Get paid big money playing in our unique, online pool league - even if you are not great at playing pool. That's because to earn money in our league, you don't have to "win" by coming in first, you just have to finish in the top 50%! Recruit an unlimited amount of players to play on your team and get paid a bonus equal to 80% of what every player on your team earns. And using the the league's Player Draft, you can build as large a team as you want without having to do the work of personally recruiting players. Whether you field a team of 5 players or 50,000 players, you get paid 80% of the purses earned by every player on your team. Do the math. It gives you the unlimited earning potential of a real pro sports franchise without the $700 million price tag.
More at: http://www.luxota.com/
Monday, August 6, 2007
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Web Reality Show Called "The Next Internet Millionaire"
The Next Internet Millionaire is a web reality show based on starting an Internet business.
"Twelve contestants will receive an all expenses paid trip to learn from the masters of marketing while they compete for cash, prizes, and the ultimate joint venture with Joel Comm."
Rich Schefren, Mike Filsaime, Mark Joyner and Jeff Walker are included in this project as teachers, so it’s certainly got the backing of the experts.
If you are interested to read more, check out the website, there are a ton of videos and info about what the project is all about and also audition videos with the 12 finalists.
More at:http://www.nextinternetmillionaire.com/
"Twelve contestants will receive an all expenses paid trip to learn from the masters of marketing while they compete for cash, prizes, and the ultimate joint venture with Joel Comm."
Rich Schefren, Mike Filsaime, Mark Joyner and Jeff Walker are included in this project as teachers, so it’s certainly got the backing of the experts.
If you are interested to read more, check out the website, there are a ton of videos and info about what the project is all about and also audition videos with the 12 finalists.
More at:http://www.nextinternetmillionaire.com/
Big Business Opportunities For VCs
Vringo provides audio tones and video ring tones.
Ring tones are big business, the idea of video ring tones is interesting. As long as the Vringo software is installed you can send video clips along with your calls.
Apparently they have filed at least 15 patents. While video tones are not new even more competition must be right around the corner. Avatars, photos and greeting cards are also available.
They raised: Vring received $12 Million from Warburg Pincus.
more at:http://www.vringo.com/
Ring tones are big business, the idea of video ring tones is interesting. As long as the Vringo software is installed you can send video clips along with your calls.
Apparently they have filed at least 15 patents. While video tones are not new even more competition must be right around the corner. Avatars, photos and greeting cards are also available.
They raised: Vring received $12 Million from Warburg Pincus.
more at:http://www.vringo.com/
SendPO is a site which was developed to help companies send, confirm and track purchase orders
SendPO is an online service that takes the frustration and worry out of the ordering process by providing confirmation that your PO was received. As entrepreneurs we've been involved in a lot of small businesses from manufacturing to software. We're passionate about small business and one common problem has been the frustration over parts that don't show up or orders that are never received. We hope we've created a simple yet elegant solution that will meet your needs.
SendPO is a site which was developed to help companies send, confirm and track purchase orders. It works thusly: you, a small to midsized business, upload your purchase order to SendPO. Next the vendor receives the email with a link to download the order; SendPO communicates and tracks the PO’s progress. Finally you’ll receive confirmation once the order is shipped. SendPO comes with a web printer feature to convert your PO’s to PDF files for easier uploading.
More at:http://www.sendpo.com/
SendPO is a site which was developed to help companies send, confirm and track purchase orders. It works thusly: you, a small to midsized business, upload your purchase order to SendPO. Next the vendor receives the email with a link to download the order; SendPO communicates and tracks the PO’s progress. Finally you’ll receive confirmation once the order is shipped. SendPO comes with a web printer feature to convert your PO’s to PDF files for easier uploading.
More at:http://www.sendpo.com/
Get Played And Get Paid
YourMelodyTV BETA is Where Serious Artists Meet Some Serious Rewards, musicians and others can connect, converse and share their music content with each other. That's the platform for YourMelodyTV , whether your a music artist, music critic or someone that enjoys watching music videos you've finally found the right place, don't get suckered into posting your music vids on Youtube. YourMelodyTV is absolutely FREE, so get your sh*t up, A-S-A-P. Get Played & Get Paid.
Choose the genre aka channel on which you’d like your video displayed. Tag it and that’s it. Every ad click means you get paid (fully 50% of the Google adsense rev). If you’re a music connoisseur, rather than a creator, you can still enjoy and share the videos you find with a little copy+paste action. Or download your fav vids in their beautiful entirety.
more at:http://www.yourmelody.tv/
Choose the genre aka channel on which you’d like your video displayed. Tag it and that’s it. Every ad click means you get paid (fully 50% of the Google adsense rev). If you’re a music connoisseur, rather than a creator, you can still enjoy and share the videos you find with a little copy+paste action. Or download your fav vids in their beautiful entirety.
more at:http://www.yourmelody.tv/
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Richard Branson's Latest Venture
The Entrepreneur: Sir Richard Branson, 57
Background: At 16, British-born Branson launched his first business: a magazine called Student. He then established a mail-order record business that turned into a chain of music shops and eventually became the Virgin Megastores.
The Company: Since his first venture, Branson's Virgin Group has grown to include some 200 companies, including airlines and mobile phones, with an estimated $20 billion in revenue. On Aug. 8, Branson plans to launch Virgin America, a stateside domestic air service.
Making a Difference: The very essence of an entrepreneur; competitive, flamboyant, and always ready to take a risk, Branson was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II of England in 1999 for his "services to entrepreneurship." Now he is hoping to help spearhead a movement to use entrepreneurship to alleviate a number of global problems.
Last week, business leaders celebrated record highs on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones industrial average rising nearly 300 points (see BusinessWeek.com, 7/20/07, "Dow 14,000"). While consumption and profits are growing, far less enviable statistics are also escalating: A staggering half the planet lives on less than $2 per day. Some one billion people lack access to clean water. In Africa alone, 40 billion working hours are lost each year to time spent carrying water long distances. A quarter of a billion people live in overcrowded urban squatter settlements without adequate shelter. And, tragically, 16,000 people die every day from preventable, treatable diseases like AIDS, TB, and malaria.
Every time I travel to Africa, I am impressed by the tremendous entrepreneurial spirit of its people. But I am also saddened by the destructiveness of poverty and health crises like AIDS. It's not unusual in a place like South Africa to see hundreds of signs for funeral services in townships and rural areas in the place of the signs for small businesses that were once a symbol of hope for a future free from poverty.
There are many efforts underway aimed at solving these global issues. But we must do more, and I believe that as entrepreneurs we have a unique role to play. Having spent the last 30 years launching businesses in everything from music to airlines, financial services to health clubs, telecommunications to commercial space travel, I'm a firm believer in the power of entrepreneurship to transform the global marketplace. As entrepreneurs, we are trained to spot possibilities where others see only obstacles and to never mind the bollocks driven by bureaucracy and red tape.
Never Mind the Theories
Entrepreneurs just tend to get on with making things happen. The same unconventional approaches that enabled icons like Steve Jobs to revolutionize personal computing, or Pierre Omidyarand Jeff Skoll to develop an ingenious online marketplace, can be leveraged to alleviate the tremendous suffering that persists in the world.
There is a debate raging about whether activities in the area of driving such change should be for profit or not for profit (see BusinessWeek.com, 7/9/07, "Microfinance Draws Mega Players"). To be honest, the issues in the world are too big to be debating about the methods of delivery—it's like fiddling about with a plug when the whole pipe just burst. It's not that black and white; we need to look at all kinds of solutions ranging from philanthropic to profit-making. The focus should be on the number of people we can give choices to in life—not on theoretical structures.
The good news is that this is beginning to happen—there is a fascinating shift bringing the public and private sectors together that has the potential to finally break the cycle of poverty and create solutions for crises such as climate change and the AIDS epidemic.
One Man's Waste…
As Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus wisely points out, "Many of the problems in the world remain unresolved because we continue to interpret capitalism too narrowly." It's true that capitalism has traditionally concentrated vast wealth in the hands of a select few. But more and more, entrepreneurs are leveraging the power of markets to address imbalances.
Entrepreneurs can instigate change in the social sector in the same way that they do in the business world, but they must not lose the characteristics that made their businesses successful when they step into the social and environmental sectors. As I've mentioned, entrepreneurs turn problems into opportunities. But what does this mean when it comes to problems like poverty or climate change?
Consider Dhaka, Bangladesh. Its 6.5 million residents produce between 3,000 and 3,500 metric tons of solid waste daily, less than half of which is collected. The rest is literally left to rot in the streets, resulting in serious health risks and pollution. But entrepreneurs like Iftekhar Enayetullah and Maqsood Sinha see value where others see garbage. Their organization, Waste Concern, started community-based composting plants for local residents to turn household waste into high-quality fertilizer sold for a profit. This network has created jobs and meets the great demand by farmers for organic fertilizer.
Similarly, climate change can seem like an overwhelming problem, but there are opportunities here as well for business approaches to arrive at solutions. We've launched Virgin Fuels, which will invest up to $400 million in the renewable-energy and resource efficiency sectors in the U.S. and Europe to fuel expansion and growth of promising products and technologies. It's part of our commitment to using up to $3 billion of the Virgin Group's future proceeds from all transportation interests over the next 10 years to tackle global warming.
Crisis Becomes Opportunity
With the right business model, social entrepreneurs can also leap-frog barriers. Take Aravind Eye Hospital in India. Aimed at eradicating blindness, Aravind focuses on principles of high volume, low cost, and operational efficiencies such as local manufacturing of medical supplies and use of telemedicine. An Aravind doctor typically performs 2,000 surgeries a year, 10 times the national average. The model allows hospitals to provide 70% of their services free or at highly discounted rates. Over 270,000 cataract surgeries were completed in 2006. Home to nearly one-quarter of the world's blind, this five-hospital system in India turned a national crisis into a massive business opportunity.
Simple ideas go a long way. Social businesses like KickStart and the Sustainable Healthcare Foundation (SHEF) have built franchise systems to help grassroots entrepreneurs get started. In Africa, KickStart has helped create 50,000 businesses through small-scale enterprise opportunities with new technologies such as its micro-irrigation foot pump and oil press. Kenya-based SHEF has developed 64 community-owned and -operated clinics in areas where there was previously no access to health care.
One of the key characteristics of an entrepreneur is to think big—and to never accept no for an answer. This has got me, and probably you, into trouble many times in our lives, but it's also created incredible businesses around the world that have changed how we live.
Peter Gabriel and I started a journey with Nelson Mandela several years back when we felt the world was rapidly becoming a global village, yet we had no advisers who were driven by what's best for humanity rather than what's best for the military, the economy, or a political group. You can only imagine the feedback we got when we first started to try and get people on board to help us bring this dream to life—people thought we had lost our minds! But we truly believe that there must be a new way to approach global issues and a need for fresh, independent thinking.
Elders For a Global Village
In July of this year, we launched the Elders, a remarkable group of leaders to tackle the world's problems, including: Mandela, Graca Machel, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Mary Robinson, Kofi Annan, former President Jimmy Carter, Yunus, Ela Bhatt, Li Xhaoxing, and Gro Harlem Brundtland.
We hope this group will become the elders of our global village and play a role in alleviating human suffering. As Mandela put it, "This group can speak freely and boldly, working both publicly and behind the scenes on whatever actions need to be taken. Together we will work to support courage where there is fear, foster agreement where there is conflict and inspire hope where there is despair."
