As a brand new SFI Affiliate, my strategy would be all about “PARLAYING.”
DEFINITION
“To use or develop something such as money or a skill to make it more successful or worth more.”
The essence is that you “parlay” something you have into something better. And you keep doing this over and over until you reach (or exceed!) your financial goals.
This is what I’ve done my entire adult life. I started my own business—with no money—at the age of just 23 and I’ve been parlaying to better and better ever since.
But back to if I were brand new and had no money to invest in a business…
I would first take an inventory. Do I have some items around the house I don’t really need that I can sell for a little starter cash? Can I temporarily eliminate a few niceties (fancy coffee or donuts)? Is there a project someone in the neighborhood needs done that would garner me a few dollars? Can I get a temporary part-time job? One or more of these will be more than enough to get you started.
Now I’ve got a bit of money to get started with my parlaying strategy.
If I have enough money, I’d go EA (buy an E-Pack). The fact is, the E-Pack is literally designed for parlaying! With an E-Pack, you can use the included TCredits to win something that can help your business. And the bonuses (PSAs, CSAs, Rewardicals, and Bitcoin) are all about helping you grow a business from nothing and help you become financially independent.
If you can’t come up with enough for an E-Pack right away, that’s okay too. We all have to start with whatever we have.
So perhaps you have to start with just telling people you know about SFI. Or maybe you put up some inexpensive fliers. Tip: We have a number of free/inexpensive marketing methods documented in our Marketing Center.
We also have our inexpensive "X-Cards" which can be used in a variety of, also inexpensive, ways. Here are nine ways (but use your creativity to come up with even more):
1. Keep some cards with you at all times and throw in a card any time you give someone a tip.
2. Put a card in every outgoing piece of mail you send out (like electric bills, water bills, etc.).
3. Leave a card with your paid bill each time you dine out at a restaurant.
4. Whenever you take a taxi or ride public transportation, “forget” a card on the seat before you exit.
5. Contact companies who ship goods and arrange to have them put a card in every order they ship. Provide them with a supply of cards and agree to pay them a few cents for each card included in their packages.
6. Contact direct mail companies and arrange to have them insert a card in every envelope/package they mail out. Provide them with a supply of cards and agree to pay them a few cents for each card they mail out for you.
7. Ask your local theater to give out a card with every ticket sold. Provide them with a supply of cards and agree to pay them a small fee for each card they distribute.
8. Contact owners of small retail stores and arrange to have them give a card to every customer with their purchase receipt when they check out. Provide them with a supply of cards and agree to pay them a few cents for each card they distribute for you.
9. Contact local restaurants that deliver food (pizza, Chinese food, sub sandwiches, etc.). Offer to pay them a few cents for each card they distribute to customers for you with their deliveries.
TIP: For the above ideas, where you’re offering a small fee to distribute cards, you can also do it FREE. How? Convince the business owner to join SFI under you! He or she now can actually earn much more than a few cents per card. Indeed, he/she can create a monthly residual income of thousands of dollars. Imagine having several dozen business, restaurants, etc. distributing thousands of X-Cards on your behalf, at no cost to you!
It’s also very important to start learning everything you can about becoming successful in business. Don’t waste time trying to figure it out on your own. There are thousands of people who’ve already made all the mistakes. You get to learn from them and save all that time and pain! And all the information you need is at your fingertips today, thanks to the internet! There’s no excuse for not having the knowledge to earn whatever amount of money you want to earn. Want to be a millionaire, or even a billionaire? All the information is out there. All you have to do is grab it and APPLY it.
To go from broke (no money) to financial independence, you may also need to become a “Guerrilla Marketer.” Guerrilla marketing draws upon creativity and inspiration—instead of monetary investment.
If you’re not familiar with it, the term guerrilla marketing was popularized by Jay Conrad Levinson. Jay’s 1984 book Guerrilla Marketing was so successful that it was named by Time Magazine as one of the top 25 most influential business management books, selling over 21 million copies. It was so influential, that it has been called as one of the top marketing books ever written. You might want to check it out—as I did more than 25 years ago.
By the way, we’ve got a new and fun marketing tool in development, unlike anything we’ve ever created, that I’d definitely call “guerrilla-marketing-inspired," that you can use to start parlaying! Watch for the coming announcement.
Bottom line: Know that you have to invest SOMETHING to build a successful business. It can be money. But it can also be “sweat equity,” hustle, and just plain effort. Start with small, reachable goals (e.g. sponsoring two new PSAs in your first 30 days or making one retail sale). Then keep parlaying month after month! Do that and you can turn “nothing” into a thriving, profitable business. That’s what I did…and you can do it too!