Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Crazy Reader - 10 Weird Books You Are Sure To Enjoy And Learn From

Site of the day - PickyDomains.com, world's first risk free naming agency

1. We Are All Weird

Weirdness takes many forms. When everyone else is carrying nylon computer bags and sporty backpacks, weird people insist on an "old-fashioned" leather briefcase (guilty). Many people think it is weird to go to over 50 Grateful Dead concerts and own recordings of hundreds of their concerts (also guilty). Is it weird to spend six hours on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in a dingy rec room playing Dungeons and Dragons? To collect chewing gum wrappers and own over 2,000, with examples from over 50 countries? To read instead of watching television? To ride a bike instead of driving? The weird is us. And the weird is you.

2. Extreme Cuisine: The Weird & Wonderful Foods that People Eat

Jerry Hopkins has raised the bar in food scholarship - Extreme Cuisine is an extremely entertaining read and a primary source for anyone interested in how (with recipes) and what other (often rural) world cultures eat. A most worthy successor to Unmentionable Cuisine. Great color photography inserts. Hopkins provides scholarly detail about some subjects some pet-lovers might find less tasty (eating dogs, cats, horse, monkeys, etc), some which are most assuredly unknown by most (eating rooster combs, wattles & testicles) and has a good sense of humor by including dumpster diving and eating roadkill. As Anthony Bourain learned, Hopkins is the perfect guide, the "Old Hand" to the other (than American style packaged foods) food worlds.

3. Final Exits: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of How We Die

in 1700 there were less than 100 causes of death. Today there are 3,000. With each advance of technology, people find new ways to become deceased, often causing trends that peak in the first year. People are now killed by everything, from cell phones, washing machines, lawn mowers and toothpicks, to the boundless catalog of man—made medicines. In Final Exits the causes of death—bizarre or common—are alphabetically arranged and include actual accounts of people, both famous and ordinary, who unfortunately died that way. (Ants, bad words, Bingo, bean bag chairs, flying cows, frozen toilets, hiccups, lipstick, moray eels, road kill, starfish, and toupees are only some of the more unusual causes.)

4. Crazy: Notes On and Off the Couch

While the professionals are trying to help people resolve their problems, the therapists themselves are often depressed, anxious, and prone to panic attacks. They take antipsychotics, self-medicate with booze, and struggle in their own relationships. The ones who are providing the perspective are often the ones with the most on their plate. In short, they are just as "crazy" as the patients. Crazy is the story of how one mental health professional deals with his own personal problems and those of the people he treats. Part exposé and part memoir, it reveals what therapists really think about their profession, their colleagues, their patients, and their own lives.

5. Normal: Transsexual CEOs, Crossdressing Cops, and Hermaphrodites with Attitude

Amy Bloom's latest book, Normal, gives those of us who are familiar with her fiction another opportunity to luxuriate in her distinctive, elegant prose. Those not familiar with Bloom's work are in for a rare treat: a book which employs this writer's considerable talents (as both a psychotherapist and an artist) for an attentive and comprehensive examination of people whose lives include (but are not limited by) transgender, crossdressing and intersex issues. Bloom doesn't create "characters" in her exploration of these people; instead, she puts her artistry to work in giving voice to the living, breathing human beings who have the same range of responses as there are fascinating situations in this book.

6. Normal Gets You Nowhere

An amazing succession to her first book, "If You Have To Cry, Go Outside," Cutrone dives into deeper issues with complete honesty and witty humor that leaves readers feeling inspired. Topics in the book are what many people have contemplated between one another in conversations for years but have never had the nerve to stand up and defend their beliefs or opinions for the sake of revolutionizing change in multiple aspects of current issues and self-awakening. She stands up on a literary soap box to encourage people to question, reflect and embrace free thinking for positive reformations in society.

7. Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices

You probably don't expect to find yourself compulsively reading a book called an encyclopedia of anything, but then you probably don't expect to be reading about men who coax angry bees to sting their penises in order to make the organ swell and become more sensitive. The 750+ listings here will propel you from amazement to amazement as they carry you from abduction as a sex act to zoophilia (sex with animals). You will be repelled and excited, entranced and titillated, shocked and sucked right into the world of sexual extremes and oddities. And, all the time, you'll be making mental notes of which entries you just have to tell this or that friend about.

