What to do with $2000 ?

[Brendan]

Guys, I have been asked this a few times.. if you had $2000 to spend, how would you spend it so that it made you money?

You would want to make a return on it within 12 months, and are happy to take risks..

So lets hear your suggestions!

[BreTTy]

I would purchase a car. Something pre 1975 preferably that I could take minor work out on by myself. Without dealing drugs there isnt much you can do with 2k in terms of investing it.
cars = classics rising in value, no tax on earnings.

[gerryonline]

I guess you could try and buy a whole heap of stock in bulk from a wholeseller and sell it on ebay maybe things like game controllers mp3 players or the like.. maybe look into drop shipping and see if you can get a supplier to drop ship for u from ebay!

You should be able to make a few $ from that!

[itycoon]

It would be hard to just do it on one project. You might have to work on a lot. The best idea though is to buy an established website.

I know of plenty of people who are selling established sites in the 2k region that are making 300 plus a month. With a site making 300 a month your gross would be $3600 in 12 months. Even if $1300 goes to IT and web costs you still have 2,000 at years end. Not only that you can buy more sites. Having three sites making 300+ a month is not bad for a start.

[Brendan]

Where can we buy the sites from?

[wiiman]

Sitepoint.com and forums.digitalpoint.com. I am a member of both and they have some real nice sites you can buy. From blogs to auto updating sites which means you only have to advertise. The website script will take care of the rest.

[itycoon]

Yep. I would suggest both those sites. They offer some good resources. Plus its best to read the dialog between the potential buyers and sellers of the site. Gives you a little detail about it. One piece of advice. Whenever buying a site remember to ask these two questions. "Why are you selling the site". Can't stress that too much. A lot of the times people are selling a site because they stole it from someone or revanue dropped and they are trying to get it off their hands real quick. Second question: "Is the traffic organic or inorganic?". Inorganic means most of he traffic did not come form domain searches. This can be good in one sense but you generally need to ask them how much time they spent advertising and what are their advertisment costs. Organic traffic. The traffic most people like including myself means it is from search results. This requires little or no advertisment. But requires lots of SEO, backlinks and such.

[Brendan]

Yea I guess buying a site that is making money is a good ideo for online ideas..

Can anyone think how we could put $2000 to best use offline? Like buying shares, stocks.. banks? anything?

[bderich]

I started 0Day Exchange - Research on Demand (http://www.0dayexchange.com) with less than $2k (currently for sale) and the site generates around $25-$30k annually for me since I opened it 2 years ago. But running a business that acts as a third party in the buying/selling of software vulnerabilities does require alot of knowledge in regards to software development/hacking and excellent negotiation skills. The trick to starting a successful project is to find something you are brilliant at, and don't think about the dollar figures at the end of the day. If you work hard enough to build something just for the love of doing it, the money will come. (Yes I'm aware its corny, but it's something thats always worked for me)

[KitKat]

well, i'd probably buy a single handbag and it would all be gone!

I think the buying stock and selling it on ebay is a good idea, only thing is finding the right stockist and drop shipper and finding a product that isn't saturated on ebay, do you know anyone that owns a shop?

Maybe having a website made from an idea you have could be a good idea also.

[wiiman]

Offline. Your best bet is to invest in penny stocks or start a business venture. Currently I have no ideas but I'm sure there is somethign out there. Try thinking of some type of service you need that is currently not available and start a business around that idea.

[crackers]

Invest in FDL!

[rosshill]

If you know much about promoting websites you could probably do a lot with $2k in 12 months I'd think.

One of the sites I started about a year ago has almost had 2 million total pageviews and is making about $250/month with little effort. If you bought an established site surely you could improve the performance of it much faster.

[Carl Taylor]

For a 12 month return.

I would buy an existing business for $2K (yes it can be done)
Improve its performance
And sell it 3-6 months later for lets say $20K

That is a $15K profit, as well as also being able to take drawings from the business while i owned it.

and i could then use that $15K to buy another business before the 12 months was out and do it all over again but with an even higher profit again.

In my opinion Business gives the highest return on and of investment.

[Brendan]

Interesting Carl.. where could we look at buying an existing business for $2k?

I know we could easily do it with established websites, but it would harder to turn that sort of profit in that amount of time in a website.#

Would be good to hear more about what you suggest

[Carl Taylor]

Brendan

The idea is that you buy a business at wholesale rather than retail (the price advertised)

So for example, a business could be advertised for $20K, and you would go in and negotiate it down to $2K. (This can be complicated, you dont just call any old business you must choose the business thats for sale carefully. eg. People looking for fast sales - owner leaving country, family reasons, health etc...)

Billionaire In Training (http://www.fishpond.com.au/product_info.php?ref=436&products_id=3063539) talks about the ins and outs of choosing and negotiating to buy a business.

