An eastern man, who had made a special study of human nature and of business morals, evolved a novel plan which enabled him to establish a small collection agency, and expand the business so rapidly by means of his idea that in the course of six years he was the head of four large collection agencies in as many prominent cities, and was deriving a large income from it. His letter heads and stationery all bore his name as “attorney and counsellor at law.”
His plan, though effective, was very simple: Securing accounts for collection, he would send to a bank in the debtor’s city a sight draft on the man owing the account, with instructions to the bank to return it to him promptly if not paid when due. He also had printed on the margin of the draft a detachable slip, saying: “No protest. Take this off before presenting.”
He knew that every man wants to stand well in the estimation of his banker, as the man who keeps his credit good can obtain bank accommodations which would otherwise be denied him, and he knew that if the account was correct, the debtor would pay it to the bank sooner than to anyone else. Therefore he was very successful in making prompt collections. In the few cases where his method failed to bring the money he was not out anything as he charged the creditor 10 cents for every draft so sent out.
A young lawyer in a western city added considerably to his professional fees, and at the same time aided many other lawyers to install method and system in their offices by originating an alphabetical index of court papers and other legal forms, having the name of each paper duly set out opposite a certain number following, and keeping the forms in files for that purpose, each bearing a corresponding number.
By this means it was but the work of a moment to find in the index the name and number of the paper desired, and then turn to the file containing the number. It saved a great deal of time and space.
So convenient and time-saving did this method prove to be, that he secured a copyright on it, and had a large number of the indexes printed, which he sold readily to other lawyers in his own and adjoining states for $15.00 a set.
This was a great help to a young lawyer just beginning practice. His service was nearly all profit, and he was able to give time to the lawyer to pay, but he usually obtained all the payment on delivery. This will afford more than a living to any salesman.
A successful writer of showcards, employed by a large eastern retail house, felt that in helping others to become as proficient in that line as he was himself, he could make money thereby, and he decided to write a book explaining every detail of the work in so thorough a manner that even those of only medium ability could understand and apply the principles as taught by himself.
He therefore prepared a book of seventeen chapters, treating exhaustively of every phase of showcard writing, including free-hand work, equipment, practice and principles, strokes, geometry of letters, round-writing pen practice, forms of lettering, outline, single-stroke letters, layout and spacing, ink and paints, primary and secondary colors, bronze, flitter, etc., catch-phrases, hints to card-writers, and much other valuable information.
He placed the price of his book at $1 per copy, and by advertising in trade papers all over the country he sold several thousand of them the first year.
A young lawyer, just out of college, located in a northwestern city of about 75,000 people, and, though his practice was not large during the first few years, he made a fair living.
An old, dilapidated frame house, within a mile and a half of the business center, was offered at a low price, there being a mortgage on the place for $1,800. The owner being anxious to get rid of the mortgage, offered to sell his equity for $50, and the lawyer bought it. Then he mastered his pride, went to work and cleaned up the premises thoroughly, and spent $150 for painting and other improvements, and moved into it with his family. It then looked like a new place, and a number of trees with a good lawn gave it a very attractive and home-like appearance.
After he had lived in the house a few months, the owner of a farm within a few miles of the city, who wanted a home in town, and greatly admired this particular place, offered to trade the farm for the lawyer’s equity in the city residence. The farm was worth $5,000, but had a $1,500 mortgage on it, and the lawyer made the trade, taking the farm, subject to the mortgage. The city house had cost him $200, while his equity in the farm was $3,500 or $3,300 ahead of his cash outlay.
Forty acres of the farm thus acquired were covered with a good growth of timber, which not only provided the new owner with all the fuel he would need during the rest of his life, but also enabled him to pay the interest on the mortgage every year through the sale of extra wood from fallen trees, etc.
There was an excellent 5-room house on the farm, surrounded by about six acres of orchard and garden, all in exceptionally good soil. He spent about $100 in fixing up the house and grounds and used the place as a summer home, going to and from his office in the city each week in his automobile.
He hired a young fellow in the country to plow, plant and cultivate the orchard and garden, and to sow the thirty-two acres in wheat, which brought him about $1,000, while the cost of having all this work done did not exceed $250. Part of the garden he planted in sugar beets and potatoes, and having bought a small grinder and cider press, he proceeded to make his own sugar, vinegar, cider, etc., while with the grinder he ground up sufficient of his own wheat to supply his family with the highest quality of whole-wheat bread, breakfast food, etc. As for his meats, he raised a few dozen chickens during the summer season, and had spring frys in abundance, besides plenty of eggs. He also bought a couple of shoats at a low price, which cost nothing to raise, but which produced enough hams, bacon, pork and lard, when killed in the fall, to supply himself and family for almost a year. His milk, butter, tea, coffee, and other groceries did not cost over $100 a year, so that on his wheat crop alone he realized a net profit of $650, in addition to something like $200 worth of canned fruits and vegetables. Besides, the health of the family was greatly improved through a residence of a few months in the country.
Methods which are claimed to be infallible for keeping eggs fresh indefinitely are almost as numerous as the eggs themselves, yet many of these methods, while more or less expensive are far from reliable. However, a Denver poultry man, who had tried all the various ways of preserving eggs, finally adopted a method of his own, which has proved very successful.
