Talk to me & great money-making schemes

So my boss and I decided that selling lotion to people on the street would be an excellent money-making business. Seriously.

Last week some day, my hands were so dry that my knuckles started to bleed. Yes, bleeding knuckles! Anyway, I knew that my boss had 2 bottles of lotion on his desk, so I headed over there to “borrow” some. Only, he thought that I should tip him instead. So, I said, “hey, maybe other people would want to buy lotion too!”, so we quickly hashed out a plan. The set up was that I would go out into the street and solicit people to come up into the office and pay him for some lotion.

It all falls apart though, because our office is 14 floors from the ground, and I am only there 3 days a week. Clearly we would never make enough money for this to be a viable business! And I don’t know that it’s really fair because I feel like I would be doing a lot of the work, while all he did was buy the lotion.

This kinda reminds me of a time back when I was in high school, in Trinidad – my friend and I decided that selling mango chow was a good way to earn enough money to purchase a car! Yeah, that didn’t really work out either, sadly.

What crazy money-making plans have you hatched over the years?

Thoughts from Mezba

Er, blogging!

Thoughts from shaz

blogging? dude, what’s crazy about that?

ok, once i sold paperclips! (they were coloured and my classmates actually bought them! haha)

Thoughts from mand

Not a business idea (wot? me?) but sympathy with the dry skin. I have had bleeding fingertips in my time…

I have found Udderly Smooth cream very good - it really is udder cream for cows! but sold for humans now (i only use it on my hands but i’m sure my udders would like it too) - sorry i haven’t a minute to find you the link but here in the UK i used to be able to get 3 tubes for about £10 and last time i bought a big pump-tub with the same kind of quantity for about £12 if i remember right.

I’m not connected commercially with this AT ALL, just passing on something that has helped me. Actually it was my mum first told me about this.

Also when in the kitchen, olive oil is great - you’re always rinsing hands and never getting the chance to dry them properly, and olive oil feels safer than artificial moisturisers when handling food. I’m a big fan of olive oil in general - the ancient Greeks used it on wounds in battle, btw.

Thoughts from mand

Oh, i’ve thought of a crazy scheme in my own history. Selling my own artwork on tshirts through CafePress. Not terribly crazy? I need to produce some artwork first.

Thoughts from NickfromAvvo

This idea reminds me of selling umbrellas to people caught in the rain without one.  Although I can’t say I’ve ever had the emergency need for lotion, I’m sure some people with drier skin have.  Best of luck!

NickfromAvvo

Thoughts from shaz

mand, thanks for the advice! i have to put up a pic of my hands, they are always crazy-dry. olive oil, i agree, is pretty great for almost anything! i’ll def try to remember to do that when in the kitchen. i’ll look for the udder thing…

good luck with the artwork!

Nick - dryness in winter in canada is a bit of a crisis!

Thoughts from Specs

Hmm, what I am about to tell you is a bit messy but it works. Instantly. I’ve got ultra soft hands to prove it!

a) Wash hands with lukewarm water.
b) Pat them dry but not D-R-Y
c) Now put either
c)i) Glycerin on them for ten minutes and let it dry. Wash off with water and rub a little bit of Vaseline/Petroleum Jelly to seal-in the moisture. Remember NOT to touch your hair or clothes or anything. Best to do this before putting on your gloves and heading out.

  c)ii) If your hands are a bit healed now, you want to try some lukewarm (imp: it should be warm) Olive Oil. Rub, rub, rub. Put on gloves. When you take them off, even if after twenty minutes, your hands are going to be glowy and soft.

For a crack that is like… THE CRACK, I use some Castor oil, heat it in a teaspoon on direct flame for about ten seconds, take it off the flame and put in a pinch of turmeric. Its going to stain your hands for a day but applying that for an hour or so repairs cracks literally overnight.

I can swear by these methods. Hope they work for you!

Thoughts from Achelois

You wanted to sell lotion??

Thoughts from shaz

specs - wow! you’re really into not having dry hands! ok, i’ll try that out cuz my hands always crack.

achelois - what? you never thought of doing that?

Thoughts from sf

Winter in Canada and dryness goes hand in hand. I never thought I had dry skin until I came to Canada!! :(
You have to have face cream, body cream,hand cream,............I try to put some hand lotion before sleeping(if I remember or not too tired).

Thoughts from shaz

sf - i know right! i mean, i think ppl on the street here may actually buy lotion! the dryness is ridiculous.

Thoughts from Tasmiya

Not so much a money making PLAN so much as a money making fiendish plot - to befriend a very lonely, very old and very rich lady.

I haven’t found her yet.

Thoughts from Tasmiya

Not that I would DO anything. I didn’t mean hasten her demise or anything like that.
Just in case that wasn’t clear.

Thoughts from shaz

lol @ Tasmiya. that’s a great plan. don’t forget about us little people once you inherit those millions!