If I gave you $1,000 to "grow" what would you do with it?

[ThomWV]

If I, or anyone of course, gave you a thousand bucks ($1,000) and asked you to use it as the basis with which to raise as much money as you could how much do you think you could come up with in six months?

By that I mean you might come up with a plan something like this. I'd take the grand and buy old Bill's truck, I'd wash it up and fix that oil leak and sell it for two grand easily. That would earn me $500 and so I'd take the $1500 I had in hand and do something else with it that would earn me another bit of money and so on and so on. Then six months later you'd have done some number of things and with your application of skills there would be some greater amount of money in the kitty.

So how much would it be? How much could you earn if you had just a little bit of money to get started on? I don't care if your plan is legal or illegal, though you can't just say I'd buy a gun and start robbing connivence stores and in six months I'd have a hundred grand. It can't be that illegal; you can't turn yourself into a drug dealer with an initial investment in a quarter pound of good pot either. Its got to be at least a little bit realistic. What could you do?

[Liberal_in_LA]

1. How about buying $1K worth of stuff to markup & sell on ebay?

[ThomWV]

12. Yep, you could do that. Do you have expertiese in one item or line of items to do that?

Yep, that's exactly the sort of thing I was thinking about. I think many sellers do that sort of thing in extending their hobby into a paying proposition.

[Quartermass]

17. Upgrade

I'd upgrade my computer and buy some software I've been wanted to get to help me with my art and then use the rest to fix the car.

[ThomWV]

18. And how would that earn you a single dime?

[lbrtbell]

27. eBay is useless nowadays

People can't afford to buy, and eBay's rules screw over sellers big-time.

[Liberal_in_LA]

66. It seems that the massive amount of stuff dumped on ebay has dropped the prices

so much stuff that no one is even bidding on.

[Initech]

2. Hmmmm... can I venture into Walter White / Breaking Bad territory?

He became a criminal making blue crystal meth out of an RV but he scored a good couple million out of it. :evilgrin:

[Politicalboi]

47. Yeah but

Look at the trouble he is in now. That show sure does go quickly doesn't it. We wait forever for it to come back, and it seems in a few weeks it's gone again. I can't wait for the season premier.

[Initech]

49. That's true.

How many times did he *almost* get caught by his DEA brother in law this season?

I hear rumors that the next season is going to be the last (damn you AMC!) but I hope it's gonna be good.

[rucky]

3. I'd leverage that thousand against a loan from the fed for 10-thousand

at zero percent interest

Then I'd invest that money in oil futures and earn 50 grand, pay off the loan (or not), and give myself a fat bonus.

If I were a bank.

[abelenkpe]

58. Awesome nt

[L. Coyote]

4. When I bought $1,000 of tools using my uncle's small inheritance, I doubled my income thereafter.

Productivity is the key to accumulation of wealth, if you are a working person.

[ThomWV]

11. Dam good reply!

[firehorse]

35. I did similar, bought tools, learned some skills -- work for myself

$500 on tools, $600 on classes, $500 on supplies

It took about 3 years to get it going, and I was super broke barely surviving for awhile, even sold stuff on the street. I don't think I'll ever have the mentality of "getting a job" in that I don't want to have to beg other people to pay me or rely on them to define my self-worth. I'll make stuff and sell it as long as I've got working hands and eyes.

[Enrique]

5. the best investment these days is buying politicians

a grand might get you a 2nd grade class president, but it would be a start.

[B Calm]

6. Invest it in a home grown medical marijuana farm. . .

Well you did say grow. . .

[tridim]

8. That's what I'd do too.

I could make about 4x ROI in about 5 months with a small garden. Of course I currently live in a fascist red state, so I can't make squat.

[WingDinger]

14. Do you know the costs? If you sell it, that is a felony.

Sure it will reduce your medicine costs SOME.

