... to dress up in drag! I recently starred in a MSN Search service infomerical and received "free money" to dress up as a middle-aged woman, a grandma and a goofy teenager. Visit the site to see how much fun I had and sign up for over $45,000 worth of prizes. I wonder how question marks would look on a dress??
...Took a break from shooting my own infomercial, to join in a couple of video ventures... Just last night I made a surprise appearance at the Tonic Night Club in the Lower East Side of New York to be a part of the Jersey Band's act. I got to play lead guitar while I showed the audience how to take advantage of government programs as the band - all dressed in question mark suits - rocked on. This performance will be a part of their upcoming rock video.
I'm also in the process of filming for a part in the upcoming music video of the popular European rock band, The Ravonettes. The group is recorded by Sony BMG and the video will appear on British MTV. More details to follow.
Check out the online Daily One Minute Trivia Challenge - on July 4th I'll be doing the challenge! Also, watch for me on E! Entertainment Network's new show, 101 Greatest Guilty Pleasures (almost sounds like a title for one of my books!). I'm doing a segment on how my infomercials are a guilty pleasure! Stay tuned for the air date...
Been busy filming a new infomercial. A fun time for all spoofing shows such as "The Price is Right" "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" and "The Apprentice". We're also doing a "Tonight Show" spot where a puppet version of Lesko is interviewing the real me. Also featuring a band in question mark suits! Stay tuned...
Recently, CD Publications, which publishes news stories on government and community-related issues, wrote an article in their Private Grants Alert. In a column called Grant Guru Column, they wrote things about our business and our products, which were not only misleading, but obviously unresearched. Below, I've written a response to Mr. Gerecht, the Publisher, setting him straight on our services and the facts about the report by the New York State Consumer Board.
Dear Mr. Gerecht:
Out of the millions of customers that have our products you
state that we have 78 complaints at this office. But you failed to mention that we handled
every one of these complaints to the satisfaction of the customer and have a
record of ZERO outstanding complaints. We realize that we can never meet everyone’s expectations of our
products and always provide refunds immediately with no questions asked. There are few in the industry, including
grant writers and bookstores who offer such an unconditional refund policy.
You state, “The New York State Consumer Board has issued a
25-page report that, among other things, charges Lesko with fueling a market
for grant swindles.” This statement by
itself misleads the public as well as can be considered libelous in nature.
You mentioned that a caller attended a workshop where they
were promised a grant. You go on to
mention that it may not have been one of my workshops, but you continue by say
that I am personally a “shyster” because I promise people grants. If your reporting ever did take you to one of
our workshops or if you spoke with anyone who ever attended one of our
workshops, you would learn that we never make promises about any government
money being available to an individual or organization. The only thing we do promise is that if you
are unsatisfied with one of our products you can return it for a refund.
Matthew Lesko
President
Information USA, Inc.
P.S. Your article appears on the same page as an advertisement for one of your books, called Government Assistance Almanac, which is information copied from government publication available to anyone for free at www.cfda.gov. You charge customers $267 for this information. Who’s the real “shyster” here?
...This Mother's Day show your Mom you love her by showering her with free gifts, services and other benefits that Uncle Sam has available just for her. I've put together a collection of little-known government benefits programs that are available to Moms of all ages. You can find a FREE list of special programs for your Mom on my website at www.lesko.com/formom.
For a limited time I'm also offering my 4 best-selling Women's package for an amazing 75% OFF! Give Mom the gift that keeps on giving - free stuff from Uncle Sam!
I recently spoke at Hagerstown Community College in Hagerstown, Maryland. Even though it was final exam week, over 100 people showed up to find out how to get their share of the thousands of government programs available. Many were entrepreneurs looking to start or expand their business. After an education, being your own boss is the best thing you can do for your future earning potential. My book, Free Money for Entrepreneurs can show you how to be successful in America without spending your own money!
...Looks like Americans are searching for ways to find gov't money even more than love. Just noticed that my bestseller, Free Money to Pay Your Bills, tops Dr. Phil's new book, Love Smart on the Library Journal's Best Seller list. Maybe a daytime talk show's in order?!
…The average family pays $7,534 a year in federal taxes but is eligible for an average of $11,450 a year back in grants and other free money from the government. That's money Uncle Sam is sitting on with YOUR NAME on it! But you have to know where the programs are and how to apply in order to get your money that the government is holding for you.
That’s why I recently started Lesko’s Government Money Club. Join today and you will have access to 10,000 money programs, answers to all your personal questions, and even FREE HELP FILLING OUT ANY GOVERNMENT APPLICATION! There are thousands of accountants that will charge $100’s an hour to help you pay less tax money, but there is only ONE MAN that has devoted his life to helping you get more back more than you paid in. Don’t pay another year of taxes before you start learning how to get your money back. Don't let Uncle Sam sit on your money one more day! Join my Government Money Club today to access all the programs you're entitled to...
