[Matt Herring]

For the past few months I've been thinking of ways to earn a few extra bucks without having to front alot of cash to start a business or making low wages at a part-time job.

My new business idea is to teach "normal, everyday drivers" how to get better mpg's. I've been saving up for a Scanguage II and finally scraped enough cash together to get one recently.

I ordered two magnetic car signs to put on each side of my car and they'll be here later next week. The signs say "I drive 5000 miles for FREE every year! Save $$$ on gas...call me to learn how!" My phone number is also on the bottom of the sign. The 5000 free miles is a result of my driving approx. 15,000 miles a year at 33% over epa. Even though actual free miles is closer to 4000 than 5000 it sounded like a more round number!

Just from friends and friends of friends I already have three people booked for next week. Unless my business gets extremely profitable I'm not going to worry about the whole business setup, income tax, etc. If I make enough waves to alert the feds/cops I guess that means my business is a success and I'll make it legal.

My business plan involves hooking up the scanguage to a customers car and letting them drive for a determined route. If they already have an in-dash mpg guage I'll just use that instead as some customers might be hesitant to have something foreign hooked up to their car. After they drive the route and see their actual mpg I'll do the same with their car and compare my mpg to theirs. If I can't top theirs by a decent margin I guess I shouldn't be teaching them how to drive!

The only things I'll be showing them initially is neutral cost and "nut behind the wheel" adjustments. If they want to go a little further I'll help them pump up the psi in their tires. If they want to go further than that I'll offer some mod ideas. I'll also be giving them an information sheet on how to save mpg's and also specific information related to their vehicle and expected epa (as an awareness thing for them). And, they have to sign a release waiver before I drive their car.

I took my friend out last week and got 4 more mpg than he did on the same 8 mile route...he got me 1 customer already!

While I hope to continue booking customers my only initial goal is to pay for the scanguage II ($150) and the signs ($20). I'm charging $20 per lesson (about an hour each) so after 8 or 9 customers I'm profitable. My friend flipped me $10 just for helping him out (I should note I did not plan on charging him anything).

I'm not the "best" ecomodder on this site but I think I've done pretty well increasing my mpg's from 18 to 22 in just 4 months without any major mods (just psi and nut behind the wheel).

I'll post photos of my magnetic car signs when I get them! For the record, I do not have a name for my business and any suggestions would be appreciated. My business has no affiliation with ecomodder but I'll be happy to mention the site if the customers show an interest.