Call Transcript

Debbie: Okay, well, as I told you, James, one morning I was coming out and I saw in a recycle box all these great magazines like Scientific American, Popular Mechanic and just the like and I picked them up, and they're all like $10.00 each and I thought, wow. So I ran back in the house and that night I sat down and I thought, you know, maybe it wouldn't be so to get into this magazine business.

James: Let's get into a little bit about the overview of exactly what this business is. Now, what you do is you have like a magazine redistribution business.

Debbie: That's what it is, yeah.

James: You go and you find – basically you try to find magazines for free in like recycle bins and places or –

Debbie: Yeah.

James: – you can also, like at Emergency Cash Generators they'll give you a flier that you can pass out in your neighborhood to start like a magazine drive. And you collect these magazines and then you charge businesses, typically businesses that have like waiting rooms, you charge them a fee to be in your magazine distribution network. And then you just exchange magazines every month.

Debbie: That's it. And people like it.

James: Now, which businesses do you target now?

Debbie: I'm doing medical offices right now. Because they seem to be the busiest people. They don't seem to – if you go in a medical office and look at their waiting rooms, they're a big mess with old magazines, out of date, and they don't seem to have the time. So I thought that was my target audience. I'm sure there's other businesses you could get into. I went, I started with seven for about a month and then I realized there was another medical tower two blocks away from me ****. So I went in there and I used your flier and I just **** all the offices and I introduced myself to people and now I'm just **** end of June I'm up to 30 customers.

James: Thirty customers!

Debbie: And I'm charging $30.00 each.

James: Holy cow, that's 900 bucks a month.

Debbie: I know. And I had a junk job for $320.00 something a month and miserable people, miserable boss and I thought I can leave out my – I can get rid of my second job.

James: That is just amazing. And you're only targeting one small little niche. You're just targeting the medical clients. Because basically any business that has a waiting room that, you know, has magazines would be a candidate. Like hairdressers or, you know, anything like that.

Debbie: Any office.

James: Yeah, anything like that.

Debbie: Well right now I'm just cooling my jets. I've had to go back and re-do all my magazines because when I went back to refresh them I discovered they're missing so I had to print a label and I had to put on it “magazines are for the reading room, don't be removed”. And then I also put my name and telephone number on there so they **** Debbie's Magazine Service and my telephone number. So other people are reading a magazine, wouldn't take the magazine away.

James: Ah.

Debbie: They would see that it's a service.

James: That's a great idea. See, I didn't even think – I didn't even think of that when I –

Debbie: Yeah, that's only because I found out where the people were taking the magazines away, so I thought I've got to put a label on it. And I got a few calls already just from people seeing it on the magazine, just asking what I do and I think – I'm really excited. Just – you wouldn't believe, I just bounce all over the **** telling people, like my brothers are laughing at me and everything because they thought it would never work. But I think it's the greatest idea I've ever seen.

James: This idea actually came from two brothers in India that were doing this.

Debbie: Really?

James: And I read about it in an article somewhere on the Internet.

Debbie: Mm hm.

James: And they were doing it for households. But of course that wouldn't work in the United States because, you know, we have tons and tons of magazines here. I mean, I've got magazines that I never read that comes to my house. So it wouldn't work residentially but I thought, you know, that would be – this would be great because I had just taken my dog to the vet. And the magazines in my vet's office were like two years old.

Debbie: Yeah.

James: And I thought, that's ridiculous. So I thought that would be a great idea for a business. And so I'm glad that you took this and really took off with it. That's just great. Now, you have 30 clients signed up now.

Debbie: Yup.

James: How receptive are the businesses to your service? Like what percentage of them will go for your service?

Debbie: Well, in the building, the 12 floors where I left fliers, that's where I got 21 more customers. I think I did 60 visits and 60 letters. But I didn't mail them, I saved the post. I hand delivered the letter a second time so they saw me for a second time.

James: Mm hm.