Placing a dozen or more strictly fresh eggs in a wire basket, he dipped them in boiling water, deep enough to cover every egg, and held them there while he counted six. He then let them dry and cool, and packed them in oats, in a keg or barrel with oats on the bottom and between the eggs. Then he added a layer of oats and a layer of eggs, alternately, placing the small end of the eggs down, until the barrel was full, then shaking it slightly so that the oats would settle all about the eggs. Some of these eggs were not used until a year afterwards, when they were found to be as fresh as the day they were packed.
Having proved his method a success, he at once advertised to sell the method for 50 cents, and derived an income of $1,200 a year, in direct returns, while the profits on his own supply of eggs, thus treated, were increased almost 40 per cent, as he could keep them until prices were high.
If orchardists and gardeners were assured that they could almost double the size and greatly improve the flavor of fruits and vegetables, by a very simple and inexpensive plan, they would willingly pay almost any price for the information.
A fruit grower in California discovered this method, used it with good results in promoting the growth of his own products, and made a large amount of money by selling the secret to thousands of others engaged in the same line.
His method was to water his fruit trees and vegetables with a solution of sulphate of iron, and the effect was amazing. The size and flavor of those thus treated were vastly increased and yielded almost twice the revenue formerly derived from the same products. He also treated flowers in the same way, and was surprised to learn that it gave them a peculiar brilliancy of coloring, as well as an exceptionally healthy aspect.
Having fully demonstrated the efficacy of this method, he advertised in a number of agricultural and horticultural journals, announcing his discovery, and offering to send the method to any one for 50 cents. The returns were surprising, and his receipts from this source amounted to more than $2,000 during the first twelve months.
When eggs are selling at 50 to 60 cents a dozen most people are glad to use a substitute, especially when the substitute, for many purposes, is superior to real eggs.
A gardener in Los Angeles, who had experimented in many ways with vegetables of all kinds, discovered that carrots can be made a very satisfactory substitute for eggs. He boils, mashes and presses them through a coarse cloth or hair strainer, and uses them in making a pudding by introducing the pulp among the other ingredients of the pudding, using no eggs whatever. A pudding thus made is not only much lighter, but much more palatable than one in which eggs are used.
The results were so satisfactory, when used in his own home, that he at once wrote out full instructions for preparing the carrots, had 1,000 copies printed, and advertised to mail the information for 50 cents. He received so many remittances that his 1,000 copies were soon all used up, and several thousand more were printed. To-day he is in receipt of an income that makes him a good living, simply through letting other people know about his discovery, and having them pay for it. But it is well worth the price.
How many farmers know that hogs can be fattened on hay? One farmer in eastern Washington knew it, and made profitable use of his knowledge, not only in fattening his own porkers at a small expense, but in supplying the information to other farmers. This is the secret of it:
Providing himself with a cutting-box, he cut very green hay short, mixed it with bran, shorts or middlings, and fed it the same as other feed. Hogs soon become fond of this, especially when soaked in swill or other slops. In the winter he fed his hogs the same kind of hay that he fed his horses, and they fattened on that as rapidly as on anything that could be given them, even corn or shorts.
Convinced that he had made an important discovery, he advertised in a number of farm and stock journals that for 50 cents he would send full information regarding the fattening of hogs by a new method, and received hundreds of replies containing enclosures. So many of these came in that they afforded him a steady and comfortable income, besides the greatly increased profits derived from fattening his hogs at a comparatively trifling cost.
While everyone recognizes the value of a vacuum cleaner in the removal of dust and dirt from house furnishings, comparatively few people own them, as it requires considerable of an outlay to buy one, and more or less exertion to operate it.
A young woman in a western city, who was in the habit of thinking matters over for herself, thought she saw an opportunity in this fact to make a little money for herself by relieving people of these expenditures, and she therefore bought one of the best makes of vacuum cleaners, on the installment plan, and started out to build up a little business of her own.
Calling at a number of homes where she had reason to believe there was not one of these conveniences, she secured several contracts, on her first day’s canvass, to come once a week and give the house a thorough going over with her machine, at a stipulated price per hour. Figuring that she could perform this service satisfactorily in two average homes each day, she continued soliciting until she had twelve permanent patrons, and then began her work.
From the very beginning, her receipts averaged $5 a day. She has not only paid all the installments on her vacuum cleaner, but has made a good-sized payment on a little bungalow, which is now her home.
A young man from Chicago, who had been connected for several years with the advertising department of one of the city’s big dailies, was obliged to go west on account of failing health, and decided to locate in a northwestern city of about 100,000 population.
Here he found a number of weekly publications, all more or less lacking in advertising patronage, and, being an expert in that line, he saw an opportunity to build up a good business for himself, while adding greatly to the revenues of those struggling periodicals.
He therefore interviewed the publishers, and made them the following proposition: That he would secure advertisements for them, up to a certain amount, at the regular rate of commission, and all in excess of that amount of advertising should belong to him.
The publishers were glad to make this arrangement, as it meant at least twice as much business as they ever had before, so he went to work and soon had doubled the advertising in each of the papers. It was then an easy matter to obtain still more, for his own exclusive benefit, and his net earnings the first year were over $5,000.
He also secured ads. for special publications, with the understanding that after enough had been obtained to pay the cost of the ads. the balance should all be his.
A New York man, who had written many scenarios for motion picture companies, finally concluded to start a paper devoted to that industry, and adopted a novel means of securing subscriptions for it.
