Business Buffet

A friend from Oregon read my blog post about the guy building a side-business using vitamins and asked if I could help him.  The project is far-fetched (that joke will make sense in a moment), but Ted is my best friend and I felt compelled to help.

Ted and I are dog lovers.  Heck 70% of America loves dogs, so we are not alone with how we pamper our fur babies.  When Ted read the blog article about the Vitamatic Zinc Quercetin supplements, he got the clever idea of trying the same thing with his dog walking group.  Here were the details.

Ted and a group of other senior citizens have a walking group.  During their walking time, they talk about the weather, local politics, and, of course, their dogs.  During their “dog” talk, they share ideas on products they each use for their dogs on a monthly basis.

I was ready to dismiss the idea when I finally read between the lines what Ted was actually asking.  Unlike Derek, Ted wasn’t asking about creating a podcast, Ted was asking to use a shared experience opportunity to earn some extra money.  I drilled down deeper.

Ted said he wanted to create a hot sheet (as we used to call them) with links to products everyone in the group buys.  Everyone in the group would use the links in the Amazon account to buy the products. He would then take the money earned and put it back in the group to treat everyone to lunch once the account had enough money.  He would then rinse and repeat.

I asked for a sample list of products, because I figured how many products could people be buying every month?  I figured dog food, but how likely would a group of people be to use the same dog food for all their pets?  Ted said Four Paws WeeWee Pee Pads.

I wasn’t thinking about the disposable products angle, because my two Golden Retrievers are not struggling with incontinence, and they are not puppies, so the business idea didn’t strike a chord with me until Ted mentioned the pee pads.  Ted was right. There are dozens of disposable products people use all the time that could, over time, generate a few sheckles.

So we are working on creating a hidden web page, just for his group—to add to the mystique of the process (as Ted suggested)—with a list of products they all agree to purchase from the link.

There are so many brilliant ideas for how to use Amazon affiliate links to generate a supplemental income.  If you’ve got an idea and would like to talk to someone about how to bring it to fruition, give Ed a call at (208) 209-7170 or email [email protected].

I had a friend approach me and ask if podcasting could help him build a side-hustle business.  He explained he wanted to generate some supplemental income and had an idea about selling supplements during the COVID-19 crisis.  

Let me insert here that I am not much on vitamins and supplements, so I felt a little disarmed for the conversation, but for my friend I did my due diligence and did some research.

I learned during my research that 77% of Americans take at least one supplement.  Heck 57.6% of Americans aged 20 and over have used a dietary supplement in just the past 30 days…so I figured my friend might be on to something.  However, could the market be over-saturated?  How would he gain search engine ranking?  How would we get noticed in the obviously over crowded marketplace?

I said to my friend and asked my first question, what supplement are you wanting to sell and why?

He told me about the pill available on Amazon made by Vitamatic called Vitamatic Zinc Quercetin.  He told me about the health benefits of the immune system and how he felt it saved his life.  But one question just kept nagging at me.  How would he gain enough attention to make any money doing this?

My friend said he wanted to create a private website/podcast that was available to people who signed up for his no-cost network to discuss health and loneliness issues.  He would setup an affiliate relationship on Amazon to list products the group felt were worthy of consideration and he would make a few sheckles off each transaction.

Affiliate marketing is nothing new. Amazon has been giving people (like me) the ability to link products to website articles (like I’ve done in this article) for years.  By itself, the affiliate angle would not gain my friend any attention, but adding the loneliness angle to the mix was an interesting niche.  

I think it was Zid Ziglar who said niches bring riches…and thus I’ve always been intrigued.  3 out of 5 Americans report struggling with loneliness.  Heck, I have a Rotary Veterans program called The Veterans Club I am using to help veterans struggling with loneliness, so my last question was the pivotal question.

OK, so you have a well-defined market…how are you going to get the people to the website and podcast?  His answer has refocused part of my business and is the culmination of this blog article.  He said:

“I am going to start loneliness classes at local senior centers.”

The simplicity and individual involvement angles of this idea intrigued me.  Don’t worry about creating a website or podcast that gets found on Google. Create a resource that solves multiple problems and brings people together…then attract the people through a shared experience.  Brilliant!

