Gringo Biker

I am probably working away on a farm at the moment but I have written a few posts to keep regular readers amused...Next up, Gringo Biker.


Well, the name is a bit naff, but I wanted something that instantly explained what I was doing. Basically, my inspiration came from Heinz Stucke. This well-travelled cyclist has been on the road since 1962. He now travels from the licencing revenue of over 100,000 travel photos and from sales of his booklet discribing his travels.

Well, I decided to follow suit and bash out a little booklet of travel stories. I filchered most of them from previous posts on this blog. Then I copied them to word, ran a spell check, used Booklet Creator and made a front cover with one of Mike's photos of me. Then I printed off one master copy for 5 soles and had 30 copies photocopied for 30 soles. I sold each copy for 5 soles and had made back my investment in the first day by wandering around Miraflores in Lima and irritating anyone who looked like they might speak (and read) English.

It is my first dabble with entrepreneurialism and was fun. Especially seeing those 30 fresh copies roll hot of the press.

I am looking forward to making another one with a different set of stories and now I have learned a few important things about manufacturing.

-Photocopying is cheaper than printing.
-Print the master copy to highest standard possible.
-Spell check and read through for mistakes.
-Make sure the pages are in the right order.

And here are my sales tips...
-Grab a few copies in a plastic bag and look for white people.
-Someone on a bike is a safe bet.
-Always approach good-looking girls.
-People with rucksacks.
-People lingering at road crossings, cafe tables, queues and bus stations.
-Mention it over breakfast in a hostel.