Recessionary times revive old ideas for making money
These recessionary times may be reviving some old ideas as new people look for ways to make money. I just finished reading a news report about what items are being bought the most for various “party favors.” And the winner, according to that news story, appears to be personalized drink cups.
Many years ago now, I was looking for an idea to start a business and/or be able to make enough money from it to quit my miserable job. (It was a good job, but I was miserable in it.) At the time, one of the biggest ideas making the rounds to pull in eager young entrepreneurs was to buy the supplies and sales literature to go around to businesses offering them rock-bottom prices on personalized pens and pencils, giveaway personalized sticky pads, even paper clip holders with the business name on them. And one of the big attractions even back then was to offer a business owner the chance to give his customers and prospects personalized plastic cups or custom plastic cups of one sort or another.
I never tried the idea. I’m really not much of a salesman, so I was not particularly eager to go door-to-door in various business centers in town hawking personalized office giveaways or whatever.
So it came as somewhat of a surprise to see that personalized drink cups are a big deal right now as giveaway party favors. The article I read (sorry, I never caught a link to it) suggested the obvious reason: Cups are popular because, if they are well made at all, they can be taken home as a souvenir and reused for drinking.
Personally, I’m somewhat of a fanatic about collecting coffee mugs. Plastic coffee mugs — I know there are some — are almost worthless, in my opinion. I like a good, hefty mug I can actually take home and use regularly.
Hmmm. Maybe there’s a business potential for me there … ?