Questions about my "Cash Cow" Plan

[Rebtl]

So like a ton of other warriors here I have decided to try my hand at offline marketing. Offering webdesign services etc to people in the offline world.

I go to college so I am going to try this first on campus offering my services to students, so I have a couple of questions:

Do you think I should do my best to encourage them to sign up with a hosting services (host gator etc) and collect the affiliate reference money that way?

OR

Offer to host the site for them myself and charge them monthly for this service.


I have mixed feelings about this. In the first way, I get guaranteed money. However, the second option has a much greater potential for long term profit if I keep them on for several months or even years.

Any advice about this, or any other tips to help in my plan would be helpful

Thanks

Rebtl

[TimCastleman]

Rebtl-

Why do you want to offer this to college kids? It's been a while since I was in college but at that time I had money for schools, booze, and dates and that was it.

My only goal was to get up before noon.

Think about offering it to local businesses in the area instead, much higher return on investment.

[Rebtl]

I know that offering this to local businesses would be a much higher return on investment. However, I have never done any offline work, much less web design for anyone other than myself.

Seeing as I am a college student, (Poli Sci major at that) with no degree, resume, or portfolio to point to I figure I will probably have better success after getting a few jobs under my belt, instead of having thousands on the line for some local business and learning everything as I go.

And I think there are bound to be several kids on my campus (10K students) who want a website built for some reason or another.

I'll ask them what they want the site for before I quote prices and just kind of feel them out and figure out how much I can charge them on a per customer basis.

[krislisa]

That is a good plan Rebtl, but I hope you will not be making their website project

[Headfirst]

I agree with the last poster, don't market your services to the college kids, but to businesses catering to them on campus. Also, from personal experience unless you really want to own a hosting company and deal with tech support issues (even though you wont actually be a host, your customers will think you are) you want to act as an affiliate for a hosting company.

[TimCastleman]

Rebtl-

You don't have to know much about the internet to understand you know more than most. Focus your efforts on finding out what problems local businesses have and how you can solve them and make sales and outsource the rest.

Good luck.

Tim

[Eric Stanley]

I agree with a few of the posts above! Even if you don't have a portfolio of work yet, invest some time into learning how to build a simple website, getting familiar with autoresponders and the like and venture out to local businesses. College kids will throw you a beer or two for a website -- you don't want that if your goal is to build a sustainable offline business!

Good luck!

[Rebtl]

You guys make a good point. I'll see what I can do for local businesses.

It just seems hard to approach them.

[TimCastleman]

rebtl -

Can you make instant cookies? Check out this thread it will help get people coming to you, instead of them going to you.

Offline Marketing - How to find clients

And if you need a list of businesses in your area I can help.

Keep us posted. I wish I had be smarter with my time in college and started working for myself then.

Tim

[Rebtl]

haha, very nice thread Tim.

That cookie bit is great. Definitely a new way to go about getting clients.

[TimCastleman]

Rebtl -

The great thing is that they will remember you and they call you, not the other way around. Kinda like being a street begger going to a business asking for work or you could be asked to come to their business and help them out. Your choice :-)

Tim

[Chuck Staff]

Hey Rebtl:

If I were a local businessman (58 years old) with limited or no web experience and you came to me and said: (to quote YOU)

"I am a college student, (Poli Sci major at that) with no degree, resume, or portfolio to point to I figure I will probably have better success after getting a few jobs under my belt" and I'd like to offer my services to you at a discount to build my portfolio and help pay my way through college..."

I'd listen to what you had to say very carefully and only send you on you way after I wrote you a little 'retainer fee'.

You sound like the competition I most fear when I'm out selling to local businesses -- you're young, internet/computer savvy, college educated and willing to work for a little less to gain experience...

I have 20+ years B2B door-to-door selling experience and I fear you, dude!

Play the "I am a starving college student..." line to the max and go sell to businesses that have things called "advertising budgets" and big black check books that they're used to opening up to write checks to people who can increase their business.

Let your techie, college buds build their own web sites. Go play with the big boys!

You just may find that your "little, part-time college gig" pays a whole heck of a lot better than anything in the Political Science arena...

Selling can be scary at first. If you need some tips, pointers or moral support, (or an idea or two that can make the fear of cold calling {sorry to be 'graphic' but we used to call it "the curbside pukes"} -- that God-awful nausea before walking into the first business every day) feel free PM me anytime.

Chuck Staff
Palmyra, Virginia

[AndrewCavanagh]

This plan makes no sense at all.

There's no value in having a website for a college student and most of them don't have any money anyway.

Just go talk to some business owners.

And on that topic...you should be charging $1,000 to $5,000+ for setting up a website...that's a LOW end fee for this kind of service.

Plus ongoing maintenance of $50 to $200+ a month.

Why would you bother trying to get a hosting commission that amounts to maybe $100 a year when you should be getting many times that in your initial fee and probably that amount of money every month for maintenance.

If you don't have the confidence setting up a website either joint venture with someone who does or learn how to do it (it shouldn't take you more than 2-6 weeks depending on how serious you are.

Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh

[Will Edwards]

Originally Posted by TimCastleman

Rebtl-

Why do you want to offer this to college kids? It's been a while since I was in college but at that time I had money for schools, booze, and dates and that was it.

My only goal was to get up before noon.

LOL - coffee in the keyboard again!

Will

[JohnMcCabe]

IF you want to do a few sites for the experience, and you're set on doing it for college students, you'll need to target college students trying to make money...

> Those running services for their fellow students
> Bands who actually charge more than beer money for performing
> DJ services
> Tutors
> ????

Do a handful of these, and do them well, and you'll know the difference between creating profits for someone else with your skills and setting up random sites so Junior III can tell grandma he made the Dean's list and that he got laid last Saturday...

And when you do them, GET PAID. Get paid something.

Once you've bagged a few bunnies, it's time to follow the advice of Andrew and others - load up and start hunting big game.