Thinking big and coming up with ideas that might seem ludicrous at the start are all going to be important if we want to radically change the path the world is headed toward to make sure that we build a far healthier, more equitable and peaceful planet for our children.
Inspiration From Nora
To help the Virgin Group do our bit, Virgin Unite was started in 2004. The charitable group uses our staff and customers to works on a range of projects, including launching a new school for entrepreneurship, creating a rural transport network, setting up a small- to medium-size, business-venture fund in South Africa, and helping set up the Elders.
Thinking big doesn't mean forgetting about the smaller gems that can be scaled up. I am constantly motivated by a woman named Nora I met in South Africa on a trip with Virgin Unite. Nora has dedicated her whole life to using entrepreneurial ways to support hundreds of children in South Africa who have been orphaned by AIDS. If she can feed over 200 children every single day out of a one-room, tin shack, imagine what she could do if she had resources behind her.
As entrepreneurs, we have a wonderful opportunity and responsibility to give Nora and others like her a chance to expand their work and help make it sustainable so that everyone has the right to a life free from the shackles of poverty.
(as told to Stacy Perman)
Background: At 16, British-born Branson launched his first business: a magazine called Student. He then established a mail-order record business that turned into a chain of music shops and eventually became the Virgin Megastores.
The Company: Since his first venture, Branson's Virgin Group has grown to include some 200 companies, including airlines and mobile phones, with an estimated $20 billion in revenue. On Aug. 8, Branson plans to launch Virgin America, a stateside domestic air service.
Making a Difference: The very essence of an entrepreneur; competitive, flamboyant, and always ready to take a risk, Branson was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II of England in 1999 for his "services to entrepreneurship." Now he is hoping to help spearhead a movement to use entrepreneurship to alleviate a number of global problems.
Last week, business leaders celebrated record highs on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones industrial average rising nearly 300 points (see BusinessWeek.com, 7/20/07, "Dow 14,000"). While consumption and profits are growing, far less enviable statistics are also escalating: A staggering half the planet lives on less than $2 per day. Some one billion people lack access to clean water. In Africa alone, 40 billion working hours are lost each year to time spent carrying water long distances. A quarter of a billion people live in overcrowded urban squatter settlements without adequate shelter. And, tragically, 16,000 people die every day from preventable, treatable diseases like AIDS, TB, and malaria.
Every time I travel to Africa, I am impressed by the tremendous entrepreneurial spirit of its people. But I am also saddened by the destructiveness of poverty and health crises like AIDS. It's not unusual in a place like South Africa to see hundreds of signs for funeral services in townships and rural areas in the place of the signs for small businesses that were once a symbol of hope for a future free from poverty.
There are many efforts underway aimed at solving these global issues. But we must do more, and I believe that as entrepreneurs we have a unique role to play. Having spent the last 30 years launching businesses in everything from music to airlines, financial services to health clubs, telecommunications to commercial space travel, I'm a firm believer in the power of entrepreneurship to transform the global marketplace. As entrepreneurs, we are trained to spot possibilities where others see only obstacles and to never mind the bollocks driven by bureaucracy and red tape.
Never Mind the Theories
Entrepreneurs just tend to get on with making things happen. The same unconventional approaches that enabled icons like Steve Jobs to revolutionize personal computing, or Pierre Omidyarand Jeff Skoll to develop an ingenious online marketplace, can be leveraged to alleviate the tremendous suffering that persists in the world.
There is a debate raging about whether activities in the area of driving such change should be for profit or not for profit (see BusinessWeek.com, 7/9/07, "Microfinance Draws Mega Players"). To be honest, the issues in the world are too big to be debating about the methods of delivery—it's like fiddling about with a plug when the whole pipe just burst. It's not that black and white; we need to look at all kinds of solutions ranging from philanthropic to profit-making. The focus should be on the number of people we can give choices to in life—not on theoretical structures.
The good news is that this is beginning to happen—there is a fascinating shift bringing the public and private sectors together that has the potential to finally break the cycle of poverty and create solutions for crises such as climate change and the AIDS epidemic.
One Man's Waste…
As Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus wisely points out, "Many of the problems in the world remain unresolved because we continue to interpret capitalism too narrowly." It's true that capitalism has traditionally concentrated vast wealth in the hands of a select few. But more and more, entrepreneurs are leveraging the power of markets to address imbalances.
Entrepreneurs can instigate change in the social sector in the same way that they do in the business world, but they must not lose the characteristics that made their businesses successful when they step into the social and environmental sectors. As I've mentioned, entrepreneurs turn problems into opportunities. But what does this mean when it comes to problems like poverty or climate change?
Consider Dhaka, Bangladesh. Its 6.5 million residents produce between 3,000 and 3,500 metric tons of solid waste daily, less than half of which is collected. The rest is literally left to rot in the streets, resulting in serious health risks and pollution. But entrepreneurs like Iftekhar Enayetullah and Maqsood Sinha see value where others see garbage. Their organization, Waste Concern, started community-based composting plants for local residents to turn household waste into high-quality fertilizer sold for a profit. This network has created jobs and meets the great demand by farmers for organic fertilizer.
Similarly, climate change can seem like an overwhelming problem, but there are opportunities here as well for business approaches to arrive at solutions. We've launched Virgin Fuels, which will invest up to $400 million in the renewable-energy and resource efficiency sectors in the U.S. and Europe to fuel expansion and growth of promising products and technologies. It's part of our commitment to using up to $3 billion of the Virgin Group's future proceeds from all transportation interests over the next 10 years to tackle global warming.
Crisis Becomes Opportunity
With the right business model, social entrepreneurs can also leap-frog barriers. Take Aravind Eye Hospital in India. Aimed at eradicating blindness, Aravind focuses on principles of high volume, low cost, and operational efficiencies such as local manufacturing of medical supplies and use of telemedicine. An Aravind doctor typically performs 2,000 surgeries a year, 10 times the national average. The model allows hospitals to provide 70% of their services free or at highly discounted rates. Over 270,000 cataract surgeries were completed in 2006. Home to nearly one-quarter of the world's blind, this five-hospital system in India turned a national crisis into a massive business opportunity.
Simple ideas go a long way. Social businesses like KickStart and the Sustainable Healthcare Foundation (SHEF) have built franchise systems to help grassroots entrepreneurs get started. In Africa, KickStart has helped create 50,000 businesses through small-scale enterprise opportunities with new technologies such as its micro-irrigation foot pump and oil press. Kenya-based SHEF has developed 64 community-owned and -operated clinics in areas where there was previously no access to health care.
One of the key characteristics of an entrepreneur is to think big—and to never accept no for an answer. This has got me, and probably you, into trouble many times in our lives, but it's also created incredible businesses around the world that have changed how we live.
Peter Gabriel and I started a journey with Nelson Mandela several years back when we felt the world was rapidly becoming a global village, yet we had no advisers who were driven by what's best for humanity rather than what's best for the military, the economy, or a political group. You can only imagine the feedback we got when we first started to try and get people on board to help us bring this dream to life—people thought we had lost our minds! But we truly believe that there must be a new way to approach global issues and a need for fresh, independent thinking.
Elders For a Global Village
In July of this year, we launched the Elders, a remarkable group of leaders to tackle the world's problems, including: Mandela, Graca Machel, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Mary Robinson, Kofi Annan, former President Jimmy Carter, Yunus, Ela Bhatt, Li Xhaoxing, and Gro Harlem Brundtland.
We hope this group will become the elders of our global village and play a role in alleviating human suffering. As Mandela put it, "This group can speak freely and boldly, working both publicly and behind the scenes on whatever actions need to be taken. Together we will work to support courage where there is fear, foster agreement where there is conflict and inspire hope where there is despair."
Thinking big and coming up with ideas that might seem ludicrous at the start are all going to be important if we want to radically change the path the world is headed toward to make sure that we build a far healthier, more equitable and peaceful planet for our children.
Inspiration From Nora
To help the Virgin Group do our bit, Virgin Unite was started in 2004. The charitable group uses our staff and customers to works on a range of projects, including launching a new school for entrepreneurship, creating a rural transport network, setting up a small- to medium-size, business-venture fund in South Africa, and helping set up the Elders.
Thinking big doesn't mean forgetting about the smaller gems that can be scaled up. I am constantly motivated by a woman named Nora I met in South Africa on a trip with Virgin Unite. Nora has dedicated her whole life to using entrepreneurial ways to support hundreds of children in South Africa who have been orphaned by AIDS. If she can feed over 200 children every single day out of a one-room, tin shack, imagine what she could do if she had resources behind her.
As entrepreneurs, we have a wonderful opportunity and responsibility to give Nora and others like her a chance to expand their work and help make it sustainable so that everyone has the right to a life free from the shackles of poverty.
(as told to Stacy Perman)
He Made Millions With Bike Rental Idea
The day starts at 7:30 a.m. for Wayne du Pied, when he arrives at his Salt Lake City EagleRiderlocation. The first order of business is inspecting his Harley-Davidsons, ATVs, snowmobiles and boats to make sure they're ready for renters.
When du Pied took over the franchise in 2006, he decided to move closer to the airport to make it easier for him to pick up his customers. After transporting them from the airport to EagleRider, he rents them their bikes and they go on their way--whether for just a few hours or a few weeks.
Then the real work begins. Du Pied, 40, gets calls about flat tires, breakdowns and bikes that customers have mistakenly filled up with diesel instead of gasoline. But all the mishaps seem worth it when the customers return at the end of the day. "It's the type of business that puts smiles on people's faces," du Pied says. "They come back and say, 'We had the best ride!'"
As an EagleRider franchisee, du Pied also offers tours, and customers who want to take a spin on their own can drop bikes off at any EagleRider location instead of returning them to his store. But the benefits of the franchise don't stop at his customers: Du Pied earned revenue of $250,000 in 2006 and projects a $100,000 increase this year. "The learning curve's a lot shorter," he says, "when you've got people [behind you] who've done it for years."
More at:http://eaglerider.com/
When du Pied took over the franchise in 2006, he decided to move closer to the airport to make it easier for him to pick up his customers. After transporting them from the airport to EagleRider, he rents them their bikes and they go on their way--whether for just a few hours or a few weeks.
Then the real work begins. Du Pied, 40, gets calls about flat tires, breakdowns and bikes that customers have mistakenly filled up with diesel instead of gasoline. But all the mishaps seem worth it when the customers return at the end of the day. "It's the type of business that puts smiles on people's faces," du Pied says. "They come back and say, 'We had the best ride!'"
As an EagleRider franchisee, du Pied also offers tours, and customers who want to take a spin on their own can drop bikes off at any EagleRider location instead of returning them to his store. But the benefits of the franchise don't stop at his customers: Du Pied earned revenue of $250,000 in 2006 and projects a $100,000 increase this year. "The learning curve's a lot shorter," he says, "when you've got people [behind you] who've done it for years."
More at:http://eaglerider.com/
For Kidpreneurs
ING's Postbank is encouraging children to find their inner entrepreneurs and learn how earn, save and deal with money. This week, the bank opened a Bizznizz Lounge in Habbo Hotel, the online community that welcomes 7 million unique tween and teen visitors to its virtual rooms every month.
The Bizznizz lounge will be open to Habbo users who want to chat with other kidpreneurs about money, exchanging tips on how to run a part-time lawn mowing business, or the best way to advertise a dog walking service. Postbank will also be organizing fun and educational activities in the Bizznizz Lounge over the next few months. The bank sees Habbo as a natural fit for its Bizznizz activities, since Habbo players already actively participate in their own barter economy, trading furniture and other items with other players. Fun example of creating a relevant presence in a virtual community, targeting a specific audience in its natural habitat.
Website: http://bizznizz.postbank.nl and www.habbo.nl/entertainment/postbank
Via-Springwise
The Bizznizz lounge will be open to Habbo users who want to chat with other kidpreneurs about money, exchanging tips on how to run a part-time lawn mowing business, or the best way to advertise a dog walking service. Postbank will also be organizing fun and educational activities in the Bizznizz Lounge over the next few months. The bank sees Habbo as a natural fit for its Bizznizz activities, since Habbo players already actively participate in their own barter economy, trading furniture and other items with other players. Fun example of creating a relevant presence in a virtual community, targeting a specific audience in its natural habitat.
Website: http://bizznizz.postbank.nl and www.habbo.nl/entertainment/postbank
Via-Springwise
CafeScribe is a new service that lets you download electronic copies of your textbook, in an effort to save students money
CafeScribe is a new service that lets you download electronic copies of your textbook, in an effort to save students money and help save some trees, too.
The text books are offered at about half the price as you’ll find at the bookstore. Access and organize your electronic books in the same way you file music on your computer. There are some other useful features included in CafeScribe, like note annotation and highlighting functions. You can indicate what type of note you’re leaving, such as “important” or “ask?” These tools will help you keep track of what you’re studying–they can be tagged, and searched simultaneously across CafeScribe, Google and your desktop.
There are a couple of social networking features in CafeScribe as well, such as the ability to add friends, publish your notes and share them with others. Start or join a group to find study buddies, too. While you can sell the book back to CafeScribe, you can’t sell them to other students. There’s a limit to the amount of content you can print or copy and paste–the limit is set at 30%. It would be helpful to be able to export notes to a Word file, or even a Facebook application.
More at:http://www.cafescribe.com/
via-mash
The text books are offered at about half the price as you’ll find at the bookstore. Access and organize your electronic books in the same way you file music on your computer. There are some other useful features included in CafeScribe, like note annotation and highlighting functions. You can indicate what type of note you’re leaving, such as “important” or “ask?” These tools will help you keep track of what you’re studying–they can be tagged, and searched simultaneously across CafeScribe, Google and your desktop.
There are a couple of social networking features in CafeScribe as well, such as the ability to add friends, publish your notes and share them with others. Start or join a group to find study buddies, too. While you can sell the book back to CafeScribe, you can’t sell them to other students. There’s a limit to the amount of content you can print or copy and paste–the limit is set at 30%. It would be helpful to be able to export notes to a Word file, or even a Facebook application.
More at:http://www.cafescribe.com/
via-mash
BookSwim.com is an online book rental library club
BookSwim is the first online "BOOK RENTAL LIBRARY CLUB" lending you paperbacks and hardcovers directly to your house without the need of purchase. Whether it's New Releases, Bestsellers, or Classics, we've got 150,000 titles to choose from, with free shipping both ways. Read your books as long as you want. -- no late fees Even choose to purchase and keep the titles you love.
BookSwim.com is an online book rental library club. A common bestselller would cost around $20 dollars. But with bookswim.com you can rent the books, read them and then change them for others!!! So users can read many books and pay far mor less. Another very cool feature of this website is that users end up reading books of unknown authors, so it gives them a chance to know new authors, that they couldn't afford to because books are simply too expensive! BookSwim.com has over 150,000 books so it is a very cool place to rent books.
More at:http://www.bookswim.com/
BookSwim.com is an online book rental library club. A common bestselller would cost around $20 dollars. But with bookswim.com you can rent the books, read them and then change them for others!!! So users can read many books and pay far mor less. Another very cool feature of this website is that users end up reading books of unknown authors, so it gives them a chance to know new authors, that they couldn't afford to because books are simply too expensive! BookSwim.com has over 150,000 books so it is a very cool place to rent books.
More at:http://www.bookswim.com/
Zenrec.net is a business to business recruitment solution
Zenrec.net is a business to business recruitment solution. It saves employers time having to call around recruitment agencies to source quality candidates to interview. Employers submit their job vacancies to zenrec.net for free. Zenrec.net instantly notifies all the recruitment consultants who operate in the specific location and sectors of the employer. The recruitment consultants can then submit candidate profiles to the employer via a private online account. The recruitment consultants are charged a small fee every time we connect them with an employer who wants to interview one or more of their candidates. Zenrec.net saves employers time and brings them a wider pool of quality candidates and does not cost employers a penny.They want to help you succeed and find the best candidates to take your business forward. Zenrec.net is committed to creating a win/win situation for all our users. They want to provide an excellent service alongside a simple and easy to use internet experience.
Detail at;http://www.zenrec.net/
Detail at;http://www.zenrec.net/
SocialXperience takes a new approach to the social networking / web 2.0 blog by inviting those in the industry to be the authors
SocialXperience takes a new approach to the social networking / web 2.0 blog by inviting those in the industry to be the authors. No one knows more about the inner workings of the web 2.0 industry than the companies themselves. This means that all reports of newly launched social networks, acquisition announcements, company updates, or general social web industry news will be authentic insider information directly from the teams at your favorite web 2.0 companies.
SXP is completely customizable so you can change the look, add the content you want, and arrange your news sources all courtesy of some clever widgets. The site doubles as a social network—it’s got all the usual stuff: photo sharing, video, mobile, plus some extras like professional tools, bookmarks, chat and email as well as start pages.
More at:http://ww.socialxperience.com/
SXP is completely customizable so you can change the look, add the content you want, and arrange your news sources all courtesy of some clever widgets. The site doubles as a social network—it’s got all the usual stuff: photo sharing, video, mobile, plus some extras like professional tools, bookmarks, chat and email as well as start pages.
More at:http://ww.socialxperience.com/
Friday, August 3, 2007
Killer Cotton is "For Only Retail Search"
Killer Cotton is a free service that tracks down the best independent, underground, and hard-to-find retailers on the web, then publishes them right here for all the world to see. We are driven to connect deserving grass roots retailers with discerning online shoppers just like you.
This indie-friendly site provides info about smaller, niche businesses by compiling hundreds upon thousands of user reviews and profiles. You, the consumer, suggest sites to add to the database, you rate listings, you submit reviews. All sites start out with an even 50 rating, thereby assuring Killer Cotton’s neutrality. Ratings are purely influenced by user reviews—Cotton is all about giving power to the people. Search for items by style—try some earthy sandals, or collegiate sweater vest; by special interest: activist, art friendly, duct tape even; by price, and finally by type. The service is free to retailers and consumers alike.
This indie-friendly site provides info about smaller, niche businesses by compiling hundreds upon thousands of user reviews and profiles. You, the consumer, suggest sites to add to the database, you rate listings, you submit reviews. All sites start out with an even 50 rating, thereby assuring Killer Cotton’s neutrality. Ratings are purely influenced by user reviews—Cotton is all about giving power to the people. Search for items by style—try some earthy sandals, or collegiate sweater vest; by special interest: activist, art friendly, duct tape even; by price, and finally by type. The service is free to retailers and consumers alike.
TeamDesk for effective management and sharing of business information
TeamDesk is a hosted web-based system that empowers teams with easy-to-design web based database applications and predefined solutions for effective management and sharing of business information. Powerful and flexible, easy to learn and convenient to use, customizable and completely web-based, TeamDesk gives you a centralized searchable environment to organize your business.
They provide an application templates library that contains the set of applications in various business areas allowing quick start. Every application can be customized to the needs of particular business. Even if there is no matching template in the library, you may easily create an application by importing the data from the files or spreadsheet programs. Views, reports and charts will help you to organize your data. E-mail notification system and RSS feeds will help to keep your team informed. Document generation feature provides an ability to create personalized documents from templates. A very user-friendly and useful website.
More at:http://www.teamdesk.net/
They provide an application templates library that contains the set of applications in various business areas allowing quick start. Every application can be customized to the needs of particular business. Even if there is no matching template in the library, you may easily create an application by importing the data from the files or spreadsheet programs. Views, reports and charts will help you to organize your data. E-mail notification system and RSS feeds will help to keep your team informed. Document generation feature provides an ability to create personalized documents from templates. A very user-friendly and useful website.
More at:http://www.teamdesk.net/
Wurkpal is a new site that lets you anonymously communicate with others about your workplace
Wurkpal is a new site that lets you anonymously communicate with others about your workplace.
Unlike other “anonymity” sites, wurkpal protects even your host name, and creates an “unknown” user name for you, relieving you of the necessity of offering the slightest bit of personal information to the site, such as email address, or user name of your making. There are groups formed around a company, and those employees working there can let loose here, asking questions, participating in the rumor mills, making remarks and sharing documents they wouldn’t dream of doing without the cloak of anonymity. You don’t have to be an employee to read or even participate in other’s networks, though for the creation of one, a company must have a standard IP Address block installed, ensuring that no one’s identification is ever revealed.
The end goal of wurkpal is to provide an online gathering place for professionals to communicate freely amongst each other. Outside of advertising, the company is looking to make money through a job placement system, where recruiters can find information and potential leads, and no one has to worry about being caught looking for a new job. The “idealism” associated with this free-for-all network will be difficult to achieve for wurkpal, and while precautions are taken, it may be too much for users to keep up with their anonymous accounts as well as the many groups created for various topics and companies.
More at:http://www.wurkpal.com/
Unlike other “anonymity” sites, wurkpal protects even your host name, and creates an “unknown” user name for you, relieving you of the necessity of offering the slightest bit of personal information to the site, such as email address, or user name of your making. There are groups formed around a company, and those employees working there can let loose here, asking questions, participating in the rumor mills, making remarks and sharing documents they wouldn’t dream of doing without the cloak of anonymity. You don’t have to be an employee to read or even participate in other’s networks, though for the creation of one, a company must have a standard IP Address block installed, ensuring that no one’s identification is ever revealed.
The end goal of wurkpal is to provide an online gathering place for professionals to communicate freely amongst each other. Outside of advertising, the company is looking to make money through a job placement system, where recruiters can find information and potential leads, and no one has to worry about being caught looking for a new job. The “idealism” associated with this free-for-all network will be difficult to achieve for wurkpal, and while precautions are taken, it may be too much for users to keep up with their anonymous accounts as well as the many groups created for various topics and companies.
More at:http://www.wurkpal.com/
For Venture Capitalists
NowPublic is a site providing citizen journalism.
NowPublic is a news network using the public to cover events. As of the writing of this article they had over 120,000 users in over 3,000 cities.
If you would like to join you may do so for free, they provide a page for you to share pictures and video as well as your stories. They also provide a mechanism for the public to tip you, pay you.
They claim they are one of the fastest growing news organizations in 12 months, with thousands of reporters in over 140 countries. During Hurricane Katrina, NowPublic had more reporters in the affected area than most news organizations have on their entire staff.
They raised:NowPublic received $10.6 Million from Rho Ventures, Rho Canada, Brightspark and Working Opportunity Fund.
More at:http://www.nowpublic.com/
NowPublic is a news network using the public to cover events. As of the writing of this article they had over 120,000 users in over 3,000 cities.
If you would like to join you may do so for free, they provide a page for you to share pictures and video as well as your stories. They also provide a mechanism for the public to tip you, pay you.
They claim they are one of the fastest growing news organizations in 12 months, with thousands of reporters in over 140 countries. During Hurricane Katrina, NowPublic had more reporters in the affected area than most news organizations have on their entire staff.
They raised:NowPublic received $10.6 Million from Rho Ventures, Rho Canada, Brightspark and Working Opportunity Fund.
More at:http://www.nowpublic.com/
Business Opportunities
From textile manufacturers in India to Chinese organic food suppliers to property investments in Eastern Europe... there are 1000s of trade opportunities, partnerships and opportunities at www.Ubops.com
Ubops.com - Business Opportunities Marketplace
more at:http://www.ubops.com/
Ubops.com - Business Opportunities Marketplace
more at:http://www.ubops.com/
Online Marketing For SMEs In Australia
Ad It Last is free, and provides you with access to hundreds of last-minute online deals that are available from leading publishers and media suppliers across Australia. In this way, you can advertise for lower cost. You can use already existing artwork or use the site to create a new design - for no cost. Also, AdItLast wants to promote an idea within Australia called "community conscious" business. Companies who follow the rules of this charter will be endorsed by the foundation and will be able to promote themselves as a Community Conscious Company.
Many media companies have last minute advertising that needs to be sold prior to production . This provides an ideal way for SMEs (small medium enterprises) to try out a new marketing medium for the first time; that is, search for what is available to advertise to their target market and buy at a greatly reduced price. The problem herein was how these SMEs could then accesses this distressed media, and similarly how the media companies could contact the vast number of SMEs wanting to advertise. Last minute advertising has been around for a long time but ad it last is unique as it is a shop front for all media companies to give SMEs access to their distressed advertising. Then came the virtual marketer... A resource tool that gives you the skills of a marketer at your finger tips 24 hours a day. We wanted to somehow provide SMEs with our knowledge and skills but at no cost…small businesses need marketing specialists the most but have the least funds to hire a professional ongoing. Ad it last was the perfect solution. Our services will grow over time and you can come back again and again and use our tools. Most importantly, ad it last is a Community Conscious Company.
More at:http://www.aditlast.com.au/
Many media companies have last minute advertising that needs to be sold prior to production . This provides an ideal way for SMEs (small medium enterprises) to try out a new marketing medium for the first time; that is, search for what is available to advertise to their target market and buy at a greatly reduced price. The problem herein was how these SMEs could then accesses this distressed media, and similarly how the media companies could contact the vast number of SMEs wanting to advertise. Last minute advertising has been around for a long time but ad it last is unique as it is a shop front for all media companies to give SMEs access to their distressed advertising. Then came the virtual marketer... A resource tool that gives you the skills of a marketer at your finger tips 24 hours a day. We wanted to somehow provide SMEs with our knowledge and skills but at no cost…small businesses need marketing specialists the most but have the least funds to hire a professional ongoing. Ad it last was the perfect solution. Our services will grow over time and you can come back again and again and use our tools. Most importantly, ad it last is a Community Conscious Company.
More at:http://www.aditlast.com.au/
LinkBidr is about promoting your site and products on the web for a price you set
LinkBidr is about promoting your site and products on the web for a price you set, forget about paying for clicks and impressions. All you do is sign up on LinkBidr, and then bid on a link position, if you win, you’ll get a full 24 day’s worth of advertisement on their website for the price you are willing to pay, and probably less! On LinkBidr, you can propose your bidding price, and then enter in the amount that you would, hypothetically pay at the maximum. Other bidders won’t be able to see this amount. They’ll even give you $5 to dump into your LinkBidr account to start logging on, having fun, and promoting your link.
Linkbidr is all about having fun. Your final price gets you unlimited clicks. Never pay for each click again. Just bid on a link position to win your way to 24 hours of fame on the front page. Customize your link any way you want. It's so easy, anyone can do it. Just follow the six steps below to get started and watch your traffic soar.
More at:http://www.linkbidr.com/
Linkbidr is all about having fun. Your final price gets you unlimited clicks. Never pay for each click again. Just bid on a link position to win your way to 24 hours of fame on the front page. Customize your link any way you want. It's so easy, anyone can do it. Just follow the six steps below to get started and watch your traffic soar.
More at:http://www.linkbidr.com/
GroupSystems is an industrial leader in technology powered collaboration, decision making and brainstorming tools
GroupSystems is an industrial leader in technology powered collaboration, decision making and brainstorming tools. With their group intelligence technology led by their ThinkTank product, GroupSystems has developed software that’s valuable where anonymity and structured dialogues are key in team and project development. GroupSystems offers a suite of tools that includes web conferencing, instant messaging, email, and content/document management.
Leverage the power of your team with ThinkTank, technology for brainstorming, decision-making, collaboration and virtual interactive meetings. Best of all, GroupSystems' products complement many of the ways your organization works today, helping it gain significant productivity with our group intelligence software: ?Web conferencing: we make asynchronous meetings easy, empower the creation of fresh new content, and provide a unique many-to-many web or virtual interactive based meetings space. ?Instant Messaging: our online meetings tools provide structure in the form of easy-to-create workflows, but also the additional value of anonymity when you need it. ?Content/Document Management: we provide your groups the group interactive technology to generate fresh, authentic content that reflects the wisdom of many, which then can be managed in familiar content systems. ?eMail: rather than simply mailing information, GroupSystems enables groups to create and improve information for creativity and productivity. ?Traditional Face-to-Face meetings: many organizations use our group intelligence software to slash 50-75% of the cost and time associated with traditional meetings.
More at:http://www.groupsystems.com/
Leverage the power of your team with ThinkTank, technology for brainstorming, decision-making, collaboration and virtual interactive meetings. Best of all, GroupSystems' products complement many of the ways your organization works today, helping it gain significant productivity with our group intelligence software: ?Web conferencing: we make asynchronous meetings easy, empower the creation of fresh new content, and provide a unique many-to-many web or virtual interactive based meetings space. ?Instant Messaging: our online meetings tools provide structure in the form of easy-to-create workflows, but also the additional value of anonymity when you need it. ?Content/Document Management: we provide your groups the group interactive technology to generate fresh, authentic content that reflects the wisdom of many, which then can be managed in familiar content systems. ?eMail: rather than simply mailing information, GroupSystems enables groups to create and improve information for creativity and productivity. ?Traditional Face-to-Face meetings: many organizations use our group intelligence software to slash 50-75% of the cost and time associated with traditional meetings.
More at:http://www.groupsystems.com/
Financial Search
Market Simplified is the finest brew of technology and information, Market Simplified has been designed keeping in mind the needs of people to access and control their portfolio and to monitor the market wherever they go. Another very cool feature of this website is that it is available on the user's mobile phone. So if you are interested in financial search MarketSimplified.com might be a very useful website.
Market Simplified does away with the contemporary method accessing financial information; it has done away with constraint in information, time and place. Something which has been a want among retail investors but was not addressed…till now. Many of us in the team being traders ourselves, you can be sure that every want of yours is taken care…to know more just register yourself with www.marketsimplified.com.
More at:http://www.marketsimplified.com/
Market Simplified does away with the contemporary method accessing financial information; it has done away with constraint in information, time and place. Something which has been a want among retail investors but was not addressed…till now. Many of us in the team being traders ourselves, you can be sure that every want of yours is taken care…to know more just register yourself with www.marketsimplified.com.
More at:http://www.marketsimplified.com/
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Unwired Nation is a new service that lets your turn your web content into an audio recording for people to listen to on their cell phones
Unwired Nation is a new service that lets your turn your web content into an audio recording for people to listen to on their cell phones.
Using its API, you can utilize the Unwired Nation service to create a podcast of sorts, which others can listen to with their mobile phones. If you have a blog that you’d like to offer in this manner, Unwired Nation will turn the text into a voice recording and read through your blog post titles. Similar to dialing into a movie theater for show times, users can push a number to indicate which blog post they’d like to listen to. The voice sounds kind of hokey, like a commercial voiceover, so it’s rather amusing to hear if you’ve got any silly or unconventional text that’s being converted. Users can “subscribe” to your content to be delivered as an audio recording by providing their phone number.
Unwired Nation makes money by incorporating your ads into the recording, as well as inserting its own ads, and splitting revenue with you. So Unwired Nation is also in the mobile marketing arena, and promotes several uses for its service other than having blog content read out loud. Some of these services include touch pad interaction for users that don’t have access to a computer with the Internet, to do things like bid for an eBay listing.
In this sense, Unwired Nation is looking to bring a highly integrated level of website interaction on the mobile phone, without using a mobile browser, or even SMS. The potential downfall of this sort of advertising model is the difference in audio “commercials” versus online marketing, which vary greatly, and leave listeners with no direct way to access the advertisers’ content.
More at:http://www.unwirednation.com/
Via-Mash
Using its API, you can utilize the Unwired Nation service to create a podcast of sorts, which others can listen to with their mobile phones. If you have a blog that you’d like to offer in this manner, Unwired Nation will turn the text into a voice recording and read through your blog post titles. Similar to dialing into a movie theater for show times, users can push a number to indicate which blog post they’d like to listen to. The voice sounds kind of hokey, like a commercial voiceover, so it’s rather amusing to hear if you’ve got any silly or unconventional text that’s being converted. Users can “subscribe” to your content to be delivered as an audio recording by providing their phone number.
Unwired Nation makes money by incorporating your ads into the recording, as well as inserting its own ads, and splitting revenue with you. So Unwired Nation is also in the mobile marketing arena, and promotes several uses for its service other than having blog content read out loud. Some of these services include touch pad interaction for users that don’t have access to a computer with the Internet, to do things like bid for an eBay listing.
In this sense, Unwired Nation is looking to bring a highly integrated level of website interaction on the mobile phone, without using a mobile browser, or even SMS. The potential downfall of this sort of advertising model is the difference in audio “commercials” versus online marketing, which vary greatly, and leave listeners with no direct way to access the advertisers’ content.
More at:http://www.unwirednation.com/
Via-Mash
CompanyLoop is a new site that lets businesses create groups for coworkers to connect online.
CompanyLoop is a new site that lets businesses create groups for coworkers to connect online. This operates somewhat like a white label version of LinkedIn, limiting functionality to only those included in the company.
In order to join CompanyLoop, you must find your company if it’s already included on the list, or create a group for your company. Any company that is created will be approved by CompanyLoop before becoming available on its site. If you do find your company, you can join by entering your company email address, which will then be verified by CompanyLoop. Once you’ve joined a company group, you can tag others in your company, or applaud them, as a sort of recommendation tool for peers. Find others that can help you with a work-related issue, and pose questions to coworkers. You can invite others from your company to join.
CompanyLoop is a very private way to connect with coworkers. There is no way to see the profiles of others in company groups outside of your own, and you cannot connect or befriend others outside your groups either. There are many ways in which business-oriented applications are looking to become more social, and this could be considered one way. While other services may have provided a license or a software download for the internal use within a company, CompanyLoop is providing a free, web-based tool with which to perform the same actions.
More at:http://www.companyloop.com/
Via-Mash
In order to join CompanyLoop, you must find your company if it’s already included on the list, or create a group for your company. Any company that is created will be approved by CompanyLoop before becoming available on its site. If you do find your company, you can join by entering your company email address, which will then be verified by CompanyLoop. Once you’ve joined a company group, you can tag others in your company, or applaud them, as a sort of recommendation tool for peers. Find others that can help you with a work-related issue, and pose questions to coworkers. You can invite others from your company to join.
CompanyLoop is a very private way to connect with coworkers. There is no way to see the profiles of others in company groups outside of your own, and you cannot connect or befriend others outside your groups either. There are many ways in which business-oriented applications are looking to become more social, and this could be considered one way. While other services may have provided a license or a software download for the internal use within a company, CompanyLoop is providing a free, web-based tool with which to perform the same actions.
More at:http://www.companyloop.com/
Via-Mash
How To Run Successful Startup
Company name: TreatHer
Website: www.TreatHer.com
Founder: Jignesh Ghaghada
Age: 29
Based: London
Staff Numbers: 5 plus contract staff
Date started: Company created in Nov 2005, site launched in July 2006
Turnover: £150k
Tell us what your business does:
Treat Her is a wonderful new gift service that specialises in delivering unusual and exciting gifts for women directly to her door. We have a wide range of gift ideas including everything from jewellery and homewares, to pampering days out and flying lessons.
Where did the idea come from?
I actually came up with the idea when I was working in the city. We typically worked long hours and didn’t get much time to pop out during the day. One day it suddenly struck me that I’d forgotten to buy something for my girlfriend, Serina, for the second anniversary of the day we’d met and I only had until that evening to get something. I ended up not being able to get a gift that day – and this planted the seed for the concept.
Have you always wanted to run your own business?
Ever since I left university I knew I would eventually run my own business. However, I also knew there was a lot I wanted to learn first and directed my career more towards gaining exactly the right skills I thought I would need, rather than worrying too much about climbing the career ladder.
The most appealing thing about working for yourself is knowing that every ounce of energy you put into your business will translate into something tangible - either growth of the business, or learning something new.
What planning did you do before starting up?
I researched the existing online gift market thoroughly and discovered that although there was a very competitive market already in place, there were good opportunities for niche players. I attended several trade shows and travelled to the Far East to meet gift manufacturers and exporters.
I also spoke to many people already involved in e-commerce to understand how they had started up – on reflection this was invaluable and probably saved me from a number of potential pitfalls, especially in setting up the infrastructure for the site.
What challenges have you faced how have you overcome them?
A major challenge when we started was time management. A month after launching TreatHer.com, I married Serina and bought a new house which meant we were suddenly juggling a huge number of tasks (and wedding guests!). I was even checking in every few hours whilst we were out on honeymoon! Fortunately she was very understanding and, in fact, found the business very exciting. When we got back to London, Serina left her career in fashion and joined TreatHer.com to take on responsibility for our buying and supplier relationships. She has quickly become a key figure in the business and her amazing eye for trends and detail has undoubtedly been a catalyst to our growth.
What has your growth been like?
Our growth has been phenomenal over the last 12 months. When we launched in July 2006, we were getting around 100 visitors a day for the first month. This has now increased to 25,000-30,000 visitors per month. Our initial business plan forecasted we would not be profitable until the latter part of Year2 – however, we now expect to be profitable by the end of this year.
Where do you want to be in five years’ time?
We want to branch out to cover a number of other niche markets and become a household name. Our next gift site TreatHim.com will be launching in 2 months and there are a few more already waiting in the pipeline!
More at:www.TreatHer.com
Via-http://startups.co.uk/TreatHer_com.YbWAM6ho3k4OPg.html
Website: www.TreatHer.com
Founder: Jignesh Ghaghada
Age: 29
Based: London
Staff Numbers: 5 plus contract staff
Date started: Company created in Nov 2005, site launched in July 2006
Turnover: £150k
Tell us what your business does:
Treat Her is a wonderful new gift service that specialises in delivering unusual and exciting gifts for women directly to her door. We have a wide range of gift ideas including everything from jewellery and homewares, to pampering days out and flying lessons.
Where did the idea come from?
I actually came up with the idea when I was working in the city. We typically worked long hours and didn’t get much time to pop out during the day. One day it suddenly struck me that I’d forgotten to buy something for my girlfriend, Serina, for the second anniversary of the day we’d met and I only had until that evening to get something. I ended up not being able to get a gift that day – and this planted the seed for the concept.
Have you always wanted to run your own business?
Ever since I left university I knew I would eventually run my own business. However, I also knew there was a lot I wanted to learn first and directed my career more towards gaining exactly the right skills I thought I would need, rather than worrying too much about climbing the career ladder.
The most appealing thing about working for yourself is knowing that every ounce of energy you put into your business will translate into something tangible - either growth of the business, or learning something new.
What planning did you do before starting up?
I researched the existing online gift market thoroughly and discovered that although there was a very competitive market already in place, there were good opportunities for niche players. I attended several trade shows and travelled to the Far East to meet gift manufacturers and exporters.
I also spoke to many people already involved in e-commerce to understand how they had started up – on reflection this was invaluable and probably saved me from a number of potential pitfalls, especially in setting up the infrastructure for the site.
What challenges have you faced how have you overcome them?
A major challenge when we started was time management. A month after launching TreatHer.com, I married Serina and bought a new house which meant we were suddenly juggling a huge number of tasks (and wedding guests!). I was even checking in every few hours whilst we were out on honeymoon! Fortunately she was very understanding and, in fact, found the business very exciting. When we got back to London, Serina left her career in fashion and joined TreatHer.com to take on responsibility for our buying and supplier relationships. She has quickly become a key figure in the business and her amazing eye for trends and detail has undoubtedly been a catalyst to our growth.
What has your growth been like?
Our growth has been phenomenal over the last 12 months. When we launched in July 2006, we were getting around 100 visitors a day for the first month. This has now increased to 25,000-30,000 visitors per month. Our initial business plan forecasted we would not be profitable until the latter part of Year2 – however, we now expect to be profitable by the end of this year.
Where do you want to be in five years’ time?
We want to branch out to cover a number of other niche markets and become a household name. Our next gift site TreatHim.com will be launching in 2 months and there are a few more already waiting in the pipeline!
More at:www.TreatHer.com
Via-http://startups.co.uk/TreatHer_com.YbWAM6ho3k4OPg.html
Job Finder
Hound.com is the website for free job search engine locates all of its jobs from employer’s career web pages. Hound.com does not post the usual mix of over-publicized and limited commercial job board and recruiter jobs. All that users have to do to find their job is, when they enter Hound.com's frontpage, fill in the two spaces provided by the website. The user must let the website know what job he is looking for, and in what area of the USA he can work. After that all the user has to do is choose the job that he likes.
Hound.com, quite simply, is the world's largest and best collection of jobs. With a worldwide staff of 600+ employees working around the clock to find virtually every job opening in existence, we employ proven, effective, and results-oriented methods to get you the job of your dreams. Hound.com and its partner companies have helped literally thousands of professionals like yourself find employment.
More at:http://www.hound.com/
Hound.com, quite simply, is the world's largest and best collection of jobs. With a worldwide staff of 600+ employees working around the clock to find virtually every job opening in existence, we employ proven, effective, and results-oriented methods to get you the job of your dreams. Hound.com and its partner companies have helped literally thousands of professionals like yourself find employment.
More at:http://www.hound.com/
Send Files Via Email
With JustUpIt.com all you need to do to use the site is to go to the site, plug in the file you wish to send and the email addresses of the people you want the file to be sent to. Thats it. No signing up for anything or passwords or sign ins at all. Go to the send and send the file, it couldn't be any easier. Send any type of file up to 100mb.
There is no registration and no fees. Basic use requires no registration and is free of charge. There is nothing to install and no special software required. All you need is the browser you are using right now. A file can be up to 100mb!! and no download restrictions! (unlimited downloads).
Since the service is free and this remedies an ongoing problem for people trying to send files via email, this site could get usership for many, and quickly.
More at:http://justupit.com/
There is no registration and no fees. Basic use requires no registration and is free of charge. There is nothing to install and no special software required. All you need is the browser you are using right now. A file can be up to 100mb!! and no download restrictions! (unlimited downloads).
Since the service is free and this remedies an ongoing problem for people trying to send files via email, this site could get usership for many, and quickly.
More at:http://justupit.com/
Video Resume For Media People
Cubetakes.com is the first video resume site that is geared toward those in film, radio, television, and multimedia. From hosting your demo reel to your portfolio - cubetakes.com has it all along with a job search function showcasing jobs from around the world. So Cubetakes.com is a very useful websites for employers to find a pool of possible employees and for potential employees to show their work. But that's just part of it, Cubetakes.com is a free internet website!!! That's right, post your videos so employers can see your work in action for free.
How many times do we send out a resume, whether by mail or email, only to receive the all-too-common HR form letter "We have your resume on file, should a position arise matching your capabilities, someone will contact you." Yeah, right! More likely, the letter should read, "we just threw your resume in the trash, or filed it in some neglected cabinet in our human resources department that never gets opened except for once a year cleaning. We'll contact you on a snowy day in summer." That reply is more truthful, from experience, because when that letter is received it nets an interview a whopping .01% of the time. Disheartening? Sure, if you follow the "masses approach" to job-hunting. What's that exactly? The old resume format - whether it is sent on paper, faxed, or electronically sent. Break the mold! Send a video resume to the employer to show off your skills and personality - don't be another "resume kept on file". You can achieve this by uploading your video resume to cubetakes.com today. If you have a video portfolio (i.e. animation works, films, broadcasts, web design, etc.) upload them to cubetakes.com as well! Cubetakes.com is 100% free and there is never a charge. Send your video link rather than an emailed resume - impress the employer and save yourself time from going to interviews in person. Visit http://www.cubetakes.com now to get started.
More at:http://www.cubetakes.com/
How many times do we send out a resume, whether by mail or email, only to receive the all-too-common HR form letter "We have your resume on file, should a position arise matching your capabilities, someone will contact you." Yeah, right! More likely, the letter should read, "we just threw your resume in the trash, or filed it in some neglected cabinet in our human resources department that never gets opened except for once a year cleaning. We'll contact you on a snowy day in summer." That reply is more truthful, from experience, because when that letter is received it nets an interview a whopping .01% of the time. Disheartening? Sure, if you follow the "masses approach" to job-hunting. What's that exactly? The old resume format - whether it is sent on paper, faxed, or electronically sent. Break the mold! Send a video resume to the employer to show off your skills and personality - don't be another "resume kept on file". You can achieve this by uploading your video resume to cubetakes.com today. If you have a video portfolio (i.e. animation works, films, broadcasts, web design, etc.) upload them to cubetakes.com as well! Cubetakes.com is 100% free and there is never a charge. Send your video link rather than an emailed resume - impress the employer and save yourself time from going to interviews in person. Visit http://www.cubetakes.com now to get started.
More at:http://www.cubetakes.com/
ePerks.com, the site is dedicated to finding people who will give you incentives to do business through them
ePerks.com, the site is dedicated to finding people who will give you incentives to do business through them, sometimes cash back, sometimes free gas, sometimes added extra services, it all depends on what exactly you are looking for. If you are searching for a REALTOR there are people offering to give back 15.5% of the transaction should they be chosen. If these people are willing to slash their own prices and advertise this, there is no doubt a ton of internet surfers and clients ready to use these discounted services.
This site could be a great help to bargain shoppers all over the country, with savings as high as 20% on a real estate transaction, that will keep customers searching for savings with the company. The company profits from the advertising of the service providers.
More at:http://eperks.com/
This site could be a great help to bargain shoppers all over the country, with savings as high as 20% on a real estate transaction, that will keep customers searching for savings with the company. The company profits from the advertising of the service providers.
More at:http://eperks.com/
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Fellowforce.com is a platform to connect innovators and organizations. "A platform for open innovation"
Fellowforce.com is a platform to connect innovators and organizations. A platform for open innovation. Any organization worldwide can run innovation challenges or connect via Fellowforce's Innovation Box with their consumers. In other words, the organization posts the challenge, and many innovators start looking for a solution. The one that comes up with a solution sells it to the organization. The best part of it all is that Fellowforce.com does not charge commisions.
With Fellowforce.com the opportunities of open innovation and problem solving is available to any organization worldwide. This is the first open platform in all business areas such as business & strategy, marketing, innovation management, design, engineering, IT, and Supply chain. This is the first platform where the best talent can be harnessed for both top brands as SME-companies.
More at:http://www.fellowforce.com
With Fellowforce.com the opportunities of open innovation and problem solving is available to any organization worldwide. This is the first open platform in all business areas such as business & strategy, marketing, innovation management, design, engineering, IT, and Supply chain. This is the first platform where the best talent can be harnessed for both top brands as SME-companies.
More at:http://www.fellowforce.com
Betabug is the first Integrated Bug tracking system
Betabug is the first Integrated Bug tracking system and a community all together Bringing you a powerful Bug tracking solution and a top notch community to go along with it. Search for bugs, get solutions, consult. Enjoy the power of a community tighted by bugs.
With BetaBug.com those little bugs that you catch can be reported with just a few clicks of the keyboard, we all know calling or emailing is way too much trouble. With this technology any person can easy report the bugs they encounter so the maker of the site can make the adjustments that they need to make sure that the problem is corrected and the site can be navigated through as easily as possible.
More at:http://betabug.com/
With BetaBug.com those little bugs that you catch can be reported with just a few clicks of the keyboard, we all know calling or emailing is way too much trouble. With this technology any person can easy report the bugs they encounter so the maker of the site can make the adjustments that they need to make sure that the problem is corrected and the site can be navigated through as easily as possible.
More at:http://betabug.com/
Searchhedgefunds.com is the first vertical financial search engine designed solely for the hedge fund industry
Searchhedgefunds.com is the first vertical financial search engine designed solely for the hedge fund industry. This new product marks a significant development in the world of advanced search engines and will be the first of a number of ground breaking products from Institutional Investor. More than one year in development, this revolutionary, finely tuned search engine provides information that is relevant just for this sector, providing far superior results and targeting than more generic search engines. The sites searched, the search parameters and taxonomies have been programmed to produce highly targeted results. Quite simply, if you work in hedge funds, you will use this free search engine before anything else - Searchhedgefunds.com will be the primary destination for any user looking to search for information on hedge funds.
More at:http://www.searchhedgefunds.com/
More at:http://www.searchhedgefunds.com/
Boo-Box
boo-box was conceived to change the way marketing is done today. We want to make marketing more meaningful and elegant and less disruptive and obtrusive. We believe that by empowering publishers we will enable better environment for audience’s and will make marketing a relevant part of content experience. In order to do that we found out that we needed to go in a different direction than other marketing companies. For us, real contextual marketing is the one that is deeply co-related with the content it is displayed with, and today, to achieve that level of relevance the only way to go was to adopt natural intelligence in the contextualization process. That’s why we aim at developing the easiest to use tools and procedures that allow publishers to control what is marketed with(in) his content, instead of investing our intelligences in developing algorithms that would try to identify context.
Instead of developing algorithms to identify which ads would work best with what content, they’re letting the people who know their content and readers the best: the publishers. Readers can click through these advertisements and are led to a list of recommendations that are relevant and in-context.
More at:http://www.boo-box.com/
Instead of developing algorithms to identify which ads would work best with what content, they’re letting the people who know their content and readers the best: the publishers. Readers can click through these advertisements and are led to a list of recommendations that are relevant and in-context.
More at:http://www.boo-box.com/
Convert Webpages Into PDF
Add PDF Creation Feature to Your Blogs and Websites Web2PDF Online is a free HTML to PDF Conversion service for your websites that allows your visitors to quickly save useful information in your blogs and websites to PDF files.
With Web2.PdfOnline.com webmasters can add this feature to their websites. With Web2.PdfOnline.com all a visitor to the site will need to do to convert the web page into a Pdf is to simply click on "Save Page as PDF" and thats it, presto, that person has a PDF of the website. The entire service is free for everyone involved. A webmaster can have this up on their page for free within minutes, it is easy to install for the webmasters.
More at:http://web2.pdfonline.com/
With Web2.PdfOnline.com webmasters can add this feature to their websites. With Web2.PdfOnline.com all a visitor to the site will need to do to convert the web page into a Pdf is to simply click on "Save Page as PDF" and thats it, presto, that person has a PDF of the website. The entire service is free for everyone involved. A webmaster can have this up on their page for free within minutes, it is easy to install for the webmasters.
More at:http://web2.pdfonline.com/
Dwaar.com is a very powerful search engine that helps users to find a very diverse branch of services from pizza delivery, dentists, real estate, etc
Dwaar.com is an indian website for people that live in India. Dwaar.com is a very powerful search engine that helps users to find a very diverse branch of services from pizza delivery, dentists, real estate, indian railways, furniture, etc.
From its modest beginning as a simple yet effective communication tool a few years ago, internet today is fast evolving as an indispensable part of our day-to-day lives, shaping our needs and expectations around it - from finding the best pediatrician for your child to discovering just the right gift for your parents' 25th anniversary, from finding a suitable match - at workplace or home, to searching for the best place to escape from the mundane. However, we know these searches may not always have been the easiest ones to do, for traditional Search engines fail to address the Search ? Compare ? Connect ? Share paradigm that's essential in a real life decision making process. At Dwaar, our mission is to simplify local & niche information for Indians and empower the community to participate in this process.
More at:http://www.dwaar.com/
From its modest beginning as a simple yet effective communication tool a few years ago, internet today is fast evolving as an indispensable part of our day-to-day lives, shaping our needs and expectations around it - from finding the best pediatrician for your child to discovering just the right gift for your parents' 25th anniversary, from finding a suitable match - at workplace or home, to searching for the best place to escape from the mundane. However, we know these searches may not always have been the easiest ones to do, for traditional Search engines fail to address the Search ? Compare ? Connect ? Share paradigm that's essential in a real life decision making process. At Dwaar, our mission is to simplify local & niche information for Indians and empower the community to participate in this process.
More at:http://www.dwaar.com/
FormSpring is an online form creation and management tool
FormSpring is an online form creation and management tool that allows you to generate forms without having to know HTML or web programming.
Use Formspring for… •Marketing campaigns - use online forms for contests, promotions, or giveaways. Quickly collect, share, and analyze collected information. •Surveys - need to know what your customers want? Create an online survey to see what they are saying and quickly analyze the results. •Order forms - create easy-to-use forms to securely collect orders from your online customers. •Registration forms - easily register customers, volunteers, attendees, and clients for events, newsletters, demos, etc.
More at:http://www.formspring.com/
Use Formspring for… •Marketing campaigns - use online forms for contests, promotions, or giveaways. Quickly collect, share, and analyze collected information. •Surveys - need to know what your customers want? Create an online survey to see what they are saying and quickly analyze the results. •Order forms - create easy-to-use forms to securely collect orders from your online customers. •Registration forms - easily register customers, volunteers, attendees, and clients for events, newsletters, demos, etc.
More at:http://www.formspring.com/
gsalr.com exists to provide an easy-to-use map interface for finding and planning weekend garage sale trips
gsalr.com exists to provide an easy-to-use map interface for finding and planning weekend garage sale trips. We hope you find it useful! Find garage sales, local estate sales, multi-family yard sales in your area by looking at a map! Your time is precious, so don't waste it by trying to figure out which garage sales you are going to visit this weekend. Plan your trip here by comparing garage sales by location on a map.
GSalr has taken Google’s maps and created a garage sale mash-up. Listings span the country. You can look for sales in Atlanta or Seattle. Find out what’s happening in Austin and Portland. Each listing is duly pinpointed, dated and described. You can even integrate the sales you want to visit to Trip Planner to get driving directions. Listings are updated weekly.
More at:http://gsalr.com/
GSalr has taken Google’s maps and created a garage sale mash-up. Listings span the country. You can look for sales in Atlanta or Seattle. Find out what’s happening in Austin and Portland. Each listing is duly pinpointed, dated and described. You can even integrate the sales you want to visit to Trip Planner to get driving directions. Listings are updated weekly.
More at:http://gsalr.com/
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Youngest Entrepreneurs
Ages: 25 (Liberman), 24 (Gershon) and 25 (Levich)
Location: Chatsworth, Calif.
2006 Revenue: $5 million
Employees: 16
Year founded: 2000
Just before graduating high school together in 2000, Gershon and Levich started selling hip-hop-style watches and jewelry on eBay.
As hip-hop lovers themselves, the two quickly found a following of other consumers hungry for accessories. With their success on eBay, Gershon and Levich started their own retail website, Icedoutgear.com, with offerings ranging from LED belt buckles to chains and faux-bejeweled pimp cups.
Liberman, another high school pal, joined up in 2003 and helped his friends launch the company's wholesale division -- Hip Hop Wholesale. Today, their merchandise has been used in promotions for Miller Genuine Draft and The World Series of Poke.
More at:http://icedoutgear.com/
Location: Chatsworth, Calif.
2006 Revenue: $5 million
Employees: 16
Year founded: 2000
Just before graduating high school together in 2000, Gershon and Levich started selling hip-hop-style watches and jewelry on eBay.
As hip-hop lovers themselves, the two quickly found a following of other consumers hungry for accessories. With their success on eBay, Gershon and Levich started their own retail website, Icedoutgear.com, with offerings ranging from LED belt buckles to chains and faux-bejeweled pimp cups.
Liberman, another high school pal, joined up in 2003 and helped his friends launch the company's wholesale division -- Hip Hop Wholesale. Today, their merchandise has been used in promotions for Miller Genuine Draft and The World Series of Poke.
More at:http://icedoutgear.com/
JunkDepot specializes in creating a marketplace to recycle used treasures, connecting buyers and sellers on a unique platform.
JunkDepot specializes in creating a marketplace to recycle used treasures, connecting buyers and sellers on a unique platform. Junk depot needs you, your help and your junk to create a killer environment to bring the garage sale to YourBlock, USA. Set up an account on JunkDepot to either buy or sell an item. From there, you can create a listing of your home goods that will last for 90 days, completely free of charge. Buyers can contact you via email, and JunkDepot won’t charge either for the service. Users can blast out their listings to Google base and Edgeio to cover a wider area to get their junk sold in a snap. JunkYard is also now compatible with the social network Facebook.
More:http://www.junkdepot.com/
More:http://www.junkdepot.com/
BigString is a new service that lets you have better control over the emails you send out to others.
BigString is a new service that lets you have better control over the emails you send out to others.
With this service, you can self-destruct or change an email that’s already been sent and/or read. Instead of worrying about the messages you send to others being available in their inbox, you can now destroy them as a way to protect your privacy. In addition, BigString offers a way to prevent your personal identification info from remaining in someone else’s inbox as well, restricting private images or messages from being spread further online. You can also reword a message that’s already been sent, revise a document you’ve sent along, or set an expiration date for emails. As added protection, recipients are unable to
You’ll need to send messages from BigString in order to use this free service. Most of these options can only be chosen one at a time, so if you want a self-destructing message, it won’t be able to be recalled at a later time. There aren’t really many ways to let your recipients know that a message is going to self-destruct, so you may end up making a few people upset or just downright confused, especially if they ever associate BigString with you having something to hide. For things like self-destructing emails, the mail will remain in the recipients inbox, but the actual message will be deleted. As added protection, recipients are unable to copy and paste the message text. Pretty nifty.
more at:http://www.bigstring.com/
Via-mash
With this service, you can self-destruct or change an email that’s already been sent and/or read. Instead of worrying about the messages you send to others being available in their inbox, you can now destroy them as a way to protect your privacy. In addition, BigString offers a way to prevent your personal identification info from remaining in someone else’s inbox as well, restricting private images or messages from being spread further online. You can also reword a message that’s already been sent, revise a document you’ve sent along, or set an expiration date for emails. As added protection, recipients are unable to
You’ll need to send messages from BigString in order to use this free service. Most of these options can only be chosen one at a time, so if you want a self-destructing message, it won’t be able to be recalled at a later time. There aren’t really many ways to let your recipients know that a message is going to self-destruct, so you may end up making a few people upset or just downright confused, especially if they ever associate BigString with you having something to hide. For things like self-destructing emails, the mail will remain in the recipients inbox, but the actual message will be deleted. As added protection, recipients are unable to copy and paste the message text. Pretty nifty.
more at:http://www.bigstring.com/
Via-mash
Pr.odigio.us is a free and easy to use site to use if you are a web developer or designer looking to gain recognition and build a wider client base
Pr.odigio.us is a free and easy to use site to use if you are a web developer or designer looking to gain recognition and build a wider client base. When you sign up, you’ll give Pr.odigio.us some basic information about yourself and then be given a keycode. You can use this keycode as proof that you built the website, so that if someone likes your work, they’ll be able to contact you in order to keep you prodigious and productive.
It is also the best way for prospective clients to find out who built the sites they love. Prodigious is easy! And Free! How do I start taking credit for my work? It is simple, start by signing-up for a free account and enter some basic information about yourself. You will then be issued a keycode. That is your way of proving that you actually built a site.
more at:http://pr.odigio.us/
It is also the best way for prospective clients to find out who built the sites they love. Prodigious is easy! And Free! How do I start taking credit for my work? It is simple, start by signing-up for a free account and enter some basic information about yourself. You will then be issued a keycode. That is your way of proving that you actually built a site.
more at:http://pr.odigio.us/
MindSmack specializes in web design, flash, animation, 3D, logo design, banner ads, advertising design etc
Are you looking for someone to design your website? Someone that has experience in creating flash animations and 3D design? MindSmack specializes in web design, flash, animation, 3D, logo design, banner ads, advertising design, programming, asp.net, php, asp, vb, video editing, sound design, html email, landing pages, microsites, demos and anything else imaginable for the Internet. The website also has product portfolio, for users to see the level of the designs that MindSmack.com has already done. Another great feature of this website is that it has a blog for users to interact with each other. It is a very good website if you are looking for someone that can do designs for your website.
more at:http://www.mindsmack.com/
more at:http://www.mindsmack.com/
DayTradingOnlineStocks.com the idea is to trade information and advice about day trading and penny stocks
At DayTradingOnlineStocks.com the idea is to trade information and advice about day trading and penny stocks; there is some very helpful information about this, but the site is too young to have a lot of info about anything at this point there are only 151 posts in 54 topics by 144 members. Most of the posts are helpful and informative but a lot of the posts are totally unrelated to the subject matter at all, for instance, today's most read post is about the hypocrisy of John Edwards. A large percentage of the posts are very related to the subject but suppose occassionally the contributors like to go on rants about other things as well, if you wish to get the most out of your hedge fund researching experience, be sure to stay focused on the site.
The site is a great resource for those looking into getting into day trading and/or hedge funds. As of now there is a bindle of information that should continue to grow.
more at:http://daytradingonlinestocks.com/
The site is a great resource for those looking into getting into day trading and/or hedge funds. As of now there is a bindle of information that should continue to grow.
more at:http://daytradingonlinestocks.com/
Redruby Is The One Place Where You Can links Get To All Of the latest Financial
Redruby is the one place where you can links get to all of the latest financial news and speculation without any editorial bias because the links and content on Redruby are submitted by you. The unique Redruby voting system ensures that you are presented with the most important financial articles in terms of their impact on the Australian share market. How does Redruby Work? On Redruby you will find links to the articles that are having the biggest impact on the companies that interest you. Click on a title to read an article. Once you have read an article you can vote on how you think it will effect a companies share price. If you think it will push the companies share price up then click on the green up arrow to the left of the article description. If you think the article is going to push the share price down, click on the red down arrow.
More at: www.redruby.com.au/
More at: www.redruby.com.au/
Monday, July 30, 2007
He wanted to be his own boss and run a business, though he had little experience or cash
Clay McGee was soon to graduate from Arizona State University with a degree in marketing when he realized that the corporate world wasn’t for him. He wanted to be his own boss and run a business, though he had little experience or cash.
Then it hit him: franchising.
“I pretty much knew I didn’t want to go and apply for jobs and fight against the rest of the working class and try to stand out above it,” Mr. McGee, 24, said. “So I started shopping for a franchise because I figured it would be a good opportunity for someone to hold my hand through the whole thing.”
Today he owns a 1-800-gotjunk? franchise in Springfield, Mo., that brought in about $120,000 last year and has four employees. And he plans to buy a second one in Branson.
It is hard to say if Mr. McGee signifies a growing group of graduates bypassing regular employment to become franchisees. The numbers are still a small piece of the overall franchising pie — only about half a percent, according to Eric Stites, founder and president of Franchise Business Review, a franchise market research firm in Kittery, Me.
Many college graduates who enter the franchising world do it with their parents’ money, specialists say, or at least use their parents as backups to secure bank loans.
But many franchise companies see these recent diploma recipients as a new frontier for their businesses and are aggressively marketing to this population, especially those companies with products and services that cater to a younger demographic, and employ young people, said Robert Justis, director of the International Franchise Forum and chairman of the Rucks Department of Management of the Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.
Driving interest among the college set, Mr. Justis added, is a growing disenchantment with corporate America. In addition, an increasing number of entrepreneurship courses at colleges is igniting interest among students to start their own businesses. He estimated franchising is now being taught on about 200 campuses in the United States.
Brian C. Scudamore, chief executive of the Vancouver-based 1-800-gotjunk?, says recent college graduates are “more malleable” than people in their 40s and 50s.
Franchisors want franchisees they can mold because the system has a structure of rules and concepts in place that franchisees usually must follow without deviation.
For Wing Zone, a chain of 100 Buffalo wing delivery stores, the college educated are franchisee candidates because they are typical wing customers, said Matt Friedman, who co-founded the company when he was at the University of Florida, Gainesville, in the early 1990s. He cooked wings with homemade sauces in his fraternity house kitchen with his partner, Adam Scott. “College markets have been our bread and butter,” Mr. Friedman said.
To pull in more franchisees, Wing Zone started a college tour this year.
Many late-night wing deliveries from Wing Zone were made to the dorm room of Adam Wyatt, a former student from the University of Kentucky who became a franchisee.
Mr. Wyatt said he loved the wings store concept so much he decided to leave 30 hours short of earning a degree in business management and bought a franchise in January 2006.
“I was watching my older friends come out of school and get an entry-level job — the job market is competitive,” he said. “I thought to myself, ‘I don’t want to start out in an entry-level sales job. I wanted to have more control.’ ”
He looked at a variety of options, including hair-cutting and liquor store chains, but decided on Wing Zone because he was familiar with the brand as a devoted customer.
The idea of entrepreneurship was captivating to Mr. Wyatt, whose mother (a teacher) and father (a vice president for a manufacturing company) had never owned a business. “It was a big step for all of us,” said Mr. Wyatt, seeing the venture as one he has embarked on for the whole family. Indeed, his parents helped him finance part of the $300,000 venture using savings and also vouching for a loan.
He now has 20 employees and $600,000 in annual revenue, and this year he turned a profit.
An allure for college graduates with little everyday business experience is that franchise companies offer a lot of hand-holding. As soon as Mr. Wyatt signed the franchise agreement, he went to the company’s headquarters in Atlanta and spent 14 days there working in a corporate store and taking classes. When he opened his store, Wing Zone sent two representatives to help him.
“I also have a guy up there I can call if I need to run anything by him,” he added.
While franchising may look like the perfect plan for young graduates who want to bypass the rough and tumble job market, it’s not for everyone. Steven A. Rosen, the chief executive of FranNet, a franchise consulting firm in Louisville, Ky., for one, believes college graduates should first get meaningful work experience before investing thousands in a franchise.
The profile of a successful franchisee, Mr. Rosen said, “is someone that can manage of crew of kids making $8 an hour.” While college graduates have good classroom experience, “that doesn’t prepare them to run a business.”
The biggest hurdle for younger franchisees is money, said Adam J. Siegelheim, a franchise lawyer based in Lawrenceville, N.J. “They need money to sustain losses during the first few months, or even years,” he said, adding that the most common group of new franchisees remains middle-aged workers who have been laid off and have severance packages to finance the effort.
Mr. McGee said he needed about $150,000 upfront to pay for the 1-800-gotjunk? franchise start-up fees and the trucks to run the hauling business. But at his age he had little credit history; he approached 11 banks before he was able to secure the loan he needed.
Even with the loan, he ended up having to sell his car the first year because he was not bringing in enough money. “I pictured myself having employees and playing golf, but I basically hauled junk for two years,” he said, adding, “if you don’t put in 90-hour weeks, you’re not going to succeed.”
Via-NYTimes
Then it hit him: franchising.
“I pretty much knew I didn’t want to go and apply for jobs and fight against the rest of the working class and try to stand out above it,” Mr. McGee, 24, said. “So I started shopping for a franchise because I figured it would be a good opportunity for someone to hold my hand through the whole thing.”
Today he owns a 1-800-gotjunk? franchise in Springfield, Mo., that brought in about $120,000 last year and has four employees. And he plans to buy a second one in Branson.
It is hard to say if Mr. McGee signifies a growing group of graduates bypassing regular employment to become franchisees. The numbers are still a small piece of the overall franchising pie — only about half a percent, according to Eric Stites, founder and president of Franchise Business Review, a franchise market research firm in Kittery, Me.
Many college graduates who enter the franchising world do it with their parents’ money, specialists say, or at least use their parents as backups to secure bank loans.
But many franchise companies see these recent diploma recipients as a new frontier for their businesses and are aggressively marketing to this population, especially those companies with products and services that cater to a younger demographic, and employ young people, said Robert Justis, director of the International Franchise Forum and chairman of the Rucks Department of Management of the Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.
Driving interest among the college set, Mr. Justis added, is a growing disenchantment with corporate America. In addition, an increasing number of entrepreneurship courses at colleges is igniting interest among students to start their own businesses. He estimated franchising is now being taught on about 200 campuses in the United States.
Brian C. Scudamore, chief executive of the Vancouver-based 1-800-gotjunk?, says recent college graduates are “more malleable” than people in their 40s and 50s.
Franchisors want franchisees they can mold because the system has a structure of rules and concepts in place that franchisees usually must follow without deviation.
For Wing Zone, a chain of 100 Buffalo wing delivery stores, the college educated are franchisee candidates because they are typical wing customers, said Matt Friedman, who co-founded the company when he was at the University of Florida, Gainesville, in the early 1990s. He cooked wings with homemade sauces in his fraternity house kitchen with his partner, Adam Scott. “College markets have been our bread and butter,” Mr. Friedman said.
To pull in more franchisees, Wing Zone started a college tour this year.
Many late-night wing deliveries from Wing Zone were made to the dorm room of Adam Wyatt, a former student from the University of Kentucky who became a franchisee.