Debbie: And that – when I actually did the second letter delivery that's how I started picking up the 21 new clients. Because they remembered me from the first visit. The other ones, I think if I just keep going back in there that I may get a few more just from that. And I think they talk to each other in the buildings, as well.

Debbie: That'll happen, too.

James: And basically you're just handing them the flier that was included with the Emergency Case Generators.

Debbie: Yeah. And don't – like I'm not a real super sales lady, I just come in and say my name's Debbie, I do a magazine service and I just give them the letter. Or I come back in, if they're busy I just **** and leave them a letter and walk out again. And it's just, I think it's more saving time for them. That was my whole ****.

James: Right. Now, how do they pay you?

Debbie: Right now I'm not a company. I take checks and I take, they have to pay me up front before bringing the magazines.

James: Yeah, that's good. At least you're getting your money up front. Now, one thing you might think about doing is go talk to your bank, you know, you probably now since you've tested this idea out, you probably want to get, you know, proper – registered properly as a business. You know, get you a business checking account and everything. But talk to your bank once you do that and see if you can get your businesses set up on automatic billing so every month – not just billing but I mean –

James: – reoccurring debits out of their account.

Debbie: Oh, okay that's an idea, I never thought of that.

James: Your bank can tell you how to do that.

Debbie: Right.

James: And it depends on what area you're in, how you do it. But basically it's just a form that your customer has to fill out.

Debbie: Ah, okay, all right.

James: And that will save a lot of time, you know, you having to go collect –

Debbie: Go collect the money, yeah. Mm hm. Oh, thanks for that tip.

James: Now, what is the biggest challenge that you faced in starting up this business?

Debbie: Um, the very first time I went and talked to **** somebody. The very first time. You could see it in her face she wasn't sure because I didn't look sure.

James: Mm hm.

Debbie: But once I got talking to her, she got the idea and she sort of thought well, she – I could see her interest. So once I saw her interest I just kept talking. I talked to her for about a half an hour and she finally said yes. So that was my biggest challenge.

James: So you've got to be confident.

Debbie: Yeah.

James: You've got to go in confident in what you're doing.

Debbie: Yeah. Just keep – keep them talking.

James: I bet the second time it was a lot easier, wasn't it?

Debbie: When I went into the building, the 12 floors, it was a lot easier because I got good reception wherever I was going. Nobody was mean or anything. And that was my perception, that people would think **** of me or be mean. And it's not true. People are basically nice people. They won't – they'll be receptive to you. They may say no, but there's always a person who's going to say yes.

James: Yep, that's right. And saying no, if that's the worse that can happen to you then that's not too bad.

Debbie: And you know what my other attitude was, James? If I don't go and tell somebody they're not going to know. How do they know I want to sell them magazines?

James: Right. And plus, plus it's a great service for them.

Debbie: Oh, it is, absolutely.

James: And you just proved that because they wouldn't be paying $30.00 a month if they didn't think that it was, you know, a great service. That could save them time.

Debbie: That's right. Because now when I go into an office where I've been before, it looks a lot tidier and cleaner and it looks more professional. It doesn't look like some grumpy old office with a dirty old magazine sitting there. Doesn't that sound funny?

James: Yeah.

Debbie: But that's what it looks like some places. Like you said your vet has two-year-old magazine, the same sort of thing.

James: Yeah. And they, I mean, I was just there the other day and the same thing, you know, same magazines from a year ago.

Debbie: Yeah, yeah. And it just – I think, see what I – really for me, what it proved to me the great American **** dream of getting a little business and getting going on something, it's still there.

James: Yeah, you're absolutely right. And my theory on starting a business like this, I like to test the concept out.

Debbie: Yes.

James: You know, if you had went in and tried this with say five businesses and none of them took you up on it then, you know, I'd say go on to something else and don't even start a business out of it. You know, test the concept first.

Debbie: Mm hm.

James: But now you've got the concept tested, now you can turn this into a real business.

Debbie: Well that's what I'm thinking. It's not – that was never my intention. I just wanted to give up my second job, but, and I keep track of everything on an Excel spreadsheet.