8. Deviant: The Shocking True Story of Ed Gein, the Original Psycho

In the autumn of 1957, the nation learned of a nightmare unfolding in the little rural town of Plainfield, Wisconsin. A local recluse and simpleton by the name of Edward Gein murdered Bernice Worden, the owner of the local hardware store. A murder, even in 1950's America, wouldn't grab the attention of most folks, but this crime did. Local police searching Gein's farmhouse uncovered a soul shattering house of horrors. Not only did they find murder victim Worden in the most degrading condition, the police also discovered pieces of human bodies inside the house. Gein had fashioned soup bowls out of human skulls, masks out of human faces, and furniture out of human flesh. Every hour spent in the farmhouse turned up even more horrors, enough to make even the most hardened cop sick to his stomach. As the official inquiry deepened, America learned that a human monster lived in the most unlikely of settings, a man who embodied virtually every ghastly psychopathology known to modern science. The name Eddie Gein became synonymous with evil and he quickly became part of the dark side of American pop culture.

9. Letters of the Lost - Suicide Notes

Letters of the Lost is a collection of suicide notes. For many victims of suicide, writing a letter, or an email was not on the agenda. This book communicates the terrible loneliness there is in deciding to kill oneself. It covers people from all backgrounds, ages and gender, and hopes to enlighten people on why so many of our friends and family decide they cannot take this life.

10. The New Weird

This avant-garde anthology that presents and defines the New Weird—a hip, stylistic fiction that evokes the gritty exuberance of pulp novels and dime-store comic books—creates a new literature that is entirely unprecedented and utterly compelling. Assembling an array of talent, this collection includes contributions from visionaries Michael Moorcock and China Miéville, modern icon Clive Barker, and audacious new talents Hal Duncan, Jeffrey Ford, and Sarah Monette. An essential snapshot of a vibrant movement in popular fiction, this anthology also features critical writings from authors, theorists, and international editors as well as witty selections from online debates.

[Via - Madconomist.com]

Want more weird?

Dumb But Profitable. 10 Million Dollar Ideas That Shouldn't Have Worked.
Stupid Shit People ACTUALLY Put On Their Resumes
35 Weird Facts You Never Heard Of
10 Things You Did Not Know You Could Buy On Amazon.Com
What If US Collapses? Soviet Collapse Lessons Every American Needs To Know

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Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Unusual Startups - Greenvelope

Site of the day - PickyDomains.com, world's first risk free naming agency



http://www.greenvelope.com/

Sam Franklin is not engaged to be married, but he spends most of his time thinking about wedding invitations.

In fact, the Seattle native, a marketing and entrepreneurship major at Washington University in St. Louis, is all about the bridal business. He started Greenvelope, an upscale electronic invitation service for formal events, from his dorm room in late 2010. Franklin, 21, got the idea after reading in USA Today that couples sent 1.2 million electronic wedding invitations in 2008 via Evite.com.

"At the time, Evite was the only big player in the field," he recalls. "It surprised me that people were using it to send wedding invitations."

Confident in the demand for upscale electronic invites, Franklin invested $50,000 in startup funds--half saved from running a pressure-washing business and delivering pizzas during high school and half from a loan from a family member--to create templates and develop software mimicking the experience of opening a traditional printed invitation.

Greenvelope launched in November 2010 with 20 templates for wedding invitations. "I saw the potential in the market, but I didn't put any numbers on paper; there was no formal business plan or sales targets," he says. "I hoped that through a good product and good customer service, the business would grow itself."

Greenvelope eschews ads in an attempt to maintain an upscale feel. Instead, it charges users to send invites: Template packages start at $100 for up to 300 guests; additional invitees can be added for a nominal fee. With the help of Google and word-of-mouth, the site generated $2,000 in revenue in its first month; revenue for the first year topped $70,000. Since going live, Greenvelope has sent more than 300,000 invitations.

When Franklin analyzed the sales data, he realized that engaged couples comprised just a fraction of his client base. To his surprise, businesses were customizing wedding invitation templates for corporate events. Following that discovery, business templates and corporate packages (starting at $10 per month for 50 contacts) were added to Greenvelope's offerings.

Community relations manager Paige Hamp uses Greenvelope to send electronic invitations internally at healthcare IT provider Allscripts. "In a time when we are working to be more environmentally responsible, the invitations are a green option that still feels personal and elegant," Hamp says.

