Pure Bamboo Earns Over $500,000
As of today first year sales totaled 130K! Not bad for a bamboo bathrobe company in its first year. In late October we received a call from Hyatt Hotels on Sunset from the head of housekeeping requesting information and samples of our robes. They reviewed our products and put in our largest order to date – 1625 robes – almost a 60K invoice. However, I did not have that many robes in stock and could only provide a little over 200 – which was still an $8000 – invoice – not bad. Our hope is that they still plan to purchase the entire amount from us – and coincidentally Hyatt Hotels Spa’s are called Pure Spa. Could be a good match for us – worldwide. If we could have secured all 1600 robes and monies from them our gross sales total for the year would have been closer to 180K!
In brief I feel it has been a good year for Pure Bamboo – I feel the name and branding are strong and easy to remember the URL is also perfect and easy for people to find. I feel we have identified a strong market and I know we are the first company to be actively marketing to the hotel, resort and spa industry. First mover – major tactical advantage – my hope is that we can get well enough established so we can become a major force and player on the market.
Again thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.
SUCCESS UPDATE
...Our gross sales have surpassed $500K for this year alone and are still climbing. My goal is to break $1M for the year in gross sales...
Bruce D.
Los Angeles, CA
$195K in Only 98 Days
$194,626.25 in 98 days! All of this with an investment of $5600 paid by credit card. So actually it is $194,626.25 with NO MONEY DOWN!
Thank you so much for your support, insights, leadership and inspiration. I have made a life-long dream come true in less than 90 days, because I actually took two weeks of vacation during this 98 days!
I received a standing ovation in Orlando, Florida from 850 people—what a great way to release my first book. I have three keynote speeches booked, with 7 or 8 more prospects sure to close soon. All of this and I haven’t even formally, officially marketed or released the book. Wow! What a fun ride! More to come from this excited entrepreneur and first-time author.
Steven R.
Exton, PA
www.stevenrowellrecommends.com
Now I'm On Top of the World
I appreciate the support and coaching I have received from Prosper. I started my coaching at a difficult time in my life. I chose marketing because I have an enthusiasm for computers and the internet but knew very little about making money there.
My first coach was patient with me whilst I found what I really wanted to do. I missed out the basic stages, going through the process step by step but not being excited by products. Eventually, after going on The Wealth Retreat, I decided I wanted to build a dream venue on the internet.
My marketing coach passed me onto an internet coach and we began to look at the proposal. Big reality check here. I have a history of thinking bigger than I act and now was due to be another of those times. As we worked, the vision outstripped the resources we had available, both people and money. I spent the first 3 weeks feeling hopeless and inadequate. What money we did have was taken by someone who said they could help, and did nothing.
After four weeks, everything started to come together. Now, I’m on top of the world. I still have a huge amount to learn and so do my people, but we’re all willing. We have a new member of our team, building the site for us.
Really, for the first time, I feel myself ready to play in a new league. I feel we are creating a site of excellence. Thank you for your patience, support, and encouragement.
Heather A.
Woodstock, Oxon, United Kindom
Marketing Success Changes Business
When we initially began our mentoring program with Prosper Inc., we had done virtually no consistent marketing. One of the main services that our company provides is presale sewer inspections for real estate transactions. It is a relatively new process to real estate and gaining market acceptance has been an uphill battle. Our biggest challenge was creating a marketing program that was inexpensive and created a call to action.
Because we have no training in marketing it was difficult to consistently prioritize it and very little discretionary time with running a company, we were experiencing great fluctuations with our revenue causing the company to struggle financially.
We responded to an e mail about for small businesses because I was familiar with the outstanding reputations of both Jay and The Learning Annex. The initial investment took my breath away at first but I knew that we would gain relevant and applicable knowledge and I was comfortable with their guarantee.
Since we have started the program, our business has almost tripled. What is more important to me than the current income is the fact that we have become a marketing driven company. I know now that we will never be the kind of company again that only markets when we are slow. We are consistently busier than we have ever been but, no matter what, I do something regarding marketing every single day. My biggest challenge is not over marketing so we bring in more than we can handle.
