Part II
Operating Services and Special Enterprises
A SERVICE is different from merchandise; it takes a different kind and character of selling. You don’t have the goods to show, to feel, to try, to demonstrate. You are mostly actively selling yourself, personally; your skill, your abilities, and your reliability. The spotlight is off the goods, and on to you.
This is a somewhat more difficult way to make money, because it is so personal, and so limited by what you (or your helpers) can do personally; but it is also a more solid and lasting business. Services are most always repeat service; and a customer pleased can give you constant business. In many ways it is a more satisfying business to you because of your personal craft relationship to it. It is a craft, not a mere trading business, and in this way satisfies one’s instinct for craftsmanship—also, often, creative ability.
You should make the decision whether you would be happiest selling goods or services, after thoughtful consideration; perhaps after testing yourself on both. (Not everybody is sufficiently acquainted with themselves to know precisely what they would find most interesting to themselves). As a general rule, just looking for fat profit is not the surest way to get to where you want to go. Selling goods, merchandise, gives certain types of people satisfaction merely in the process of making a sale. They like the excitement of argument, for the chance of a big quantity sale; they like the “smoke of battle” with a prospect. And they are sometimes ambitious to sell a great deal of goods, and employ subsalesmen under them. If you sell goods, it is true, there is no top limit to your activities, but if you sell services, there is a limit to what you personally can do. All this is perfectly sound—choice is up to you.
Some of us have a strong craft instinct. We like best to deal in services because we get a chance to use the creative instinct. Women specially incline to prefer service rather than merchandise selling.
There is plenty of money to be made in selling services, even if the chances of large quantity orders are not the same.
Look over these uniquely interesting types of services, for both men and women, and you may find precisely what you want, or at least suggestions to activate your mind toward a better decision. Here are 119 kinds of services—
1. Wall-Washing.
There are hundreds of stores, offices, institutions, churches, public buildings, etc., even homes, which need their walls washed once every year or two, or even oftener; a task which is not usually possible with ordinary facilities. There is now a machine which washes walls at least six times faster than can be done by hand. It makes a business for someone. Contact Von Schroder Mfg. Co., 5113 W. Place, Racine, Wis.
2. Rug Washing.
It comes as a most agreeable surprise to many householders to know that they can hire you to come to their homes with your own rug-cleansing machine, and wash their rugs right there while they are lying on the floor! This, too, makes a business, comparable to floor-sanding, etc. Contact Von Schroder Mfg. Co., 5113 W. Place, Racine, Wis. (For upholstery cleaning this same company has a device).
3. Make Candy for sale.
The home-made candy of yesteryear still has its appeal, and it is still a business to make candy on a small scale, in your own home kitchen, or a “candy kitchen” set up in some modest little retail store location. You can get the necessary instruction from Ragsdale Candies, East Orange, N. J.
4. Paint Signs, Counter Cards, etc.
This is quite a neat little business—never were more signs needed by almost anybody offering goods for sale. You don’t now need to be a “lettering artist” as used to be the case. You can buy “letter patterns” which make it remarkably easy and fast. Retailers pay good money for nice signs of all kinds. Contact John Rahn, B1330 Central, Chicago 51, Ill.
5. Answer Telephones.
Nowadays a lot of people in homes, offices, etc. flit around a good deal, and observe short office hours, etc. They feel the need of someone to answer all telephone calls—office or home—during the hours (or days or weeks or months) they are out or away. It is a business now. In large cities you operate only on certain selected exchanges. Elsewhere the whole field, Contact Post Service, P. O. Box 103, Somerville 45, Mass.
6. Sharpen Lawn Mowers.
A surprising business! It seems that the average lawn mower needs sharpening once or twice or oftener per season, or else it is extra hard work to push. There are now machines to do this, and you can set yourself up in business—and get it, too, in localities where many lawns are kept. Contact any of the following: Quad City Products, Box 42, Rock Island, Ill.; Foley Mfg. Co., 307 Foley Bldg., Minneapolis, Minn.; Rogers Mfg. Co., Lindsey, Ohio; Modern Mfg. Co., Pasadena, Calif.; Fate-Robert Health Co., Plymouth, O.
