June 1st, 2009
The Doorbell Rang and Like Rubin,
I Could Finally See the Signs
It was the Monday morning after the Kentucky Derby when the doorbell rang. Standing there with her orange plexiglass clipboard was a twenty-something strawberry blonde asking if I would like my street number painted on the curb for a donation, the amount being of my own choosing.
While I hesitated, what cinched the deal in her favor was my overwhelming curiosity about what she was up to. Had she been doing this long? Was it proving successful? What were her plans? What was her motivation?
What I found most impressive was the fact that she was pretty much a “natural” in her approach. She was focused on what-she-could-do-for-me and emphasized there was no risk: pay whatever I want. It was only after the deal was made that I discovered she and her husband had recently lost their jobs, had two chilidren, and were out to make ends meet. They needed cash now and were not wasting their time wallowing in feeling sorry for themselves, but instead were out on the street taking action.
Because I was so impressed with her soft sell, direct approach, and at the same time extremely curious about their endeavor, we agreed upon five dollars for the job.
After about 15 minutes the doorbell rang again. She said the job was done and ready for review. The stenciling was decent so I paid her the agreed upon five bucks. I then proposed I would pay her another five bucks if she came back the next day and told me how she and her husband did on their first day out.
She agreed and the following day as the clock approached noon she appeared.
It’s at this point in the story I suppose I should stop and say something about “opting in” to my “private” list in order to find out what happened next.
I am not going to put you through the double opt-in “hoop”. But I will ask you to “stay tuned” until tomorrow morning when I tell you what happened on that second day’s visit and the conclusions I made regarding my next site’s theme.
The street number painting efforts of the industrious couple has inspired my registration of the domain HowToForCash.com. I will begin building the site tomorrow with the objective of providing a social framework where individuals can read about and improve upon the hundreds of ideas designed to help fulfill the desperate need of millions of people today to make ends meet and put food on the table.
There is nothing “get rich quick” about what I will be creating and sharing. It is as down-to-earth and fundamental as what the couple painting the street signs were attempting: creating wealth even on the smallest of scales by producing and delivering value to the customer.
Click here for Seeing the Signs – Part II posted at HowToForCash.com.
by xearther
