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One Minute Odd Job Tip

Last week I drew a mental block and couldn’t think of what to do for this newsletter.

It’s amazing how “inspiration” can come to you!

So, my dress shoes were looking less than stellar, so I went to polish them. As I was working through this mindless task, I realized where I learned my method of polishing shoes…

Years ago, we went to a trade show. One of the booths there had hired a gal to polish the shoes of the prospects who happened into the booth.

So here’s our theme for this week: Trade shows and conference-related gigs.

>>> NEXT WEEK: Summer is around the corner. Could there be some unique gig ideas for the summer? Let’s explore that.

Strictly Business:

This week’s newsletter is an example of how you just don’t know where your next idea may come from.

Part of the process involves some activity (could be anything — washing dishes, driving along the interstate, doing laundry, mowing the grass), and being alert.

In other words, probably not many great ideas have come while sitting in your living room watching reruns of Friends.

It takes some sensory input — getting out, and seeing and doing things that are new to you. This does a couple of things.

First, you’ll see something that could make you notice a new opportunity or need that you didn’t even know existed. And second, it exercises your mind in a new way just by seeing something new and different.

If you’ve ever read biographies of very creative people, inventors, or other people who’ve achieved noteworthy goals in their lives, many times they are consummate readers, or travelers, or in some way always exploring new things.

This makes for an inquisitive nature that questions norms and challenges the status quo.

Of course, most of us are limited by the time and money we have available, and are unable to travel to France for extended periods of time like the great inventor, Thomas Jefferson. But we have something that Thomas Jefferson did not have. We have Google, Google Street View, Youtube and the never-ending additional data available online to learn about ANYTHING.

Use these tools, as well as a good old used book store, or even the library, to fill your mind with new things that can be the fodder for the next great idea.

Some Odd Jobs You May Never Have Considered:

Number 1 — Polishing Shoes for Corporate Events or Trade Shows — (S maybe B Quadrant¹)

I briefly mentioned this earlier, and I’ve always remembered it as a great, unique give-away at a trade show.

It sure beats the yard stick and magnet and pen giveaways, at least for originality!

If you think about it, this has great value if the prospective client is traveling and doesn’t have his shoe polishing stuff with him. Or maybe he doesn’t know where to get his shoes polished in a strange town. Or maybe he just hasn’t had the time to do it because of his trade show or conference schedule.

To get set up is not all complicated.

As far as equipment and supplies, you could get a cool shoe shine chair. I just looked at Amazon and didn’t find anything, how disappointing, but when I Googled “Shoe Shine" chair” and looked at images, I found several places to get something — including eBay.com.

Since it’s going to have to be portable, you could have one commissioned with storage for all of your supplies. Speaking of supplies…

You’ll need to get a variety of polishes and whatever other shoe care items may be used in this trade. Research! Along with learning about this, you’ll need to learn how to polish shoes.

And you’ll want to add value to your service, by NOT doing it with a used toothbrush and an old sock. Part of your value is that you polish shoes better than they can at home.

This reminds me of a great scene in a great movie. It’s not shoe polishing, it’s a haircut scene, but what a show he puts on! If you can make your shoe polishing entertaining, then all the more value you are to the trade show vendor who hires you. This is the scene.

Oh yes, just to make clear. In this business model, you don’t charge the visitors to the booth.

You are hired by the vendor to provide this service free-of-charge to their prospects. How much can be made doing this? I have no idea, but vendors spend thousands of dollars to participate in trade shows, so, having an attention-grabbing vendor perk could be just what that vendor needs to make it really pay off for them.

Would you remember the booth — and the vendor — where you got your shoes shined? I would!

Number 2 — Set Up Services for Corporate Events or Trade Shows — (E, S maybe B Quadrant¹)

We’ve worked some trade shows in the past, and we saw the before- and after- set up for home shows and trade shows. In many cases, I would even say most cases, the salespeople, or whoever is going to work the event, do very little in the way of setting up and preparing the booth.

Most of the time the vendor hires the organizers of the show to do all of that for them, so that they can just come in with their brochures and work the show.

The fees organizers charge for this service are quite healthy, and there may be an opportunity to do the rental and setup for an event. Of course, to go into that business would take some capital outlay to buy all of the tables, chairs, a stage, booth dividers, etc.

But after that, you can rent these items to the venue, again and again!

A way to learn about the business may be to do casual labor for an event company. The nice thing about this as a side gig is that many times this kind of work is done on the weekends or evenings — before it gets crowded and busy.

