price per item (I think it is like $2.99 per card) and then you mark up the price and receive that portion as a profit. Christmas cards usually come in boxes of 24 but I could offer them as a single item).
Dane: If you just want to design products and sell them, CafePress (or similar services) sounds exactly like what you’re looking for. With the service, you don’t have to worry about printing, shipping or other parts of the fulfillment process — you just want to make a great product and sell it!
Mike:
How do I submit something for your site on a business opportunity that is currently not on your site.
Dane: Just send me some information in an email. About 50% of business opportunities that I profile are written because someone sent me information about their business. I don’t just republish your information, like all of the other franchise/bizop sites though. I will offer an honest assessment of your business.
Rick:
I just discovered your blogsite, and have a few questions. You claim to only put those business opportunities that are not scams on your site. How do you screen or test these?
Dane: I review as much information as I can find, talk to as many people as I can, and then sometimes I have to rely upon my readers to help point out scams.
Tom:
Can you really make money blogging? Do you?
Dane: While I don’t comment publicly on my, or the site’s finances, this site has been up and running since 2001 and I am my family’s sole breadwinner.
In general, though, yes you can make money blogging. It just takes a lot of work and picking the right niche. Johns Wu just sold his blog Bankaholic for 15 million dollars, but plenty of other small blogs generate enough Adsense revenue to buy the groceries or pay the rent.
Reginald:
All the houses in my neighborhood are foreclosed. I’m still in high school and don’t have any money. How can I make some quick money from the housing crisis?
Dane: Bad business for some can be good business for others. There’s a local company in my town that paints dead lawns green and is busier than ever because of the foreclosure crisis. The business is called Greener Grass Company and 40 times a month, owner Nick Terlouw is making brown yards look green again. Maybe you could do something like that.
Photo by Steve 2.0.