Can You Recommend a Good “Off-Line” Opportunity?
“Dear Marc, I enjoy your lighthearted commentary, insight and business savvy. Most of the time you focus on digital, Internet or web-based opportunities. Can you recommend a good “off-line” business opportunity?
G.D. West Palm Beach FL
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An Unusual Finding
A few months ago, a colleague of mine took on a rather unusual project…
He wanted to find a home business that can be started and run for zero costs… without having to work too hard or have any special skill.
Most of the stuff he tried was pure junk. While some of the ones that did work took way too much time.
Then he finally stumbled upon this. Click here to read on.
**End Sponsored Content**
7:33 AM
Dear Entrepreneur:
There are hundreds of viable off-line business opportunities today.
For instance…a friend of mine started a neighborhood auto repair business and used car lot and he’ll clear $150,000 this year. He’s doing this in a depression and in the worst state in the union to start a business!
I found another off-line business you might like too.
Tom’s Business Grossed $6 Million Last Year…
“We grossed more than $6 million dollars last year, and our expenses actually decreased the last three years”, Tom G. replied with a grin.
I was talking to Tom about his “edutainment” business. Tom grosses more than $6 million a year with his edutainment business, with less than 35 employees. Most of them are part-time college kids. But he does have three highly-paid marine biologists on staff.
Tom’s “edutainment” business is a small regional aquarium. The edutainment opportunity this week focuses on aquariums, observatories, and even planetariums.
Stay with me now…edutainment is a hot rising trend. I’ll show you HOW to profit from it. But first…here’s my take on edutainment.
Edutainment is a cross between education and entertainment. You can probably think of a ton of edutainment type businesses.
Here’s a short list of popular edutainment ventures:
* Busch Gardens (Florida)
* Walt Disney World (Florida)
* Boothbay Railway Museum (Maine)
* Discovery Cove (Florida)
* Smart Kids (Saudi Arabia)
* Acres of Fun (Ohio)
* Adventure Forest (Texas)
* Davis Farmland (Massachusetts)
* Hyperion (Morocco)
* Lion Country Safari (Florida)
* Mother Nature’s Farm (Arizona)
* Old Sturbridge Village (Massachusetts)
* Space City (Dubai)
* Wol-Ha (Mexico)
* Dubai Marine World (Dubai)
* Restless Planet (Dubai)
* Kid Zania (Dubai)
Yes… large edutainment ventures like the ones in Dubai, China, Mexico, and Florida are out of reach for most people (including me). However, I’m working on the early stages of an edutainment venture and amusement resort built around automobiles. More on this later!
Large scale edutainment ventures can be wildly profitable, too.
A small regional edutainment venture like Alligator Adventure in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, or the Water Safari in New York can make lots of moolah.
I like micro-edutainment centers, like small aquariums, observatories, and planetariums. For example, Ripley’s Aquarium in Myrtle Beach is a micro-edutainment venture. This aquarium draws visitors from the surrounding region and nationally. It’s a great place for kids of all ages, seniors, and the whole family. The aquarium is housed in a 10,000 square foot building on about 10 acres of land.
Here’s an interesting twist…
Ripley’s Aquarium is open year round. In addition to serving the paying public, they also offer a variety of programs for local schools, special groups, and non-profits.
On top of that, Ripley’s Aquarium also opens up to special camp programs, sleep-overs (with sharks overhead), and catered events (birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, and office parties, etc.). Ripley’s Aquarium also has a profitable gift store (they import most of the products and gifts from China at huge discounts) and a restaurant.
The restaurant sells even more food than the House of Blues nightclub across the street, according to a local business owner!
Are you beginning to see some of the great revenue sources for this type of attraction in addition to the admission fees? Aquariums, observatories, and planetariums have universal appeal, which means almost everyone enjoys them.
Family “entertainment” centers on the other hand, like bowling alleys, tennis centers, indoor go cart centers, and virtual golf parks appeal to only a small segment of the spending public.
Observatories are a popular edutainment opportunity as well. The Stardome Observatory in Auckland, New Zealand is an example of a profitable edutainment observatory.
Observatories like Stardome do not have to be located in the boondocks, either! They need to be just far enough from the city lights for good visibility at night.
