Domain Parking

Domain Parking is a simple way to potentially earn money and improve the chances of selling your unused domains.

I started domaining last June 2009 and so far, I have hand-regged 20 domains (very few compared to a real domainer). Most of them are parked at sedo and others at afternic and namedrive. Afternic charges a very hefty escrow fee. I sold my first domain name for $75, but I only received $15 net. Heavy isn't it! At first, I thought there had to be a mistake, but when I reviewed their fees and rules, their escrow fee is 3% or $60 minimum even for an afternicDLS member. Oh well, at least, I was still able to double my investment ($7 reg fee) in less than a year..but still...huh..nevermind.

Last week, I received an offer for my other domain. It was parked at sedo. Price was $150. I was surprised to receive an invoice request from the buyer. I thought sedo handles these things. The whole point of selling through them is to avoid having to deal with the buyer or seller directly in the first place. Now I can expect an extra day or two for the sales proceeds to be disbursed as this slows down the transaction. Good thing I was able to download a basic invoice template from google docs. Google makes it easy to convert the Doc into a PDF which you can then upload to sedo. Anyway, they (sedo) also made some changes in their fees. They charge 10% commission fee before, but now, they charged me $50 minimum fee. The transfer agent told me that Sedo commission is 10% with a minimum of 50 USD, as outlined in their pricelist, and to qualify for a flat 10% commission, you would need to list a domain at a fixed price, and have it parked with them. That's why last night, I changed my price option to Fixed Price on the rest of my domains. I guess I should check their policies from time to time.

UPDATE (6/25/10)

Just recently, I sold one domain name parked at Sedo. I set it at a fixed price of $75. Sedo's commission was 10%, so I received $67 net. Once you set it a fixed price, your domain cannot be auctioned at the marketplace.

How to make clothing for dogs

Think "fashion designer," but with the pieces about one-third or one-fourth of an adult's size. You will be sketching outfits, matching material, and coming up with seasonal collections for man's best friend!

Materials:

• Fabric, approximately a yard per outfit
  

• Fabric accessories (beads, buttons, fabric paint, Velcro, etc.)

• Measuring tape

• Patterns

• Sewing supplies (fabric glue, paper, pencil, needle, etc.)

*All available in fabric stores as well as in Divisoria

Procedure:

Step 1. Sketch your desired pattern. You can find ideas on the Internet—check out http://sewing.circleofcrafters.com, http://www.make-and-build-dogstuff. com—and just tweak them into your own!

Step 2. Prepare your fabric. Just be sure the material is comfortable for the dog, durable, and washable. To save money, you can also use old clothes you have around to the house. Shop around for desired accessories and details you want to add to the outfit.

Step 3. Using a measuring tape, get measurements around the neck, across the chest (from inner front left leg to inner front right leg), leg, and inseam measurements. The pattern you selected will determine any other measurements you might need.

Step 4. For an easy shirt pattern, fold a piece of fabric in half, lengthwise, and lay it on the table. Measure the dog from across the shoulders, and measure half of that number onto the top edge of the fabric and draw a line. Be sure it curves, as this part of the shirt will go around the neck.

Step 5. Measure from the side neck area to the top front leg area and draw the measurement onto the fabric.

Step 6. Measure from the nape to the mid-back area, adding a couple of inches for hemming, and draw this measurement down the fold part of the fabric.

Step 7. Measure around the dog’s waist, and draw half of that measurement onto the fabric.

Step 8. Then, measure from the midback area to just under the front leg and draw this measurement onto the fabric.

Step 9. Finally, measure around the top portion of the dog’s front leg.

Step 10. Cut the shirt pieces, and sew the garment together—attach the front and back shoulder area, hem the neckline, sew the opposite shoulder pieces together, hem both armhole openings, sew one side seam, hem the bottom, then sew the other side seam. The shirt is now complete!

source: http://www.entrepreneur.com.ph; photo from http://www.mypetswardrobe.com.au

How to make candy bouquets

Candy bouquets are a new take on the candies and flowers we normally give as gifts or tokens to friends and loved ones. And it can be a good sideline business, too, especially on Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and other occasions.

Candy bouquets are also hot items for sale in online stores, so check out the Web to earn dollars from retail websites selling padala items.

Jhoanna Gan-So, president and head of research and design at Businessmaker Academy, says candy bouquet making is a good complement business to gift basket making, selling baked goodies and sweets, and doing balloon arrangements.

MATERIALS AND APPROXIMATE PRICES:

• a pair of scissors
• measuring tape
  
• mini glue gun
• 1 mini glue stick (P2.46)
• 7 pieces of chocolates (preferably the Ferrero Rocher brand) (P14.67 each)
• 7 balloon sticks and caps (P2.75 each set)
• 1 flower accent (P10 each)
• 7 flowerets (P3 for a bunch of 5)
  
• curling ribbon (11/3-yard long)
• 0.65 yard ribbons (one-inch wide) (P10.50 per yard)
  
• a bow (P11.75)
• floral tape (3.5-yard long, size 12mm x 33m) (P40 per 33-meter roll)
  
• 2 sheets of non-woven wrapper (P16.50 per sheet, which can make 22 pieces)
• scotch tape (18mm x 25m) (P7 per roll)

PROCEDURE:

Step 1: Cut the balloon stick in two. Glue one end of the stick to a balloon cap.

Step 2: Wrap the balloon stick with floral tape to make it look like a real stem. Stretch the floral tape as you cover the length of the stick to make its adhesive hold more firmly.

Step 3: Glue the tin-wrapped chocolate to its paper wrapper and then to the balloon cap.

Step 4: Cut the non-woven wrapper into 8 cm by 18 cm pieces. Wrap this piece like a cone around the balloon cap. Secure it to the balloon stick with a 17- cm curling ribbon. Curl the ribbon's ends.

Step 5: Glue a floweret between the ribbon curls. Follow the same steps for the number of chocolate flowers you'd like in the bouquet.

Step 6: To make a bouquet, gather several candy flowers and tape the sticks together tightly, forming it into a pyramid.

Step 7: Wrap the candy flowers in two layers of non-woven wrappers to create pleats.

Step 8: Tie an inch-wide ribbon around the bouquet to secure it. Attach a bow over the ribbon.

Step 9: For a fancier bunch, add artificial flowers at the lower portion of the bouquet.

To compute its selling price, simply add to the production cost a 150-percent mark-up for a per-stick sale, and 40 percent to 75 percent mark-up if sold per bunch. Hence, a candy flower costs P21.97 to make and can be sold for P55. A bunch of seven candy flowers costs P207.40 to make and can be sold for P300 to P350.

TIPS to improve your bouquet-making skills:

• Experiment with different styles of candy bouquets, using various candies like lollipops.
• Re-use flower accents, flowerets, bows, and ribbons from old stocks.
• Take photos of your creations and use these in replicating designs or in presenting to clients.
• Browse the Web for sites and companies where you can market your product.
• Buy materials in bulk at Divisoria or Quiapo where these are cheaper.

Contact details:
Businessmaker Academy
Telephones: (02) 687-4445, (02) 687-4645, (02) 687-3416
Website: www.businessmaker-academy.com

source: http://www.entrepreneur.com.ph