| The Best Business Bars Posted: 22 Jul 2011 04:30 AM PDT 
Enterpreneur recently releases a list of the best business bars. Whether you want to rub elbows with investors or hear the latest business gossip. Elixer in San Francisco is the best bar for business gossip. among entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and folks in green business, “H,” as he’s known, is most renowned as the Bay Area’s best bartender if you’re on the market for some work-related gossip. Maybe it’s because he’s a good listener. Maybe it’s his MBA from Thunderbird. Or maybe it’s those green business happy-hour events he hosts on the second Thursday of every month. Whatever the reason, customers feel comfortable chatting with H. And H is happy to spill.
Copa d’Oro in Santa Monica is the best bar for networking. The soft lighting and antique metal-wood-leather scheme makes Copa a winner on looks alone, but cash-conscious entrepreneurs will appreciate the bar all the more for its extended happy hour–5:30 to 8 p.m. Copa is busy without the hassle, has a simple menu and is “quiet enough but still cool,” says Patricia Handschiegel, serial entrepreneur and founder of Chic Market.
Tom & Jerry’s in New York City is the best bar for meeting VCs. Free Wi-Fi, homemade Chex mix and a binder of local take-out menus are among the on-the-record reasons why young social media mavens and entrepreneurs hang here (and, in the summer, the refreshing cucumber-lime cocktails are a big draw, too). Naturally, this clientele also has attracted venture capitalists looking for the next Mark Zuckerberg, making T&J’s our favorite bar in which to get an idea funded. Insider gossip suggests that dozens of funding deals–including some with more than six zeroes in front of the decimal point–have been hatched at the long mahogany bar.
Photo by Vincent Teeuwen 
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| Panning the Streets of NYC for Gold Posted: 21 Jul 2011 03:20 PM PDT 
CBS News: Many people have come to New York over the years in search of fortune. It is not true that the streets are paved with gold, but the sidewalks might be.
Sometimes, in tough times, people think up the craziest ideas for making money. Take, for example, 43-year-old, unemployed jewelry setter Raffi Steppanian. As CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman reports, when it comes to unusual business plans, Steppanian takes the gold – literally. Steppanian said he’s a “prospector looking for placer deposits.” A “placer deposit” is anywhere gold tends to settle – like the cracks and crevices of a mountain stream. But this isn’t where Steppanian’s looking. Last month, he started looking for gold in the cracks and crevices of 47th Street – in Midtown Manhattan. Steppanian is thoroughly convinced there’s gold in them there expansion joints. “It’s been in there for years, it’s embedded in there,” he said. He’s mining 47th Street specifically because this is New York’s Diamond District. Steppanian said jewelry manufacturing, especially in the old days, produced a lot of little gold flakes and he said some of those had to end up on the worker’s feet – which he assumes then got transferred to the sidewalk and eventually washed into these cracks. I was wondering when this would take off in the United States. I first reported that people were sweeping the streets of Ahmadabad, India for gold in March. Photo by John Biehler. 
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| Young Entrepreneurs Dare You To Bring On The Bling Posted: 21 Jul 2011 10:52 AM PDT 
Janessa and Rachel may be under the age of 18, but they are already very entrepreneurial. Together they have launched a jewelry business, Bring on the Bling, that connects US customers with fun Peruvian pieces. With prices under $10 each, their pieces are affordable enough for people of all ages. I recently ask both girls a few questions about their business and their goals. Tell us a little about Bring on the Bling. Janessa, age 14 and Rachel, age 16 partnered in 'Bring On The Bling!' in the spring of 2011. They select and buy their own jewelry, hair accessories and 'blingy items' for resale in their new partner venture.
What inspired it? Rachel, at age 13, had just gotten her ears pierced, and since she had owned multiple businesses since the age of six, wanted a 'teen girl' biz, something fun and girly, so Rachel searched the internet and came across a Peruvian jewelry site. She tested the market with a sample pack and when the jewelry sold out in one afternoon, she knew she had a "hot item". Since that day in August 2008, she has bought and sold many batches of jewelry.
Where is your jewelry currently sold? The jewelry is currently sold online at www.bringonthebling.webs.com and www.everygirlzdream.webs.com, local consignment shops in NE, local Farmers' Markets and Serenity Hand and Foot Spa in Holdrege, NE.
How much does your jewelry cost? Cost is $2.00 to $12.00 for a set.
What styles do they come in? All sorts of styles, Murano jewelry, Peruvian stones, coconut rings, leather, beads, feathers, semi-precious stones, tawa seed jewelry, shells, etc.
What separates you from the competition? What separates us from the competition is the fact that it is quality, unique jewelry at a reasonable price and attractive to all age groups, from age 8 to 88!
Do you have any goals you’d like to accomplish over the next year or so? Yes, We would like to expand our jewelry line and get into purses, hair accessories, and shoes.
What are some lessons your business has taught you? Business is never boring, as there is always something to improve and always new ideas, especially when you bring a partner into the business. Business is always changing and one needs to stay sharp in their skills and evolving market. Business is competitive, so it is all about marketing.
Is there anything else you’d like to add? Yes, We give 10% of our profits monthly to help feed a seven -year-old Peruvian girl, Gioryanna through Food for the Hungry.
Do you have any advice you’d like to offer fellow teens about starting a business? Yes, just start. Start small, start young and it will get easy. Entrepreneuring is a verb, so just do it! Start small and grow with your businesses as your knowledge grows. Don't worry about what other people will say; they will want to copy you! Start with your passion and try to make money at it. It makes it much easier to get started.
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| Ideas are Worthless By Themselves Posted: 21 Jul 2011 10:26 AM PDT About five years ago, I was slaving away as a corporate IT drone, working on a dusty old shipping computer in a frigid warehouse. I was having trouble upgrading the UPS software because I had to type in a long string of numbers and my fingers kept missing the correct keys on the keyboard. The shipping department manager noticed my trouble and said, “Wow, I thought I was a bad typer.” “I’m having trouble typing because my fingers are so cold,” I responded. Almost immediately I had an idea. Computers have fans on the back to vent out the hot air. What if we could direct that warm air onto the keyboard, where it could warm the fingers of the typist? I asked an engineer friend if it was possible to just plug a tube in the back of the computer and direct it where you wanted the air to go. He explained that most of the heat would probably be lost before it reached the keyboard and that most likely it would damage the computer because the fans inside the computer would have to push a greater volume of air. This was in the early days of crazy USB attachments, and I wondered aloud if we could somehow power a fan via USB and use it to draw the warmed air out. He said it was possible, and that there might be a heating element that was small enough to be powered via USB as well. Satisfied with my feasibility of my idea, I continued to think about it for a few more hours until I was distracted by some other real work. I completely forgot about the idea. Until today. I just saw a this keyboard with integrated heater and fan for sale on Japan Trend Shop. 
I could be upset, as so many are, when they see that “their idea” has been “stolen” and created by someone else, but I’m not. It just proves my adage that ideas are worthless; execution is everything. This product, if it works, would be absolutely perfect for those cold warehouse computers used in shipping departments and manufacturing around the world. I can foresee great profits for someone who get’s this in front of the right people. 
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| Insurance That Pays You When You’re Unemployed Posted: 21 Jul 2011 09:41 AM PDT 
Income Assure is a private insurance company that sells supplemental unemployment insurance so that you can maintain 50% of your income if you lose your job. Though state unemployment systems are designed to replace 50% of former wages, benefits are capped at a relatively low fixed dollar amount. So, once you earn above a certain level, you do not reach the intended 50% wage replacement. Faced with a cash crunch, and without adequate salary replacement, displaced workers are often forced to make difficult choices and tradeoffs. Should I buy groceries or pay the utility bill? Will I default on my mortgage or delay retirement by dipping into my 401(k) account? Will I be able to help my child with college tuition? IncomeAssure solves these problems. It is the first supplemental unemployment insurance policy of its kind in the U.S. In the event of involuntary unemployment, IncomeAssure will restore you to 50% of your former wages, providing financial protection and peace of mind. Sample premiums: - Construction: $62.20 per month
- Leisure and Hospitality: $39.73
- Manufacturing, Durable Goods: $37.35
- Financial Activities: $20.17
- Education and Healthcare Services: $15.05
- Public Administration: $12.23
How Long Does it Last? IncomeAssure aligns with the state unemployment benefits system, which pays benefits over 26 weeks. There is a mandatory elimination (waiting) period of two weeks for any new claim, after which IncomeAssure pays for the remainder of the 26 week state period, or up to 24 weeks of benefits 
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| Candy From Japan Posted: 21 Jul 2011 09:28 AM PDT 
When you are in a foreign culture, even simple things can be very interesting. Even grocery shopping. Candy Japan run by an Finish expat in Japan that is a subscription service where for a monthly fee you get a surprise envelope filled with random Japanese candy every two weeks. How It Works Every two weeks they’ll select some surprise candy and mail it to you directly from Japan. You will get to try all sorts of things only available in Japan. There will be some very cute packaging and some new delicious tastes, too. What It Costs USD $23.95 or EUR 16.50€ / month for two monthly envelopes. Shipping is included. 
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| Angry Birds Are Biggest Back to School Trend Posted: 21 Jul 2011 07:47 AM PDT 
The hot new trend this back-to-school season is anything having to do with Angry Birds, according to CNN Money: Almost two years after it launched, the highly-addictive Angry Birds iPhone app in which birds are slung at pigs living in wood houses is still the No.1-selling paid app. Now for the first time, Angry Birds’ digital popularity is spilling over into the real world — just in time for the back to school shopping frenzy. Mattel’s “Angry Birds Knock on Wood” game hit stores in May. The toymaker said it has had to ramp up production to meet demand.
Shipments of “Angry Birds” related goods — everything from toys to backpacks and blankets — have surged 500% just in the past five months, according to Panjiva, a company that tracks global shipments to the United States from about 500,000 global suppliers. How can you profit from this trend? 
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| Kid Sells Rare Shoes for Big Bucks Posted: 21 Jul 2011 06:56 AM PDT 
The Bellingham Herald: Jon Zobel has a hot business going, flipping hip-hop-inspired, limited-edition sneakers, hats and watches to like-minded collectors for wads of cash. At 13, he’s part of a “sneakerhead” trend that began in the 1980s with the rise of hip-hop culture and has trickled down to teens who hoard birthday money and holiday checks to buy pricey footwear with a cult-like following. Jon, who is going into eighth grade at University School in Davie, Fla., owns more than 30 pairs of pristine, hard-to-find sneakers. Displayed on shelves lining his bedroom, the footwear is the hipster’s equivalent of a coin collection. “I really like the way they look, and I like them because I make a lot of money selling them,” he says. Jon bought his first pair of kicks with money he made washing cars when he was 12. He became hooked on the hobby, finding a unique pair, then marking it up and reselling it via Facebook or eBay. Craigslist and websites like solecollector.com are also big marketplaces for shoes. 
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| Innovation Key In Poor Economy Posted: 21 Jul 2011 05:30 AM PDT 
A few years ago, Denis Place and his two partners left their jobs at Suss MicroTec to launch their own business. Today, Suss MicroTec no longer exists but their company, SemiProbe, is alive and well, reports USA Today. “In terms of employees, over the next five years, our expectation is to be at 60 to 75 people,” says Steve Mank, SemiProbe’s chief operating officer. If Mank is right, SemiProbe will come close to replacing the 80 jobs Vermont lost last year when Suss MicroTec closed up shop after 20 years in the state and moved its manufacturing back to Germany and its marketing to California. SemiProbe is one example of how innovation and invention are critical to America’s economy, especially in hard times, when jobs are scarce. “The whole engine that drives any economy is inventing, innovation,” says Stephen Gnass, a Los Angeles-based invention consultant and advocate for more than 30 years.
Photo from SemiProbe 
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| Scientific Success At 17 Posted: 21 Jul 2011 05:20 AM PDT 
When Shree Bose was in second grade, she tried to make blue spinach. At just 17 years of age, she won the first Google Global Science Fair with her research into ovarian cancer, reports The New York Times. For the winning research Ms. Bose looked at a chemotherapy drug, cisplatin, that is commonly taken by women with ovarian cancer. The problem is that the cancer cells tend to grow resistant to cisplatin over time, and Ms. Bose set out to find a way to counteract that. She found the answer in a cellular energy protein known as AMPK, or adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase. She observed that when AMPK was paired with cisplatin at the beginning of treatment the combination diminished the effectiveness of cisplatin. But added later on, when the cancer cells were growing resistant, the AMPK worked to maintain the effectiveness of cisplatin, allowing it to continue killing the malignant cells, at least in cell cultures. "That opens up a lot of new avenues for research," Ms. Bose said. Her research was supervised by Dr. Alakananda Basu at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth.
Image from Google 
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| The Struggle To Start A Recession-Era Biz Posted: 21 Jul 2011 05:00 AM PDT 
Finding the money to start a new business is not easy. So when Steve Antill found himself unemployed, he took the cash out of his IRA and launched Strictly Iron, reports Las Vegas Sun. The 34-year-old married father of two lost his job of 13 years and figured he would need to make it on his own. He estimates that he grossed $40,000 over the past year building security and decorative fencing at 30 job sites. It's mainly a one-man operation with the occasional buddy brought on to help. Antill has also stretched himself, adopting the role of marketer, bookkeeper, parts supplier and website operator. "For years I wanted to start my own business. When you're getting that steady pay at a job, it's hard to leave," Antill said. "I could see why other people would be starting businesses in times like this." Antill acknowledges that demand for such work can be a stark reminder of modern-day reality, but he recognizes that amid his job loss has come opportunity. He only hopes that the workload and the capital are out there to help him achieve his goals.
Photo from Strictly Iron 
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