7. Sharpen Circular Saws, Scissors, Knives, Wrenches, Planes, etc.
Everybody who uses tools today—and who doesn’t?—wants sharp tools. That’s just good craft horse sense. But tools of various kinds need modern equipment for sharpening. It’s a business! The old scissors grinder and knife sharpener peddling the streets, is replaced by a real business, with new equipment. Contact. Quick-Way Saw Co., 11 Riverside, Coming, N. Y. (for circular saw sharpening); A. D. Burney, 314 East 4th St., Los Angeles 13, Calif.; Belshaw Machinery Co., Fulton Bldg., Kansas City, Mo. (for knife, plane, power grinding equipment); J. C. Moore Industries, Fredonia, Pa. (for sharpening pipe wrenches); Serr-Edge Machine Co., 9731 Laramie Ave., Cleveland, Ohio (for scissors).
8. Build Outdoor Fireplaces.
Hundreds of thousands of people in recent years have been discovering the fun of cooking and eating outdoors. After using various make-shift devices, they develop a desire for a really permanent fireplace, solidly built. You can make a quite profitable business of this. With four dollars’ worth of sand and cement, and twelve dollars worth of iron, one person now in this business built a fireplace and collected $129.00 for it! Anybody with any backyard, lawn or outdoor space at all can be interested in such a service. Contact General Engineering Co., 307 Hunter St., Gloucester, N. J.
9. Do Steam Cleaning.
This is a spruce-up age—we are rubbing off the dilapidated look from many things. Steam cleaning equipment can do a wide variety of jobs—from cleaning the exterior of buildings, to concrete floors, even automobiles! The equipment for this is simple to operate—it can generate 75 lbs. of steam in 10 minutes, and costs around $400.00. It can polish off a whole building and make it look like new in double-quick time at a pretty nice sum! Contact Hi-Pure Laboratories, Evansville, Ind.
10. Manufacture Jewelry.
Literally tons of costume and other low-price jewelry are consumed today. Individual artistry is at a premium—why not try your hand at it? It needs little space, little machinery, and sells at a high mark-up over costs. Make your own designs, or copy designs—the field is wide open. You can readily and cheaply buy all supplies. Contact these firms: Gem Craft, 18135 E. 13th St., Cleveland, O.; R & B Art Craft Co., 11019A S. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles 44, Calif.; Jewelcraft Co., 204 Howard St., Framingham, Mass.; B & I Mfg. Co., Burlington, Wis.; Jara Gem Corp., 489 5th Ave., New York, N. Y.; International Gem Corp., 18 John Street, New York, N. Y.; House of Blaire, 2075 E. 14th St., Cleveland 15, O.; Giftcrafts, Box 455, P. M., Coral Gables, Fla.
11. Do Sand Blasting.
This is a uniquely versatile business—you can do everything from cleaning automobile interiors to marproofing lamps, refinishing surfaces of all kinds, even etching glass windows. Isn’t difficult to learn—there’s a free course of study. Contact Blasts Spray Gun Mfg. Co., 7007 Haas Ave., Los Angeles 47, Calif.
12. Manufacture Concrete Blocks.
There’s a never-ending demand for concrete blocks, as nothing has yet surpassed them in building construction, for cheapness, solidity, durability. They are a staple anywhere in the U. S., city or country. By using very modern equipment and good techniques, your product can out-compete others. Contact these firms: General Engines Co., 307 Hunter St., Gloucester, N. J.; Economy Mfg. Co., Stone Mountain, Ga.; Brikerete Association, 4679 Division St., Grand Rapids, Mich.
13. Install Quick Hot Water Heating Units.
A lot of people are unaware that, with new unit devices, their present hot water boiler tank can quickly be converted into an electric hot water heater, for less than $25.00. You could readily make a business out of this, as there are millions who still depend on old equipment, which is too slow. You can install this upon old equipment very satisfactorily. You can make the installation of the electric unit in less than an hour—do it right during your sales call, if need be. Contact Colloid Equipment Co., 50 Church St., New York, N. Y.