James: Mm hm.

Debbie: My numbers, and who's paid and who needs – and I've got down – marked down the dates next time they've got to pay, that sort of thing. I've tried to organize it really easy for myself. Just, because, you know, you can never remember if you don't write it down.

James: Yeah, that's right. Well, what are your future plans for the business?

Debbie: I'm going to keep working on in the one building I have and see if I can build it up. I'm not going to leave my day job yet, I'm just going to keep building on to see what will happen. But, I'm only in two buildings to start with. So I can't even – when I go to bed at night when I put my head on the pillow, I keep thinking, wow, I can maybe expand this business really big, because there seems to be some opportunity there for me ****.

James: Yeah, just imagine how many office parks you have in your area and, you know, how many –

Debbie: Oh, yeah.

James: – potential clients there are in that, I mean, it's huge.

Debbie: It is. Well, that's when I – I just can't – when I squeeze my eyes I can't believe it but I think it's just something, it's just, you know, when you read something like your Cash **** Emergency Generators I just thought, there's nothing in there I could do and **** I saw these three magazines, I got a big idea, ****, and it's –

James: Well, that's what you'll find sometimes. I've got several other clients that are like that, that just needed one idea. Now, I've got another client that's doing the spy removal business.

Debbie: Yeah.

James: And he's doing gangbusters with that. That's just something that he, you know, that when he read about it, it's just – something clicked in his mind.

Debbie: Yeah.

James: And he just went out and did it. And now he's doing great. I've got another guy doing the VIP card business and he's doing really well with that.

Debbie: Mm hm. And what you're saying here, you've got to go out and do it.

James: Yup, you've got to do it. You've got to try things out.

Debbie: Right. You've got to go out and do it, yeah. And I think that – even when I got into the second building I'm in, because I already had seven behind me I kept thinking well, I've got seven people that like it so there's got to be more. And as I talked to people that's what I kept thinking behind my mind and it just, it just started to all fall together and it's not – it wasn't instant success. It just came a bit and bit, slowly and slowly and slowly and I suddenly realized I'm up to $900.00 and I was just so thrilled I couldn't believe it. I just, I had to sit there and add it twice. Am I right? Well, isn't that funny? **** such a thing?

James: Yeah.

Debbie: And I thought, wow, you know. And then the next day I went and quit my second job. I said that's it, I don't need you. So that was the biggest thing for me, you know, this just, you know, everybody needs extra money these days and so a second job, that's what I was doing and this is way better than any second job because there's, you have that accomplishment feeling. You've found something small and you're bringing in money and you're not, and you're actually helping somebody else and it's not, it's gainful employment, that's what I call it.

James: Right.

Debbie: Yeah.

James: Where would you – would you say that your investment in Emergency Cash Generators was a good investment?

Debbie: It was for me, absolutely.

James: Okay, great. Well, Debbie, I really appreciate you letting us know about your business and your success and I want to thank you for taking the initiative to actually do something. You know, so many people out there, they read, you know, they buy my Emergency Cash Generators, they read it, they throw it in a corner somewhere and they never really do anything.

Debbie: Yeah. You've just got to get up and do it. And also, you have the Santa Claus letters in there. I'm doing that. I have a Santa Claus web page. I didn't buy your kit when I got that, I got it from somewhere else, but I think it came from you, Santa Claus letter?

James: Mm hm.

Debbie: I have Santa Claus page, too.

James: Oh, great.

Debbie: Yeah, it's my second **** last year and I had 600 clients.

James: Oh, cool. That's pretty good.

Debbie: That's a one time a year thing but it's lots of fun. If anybody likes children, it's lots of fun.

James: Yeah, I sell quite a few of those every year and I get a lot of success stories. And it's not something that you're going to get rich off of but you can make a little bit extra money. Debbie, it's been great talking to you.

Debbie: You're a super guy, James. Talk to you again. Bye now.

James: Okay, good bye.

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