Sales climbed to $10,000 per month in November 2011, allowing Franklin to hire additional staffers and expand offerings to 75 templates for weddings, corporate events and religious celebrations.

As a growing number of sites introduce formal designs and envelope automation, Franklin works to keep Greenvelope ahead of the curve. "The competition is always pushing me to come up with ways to do things better," he says.

Although Franklin plans to introduce new features and additional designs in the coming months, he wants Greenvelope to remain true to his core values: providing a service with a positive impact on the environment.

For more unusual ways to make money, visit this site.

[Via - NicheGeek.com]

* - do you own a web-based business? We'd like to profile your website, too.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

What Matters Now: How to Win in a World of Relentless Change, Ferocious Competition, and Unstoppable Innovation

How Tyler Johnson Gets Millions, Builing Wilderness Trails

Zipz Shoes Success Story

Sauceaholic

Cool Startups - ReGreenCorp.Com

How to Make Millions with Your Ideas: An Entrepreneur's Guide by Dan S. Kennedy

101 Businesses You Can Start With Less Than One Thousand Dollars: For Stay-at-Home Moms & Dads

Make Your Ideas Mean Business

Site of the day - PickyDomains.com, world's first risk free naming agency

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Monday, February 27, 2012

Free Domain Givaway

Our hosting partner is offering free domain giveaway. In addition to that, you'll get $25 coupon for Adwords and $25 coupon for Bing/Yahoo! search ads.

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Friday, February 24, 2012

Do You Have Nerves To Date?

Site of the day - PickyDomains.com, world's first risk free naming agency



http://dating.nerve.com/

As the stigma of online dating has faded dramatically, we have seen range of innovative approaches to matching singles. For example, we recently reported on DuoDater’s approach, which teams single friends up to arrange double dates with each other’s support. Now, Nerve Dating uses conversation prompts and live chat rather than requiring users to fill out a profile.

Where many dating sites require users to detail their vital statistics and personality, Nerve Dating aims to make users’ decisions more meaningful than a quick scan over a potential partner’s information and photos. On the website, daters fill out the gender, age and proximity range of their desired match. From here they can fill out a traditional profile or instantly share with others what they did last night, prompting a conversation much like it could happen at a real-life social gathering. Users can also react to others’ stories from the previous evening, immediately creating conversations around a common interest, for example.

Currently available in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, with plans to expand to Chicago, Boston, Washington, Seattle and Austin, Nerve Dating aims to combine some of the best elements of online and offline dating. An approach for your neck of the woods?

For more unusual ways to make money, visit this site.

[Via - SpringWise.com]

* - do you own a web-based business? We'd like to profile your website, too.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

What Matters Now: How to Win in a World of Relentless Change, Ferocious Competition, and Unstoppable Innovation

How Tyler Johnson Gets Millions, Builing Wilderness Trails

Zipz Shoes Success Story

Sauceaholic

Cool Startups - ReGreenCorp.Com

How to Make Millions with Your Ideas: An Entrepreneur's Guide by Dan S. Kennedy

101 Businesses You Can Start With Less Than One Thousand Dollars: For Stay-at-Home Moms & Dads

Make Your Ideas Mean Business

Site of the day - PickyDomains.com, world's first risk free naming agency

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Monday, February 20, 2012

Cool Startups - Recoil Winders

Site of the day - PickyDomains.com, world's first risk free naming agency



http://www.recoilwinders.com/

David Alden would call himself a Kickstarter success. The Park City local used the website, which helps to find funding for independent projects, to take his business idea from concept to complete.

Recoil, a plastic device similar to a fishing reel for wires, provides an easy solution to tidy up offices, entertainment centers or the ear buds in your pocket. Alden's Recoil is a simple plastic case that wires hook and wind into, keeping them neatly tucked inside the case.

"This is a lot more than a winder too," he added. "This is a management system that we're building."

Alden's idea came from a typical frustration as he was moving into his new home in Park City just more than a year ago. Despite meticulously building a home for his family that reflected their personal style and accommodated the furniture and art, he couldn't stop focusing on the chaos of wires strung throughout the house.

"I remember being mad that I hadn't designed in a place to hide all these wires and cables," Alden said. "Who likes to look at all these wires hanging everywhere?"

He ran to a nearby store to pick up a fishing reel. When he realized it would work, he started to think big.