In working with my mentor, I have gotten a deeper understanding of the value that we bring to the market place. We have also learned techniques of giving to get and the change in perspective has increased my creativity incredibly. We now have made our clients part of our business and the input that we have received from them has brought our product and our sales tools to a new level.
But most importantly, I have developed a confidence in what we do and how we do it so that I can sell our process easily and, when I am rejected, I could care less. I know that when I have been rejected by someone, they just don’t understand what we are doing.
Of the approximately 12,000 agents in our area, we need about 100 to consistently produce per month. With a desired market share that small, we can afford to deal with only the best agents which will make the quality of our business soar!
We have become an easier company to do business with and we have created tools to help agents explain our process to their clients. After all, I now know that they are our sales force and, like any sales force, need great tools in order to make them more effective.
I can sincerely say that our mentoring relationship with Prosper Inc. has changed our business for the better forever.
Pamela V.
Livermore, CA
German U-Boat Lifter Gets 1.5 Million Dollar Contract
I appreciate your coaching and suggestions. I'd like to relate several successes we have had recently that I feel are good examples of some of the techniques of this Jay Abraham course.
This project is a move of the German U-boatwith the intact Enigma Code machine that was captured by the Navy in World War II. This vessel has been one of the most important artifacts in the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry since the early 50’s when it was moved onto museum grounds to become an exhibit. We heard about a potential project involving moving the submarine around the museum and lowering down some 35 feet into an underground exhibition hall about 2 years ago. We began quoting on the project were selected as a finalist to be the contractor for the move. Our last competition for the project was the world's largest Heavy lift and transport contractor. The competition was a difficult one as our company is relatively small, does not advertise and does not have nearly the international high profile of the other contender. However, we had two unsuspected advantages, a unique selling proposition that suited the needs of the project and a client who wanted to avoid risk of an engineering mistake. Our unique selling proposition is that we can do the engineering for heavy lift and transport projects and take complete responsibility for both the engineering as well as the move or lift. Our opposition typically does not want to take any engineering responsibility. We incorporated this USP in our final offers and in our proposed form of contract. Ultimately, we have been awarded the contract, worth in excess of 1.5 million dollars, for approximately 50% more than the closest competition because of our ability and willingness to undertake engineering and the associated risks. We knew that our USP would make us standout as a candidate to do the work. Our willingness to accept technical risk sealed the deal.
Another great example is a contract we just got to move another historical vessel the CA Thayer in the Bay area in January. We got the job lead based on a referral from another heavy mover located on the East coast. After listening to the second tape in he series, I began to actively solicit referrals, and in fact to trade referrals with the idea that the recommendation of another high quality professional in the same field for work that was local to us would help us get jobs that we might not ever find out about. We have been able to trade referrals as well, so both companies involved have been able to get profitable jobs close to home, that might have otherwise gone elsewhere or been less profitable. This move will be about an $80,000 dollar job for us as we are incorporating the use of our own clients crew to do much of the work that many movers insist on doing themselves. Our attitude is that when we are on the job, we work to both save and make our clients money. This way, their people who might be inactive while our work was being done will instead be involved and helping. The shipyard will save money and the crew will bring a personal involvement with the job that can only help it progress safely and smoothly.
The last example involves risk reversal. We have won and are almost finished with a job that involves moving an historical building weighing almost 1700 tons and made of masonry. We agreed to accept the risk of an extension of the duration of the length of time the project took for a fixed amount of rent for our specialized dollies. The dollies would not have been utilized during this time anyway, so in return for us accepting a risk, that would not cost us, we gained a significant amount of rental income that we would never have seen. This job will be about a $150,000 job.
Our Gross Income is $23K More than it was Before Prosper
In the eight months since we started working with Prosper, my wife Nancy and I have a radically new outlook on our future
First off, we know what it’s like to live in fear of not succeeding in our Internet business. Before, we were trying to do a lot of things in our business without clear direction. And while we were making progress, it was very slow going.
With mounting bills, we knew we needed a miracle or we’d go under. We got our miracle when we heard about Prosper. Since then, we’ve experienced a major change in our confidence in our business as our income has grown.
When we started coaching with Prosper, the quality of our lives started improving almost immediately in direct proportion to our increasing income. The first major difference is that we now have more balance in our lives. We’re able to travel more, which we love to do. This is in no small measure due to the new automobile we were able to acquire.
