I love selling on-line and find it an extremely enjoyable way to make money. I really enjoy working with you and learning how to build and tweak my website. At this point my website, http://makegreatconversation.com, has brought in about $830 on 13 sales. It is great to be able to open my PayPal account and see the sales and money adding up.

With Prosper, it is great to have someone looking over my shoulder, who knows what to do and can direct me, instead of just stumbling along by myself. I am looking forward to having my website beginning to really produce and to setting up a second and third website very soon. 

Joe C.
Everett, WA

Reid Hoffman is the founder of LinkedIn and has been involved with PayPal and has invested in other startups. He was on the Charlie Rose Show on March 4th, and part of his comments were focused on the role of the entrepreneur.

You can view the interview (54 minutes worth) here.

Among the compelling things Hoffman said are:

I actually think every individual is now an entrepreneur, whether they recognize it or not. . . . Average job length is two to four years. That makes you a small business. . . . You are the entrepreneur of your own small business.

But I think that one of the key things — the reason why I think risk tolerance is important is because what happens is people delude themselves they’re not taking risks. They say, oh, I’m going to get a job at, you know, Hewlett-Packard or I’m going to get a job — and that’s not risky. Well, look at current economic climates. Everything in life has some risk, and what you have to actually learn to do is how to navigate it. And people who take risk intelligently can usually actually make a lot more progress than people who don’t.

Regarding the current economic crisis, Hoffman said,

I’m a huge believer in the way that you actually get out of these economic downturns is through entrepreneurship, because that creates new kinds of jobs that actually have longevity and strength to them.

I have a modest hope — this is back to the change-the-world stuff — because I think entrepreneurship is really what has a chance of accelerating us through the recession, that LinkedIn kind of providing the tools for entrepreneurs will help with that.

We purchased a foreclosure property in Falmouth on December 10, 2008, for a purchase price of $185,000. We used a hard money lender, which everyone thought we were crazy to do, but he financed 100% for us (unusual). We started to rehab the property, replace windows, siding, flooring, kitchen and baths.

While talking to our friends we came across a buyer. We showed them the property on December 21, 2008, and on Christmas Eve we agreed on a sales price and had them sign a purchase & sale with an earnest deposit, and a closing within 30 days. What a way to start our new future with investing in real estate.

We bought the property for $185,000 and sold it for $295,000. Once everything is finished, paying the investor and finishing the project, we’ll have profited between $35,000 - $40,000. Not bad for our first flip! Now we’re off to try another.

Thanks for everything!

Sean and Kim W.
East Falmouth, MA

“When you pay just 10% or 20% too much for the products and services you use every day, you will have to work 10 to 20 extra years before you can retire.  Or, to put it another way, if you let yourself be overcharged by 10% to 20% for the things you buy, you are in effect spending one or two months a year working without pay for the companies that rip you off.  And trust me—until you fight for your money, you will overpay for almost everything you buy.”

— David Bach 

Fight For Your Money is the latest book from author David Bach, one of Prosper’s partners. This timely release helps readers identify ways they can stop financial leaks they don’t know about and hang on to more of their money—which is more important now than ever.

Bach’s book includes tips on saving money, from car-loan insurance and life insurance to air travel and cell phones.

Fight For Your Money  is on sale now. Throuugh March 9th, everyone who orders the book will also receive $500 in free downloads. Prosper is proud to offer Bach’s wisdom in its one-to-one coaching programs.

Randy Garn, Mark Eaton, and Ethan Willis

Mark Eaton, who went from auto mechanic to NBA All Star, visited with Randy Garn, Prosper’s Executive Vice President of New Business Development.

Since wrapping up a 12-year NBA career with the Utah Jazz, Mark has opened two successful Salt Lake City restaurants, Tuscany and Francks. More recently, Mark has become a corporate trainer and business speaker.