what would you do with $900?

[bananaman]

Hey folks!

I have a spare $900, and would like some ideas on how I should use it to generate some income. Of course, I am not expecting to make much, but it would be an interesting experiment.

I don't want to put it into an interest bearing account(which currently at 3.5% would make about $35/year), because I would like the $900 to be spent in the generation of the income ie. on materials/equipment.

What would you do?

[sunnywang]

You can sell something on Ebay.

[ZingerIntl]

Buy some education... You can never lose it, it cant be repod it pays huge dividends, it helps get girls, it helps stay fit, it helps staying out of trouble. Education is what you need when you only have $900 to invest.

[ZingerIntl]

My education to date is nearly $40,000. (none from traditional post secondary school) I plan on spending another $21,000 this year, and will continue spending about 10% of my income forever, on continuous education.
(ps... the previous post sounds rude, I apologize. Its 2 am.)
John Assaraf, closing on $1 Billion net worth said, if you think that because I have money I can afford to get educated, (admitted to spending $500,000+ in education and seminars) its the other way around. Its because I spend money on education that I have money. (This is not a direct quote, just loosely translated.)

[ZingerIntl]

You know, corporate america is built on a hidin and built in failure system. You see, when you are good at a job they give you a promotion. They will continue moving you up until you get to a position you are not so good at then they leave you there.

Once again, solved by education.

[chrispalko]

@ZingerIntl: Please don't make multiple posts, just edit your original if you'd like to add information.

I would establish the business myself minimizing legal fees, find a business I like on one of those "businesses for under $100" lists, then spend as much as possible on "effective" marketing.

Don't underestimate the effectiveness of a business plan. It will be able to tell you if you're in over your head (capital-wise) before you start.

[Gene]

They are a ton of businesses you could start for under $900! What do you like to do in your free time?

[robousy]

1. Go to Sam's Club or CostCo and buy a s**t load of soft drinks (canned). It works out at something like 20c a can.

2. Buy 3 coolers and fill with ice.

3. Put all the soft drinks in your truck/car and fill the coolers with drinks.

4. Go somewhere busy, like a ball game, or an arena, stadium etc and start selling at $1 per drink.

Places you could go:

i) as mentioned in 4.
ii) A busy road where traffic is always stuck. Hang out on the shoulder selling.
iii) Big mall or store car parks.

[bananaman]

Thanks for the replies.

I've decided to do the following:

1. Register a business name. Buy the current top selling books at wholesale prices. Sell them via the internet and ebay. Essentially, I'll be a home mail order business. I am confident that I can beat the retail prices because I have little overhead. I do have one particular book in mind, which I know sells well, and the prices on ebay are always below retail.

2. Buy tee-shirts and print designs on them to sell. This is secondary to #1.

Time to put this thing into action!