"It was cool, but it wasn't very practical," Alden said. "A $300 fishing reel didn't seem like the best way to store a 50-cent cord, so right then I realized it was a matter of winding the cords up effectively."

Soon, he was on his way to China to develop and manufacture Recoil, but the company needed $60,000 before full production could begin and half of the project cost had to be paid up front. Alden paid the $30,000 and went home to start figuring out where he was going to find the other $30,000 to get the product into stores.

"I had begun production in China," Alden said. " It was all self-funded at first, and I remember scratching my head thinking 'How am I going to come up with the rest?'"

In stepped Kickstarter, and within three days of posting the project Alden had met his goal. And then some. The project has little more than a week until the Recoil project closes, but with nearly 2,000 backers and more than 900 percent of what he was asking for in funding, Alden said the website has made getting the business off the ground a snap.

"I never anticipated all the added benefits to having a successful Kickstarter project beyond the funding," Alden said. "The funding is great, but I never anticipated all the emails I've been getting from distributors, salespeople, retailers and online companies that want to sell Recoil."

He plans to use extra funding to expand the business.

Alden came across big investors, corporations that wanted to partner with him. Even the storage company where he plans on shipping the product contacted him through his Kickstarter account. He's sold 10,000 units so far without ever finding a distributor, reaching markets in Asia and Europe.

Since Alden watched his idea take off, he started building on his original concept with more products. He originally planned on selling 15,000 Recoils in the first year, but since that number was nearly matched in preorders, he's been at work refiguring sales goals and marketing.

"I always thought this was a product that could succeed," Alden said. "People really like it and I was always optimistic about its potential, but for it to have gone from nothing to so many different opportunities, I didn't know we'd have people speaking to us as though we're a well-established, multimillion dollar company."

For more unusual ways to make money, visit this site.

[Via - ParkRecord.Com]

* - do you own a web-based business? We'd like to profile your website, too.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

What Matters Now: How to Win in a World of Relentless Change, Ferocious Competition, and Unstoppable Innovation

How Tyler Johnson Gets Millions, Builing Wilderness Trails

Zipz Shoes Success Story

Sauceaholic

Cool Startups - ReGreenCorp.Com

How to Make Millions with Your Ideas: An Entrepreneur's Guide by Dan S. Kennedy

101 Businesses You Can Start With Less Than One Thousand Dollars: For Stay-at-Home Moms & Dads

Make Your Ideas Mean Business

Site of the day - PickyDomains.com, world's first risk free naming agency

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Saturday, February 18, 2012

10 Books That Teach How To Live Well In A Tanking Economy With Little To No Money

1. Off the Books: The Underground Economy of the Urban Poor

In this revealing study of a Southside Chicago neighborhood, sociologist Venkatesh opens a window on how the poor live. Focusing on domestics, entrepreneurs, hustlers, preachers and gangs linked in an underground economy that “manages to touch all households,” the book reveals how residents struggle between “their desires to live a just life and their needs to make ends meet as best they can.” In this milieu, African-American mechanics, painters, hairdressers, musicians and informal security guards are linked to prostitutes, drug dealers, gun dealers and car thieves in illegal enterprises that even police and politicians are involved in, though not all are criminals in the usual sense. Storefront clergy, often dependent “on the underground for their own livelihood,” serve as mediators and brokers between individuals and gang members, who have “insinuated themselves—and their drug money—into the deepest reaches of the community.” Although the book’s academic tenor is occasionally wearying, Venkatesh keeps his work vital and poignant by using the words of his subjects, who are as dependent on this intricate web as they are fearful of its dangers.

2. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

Economics is not widely considered to be one of the sexier sciences. The annual Nobel Prize winner in that field never receives as much publicity as his or her compatriots in peace, literature, or physics. But if such slights are based on the notion that economics is dull, or that economists are concerned only with finance itself, Steven D. Levitt will change some minds. In Freakonomics (written with Stephen J. Dubner), Levitt argues that many apparent mysteries of everyday life don’t need to be so mysterious: they could be illuminated and made even more fascinating by asking the right questions and drawing connections. For example, Levitt traces the drop in violent crime rates to a drop in violent criminals and, digging further, to the Roe v. Wade decision that preempted the existence of some people who would be born to poverty and hardship. Elsewhere, by analyzing data gathered from inner-city Chicago drug-dealing gangs, Levitt outlines a corporate structure much like McDonald’s, where the top bosses make great money while scores of underlings make something below minimum wage. And in a section that may alarm or relieve worried parents, Levitt argues that parenting methods don’t really matter much and that a backyard swimming pool is much more dangerous than a gun. These enlightening chapters are separated by effusive passages from Dubner’s 2003 profile of Levitt in The New York Times Magazine, which led to the book being written. In a book filled with bold logic, such back-patting veers Freakonomics, however briefly, away from what Levitt actually has to say. Although maybe there’s a good economic reason for that too, and we’re just not getting it yet.