[B Calm]

30. It could buy the seeds needed to start up the new business.

[reggie the dog]

64. 10 feminized seeds around 100 dollars

plant durban poison in april, harvest in september

ten plants outdoors easily gets you 10 i (if not 20 pounds)

10 pounds sold one at a time can get around 20 000 dollars all together

but you have to know buyers otherwise your weed will just sit in your house.

any you better trust your buyers or you can end up robbed or in jail

[reggie the dog]

62. some medical cannabis states allow you to sell to medical stores

others do not

[Xicano]

16. LOL.. That's exactly what my thought was when seeing the word "grow"

:smoke:

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

7. 18 Red.

[thelordofhell]

36. noir.....you lost

lol

[TlalocW]

9. It would take more than 6 months probably but...

If I buy 200 dollars of balloons for twisting animals, I'll earn 5 to 6 times that using them entertaining at parties. :)

TlalocW

[ThomWV]

15. Hell Yes!

And I suppose you'd end up buying some sort of gas bottle and apparatus to blow up the balloons too. And the money would add up.

[TlalocW]

22. I can mouth-inflate for 8 hour straight without a problem :)

And I already have everything from small hand-pumps to electric ones.

TlalocW

[firehorse]

10. make and sell political t-shirts: Police are mercenaries of the 1%, ... etc.

I can't afford a politician so I have this dumb shirt, etc. Donate part of the profits back to the OWS, put rest of profits into making more shirts.

I already make jewelry and sell it, t-shirts seem kind of fun though.

[ThomWV]

13. Dam good idea! Where would you sell them?

[firehorse]

28. SUPERmarket on Mulberrry Street

Locally there is a new designer market on Mulberry Street between Prince and Houston called the SUPERmarket. It used to be the young designer market and I already sell jewelry there.

There are a bunch of craft market though. You can also sell on the street in SOHO if you buy a vendor for $100 a day.

Of course, sell online also, maybe I'd set up friends out of work to sell them also and family members in California in Oakland, niece in Chico, etc.

[buddysmellgood]

19. I would buy SIGA. It's beaten down and will recover to $20 per share in the

next two years. It's a cure for smallpox.

[roody]

20. I'd buy a Calvert certificate of deposit Community note---

It would be invested in something doing good.

[FreakinDJ]

21. i would grow medical marijuanna

[Uben]

23. $1000 towards a water well

I figure anything spent now to secure water for the future is a good buy and will repay exponentially.

[Ikonoklast]

24. Pay down debt.

I live for the day that I am free of the shackles of debt.

[defendandprotect]

25. Basically, the only true employment isn't "bus-i-ness" or capitalism....

it's in the humanities --

Capitalism is dead -- we just haven't buried it yet!


We have to stop judging everything by the yardstick of a dollar bill --

I imagine most people would have an IMMEDIATE need for $1,000 -- like to pay their

rent or to pay medical expenses.

Those who aren't in immediate need, let's hope would buy food for the hungry.


As former Police Captain Ray Lewis said at OWS ... "we need to make corporatiosn impotent" --

Cutting up your bank credit cards may be the best way to do that!

[liberalmuse]

26. So far, I've turned less than $10 into over $600...

by selling a few items on ebay. I just sold a dish I bought at a yard sale for $165. I paid $1 for it. And I've made more than that selling vintage on Etsy. I just started selling stuff online at the end of September and the returns have been quite good. It's basically a hobby and I'm still learning the ropes. I'd like to turn into a full time venture one day.

[Bennyboy]

29. I would buy some clay, some kiln time and

some glaes and make fish. Pendants. Five/ten buck items. I could make about 10K of them in six months and then go to Venice Beach and sell them.

take that money and reopen my non profit and take it from there.

It is what I am heading towards right now.

[reggie the dog]

31. i would buy and resell cannabis, it is realistic

imagine i had 1000 euros, i would get a third of a kilo between friends, and begin dealing

330 grams of afghan that i can get 7 a gram for (i may even already have the clients ;) )



in about 2 months time i would have 2100 euros and 30 grams free smoke, i would then get another 330 grams and do it again

in six months i could turn the 1000 into 6000 with low level drug dealing, and i am in social circles where the clients are just there when i go to house parties or barbeques

[ThomWV]

33. I accept that.

You would do no one harm and you would grow your fortune.

