Business Opportunities Weblog

October 12, 2011 by Angela Shupe | Inventions

It is often argued that there is no need to reinvent the wheel, but does that apply to wind turbines? Willard Cooper doesn’t think so.

Two of his patents are for a renewable energy generating system for electrical power that includes a storage station superior to batteries. Cooper’s third patented design — granted in 2009 — would achieve a cleaner environment around the turbine tower. That is achieved by using the cryogenic process of low-temperature cooling to freeze and then remove airborne carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that destroys the ozone layer in the atmosphere, and then recycle it for potential uses like feeding agricultural plants grown in water.

“When the wind dies, you can’t continue to generate electricity with the standard electric generators on wind turbines. My design produces more electricity and stores it so you can maintain a uniform flow of electricity,” said the 83-year-old, a self-taught scientist, retired director for regional planning at the Delaware River Port Authority and Camden’s urban renewal director in the 1960s.

His system designs are based on the principles of superconductivity, the complete disappearance of electrical friction, or resistance, on wire at very low temperatures, and cryogenics, the production and effects of very low temperatures often hundreds of degrees below zero.

Photo by Scott Wilcoxson

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Tags: Energy, Inventors

October 12, 2011 by Angela Shupe | News

Amit Gupta is an entrepreneur in San Francisco. He has successfully launched photojojo, but now he faces another dilemma. He has acute leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant. Fellow entrepreneurs heard of his dilemma, and the word has spread like wildfire thanks to social media.

Gupta’s journey to find a donor hasn’t happened alone. As a member of tech communities in both New York and San Francisco, his story quickly began spreading through social media outlets.

Influential bloggers posted to Tumblr, friends launched a Twitter campaign, and word raced through Facebook. Local bone-marrow donor registration drives popped up across the U.S.

Marketing guru Seth Godin upped the ante with an entrepreneurial tactic: gaming.

“The extraordinary thing about marketing is that a million people might see something or hear something or be sold something and only a thousand will actually take action. Even if it’s free,” he wrote. “How about if we gamify it?”

Godin offered up $10,000 to anyone for themselves or a charity of choice if they are a bone marrow match for Gupta.

Aviary’s Michael Galpert — another entrepreneur and friend of Gupta’s — matched Godin’s offer. A third match took the bounty to $30,000.

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Tags: Social Media

October 12, 2011 by Angela Shupe | News

MomsCharlotte.com:

If you’ve been using a pen and paper system, start by giving yourself a pat on the back for a good start. You deserve credit for thinking about the issue and consistently maintaining records. It sounds like you are ready to take it to the next level, and yes, there are some better ways. My company uses QuickBooks for bookkeeping, along with the services of a local CPA firm, both popular options worth considering.

Another low-cost way to step up your tracking is to start using a Profit and Loss Statement (P&L) spreadsheet like this one, available free from Entrepreneur Magazine. It provides a basic template for entering sales revenue, direct costs, operating expense categories, and taxes to create a bottom line calculation of net profit. Depending on how you file your taxes, you may also wish to consult the IRS website to check out the expense categories used in the sole proprietorship Schedule C.

Photo by Alan O’Rourke

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Tags: Advice, Paperwork, Profit

October 11, 2011 by Angela Shupe | Biz Ops, Interviews

When bills go unpaid, it can cause problems for the company. When these bills continue to go unpaid, sometimes it is important to call in another company that can help you recover some of the debt. That is where a company like National Creditors Connection, Inc. can help. They help companies reconnect with the people that owe them by visiting the customer and working out possible solutions.

For people comfortable with ongoing, face-to-face contact with NCCI also offers an opportunity for people to make money helping businesses make those connections. I recently asked Crystal Bucher a few questions about the company and their representative opportunity.

Tell us a little about National Creditors.

As the nation’s leader in field contact services since 1992, NCCI provides the face-to-face contact solutions you need to effectively reconnect with customers and gather information vital to your success. These face-to face contacts are made by our nationwide network of background-screened and trained field representatives who treat your customers with dignity, sincerity, and professionalism. Our secure technology systems, insurance protection and unparalleled experience give you the means to efficiently collect what is rightfully yours. To learn more click on the video link.

What does this company do?

NCCI reconnects lenders with their borrowers by going to the borrower’s home in hopes of resolves delinquent accounts. There is no selling and the field reps do not collect any money. Some of our clients include BofA, Chase, Wells Fargo, and Harley Davidson. Field Reps are Independent Contractor representing NCCI in the field. As an independent contractor individuals are given the freedom to make their own hours. We have new assignment daily! We are currently recruiting nationwide for individuals looks to earn additional income.

Continue reading NCCI Offers Debt Collections With Respect

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Tags: Debt

October 11, 2011 by Dane Carlson | News

The Globe and Mail:

When the New South China Mall opened to great fanfare in 2006, it immediately became the world’s largest shopping centre by floor space, knocking the West Edmonton Mall into second place. Newsweek magazine believed it to be one of the seven “new wonders of the world,” visitors are reminded in a video that plays on an endless loop over one of the mall’s many entrances.

Five years later, the New South China Mall has achieved a very different, unforeseen notoriety. With an occupancy rate of just 2 per cent, the 660,000-square-metre New South China Mall is one of the world’s emptiest shopping destinations and one of the biggest white elephants ever built.

The 2.1 kilometres of Venice-style canals that wind through the mall’s heart are lined with stores that closed soon after the splashy opening. Advertisements promising “Fashion 2006!” hang beside naked mannequins in one deserted clothing shop. Long rows of stalls never even saw a tenant. A half-dozen gondolas that were supposed to transport tired shoppers from one wing of the giant mall to the next bob unused beneath the mall’s stone “San Francisco Bridge,” the gondoliers nowhere in sight.

In several hours of wandering the mall’s vast acreage on a Saturday afternoon, only a handful of shoppers could be seen.

Photo by Remko Tanis.

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Tags: China, Retail