HOW TO START YOUR OWN BULLETIN BOARD ADVERTISING SERVICE

    Believe it or not, bulletin boards actually work as traffic builders
    for just about any small business.  They serve to enhance the
    community relations image of a business, and the space required to
    locate a bulletin board can be written off as a tax deduction when
    listed as advertising or public relations expense.

    People use these "business provided" bulletin boards to advertise
    things they want to sell, home-based businesses, and whatever they
    might want to trade for or buy.  Then, they come back, sometimes
    morning, noon, and evening everyday, to check on them, or to see who
    else as an announcement posted.  Each time they come into the
    business owner's store or shop, they may not feel an obligation to
    buy something, but of course the business owner has another
    opportunity to sell them something .
 
    Just about anybody can organize a route of bulletin boards; charge
    the advertisers a small monthly fee; keep them up-to-date and neat,
    (which will make the business owner happy) and make some really easy
    money in the whole process.

    The first step is to contact as many businesses in your area as
    possible.  Grocery stores, drugstores, barber shops, beauty salons,
    service stations, quick print shops, rental shops, mobile home
    parks, shopping centers, apartment complexes that have foyers or
    recreation rooms - and the list goes on endlessly.

    Sell them the idea of allowing you to install and maintain a
    bulletin board service for them.   Emphasize the community service,
    the tax write-off, and the fact that you'll keep it neat. When you
    get ten or more signed to allow you to install a bulletin board,
    you're ready to start making your bulletin boards.

    The best plan (and of course the most economical) is to make your
    own.  Cut a piece of corkboard 3 feet by 4 feet, mount a 3/4 by 1
    inch frame around the edge, and cover this frame with a 3-foot by
    4-foot piece of plastic.   Mount the plastic with hinges at the top
    and a hasp at the bottom.   On the back of the corkboard, install a
    couple of hocks for hanging it, and you're ready to go.

    Make up a sign - you can even type it out and use it as another
    bulletin board announcement - something like this:

                CITY-WIDE BULLETIN BOARD SERVICES!
                Your announcement or advertisement displayed
                here for only $5 per month!  For more information,
                call 123-4567.

    Put your sign or announcement on each of your bulletin boards, lock
    them up, and install them in all your locations.  Ten such signs
    with only 50 announcements per bulletin board should bring you an
    easy $500 per month.

    When you put an announcement from the same person up on more than
    one board, charge them $5 per month for each announcement on each
    bulletin board.   And one other thing:  The date the "run of
    display" ends should be marked on each announcement you put up on
    each of your bulletin boards.

    In all likelihood, you'll have people waiting for space on your
    bulletin boards.  Keeping records should be very simple and easy.
    Start with a loose leaf notebook, blank paper and a couple of
    packages of 3 by 5 cards.  In your notebook, write down the date,
    the amount of money received and the number of announcements on
    display, and the contract expiration date.  On the 3 by 5 cards,
    write the name, address, phone number and expiration date of each
    contract, and the location(s) of the bulletin board(s) that
    particular announcement is on.  Arrange the cards in chronological
    order according to expiration date, and file them in a storage box.

    Once you get rolling, you shouldn't have to service your bulletin
    boards more than once a week, and as more people see them, more
    businesses will want you to put one in their business location, and
    more people will want to display an announcement. Simple, easy, and
    a real money-maker for you.

    This kind of business is what the newspapers like to write about,
    and the TV stations like to carry as news of what people in their
    areas are doing as entrepreneurs.  So take the feature editors out
    to lunch, make friends with them, and push for all the free
    publicity you can get.

    That's the plan.  It's simple, easy, and depending upon the
    population density of your area, it could very well be the very
    thing you've been looking for to supply you an extra income.  It
    demands little investment, not much of your time, and no special
    training or education.  But, as with any business venture, it takes
    ACTION on your part.  You must get out there and set it up, and work
    at making it a success for you!  It's really up to you, and we wish
    you success in it.