[JNelson6563]

32. The first thing I would do is to put together a mailing.

I'd target the recipients like those who give generously to different arts programs, big political donors on the left, etc. I'd use about half of the money to do a mailing that I would use to add to initial funding. Then I would put together a program so that students who would very much like to play an instrument would have one provided for as long as they are active with it (i.e. in music class at school).

I would build on the effort and work to establish it and then replicate it in other communities. I strongly believe music is an excellent path for some kids when other parts of school may not hold much appeal. It can help sharpen the mind and make the other parts of school better. Music is an international language that opens up a whole new world to the learner. It can also be a great source of comfort in dark times and, last but not least, it can be a wonderful aide in assisting self confidence.

No doubt about it, I would use that seed money and my background in fundraising to open the doors of the world of music to all students.

Thanks for the thought provoking post. Always fun to consider such things. I hope your recovery is progressing nicely.

Julie

[Robb]

34. Can I have longer than six months? I mean, I can finish *my* part in six months.

$500 could buy a lot of children's books. I'd round up some more volunteers and spend the remaining $500 on healthy snacks for the kids we'd read to. We'd probably run out of money in six months.

...But I expect we'd see dividends on that waaaaay down the line. :)

[Devil_Fish]

60. You are fucking awesome. NT

[aikoaiko]

37. $2/$5 NLTH table.

That would be my best shot at 50 - 100% growth.

[FarLeftFist]

38. Sell pot.

[kentauros]

39. Get some Hemp seeds and play around with electro-culture

ElectroCulture


:hi:

[jtuck004]

40. Create simple web sites on computers at the library or a coffeehouse, use the

money for a phone, an inexpensive hosting account at some place reliable, and gas or bus fare to get to clients. At least a phone call to any small business that I can't easily find in on the first page or so of a google. Nearly no graphics, but a pic or two from the street helps people find them. Maybe buy a laptop one day to help take the site out for sales.

Sell the the sites (2-3 pages with a picture, hours, map, simple stuff) at perhaps $200-300 a year or so, include hosting and a the little housekeeping that you might have to do (a few hours a year), have a rate for additional work. Hopefully turn it into a sustainable business.

Glad you are back, btw.

[jtuck004]

57. OR, buy a Bosch bread Dough mixer and get some time in a

commercial kitchen, make bread and sell it through stores and word of mouth.

[MedleyMisty]

41. Go to that kiva.org site

And invest in the people there.

http://www.kiva.org/

[Contrary1]

42. Create a Contrary1 PAC and pretend I am running for president...

People will love me, I can wink and make up catchy new words. I even wear glasses.
I'll have to work on that pouffy hair thing, though. ;-)

[Lucinda]

43. Use it to finish a few things with the house that need doing then list it for sale

:)

As for what that would net me.... it's a lot. :)
The current house note is much, much less than the value of the house.

[Tsiyu]

44. First, I would kiss you

(since that blob is out of there, you're a whole lot sexier :D) = $0

Then, buy canvas and a few more brushes (already got plenty of paint) for more painting - 7 canvases and brush would be around $100, would bring in at least $1400 (I'm a good painter) to $2100 or more if commissioned work.

Spend $300 on this months bills (I live real cheap) so I could do more writing. You wouldn't know if from my screeds here, but I've sold and published a few things, have won thousands of $$$ in awards for writing since I was a kid and have two books going now - one almost done, one I could finish in a month, and try to sell them. Can't really say what those would bring in, but let's just say I'm lucky AND good, a $5000 advance on each, so that's another $10,000, with royalties later and maybe an even better advance if they sell well.

I'd also upgrade to wireless from dialup so's I could start a blog, which would be around $75, and would be a good promotional venue for books and painting.

