He employed girls to read several hundred newspapers, as the daily and weekly papers contain much information which leads directly to business advantages. He obtained from the county auditors a list of farmers in each county, their names and addresses, the kind of farming they were engaged in. In fact, anything from any source that could be put to the advertisers’ use was obtained. In two years this service paid him more than $500 a month.
A service of this character, intelligently used, is valuable, and almost any city is a great field for it. Along with it one should run some kind of a weekly publication in which he could carry advertisements and give his information free to his advertisers, and in this way would realize a higher rate for his information.
PLAN No. 671. ATTORNEYS BUILD LAW PRACTICE ON COLLECTION
These two attorneys realized that in starting in the law practice in a city of 100,000 was a very difficult matter, and this is the way they did it: They opened offices and started in the collection business. They did not make it on a commission basis, but on a certain amount per week, which would enable them to know just what their income would be.
They went among the cheaper stores of the community and secured their collections at very low rates. One took one side of the city in the morning and in the afternoon, the second took the other side of the city, thereby leaving one man in the office all the time. Their law office was a desk in a real estate man’s office. In this manner they finally built up a large collection business from which came a good many cases. In about a year they were able to have an office of their own. With reference to the other expenses, they were both single men, and so built a house outside of the city, somewhat removed from the business section. They lived over a year and a half in this manner; did their own cooking and so their living expenses were reduced to a minimum. They took more collections, and continued to work. A few cases began to come in; and they finally built a very good law practice. This took two or three years, but when once acquired the business was permanent.
During the war, when business was slack, they resorted to the same method of getting in touch with the public, and keeping a permanent income flowing into the firm. While this plan is not strewn with roses, yet if pursued with the same determination it will result in establishing a practice in the large city.
PLAN No. 672. WOMAN BECOMES ISOLATION HOSPITAL NURSE
This woman was thrown on her own resources and had to devise ways and means of making a living. The only field open to her at the time was to take care of “Flu” patients. She was not a trained nurse, but found that she could do this work very well. She worked hard for a few months, and word was brought to the health officer of the city concerning her work. They finally called upon her, and offered her a position in the Isolation Hospital, to take care of smallpox patients. She went into this work, not caring whether she got the small pox or not, and fortunately, even though she had never been vaccinated, she seemed to be immune, and for almost a year took care of the worst cases, and never contracted the disease.
For these services she received $75.00 a month, including room and board, and had a day off each week for herself. There was no night work in her service, because the people who came to the hospital did not pay any fee. Her salary was paid by the city.
In this hospital six or seven nurses are employed, so there is quite a field available for women in this work. Grateful patients gave her tips which ran as high as $25.00 to $30.00 a month.