The Malachi Project

Raising Up Messengers for God

A letter from our president...

Dear Prospective Malachi Partner:

I am excited to introduce your family to The Malachi Project . The title is taken from the very last book of the Old Testament where God, speaking through His messenger Malachi, exhorts fathers to reexamine their relationships with their children, and ultimately with their God. Our desire here at Cornerstone Family Ministries and Lamplighter Publishing is twofold:

That through The Malachi Project, biblical family values will be restored as cherished family gatherings are reestablished.

That through The Malachi Project, we will serve as God's messengers to reach a lost and dying world with fresh, new thoughts steeped in the wisdom of days gone by.

Your interest in partnering with us through The Malachi Project, presupposes that you are already familiar with this unique collection, are passionate about their powerful influence upon one's character, and desirous to use these life-transforming literature to impact this world for Jesus Christ. If you have not yet had the opportunity to read a significant number of these books, are not passionate about promoting them, or interested in this primarily for financial gain or a way to obtain books for ones' personal library, then this endeavor would not be suited for your family.

A passion for this literature is the first prerequisite to becoming involved in The Malachi Project . It is easy to sell something that one believes in but in order to be successful, passion must be expressed through the marketing channels of skillfulness. This is an excellent opportunity for your family to earn additional income as your children learn to be responsible and acquire new skills. However, these goals must be secondary to the Kingdom of God and His righteousness! My friends, with His blessing, our time and energy will produce eternal benefits as well as monetary rewards.

As you prayerfully consider partnering with us, I would ask you to also consider the following thought. Lamplighter books are the commodity that we sell. The product that we sell is character, inspiration, excellence, beauty, craftsmanship, the hope that we can overcome obstacles, and the truth that can set one free. As a partner, we will help you to be successful as we make available years of proven and effective methods to sell this unique collection. If this interests you and you fulfill the requirements mentioned above, then WELCOME TO MALACHI! Please turn to page two for more complete details about The Malachi Project.

May He do exceedingly abundantly above all that you could ask or think.

Mark Hamby
President

REQUIREMENTS

You will need to collect sales tax; therefore, you need to apply for a resale tax license/seller's permit with your state sales tax office.

Obtaining a resale tax license or seller's permit is not difficult. Please do not let this hinder you from this pursuit. Just a phone call and you are a few steps away from obtaining your license. In most states, the telephone number is listed in the government section under sales tax, revenue, or equalization. You will be required to submit a name for your family business. Including your children in this decision will help them feel a part of this endeavor from the onset.

(Note: You can typically obtain an application from the web by using the following pattern: for California - www.state.ca.us or for Virginia - www.state.va.us etc.)

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PURPOSE

• To restore biblical family values
• To assist families with addtional income
• To cultivate initiative and self-discipline in the lives of children
• To teach children book keeping and accounting skills
• To provide families with a home based ministry
• To reestablish cherished family gatherings
• To attract the world with excellence in our product and presentation, so that Jesus Christ will be glorified.

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HOW TO GET STARTED

Once you have read this letter and have given Malachi prayerful consideration, please sign and return the enclosed form along with a copy of your resale tax license/seller's permit.

ORDERING BOOKS

• For your first year as a Malachi partner, you will need to pay in full by credit card. In addition, Malachi partners are required to purchase a minimum of  $1000.00 retail per year.
• You will receive a 40% discount. We recommend storing them in a dry location . You will have ninety days for returns.

Note: The above discounts apply to books published by Lamplighter Publishing. Other books in our catalog are available upon request at a 20% discount. (Life Transforming Seminars are also available at 40% disc.)

After you have been a Malachi partner for one year, and have met the minimum purchase requirements, upon request, we will extend $500.00 in credit.  As ability to pay is proved, $1000.00 in credit may be extended.

 IMPLEMENTATION

• When you are ready to begin selling the books, simply call our toll free number 1-888-246-7735 and place your first order. You should have already read any book that you are going to sell.
• You may keep your own stock or place orders on an as-needed basis. (Keep in mind that this increases shipping costs.)
• Your first order receives free shipping as our way of saying, “Welcome!”
  (note: this does not apply to international orders)
• Collect money as you sell the books, and make sure you charge sales tax (multiply the total by whatever percentage the sales tax is in your area).
• The method of payment will be cash or a check made out to you (it is recommended that you have a separate checking account). As your home business grows, a credit card machine may be something to consider.
• Keep good records. Quickbooks accounting computer program is recommended. It is the easiest and most reliable accounting program that I have reviewed. This is recommended if your home business grows.
• If you use a website to promote your business, and use book descriptions and book images from Lamplighter’s website, please include the following on your website “Books descriptions and images are used by permission of Lamplighter Publishing”.