He advertised in a number of magazines that for 25 cents he would send his paper for an entire year, and at the same time would mail each subscriber a sample scenario, showing how to construct the plot, together with a list of film manufacturers in the market for motion-picture plays, etc.
By this means he not only obtained several thousand subscribers, but enabled many aspiring scenario writers to construct plays that found a ready demand when submitted to the various companies making use of them. To be sure, he sent the same sample scenario to all his subscribers, and the cost of it was only the expense of having it printed in large lots. But this plan built up a good subscription list, which made his advertising space very valuable and brought excellent returns.
A young photographer in a northwestern city, who was very fond of children, and was unusually successful in making good photographs of the little ones, opened a studio in an exclusive residence section of the city, and fitted up the lawn in front as an attractive playground. There were many trees all around the place, and these greatly heightened the park-like effect he wished to produce. Rustic seats, swings, etc., were arranged among the trees in front of the house, and the children of the city were invited to make it their common playground, under certain restrictions, of course, requiring them to be quiet and orderly.
Then he began the work of making photographs of children exclusively, arranging them singly or in groups and in various posings, on the lawn when the weather was good, or in the artistically-arranged studio at times unfavorable for outdoor work.
These pictures soon created so great a demand that mothers brought their children from all over the city, as well as from outside points, to have them photographed. Within a year from the time he established his studio for children’s photographs, he was enjoying an income that averaged $500 a month.
A former newspaper man who was incapacitated for active service on the city dailies, concluded that he could still make a comfortable living by turning his talents toward condensing the numerous publications issued by the department of agriculture, compiling their salient features into one volume, and selling the work to farmers, stock-raisers, gardeners and others who had either neglected to send for the government pamphlets, or did not know they could be secured free, or did not read them.
He therefore wrote to Washington, D. C., secured copies of all the various publications obtainable, and made a brief, concise synopsis of their contents, in attractive form.
He bound them in one book with paper covers, and advertised in farm and other papers at 50 cents a volume.
A New York lawyer who had had a large experience in business matters, decided to remove to San Francisco, mainly for climatic reasons, and concluded to enlarge upon the scope of his former activities in the eastern metropolis.
He therefore opened an office and announced that he would act as business adviser to all, and would superintend the organization of large corporations, keeping them advised as to all business as well as legal aspects of their undertakings, look after the intricate affairs of established concerns that desired to improve their business methods, and give advice in all matters requiring careful supervision or reconstruction.
Being a man of unusual ability, he charged reasonable fees for his services, and in the course of a few years was held in such esteem that his advice was much in demand. This work put him in touch with propositions in which he was able to make big profits.
If we are to consult a doctor when we are sick, a dentist when we have a toothache, a carpenter when we want a house built, then why not consult a specialist in apparel when we want to be properly clothed? That’s what a Denver dealer in men’s clothing and furnishings asked himself, and forthwith proceeded to find the answer.
Carrying an exceptionally fine and very complete line of the “best in men’s wear,” and possessing a taste in matters of dress that won the confidence of his patrons and the envy of his competitors, he decided upon a novel mode of procedure, and carried it out with success.
With tact that conveyed a compliment rather than a criticism, and gave pleasure instead of offense, he skilfully and diplomatically suggested to each of one hundred of his closely intimate male friends that he would appreciate the favor of engaging as their adviser for a year in all matters of dress; in the selection of suits, overcoats, hats, shoes, gloves, and furnishings complete—not so much for the small profit there would be in it, but in order that each man so appareled could be pointed out as a model of perfect taste in dress, when fitted out from the dealer’s stock of men’s accessories, and in accordance with his well-known judgment in matters of that sort. He suggested that his patrons need not spend over $200 to $250 to be well dressed for that entire period.
To every one of these the dealer gave his careful personal attention, devoting hours, if necessary, to the smallest detail of his patrons’ needs, and every man was a living advertisement of this clothing man’s good taste in dress.
A Seattle man who had had considerable experience in selling goods of various kinds, and had formerly been head buyer for a large department store, which gave him special knowledge of all classes of merchandise, as well as the retail prices of goods, decided to make use of his knowledge, so went into business for himself.
He had a full line of good stationery printed, calling himself the “Blank Sales Company,” and used this in writing to manufacturers all over the country, asking to be quoted the very lowest prices on their products.
At the same time he advertised that he would supply any article of merchandise, at prices below those asked by local retail dealers, and, in answer to inquiries for certain articles, quoted figures that were low, but the patron was in all cases required to pay the freight on the articles purchased.
Shipments were made direct from the manufacturer to the customer, he was not required to handle the goods, but collect and remit the net every thirty days, which left him a good margin of profit. His earnings the first year were very large. This business has no limitations.
A widow and her daughter, who lived in a rickety old house on a run-down farm in the Middle West, were greatly distressed by the lack of funds with which to improve the appearance and comfort of the old dwelling, but had never been able to accumulate the necessary funds to have it done.
The farm was every year yielding a greater quantity of fruit, berries, and vegetables than they could possibly use, and this surplus was all going to waste for the want of care. Finally the widow said to her daughter: “Let’s can this surplus, and we will get good prices for it later in the season.” So they began.
