Increase your business by $100 a day! – Alex Reyes

Today I am going to tell you how to increase your business sales by $100 dollars a day. In this type of industry you must notice some of the little things that can profit big for you. Not a lot of businesses know the potential of Zippo Lighters and I’ll tell you why. Ever walk into a gas station and notice that they sell Gum? Of course you have, All Gas stations sell gum. Why? They sell gum because their neighbors sell gum. They know the potential that gum has in a gas station.

Now ever walk into a gas station and notice they all have a Zippo Display Case filled with Zippo Lighters? Of course you have. 90% of Gas stations sell Zippos for many reasons. Reason number one; they get the Zippos at Wholesale prices. Yes they contact a distributer to get Wholesale Zippo Lighters, and so can you. Reason number two; they get a free Zippo Display Case when you buy a certain amount of Wholesale Zippo lighters, and guess what? So can you. Reason number three; and here’s the kicker, people actually buy Zippos at retail value. If this didn’t sell, Gas stations wouldn’t invest $400-$700 hundred dollars on Zippos to put in their gas stations. As you can see it is everywhere, 90% of gas stations sell Zippos.

Now I am not here to tell you about gas stations alone. I have been doing internet marketing for the past 5 years; I have done product advertisement as well as Video advertisement. We have been selling Zippos online for the past 3 years and within the past year and half I have noticed an increase in sales and had request for different type of lighters from my engraving customers. 3 months ago we at blank dog tag became Zippo Distributers. Why? Because we at blankdogtag.com have notice the increase in sales, and the different type of styles my customers have requested.

I have had customers invest $700 dollars worth of Zippos, They get a free display case and a month later have called back and bought 500 dollars more Zippos to fill up their display case again. The Zippo concept does not only work for gas stations but works for anyone that has a store, kiosk or Online business. If you are dealing with customers on day to day basis or have visitors on your website you will see the interest they have on Zippos. What I am telling you is not to sell you on a story, what I am saying is how to increase your business. The beauty of all of this is that you don’t have to invest $700 dollars; you can invest as much as you want. There is no limit, you can start slow and see you business increase.

Wholesale Zippo Lighters is worth taking a chance. I promise, you will not be disappointed. Here is something to think about as well, Zippo has done the research for you. Every Zippo lighter has been proven to sell. They have a collection of Zippos Styles to fit your customer’s mood, From Harley Davison Zippo Lighters to Playboy Zippo Lighters. They carry NFL, NBA, MLB, Nascar, Poker, Military even Pure Silver Zippo Lighters. And they are all licensed and authorized lighters by their respected Name. Every Zippo is guarantee to sell, I have tested this online and I have had customers tested them in Kiosk. Still don’t believe me? Did you know that there is a website where you can actually talk to Zippo Collectors from around the world? Yes Zippo Lighters are globally known. One more thing to think about, why is it that Walgreens, Wal-mart, Tobacco Stations and Grocery stores getting into this market? Because it is a proven fact they sell regardless of location. In the end of the day, either you can remain in the same daily sales or increase your sales by $100 dollars a day.

I hope I have put a spark that will help your sales. If you are interested in knowing more about Zippos please feel free to contact us. We would be happy to answer any questions you may have regarding Zippos. Please look forward to more articles in the near future; I will be giving you tips on how to make money with an MPX engraving machines. Thank you for reading this.

Alex Reyes

Tips to Survive Economic Tough Times

Note: Here are some timely tips for entrepreneurs on surviving economic rough patches from a guest blogger who knows from experience, Aaron Rome of Wholesale Gem Shop, a worldwide wholesale jewelry supplier.

How Small Business Stays Successful in a Down Economy
By Aaron Rome
Wholesale Sterling Silver Gemstone Jewelry

Your business can survive an economic downturn. And, I can support that claim. We are not sliding into financial Armageddon. I know that from my own business experience because people are still buying wholesale jewelry.

I’m a realist. Like everyone else, I feel some anxiety about the state of our world economy. (Certainly, I share in the disdain for those who irresponsibly pushed world credit and financial markets to this edge.) But I temper those feelings with a practical optimistic outlook. I know that, with the right strategies, our businesses can come out of this even stronger.

Is My Business Doomed By a Bad Economy? The answer is a qualified, “No, not if I make smart business decisions.”

In the past year, my wholesale business has declined 11%; over the past four months, it has dropped 23%. While this is a concern, to be honest, I am only shocked it’s not worse! If I could not make my mortgage payments and was forced to choose between food and gas, then, sure, wholesale silver jewelry would not be high on my shopping list.

I don’t know the motivations and root causes; but I do know there are still a lot of people buying jewelry. I have approximately 2000 customers worldwide. And the feedback I am getting overall is that retail jewelry sales have fallen, though not as dramatically as some expected. Some sectors are even reporting growth: For example, some of my customers who sell at home jewelry parties and small craft shows report that business is booming. At the same time, more traditional outlets (retail stores, mall kiosks) are seeing declining sales.

My theory is that purchase decisions, even during rough economic times, come down to buyers searching for value.

How Can I Sustain or Even Grow My Business in This Economic Climate?
Whether your business is your primary livelihood or a means of supplementary income, you want to not only survive this economic stretch, but to emerge stronger. Expect tough times to last at least six months to a year.

Save and Avoid Over-Leveraging: Savings can be cash or merchandise inventory. Be wary of over-leveraging yourself; too much debt could wipe you out if sales revenues slip too far. If you have some inventory built up, then you can spend less over the next six months working off your existing stock. Overall sales may be lower, but so will your expenses, netting a better cash flow.

Keep Cash On Hand and Inventory at Minimum: Make smaller and more frequent orders from your vendors. I now offer free shipping on orders over US $59.00 ($150 on international orders). This allows me to keep more cash on hand and hold my inventory to a minimum level.

