The Blog Novice

The Personal Trek of Eric P. Martin

Monthly Archives: March 2010

The Tales of a Streetwise Vendor – Day 3

Today I got up at 5:00 a.m. I left the house at 6:15 a.m., and was at my location, the Starbucks on Rush & Walton by 7:00a.m. I felt like today was a bit of a success. I sold four magazines. My first customer for the day was a cab driver. He gave me $1.00 for the magazine and kept walking. He soon realized that it was $2.00 and came back to give me the other dollar. I stood on my location for two hours before going to the Borders on Michigan Ave. I was so tired. I slept in the chair for two hours before a Border’s employee woke me up. I probably was snoring. I plan on going out after I get off work.

Morning customers:

  1. 7:45 a.m. – Cab Driver -$2.00
  2.  7:50 a.m. – African-American male, mid 40′s – $2.00
  3. 7:53 a.m. – White female, mid 50′s – $2.00
  4. 7:55 a.m. - White male – mid- 40′s ($1.00 tip)
  5. 8:15 a.m. - White female – mid 30′s -$2.00

I realize that I’m making about $1.00 – $2.00 per hour. An minimum wage job doesn’t sound so bad. I’ll write more later after I finish my second shift this evening.

9:00 p.m.

I went back out after work to the same location.  I worked from 5:30  p.m until 7:30 p.m. There was something interesting that I observed with people in the Gold Coast. The way they dress. Also the ethnic groups. A lot of Europeans. Guys tend to dress with blue jeans and a nice shirt hanging out. Of course you have the nice designer glasses too. There was this one particular guy that was about 6’6″ tall. And I watch him take advantage of his characteristic traits He sat down in front of Starbucks wearing a black velvet jacket, blue jeans, severely faded at the knees, and some leather shoes. I watched him flirt with several women. And they went for him, hook, line and sinker.

Evening Customers:

  1. 5:30 p.m. Catholic priest – $1.00 tip
  2. 5:50 p.m. White male, 40′s/50′s – $2.00
  3. 6:05 p.m. White female – 50′s – $1.00 tip
  4. 6:07 p.m. White Female – 50′s – .25 tip
  5. 6:45 p.m. White female – 30′s – $2.00
  6. 6:46 p.m. White male – 50′s – $2.00
  7. 7:17 p.m White male – 30′s – $1.00 tip

Streewise Earnings for March 30th, 2010

Today’s Earnings: $18.25

Total Earnings to date: $23.25

Total hours worked: 7 hours

The Tales of a StreetWise Vendor – Day 2

Today was a bit warmer than the first day I went out. It was forty-three degrees. My first stop after work was Belmont and Clark. I thought this had a better location. I stood right between the newspaper boxes for an hour. What I  noticed was a lot of people walking with their earphones on, tuning out the world. After an hour, I sold no papers and received a  $1.00 tip. My next stop would one of the most affluent neighborhoods in the city, The Gold Coast. When I got off the bus at Divison and Clark, I walked over east. There was a Streetwise vendor in front of Walgreens on State and Divison. I was a bit hungry so I went around the corner to Subway to get a daily special. After I finished eating my sandwich, I decided to stop in Starbucks. It was about 3:30p.m. I wanted to warm up a bit before I started selling again. I pulled out my book, “Crash Proof 2.0″  and fell asleep reading it. I woke up two hours later. I went out and stood on the corner of Rush and Walton. I immediately notice not to many people wearing headphones. Most were talking on their cell. But I did sell my first magazine. My first customer was a caucasian male, in his mid-twenties.

3-29-10

Magazines sold: 1 =$2.00

Tip: $1.00

Hours worked: 2

Average per hour earned: $1.50

Total Hours worked: 3

Total Earnings: $5.00

Streewise Earnings

The Diary 3-29-10

I had a busy weekend. Went to school Saturday morning. Took my 2nd test for Algebra. I got a 71%. After the test, I went home to get prepared for my sister and her family to arrive. They didn’t get her until 7:00 p.m. They were suppose to get there at 4:30 p.m. The next morning, I got up at 8:30 .m. to put the finishing touches on my painting. After that, I went to be an production assistant for the short film, Beyond Mirrors. I didn’t get off the set until 11:00 p.m. Now, I’m back at work. After work, I plan on selling Streetwise magazines.