They had a few fruit jars and jelly glasses, all of which they filled with good grades of fruit, vegetables and berries, and then bought as many more as they could afford, besides what sugar they needed for canning. A few cans of their fruits, as well as some of their jellies and preserves, they sold to well-to-do neighbors and city people, at good prices, and so well pleased were the purchasers of their products that they never found it necessary to advertise or peddle their goods, for people came for them and bought until the supply was exhausted. And the buyers were always willing to return their jars and glasses, when empty, so their outlay thereafter was small.
They cleared nearly $100 that first season, $220 the second year, and at the end of the third year they had enough money to fix up the old house and make it an attractive, homelike, country residence. But they still can and preserve the surplus from their orchard and garden, and are making a good living from it.
A young shoe clerk in Chicago developed so great a “knack” for correctly fitting children’s shoes, with special study of the habits as well as the feet of the children, that scores of mothers who brought their little ones into the store would allow no one else to wait upon them. No matter how busy he was—they would patiently wait their turn until he could attend to the delicate matter of fitting each child, regardless of its age or disposition. This is his method:
For the active, outdoor boy he selects a heavier, more substantial shoe than for the studious, indoor child. He takes off the old shoe, notes its size and shape, measures the foot, feels of the arch, to see whether high or low, and chooses for the new shoe one that is one and one-half sizes larger than the actual measurement, to allow room for spreading. If the child is very heavy, he allows two sizes larger. He runs his fingers along the three small toes of the foot, when the shoe is on; if the toes are curled up, the shoe is too narrow. Then he notes the position of the big-toe joint, to be sure the shoe is the proper length. For the child with weak ankles, or just learning to walk, he supplies shoes with whalebone supports in the back, and for the child with normal feet he advises the soft leather shoe with flexible soles. He disagrees with doctors who urge arch supports, as he says the shoe that keeps the foot in the best position is the proper one.
The reputation of his skill for fitting children’s shoes spread throughout the entire shoe trade of Chicago, and one day the head of a large retail shoe house in that city came in and offered him a one-fourth interest in his business if he would take charge of the children’s shoe department, and teach his art to the other clerks. It makes little difference what calling one is in if he likes his work and puts himself into it his opportunity is sure to come.
Most of the housewives in America believe that home-canned vegetables nearly always spoil. That is because they do not understand the important part played by bacteria in the canning process. Vegetables contain a large amount of proteid, the favorite food of bacteria, and unless these bacteria are destroyed, vegetables canned in summer are almost certain to spoil.
On the other hand, fruits—and these include tomatoes—contain but little proteid, but a great amount of acid, (which bacteria especially dislike) and are therefore much easier to can, as well as to keep.
A young farmer’s wife in Illinois, who had made a close study of bacteria, knew exactly what to do in the matter of canning vegetables. She knew that bacteria, in order to protect themselves even against the heat of boiling water, form thick-walled bodies or spores, and that the first boiling simply causes the spores to grow, while a second or a third boiling effectually destroys them. She has tried this method often enough to be sure of it.
She therefore wrote a little booklet on “How to Can Summer Vegetables,” placed the price at 50 cents per copy, and advertised it in a number of women’s magazines and other periodicals. Many answers came in, enclosing 50 cents, and she sent out thousands of copies during the first three months. Often people make special study on certain subjects and have special experience along that line which if put in pamphlet form would be valuable to other people who would be willing to pay 25 to 50 cents for it.
Both patriotism and profit are what prompted an Ohio man to raise homing pigeons for war purposes, and the business has proven a great success, from every point of view.
From early boyhood pigeons have interested him more than anything else in the world, and he understood these remarkable birds very well.
These pigeons are not the soft, cooing dove of fiction, but are beautiful in color and line, alert, strong, tight-feathered, athletic, gamebirds with bright, farseeing eyes and marvelous courage. They are used in war for carrying messages from the front trenches to the bases back of the lines, and 97 per cent of these messages, upon which either victory or defeat may hang, reach their destination.
A section of this man’s pigeon loft shows separate apartments for each pair of birds, painted alternately black and white.
The birds manifest the most intense loyalty to their mates, and he has raised thousands of them for the cause of the Government, and, as they can be utilized with equal advantage in peaceful pursuits, a certain means of revenue is thus opened to thousands of other breeders of these wonderful birds.
A young married couple, who lived near a car line in the suburb of a western city, decided to engage in the raising of squabs, as the hotels and restaurants of the city afforded a permanent and profitable market for them.
Having secured a few birds, together with a book giving complete instructions as to their care, feeding, marketing, etc., they constructed suitable quarters for them, and determined that, above all things, they would keep their nests and grounds absolutely clean; which is a very important part of successful squab raising. They had ample space for their birds, gave them the best of care, and constantly watched every phase of their growth and breeding, so that, from less than a dozen birds, with which they started in the spring, they had more than 150 by fall, all strong, vigorous, healthy specimens.
They felt that they could spare a certain number for the market during the early winter, and these they prepared with the greatest care and cleanliness, so that they brought top prices, and resulted in a standing order from several of the leading hotels and cafes for all the squabs they could supply.
While their receipts from this source were only a little over $100 the first year, the second year brought them $350, the third year $600, and after that they could count on at least $1,000 a year net profit from their squabs, while the husband was earning a good salary as a salesman in the city.
A former newspaper man and publicity writer in a western city, who had written and revised many books, pamphlets, prospectuses, etc., became impressed with the fact that many persons who wished to become authors of short stories, serials, poetry and miscellaneous articles, were sadly lacking in the knowledge of how to prepare their manuscripts in such a way as to make them acceptable to publishers. He also realized that, even if they knew how to properly arrange their manuscripts, few, if any of them, knew the names, addresses and needs of the various magazines and other publications that accept certain classes of stories or articles.
