BIG IDEAS: HOW TO BUILD A FORTUNE ON YOUR OWN
          
               Finding your own fortune-building opportunity is
          not that difficult.  Sell your services as a
          consultant.  Look at problems as opportunities.  Look
          for business opportunities that fill the needs of
          others.  Then fill them more efficiently than your
          competitors.  For example: 
          
          * Turn waste products into useful products -- or sell
          your services as a recycler 
          
          * Satisfy the growing need for personal security 
          
          * Provide services that offer fun and recreation
          
          * Fill needs for convenience and speed -- whether it's
          shopping, cooking, child care, or even dog-walking and
          house-sitting 
          
          * Turn your home into a bed and breakfast, rent it out
          to seasonal visitors, or rent rooms to college
          students; these are businesses that use a maximum of
          home space for business purposes, which will net you a
          maximum tax deduction 
          
          * Turn a flair for designing or producing craft
          products into a business 
          
          * Build a talent-based business, such as motion picture
          productions, from your noncraft talents 
          
          * If you love to drive, start an auto-delivery service. 
          Sell your driving talents to people who need to move
          their cars across the country.  In addition to your
          fee, they pay for the gas, and you get a free trip
          through America
          
          * Be a reviewer...of films, books, or restaurants; as a
          critic, not only do you enjoy the respect of your
          review material, but you also receive free books, movie
          tickets, and restaurant meals
           
          * Use your boat, plane, or motor home in your small
          business.  For example, if you love to fish from your
          own boat, sell some of your catch to restaurants and
          start taking tax deductions.  Use your boat to display
          equipment.  When used for business, the costs of the
          boat, fuel, and sample equipment can be deducted about
          50%.  That means if you normally spend $10,000 per year
          on this hobby, you could get a refund of $5,000.  The
          government pays you to go fishing!
          
          * Buy a relocatable business.  Many mail order and
          publishing businesses are easy to relocate, and you may
          find something that fits your skills for a price that
          will be less than the cost of starting from scratch and
          building up a market.  There is a newsletter called
          Relocatable Business which lists a number of these
          businesses for sale in each issue.  A recent issue
          included gourmet foods, a hobby magazine publisher, a
          jewelry business, a map publisher, a specialized
          computer software firm, a stuffed toy wholesaler, a
          stoneware tile manufacturer and a health care products
          mail order company.  The publisher will send you a
          sample copy and subscription information.  Contact:
          Relocatable Business, P. O. Box 1248, Highland Park IL
          60035; tel. (800) 927-1310; fax: (708) 433-4711.