Mr. Wyatt said he loved the wings store concept so much he decided to leave 30 hours short of earning a degree in business management and bought a franchise in January 2006.
“I was watching my older friends come out of school and get an entry-level job — the job market is competitive,” he said. “I thought to myself, ‘I don’t want to start out in an entry-level sales job. I wanted to have more control.’ ”
He looked at a variety of options, including hair-cutting and liquor store chains, but decided on Wing Zone because he was familiar with the brand as a devoted customer.
The idea of entrepreneurship was captivating to Mr. Wyatt, whose mother (a teacher) and father (a vice president for a manufacturing company) had never owned a business. “It was a big step for all of us,” said Mr. Wyatt, seeing the venture as one he has embarked on for the whole family. Indeed, his parents helped him finance part of the $300,000 venture using savings and also vouching for a loan.
He now has 20 employees and $600,000 in annual revenue, and this year he turned a profit.
An allure for college graduates with little everyday business experience is that franchise companies offer a lot of hand-holding. As soon as Mr. Wyatt signed the franchise agreement, he went to the company’s headquarters in Atlanta and spent 14 days there working in a corporate store and taking classes. When he opened his store, Wing Zone sent two representatives to help him.
“I also have a guy up there I can call if I need to run anything by him,” he added.
While franchising may look like the perfect plan for young graduates who want to bypass the rough and tumble job market, it’s not for everyone. Steven A. Rosen, the chief executive of FranNet, a franchise consulting firm in Louisville, Ky., for one, believes college graduates should first get meaningful work experience before investing thousands in a franchise.
The profile of a successful franchisee, Mr. Rosen said, “is someone that can manage of crew of kids making $8 an hour.” While college graduates have good classroom experience, “that doesn’t prepare them to run a business.”
The biggest hurdle for younger franchisees is money, said Adam J. Siegelheim, a franchise lawyer based in Lawrenceville, N.J. “They need money to sustain losses during the first few months, or even years,” he said, adding that the most common group of new franchisees remains middle-aged workers who have been laid off and have severance packages to finance the effort.
Mr. McGee said he needed about $150,000 upfront to pay for the 1-800-gotjunk? franchise start-up fees and the trucks to run the hauling business. But at his age he had little credit history; he approached 11 banks before he was able to secure the loan he needed.
Even with the loan, he ended up having to sell his car the first year because he was not bringing in enough money. “I pictured myself having employees and playing golf, but I basically hauled junk for two years,” he said, adding, “if you don’t put in 90-hour weeks, you’re not going to succeed.”
Via-NYTimes
Selling Peanut Butter Sandwitchs He Become Rich
Joe Moffatt's favorite sandwich is The Hotshot: sun-dried tomato peanut butter, jalapeños, potato chips, cheddar, bacon and mayonnaise. The Hotshot, of course, is his own invention. And the place where he eats it is his own, too: a P.B. Loco cafe.
In February, Moffatt, 29, and his wife, Hollie, 30, opened their P.B. Loco franchise in Tupelo, Mississippi. "People think you're crazy for opening a store for just peanut butter," says Moffatt. But he was sold on the unique concept and thought others would be, too. He was right--he projects first-year sales of about $275,000.
Still, he admits that sometimes it's hard to overcome people's preconceptions about peanut butter. While plain, old peanut butter and jelly is available, P.B. Loco is all about creative concoctions made with gourmet peanut butter flavors, including Asian Curry Spice, European Cafe Mocha and Jungle Banana.
Part of Moffatt's challenge is that P.B. Loco started franchising in 2004, so it's hardly a household name. But being with a newer franchisor has its upside as well. "We're all still learning together," Moffatt says of the corporate office and its franchisees. The excitement for Moffatt is getting to experiment and help shape the franchise's future. While most other cafes are in malls, his is a stand-alone location. He has created a coffeehouse feel with leather couches and flat-screen TVs, and he offers gourmet coffees--an addition that other franchisees have adopted as well. His latest contribution? P.B. Loco is adding The Hotshot to its menu.
More at:http://www.pbloco.com/
Via-Entr
In February, Moffatt, 29, and his wife, Hollie, 30, opened their P.B. Loco franchise in Tupelo, Mississippi. "People think you're crazy for opening a store for just peanut butter," says Moffatt. But he was sold on the unique concept and thought others would be, too. He was right--he projects first-year sales of about $275,000.
Still, he admits that sometimes it's hard to overcome people's preconceptions about peanut butter. While plain, old peanut butter and jelly is available, P.B. Loco is all about creative concoctions made with gourmet peanut butter flavors, including Asian Curry Spice, European Cafe Mocha and Jungle Banana.
Part of Moffatt's challenge is that P.B. Loco started franchising in 2004, so it's hardly a household name. But being with a newer franchisor has its upside as well. "We're all still learning together," Moffatt says of the corporate office and its franchisees. The excitement for Moffatt is getting to experiment and help shape the franchise's future. While most other cafes are in malls, his is a stand-alone location. He has created a coffeehouse feel with leather couches and flat-screen TVs, and he offers gourmet coffees--an addition that other franchisees have adopted as well. His latest contribution? P.B. Loco is adding The Hotshot to its menu.
More at:http://www.pbloco.com/
Via-Entr
How To Guide Your Business
Directed to assisting small businesses with answers they need.It is guide for small business where they can get lot of information and guidance how to run small business.
more at:http://www.work.com/
more at:http://www.work.com/
Gazhoo is a new marketplace for the buying and selling of documents of all sorts
Gazhoo is a new marketplace for the buying and selling of documents of all sorts. The content on the site is namely to offer alternatives to companies that provide documents for download with high premium costs, such as legal document sites.
The main purpose of gazhoo is to provide a place for content creators to sell their documents. You’ll find a number business-oriented documents, such as time-reporting sheets and legal documents, as well as reports and essays. Users can upload their documents and name their price for documents to be sold via Paypal. Users can offer their content for free as well. Those that would like to purchase a document can view 50% of the content without downloading it in its entirety. Gazhoo uses Flash Paper to display uploaded documents.
The site doens’t act as a community, so you won’t be able to search by user or view their profile in order to see all of the documents they’ve provided to gazhoo. Although most would liken gazhoo to a site like Scribd, it lacks many of the social interaction features that Scribd has, such as comments. There’s also no option to download a free document directly–you must first register as a gazhoo member and place the item in your cart.
more at:http://www.gazhoo.com/
The main purpose of gazhoo is to provide a place for content creators to sell their documents. You’ll find a number business-oriented documents, such as time-reporting sheets and legal documents, as well as reports and essays. Users can upload their documents and name their price for documents to be sold via Paypal. Users can offer their content for free as well. Those that would like to purchase a document can view 50% of the content without downloading it in its entirety. Gazhoo uses Flash Paper to display uploaded documents.
The site doens’t act as a community, so you won’t be able to search by user or view their profile in order to see all of the documents they’ve provided to gazhoo. Although most would liken gazhoo to a site like Scribd, it lacks many of the social interaction features that Scribd has, such as comments. There’s also no option to download a free document directly–you must first register as a gazhoo member and place the item in your cart.
more at:http://www.gazhoo.com/
Referral Key helps you generate and track sales leads with professionals you know and trust and allows you to expand your business network
ReferralKey.com, a site that helps you exchange referrals with professionals you know and trust. Sign up is free. Use Referral Key to generate sales leads and to strengthen and expand your business network. The site provides you with detailed reporting tools to track and analyze your referral partnerships and customize your program for maximum effectiveness. If you are a professional looking for new clients, you can list your business on Referral Key.
Referral Key helps you generate and track sales leads with professionals you know and trust and allows you to expand your business network to establish new referral relationships. Sign up is free and it takes just a few minutes to set up your referral network and begin exchanging referrals. When you join, you’ll send invitations to business associates you know asking them if they would like to exchange referrals with you. The people you choose are not subject to any fees, so they have nothing to loose by accepting your invitations. The referrals you receive are qualified, which means your trusted associates have identified clients who need the services you provide. Referrals are immediately emailed to you so you can follow up on the leads promptly to address the needs of the person being referred and hopefully turn the referral into a sale. Referral Key also tracks the effectiveness of your referral partnerships to ensure leads are reciprocal and your relationships are mutually beneficial.
More at:http://www.referralkey.com/
Referral Key helps you generate and track sales leads with professionals you know and trust and allows you to expand your business network to establish new referral relationships. Sign up is free and it takes just a few minutes to set up your referral network and begin exchanging referrals. When you join, you’ll send invitations to business associates you know asking them if they would like to exchange referrals with you. The people you choose are not subject to any fees, so they have nothing to loose by accepting your invitations. The referrals you receive are qualified, which means your trusted associates have identified clients who need the services you provide. Referrals are immediately emailed to you so you can follow up on the leads promptly to address the needs of the person being referred and hopefully turn the referral into a sale. Referral Key also tracks the effectiveness of your referral partnerships to ensure leads are reciprocal and your relationships are mutually beneficial.
More at:http://www.referralkey.com/
for Creating Free Presentaions And Demos
Webinaria can help bring your content to life. Businesses that are able to capture and record live interactions with web-based content are able to more effectively train and educate employees and customers. Webinaria aims to provide a more animated and theatrical presentation of business communications
Webinaria.con record your desktop screen movements, you can also add some voice narration and Webcam videos, and upload all of them to the web in Flash format for free. For instance, you want to do a presentation of how a certain software works, but your clients are abroad. So maybe your best option will be a video presentation. Thought they were hard to do? Forget about that: using your microphone and your webcam, quickly start recording your desktop presentation, demo or screencast. Modify the capture area from your active window to a customized area, adjust your hardware or recording quality, and edit the audio and webcam properties frame by frame. Convert from a video file (AVI, for example) to a Flash Video (FLV) using the latest compression technology, and upload everything to their Flash player. With Webinaria, you can also host your stuff there (for free0.
more at:http://www.webinaria.com/
Webinaria.con record your desktop screen movements, you can also add some voice narration and Webcam videos, and upload all of them to the web in Flash format for free. For instance, you want to do a presentation of how a certain software works, but your clients are abroad. So maybe your best option will be a video presentation. Thought they were hard to do? Forget about that: using your microphone and your webcam, quickly start recording your desktop presentation, demo or screencast. Modify the capture area from your active window to a customized area, adjust your hardware or recording quality, and edit the audio and webcam properties frame by frame. Convert from a video file (AVI, for example) to a Flash Video (FLV) using the latest compression technology, and upload everything to their Flash player. With Webinaria, you can also host your stuff there (for free0.
more at:http://www.webinaria.com/
Earn While You Travel
BackPackersJobSearch allows backpackers to find a job in the place they are wishing to travel to. This is very useful both for backpackers and for employers. While backpackers gain money to continue their trip, employers have access to a person that can assist them in business. Unluckily this service is only working in New Zealand and Australia. Another great feature of this website is that it is free for travelers to register. So backpackers, what are you waiting for? Check out this website, you might find it very useful.
Backpacking industry is booming beyond belief, figures released on footprintsdownunder.com show a gain BACKPACKER INDUSTRY BOOMS VISAS are up 15% an increase of 102,966 over last year They all need work and BJS is a first for Oz then the world .
More at:http://www.backpackersjobsearch.com/
Backpacking industry is booming beyond belief, figures released on footprintsdownunder.com show a gain BACKPACKER INDUSTRY BOOMS VISAS are up 15% an increase of 102,966 over last year They all need work and BJS is a first for Oz then the world .
More at:http://www.backpackersjobsearch.com/
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