Having a complete list of such periodicals and possessing both the ability and experience which qualify him to render valuable and timely aid to aspiring authors, he advertised, asking authors to send him their manuscripts for review, adding that he might assist them in finding a market for their productions.
Many answers were received, to the writers of which he sent a well-written letter, showing the necessity for competent assistance in such matters, and quoting a reasonable graduated scale of charges for the work of revision, according to the number of words in a manuscript. In a short time he developed a good paying business.
Plan No. 563. The Eye of the Master will do More Work than Both his Hands
An experienced ad. solicitor in a California city, who wished to go into business for himself, conceived the idea of publishing a complete school directory, which would be without cost to the school board, and would net him a good profit.
He therefore interviewed the members of the board, and said to them: “If you will furnish me with the school calendar for the coming year, the names and addresses, with telephone numbers, of the board of directors, the standing committees of the same, dates of regular meetings, personnel and location of the superintendent’s office, supervisors, attendance officer, health supervision, superintendent of buildings and journals, manual training department, department of household arts, high schools, evening schools, and graded schools, with names, addresses and telephone numbers of principals, assistants and teachers, and an alphabetical list of all the latter, I will print it in the best directory form, absolutely at my own expense, provided I shall receive all the proceeds of whatever advertising of an approved nature I can secure for the same.”
The board accepted the offer, placed all the required data at his disposal, and he then began to secure ads. for the directory. Advertisers were so favorably impressed with the value of his directory as a medium of publicity, that he contracted for enough to bring him in over $1,800. The directory, when printed, cost him less than $400.
An advertisement writer in a western city, who had made a good success in that work, having enrolled practically all the leading merchants of his city in his list of patrons, decided to establish an advertising school, in order to teach others the art or profession in which he had become so proficient.
He therefore advertised in the papers of his own and surrounding cities, offering a thorough course of instruction in the designing and writing of advertisements, which instructions would be sent by mail upon receipt of $10, and many replies were received.
He accordingly prepared and had printed in attractive and comprehensive form a series of five brief lectures, as follows:
“General Instructions”; “The Study of Type”; “Measurements and Lay-Out”; “Building the Ad”; “Proof-Reading”; with instructions and examples relating to each, which made it easy to understand and apply, and proved a great aid to those who wished to make ad. writing a life business.
He received many letters expressing deep gratitude for the assistance thus afforded aspiring publicity specialists. This work yielded him a revenue of over $2,000 a year.
The former president of the alumni association of a high school in a prominent western city figured out a plan which brought a great deal of pleasure to all its members, and incidentally netted him a profit of $2,000 for about two months’ work.
He accomplished this by interviewing the principal of the high school, who was able to supply him with the names and addresses of nearly 80 per cent of the alumni members, and the balance he secured by calling upon those in close touch with such as had located elsewhere.
When his list was completed, he secured advertisements sufficient to fill several pages, charged a good price for his space, and had the entire collection printed in attractive directory form.
Then he sent letters to all the members whose names were to appear in the book, announced the publication thereof, and placed the price at $1 per copy. The dollars came in until he had received over five hundred of them, and, having collected for the advertising and paid for the printing, he found he had $2,000 left. Then he went to other cities and did the same thing.
A successful orchardist and gardener of Spokane, Washington, attributes a part of the profits he has derived from his fruit and vegetable culture to the encouragement he has given birds to come to his place.
Knowing a great deal about the habits and the needs of birds, he realized that ample bathing facilities for them are greatly appreciated and he at once proceeded to supply them with this luxury, for if there is anything a bird likes it is his daily bath.
To encourage them to make his place their permanent home, he built a wooden frame, about 12x20 inches in size and 6 inches deep, and into this frame he poured concrete, which he mixed, leaving a shallow depression in the center, which would hold about a quart of water. These concrete baths he placed on top of an upright piece of 4x4 scantling sunk into the ground. He put the bath on this post and filled the bath with water, and awaited results. Inside of ten minutes a dozen birds had gathered at the outdoor bathing place thus provided and were enjoying their bath as though it were the greatest luxury of their lives. He then put up eight or ten more throughout the orchard, garden, and yard, and in a short time the place was literally alive with birds.
Plan No. 567. The Bird Bath
Before long insects of all kinds had been reduced and his fruits and vegetables gave him better yields. He thereupon began to manufacture the bird-baths by the hundreds, at a cost of about 5 cents each, and through a little advertising was enabled to sell them for $1 apiece.
A New York young woman wanted to become a nurse, so she consulted a physician who was a specialist and recognized authority on diabetes, and asked him what he would advise as a distinctive specialty for her to follow. His answer was: “Become a nurse for diabetics. They are clean and easy cases to handle, involving no disagreeable duties, and as most of them are able to attend to their regular business every day, the nurse has an abundance of time for her own improvement. But she must know her business thoroughly, be an expert in every detail, and possess a personality that instantly wins confidence. If you have that personality and are well informed as to the nature and treatment of diabetes, you will succeed.”
She was so greatly impressed with the soundness of this advice that she at once began to perfect herself in her chosen calling, and in order to do this effectually, she arranged to take care of several diabetic patients under treatment by this physician. This gave her a practical insight into the malady itself and the treatment it required, and after a course of study and experience with this specialist she made this work her specialty.
