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Contact: John LaRosa Marketdata Enterprises, Inc. Phone 813-931-3900 Fax 813-931-3802 email: marketdataent@yahoo.com

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Marketdata Enterprises

The Information Specialists

Press Release
Self-Improvement Market Grows 50% Since 2000: Personal Coaching and Infomercials Soar
Tampa FL, February 19, 2004: Marketdata Enterprises, Inc., a leading independent market research publisher of off-the-shelf studies since 1979, has released the 5th edition of one of its best-selling studies, a 297-page report entitled: The Market For Self-Improvement Products & Services. This is the ONLY publicly available national market study about this vast $8.5 billion business. The study estimates the markets value from 19932008, examining in-depth these separate markets: Infomercials, Mail Order Catalogs, Holistic Institutes, Books, Audiocassettes, Motivational Speaker Seminars, The Personal Coaching Market, Weight Loss and Stress Management Programs. Also examined are customer demographics, 36+ profiles of the leading motivational gurus, and sample TV infomercials featuring SI products/services.

According to Research Director, John LaRosa: There is no let-up in demand for products and programs that will allow Americans, especially affluent female Baby Boomers, to make more money, lose weight, improve their relationships, improve business skills, cope better with stress, or obtain a quick dose of motivation. Now more than ever, Americans are turning to gurus for stress management, personal coaching, life/family skills counseling, and starting their own business. They want to be more in control of their emotional and financial lives. An elite handful of multi-millionaire celebrities have leveraged their names to build multi-media empires consisting of: books, tapes, CDs, public seminars, workshops, catalogs, infomercials, and consulting, and more gurus are coming.

Major Findings:
Market Size The total self-improvement market (incl. revenues of commercial and medical weight loss programs) is estimated by Marketdata to be worth $8.56 billion as of 2003. We expect 7.9% yearly growth to 2008, to a value of $11.9 billion four years from now.
programs not affiliated with infomercials.

Continued more For Release February 19, 2004

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Infomercials Total infomercial sales were up 13.4% to $2.46 billion in 2003. Sales of SI programs and products now capture an estimated 60% - worth $1.48 billion. Audiobooks Marketdata believes that sales have grown 7% per year since 2001, to $461 million in 2003. This segments future appears strong, as formats shift to CDs. Books Sales of self-help/SI books grew moderately, from $611 million in 2000 to $640 million last year. The number of new age bookstores rose to 5,000 in the U.S. Motivational Speakers The top 12 speakers (incl. Franklin Covey Co.) grossed $303 million last year. Speaking fees for this elite group generally range from $30,000 to $150,000. Many do public seminars, private workshops for executives, and more are moving into personal coaching. Personal Coaching Roughly 25,000 personal coaches now work in the U.S., with an average income of $35-100,000. Personal life coaching is the largest share of this market. The market is worth about $1.5 billion, and is growing rapidly. Many top motivational speakers are offering personal coaching (by phone/in person) or are training staffs of coaches to work for them.

Value of Self-Improvement Market Segments: 2003

($ millions) General motivational, spiritual, self-help Business/financial Stress management Weight loss Exercise Total:
((e Val**years from now, in the year 2003, Marketdata forecasts the child day care services industry to be worth $46.5 billion , implying

% of Market 55.0 12.4 4.5 15.1 13.0

$4,711 1,062 385 1,294 1,114 _________ $8,567

Editors Note:

The U.S. Market For Self-Improvement Products & Services, published in Feb. 2004, is an

independently researched off-the-shelf study. The study is 297 pages in length, via 11 chapters. It costs $1,795 and is also sold by individual chapters at lower cost. A free table of contents is available by mail or fax. Contact: Marketdata Enterprises, Inc., 2807 W. Busch Blvd., Suite 110, Tampa, FL 33618. Marketdata studies are also available on-line via 5 databases: MarkIntel (Investext), Profound (Dialog), Marketresearch.com, Mindbranch, and Multex. Call for details.

1. 2.

A 33 pp. Executive Overview is available to the public for $59. 3. Visit our website at: www.marketdataenterprises.com

For Release February 19, 2004