Elsewhere in this book is an [account] of a party in a northwestern city who made from $12,000 to $15,000 a year through establishing a successful plan of collecting old accounts, mainly by means of letters.
Practically every merchant doing business anywhere has a large number of accounts which he has been unable to collect, and it is from these accounts that the solicitor can earn a good living.
Calling upon the merchants of his home-city first, he asked to be allowed to take over these accounts, the merchant to pay him 10 cents for each account so assigned, and, as he frequently listed as high as 200 accounts in a day, he derived $20 from this source alone as he was allowed to retain the entire amount. Then, on receipt of the accounts at the agency, he would be paid 20 cents more for each account, thus making his income $60 for one day’s work. This was unusual, however, but any good hustler can make a good living from this work.
PLAN No. 463. OPENED A “SURPLUS” MARKET
A man and his wife, who lived in a city surrounded by a good fruit and agricultural country, and whose only possession was a horse and light wagon, and less than $100 in cash, concluded to open what they called a “surplus” market, where they disposed of a great deal of farm and orchard products that would otherwise have gone to waste. They rented a small stall in one of the city markets, and the wife took charge of that, while the husband drove several miles into the country each day looking for surplus products that could be had for little or nothing, simply to get them out of the way. He was thus able to pick up in a day a wagon-load of good, sound apples, peaches, pears, vegetables, berries, small fruits, etc., at a total cost of $1 or even less—often for nothing—and these he brought to the market stall and offered for sale at just about one-half the prices asked by other dealers. To be sure, the fruits were not wrapped and labeled, or the berries placed in boxes, but their quality was fully equal to those that were.
Small as was this beginning, it gradually led to something larger and better, and they now own one of the most profitable little fruit stores in their city.
PLAN No. 464. BOOSTED HIS HOME TOWN BY BOOKLET
A northwestern young man, who believed that more factories and other valuable enterprises could be brought to his home city through stronger literature than was being sent out by the local chamber of commerce, prepared a brief summary of resources, supplies of raw materials of all kinds, marketing conditions, power costs, and everything that could possibly interest a manufacturer looking for a new location.
This matter was contained in an attractive booklet, concise and forcible in style, and dealt only with established facts and figures, with data that could not be questioned.
Then he advertised throughout the eastern cities and stated that he would send this reliable publication on receipt of 50 cents per copy, and received many answers containing enclosures.