The first one came in the person of a wealthy business man who was just beginning to take treatment from the diabetes specialist, and had progressed so rapidly that he was in proper shape to be sent to his home, but was told that he would require the constant attendance of a thoroughly competent nurse for several months; that she must remain at his home during all that time, and that he must regulate his diet, activities and conduct strictly according to her instructions, to all of which he readily agreed, as he did not want to go to a hospital for so long a time.
The nurse had thoroughly familiarized herself with all the books and treatises relating to diabetes, especially the works of the specialist from whom she had received such valuable training. She therefore had a complete understanding of what was required of herself and her patient, both while taking the treatment and afterwards. She was bright, companionable, a good reader, and frequently entertained him by reading aloud. She prescribed every article in his diet, explaining to him the virtues and harmfulness of various articles of food, the values of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats and the care with which sugar and starches must be used, if permitted at all. She made daily tests of his urine, voided at 7 o’clock every morning, after which she weighed him carefully and recorded the gain or loss from day to day.
She instructed her patient that it was better for him to eat too little than too much, and thus avoid the danger of becoming upset. She planned the daily diet in advance, so that he should receive the proper amount of each necessary element, and cautioned the patient to eat slowly. She recorded the character and quantity of food taken daily by the patient. She saw to it that all vegetables were properly cleaned and prepared before cooking, and served the given portions raw. For breakfast she gave him coffee, cream, bacon and one egg; for luncheon, clear soup, meat or fish, and vegetables; for dinner, tea, or cracked cocoa, and a small portion of a cooked vegetable, salad, meat or fish.
She insisted that his bowels move freely, but gave no cathartic for that purpose, as she knew of much better ways to produce this result. She saw that he took moderate exercise, played games and indulged in other forms of entertainment, but all reference to his disease was positively forbidden, so that his mind did not dwell upon his condition, while his surroundings were made as cheerful as possible.
When giving an occasional massage, she used cocoa butter or other preparation containing fat, but no alcohol, owing to its drying effect, and was instructed to report promptly to the doctor any symptoms signifying coma, but fortunately nothing of this kind occurred.
She remained a member of the patient’s household for six months, during the latter part of which he was able to go to his office and attend to business, but she limited his working hours to four each day, with positive instructions to come home at once upon the least signs of fatigue.
From that time on, she was never without a patient, and though her work was not hard, it required all her resources, so that she was warranted in charging well for her services.
An advertising man in a western city successfully carried out a plan of advertising in the motion picture theaters of his own and thirty of the surrounding towns, and found it a profitable business.
He arranged with the managers of all these houses for a certain amount of advertising matter to be thrown upon their screens once each week for a year, at a figure which was very low. They were also to show motion pictures of the various departments of the manufacturers who were his regular advertisers, with attractive mottoes designed to encourage the patronizing of home industries. These were highly educational to each community.
He then made advertising contracts with a large number of merchants, manufacturers and others in the various towns for space on the screens, at rates that netted him a profit of 300 or 400 per cent, and in addition agreed to supply his advertisers free, with all items of a local character which might aid them in securing more business. He subscribed for one paper published in each of these towns, and his free information bureau he conducted with the aid of a girl to cut out and mail these items to such advertisers as might be interested in or benefited by them.
His business proved profitable for all concerned. The theatre managers received good prices for the use of their screens, the advertisers obtained good results and the manager of the business made a profit of better than $4,500 a year.
A man who was employed in a large stationery house in a northwestern city made extra money during his spare time by raising blooded dogs and selling them at good prices.
No matter for what purpose a dog was desired, whether for a child’s companion, a watch dog or hunting dog, he knew exactly the sort of dog to supply, and had the very finest specimens of all breeds constantly on hand to meet the demand.
His prices ranged from $5 and $10 for a young puppy to $25, and even $50, for one grown and well trained. He had read everything published relating to dogs, had the pedigrees of all the best ones, and bred only the best grade of animals. In the five years he was engaged in this as a side line, he cleared several thousand dollars.
A Minneapolis man made money by organizing what he called a “trade-tip bureau,” which consisted entirely of himself.
He contracted with 100 manufacturers, merchants and others to keep them fully informed with reference to all matters arising within a radius of 200 miles of his home city, and information which might prove beneficial to them, at so much from each firm per year.
He then subscribed for all the newspapers in the territory named, and read them carefully. Whenever he found an item that would be of interest to any of his clients, he would promptly inform that particular person of the fact, and in most cases the information thus supplied led to an opportunity for making a good profit. He usually sent a little note with each bunch of information, commenting on its possible use in their business. When a threshing machine was destroyed, he informed the manufacturer of threshing machines. If a firm in an outside town failed, he reported it to the local firm that bought bankrupt stocks. If a mining operator visited the city, he tipped off the hardware dealer who had powder to sell.
These are examples of the various services he rendered his patrons, and they were so highly pleased with the results that they continued to renew their contracts with him from year to year. His present income is more than $4,000 per annum.
A Chicago man who had been engaged in the mail-order business for many years, and had become familiar with this work in all its phases, published a booklet of eighty pages, containing valuable information and suggestions to other mail-order agents in regard to buying goods to be used for that purpose.