3. Ragnar’s Guide to the Underground Economy

Through detailed case studies Ragnar shows you how carpenters, woodcutters, farmers, housecleaners, computer consultants, mechanics, lawyers, vendors, locksmiths and others are cashing in on today’s booming economy - and keeping what they earn by not paying taxes. From these undergrounders you’ll learn how to locate work, get paid without supplying identifying numbers, prepare a realistic budget, advertise your services or product and finance your project when you can’t go to the bank. You’ll also learn the pitfalls of working off the books and what you can do to prepare for them.

4. How to Survive Without a Salary: Learning How to Live the Conserver Lifestyle

I thought that this book was so funny in places that I haven’t laughed so hard, so much, for a long time. Charles is a skilled writer; the book is very readable, intelligent, thoughtful,and well organized. It contains a copious (even prodigious) amount of tips, for a 200-page book. Very practical, and at the same time touches on abtruse philosophical areas, especially at the end of the book.

Hey, I used to think I was cheap. This guy is CHEAP. His anecdotes include waiting for it to rain to take a shower instead of installing indoor plumbing. He had a big hole in the floor of his entryway, or somewhere in his house, into which the kids and a few guests fell. He refused to spend one cent covering the hole, until a neighbor told him about a steel grate they threw away years ago, so he went to the dump and found it.

The point is that you can learn from a top-notch “conserver”; an applied example I would give is to buy two gallons of milk when it’s on sale and freeze one for later use (works well!). This guy probably drinks powdered milk though.

I disagree with his economic analysis; prudence CAN be a vice, as any virtue most certainly is in its extreme, or even overdone. But Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations is not just about “McPimple Burger” or keeping up with the Joneses. Any system on a mass scale is going to have gaping faults, and the weaker of us might succumb to our basest impulses. But perhaps Long goes a bit too far the other way…

At any rate, he sounds like an economic anarchist. Very well thought out book, great advice.

5. Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets

In Freakonomics, many people were fascinated by a section that described how most crack cocaine dealers lived at home with their mothers. Why? They make less money than minimum wage. The source of that factoid was research conducted on site by Sudhir Venkatesh, author of Gang Leader for a Day, who describes in this book how he did that research and came to make decisions one day for part of the Black Kings gang in Chicago.

In the process of reading this book, you’ll learn more than you ever expected to know about the ways that the poorest people support and protect themselves. You’ll also find how drug-dealing gangs are both a help and a hindrance to the poor.

More powerfully, you’ll be exposed to the great difficulties involved in observing the lives of the poor and the gangs that spring from them. The moral and ethical dilemmas this book presents are almost beyond belief.

6. Under the Table and Into Your Pocket: The How and Why of the Underground Economy

Under The Table And Into Your Pocket: The How And Why Of The Underground Economy by Bill Wilson will provide the non-specialist general reader with a complete education on a facet of the American economy rarely (if ever) covered in school. Beginning with an introduction to just some of the ways governmental regulations strangle business, overtax the little guy, and enable Washington to be the drunken big spender that it is today (if you overpay your taxes by $7,000 and don’t reclaim it within three years you’re out of luck - but underpay it by $7,000 and the IRS can and will come after you no matter how much time has passed!), Under The Table proceeds to demonstrate how the little guy can circumvent taxes by doing business away from Big Brother’s prying eyes. From boarding houses and flea markets to roadside merchants and dominatrix work, Under The Table covers the benefits, disadvantages, tips, tricks, techniques and much more of common underground ways to earn a living. Under The Table is emphatically not a legal guide; neither the author nor the publisher assume any responsibility for the use or misuse of information contained within - but the eye-opening ins and outs of a truly free economy make for quite fascinating and advantageous reading.