[brucecaine]

Sitepoint.com and forums.digitalpoint.com. I am a member of some and they have approximately real nice sites you can buy. From web log to auto updating sites which has in mind you only have to advertise. The website script will assume care of the remainder.

[hitechpaddy]

Hi Brendan, I would put it into shares...great now as the stocks are at bargainp prices...
sorry i know this is a very old post ...lol

[3DFOX3D]

Where can we buy the sites from?

ME !!!! :) how many would you like ?

cheers,
Mike the 3D Guy :approval:

[3DFOX3D]

Brendan

The idea is that you buy a business at wholesale rather than retail (the price advertised)

So for example, a business could be advertised for $20K, and you would go in and negotiate it down to $2K. (This can be complicated, you dont just call any old business you must choose the business thats for sale carefully. eg. People looking for fast sales - owner leaving country, family reasons, health etc...)

Good idea Carl except it will probably take eleventeen years to find the sick desperado who let the lease lapse and is avoiding his wifes lawyers whilst fleeing the country. :)

cheers,
Mike

[3DFOX3D]

Put half of it into buying a domain and setting up a website with some affiliate marketing and put the rest on number 7 in the fourth at Flemington next Saturday (on the nose).

cheers,
Mike the 3D Guy who likes the occasional punt but rarely ever wins :)

p.s. seriously with 2k there's not a lot you can do - I tell you what, let me look after it for you whilst you figure out how you are going to make it work for you

[ShanghaiSi]

$2k is not a lot and it may be worthwhile looking at some courses or education you can take before you get into business. I know its always more fun to jump in first, and I guilty of the same,

If you wanted to do online business what do you know about the tech side? Do you know what your tax obligations are if your selling inside Australia or outside Australia? What do you know about internet marketing, generating a list, social media, spam laws? Are there any reputable courses available form real schools or can you get a recommendation from your network for good books to read or online courses to take or products to buy.

You can get a lot of information online for free, but check it relevance and timeliness as it may be out of date - esp. in regard to taxes, business licensing, internet marketing and technology!

Remember, chance favours the prepared!

[Joesi]

Put $1900 in the bank.

Use $100 to find and develop a product and start selling it.

When you are making money with one product, develop another.

Every month put money in the bank.

When you have enough in the bank, buy a house. Pay off the mortgage as quick as you can.

Continue with the business and buy another house and rent it.

Keep multiplying both the above (it's called growth) and within ten years you'll have a few million in the bank.

Then you'll have a different perspective on life and be burdened with other things (notably by people who have been attracted to you because of your wealth). We'll talk then.

[Joesi]

BTW, if you think $100 is not alot to find and develop a product and start selling, let me tell you that I developed a product for the grand sum of $20 and turned it around many times to get to the initial few thousand.

That's not the problem, the real problem is turning it around quick enough so that the monthly profit exceeds the monthly cost of living; once you break through that barrier, it gets easier.

Also, you need to allow yourself the free time to be able to do it (avoid employment as quickly as is feasibly possible, start employing people) and the opportunity to be able to do it (hence saving the $1900, which allows you to engage in many attempts).

[GeorgeB]

The buying and selling a car is a good idea only if you know what your looking for in second hand cars (potential mechanical problems) and you are a good negotiator and then a good salesman!

I have on a few occasions bought a cheap car 2-3k and resold it with a week making a quick 1k or so profit. Be mindful of stamp duty and road worth costs.


i once bought a second hand road bike for a steal. got booked riding it home, unregistered and then it blew up a couple of weeks later! I was happy to cut even once it was fixed!

[AlbionColt]

I don't have a preference to get belongings whose value depreciates on or after purchase. Make an effort to pay for fixation like office space, gold, shares, etc.

[Karl Thew]

I have made my own website, but I'd never really thought about buying one. To anyone who has done so before...is it hard to find a website under $2,000 that will provide revenue of around $300 a month? And in general how much work would you need to maintain a site like that (sorry I know that's a very general question, but maybe if you could share your experiences)?

[stevenhudson]

Use it as a deposit to buy a house in the USA……plenty going cheap with returns of 20%

[Maxime Deux Gosses]

A lemonade stand? :)
Seriously, a very good idea doesn't necessarily need much funding for sure. But I also believe the classic options that have proven themselves over the years should still be considered. A lot of passion and hard work can transform 2k into much more in very little time. Risk taking is not necessary. The key is to love what you do. And not to be focused on the money. I believe customers will feel it.
Anyway, that's what I think. Not many entrepreneurs do sadly.
Sorry if I'm being too philosophical :)

[mjones2011]

You can start a small online business. It is much cheaper to have an online business than a physical one.

[jparker2011]

I will keep and money. I think that you need more than 2k in order to start a new business.

[jserawat2011]

I don't know... is not enough to build a business... get drunk? :)

[xmasdeer]

Buy camera, go to events, take lots of photos, hand out your card to those in pics, photoshop or make small videos, sell them the people in the photos.

[pink_briefcase]

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