Over the coming months, Zenith Exhibits will work with many more clients looking to use shared experiences to build a side-business.  With the current high inflation and pending recession, building a supplemental business using Amazon’s affiliate selling tools is an excellent idea.  If you would like more information, call Ed at (208) 209-7170 or email [email protected].

Quiet Quitting article on SHRM.com, https://bit.ly/3dtGLyE.

Interested in creating your own podcast?  Zenith Exhibits Studios provides affordable podcast production services.  Recording, Editing, Hosting, AI Transcription, and Publishing included for one low monthly price.  Visit www.zenithexhibits.studios or call (208) 209-7170 to learn more.

Did you know it is free to attend classes at the SBDC?  Warren from the Small Business Development Center talks about the tax payer supported program available to all business owners (current and future) to help them navigate the business climate.  Warren shares his insight on business and tips for success for local small businesses.

Search on Google for “North Idaho SBDC” or visit nisbdc.com 

Interested in creating your own podcast?  Zenith Exhibits Studios provides affordable podcast production services.  Recording, Editing, Hosting, AI Transcription, and Publishing included for one low monthly price.  Visit www.zenithexhibits.studios or call (208) 209-7170 to learn more.

Joe Hume has been running his computer repair business in Rathdrum Idaho for over 20 years.  In this episode he sits down with Business Buffet to talk about how he got into the business and shares tips for people who might be thinking about going into the computer repair business.

Interested in creating your own podcast?  Zenith Exhibits Studios provides affordable podcast production services.  Recording, Editing, Hosting, AI Transcription, and Publishing included for one low monthly price.  Visit www.zenithexhibits.studios or call (208) 209-7170 to learn more.

Teresa Bruni from Less Fear, More Flow shares her insight to starting a personal coaching business.  She discusses the required skills, passions, and experience needed to become successful.

To learn more about Teresa, visit TeresaBruni.com

Books mentioned in the podcast:

• Three Simple Steps by Trevor Blake
• Business Secrets from the Bible by Rabbi Daniel Lapin
• The Four Hour Work Week by Tim Terriss

Interested in creating your own podcast?  Zenith Exhibits Studios provides affordable podcast production services.  Recording, Editing, Hosting, AI Transcription, and Publishing included for one low monthly price.  Visit www.zenithexhibits.studios or call (208) 209-7170 to learn more.

Steve Gray help my wife and I sell our home when I moved out of Oregon.  The experience was top notch!  I invited Steve on to Business Buffet to share his secrets to success for those who might be thinking about going into Real Estate.  NOTE:  His tips work in all business types!

Books mentioned by Steve:  The Go-Giver by Bob Burg, The Go-Giver Sells More by Bob Burg, The Speed of Trust by Steven Covney.

To learn more about Steve, visit steveg.johnlscott.com  or call (503) 320-4311.

Interested in creating your own podcast?  Zenith Exhibits Studios provides affordable podcast production services.  Recording, Editing, Hosting, AI Transcription, and Publishing included for one low monthly price.  Visit www.zenithexhibits.studios or call (208) 209-7170 to learn more.

Tabitha Kraack sits down with Business Buffet to talk about her side hustle podcasting gig and shares all the secretes to success.  We talk about software, hardware, hosting options, marketing, mics, sound, interviewing…everything the small business person might need to know to start their own podcast.

You can listen to Tabitha’s podcast on Apple at:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/keepin-tabs-with-tabitha/id1517472872

Interested in creating your own podcast?  Zenith Exhibits Studios provides affordable podcast production services.  Recording, Editing, Hosting, AI Transcription, and Publishing included for one low monthly price.  Visit www.zenithexhibits.studios or call (208) 209-7170 to learn more.

Nathan Wallace with Wallace Wealth Management visits with Business Buffet and talks about being an entrepreneur running a Financial Planning business.

To learn more about Nathan, visit www.wallacewealthcda.com 

Interested in creating your own podcast?  Zenith Exhibits Studios provides affordable podcast production services.  Recording, Editing, Hosting, AI Transcription, and Publishing included for one low monthly price.  Visit www.zenithexhibits.studios or call (208) 209-7170 to learn more.

Are you investing time in areas that improve your life and business or losing time to your competition?  In today’s episode we explore the purpose behind The Business Buffet and some important lessons on time.

This episode is brought to you by Zenith Exhibits Studios.