7. Deep Inside the Underground Economy: How Millions of Americans are Practising Free Enterprise in an Unfree Economy

Are you fed up with giving so much of your hard earned cash to the government, then watching it get spent on ridiculous pork-barrel special-interest projects? Would you like to hold on to more of your money for your own special-interest boondoggles? The underground economy continues to grow in spite of ever-widening atttempts by the government to regulate and tax everything we do. Millions of Americans are practising fee enterprise in today’s increasingly unfree tax society. This is the most comprehensive how-to book ever written for those entrepreneurial individuals who have decided to end their slavery to a wage and to government taxation as well. Discover how you can keep more of what you earn for yourself. Here you will find complete and up-to-date information on the ins and outs of guerrilla capitalism and the underground economy in this country.

8. Empire of Scrounge: Inside the Urban Underground of Dumpster Diving, Trash Picking, and Street Scavenging.

In December of 2001 Jeff Ferrell quit his job as tenured professor, moved back to his hometown of Fort Worth, Texas, and, with a place to live but no real income, began an eight-month odyssey of essentially living off of the street. Empire of Scrounge tells the story of this unusual journey into the often illicit worlds of scrounging, recycling, and second-hand living. Existing as a dumpster diver and trash picker, Ferrell adopted a way of life that was both field research and free-form survival. Riding around on his scrounged BMX bicycle, Ferrell investigated the million-dollar mansions, working-class neighborhoods, middle class suburbs, industrial and commercial strips, and the large downtown area, where he found countless discarded treasures, from unopened presents and new clothes to scrap metal and even food.

9. McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld

In McMafia, Misha Glenny draws the dark map that lies on the other side of Tom Friedman’s bright flat world. That connected globe not only brings software coders and supply-chain outsourcers closer together; it’s also opened the gates to a criminal network of unsettling vastness, complexity, and efficiency that represents a fifth of the earth’s economy, trading in everything from untaxed cigarettes and the usual narcotics to human lives and nuclear material. Glenny’s a Balkans expert, and he begins his story there, with the illicit–but often state-sponsored–underworld that grew out of the post-Soviet chaos, but he soon follows the contraband everywhere from Mumbai and Johannesburg to rural Colombia and the U.S. suburbs. It’s not just a hodgepodge of scare clips, though: Glenny reports from the ground but follows the leads as high as they go, showing how the dark and bright sides of the flat world are more connected than we imagine.

10. Living Well on Practically Nothing

Living Well on Practically Nothing: Revised and Updated Edition is for people who need to live on a lot less money. If you have been fired, demoted, retired, divorced, widowed, bankrupted or swindled - or you just want to quit your job and remain financially self-reliant - this book is for you. In it are hundreds of tips, secrets and necessary skills for living well on little money. Chapters include: Save Up to $37,000 a Year and Live on $12,000 a Year; Low-Cost Computers for Fun, Profit, and Education; Some Ways to Live on No Money at All; A Day of Cheap Living; A New Career or Business for You; Fix Things and Make Them Last; and Protect Your Investments and Make Them Grow. From cover to cover, this book is stocked with proven methods for saving money on shelter, food, clothing, transportation, entertainment, health care and more. The author left the “system” in 1969 and has worked for himself ever since. Let him show you how you, too, can live happily, comfortably and with complete financial freedom.

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How To Make Money Coming Up With Names And Domains For Other People

Site of the day - PickyDomains.com, world's first risk free naming agency

We at PickyDomains.com are offering you a cool way to make a few extra dollars online. Here is how it works. If you need a cool domain, name or slogan and aren't able to come up with one on your own, you simply place an order with PickyDomains ($50 for regular order and $100 for premium order). You immediately start receiving suggestions. Here is the cool part - you pay ONLY if you decide to use the name we suggested. If you don't like any suggestions - you get your money back. So there is absolutely no risk for you.

We always have 30-50 orders that are available to work on. So if you are a wordsmith or would like to try a hand at naming things, you'll get 40-60% of the order fee, if your suggestion is picked. The minimum amount you get is $20 and the maximum is $60. There is also a bonus system that rewards you even if your suggestions aren't picked. You won't get rich, but it's a cool and easy way to make a few extra bucks for those who like playing around with words.

PickyDomains.com has been in business since 2007 and we've come up with over 2000 domains, names and slogans. The only requirements for contributors are Enlish as native language and PayPal account to receive payments (this is the only way to get paid). If you'd like to give it a try, here is list of 5 latest orders in need of suggestions.