14. Clean Venetian Blinds.
Surprising how many housewives and housemaids by-pass this chore as difficult. You can develop a lot of jobs doing this work with new equipment, and you will find just about every other home open to the suggestion. Contact L. C. Robinson Mfg. Co., 522 N. Rural St., Indianapolis, Ind.; also F. Y. Co., 442 N. Seneca St., Wichita, Kansas.
15. Grow Midget Trees.
These outstanding little fruit trees were a tightly held Japanese secret until not long ago. Imagine! They grow hardly more than a foot high—indoors or out—and actually bear fruit. They are dwarfed by secret process. They “sell on sight”. You might add other odd growing items to this unique business. Contact National Nursery Gardens, 8463 S. Van Ness St., Tanglewood 4, Calif.; Don Pedro Farms, Route 2, Box 1007, Stockton, Calif.
16. Printing Without Press—Silk Screen Printing.
Very lovely effects can be obtained by the silk screen process, and it is making many friends. You can make a business of it, doing a wide variety of jobs with it. Contact: Silk Screen Typecrafters, 510 E. W. Susquehanna St., Phila. 22, Pa.; Screen Printing Co., 1010 S. Los Angeles St., Los Angeles 15, Calif.; Roto Print, 211 N. 7th St., St. Louis, Mo.; J. Jones, Box 321, Meridan, Miss.
17. Repair Electric Appliances.
What sellers of the hundreds of electric household appliances don’t tell you is that all too often they are in need of repair! Where to go? How to safeguard against “gyp” repair charges? Make a business of this and earn many householders’ thanks. There are schools which teach such repairs work: Pacific Training School, 7219 Broadway, Los Angeles 3, Calif.; Electric Appliance Repair Institute, 5944 Newark Ave., Chicago 31, Ill.; Christey Trades School, 4432 N. Kedzie Ave., Chicago 25, Ill.
18. Sand Floors.
There’s really only one thing to do with wooden floors when they reach a certain point in wear: sand them. But who will do it? You will, making a business of it; using one of the modern, fast floor-sanding machines, and earning a very fine price per hour, or square foot, for the service. Serve homes, institutions, schools, retail shops, etc. Contact American Floor Surfacing Machine Co., 533 St. Claire St., Toledo 3, Ohio.
19. Do Auto Fender Repair.
You don’t have to do anything else to a car—this specialty alone develops plenty of business as a by-product of the great over-crowding of streets and highways, and its resulting minor bumpings, collisions, and accidents. It is quiet easy, not heavy work. All you need to do is have the right tools and bid for the business. Contact Utilities Engineering Institute, 2523 Sheffield Ave., Chicago 14, Ill.
20. Make Keys, Expert Locks.
There’s a large volume of business in duplicate key making. You can set up in business in an incredibly small space,—and on almost no capital—in an alley-way or a niche, or blind space facing the street; or rented few square feet outside or inside a store, or wherever. A key duplicate can be cut on a modern machine in less than 2 minutes. Go into the field deeper, and learn locksmith technique. Contact: Institute of Locksmithing, 15 Park Ave., Rutherford, N. J.
21. Raise Hamsters, Guinea Pigs, Chinchillas, Rabbits, etc.
Thousands of these little animals are bought for laboratory work—and also for pets. Hamsters are sometimes called “toy bears.” The technique of raising them is now very well simplified. If you have proper outdoor space in a good climate you can sell an incredible number of them. Contact: Gulf Hamstery, 15 Jay St., Gulf Shores, Ala. (hamsters); Rock Hill Ranch, Sellersville, Pa. (Chinchilla, Rabbits); Chinchilla Breeders, 303 Lexington Ave., New York, N. Y. (chinchillas).
