A Quick $2,000 by the Weekend...

I saw another thread here by TomG who had a friend in need of earning some fast cash. And we've all seen threads on this forum where someone needs to make some cash real fast.

It made me recall a time when I needed the same. Sometimes all it needs is to think outside the box a little.

I was 19 years old ( loooong time ago now) and needed some cash to buy a second hand car I had my eye on. Here's what I did...

I went to the local car auction and having been there before I saw that the auctioneer was standing up there on his dais while all these guys stood in front of him. I got to thinking that the wall behind this guy was just a blank wall with paint peeling off etc. real scruffy.

I approached the owner of the car auction place and offered to put up an advertising board behind the dais. It would advertise local businesses and in the centre of the board would be a shiny brass clock, with the name of the auction, phone number etc underneath as one of the ad spaces on the board. 'OK, how much would this clock cost me?", says the guy.

I was a bit dumbstruck because I was prepared to cut him in on a percentage of the ads, but I just told him I would do it all for free for him and he'd have a much more professional and presentable backdrop for his wall. He agreed.

Next step was that I went to the local tyre shop and told the owner that an ad board was going up at the local car auction in a couple of weeks and only ONE local tyre depot would be allowed to advertise on it. $25.00 a spot or $40 for a double spot. He snatched my hand off (most car auction cars need new tyres right?).

Next stop was a florist (it happened to be the next shop I came to in the block). "Why would I want to advertise on a board in a car auction?", says the woman. "Well, the place is full to bursting with guys twice a week", says I. "All these guys have wives or girlfriends, who have birthdays, or they get a bunch of flowers 'cos the guy was late home etc". She took an ad spot.

By the time I covered two blocks I had the spots sold. I also had cash and checks in my hand... in advance!

Then it was just a case of buying a couple of plywood sheets, painting them white, buying the stick on letters and dividing up the board into the separate ad blocks. I paid a friend, (who was a bit more nimble fingered than me) to put the lettering on the board. Bought the clock from a second hand store. Installed it at the auction a week later.

The auction owner is happy with his freshened up backdrop, the local business owners are happy and feeling a bit smug that they are the only business of their type on the board. I'm happy becuase i've got my dosh! And quickly. And I was paid in advance. Bada Bing!

I could have driven to the next town (in my 'new' second hand car) and done exactly the same again, but I kind of moved on to other things.

A quick $2,000 bucks by the weekend. Easy if you just think outside the square a bit!

And, of course you can go back a year later and see if the advertisers want to keep their spot on the board for the next 12 months or lose it to one of their competitors....So, another $2,000 in your sweaty little hands! [;0]

Anyone else got a story like this they'd like to share?

Roy