Get my guitar's intonation fixed. It's a beauty my boy bought for me when he came home from Afghanistan, and the mountain has been rough on the wood. That's around $150. Also put aside $50 for gas. Then, my bandmate and I can actually start jamming again and get our pro OWS tunes on youtube. That might not be a money-maker but it would be worth a lot to us.

100+300+200+75 = $675.

With the remaining $325, I'd probably do what I always do when I have extra...help someone else in this poor area, maybe pay their light bill or buy baby formula. I'd definitely buy 10 lottery tickets and donate for my daughter on DU and send her $100 at college, and none of those would earn a thing for me (unless the lottery tickets weren't duds) but honestly, that is what I'd do. :shrug:

This was a fun little exercise. Now I must finish two paintings tonight to sell at the Gift shop, or I'm gonna kick my own ass.

Hope you're feeling very well, ThomWV. :hi:

[ThoughtCriminal]

45. Garden, greenhouse

I think growing more of my own food would be a pretty good return. And I'd be buying most of the materials locally, so it's good stimulus for my community.

[begin_within]

46. This...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jt9JpYRulSk

[OneGrassRoot]

48. Start a social enterprise...

A worker- and member-owned -- a community-owned -- cooperative enterprise.

If I start with just one creation, which I do have in mind, I could then generate proceeds from which to build the larger enterprise. The larger enterprise would include a publishing co-operative, books and music.

The first creation is an original giftware line (jewelry, apparel, decor) which conveys the message that we're all connected. Those giving and receiving these items can feel good, knowing the items were produced with the utmost integrity. I'm a fan of donating to food banks and local organizations in lieu of tangible gifts, but there are times people want to give something tangible. I want to offer a brand to fill that need in an environmentally and socially responsible manner, offering gifts of meaning and substance, which "do good" every step of the way, from the creative process through to the sale.

I've been working toward this for 15 years. :)

(So glad you're recovering and engaging here, ThomWV!)

:hi:

[Initech]

50. I'd start a brewery. Make beer, not war!

:toast:

[knitter4democracy]

51. I'd put it on my debt.

I'd pay off a couple of bills and use the savings from the now-gone monthly payments to pay off the rest of my debt faster. That, or if my gut is right and the ex is gearing up to take me to court again, I'd hand it to the lawyer to help pay for her protecting me and my kids.

[flvegan]

52. I'd hire two really hot hookers, and

oh, not "grow" like that. Nevermind.

[The Straight Story]

53. In my hood I could hire 20 for that amount

:)

[flvegan]

56. Really hot ones?

Damn. I need to relocate.

[eShirl]

54. buy a henhouse, chicks and feed

[jpak]

55. Invest in Pepper Spray

or Kudzu

:hide:

[tuckessee]

59. I'd buy scratch-off state sponsored lottery tickets.

Either that or bet it all on Ol' Gumlegs in the Fourth. Sure thing. Got a good tip. Can't miss.

[Devil_Fish]

61. I've got a great idea for a drive through liquor store called "The Drink and Drive" NT

[reggie the dog]

63. or the booze and snooze

archie bunker had that idea, but the drink and drive....

[JustAnotherGen]

65. I wouldn't grow it

I'd give it to you to help buy meeds, get and from the doctor, etc etc. *hugs*

Lbut I love seeing this feisty post from you! ;-)

[taught_me_patience]

67. I'd buy naked, out of the money puts

and hope for a global economic collapse.

[Taverner]

68. Do just as you said. I'd grow something green with a high profit margin

:evilgrin:

[BrendaBrick]

69. Local Co-op

which all across the country seems to be catching on. Many articles about this already happening cited in YES! Magazine.

[Horse with no Name]

70. I would find 10 people in desperate need of $100

Give it to them and ask them to figure out a way to "pay it forward" to someone else in need...if not in cash, then in service or barter, etc.

Then sit back and let karma do all the hard work! But the "profit" would be in human kindness, not monetary.

And that is okay with me!

[Johnson20]

71. Buy some Greek bonds. n/t