Thursday, May 24, 2007

Double To A Million - Totals Adding up...

Wow, I've had a good day !

I've sold another CD-ROM and a watch and best of all.... I've had the payment from a company who approached me to write about them and have 6 months worth of advertising on this blog :D

My total is now; $1195.20 !!!!!!!!!
Not too long until I'm at the next step. I thought I would never pass the $1,000.

So much thanks goes to Melissa at www.nationalpayday.com
This advertising revenue has really helped and I have a post coming about their company... quite an interesting read over at their website. Includes lots of articles on money management ect...

I'll be adding my post soon about them :D

Later,
Rachel.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Double To A Million - Small Update

Ok, I've sold a couple more things which brings my total up to.....

$998 !!

I may have more to add today though :)

Rachel.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Double Your Way to a Million - Progress

Double Your Way to a Million total is now $970 and with a little luck, I should be over the step step very soon !

I did sell my first coin painting, but haven't included it as I wanted to make sure costs were taken care of first...

I'm concentrating on putting together a few more CD-Roms so I can have a catalogue of them for sale. Now I've conquered the "burning for all platforms" thing, they should go well.
All three of the cake moulds sold and the experiment goods will get their own post later. I've just been a little busy lately.

Rachel.

Friday, May 04, 2007

Double Your Way To A Million - Another week, Another Idea !

Double Your Way To A Million - Another week, Another Idea !

This week I've been working on a more long term project to bring in money to the Doubling Challenge.
I realise that when creating artwork, you can only do so much for your time to be worthwhile so I have gone with an idea I've been thinking about.
After doing extensive "research" (a day of checking out art sites on the web !), I don't think my particular idea has been done in this way.

On 12"x 12" stretched canvas I am painting, in oils..... The coins that so many overlook.
It occurred to me that so often when you ask someone what picture is on each coin that many can only answer a few correctly.

The first coin is the NZ One Cent (before being pulled from circulation it was copperish with a fern on it. This one is completed but not for sale :D

The second is the now also extinct Two Cent Coin. It has Kowhai flowers on it. These are a yellow bell type flower on a large tree. It is for sale !

The Five Cent is a work in progress (stupid detailed Tuatara.....) but the Ten Cent is done.
I'll actually start another blog linking here to display these.

I'll also be writing about something interesting in the next day or so that had never occurred to me !

Later,

Rachel.

OK, I haven't signed it or cleaned it up totally... but here's a sneak preveiw of the 10c !
All Coin Series ©RA Hammond 2007, All rights reserved।



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Thursday, May 03, 2007

Double Your Way To A Million - Selling, Ideas and Stitches ...

Double Your Way To A Million - Selling, Ideas and Stitches...

The last 2 weeks have been very interesting.
Remember how my dog cut herself and got 6 (not 5 !) stitches ? So far she has managed to pull 5 of the 6 just by being a crazed Bullmastiff. She is going to have a nasty scar but luckily I've never been into showing dogs !!

Everystep I reach on this doubling journey, I reveal a little more about myself. The last step I put a pic up which is very frightening :D
I'm going to break that now and tell you that I'm also a closet artist.

My Grandmother was a fairly prolific artist here between the 60's and 80's... Pearl Daniels

(If any NZers have a Pearl Daniels painting that I don't have already I would be interested )

Well anyway, I was a self taught artist until I did 2 years at high school and then studied a bachelor of Graphic Arts.
At The Doublers Den people were chatting about selling sketches for their doubling stake and Arkad mentioned 1,000 paintings. This guy put blue numbers on a white canvas and sold them. I also noticed another similar guy in Australia doing a money series. He paints dollar amounts on canvas and sells them for the pictured amount (The one dollars must have killed him....).
Well, all this pop art gave me an art related idea. But more about that tomorrow :D

My sales are going exceptionally well this week. About 12 UV Torches and 6 CD-ROMS.
I've also gotten a sponsorship possibility - Very Exciting !

Bye Now,
Rachel.



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Thursday, April 26, 2007

Double To A Million - It All Ads Up :)

It's true, it all ads up !
I've sold another few torches and cd-roms and I'm creeping up to $800.

