He Put Up His Own Billboard

He Put Up His Own Billboard FARM HOME Miscellaneous 28-2-5 Two years ago we ran a blurb right here about a book written to help farmers and other landowners get the best deal when negotiating with billboard companies. It's a topic that interests a lot of people because there are more than 800,000 landowners with billboards on their property. "I bought a copy of the book right after your article appeared because I had already been contacted by a company that wanted to lease land for a billboard," says Greg Honderd, Hudsonville, Mich. "After reading the book, I decided the best way to make money over the long term was to put up my own billboard and then rent out space to advertisers." Honderd hired a local contractor to put up the structure. Total cost was about $20,000. After construction was completed, he heard about a company that makes prefab structures which would have been about $4,000 cheaper (Gerald R. Page Corp. û ph 800-643-3966). Hoderd says the book was helpful because of its information on leases, billboard history, and techniques that the national companies use to convince landowners to lease their properties. He says it gave him the confidence to do the job himself. "Our setup is working fine," he says. "We went to local businesses and found two who were willing to sign multi-year leases. That helps reduce time spent on management." The book Honderd used is called "Billboards: The Secrets of Free Money For Doing Nothing" and it's published by the National Landowner Network. They also have a website at www.FarmBillboards.com or you can reach them at Box 46182, Madison, Wis. 53744 (ph 608 446-3403). The book sells for $11.95 plus $6 S&H, or $4.95 for immediate downloading at the website.

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.