Get Rich Slick

Mobile loo locator

Slick — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 12:44:06 +0000

Back in June, springwise covered a location-based service???MizPee???that lets people use their mobile phone to find the nearest public toilet. The same idea just popped in London, dubbed SatLav and launched by the City of Westminster (one of London’s central boroughs, and home to most of the city’s popular shopping and entertainment venues). After texting ‘toilet’ to 80097, users receive a text message with the details of the nearest facilities and their opening times.

Pitched by industrial designer Gail Knight, SatLav was the winning entry in a city council innovation competition. (Earlier this year, Gail Knight developed a pedestrian navigation system that points pedestrians in the right direction by way of two rings that vibrate when they need to make a turn.)

While SatLav just got started, San Francisco-based MizPee has expanded its coverage to 14 North American cities. More smart location based services to follow? (Related: Luxe London loos and Zipcar uses mobile GPS to pinpoint nearest car.)

Website: www.westminster.gov.uk

Source: Springwise

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It’s All About Social Networks

Slick — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 14:16:36 +0000

This was a good year for social networks. If a study by eMarketer is correct, 2008 will be even better. A MediaPost Publications article displays eMarketer’s results, showing that ad spending on online social networks will nearly double to $2.2 billion in 2008. That’s up from $1.2 billion this year. MySpace and Facebook claim about 70 percent of ad dollars. “The continued growth of social networking seems assured unless teens stop social networking as they become adults,” said eMarketer senior analyst Debra Aho Williamson in a statement.

So I guess it is a good move that Get Rich Slick is on Facebook!

We have been writing and selling applications to generate some income, and this has proved to be valuable. It would be good to hear what everyone is doing to try and cash in on the Social Networking craze!

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Niche market for broken iPods & abandoned GameCubes

Slick — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 09:16:54 +0000

Earlier this year, springwise wrote about a small start-up that had found an interesting niche: buying broken iPods from consumers. BuyMyBrokeniPod.com offers people a very simple way to sell their broken or unused iPods: after indicating which model they’d like to sell and what condition it’s in, the website gives an instant price-quote. Send it in, and payment is transferred via PayPal within 24 hours after the iPod has been received.

Now, six months later, the company’s founder is expanding the concept to offer the same easy sales service for game consoles. Again, users indicate which item they’d like to sell and what condition it’s in, and are instantly given a quote and sent shipping instructions. For example, a good condition Nintendo DS Lite will net its seller USD 61.50 (new DS Lites are currently retailing at USD 129). Other electronics, including cell phones and laptops, will follow within the next few months at BuyMyTronics.com.

Offering consumers a simple alternative to selling broken or unused gadgets on eBay? Still a smart concept, in our book. The challenge now is for the company to retain its ease of use while expanding to other products.

Website: www.buymytronics.com

Source: springwise.com

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SBA Boosts Inner-City Entrepreneurs

Slick — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 17:46:36 +0000

The Small Business Administration is teaming up with the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City to help urban entrepreneurs get the loans they need to get their businesses off the ground. Right now, the program is still being designed, but it will run in 10 cities in low-income areas across the country. Though small biz accounts for 80 percent of total employment in inner cities, job growth rates in those areas are below average. “We believe bolstering entrepreneurial success in these areas will generate new jobs, attract investment and provide a more sustainable economic base in distressed areas,” said Steven Preston, SBA administrator. In addition, SBA plans to make its Community Express loan program easier to use and direct it toward low-income areas.

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Three wallet cards in one

Slick — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 15:49:31 +0000

Between credit cards, cash cards, ID cards, membership cards, pass cards, travel cards and frequent customer cards???to name just a few???wallet cards are almost like passwords these days in terms of their explosive proliferation. But consumers in London now have the opportunity for a small respite thanks to Barclays Bank, which has scored a victory in the name of simplicity by combining three of those cards in one.

The new Barclaycard OnePulse combines credit card, cash card and Oyster card???used by Londoners for mass transportation???to remove a few cards and a few steps from consumers’ daily lives. The card functions exactly as a regular credit and cash card does, allowing consumers to shop securely and pay for smaller purchases (under GBP 10) with one-touch payment, requiring no PIN. Even better, though, is that the card includes a built-in Oyster travel card, giving consumers access to area bus, Tube, tram and train services. Just as with a stand-alone Oyster card, consumers either buy a season ticket or prepay as they go, replenishing the card periodically as they use it. Barclaycard’s Auto Top-off service will even replenish the pay-as-you-go Oyster function automatically with GBP 20 or 40 when the balance falls below GBP 5, saving consumers the need to queue up to do so.

The focus is highly localized on this one, but the same basic idea can be applied virtually anywhere. And in an industry as fiercely competitive as credit cards and personal banking, it’s hard to imagine a better way to create a competitive advantage: make things easier for consumers, and they’ll reward you with more business and greater loyalty. New York, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, anyone…?

Website: www.barclaycard.co.uk
Contact: online.barclaycardbusiness.co.uk/contact_form.htm

Spotted: springwise.com

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Free Small Business Coaching

Slick — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 10:23:39 +0000

About 37 percent of small-business owners say growth is their company’s single most important priority over the next six months. That’s why OPEN from American Express and SCORE are pairing up to launch a “Small Business Speed Coaching Test Drive” to help enhance small business prosperity. The series will give entrepreneurs the chance to partake in 30-minute, one-on-one evaluations with experienced SCORE business coaches. Interactive workshops will also be held to help participants learn more about strategic business planning, effective marketing and business finances.