Explore who is doing this kind of service in your community, and see if they need help. To find them you may just ask at the convention center, and they should be able to send you in the right direction.

Number 3 — Demonstrator — (E or S Quadrant¹)

It depends on the trade show or conference and the vendors, but they may have a need for people to demonstrate or handle sampling of their product while the actual company people handle the heavy-lifting, that is, actually talking to the prospective client and selling.

Think supermarket sampling.

Ever go to Sam’s Club on the weekends, where people in aprons are handing out samples of ice cream, or breakfast bars, or chicken wings, or energy drinks?

Have you ever seen someone demonstrating how to use a Ginsu knife, or nonstick cookware?

These people are often hired through temp agencies, or if a vendor likes what you do, you may be able to travel to whatever trade show or convention where there is a need.

Number 4 — Entertainment — (E or S Quadrant¹)

Are you a comedian, or a magician, or have some other talent that people find enjoyable? There’s a great need for people to make balloon animals, or in some other way, entertain the attendees.

This can be for individual vendors (who would hire their own people), or there’s also a need for roving entertainers to walk around the convention or trade show floor doing their magic or making their balloon animals or whatever.

These would actually be hired by the convention organizer.

One key to success here would be originality. I keep saying make balloon animals or do magic, because that’s what I envision, but whatever your particular talent may be, can it be made to work in this setting?

Also public speakers are needed.

Famous people are often hired for this. We once worked a Women’s Show and Naomi Judd was the speaker there, talking about her struggles and successes.

This was probably 20 years ago so disregard more recent history on her. Maybe you aren’t famous like Naomi Judd, but have you done something noteworthy that could be turned into a compelling speech or program?

Maybe you overcame an addicting habit. Maybe you learned how to make a blended family work. Or have you duplicated a world-record feat? Lots of people would love to hear about it!

This is a gig that could be great! And with some creativity, you could be the only person doing exactly what you do — and thus you could be in demand nationwide, or maybe even worldwide —

Why not?

This Week’s Quotes:

How much easier it is to be critical than to be correct.

— Benjamin Disraeli

Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.

— Voltaire

There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the fun is in having lots to do and not doing it.

— Wilson Little

To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child.

— Cicero

One cannot review a bad book without showing off.

— W. H. Auden

A Book for Success — If I were to pursue some of the gigs I talked about in this newsletter, I would find a convention or two that were in my area. Then I’d find a list of the vendors and craft a letter series based on the patterns in the Dan Kennedy book, The Ultimate Sales Letter. This book will walk you through, step by step, writing the first letter (an introduction to you), and then a couple follow-up letters. Using the patterns in this book, I’ve generated business for myself in many different sectors.

Using this method is a very efficient use of time and resources to find the low hanging fruit — the potential clients who are actually open to talk about using your service.

Humor —

Why are toilets always so good at poker?

 They always get a flush.

Why is Peter Pan always flying?

  Because he Neverlands.

You heard the rumor going around about butter?

  Never mind, I shouldn’t spread it.

Two windmills are standing on a wind farm. One asks, “What’s your favorite kind of music?”

 The other replies, “I’m a big metal fan.”

The first rule of the Alzheimer’s Club is…

 Wait, where are we again?

Some Random Final Thoughts — I think this was a fun newsletter with some out-of-the-box ideas that the right person could really run with.

Will it require some effort, yes! Can you make a long term and fun enterprise with some of these ideas? Definitely.

Be creative and see where this will take you.

Remember the law of “supply and demand”. If you’re the only person providing your unique form of entertainment, and you’re being seen by dozens or hundreds of convention-goers (who may be the decision-makers for another trade show or convention), you have unlimited networking capabilities!

Getting started will be the hard part, but that may be all it takes for your special “take” on convention entertainment to go viral!

Now it’s your turn to take an idea and make it your own!

¹ Quadrant references the book, Cashflow Quadrants, by Robert Kiyosaki. In a nutshell, there are four sources of income — “E” Employee, “S” Self-Employed, “B” Business and “I” Investor. We reference these quadrants at the beginning of each of the jobs we talk about in Odd Job Tips Newsletter. To see more about this concept, refer to this issue of this newsletter.

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Disclaimer: All information in this newsletter is for entertainment purposes and should not be construed as financial, career, or any other kind of advice. Use any information from this newsletter at your own risk. C’mon, put on your big boy pants, and take personal responsibility for your own actions!

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