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As the school semester begins to wind down, student apartment complex’s have kicked their marketing efforts into high gear.

I personally live in a student apartment, and it is nice to have only students living around me. The competition for tenents is fierce, so these complex’s come up with all sorts of ways to market.

They give out all sorts of t-shirts, keychains, mugs, frisbee’s etc on campus, but the most unique thing I saw was on Friday.

The UT Shuttle System has over 20,000 student riders per day. An SUV plastered with signs from a local apartment complex came to the bus stop with about 15 people waiting and handed out brown bag lunches which had a BBQ sandwich and soft drink inside each. They then gave T-shirt’s to everyone, and said if they spot you wearing the shirt on Tuesday’s they will give you $50 cash!

This random act of kindness very much impressed everyone, creating a good vibe for that certain apartment complex. As I attempt to market condos this weekend, I need to come up with a direct marketing method that’s creative and cost efficient.

The Houston Rodeo is the largest rodeo anywhere in the world. It draws huge crowds who stick around for a livestock show, shopping, concerts, a carnival and lots of greasy foods.

One thing I noticed when I went today was the long lines at EVERY food concession stand, despite the prices:

• Pickle – $2.75
• Soft Drink – $3.00
• Funnel Cake – $5.00
• Chicken Leg – $7.00
• Regular Beer – $6.00

These prices may look familiar if you ever go to football games or amusement parks. The rodeo regulates the prices for these items, not allowing them to be sold for under a certain price. This price cooperation between vendors forces patrons to pay preposterous prices.

Thankfully free competition in the real world prevents prices from getting out of control! From the Rodeo’s standpoint they had a good deal going. They had a complete monopoly on the food market, huge crowds, lots of hungry kids and parents with money to spend.

Lesson for Business Minded People: Fixed competition can be used to your advantage.

This is a Latin quotation which translates to: “A thing is worth only what someone else will pay for it”

I have this quote posted on my wall upon the advice of Burton Malkiel in A Random Walk Down Wall Street. I am attemting to sell condos this weekend, so I must keep this in mind.

Well, judging from the comments, it seems people like Google Adsense slightly more than I do. Apparently I could make around $50 to $70 a month based on my site traffic (some sources I got elsewhere seemed conflicting), but I still will not partake in the program.

This blog was made in order for me to track my financial goals and track my progress, making money off the site would taint that. I know I would constantly check how much money I’ve made, and start making more posts that appeal to a broader audience if site traffic dictated how much money I make.

I generally wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to make an easy $50 per month, but this time I’ll let it slide! For all you bloggers who do use Adsense, I’ll continue to give you a click on each visit :-)
Might as well help spread the wealth!

On another note, I go back to Houston on Friday where I will be selling some condos over Spring Break!

Syntel (SYNT), a stock of which I own 180 shares is giving out a $1.50 per share dividend at the end of March. This equates to a nice $270 “gift” for me :-)
The dividend announcement and declaration of a strong financial future has sent the Syntel stock upwards the last few days, putting me back in the black on this holding.

I’ve been focusing lately on stashing away some stocks for the long long long term, 30 or 40+ years. I have a few stocks in mind, but one area I want to further explore is batteries. Regardless of its function, pretty much every mobile device is getting more advanced, and using more energy.

I would like to invest in several firms or a fund specializing in long-lasting energy supplies for mobile devices. Battery technology has perpetually lagged behind the devices that they supply, and within my lifetime I expect that to change. I love my tablet PC and the portability it offers, but I hate having to plug in every 4 and a half hours. The convenience of a device which does not have to be charged every day would be worth paying for.

A company with a patented battery that could power different devices (phones, laptops, radios, golf carts etc.) for long periods would be a sure money maker, and a great stock to own!

Yesterday was an incredibly hectic day, but I just HAD to take time to see this guy speak. His name is Robert Sek. I first met him when he came to judge a Texas Entrepreneurs idea competition last year.

I think all the entrepreneurs out there would love to hear a condensed version of his story:

• His parents immigrated from Poland to the U.S. in hopes of making a better life for their children.
• He started his entrepreneurial career and the young age of 5 by selling bubblegum in kindergarten, mowing lawns in middle school and developing web sites in high school etc. to make a buck.
• At 15 he researched during one summer break for 3 months about the legality of f ake I D’s vs. n.ove lty I D ‘s, finding that nov e1ty ID’s were 100% legal to sell because of a loophole he had found in the federal laws pertaining to ID cards.
• With this information in hand, he knew there was a legal way to make the ID’s. He then researched the in’s and out’s of starting a business.
• In his freshman year of college at the University of Texas in the Jester dorm (Same place where I lived!) he started his online n0v elty I D business.
• He went around the campus door-to-door trying to sell them with no success and a lot of discouraging words from friends.
• He then received his first order online. He charged $120 for an ID that cost him $.25 (yes, a quarter)
• Everytime he checked his mailbox he got more and more orders, sometimes 50+ at a time.
• In his freshman year he pulled in profits of $500,000! The next year he broke $1,000,000.
• The next year, the Senate held a sub-committee meeting on F a k e ID’s and the internet to close the loophole Robert had discovered. As the current largest player in the online ID business, the government went after Sek’s business just 20 days before he was about to shut it down himself. They went into his West Campus condo and confiscated everything they could find.
• No laws were broken and he decided to shut the business down.
• With his new found wealth he became an angel investor for several startup dot com’s (This was during the internet boom in Austin).
• He started a number of companies, some of which were bought out, some of which failed.
• He lost a lot of money in the dot com bust, but then made it back through other ventures such as international trading, high-tech startups, online dating sites and much more.
• He is currently the founder of an upcoming company ThermaCode which has patented a barcode technology that reports when changes in temperature have occurred. With a great technology and Robert Sek at the helm, I don’t think this company will have any trouble making untold fortunes!

The guy is a great speaker, extremely successful in his 20’s and mentors many college students on starting their own companies. It’s always great to hear him speak.

One area I have always been interested in is real estate. I have some experience, and plan to make a purchase soon.

For any of you interested in buying/selling houses, a great place to start is:
Shaun’s Real Estate Adventures

I’ve been reading his blog for a while now and really enjoy it. He also has some great articles on how to get started.

How do you make a million dollars in the stock market?
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Start with two million!!