The best observatories are easy to get to, offer a variety of programs, and have talented, knowledgeable staff. Observatory gift stores are typically at the top of the retail scale when it comes to sales per square foot.
If I were going to open a retail gift store I would hook up with a profitable aquarium, observatory, or planetarium, and lease space in their building, like they do in Las Vegas.
The best observatories are usually located near breathtaking scenic areas like the Grand Canyon, Rocky Mountain National Park, Niagara Falls, or the new observatory at the top of one of the tallest buildings in the world (depending on who you talk to) – Burj Dubai.
The Burj Dubai observatory is being called the “World’s Highest Man-Made Observatory.” The entry fee will be $20+ per person (or more). They’re expecting more than 2 million visitors in the first year alone!
Online Edutainment Riches too!
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The Real Secret to Success
Imagine two men landing on this planet, having escaped a world where running a business is forbidden.
One man has $100K on him, but no real skills.
The other man is dead broke… but is thoroughly schooled in the fundamentals of succeeding in business.
Which man would you bet on to succeed? Click here to read on.
**End Sponsored Content**
That’s right! I couldn’t resist telling you about an online business opportunity this week. If building or purchasing a brick and mortar edutainment business, like an aquarium, planetarium, or observatory doesn’t work for you, then maybe online edutainment will do the trick.
Here’s what I’m talking about…
Unless you’ve been living on an uncharted desert island, you’ve heard about YouTube. YouTube is an online video sharing website, but there’s more to the phenomenon than sharing cute videos.
YouTube has become an online edutainment mecca. Now the major film studios are jumping on board. Independent and freelance movie (and commercial) makers love YouTube!
“Great, but how do I make money with online edutainment?”
There are several ways to make money with online edutainment.
Here are a couple of the most popular ways:
* Offer Free How to Videos with excellent back end products (ebooks, subscription videos, membership sites, iPhone apps and more)
* Offer Free Videos with “in video” advertising (AdBrite.com has a nice application)
* Offer Free Videos and accept donations (like Justin Sandercoe – Basic Fingertapping Guitar Lessons) — 968,000+ views on YouTube!
* Produce Online Videos for Business Owners and Entrepreneurs
* An Online Video “Review” Website (review the Top YouTube Videos) with Google AdSense running on the site
* Revenue Sharing with companies like MarketYourVlog.com,
* Run Affiliate Offers in Popular (royalty free) YouTube videos (brilliant). For details check out MoneyMakingScoop.com.
* Become a “premium” video publisher and split revenue with Google. Check out Google and YouTube for details.
You can make money with online edutainment. Edutainment is a hot rising trend with no end in sight.
Edutainment is a great offline business opportunity too. If a bricks and mortar doesn’t trip your trigger, then you can always do it online.
Either way, edutainment businesses done right will reap profits!
Have fun and play nice!
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**End Sponsored Content**
Regards,
Marc Charles
(Ed Note: Marc Charles is referred to as “The King of Business Opportunities” ….and for good reason. He should be known as “The King of Legitimate Business Opportunities”…because he’s launched, bought, sold reviewed and advised on hundreds of businesses and money making opportunities. He understands legitimate opportunities. Marc has agreed supply League of Power members with crucial updates regarding legitimate business and money making opportunities.)
**Action Strategy **
Take the wife, kids or a friend to an edutainment business this weekend! Start researching this market for yourself – today. Talk to business owners. I’m serious. I’m amazed how seldom new entrepreneurs actually talk to business owners in the business they are pursuing.
This market is a hot rising trend. You can do it easily online too! As always………send us your feedback or post it online.
**Valuable Resources**
Top Online Edutainment and Video Sharing Websites
YouTube
Blip.tv
DailyMotion
GoogleVideo
MySpace
Yahoo! Video
MetaCafe
AOL Video
VideoEgg
The KDE Edutainment Project
Ask Slashdot (edutainment news and technology stuff)
Large Scale Edutainment Ventures
Discovery Cove
SeaWorld
Animal Kingdom
Dubailand
Spaceport Leisure
Kidsville Playland
Legoland
Everland Resort
Rantanga Junction
Large Observatory Ventures
Mauna Kea
La Silla Paranal
Lick Observatories
Gran Telescopio Canarias
SALT
Broome Bird Observatory