Focus on No- and Low-Price Points: Don’t stop marketing your business; but take advantage of no-cost wholesaler services, such as directory listings. No-cost promotional features of my wholesale jewelry supply business include customizable catalogs, a virtual web site and picture downloads.

Stock up on products with low price points. I find that jewelry items retailing in the range of $10-$30 sell best during tough times. If you look through my wholesale jewelry site (at above link), you will find a lot of wholesale dangle earrings for $7; post earrings for $4.79; studs that cost only $1/ pair; and gem-chip bracelets at competitive low prices.

Keep Marketing and Test What Works Best: We know many will go out of business in the coming year. Survivors will be those that adapted to a new economic climate. So it is imperative that you be creative – try new stuff! – and keep refining your marketing to develop new business. Unless you have 100% market share in your region or sector, there’s always new business to grab, including from competitors.

An example of the need to keep experimenting: I do all my advertising online. My wholesale jewelry business currently appears on page 2 of Google search results for my keywords. Problem is that I used to be on page 1 of search results. Something dropped my keyword rankings; and that lower visibility is costing me a lot of business. So I am always trying new ways to get my ranking back up. (See Editor Note below for SEO Tips to improve search rankings.) If I get back to page #1 in searches on my business keywords, I will gain a lot of market share … even if overall business is slower in the wholesale silver jewelry market. Most of those new ways to regain my page 1 ranking cost me nothing beyond my time and creative tests.

As a (still) successful wholesale supplier of silver jewelry, my final advice is to keep trying new marketing strategies. Even if only one or two of your efforts is successful, you will be in good shape to weather the down times. (AR)
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Editor: For tips on Search Engine Optimization – those low and no-cost tips to make your business more visible to search engines or to rank higher on search results pages — see these Top Ten Wholesale News articles: Gain Visibility in Buyer/Seller Markets With SEO and Beyond the Basics in SEO .

Is Google Being Slammed With Bad Math?

You know what “they” say about statistics: Numbers, Lies and More Damned Lies. Or: Figures Lie and Liars Figure.

A recent report from a consultant paid by the telecommunications industry claims that search giant Google is using more than 20 times the bandwidth that Google pays for. This Google-slamming report features numbers, statistics and – according to Internet Industry watchers – damned lies.

Karl Bode in Broadband Reports notes that, according to Scott Cleland’s “scientific-looking study,” Google (and/or Google’s users; it’s not clear) used up 16.5% of all U.S. consumer Internet traffic in 2008. But search giant Google paid “only” $344 Million for its 2008 bandwidth, which is – Incoming! Statistics! Numbers! – merely 0.8% of Internet access costs charged to U.S. consumers ($44 Billion). Hence, the headline: Google Using 21x The Bandwidth They Pay For.

Bode of Broadband Reports says much more:
This statistical cat fight got started in 2005 when AT&T’s CEO Ed Whitacre told Business Week that Google was NOT going to use AT&T’s inter-toob pipelines for free, ignoring the fact that Google and its users already pay for bandwidth. AT&T chief Whitacre simply wants his “cut” of the advertising pie. Some industry observers called this “extortion” against Google. Bode called it:

Ed’s dream world (where), in addition to bandwidth costs already
paid by you and Google, you’d both pay the troll under the bridge
to use that connection

And

Enter the pseudo-scientists and public relations wizards.

And

“… fantastic job taking greedy ramblings (and) donning them with pseudo-
science … ahead of a rekindled debate over network neutrality before DC
lawmakers. Public relations designed to vilify Google while fostering Whitacre’s
dream of a future Internet where already very profitable companies don’t have
to pay for their own expenses, and everyone is double or triple billed.

Julian Sanchez, in Ars Technica, used words like “manifestly bogus” regarding …

“… this line about Google “free riding” on their bandwidth … not only fails
to convince anybody, but serves as a reminder that the telecoms’ position
in this debate is motivated above all by the dream of extracting rents from
large firms like Google.”

Bode and Sanchez point out who financed the Google-slamming “statistical” report —
Cleland is paid by AT&T, Verizon and Time Warner Cable. Motive according to Bode –

Google angered Cleland’s employers, by advocating network neutrality and
increased broadband competition while fighting metered billing.
… This time, with graphs!

All this is part of the street fight over Net Neutrality and faster, cheaper broadband access for all.

Check out other writer combatants at the Free Press.net News Wire, including:

· Can We Get Some Better Telecom Shills, Please? (Sanchez);

· Cleland doesn’t know how much Google actually pays for broadband, so he just makes one up. (Masnick of TechDirt); and another “damned statistic” …

· Right now, the United States lacks a national broadband plan, and the country has fallen to 22nd in the world in terms of high-speed Internet adoption. (Megan Tady, One Nation Online)

Globalization and Clothing: Up Close and Personal

A journalist and traveler named Kelsey Timmerman wanted to know where his clothes came from and who made them in the global manufacturing and wholesale apparel market. So he took a trip around the world and then recorded his findings in Where am I Wearing?: A Global Tour to the Countries, Factories and People that Make Our Clothes.

He puts a personal face – or “skin in the game” if you will — on big abstract issues like globalization and outsourcing, and on controversies like child laborers and sweatshop producers.

What Timmerman Found:

His underwear was made in Bangladesh (where he rode a roller coaster with garment workers and saw his first child labor sweatshop)

His pants were made in Cambodia (where he bowled with workers and pondered the global gap between makers and wearers of Levi’s)

His flip-flops were made in China (a topic that took eight chapters, two of them titled, Margaritaville and Life at the bottom)

Finally, at the end, his shorts were made in the U.S.

Where am I Wearing? By Kelsey Timmerman was published in November 2008 by Wiley.