Yard sale groups on Facebook rack up thousands of members in the Atlanta area, and Acworth, Ga.-based Mr. Hardwood CEO Corey Ford saw an opportunity. After joining 15 of the groups a couple years ago, he began posting pictures of staircases he'd installed with iron spindles, stating that he had 10,000 "simple and elegant" iron spindles to sell and install at $18 apiece. Business took off. "In two months, I sold 10,000 iron spindles, and I generated 143 jobs," he says. "And once I got my foot in the door, some of these little staircase projects turned into complete staircase makeovers." Ford says he's still working with clients he generated from the promotion two years later. "It was a super great icebreaker," he says. And one of the best parts of the campaign? "It didn't cost me a dime."
