How I Became a (Real) Millionaire

If you have a few minutes, I'd like to tell you how I became a millionaire ...maybe it will help you in your business.

Back in the late 1960's, I owned and operated a small, local retail shop. - Like so many small businesses that managed to make a living and ...sort of ... survive from week to week.

By 1986, I owned and operated a number of businesses in publishing, banking, manufacturing, marketing and distribution. - I lived in a luxurious home with a swimming pool in the house (not a covered pool); I flew around in a Jet Commander airplane; and drove a Zimmer Golden Spirit automobile.

But ... I'm not going to lie to you and tell you I made it all "overnight" after discovering some mystical secret of success. - I didn't. - I've worked long & hard to get to where I am today ... and ... I still do!

So ... how did I get there?

Well ... it all started when a young man walked into my shop with a list of merchandise for sale. - I was absolutely amazed.

The merchandise on his list was the same as what I had on my shelves - BUT - the prices were only one-fourth (1/4) of what I was paying for the same stuff. - He explained that the merchandise was a closeout.

Needless to say, I bought a bunch of my best sellers from him. And, each time I sold one of those items; instead of making the usual 33% to 50%, I made 75% to 90% profit. - I was making twice the profits on the same amount of sales.

Of course - not being a complete dummy - I called the young man to see it he could get me any more closeout merchandise.

The next day, he came by to see me with the lists of merchanise - ranging from Cashew Nuts to Bulldozers - but, nothing I could use in my business. That's when he told me he was a "finder" and, if I would give him a list of what I wanted, he would be happy to find it; for a fee.

Since I had been a "finder" myself (and made some pretty healthy bucks doing it), I gave him a list of what I wanted ... and ... at the same time, I helped him locate buyers for some of the other things he had available. (We split the finders fees.)

Although I had been a "finder" for years, I was absolutely amazed at the variety and volume of deals the young man had available - everything from Sundry Goods to Machinery & Equipment ... AND ... a list of Financing Sources (for every kind of financing imaginable) that knocked my socks off.

Every time I asked him where he got all this "good stuff," he would only smile and say, "I've got my sources."

We worked together for almost a year - him providing the leads and sources - me buying merchandise for my retail shop at super-discounted prices and "finding" buyers & sellers for the stuff he had available and wanted. (We both made a bundle of money.)

Then ... he dropped a bombshell on me.

Although I knew he was a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, I wasn't really prepared for it when he told me he had just received his orders to go to Vietnam ... but ... before he left, he gave me a bunch of copies of the sources he had kept secret throughout our association.

It was a newsletter.

When I first saw it - quite frankly - I was not impressed. It was just 3 or 4 sheets of paper with typewritten lists of business opportunities divided under various headings ... both "Availables" and "Wanteds" ... but it sure did produce exceptional results.

There were companies offering financing - business & personal - of every kind you could imagine ... and ... people and businesses seeking financing; from "loans" to "venture capital" wanted.

There were businesses (of every kind) for sale ... and ... a list of people wanting to buy specific kinds of businesses.

There were sales organizations and independent sales people looking for products to sell ... and ... companies looking for sales people and distributors.

There were closeouts, liquidations and odd lots of all kinds of goods and merchandise available ... and people looking for specific closeout merchandise. (I even found the listing placed by the Lieutenant for the products I wanted.)

There were also "Merchandise" columns - both "Available" and "Wanted" - that listed almost anything and everything you could imagine for and from the business community.

And ... on the back page of each issue was a "Free Advertising" form, so the subscribers could send in their own "Available" or "Wanted" listings. - The best of those listings were then published "FREE" in the next issue.

Each and every issue was a hot, fresh list of opportunities. With new, exciting opportunitites just waiting to be turned into cold, hard cash ... and ... many offered "Finder's Fees" right in their listiings.

I was in hog-heaven. - I ordered my own personal subscription that day and began placing my own listings.

My ads ran for "free" and the money I made from the leads those listings generated was phenomenal. - I became a "real" millionaire.

Of course, when you make a bunch of money, people start asking. "How did you do it?" So ... in my spare time ... I began writing articles and reports about some of the things I had done to make money. - Not textbook stuff. Just my own personal experiences.

In no time at all, I was publishing my own little "how to" newsletter (and making another fortune doing it) because business people really liked reading my experiences and using that information to make money themselves.

But, since I was still making money from the leads and contacts in the business opportunities newsletter, I really wanted a newsletter like it.

As a matter of fact, I even told the publisher that I wanted a newsletter like his - but - I didn't want to be just another copycat. There were already a variety of copycats on the market (still are). I wanted to own the "real thing."

In 1975, I got my wish. The publisher decided to retire and called to ask if I was still interested. - Boy, I was thrilled. - I was on a plane to see him the next day. - On January 1, 1976, I officially became editor and publisher.

After I bought it, I cleaned-up its physical appearance by using modern typesetting equipment - BUT - I didn't change the content one little bit; it is still what every real entrepreneur dreams of.

And ... I kept the "Free Advertising" for the subscribers, too. - It gives every subscriber a chance to offer what they have available, or request what they want ... at NO COST ... because that's what makes us a "reader's publication."

Now ... the "WorldWide Business Exchange" is America's Leading Business Opportunities Newsletter.

You can find out all about it at: