If owning a $2-million to $3-million home complete with tennis courts and a waterfront location in Cabo San Lucas sounds appealing, Calgary-based M Private Residences has a deal for you. Think of it as a time-share on a whole new level. "We specialize in the shared ownership of luxury vacation properties around the world," says co-president Paul Poscente. "The word 'ownership' is key and differentiates us from time-shares. Each investor actually owns an undivided interest in our properties and gets the luxury of travelling to those properties." In other words, this investment property doubles as a getaway home.
Currently, there are 12 luxe homes in M's stable. By the end of the year, there will be 13 homes in six countries. There are two types of shares: class A and class B. When the company was founded in September 2004, A shares were going for $340,000. They're now up to $465,000. Investors who go with the premium shares are entitled to 60+ days of time per year at any one of the homes, explains co-president Ken MacLean. They also pay $20,000 in annual dues for maintenance fees and elaborate concierge services. Class B shares go for $265,000, with $12,000 in annual dues, and allow for 21+ days of use per year. "You're allowed to book a month of time up to two years out," explains MacLean, "excepting Christmas and Easter, which is lottery-based."
Douglas Gray, a former real estate lawyer and author of 23 books, including Making Money in Real Estate, says M's business model is intelligent and eclectic. "They've taken the best of all the investment options out there and blended them into this opportunity," he says. "It's a natural evolution. It will be a good fit for a select group of sophisticated investors." So far, about 90% of M's clients are Calgarians, but the company is expanding east. As the number of investors grows, so does the portfolio. "For every six shares we sell, we buy a house," says Poscente. What's the latest location under review? A property in Italy with its own olive grove and vineyards. "In the morning, you go and test your grapes," says Poscente. "It's living the dream."
More at:http://www.canadianbusiness.com/after_hours/lifestyle_activities/article.jsp?content=20061204_83826_83826.
2.http://www.mprivateresidences.com/
Saturday, May 19, 2007
How important is it to have a great idea for starting a new business?
How important is it to have a great idea for starting a new business? I think that the idea is not really important at all. I often hear from people around me about what great ideas I have for business. It might seem like it when looking at one of my existing businesses that it was great idea, but it wasn’t at the start.
I started many of my businesses by accident. When I look back on how I came up with the ideas I can say there was no major thought process behind any of my business venture. I didn’t even have any substantial experience in those businesses when I started.
I knew I would be moving to Nevada and I tried to think of what I could do there. I knew Nevada was a very popular state for incorporation because of the very friendly business climate. So I figured it might be worthwhile to try an incorporation service. I also started another business in real estate, but I will talk about that later. Let’s go back to the incorporation business.
First, I went to Google trying to find other companies offering an incorporation service. I was trying to figure out how they worked, what was their pricing, if a person needed a lawyer to incorporate a business or if I could do it myself, what were the state fees, what forms must be used, etc.
The next step was to start it. This is the most important step in any venture. Unfortunately, from what I’ve seen around me, most people never do this step! I decided to offer just one service: Nevada corporation. I didn’t want to start by offering all kinds of company structures and additional services. Honestly, it was too much information at that time so I wanted to keep it as simple as possible so I could handle it. So one service was complicated enough at the time.
After that I decided to create a website. I forgot to tell you that I was really cheap (“didn’t have too much money to spend”) so I designed the site myself. I am not a webmaster or graphic designer. I know very basic HTML so I could do basic table designs or forms which people could fill out and send to my email. That was all that I needed for making my first website. You can see it here in the Internet.
At the start I even used free web hosting. Later, when I received my first order I paid the cheapest hosting company I could find at $25 per year. That didn’t work well so I upgraded to $50 per year when the money started flowing in. The most important lesson was that I tried to do it the simplest way possible. Do you see some genius idea behind this business? Being realistic, these were very amateur web pages done by an amateur who tried to start something,
More at:http://www.to-done.com/
I started many of my businesses by accident. When I look back on how I came up with the ideas I can say there was no major thought process behind any of my business venture. I didn’t even have any substantial experience in those businesses when I started.
I knew I would be moving to Nevada and I tried to think of what I could do there. I knew Nevada was a very popular state for incorporation because of the very friendly business climate. So I figured it might be worthwhile to try an incorporation service. I also started another business in real estate, but I will talk about that later. Let’s go back to the incorporation business.
First, I went to Google trying to find other companies offering an incorporation service. I was trying to figure out how they worked, what was their pricing, if a person needed a lawyer to incorporate a business or if I could do it myself, what were the state fees, what forms must be used, etc.