We also gave ourselves permission to start taking ballroom dance lessons, which Nancy has wanted to do for some time. I was reluctant at first, but since we’ve started I discover that I really enjoy it. This experience has made us closer as a couple. Our newfound prosperity made this possible.
We’ve hired two assistants to help us with our growing business requirements. We are in the process of expanding our product line and starting new web sites. Nancy and I now have more freedom to focus on our strengths, which is writing and creating new products.
All of these improvements were definitely accelerated by our association with Prosper. I’d hate to imagine our lives without the help they’ve given us.
SUCCESS UPDATE
We wanted to share our latest good news with you-October broke another record for us! We always use as our 'comparison point' our gross income in June, right before we started working with Prosper. And now that we have our complete income figures from last month, I can report that this October's gross income was $23,381 MORE than our gross monthly income before our Prosper coaching began, making this our best month ever.
We are ecstatic needless to say and of course thankful for the encouragement, coaching, and support we've received from Prosper.
The promotion of Seasons of Love has been interesting. While we didn't get the one million downloads we had originally aimed for, the movie continues to positively affect sales and ezine sign-ups and I think it's been effective for branding our business in a unique way. This alone sets us apart from our competition. We now see that the movie will a long-term asset that will continue to help us in the months and years to come.
We took a week off in early November to spend some vacation time in Sea Grove, Florida, in a Gulf-front condo. It was nice to eat in the local gourmet restaurants, to ride bicycles in the area and to be just generally lazy. I've attached a photo from our vacation. It was taken on a boat that took us out into the Gulf to see wild dolphins up close. AWESOME!
Our goal is to take even more vacations. We are in the process of hiring more help that will allow us to do this.
My view of our experience with Prosper is that we were shot into the stratosphere with a slingshot when we started our coaching. And now we continue going up without stopping! Thank you, thank you, thank you for all you've done for us.
Lee H. & Nancy W.
Hoover, AL
www.keepyourmarriage.com
Our Business Grew 127% in 6 Months
The Jay Abraham– “How To Get From Where You Are To Where You Want To Be” Encounter Program, with the guidance of Dane Ing has helped us: 1) to develop our USP and relate it to our customers, 2) to focus on optimizing our marketing efforts for maximum business growth, and 3) to test performance of our marketing. The program has also provided us with an understanding of the multiple levels of growth, and by using the analysis tools given to us in the program we are currently experiencing a growth rate of 29% in productivity with a resulting 24% increase in sales, over the last two months. The most significant concept that we have learned is that if we concentrate on the wants and needs of our clients/patients, listening to them and solving their problems to the best of our ability, the financial rewards will follow.
SUCCESS UPDATE—2004
Just so you won't think that we have forgotten about you and all the help you gave us, here is an update. Since December 31, to June 30, our business had grown in sales by 127%. Our production is averaging 12 to 15 prescriptions per day, five days per week. Our most important growth factor seems to be, patient word of mouth. It is interesting however, that most of the individuals are not very interested in our friends and family referral program with discounts. It is working, but most people just tell a lot of other people and say they are so excited about us, and don't care about the discounts. We have been so busy, I have been working in the lab as a Tech, so the website is suffering right now. We have Pharmacy students working for us this summer, and are getting ready to hire a fulltime Tech by the time they go back to school. I hope that this will give me time to update the website and complete some of the other pieces of the website. This fall we will be doing two more things that will increase the business. One, we will expand our marketing to some of the new parts of the Inland Empire that we have not covered. This will also include contacting excercise places, Gyms, and Physical Therapists, etc. We have some exciting seminar oportunities coming our way toward the end of the year. Second, we are beginning to plan our second phase-- adding sterile compounding and the room and equipment that goes with it, and our preventive care program. If things stay on track as they have been, I anticipate we will do better than 200% growth in sales for the year. Any suggesting from you will be appreciated. Thanks again for your help!
SUCCESS UPDATE—2008
Through the Prosper program and the coaching of Dane Ing we developed the goals for our company, defined the mission statement, and other marketing slogans. He helped us understand more fully the need for marketing, and how to use the tools provided by Jay Abraham. Dane helped us realize the need for a website, and provided the impetus to do it now. He gave us the basic structure and tools to help us develop our website on our own. Dane’s coaching and the Prosper program provides not only ourselves, but our community with opportunities for success.