Following a brief introductory, relating the changes that have taken place in the mail-order business of late years, owing to the changing methods of both factories and stores, the work touched upon securing introductions to the trade; contracts; letters vs. trips; points to be considered before deciding; will cheap goods stay low? buying staple lines; factory trips; depending upon salesmen; trade tips; when to load up; cash and trade discounts; new contracts; the purchasing of novelties; market tours; keen observation; test sales; large profits for all concerned; danger signals; purchasing agency goods; thorough tests; giving out duplicate orders; keeping costs down; your own trade-mark; watch territorial requirements; saving in packaging, etc.
It was just such a booklet as the thousands of mail-order agents in this country will buy and read with profit, and he sold thousands of them for 50 cents a copy.
Any other good mail order agents might record their experience in a similar manner with equally satisfactory results.
The following is the method employed with profit by a well known eastern man who teaches the cultivation and improvement of the memory. He inserts ads. in all the papers as follows:
“Stop forgetting. It may cost you money. Memory can be perfected by my simple Home Method. Education not necessary. Easy to master. Sent prepaid for 50 cents. SEND NOW TO ——————”
“A good memory worth gold. Helps you succeed—is better than education. MY HOME METHOD easily and quickly applied; easy as reading a book. Send 50 cents for it, prepaid, NOW. Address ————————”
“How is your memory? If it is bad, better it; if it is good, perfect it. MY HOME METHOD gets results. Easiest thing in the world. Send 50 cents NOW; get it prepaid. Address ———————”
The copy for the course, or folder, is substantially as follows:
How to Cultivate Your Memory
Forgetfulness is not a disease—it is a habit—and a bad and costly habit.
Perfect memory is necessary in all kinds of business. Why have to make notes of everything you wish to recall? Why “have a name or fact on the tip of your tongue,” unless you can speak it?
Your mind is just like your muscles, so far as training goes. If you wanted to become physically strong, you would not overdo your exercise the first day. You would start with simple things, and then do the more difficult feats. It is the same way with your mind, follow these directions carefully.
How to Concentrate Your Mind
Memory depends entirely upon concentration. If you have riveted your mind on what you hear or see or read, the impression is deep. It is like talking into a phonograph. If you whisper, the record on the wax is shallow, and difficult to reproduce. If you speak in a clear voice, then the record of what you say is cut deep, and can always be reproduced clearly.
To learn how to concentrate, you must start with simple things. But the first lessons must be useful.
The best way to concentrate is to begin with things that denote action.
For example, go into a room once a day, with nobody around to disturb you. Take a sheet of plain paper, and with a heavy, black pencil write something on it like this:
“I can make my mind travel into any fact or study.”
Place this before you on the table, and have nothing else on the table that will interfere. Set this paper on the edge, so that it is plainly visible when you sit in a chair about two feet away from the table.
Now, first of all, relax. Get your muscles eased. Sit back in the chair, breathe slowly, take a few long breaths, and close your eyes.
Sit in a comfortable position. Avoid all muscular strain.
Then open your eyes and look at that paper.
Look at it and ask yourself what it means. What is your mind supposed to do if it travels into any subject?
If you are going to run a race, you wear as little as possible. You must feel like racing. And so, your mind must not be weighed down with other thoughts.
Close your eyes and think about your mind’s ability to travel back into the past.
What did you do a year ago today? What did you do a year ago yesterday? What did you do five years ago?
Keep the idea before you of making your mind travel back into anything you wish to remember.
Keep the Mind in a Definite Thought Channel.
Now, after a few minutes of this practice, take another sheet of paper and write on it:
“I can dig up any fact in my mind.”
Again relax and close your eyes, and then study these words. If your mind is going to dig facts out of your memory, it must not have other things to do at the same time.
Try to dig up the name of somebody you have forgotten, or something you have read.
Now, as you proceed from day to day, get relaxed and take some book or paper and read some useful thing. Try to shut out every other thought, so that your mind can wade into the facts.
Then sit back in your chair, with your eyes closed, and analyze what you have read. Ask yourself questions about it. The more interesting the subject, the more readily you will go into it.
After a few weeks you will begin to look into things more carefully, and make your mind impressions deep.
Get into the habit of concentrating on what people tell you, on what you read, or see, or hear.
Then you will soon learn how to shut out everything that does not pertain to the subject, and you will make your impressions stronger. Also, you will begin to bring out truths that you have almost forgotten.
Remember that the subjective part of your mind never forgets.
The more you get into the habit of permitting your mind to flit, the less you will be able to remember. The best students are those who make their studies interesting. The best business men are the persons who take interest in their business.
Tie yourself down to everything you do.
And then, every once in a while, hold a mind review.
Think of the different places you have lived, what you did, the people you knew, what became of them.
Exercise your memory regularly.
Unless it is exercised, it falls into disuse—like an unused muscle—and becomes weaker.
Within a few weeks, you will be able to concentrate your mind on anything you do or read or say. That is practice of the right kind. It is scientific practice that considers your memory as a necessary part of your entire being.
And remember, that you should so concentrate on these lessons that you can repeat the thought, the ideas contained in them.
With this kind of practice, memory will become a strong asset with you—and it is a valuable asset, too.
A western advertising man induced a talented local cartoonist to join him in the publication of a pictorial magazine of purely local events of interest, and together they soon made it the most talked-of publication in the city which had a population of about 100,000.