The next step was to start it. This is the most important step in any venture. Unfortunately, from what I’ve seen around me, most people never do this step! I decided to offer just one service: Nevada corporation. I didn’t want to start by offering all kinds of company structures and additional services. Honestly, it was too much information at that time so I wanted to keep it as simple as possible so I could handle it. So one service was complicated enough at the time.
After that I decided to create a website. I forgot to tell you that I was really cheap (“didn’t have too much money to spend”) so I designed the site myself. I am not a webmaster or graphic designer. I know very basic HTML so I could do basic table designs or forms which people could fill out and send to my email. That was all that I needed for making my first website. You can see it here in the Internet.
At the start I even used free web hosting. Later, when I received my first order I paid the cheapest hosting company I could find at $25 per year. That didn’t work well so I upgraded to $50 per year when the money started flowing in. The most important lesson was that I tried to do it the simplest way possible. Do you see some genius idea behind this business? Being realistic, these were very amateur web pages done by an amateur who tried to start something,
More at:http://www.to-done.com/
Japanese Entreperneurs Become Millionaire By Selling Just Free Photocopies
An innovative Japanese company is offering university students free photocopies. This free love is made possible by printing ads on the back of the copy paper, which is slightly thicker than normal to prevent ads from shining through. For JPY 400,000, advertisers can have their message printed on 10,000 sheets of paper.
Tadacopy machines have been placed at a few dozen campuses, and are a big hit with students. The company was founded by students at the universities of Keio, Chuo and Hosei, who installed the first free copy machine in April of last year. Nice one for student entrepreneurs to set up in other countries! You'll make some extra money, your fellow students will thank you, and local advertisers will be able to reach a targeted audience in a novel way. Like any good free love concept, it’s a win-win-win situation.
More at:http://www.tadacopy.com/
Tadacopy machines have been placed at a few dozen campuses, and are a big hit with students. The company was founded by students at the universities of Keio, Chuo and Hosei, who installed the first free copy machine in April of last year. Nice one for student entrepreneurs to set up in other countries! You'll make some extra money, your fellow students will thank you, and local advertisers will be able to reach a targeted audience in a novel way. Like any good free love concept, it’s a win-win-win situation.
More at:http://www.tadacopy.com/
BocOnline.com
Business Opportunities Classifieds (BocOnline.com) - Serving the small business and work at home based business opportunity communities since 1996. BocOnline.com features small business and work from home based opportunity resources, classifieds, ideas, opportunities, tools and technologies, news and articles, a links directory, a monthly newsletter, an affiliate program, bizopp forums, and more.
More at:http://www.boconline.com/
More at:http://www.boconline.com/
uShip
uShip is an online marketplace for shipping and moving. Customers with something to ship post a request on the website, and service providers bid for their business. uShip certainly caters to customers who have a truckload of furniture to move, but the concept comes into its own when a customer isn't shipping enough to fill a truck. Shipping companies tend to think in terms of full loads, making it difficult for consumers to get a quick quote for shipping an inherited pinball machine or the Eames chair they're selling on eBay. On uShip, customers list their needs and a target price, and the bidding process keeps pricing competitive. Shipping companies benefit, too. Besides having access to an additional sales channel, they can find shipments for what would have otherwise been empty backhaul trips. Because carriers can efficiently fill extra cargo space, many offer discounts of up to 80% off their traditional prices.
Listings include all relevant information: dimensions, weight, packaging, origin and destination. uShip displays a map and route information for each freight that carriers are bidding on, along with pickup and delivery timeframes. To find shipments along their route, freight companies fill in their departure and arrival zipcodes, and how many miles they're willing to go out of their way. Listing is free for customers, and they're under no obligation to accept a bid. uShip generates revenue by charging service providers 7.9% of each completed transaction.
uShip launched in 2004, so we're admittedly late to the party on this one. However, we haven't seen anything like this on other continents. Time to start up something similar, or partner with uShip to set up international versions? If you're not into shipping, the concept can provide inspiration in a wider context. uShip capitalizes on the intention economy — buyers notify the market of their intention to buy, and sellers compete for their purchase, creating an open and more efficient marketplace. More on the intention economy in trendwatching.com's crowd clout briefing, which focuses on the power of aggregated intentions.