22. Clean Upholstery.
Women don’t seem to know what to do with upholstery when it reaches a certain state of soiledness. You can step in and make a business of both cleaning and “match-proofing” upholstery; using modern methods. Surprising how many householders will want such service. It saves new covers or new furniture. Contact: Duraclean Co., 3-163 Duraclean Bldg., Deerfield, Ill.; also Von Schroeder Mfg. Co., 2042 “D” Place, Racine, Wis.
23. Breed Large Frogs.
Frog legs are still a gourmet’s item of food, and they seem none too plentiful in supply ($5.00 a dozen, we’re told). If you have (or will make) a small pond on your grounds you can raise plenty of them. Contact: Marlboro House, 1635 Marlborough St., Detroit 15, Mich.; Broel, Box 1035 Marlborough St., Detroit 15, Mich.
24. Raise Orchids.
Sounds fantastic—you have always thought orchids were grown either in the tropics or in luxurious hot-houses. You’d be surprised what you can do without a hot house and expensive equipment. It can be made into a most lucrative business. Contact: Tropical Flowers, 601 S. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles 5, Calif.
25. Metalize Baby Shoes, Bootees, China, Baskets, etc.
Yes, thousands of parents still wish to preserve their little tot’s first shoes, etc. by bronzing, metalizing them, to last forever. Rare is the family that isn’t sentimental about Baby. They are surprised and delighted that you can manage this metalizing job for them. Contact: Kiktan Co., 7217 S. Broadway, Los Angeles 3, Calif.; Senti-Metal Co., 274 E. Capital St., Columbus, O.; Dresden Craft Supplies, 5630 France Ave., Minneapolis, Minn.; Warner Electric. Co., 1215 Jervis Ave., Chicago 26, Ill.
26. Install Floor Tiles.
This is another new and flourishing business for an enterprising person of no particular preparation or experience. The new rubber tile flooring consisting of 9 x 9 inch squares are extremely popular and efficient, and almost anyone can lay them fairly fast. Homes, stores, public buildings, etc. are finding the economy and beauty of this type of flooring. Contact: Kentile, Inc., 58 Second Ave., Brooklyn 15, N. Y. for its Handy Ken-kit (all tools and materials needed for installation of Kentile flooring). Also Hochmaster, Pittsburgh, Pa., and Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., Akron, O. (for the Vinyl-tile service).
27. Cast Rubber and Plastic Goods.
Rubber and plastic are now materials more versatile than any former art and utility material for casting. Figurines, ash-trays, and a thousand other items may be cast from this ready material, creating saleable items at will. You think up more ideas! Contact: Plastic Arts Studio, 303 S. Madison St., Muncie, Ind.; Plasticost Co., Box 6737; Chicago 40, Ill.; Plasti-Glas Co., 1701 W. Magnolia St., Burbank, Calif.; Werner Electric Co., 1512 Jarvis Ave., Chicago 26, Ill. (for outfits of resins, glass cloths, tools, etc. for operating plastic laminating business).
28. Do Photo-Engraving.
Once this called for an extensive investment; now you can set up in business with very little money. New methods and materials are the reason. There is considerable demand in any fair-sized town and you can quickly turn out good work. Contact: Tasope Dept., Aurora, Mo.
29. Grow Earthworms for Fishermen.
“What an idea!” you’ll say. But don’t laugh. Fishermen are usually hard put to it to get worms for bait, and for this reason it is now a business to supply the worms! Requires little skill or capital. Contact Miller’s Mammoth Worm Farm, Route 1, Murray, Ky.; or Huffman Worm Ranch, River Junction, Mich.
30. Do Re-Weaving, Mending.
Ever gasp at the charge they ask for mending a cigarette burn in your best woolen suit? That’s why it’s a good business. It is meticulous and touchy, but it certainly is a worthwhile job, saving a $50.00 suit from ruin. No wonder people are willing to pay, and there are plenty of suits, skirts to be mended. Contact: Fabricon, 8342 S. Prairie Ave., Chicago 19, Ill.; Jackson Enterprises, 2624 Sheridan Road, Chicago, Ill.; Kaycrest Products, 126 W. 3rd St., Cleveland 3, O.; Skil Weave, 1717 Westwood, Los Angeles 24, Calif.
