Businesses these days talk a lot about figuring out what the customer wants. Well, here’s your first lesson: the customer doesn’t know what he wants. This book is going to show you how to convince him he wants the thing you’re selling. Les Gold has been in business since age twelve, when he started selling used golf clubs from his dad’s basement. Now he owns Detroit’s biggest pawnshop, American Jewelry and Loan, and is the star of the hit reality TV show Hardcore Pawn. As a third-generation pawnbroker, Gold grew up in the business, dealing with cus­tomers who could be unruly and violent as often as they were friendly. He became good at selling just about anything and at buying items for what they were worth. Although he started at his family’s small pawnshop, he has now expanded into a fifty-thousand-square-foot former bowling alley, making a thousand deals a day. On any given day, he could be taking a vin­tage car in to pawn or chasing down a thief who’s just stolen a gold chain from the store. No business school in the world can teach you as much about buying, selling, negotiating, managing employees, dealing with customers, advertising, tracking trends, and predicting the economy’s ups and downs. In this entertaining, honest book, Gold takes you inside some of his weirdest, wacki­est deals and steals. From the monkey his dad once took in to pawn to the deal Gold made for a stripper pole, he has no boundaries for what he considers to be part of his business—and neither should you. You will learn: How to tell an emotional story when you’re selling—and take emotion out of the transaction when you’re buying Why judging your customers before you know them can kill a potential deal How to deal with risk, both mental and physical How to communicate with employees (even if they’re your own kids) Why investing in relationships with your community is time well spent Why your business should never be limited by what others tell you it should be No place in the world prepares you better for the working world than a pawnshop, and Les Gold takes you inside his shop to share what he’s learned from fifty-five years in the most interesting job in the world.

How to Start, Run, and Grow a Reputable & Profitable Pawnshop Business Are you looking for a career that can bring long-term profitability? Are you concerned about starting a business that will outlast economic hardships? Pawnshops were one of only a few institutions in the Great Depression-era that provided cash as the banks started to fail, and people were getting rid of cherished and valuable items in order to pay debts. Today, pawnshops are still the main source for people who want to turn items into cash. Gold, silver, guns, collectibles, antiques, and electronics are items that are bought, sold, traded, and borrowed against as collateral. These are items that the average American probably owns many of. Even in times of a "slow economy," one business has withstood the test of time - pawnbrokers. People will always be in need of a quick buck, in the form of a pawn loan or selling their high-end possessions. These loans might be to pay for bills or to generally make ends meet for a short while. You could provide this needed service for your neighborhood by opening a business as a pawnbroker. There are plenty of business opportunities if you are looking to start your own business. I've researched plenty of options. After considering the pros and cons of many, I settled on what I felt was the best option to open a pawnshop. This may sound like a unique and possibly odd business choice, but it is actually a sound business decision. Pawnbrokers are the preservers of history. They provide an excellent source of unique items that collectors won't find anywhere else. Each piece that walks through the pawnshop doors might be a priceless gem that no one else has ever seen before. Pawnshops are places where you can find history, antiques, jewelry, and other items that have often been handed down through generations. Owners may actually know the source of items or offer stories of where the items come from. In my book, I will guide you through the process of establishing your own pawnshop from scratch. You need not have any business experience to start this business, just a desire to challenge yourself to create a business that can grow and thrive. You Will Learn: A brief history of pawnbroking What a pawnbroker is How the pawn process works What you should know to start your own business How to craft a business plan that works What your startup costs could be How to deal in gold, silver, guns, antiques, collectibles, electronics, and jewelry How to deal with employees to staff your new shop How to handle marketing How to choose a good POS How to grow your pawnshop business As an added bonus, I have also included an appendix of requirements for pawnbrokers listed by state. After you read this book, you should have a much better understanding of what becoming a pawnbroker entails. What are you waiting for? Click "Add to Cart" now. That's the first step to achieving your entrepreneurial dreams! For a very limited time, when you purchase the paperback book, you can download the Kindle version for FREE, just as a special thanks to you.

In Las Vegas, there's a family-owned business called the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, run by three generations of the Harrison family: Rick; his son, Big Hoss; and Rick's dad, the Old Man. Now License to Pawn takes readers behind the scenes of the hit History show Pawn Stars and shares the fascinating life story of its star, Rick Harrison, and the equally intriguing story behind the shop, the customers, and the items for sale. Rick hasn't had it easy. He was a math whiz at an early age, but developed a similarly uncanny ability to find ever-deepening trouble that nearly ruined his life. With the birth of his son, he sobered up, reconnected with his dad, and they started their booming business together. License to Pawn also offers an entertaining walk through the pawn shop's history. It's a captivating look into how the Gold & Silver works, with incredible stories about the crazy customers and the one-of-a-kind items that the shop sells. Rick isn't only a businessman; he's also a historian and keen observer of human nature. For instance, did you know that pimps wear lots of jewelry for a reason? It's because if they're arrested, jewelry doesn't get confiscated like cash does, and ready money will be available for bail. Or that WWII bomber jackets and Zippo lighters can sell for a freakishly high price in Japan? Have you ever heard that the makers of Ormolu clocks, which Rick sells for as much as $15,000 apiece, frequently died before forty thanks to the mercury in the paint? Rick also reveals the items he loves so much he'll never sell. The shop has three Olympic bronze medals, a Patriots Super Bowl ring, a Samurai sword from 1490, and an original Iwo Jima battle plan. Each object has an incredible story behind it, of course. Rick shares them all, and so much more -- there's an irresistible treasure trove of history behind both the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop and the life of Rick Harrison.

The expanded and improved Second Edition of our best-selling How to Open a Successful Pawnshop is written by Norman Gornbein, a former pawnbroker and master jeweler. The book is thorough, clear, and, yes, even entertaining, thanks the author's positive and engaging personality. Norman Gornbein, whose extremely successful pawnshop was featured on CNN, now works as a consultant to existing pawnshops and setting up new pawnshops for a $50,000 fee and up. Hardcore Pawn's facility was set up by Norman Gornbein. How to Open a Successful Pawnshop is all about how Norman Gornbein did it and does it, and how you can do it too. The book includes priceless and detailed information on how to evaluate gold, diamonds, and jewelry. How to Open a Successful Pawnshop covers anything that will be brought into a pawnshop including watches, cameras, electronics, firearms, musical instruments, sporting goods, tools, and even vehicle title loans. Related businesses such as payday loans, providing debit cards, and online pawnshops are also included. In addition, you will be shown how to organize your pawnshop, make it secure, staff it with the right employees, and even fill your pawnshop with a starting inventory at ZERO COST! How to Open a Successful Pawnshop is well worth the price to those who aspire to enter the very profitable business of becoming a pawnbroker-and to established pawnbrokers who want to improve their business.

Declan O'Rourke's award-winning album, Chronicles of the Great Irish Famine, was released to critical acclaim in 2017. It illuminated an extraordinary series of eye-witness accounts, including the story of Pádraig and Cáit ua Buachalla. Four years on, in Declan's meticulously researched literary debut, the story of the ua Buachalla family is woven into a powerful, multilayered work showing us the famine as it happened through the lens of a single town - Macroom, Co. Cork - and its environs.

Set up your own pawnshop and get ready to start counting all the money you will make buying and selling goods at a tremendous profit! Learn how to choose the right location, evaluate merchandise, extend loans, advertise, establish a reputation for honesty and secure your shop.