For more at: www.uship.com
Listings include all relevant information: dimensions, weight, packaging, origin and destination. uShip displays a map and route information for each freight that carriers are bidding on, along with pickup and delivery timeframes. To find shipments along their route, freight companies fill in their departure and arrival zipcodes, and how many miles they're willing to go out of their way. Listing is free for customers, and they're under no obligation to accept a bid. uShip generates revenue by charging service providers 7.9% of each completed transaction.
uShip launched in 2004, so we're admittedly late to the party on this one. However, we haven't seen anything like this on other continents. Time to start up something similar, or partner with uShip to set up international versions? If you're not into shipping, the concept can provide inspiration in a wider context. uShip capitalizes on the intention economy — buyers notify the market of their intention to buy, and sellers compete for their purchase, creating an open and more efficient marketplace. More on the intention economy in trendwatching.com's crowd clout briefing, which focuses on the power of aggregated intentions.
For more at: www.uship.com
Would you like to spend more quality time with familyand friends?
Would you like to spend more quality time with family
and friends?
Would you like to boost employee morale and productivity?
Then let BizEbodies Errand Service be your answer!!
BizEbodies Errand Service is a company that provides businesses and individuals with two of the most precious commodities in today’s modern society – time and convenience. BizEbodies is a service provider that offers consumers personalized errand services, shopping and same day delivery, at an affordable price!
As busy people struggle to maintain a balance in their lives, conserving time has become a rather daunting task. By offering individuals and corporations a one-stop shop for the everyday “to-do list”, BizEbodies service concept addresses consumers desire to foster a more satisfactory work/life balance. With the variety of services and its affordability, BizEbodies aims to be the number one resource for errand services throughout Baltimore County, Baltimore City and surrounding areas.
More at:http://www.bizebodieserrands.com/
and friends?
Would you like to boost employee morale and productivity?
Then let BizEbodies Errand Service be your answer!!
BizEbodies Errand Service is a company that provides businesses and individuals with two of the most precious commodities in today’s modern society – time and convenience. BizEbodies is a service provider that offers consumers personalized errand services, shopping and same day delivery, at an affordable price!
As busy people struggle to maintain a balance in their lives, conserving time has become a rather daunting task. By offering individuals and corporations a one-stop shop for the everyday “to-do list”, BizEbodies service concept addresses consumers desire to foster a more satisfactory work/life balance. With the variety of services and its affordability, BizEbodies aims to be the number one resource for errand services throughout Baltimore County, Baltimore City and surrounding areas.
More at:http://www.bizebodieserrands.com/
Method Music
Method Music is a piece of online software developed by mathematician/composer Lawrence Ball and software developer Dave Snowdon, under the direction of Townshend. Users sit for what they call "musical portraits" in which the software "paints" a music picture based on user input. It may not be as polished as the music Ron Jones and Walter Murphy compose for "Family Guy," but the results the software spits out are suprisingly, well, musical .
More at:http://www.lifehouse-method.com/index.html;jsessionid=7C48638562F07D94D33844AF5C3C7673
More at:http://www.lifehouse-method.com/index.html;jsessionid=7C48638562F07D94D33844AF5C3C7673
Is Vertical Search Space Finished?
Back in September of last year they wrote about the rise of vertical search engines here. In that article they emphasized the superiority of vertical search over generic search, in terms of search results. They argued that knowing the semantics of the underlying domain allows a vertical search engine to excel both in filtering the result, as well as the presentation.
In a follow up post at the beginning of this year they explored the The Race to Beat Google, by dissecting the different approaches Google's competitors are taking to unseat the search king. They discussed three major categories: a better technology, a better user interface, and vertical search as a domain-focused blend of the first two. We concluded that Google is still the search king and even if there is a technology out there that has promise, Google is not going to miss it.
This week, when Google rolled out Universal Search, our expectations were confirmed. The morning after questions are: who is hurt? who is wounded? and who is dead? The big question is: does Google Universal search mean the end of Vertical Search era?
More at:http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/google_universal_search_vertical_search_finished.php
In a follow up post at the beginning of this year they explored the The Race to Beat Google, by dissecting the different approaches Google's competitors are taking to unseat the search king. They discussed three major categories: a better technology, a better user interface, and vertical search as a domain-focused blend of the first two. We concluded that Google is still the search king and even if there is a technology out there that has promise, Google is not going to miss it.
This week, when Google rolled out Universal Search, our expectations were confirmed. The morning after questions are: who is hurt? who is wounded? and who is dead? The big question is: does Google Universal search mean the end of Vertical Search era?
More at:http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/google_universal_search_vertical_search_finished.php
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