Gordon & Raylene M.
Yucaipa, CA
NASA Engineer Equates Prosper Education with a University Degree
I have started a very successful internet business under the guidance of the team at Prosper. I sold my first item within a day of making my website available to the public. This was accomplished simply by following the advice of my mentor: “This week, your assignment is get listings in as many relevant directories as possible”. To-date, (which is exactly 1 month as of the day I am writing this), I have sold over $1,500.00 worth of product on-line at a profit margin of about 40%.
Though these numbers are not huge, the education I received from my mentor has provided me with the knowledge base which will allow me to continue expanding my site and increase my income steadily. I now know that my internet income is limited only by the time I put into working on my website, negotiating appropriate products to sell, and the creativity of my own ideas in discovering other venues in which to market my products.
Over the next 3 months, I intend to complete my web page marketing my custom dance shoes to brides and bridal parties. I plan to purchase an advertisement in a prestigious group of on-line bridal magazines which will direct the customers to this specific page on my site. I have already discussed the web page styling with one of the editors, and am working hard to complete the page targeting the lucrative wedding industry.
I also have negotiated a contract to sell several brands of top-of-the-line dance shoes through the only dealer n the US that I know of who can keep a specific line of very desirable high-end ballroom dance shoes in stock. The distributor accomplished this through working with German dance shoe design genius for over 30 years. Knowing first-hand of the frustration of professional and semi-professional ballroom dancers in getting these shoes, I invested much time in negotiating an agreement with this distributor to drop ship shoes for me.
It is important to note that this distributor has NEVER drop-shipped for anyone before, but by careful negotiations we have worked out what I believe will be a win-win agreement. During the next few months, I plan to add at least 2 of the several top-end brands to my site, and based on response to those listings, I may add more top end shoes.
The personal mentoring I received through this program kept me on a straight path to success. My weekly assignments were well thought out and very specific. Through this one-on-one mentoring I learned that I have to stay on top of the internet trends, particularly following the way Google ranks websites. The personal mentoring I received through this program could never be replaced by a classroom type curriculum. Each internet business has its own set of obstacles to overcome, and a general approach would never have allowed me to be successful. I know that my personal mentor had no knowledge of or interest in the ballroom dance community that I now market my products to before working with me. However, his broad experience in internet marketing allowed him to quickly understand the niche, and from that understanding he discovered how to help me in overcoming obstacles.
All of the mentors, technical support people, and designers were absolutely great. I can not criticize any of them in their delivery of the required tools and information. In fact, if I compare the investment vs. income payoff of this program as compared to that of obtaining a degree from a university, I think the investment in Prosper would win out in many people’s bottom line. This comes from someone with a B.S. degree in Engineering, an M.S. degree in Engineering and a MBA.
Through my experience with Prosper, I believe I have finally found a way in which the investment of my time and energy will pay me back in proportion to that investment. My full time job as an engineer working on thermal control of space borne satellites for NASA provides me with technical challenges, but does not come close to providing me with the sense that what I put into my work will pay me back proportionally. This sort of satisfaction and gratification are exactly what I was looking for...
Finally, I would like to express special thanks to my mentor who remained patient with me throughout the process. I am very demanding of myself, and am quite demanding on others. He lived up to my very high expectations.
SUCCESS UPDATE
This Week: $2,260.87, this Month: $2,009.87, this Year: $88,579.98. Timing was good too with Dancing With The Stars and all of the movies coming out. My margin varies but averages around 42.5%. Nice to have a little extra income stream...my oldest daughter is a freshman at McGill in Montreal, and my younger daughter is a junior in High School.
SUCCESS UPDATE
My Year - to - Date sales showed up close to $105K. When I downloaded net sales from vermotion for the year and put it into a spreadsheet it came up to close to $125K....after taking out the sales taxes that are paid in NYS.
Melissa S.