On my way to L.A. to tape an appearance on Nickelodeon's kids show, "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide". In this episode I show the kid how to get money from the government for eating oatmeal! Not sure of an air date yet, but will post when it's set. Stay tuned...
... Made another visit to the Ft. Belvoir, Army base to talk to our service men and women about how to succeed in America and how to get the money and help to do it. This was a smaller group than the last time, but they were just as eager to hear about the programs Uncle Sam has for starting a business, going back to school, etc. I spoke about the fact those who succeed in America have learned how to use America. The rich and famous people and businesses in our country - including H.Ross Perot, Apple Commuters, Home Depot and Federal Express - have all used government programs to grow their success. Every American - especially those who serve our country - should know about the programs they can access to build a better life. My "tour of duty" is spreading the word...
...on two wheels. The Washingtonian magazine recently featured me in an article on Vespa owners. Mine's actually a used Aprilia, but just as much fun. I especially like it when the Harley Davidson guys give me the motorcycle wave like I'm a member of their special biker's club and I'm only on a wimpy scooter! I'm a believer - no insurance, no license required under 50cc's, less than $1,000 for a used one, 90 mpg - a great source of cheap transportation while you're waiting for your gov't grants. Good for picking up biker chicks too...
...I recently spoke to over 100 U.S. Army service men and women at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, on how they can take advantage of the thousands of government programs available to them that are not a part of the U.S. Department of Defense or the Veterans Administration. As a Vietnam vet, I believe that no one in our country is more deserving of these programs than those who sacrifice their lives for our country...
Most entrepreneurs believe that if they could afford some big time advertising their business would be a huge success. But if this were true, why do all those high flying dot com companies who paid millions in Super Bowl ads a few years ago now find themselves out of business? The answer is that these companies who spent millions on super bowl ads only got real sales back in the thousands. Plain and simple, it was dumb business. You can’t build a strong business by spending millions and getting only thousands in return. In fact, they probably would have never spent millions on super bowl ads if they didn’t have that money burning a hole in their pockets. Please realize that sometimes having NO money can make you a better, stronger AND richer sales monger than if you had millions to begin with! Here’s why! If they didn’t have that money, they would have acted smarter and found advertising that would pay off and made their business stronger other than losing a whole lot of money. I call this “ego” spending, because, well, “you can”, or even because it’s what they thought they are “supposed to do”! Spending money is easy. Making money is the hard part, but this is where the FUN starts! Here’s what I mean:
Advertising Is Only Worth What Some Idiot Is Willing To Pay For It
But it may not be worth it to you. If you’re a small business, why pay for high priced advertising that is sought after by big companies who spend ad dollars for reasons you and I will never understand? Big companies may be buying for branding, visibility, or whatever. Most small businesses need to advertise for sales and sales only. You spend a dollar, and you should want at least a few back! Anything else is academic and should be saved for discussions in marketing classes at Harvard Business School.
The “Etch-A-Sketch” Ad Rate Card
Remember the “Etch-a-Sketch” toy that looked like a tablet with knobs you turned to draw on it, and when you wanted to “start over” your just shook it up and WHAM… “DO OVER – CLEAN SLATE!” Advertising rates are a lot like that. People who sell advertising put their prices in print and make you believe they are set in stone but they are really on “Etch-a-Sketch”. If someone is willing to pay full price the ad companies will get the full price, but if no one is willing to pay that price, it’s not worth the full price and they’ll be willing to take a lot less. The media needs a certain amount of ads at almost any price. They need ads to fill in around the programming. TV and radio stations are not going to broadcast less hours a day because they don’t have enough full price ads to fill in and web sites are not likely going to take out some web pages if they can’t get 100% full price ads. The people selling advertising are likely to take a lot less money for their space if they don’t have someone with deep pockets wanting it. Remember: big pocket guys can’t buy everything. But people selling advertising wish they would.
Your Offer Could Be The One They Can’t Refuse!
Here’s were you come in and do some magic. You make an offer. But you do more than make an offer… Tell them you’ll give them a copy of every size ad they will ever possibly need so they can have them on hand to use at the last minute when space does not sell or ads are pulled at the last minute. All you ask is for a 50% discount to make it work for you. If they say no, tell them that you will send them copies of your ads, or “creatives” anyway, just in case. Tell them they don’t have to ever use them, but there may be times when they will feel that 50% of something is better than 100% of nothing.
In the fast changing world that we live in today, what someone thinks they can’t accept today may change OVERNIGHT! It may even change in an hour or so, but if they don’t have your ad, you can’t take advantage of the opportunity. BE READY and PRO-ACTIVE! Opportunities rarely happen twice. You have to be pre-prepared to take advantage of them.
