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FAST MONEY Information |
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My name is Jim Patterson, and I am the author of FAST MONEY. I have been in the business of selling NASCAR merchandise since 1994 and have been in almost every level of the game at some point or another. I started out small, just selling trading cards at the local flea market. By 1996, I had worked my way up to having a full booth at an an indoor flea market. In the fall of 1997, I made the leap to my 1st full time storefront. I subleased part of another store until March of 1998, when I was able to open a full store. I have done trackside sales at 4 different local tracks, and also set up at a local theater that showed NASCAR racing on the big screen. I have done web, eBay, and mailing list sales also. During this time, I have talked to almost every major "player" in this business, 98% of the distributors, and hundreds of dealers at every level. In 1998, I decided to write a book about this business. I wrote a few pages, but personal issues and other things kept me from ever completing it. I kept seeing all that was (and still is) wrong with the business I love, and decided that I had to do something to help others be successful in this business like I had been. So in 2002. I set down with pad and paper, and sketched the broad strokes into a workable outline. Several months of typing, editing, research, and a fair amount of cussing later, I had a workable manuscript. It was time to forge it into a book. The last thing I did before printing the 1st ones was to do what I called "a nastiness edit". People's passions run strong and deep in this business. mine included, and that is often reflected in their choice of words to talk about something they do not like. But just because a person can say something doesn't mean they HAVE to. So I made over 50 changes, and it was time to go to print! The 1st printing, the "Double Zero" Edition, as I called it, was designed for a very small reading group. As not everything I said was positive (I think knowing what NOT to do in a business is more important that knowing what TO do), I felt it was necessary to give the head people in the business a chance to see it before it was printed. I also wanted to make sure than everything was factually correct, and so I send previews out. After about 45 days, and several corrections later, the "Zero" Edition was ready to go. This one was designed to go to a much broader group of readers like distributors, selected dealers I have known over the years, and others. It incorporated many corrections for grammar and a few submitted by those who read the Double Zero Edition. Of note is Kelley Earnhardt, daughter of Dale Earnhardt Sr and head of JR Motorsports, Dale Earnhardt Jr's organization. She had worked for SportsImage and was later a VP for Action until she took over running JR Motorsports. She is THE class act in this business, and I wanted her input on not only the book, but especially on the parts that discussed her father's impact on the business. It was the very hardest part of the book to write, and I wanted to make absolutely sure that I said nothing that would offend her or her family. She was very helpful and a symbol of what is right in the business. After 6 more weeks and a lot of feedback from the 50+ people who read the Zero Edition, it was time to go to print and put the books up for sale to the public. So the 1st Edition was printed and went on sale at the end of October of 2002. It was an immediate hit, and sold a lot more copies than even I had hoped for. But as 2003 rolled on, some changes were needed, so it was time to put out Edition #2 The 2nd Edition featured the integration of some products that were only available by purchasing them separately in the 1st Edition. It was 30 pages longer to hold these add ons and had updated and corrected information. It was released in April of 2003 and printed until July 2003. It had a new cover design and also an ISBN number bar code on the back. With so many changes having happened over the summer, it was time for another major change, sooner than planned, but I always strive to give the readers the most up to date product I can. So I began work on the 3rd Edition 1.0 in early July, and completed it at the end of the month. It features a replacement of the estimated 2002 numbers with 2002 completed numbers, 2003 estimated data, eBay pricing studies, a great dealer story (Diecast Dreams), and the removal of some dated information. It has my Vision of the Future of the Business, and 20 chapters vs. 19 in all previous editions. It also features a Companion CD-ROM. This CD designed to work on all PC computers, has sample commercials, forms, pictures of both successful and unsuccessful stores, and much more content than could ever be printed. It also had a major cover redesign, the 1st one since the original cover. Right after the version 1.0 went to print, I received some new information that I had planned to include in the next edition, but as only a few of the 3rd Edition books had been printed, and I felt the information was of great importance, I made a version change vs. a complete edition change. This was the 1st version change made in all the printings, the 3rd Edition Version 1.1. The cover design is slightly different than the 1.0 version. This is the current edition in print. So, that's how FAST MONEY was created. I wish to thank all of those who have bought my book, and also those who helped me over the years. |
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This
book is dedicated to the following people who
Estelle Patterson, my dear and loving wife Sincerely, James J. Patterson III Author, FAST MONEY© |