Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Home-Based Business - Clipping Service

Clipping Service
  • Start-up cost: RM1,500-RM3,000
  • Potential earnings: RM15,000-RM25,000
  • Typical fees: RM2-RM4 per clip (or a monthly fee for a predetermined number of clips)
  • Advertising: Local papers, business publications
  • Qualifications: Be observant and read voraciously! Access to a copier and various publications, word processor/typewriter, envelopes
  • Staff required: No
  • Handicapped opportunity: Yes
  • Hidden costs: Subscriptions could run high as a whole; try to negotiate the best possible rates or use on-line services; postage
  • Lowdown: Have you always clipped articles and pinned them to your bulletin board for future use? Or are you an avid reader who’s always clipping and mailing articles to people you know? You just might be able to make a living with this rather obsessive behavior. A clipping service finds and copies articles of interest to various businesses, including pieces on the company itself and/or its products, employees, the industry of the business, competitors, and related subjects of interest. Being familiar with the local library system is vital, but even more critical is the ability to search using the proper keywords (in the Information Age, you can accomplish such searches fairly easily on the computer). Good research skills and use of a periodical index will save a lot of time and hassle. Patience and curiosity are richly rewarded for folks in this field.
  • Start-Up: A moderately powerful computer, a pair of scissors, access to a copy machine, and a little extra time and money are all you need to get started in this business. None except the computer costs very much (about RM2,000), so you shouldn’t have much getting in the way of an easy start-up. The service that is really being paid for is the time spent searching through literally hundreds of publications. Being paid by the hour rather than by the piece is best; there’s no reliable way to know just how much press each company is generating without putting in a considerable amount of time. Get started by calling the public relations offices of local corporations to find out if they need this service; network in their professional organizations to drum up initial business.
  • Bottom-Line Advice: The most positive aspect of this business is its versatility. If you don’t have a computer, finding a local library with convenient hours is likely the most difficult task involved. Using your own subscriptions is not recommended, since it limits the number of copies available and is more expensive. Watch that on-line time (write down all possible keywords before connecting).

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