The Best Rate Is A Percentage Of The Sale This is how I made a whole lot of money. Frustrated at not being able to make money on TV, radio or even the web by paying what people asked, I started thinking about why I make so much money in book stores and not other places. The answer was that bookstores take 50% of the sale and don’t ask for any money up front. When a bookstore sells my books I get 50% of the money. I don’t send anybody else money for profit sharing, I just have to have my own “product” available and ready to ship. But when I purchase advertising, I have no idea if it will lead to a sale until after I spend the money. So I started offering people 50% of the sales instead of 50% of the cost of advertising. This allowed good stations or sites to even make more money than if I purchased the advertising. But it eliminated all risk for me. And, actually, I see it as, I believe in my books and products, and the “vendor” believes in their store, site, or advertising! Good deal!
Sure the things I talk about above won’t work all the time. But in our world nothing works all the time. At my age I am aware of that more than ever, and it’s not always easy to arrange. But it is possible, and I’ve made millions of dollars doing it and would have never been as successful in life as I have been if I accepted the prices that were on the advertising rate card, OR what others told me the “industry” needed or what “others” do in business.
That’s why I believe “Anybody Can Spend Money On Advertising But Real Entrepreneurs Don’t Pay Rate Card, And If They’re Real Clever, They Figure Out A Way Not To Pay Anything Up Front At All”.
...Harvard University JFK School of Government has selected my How to Write and Get a Grant book and CD as a textbook for one of their upcoming courses. Must be something to this grant thing.. And everyone thought I was just an infomercial huckster.. Now I'm a classy infomercial huckster...
So be careful when buying products that promise you a "grant", because most of these people don’t know the facts about grants. After studying government programs for over 25 years I’ve learned that if you contact an agency asking for a ”grant” you are going to miss out on 80% of the free money programs that are out there. This money goes by other names like “direct payments”, or even “loans you don’t have to pay back”. That seems like free money to me! But it’s easy to have government jargon throw you off the money trail. To make sure you are aware of all free money programs, don’t ask for “grants”, ask for “financial assistance”. That way you won’t limit yourself to just 20% of the free money that is available to you.
My new interactive DVD’s contain over 6 hours of video information on sources of government grants, loans and contracts. These DVD's have 100’s of websites linking directly to money sources right from your computer! No Books, no paper, no bureaucrats!
...If the government has missing money of yours they put it up in their attic and wait for you to call. This missing money could be:
One of our researchers made a list of all her relatives and checked for missing money in their names. She found hundreds of dollars waiting for them to claim, so she wrapped them up as Christmas Gifts and put them under the tree. Free Money is a gift that can keep on giving. You can contact your congressman’s office to locate all of these offices or look for your local Federal Information Center listed in your phone book.
This is just one of the places we go to compile the 10,000 sources that are in our book, How To Write And Get A Grant. For a limited time, we're offering this book at 50% discount. This book represents thousands of hours of research by our trained grant seekers. Find out where your money may be hiding...
...A little known fact about free money is that most government applications are pretty easy to fill out. Sure you may run into a complicated form now and then but when you do you don’t have to spend $1,000 to hire a professional grant writer. Under a law called the Freedom of Information Act, you as a citizen have the right to see a copy of any previous successful application of someone who already received money.
And if you are still concerned about filling out an application, you can take a look at my New Year's special - "How to Write and Get a Grant" at 50% off. This book is the result of thousands of hours of trained grant seekers and contains over 10,000 programs you may be eligible for...
… Why not make a “resolution” now to be one of them? Every year, over 1 trillion dollars worth of government grants are available to Americans just like you. Don’t miss out on getting YOUR share this year. For a limited time you can purchase my exclusive Get a Grant Package at a 50% Discount. This package includes my bestseller, "How To Write And Get A Grant" PLUS a bonus book and CDROM with examples of 50 successful grant applications absolutely FREE. Order this special half-price offer and start applying for the money you're entitled to...
…Our new website and service – RetirementBenefits4U.com - is up and running. This site will be a source for over 10,000 retirement benefits that start at age 40! These programs are for people with incomes up to $150K per year. With this site comes a membership service that helps you fill out government applications to ensure you get the benefits you are entitled to receive. Be one of the first to benefit from this exclusive service and get the little-known government program YOU qualify for.
Not one of my books, but a CD called Danger Doom, that I did a spoof commercial for. They asked and I thought it would be fun to and help to try to figure out how to sell to a younger audience. The Washington Post put it on the Best List for 2006 in the December 30, 2005 edition. I wasn’t even sure what it was I was selling. Never sold anything else but my stuff before and probably never will, but it was fun. Take a look www.lesko.com/tvad
This may get me to post more often...... Happy New Year All (or both of you)