The magazine was well printed, on good paper, and contained items of interest to and concerning prominent people in all lines of business—merchants, lawyers, doctors, dentists, judges, politicians, and other well known people.
The artist was quite gifted in reproducing the features of people, and the faces thus drawn were often attached to bodies of supposedly the same people in more or less grotesque positions there being an element of humor in most of the drawings. The humor, however, was of the clean, inoffensive kind, and was greatly enjoyed by the victim as well as by his acquaintances.
In a short time they had over 2,000 regular subscribers to the magazine, which was published weekly, and with the growth of the circulation the advertising space became more and more valuable, so that inside of three years their annual income was considerably in excess of $4,000.
A young man and his girl were strolling on the beach, when a violent storm arose. He opened his umbrella, and spread his raincoat over it. Then he fastened a 5-foot stick into the umbrella frame, inserted the other end into the ground, and the raincoat provided the walls of a hastily-constructed tent which kept them dry as they sat on a log while the storm raged.
This evidently gave the young man an idea, for he had a tentmaker construct 200 little tents for use on the beach, which he sold the people at the resort for $5 each.
The tents were made of light duck, fifteen yards in each, with fourteen strong sticks made to fit into each other at the ends. Eight of them, fitted together, made an 8-foot pole to hold up the tent, while the other six, three on each side, held up the sides, and made a rain- and sun-proof tent six feet square, which served not only as a protection from the sun and storm, but made an excellent place in which to put on a bathing suit, as well.
This plan gave the inventor an income of more than $1,000 a year.
A lawyer living in a northern city, near which were a number of lakes, health resorts and bathing beaches, frequently took his family in an automobile to some of these places, and together they spent the day in bathing, playing golf, etc.
As the charges for the use of the bathhouses were rather exorbitant, and the bathhouses inconvenient, the attorney rigged up a set of water-proof curtains, enclosing the back portion of the machine, and attached to the frame above by means of hooks, thus giving all the privacy and protection of a regular bathhouse, which all the members of the family could use in turn, at no expense whatever.
Many other persons at the various bathing places noted the utility of the plan and asked the lawyer to make sets for their machines. So numerous were these requests that he at last decided to make the curtains in large quantities, and sell them at a profit of $2.50 per set.
He sold 200 sets that season, and 500 the following season. This was done with no advertising at all.
This photographer made himself familiar with photographing mines. For those who were operating mines and desired to sell stock and wanted pictures of the mines to interest investors, he had made a study of what kind of pictures would most interest prospective investors, and to those compiling prospectuses he made many valuable suggestions. He would make a fixed charge for the trip to the mine, and would spend several days at the property and do his work right or would not go at all.
After he finished his work the pictures were a real asset to the mine owners.
In many portions of the country not one farmer in a thousand realizes the importance of the parcel post in the marketing of his products at a profit, but allows untold quantities of the very choicest grades to go to waste. Some of these farmers don’t know, while thousands of others don’t care.
There was one Wisconsin farmer, however, who did know and did care, and he made himself wealthy by utilizing the products that others wasted, and for which city people gladly paid good prices.
He began by making a sausage that was so good and clean and of such fine flavor that people all over the United States began to ask for it. He used the parcel post in delivering this to his customers.
He put up smoked meats that were really smoked, with scented woods that imparted the most delicious flavor. He put up preserves, pickles, canned goods in glass jars, apple and peach butter, dried fruits and many other things, all of which he sent to the city by parcel post, where they commanded prices from 25 to 40 per cent higher than the products of canneries, packing houses, etc. Really fresh eggs, and pure, sweet farm-made butter, also formed a large item in his parcel post sales, while his fruits, all of the better grades, were always in demand. Everything he sold was recognized as honest goods, and these the public will always be glad to pay well for.
And just one little classified ad. in the Sunday edition of the city paper started the demand for his products, but it was an ad. that bore the imprint of honesty and real value, and by more than fulfilling his promises to supply the very choicest of nature’s products for what they were worth.
The following ad. inserted just once in a Sunday paper published in a Michigan city, brought a near-by farmer’s wife so many orders that she was kept busy for months in filling them by parcel post, and brought her a profit of nearly $1,000.
Encouraged by her success, she enlarged her scope of operations the next season, and every season since then, until she is now in good circumstances. Here are the ads. which brought the business:
“Pure Fruit Preserves—
“Guaranteed made from fresh picked fruit ripened on the branch and pure cane sugar in clean utensils made by clean people, in a clean kitchen, and free from adulterations and preservatives of any kind.
“All the delicious flavor of fresh fruit preserved by home recipes.”
“Pure Fruit Jellies—
“Put up on the farm, by a farmer’s wife, from the best old-fashioned recipes, from fresh picked fruit and pure cane sugar, and free of all adulterations, artificial coloring matter or artificial preservatives. Absolutely delicious and wholesome jellies cheaper than you can buy them in town and better than you can put them up yourself because you can’t get fresh fruit in town like I can just off the branch. Made in clean utensils, in a clean kitchen, by clean, healthy people. Don’t poison yourself with factory-made jellies, compounded of chemicals and dyes and sold as fruit jellies. My jellies taste of the fresh fruit, because they are made of fresh, ripe and wholesome fruit. Write to me for my special offer and try these delicious jellies for yourself. Sent in small and large quantities to suit you.”
While most of her neighbors were allowing their fruit to rot on the ground, because they couldn’t find a market for them, this woman always had a good market for her products.