It occurred to me when I looked at my feedback on Trademe that it's taken about 100 transactions to get to this level.
If I were to keep this up, I would have to do 125,000 transactions to get to a million !
Ideally, I would like to source a product or information item that will consistantly sell for around $100..... The more profit margin the better !

This brings me to my next project.

What is worth less than it's worth. Is tossed aside, but creates joy when it's found ?

I've always thought the simple coin was highly under-rated. My next item for sale will feature this much loved item :D

Oh, and before I forget... Just wanted to mention a great place to get your Website names/addresses from.

They only cost $4.95 USD (for a year) and come with free hosting.
Check it out by clicking the little red sign !!


Rachel.

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Double Your Way To A Million - Dog Related Setback...


Three days ago I was quietly answering auction questions and counting my gold...(kidding !) when I noticed my Bullmastiff pup doing something odd.

She was quiet !
I turned around and she was in a pool of blood and was happily licking her paw.
On closer inspection it looked more like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre so I got something to stop the bleeding.
After about 15mins and the bleeding not stopping, I called the vet who just happened to be in town right then !

He wrapped it, but I had to run her into the surgery (1/2 hour away) to get 5 stiches put in her foot, just above the pad.

After having a good look around, I realised the little monster had tried to "dig" a broken bonsai pot. The glaze would have sliced right through her paw.

It turned out to be a pretty deep cut and now we are just trying to keep her busy so she doesn't chew on the bandages.

Poor Chloe.
She, of course, milked it for all she's worth :D

On the plus side, I found 80c and sold another CD-ROM.
OK, there's a pic up now...Pathetic, huh ??!!

Rachel.

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Double To A Million - How To's...

My stake is gradually creeping up by $10-$20 per day now which is nice.
If you look at my total sometimes, it looks as if I'm lower than the level I say I'm at.
This is due to me investing some of my Stake money into goods that will sell, to bring me to the next level.

I just wanted to clarify this for the uninitiated :)

Reading a reveiw that was done on this site, I also thought I should clear up a few things also.

Even though I'm in New Zealand, most if not all of the things I have done to reach this level are do-able in any country.

You may notice that the bulk of my funds come through selling on TradeMe (The New Zealand version of eBay).
What I don't mention is that everytime I consider buying something, I search through all the live listings and then all the expired auctions to get a good idea of whether the item will sell.

  • I'll get the number of closed auctions for the item I am considering selling.
  • The number of goods that have sold above or at reserve and the amount of times they were re-listed until sold.
  • Run the numbers to see the probability of easy sales
  • Check current selling prices against RRP in shops and determine if I can undercut the market.
  • Put yourself in the Buyers shoes. Wouldn't you prefer the same item for a huge discount ?!
These are things that anyone in any country can do.
Considering that America is my primary buying country, I think all you US people could get far better deals...I have to pay for international shipping !!

This concept also applies with things like my mosaic plate lots and beach china.
My advice is simply read the market and give it what it wants.

Later...
Rachel.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Double Your Way To A Million - New Assets

A few days ago I tracked down something that i thought might sell well.
I was right.

As you can see from my accounting on the side, this was quite a windfall !!

While I'd love to share all the impressive details with the world....You'll all just have to wait for the book :D

On this journey you learn a lot of things, but one I'm just hitting now is "the trade secret". My father defines this as something you find out due to dumb luck and keep it secret for fear of losing the advantage. I concur !

With a little "luck" and some aggressive marketing I could reach the next level in a few weeks.
Good Luck everyone !

Rachel.

Sunday, April 08, 2007

Double Your Way To A Million - Easter Update

So, yesterday I spent $23.50 of the stake money on the goods in the previous post. It would have been less, but I decided not to interfere (I didn't haggle when I normally would have...very difficult :D).
The reason for not haggling was simply to prove that anyone can make a profit by selling anything.
You don't have to be hugely creative or innovative...Just buy something that will somehow make a return on investment.

I've already sold the digital phone for $8 which puts me ahead a few dollars as I also sold one of the silicone cake moulds.

I'm also thinking of having a $1 RESERVE week on my auctions to bump my stake up a bit.
I want to be at the next level soon !

Later,
Rachel.