1. Domain for a Professional Home Information and Advice Website

2. Domain name - Search engine for kids

3. Hosting Domain Wanted

4. Web based apps

6. Domain Wanted - Technology SuperStore

7. Create a memorable coffee brand !

8. Education and Training for Business Professionals

9. CMS for Restaurants

10. Name for Weight Loss Pills

Site of the day - PickyDomains.com, world's first risk free naming agency

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Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Niche Businesses - Taxi For Kids

Site of the day - PickyDomains.com, world's first risk free naming agency



http://www.fleurettekidstaxi.ca/

If kids can have a bus service dedicated entirely to their needs, it only stands to reason that a specialized taxi can’t be far behind. Enter Fleurette Kids Taxi, a service in Canada’s Ottawa region focused entirely on transporting children.

Targeting the Ottawa-Gatineau area of Canada’s capital region, Fleurette Kids Taxi is the brainchild of a certified early childhood educator and mother of two. Aiming to provide a reliable transportation service when parents cannot, Fleurette promises not only to bring kids from one activity to another throughout a busy day, but also to stay with them as needed. In fact, the company even offers to recommend ideas for parents seeking activity suggestions. The company’s proprietor explains: “I have seen first-hand the challenges parents face in balancing their busy schedules and transporting their kids to after school activities, visiting friends, parties or just needing someone to stay with them during such times. After talking to a number of parents and having experienced it in my own life, I realized the need for a solution towards this problem – this is why I started Fleurette Kids Taxi.”

Parents may be increasingly strapped for time, but kids’ daily activities remain just as busy as always. Time to offer stressed-out parents in your area a little transportation help?

For more unusual ways to make money, visit this site.

[Via - BusinessWeek.Com]

* - do you own a web-based business? We'd like to profile your website, too.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

What Matters Now: How to Win in a World of Relentless Change, Ferocious Competition, and Unstoppable Innovation

How Tyler Johnson Gets Millions, Builing Wilderness Trails

Zipz Shoes Success Story

Sauceaholic

Cool Startups - ReGreenCorp.Com

How to Make Millions with Your Ideas: An Entrepreneur's Guide by Dan S. Kennedy

101 Businesses You Can Start With Less Than One Thousand Dollars: For Stay-at-Home Moms & Dads

Make Your Ideas Mean Business

Site of the day - PickyDomains.com, world's first risk free naming agency

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Saturday, February 11, 2012

Linkorama

Here are some quick links from our partners you’ll most definitely find helpful.

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7. Our favorite place to by and sell links online
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Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Social Startups - YouRenew.Com Story

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http://www.yourenew.com/

Founded: 2008
Employees: 21
Revenue 2011: more than $2.5 million

When Robert Casey first learned that the average lifespan of a cell phone is only 15 months, the then-Yale undergrad imagined that refurbishing working phones could keep them out of landfills—and be more profitable than recycling them for metal and parts.

With less than 20 percent of electronic waste recycled, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, "We’re competing against the trash can," says Casey, now 23. From his dorm room, he and Rich Littlehale started YouRenew.com in 2008, paying consumers for used electronics, such as cell phones and laptops, and reselling them (a customer can get $130 for an iPhone 3GS 16GB in good condition).

Data is cleared from devices, which are tested, refurbished, repackaged, and resold to small retailers and independent authorized dealers. YouRenew later began servicing corporate clients, such as Chicago law firm Jenner & Block. Companies that need to dispose of large volumes of phones, computers, and servers securely now make up most of its business.

Led by Chief Executive Guy Minetti, 60, YouRenew has processed 91,000 orders to date, some involving hundreds to thousands of items. Casey expects the company to handle more than 100,000 devices this year.

For more unusual ways to make money, visit this site.

[Via - BusinessWeek.Com]

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Monday, February 06, 2012

Hot Franchises - iFlySeattle.Com

Site of the day - PickyDomains.com, world's first risk free naming agency


http://www.iflyseattle.com

Staying in line, obeying orders, doing everything by the book--some might think the military is not the best place for an entrepreneur. Bill Adams disagrees. "I spent 21 years of my life working in the most entrepreneurial environment in the world, U.S. Special Operations (aka the Green Berets)," he says. "Having entrepreneurs in the infantry could be a disaster. But in Special Ops, that's exactly what they want. You need people who can think up a mission and then figure out how to do it, no matter what."