Honeoye Falls, NY
www.bestballroomshoes.com
Prosper Has Taught Us that Dreams Do Come True
As professional fund raisers, Joe and I have traveled the country working with hundreds of philanthropic individuals and organizations. Often, we’ll hear comments like, “this is really easy if you know how,” or “more people need to know what it means to be a philanthropist.” Like many professionals (and many of you), we often thought, “We need to write a book about this.” However, how do you find the time? We read several books, and contacted many individuals, and then we had a meeting with Prosper, Inc. We then met our coach, Dane Ing, and what happened next is going to change our lives.
Dane listened to our grand plan and all our ideas. He talked us through what we really wanted to accomplish and our dreams. Finally, he organized our thoughts and put us on a path. He worked with our demanding travel schedules and odd hours. Often we would call in or email from various locations. Dane was flexible, and always available for a quick email or short phone call. His weekly assignments were challenging, but kept us fired up, making a seemingly impossible job not only possible, but gave us just enough glimpse of our end goal that we had the confidence that we could and would accomplish our goals. Dane taught us marketing principles and techniques that can only be learned from personal trials and experiences. It didn’t end with Dane. Individuals from technical support helped us with web site details. Marketing experts gave us advice about book publishing, e-books, and small details that have made a large difference. The design team helped create a book cover and a “brand” for our site. We felt like we were part of a complete team. Teams where all the members are genuinely interested in helping us succeed!
With Dane and Prosper’s are plan is nearing completion. We’ve created a web site called Family Education Center (www.familyedcenter.com). Eventually, this site will be a site that provides families, and small organizations, with information on educational topics, fund raising, and educational products and tools. Set one was to establish the fund-raising aspect and complete the book. We’ve accomplished step one and are excited about our future with our fabulous team. Prosper has taught us that dreams do come true, and the best way to accomplish them is with a coach! And the great team the coach bring along!
Chris M.
Rexburg, ID
www.familyedcenter.com
My Dream Is Becoming a Reality One Day at a Time
I live in the beautiful, albeit sometimes cold, state of Montana. My living room window looks out on 11,000 ft. Emigrant Peak. This is a great setting for relaxing, vacationing, and recreating. However, it wasn’t necessarily conducive to good business until I got involved in Prosper.
The great staff at Prosper have provided me with what I needed to take my small business to the next level. B.P. (before Prosper) I would sit at home hoping, waiting for an order or two to come my way from our two website stores. Since I am in the preparedness field, any disaster would bring a spurt of orders but unfortunately each time the orders dropped off to almost nothing in a very short time.
Preparedness is a concept whose time has finally come. With the inspiration of my initial contact person, Tim Lawson, I caught the vision of where I could go with my business. With the help of my coach, Dane Ing, I am gaining the tools I need to get me there.
To start with, I completely redid my web sales letter. I have learned how to organize and present my information to motivate my potential customers. I have learned how to give them a clear picture of what they will gain from buying our book or ordering one of our products, whether it’s a flashlight, a 72-hour survival kit, a water filter or long-term storage food. My company is now sending out monthly emails to all the contacts we have with our latest specials.
I worked on completely updating our previously outdated and specialized book on emergency preparedness and was able to publish a concise and practical book on preparedness that is targeted to a much wider audience. My book, Do-It-Yourself Emergency Preparedness, (subtitle) How Ordinary People Prepare for Extra-Ordinary Events, (my coach Dane Ing came up with the subtitle) has sold three times the number of books in the first year that the original book sold on average in a year.
In the past month I have done 10 radio interviews about my book and emergency preparedness. These are fun and helping to increase the market for the book and the products I sell on my website. The time is ripe for this kind of information.
My business did not make me a millionaire overnight but Prosper did not promise this. In fact they made sure I understood the effort and motivation I would need to provide to ensure my business is a success. Then they gave me the support I needed to get off the couch and go to work.
I am continuing to enrich our website with articles, more information on our products and links to other sites. It all takes effort but it is very doable when attempted one step at a time. My dream is for one of our 72-hour survival kits to be in 10,000 households by the end of this year. In addition, I envision Do-It-Yourself EmergencyPreparedness in every Costco, and every airport bookstore as it makes it to the nonfiction bestseller list. It’s becoming a reality one day at a time.
Arlene H.
Emigrant, MT
www.yellowstonetrading.com