31. Test Soil Samples.
Your grandfather would sniff at this as a business, but the laugh would be on him. Farmers, home and lot owners, institutions, golf clubs, etc. pay real money to have their soil analyzed, as much depends on such analysis. You can quickly learn the business. Contact Bill Krause, 3074 Woodland Lake, Lake Bluff, Ill.
32. Breed Canaries, Pheasants.
Do you love birds? Here is a chance to enjoy yourself earning a good living. We used to get nearly all our canaries from the Hartz mountains, Austria, but we’ve been learning the trick of breeding good canary songsters in America. There’s a demand.
And pheasants? Gourmets pay high prices for a dish of pheasant. Not enough wild ones available. Contact: McKenzie, 1310-10 8th Ave., Albany, Georgia (for canaries); Great Central Game Management System, Columbia, 22S, Kansas (for pheasant).
33. Grow Mushrooms.
We Americans every year almost double our mushroom consumption. They are no longer a mere luxury item. They grow with remarkably little attention if you give them the exact degree of darkness, temperature, humidity they need. Contact Washington Mushrooms, 2954 Admiral Way, Seattle, Wash.
34. Grow Herbs.
As in the case of mushrooms, we Americans have rapidly become herb conscious. We use far more in our foods than ever was known before. Dozens of persons have been making very good livings growing-up and selling herbs, on quite small plots. There are 3 or 4 good books on herb growing to read, too. Contact Averse, 113-S Elizabeth St., Wichita 12, Kansas.
35. Raise Mink.
Nobody need tell you that mink is valuable—it’s almost worth its weight in gold! True, it’s not an easy business; you’d have to give plenty of thought and care to it, and in the right location. But, “thar’s gold in them thar skins”. Contact Lawrence Molgard, Brigham City 13, Utah.
36. Do Roofing.
Strange, a lot of people seriously neglect their roofs, and fail to realize that this is very poor economy. A poor roof also destroys a house’s beauty, while a roof which gives attention to roof artistry greatly enhances its value. You’ll have much attention paid you today talking modern roofing, and it’s an excellent business. Contact Luster-Kate, 19417 Derby St., Detroit, Mich.
37. Do Bookkeeping, Tax Returns for Small Business.
A bookkeeper I know, getting along in years, lost her job and was alarmed—until she discovered how to make two or three times her former income doing bookkeeping and tax returns for a dozen or more small firms. She’s now her own boss, working on her own time, mostly at her home, and says it’s a swell idea for many other competent persons. Contact Tasketts, North High St., Salem 4, Ind.; also Modern Business, Box 406, Youngstown, O.
38. Make Artistic Lamps.
There seems to be a revolution going on in lamps. The old eyesore lamps of rococo design are being pitched out and replaced with modern artistic lamps! Not all localities are offered the new artistic, modernistic lamps—therefore to supply the demand is an interesting business—specially for women. Artistic lamps are not hard to put together by someone with taste, ingenuity and smart fingers. They bring very good prices. Contact: Plastex Industries, 4400 3rd Ave., New York 56, N. Y.; Gearon Co., 27 S. Des Plaines St., Chicago 6, 111.; Crafttime Creations, Newark, Del.; Sam Patchett, 247 N. W., 24th Court, Miami, Fla.
39. Manufacture Drain Tile.
Odd business, you say? Just one of those good opportunities for a small business without much capital. Drain tile is used extensively on good farms, in home building, reclamation projects, highway building, etc. At one time only expensive clay tile was used, but now modern machinery has made possible manufacture with concrete, cheaper and better. It makes a business operatable anywhere, not just at clay beds. Contact Concrete Equipment Co., 525 Ottawa Ave., Holland, Mich.
40. Sell Tear Gas Service.
What an idea! You’re sure to say. But, stay, its a very good little business, in these modern days of frequent hold-ups, disturbances, burglaries, etc. Banks, stores, offices and other places find that tear gas is an astonishing and quickly effective protection. Contact Hagon Supply Corp., St. Paul 4, Minn.
Continued in Pt3b…
