She received many replies to her advertisements, and in a few months had established a pleasant and profitable business of her own besides having placed many ambitious young authors in a position to present their manuscripts to publishers in acceptable form, thereby greatly increasing the chances of acceptance.
Any young person, man or woman, who possesses the ability of this young lady, can do equally well by following the same plan of doing satisfactory work at fair prices.
PLAN No. 51. OPENING A GIFT SHOP
A widow, who was left with some very good furnishings and about $200 in cash, resolved to make an opportunity of her own and improved it to such excellent advantage that she made a satisfactory living by following a definite plan and the exercise of an unusual amount of good taste.
Renting a small but attractive down-town store room, she fitted it up with the furnishings of her home, imparting to the place a decidedly cozy effect, and she printed some 500 cards, which she sent out by mail, paying regular letter postage on each. These contained an invitation to visit her “Many Happy Returns Shop,” where rare gifts, suitable for all occasions, could be purchased at prices ranging from 10 cents to $10 each. She further intimated that an inspection of her wares would prove extremely interesting even to those who did not come in to buy.
Living only a short distance from New York, she went to the city and, visiting the Italian and Syrian districts, she purchased many pieces of old brass, trays, pots, lanterns, etc., while in the Japanese quarters she bought odd bits of china and lacquer, in all fifty articles, costing her $30.
She also asked her friends to bring in odd or rare articles for her to sell on commission, and arranged everything very tastefully for her opening day, when large numbers of people visited her store and many of the novelties were sold at good prices. Her first day’s sales netted her $7.66, and by constantly adding to her stock of rarities and other attractions, she enjoyed a steady and substantial income.
PLAN No. 52. COUPONS TO AID SALES
“A friend of mine,” said a successful merchant, not long ago, “was making and selling—or trying to sell—three preparations of great merit, but with such indifferent success that he decided to give it up.
“I knew the value of his preparations, and concluded that his failure was due to himself rather than to them. I, therefore, outlined a plan for him that I thought would bring success, and loaned him the money with which to make another try at it.