Needless to say, when he retired from the military in 2004, Adams wanted to work for himself. He created and sold a company that performs risk analysis on stadiums and other public venues. Then he invested in an experimental helicopter company, which he helped run for two years. When it came time to move on to the next venture in 2008, Adams decided he wanted to do something fun, and he and his wife, Lysa, both thought of the iFly franchise, which operates high-powered vertical wind tunnels in which users can practice sky-diving techniques or just bop around on a column of air. The couple met on a drop zone, and both had completed thousands of jumps, so it was natural fit.

The two prepared to open shop in their hometown of Seattle, but when the recession hit, their startup loan fell through. But they didn't give up, and in September 2011, Bill and Lysa finally cranked up the fans at their $10 million iFly Seattle location. Weekends have been fully booked ever since, and now they're planning to open a new location every 18 months throughout the U.S. We talked to them about their incredible takeoff. --Jason Daley

You've both experienced the real thing. Does a wind tunnel compare?
Bill: I first trained in a wind tunnel in 1988 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, when they were still top secret. It was just an old, converted C-130 plane engine in a silo with some chain-link fence over it. But after a week of training on that thing, I came away and thought, That's the most fun I've ever had. Someone needs to perfect that technology.

Lysa: When Bill first introduced me to indoor sky diving, I remember thinking, Everybody should have one of these in their backyard. When he started taking clients to the iFly in Arizona, I was jealous and told him, "You're just going to have to build me one." And he did.

How did you line up financing in this credit market?
Bill: Even though our original financing fell apart, like in Special Operations, we still had our dream intact, and we set off to get what we wanted. Fortunately, I found a small group of friends to partner with me, and I found Foundation Bank, which focuses on clients like me. My banker had visited my helicopter factory in Arizona before, and even came to Alaska when I wanted to expand there. She checked out another wind tunnel facility and learned everything we wanted to do. They're involved in our business and made a commitment to us, when a normal bank would say, "Indoor sky diving? Good luck with that."

Who uses the tunnel?
Lysa: On weekends we cater to mom and pop and the kids, but the facility is built with real sky divers in mind. Our goal is to get these fans rolling 24 hours a day all week, and we're hoping to fill our after-hours with coaching and tunnel camps, where sky divers can get instruction from world champions. We also want to get the military in here for discreet, early-hours training. If you are a professional, this is where you hone your skills. If you dream of becoming a sky diver, this is where you begin. Or if you just want to feel what it's like to fly, we can make that dream a reality.

Has the excitement of the tunnel worn off?
Bill: Never. We fly in the tunnel every day, either before we open or after we close, and our kids fly on the weekends. We've been working on this business for the last year, so we haven't been able to sky-dive, but our flying skills have gotten really good.

For more unusual ways to make money, visit this site.

[Via - Entprereneur.Com]

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Site of the day - PickyDomains.com, world's first risk free naming agency

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Saturday, February 04, 2012

How To Make Money With Naming

Site of the day - PickyDomains.com, world's first risk free naming agency

We at PickyDomains.com are offering you a cool way to make a few extra dollars online. Here is how it works. If you need a cool domain, name or slogan and aren't able to come up with one on your own, you simply place an order with PickyDomains ($50 for regular order and $100 for premium order). You immediately start receiving suggestions. Here is the cool part - you pay ONLY if you decide to use the name we suggested. If you don't like any suggestions - you get your money back. So there is absolutely no risk for you.

We always have 30-50 orders that are available to work on. So if you are a wordsmith or would like to try a hand at naming things, you'll get 40-60% of the order fee, if your suggestion is picked. The minimum amount you get is $20 and the maximum is $60. There is also a bonus system that rewards you even if your suggestions aren't picked. You won't get rich, but it's a cool and easy way to make a few extra bucks for those who like playing around with words.

PickyDomains.com has been in business since 2007 and we've come up with over 2000 domains, names and slogans. The only requirements for contributors are Enlish as native language and PayPal account to receive payments (this is the only way to get paid). If you'd like to give it a try, here is list of 5 latest orders in need of suggestions.

1. Wedding Site Domain.

2. Name for interactive alphabet learning tool for Apple Store

3. Domain for website generating-service/website

4. Handheld computer software development comany name (and domain) wanted

5. SWC International Accountant

Site of the day - PickyDomains.com, world's first risk free naming agency

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