How they make millions selling FREE posters

My First MillionAbout 3 min readMar 27, 2025Watch original
THE SUMMARYAI-generated

Key Concepts:

  • Labor Law Posters: Legally mandated posters displaying labor laws, required to be displayed in company offices.
  • Annual Updates: Labor law posters are updated annually, necessitating new versions each year.
  • Private Companies: Businesses that sell labor law posters, often using tactics to create a sense of urgency.
  • Free Availability: Labor law posters are available for free from state labor law websites.
  • Awareness Tactic/Scare Tactic: The strategy used by private companies to sell posters by emphasizing potential legal violations.
  • User Experience (UX): The design and ease of use of government websites compared to commercial services like TurboTax.

Main Topic: Labor Law Posters and Private Companies' Sales Tactics

The video discusses the labor law posters that are legally required to be displayed in company offices. These posters are updated annually, requiring companies to obtain new versions each year. The core issue is that while these posters are available for free from state labor law websites, private companies have built a business around selling them, often employing tactics that create a sense of urgency and fear of legal repercussions.

Private Companies' Sales Tactics

The video highlights the tactics used by private companies to sell labor law posters. These companies send letters that appear "scary," warning businesses that they are in violation of labor laws if they don't have the updated poster displayed. The letters often quote a price (e.g., $45) for the poster. The video emphasizes that these companies are private entities, not government agencies.

Free Availability of Labor Law Posters

The video stresses that labor law posters are available for free from state labor law websites. However, it acknowledges that navigating these government websites and ordering the posters can be difficult.

Comparison to TurboTax

The video draws a parallel between the labor law poster situation and tax preparation services like TurboTax. Just as filing taxes can be confusing, leading people to use paid services, obtaining free labor law posters from government websites can be challenging. TurboTax is mentioned as an example of a company that makes its paid service more appealing by using bright, prominent buttons, while government websites often have less user-friendly designs. The video implies that this difference in user experience contributes to the success of private companies selling labor law posters.

Conclusion

The main takeaway is that while companies are legally required to display updated labor law posters, they don't necessarily need to purchase them from private companies. The posters are available for free from state labor law websites, but the user experience of these websites can be less intuitive, leading some businesses to opt for the convenience (albeit at a cost) of purchasing from private vendors. The video suggests that private companies exploit this difference in user experience to generate revenue by selling a product that is essentially free.

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