This seminar tour will make stops in Orlando, Phoenix, Atlanta and Chicago. The first seminar takes place in Orlando on November 8. More workshop information can be found online. Registration, which is free, is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

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Teenage Entrepreneur Turns $8 Into $1 Million

Slick — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 12:55:45 +0000

When your entrepreneurial aspirations seem a bit too far-fetched, take a look at this success story for inspiration.

Ashley Qualls, 17, started a website at the age of 14 with $8 she borrowed from her mother. Now her site, whateverlife.com, is grossing more than $1 million a year and helping Qualls’ family live more comfortably. Prior to the launch of her site, Qualls lived in a one-bedroom apartment with her mom and sister. Since starting her site, she’s been able to purchase a four-bedroom home for her family and has hired her mother as her manager.

Qualls got the idea for Whateverlife when she noticed her friends personalizing their MySpace pages. She began creating and sharing designs for MySpace backgrounds through her site. Advertisers quickly began flocking to Whateverlife, and Ashley quit school to focus on growing her biz. These days, the website guru continues developing her site with the help of some friends she hired and has even turned down offers for her own reality series, saying she values her privacy too much to get involved in one.

So it just goes to show, its never to early.. or too late to start making cash!

Source: entrepreneur.com

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Middle-Class Millionaires

Slick — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 11:32:02 +0000

The millionaire club often evokes images of luxury yachts, gigantic mansions and sometimes snooty characters. But according to this Yahoo! News article, that stereotype is no longer in fashion. That’s because new research has found that new millionaires are sticking to their middle-class values and roots. They’re working long hours and choosing neighborhoods based on the quality of schools, mimicking the family-focused behavior of the middle class. “They spend their money on all the things that tie back to family values–on the health and welfare of their family, career development and as you move up the ladder, they spend on leisure and luxury activities,” said Lewis Schiff, president of the private wealth consultant Advanced Planning Group. Compared to an average middle-class person, these so-called “middle-class millionaires” are about three times as likely to choose a career based on its earnings. Schiff says they’re also much more outgoing and involved in their community than the affluent elite.

Schiff and Russ Alan Prince surveyed about 600 millionaires and 3,000 middle-class people to come to these conclusions for a book they’re writing called The Middle Class Millionaire: The Rise of the New Rich and How they are Changing America. The book is due out in February.

Source: entrepreneur.com

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Busy? You need a Personal Assistant!

Slick — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 13:47:39 +0000

Concierge services and personal assistants are a luxury that tends to be beyond the reach of all but the most well-heeled members of society and business owner. Not so with Sunday, a request-based service that offers 24/7 personal assistance by internet or phone.

New York-based Sunday lets busy people in the US, Canada and the UK delegate chores as they arise, with monthly fees starting at just USD 29 and no cost to join. The site’s agents are available 24/7 by email or phone, ready to make outbound calls, arrange travel plans, set dinner reservations, enable remote access to numerous websites and take action in emergency situations???virtually anything that can be handled remotely. The proprietary Sunday Portal facilitates interactions between members and agents by saving member information such as contacts and encrypted login details to leading websites such as Yahoo, Google, Seamlessweb, Zipcar and Fandango, to name just a few. Messenger and errand services are also available in New York City.

Sunday’s Silver membership plan, priced at USD 29 monthly, includes 30 requests per month, with a charge of USD 2 for each request beyond that. The Gold plan is USD 49 for 50 requests per month, and USD 1.50 for each thereafter; it also gives members the ability to have Sunday make international calls on their behalf. It should come as no surprise that Sunday???s low prices are made possible by outsourcing most of the work to agents in India.

Sunday was founded in 2006, and plans to expand to other major cities around the world. In this time-starved era, it’s hard to imagine a place where the concept wouldn’t succeed, especially with lifestyle gurus like Tim Ferriss promoting personal outsourcing. Next challenge, or rather, opportunity: bringing similar services to busy bloggers

Website: www.asksunday.com

Source: springwise.com

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So, how could we get $1 from every person?!

Slick — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 11:41:47 +0000

No doubt, the world is changing fast. Yet few investors realize just how fast…

Economists are already calling it the “Exponential Zone” of world growth. Just consider that:
- In the next 6 minutes, 60 babies will be born in the U.S. - 351 will be born in India, 244 in China
- The computational power of the average $1,000 laptop is set to exceed the human brain by 2013
- The 25% of China’s population with the highest IQs (140 or above) is now greater than the population of North America
- With 106 million registered users, MySpace could qualify as the 11th largest country in the world - right between Mexico and Japan
- Fiber optics can now push 10 trillion bits per second down one strand - enough for 150 million simultaneous phone calls, every second. That speed is currently tripling every 6 months

For investors, this kind of exponential growth in people and technology is setting up a global equity boom rarely seen in the history of the markets. This one is forecasted to create an additional $82 trillion in wealth by the end of this decade alone, according to the esteemed McKinsey Global Institute.

- Where do you fit into the mix?

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