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MARKETING STRATEGY

• Since our books are not typically found in bookstores, you have an exclusive market.
• Your love and passion for the literature will be your greatest asset.
• When selling the books, remember, the most convincing reason to buy this rare literature must come from your own personal experience. What did the book mean to you? How did it impact the life of your family? What values did it teach?
• People who believe in what they do, can move mountains. The foundation of a successful business is prayer and hard work. “Show me a man diligent in his work and he will stand before kings.” Prov. 22:29. Upon this foundation are three main factors that should govern your decisions:
• Focus on what you are most passionate about.
• Sell the books through channels that you most enjoy and in which you are most skillful. For example, you need to understand the needs of your customers—what are they looking for? How will this book impact their children's character?
• If you are in a conference or store setting, never ask, “May I help you?” When introducing Lamplighter books, you may consider asking if they have ever heard of Lamplighter books before. Then proceed to tell them a brief snippet that the books are a rare collection of inspiring life changing literature that was once read by mothers and fathers around the fireside—thus the term “fireside readings.” We then proceed by asking what the ages of their children are and then choose one to five books that are the best for those ages. If the person reveals that they are interested then proceed with a brief description of each book and the character trait that the story teaches. Remember to keep your descriptions short and to the point. A personal testimony works best however.
• We make available our catalogs and description cards. The catalogs and description cards are free. Full color description cards are available by clicking here.
• Generating a profit is a good indicator of your continued involvement. Do not fall into the temptation that you should be giving books away at your expense. There will be a time for this when God has blessed you with abundance. It's not a biblical principle to conduct business by losing money.
• Make sure that each buyer has easy access to your phone number or email address to reorder books. A business card or flier is recommended.
• Expose churches, friends, families, and neighbors to this unique literature to give you the greatest exposure. This is an outstanding opportunity to share God's truth in a non-offensive manner. You may also desire to contact youth pastors and Christian school administrators to consider using Lamplighter books as textbooks or fund raisers. You can learn more about the fund raising opportunities for schools on our website or contact us to learn specific information about your involvement.
• Target key Christians in positions of authority. Once they are aware of the spiritual value of this literature, they will want to pass it on. Remember to mention reputable people like Elisabeth Elliot and Dr. Tedd Tripp (author of Shepherding a Child's Heart), who have said that this literature is “truly remarkable.” (See the forwards in The Basket of Flowers .) One Christian school administrator personally reads the books to all the students in his care. Also, Christian schools are now using the Rare Collector Series as textbooks.

Here are some key marketing highlights:

1. The Lamplighter outsold the Scarlet Letter 10 to 1.
2. The Wide Wide World is the book that Jo is reading in Little Women and was the first American Book to sell a million copies.
3. Titus: A Comrade of the Cross sold 200,000 copies in 6 weeks! and the author received a $1000. award for writing it.
4. The Hidden Hand by Southworth was considered by many as the best book ever written in the 1850's. And Ishmael writing later is even better!

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SUPPORT

• You may want to consider using our web page as a way of familiarizing your contacts with the Lamplighter Rare Collector Series .
• We will provide our catalog and description cards as well as advice. Please don't hesitate to call or email us.
• Click here to see how Lamplighter sets up their booth for conventions and conferences

RECOMMENDED READING

• The follow recommendations we have found to provide essential information successful business plans, procedures, and profit:
• Built to Last; Good to Great; The E-Myth; The Ascent of a Leader

RESTRICTIONS

Conventions and conferences are reserved first for Lamplighter. Though we are committed to your success we ask for your deference when Lamplighter needs to represent themselves at conferences. If you would like to attend a convention to sell Lamplighter books, please check with us first to see if we will be attending. If we will not be attending, you will have the option of attending the convention representing your own business or representing Lamplighter. If you choose the latter, Lamplighter will pay for all expenses, pay either an hourly rate for one or two representatives, or a percentage of the net profits.

Web services such as Amazon etc. are also reserved exclusively for Lamplighter markets. Again, if we are not presently using other marketing channels, we ask that you contact us. If we have no plans for these venues, you are more than welcome to use these channels. In fact we encourage you.

CLOSING NOTE

We offer Mark Hamby 's Seminars, Life Transforming Literature, to our Malachi families for $1.00 per tape. Sharing this inspiring seminar would be a powerful method of motivating others to buy the lamplighter books. Other tapes are also available at a 40% discount. We will contact you as other marketing strategies become available.

If you have questions, please don't hesitate to contact us. We will do everything we can to make this a successful and blessed endeavor.

May the King of Kings and Lord of Lords greatly bless you and your family.

Ephesians 3:20

Click here for a printable application!

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