The Diary 3-26-10

It’s way too cold to go out and sell Streetwise today. I have an algebra test I need to prepare for along with my sister’s family coming on Saturday. There is way to much stuff I need to do than try and hustle for a few dollars. Filling out resumes in a semi-warm basement is better than being out in the cold today.

12:53 p.m.

There are several lessons that I learned today that I want to jot down before I forget.

  • Types of work I want to do.

Today I couldn’t go out and sell Streetwise because I had housework to do. To be able to take off and not ask for permission was good. I didn’t make any extra money but I was still able to make money trading which I believe is a core concept in being able to have this type of lifestyle.

  • While on the train ride to work, I was reading Richard Paul Evans book, “The Five Lessons A Millionaire Taught Me.” The forth lesson which he calls “Winning in the Margins” is having an extra income. Right now, selling Streetwise is my extra income until I can find something to replace it. As of right now, it’s what I do for my extra bread to invest.

Tales of a Streetwise Vendor – Day 1

1:00 p.m.

I just got my temporary badge to sell Streetwise magazines. I’m excited to put my theory to the test, but what a day to start. It’s thirty-five degrees outside. I plan on selling the magazine downtown after I get off work.

I plan on going to Lincoln Park to sell. I should arrive around 5:30 p.m.

7:15 p.m.

I arrived at Sheffield and Fullerton around 5:30 p.m. It must have been thirty-degrees outside. My nose started  to run, my fingers, even though I had gloves on started to get cold. In the forty-five minutes I stood out there on the corner, chanting “Streetwise”, I sold not one magazine. I did receive a $2.00 tip from someone who said they had already an issue of the magazine. I don’t know if he felt sorry for me but I was grateful to receive his generosity.

As people walked by, I could hear the Director of  Distribution and Vendor Services, Greg Pritchett’s voice in my mind saying, “As long as your consistent and have a good location, you’ll gain customers. They’ll get to know your face.” I couldn’t blame them for not stopping. The wind was strong. I held my Streetwise magazine’s tight.

The one thing I can say for my first day is that it is a reminder of how hard I should try and get my stuff together.

Streetwise Temporary Badge

DAY 1:

Magazines sold: – 0

Tips: – $2.00

StreetWise income vs Forex trading March 25th, 2010

The Diary 3-25-10

Yesterday  I went to the StreetWise orientation. Just like the  last time I went, the director was last starting the meeting. I wound up failing the test they give you. 13 questions right out of thirty. You have to remember every word in the sentences they take out. This only means that I will have to go back this morning at 10:00 a.m. and retake the test. They gave me a sheet to take home to remember the words. 

The presentation that director gave was inspiring in a way. It is directly related to my plan. Being consistent. Doing something everyday. Working the opportunity like a job. This can be applied to anything. At the moment, it’s Streetwise.

The Diary 3-24-10

Today I’m going to the Streetwise oreientation which is at 10:00 a.m. I just got paid today too. So I don’t really need to sell Streetwise papers on the street. I need extra money. I need money to invest and I’ve started sending out resumes but I find myself not want to wait and need to do what is necessary to pick myself up by my bootstraps. It’s also the element in success that I’m writing about in my book. What is necessary is to do something extra away from the job that produces a cash flow.

The Daily Diary 3-19-10

Yesterday, I decided to write my first book. I’m going to be practicle and real about achieving wealth and financial prosperity. Today, I started my journey by placing an ad on Criagslist to offer my labor/cleaning services on the weekend and also offering a free gift account for Send Out Cards. I’m probably going to start panhandling on Sunday if I don’t get any calls.

11:21 a.m.

I’m getting ready for work. I wanted to write down two website that I might be able to make some extra money at.

2:51 p.m.

I posted several ads on Craigslist. One is for a videographer to  film me during my money making ideas like panhandling this weekend.