Category Archives: Business Tips, Advice, & Ideas

Business Tips, Advice, & Ideas

The Power Of Curiosity

Bulletin reader Bob Gregory received this envelope from a restaurant he’d visited before. Rather than a straightforward discount voucher, this is a bit different. It demonstrates the power of one of the most important influencers on human behaviour – curiosity.  

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As you can see, the envelope offers money off  a meal at the restaurant, but here’s the  difference, you only find out how much of a discount after eating the meal and opening the envelope on receipt of the bill. It could be 25% or it could be 50%. It’s a surprise and you’re not allowed to find out beforehand.

Will it work? Well it certainly worked on Bob because he booked a meal, and I can see why. It’s something different to the ubiquitous discount voucher, and there’s an element of intrigue and excitement. Bob won’t know how much he’s saved until afterwards. 

Now he may suspect, as would many others, that the discount will be 25%,  but he doesn’t know for sure. Maybe it will be more. There’s only one way to find out.

Is this something you could use in your business? It seems to me there are many different ways this idea could be used. I’ll certainly be thinking about it.  

Motivational Quote Of The Day

“You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it.”                 

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Charles Buxton

Alternative Quote Of The Day

“Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time.”

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Steven Wright

You’re Never The Wrong Age

I never like to miss the chance to nail the “I’m too young/old excuse, and Nathan Clark has given me another chance. Eleven year old Nathan was doing his maths homework and needed to find a ruler. He looked down at his pencil and that’s when the inspiration hit – why not combine a ruler with a pencil? 

He went out and found a manufacturer, but their minimum order was 1,000 pencils. Not having the funds to proceed, Nathan made a video appeal and approached a fund raising company called Kickstart to raise the $350 he needed. Three days later over $2,500 had been pledged. 

 Will this make Nathan a millionaire? Probably not, but with the ambition and drive that he clearly has, Nathan will have a big success on his hands at some stage in the future.

Now consider this, if he can do all this at eleven, do you have any reason for not taking action with your own pals? 

Today’s National Day   

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NATIONAL FLUFFY SLIPPERS DAY!  

PUBLISHERS NOTICE

Forty-year Betting Veteran Makes Shocking Confession…

“I Still Don’t Have A Clue
  Which Horse Will Win!”

But By Analysing The Result Of Over
100,000Races, I’ve Discovered A Back Door
Route To a £20,000+ Guaranteed Year
Round Profit From Carefully Selected UK
Races…

Anyone Can Copy Me, It Takes Just
Ten Minutes A Day. And You Get To
Choose How Much You’ll Win…£10…
£20…Or Even £50 A Race!

For the full story visit;

www.streetwisenews.com/shotgun

Business Tips, Advice, & Ideas

Real Life Catches Up With Batman!

When I was a kid, my favourite TV show was Batman – not that modern serious nonsense, but the tongue-in-cheek 1960’s series starring Adam West.

One of my favourite scenes (which actually appeared in the feature film) is when Batman is lowered into the sea from a rope ladder attached to a helicopter. His legs disappear below the waves, and when he’s hauled back up, we see that the most unconvincing rubber shark has attached itself to his leg.

Batman is unfazed. He reaches into his utility belt (how I wanted one of those!) and pulls out an aerosol can. On the side are printed the words ‘Shark Repellent Spray.’ One squirt and the unfortunate fish is forced to loosen its grip and crashes back down in to the sea.

It was a bit of frivolous fun maybe, but there’s nothing funny about shark attacks. Recently there have been two high profile cases in which tourists have been killed by sharks while out swimming. I don’t think anyone has developed a repellent spray yet, but Joel Centeio may have come up with something even better.

It’s an electronic repelling device which a swimmer can attach to his arm or wrist by Velcro. In tests carried out by divers, the compact and watertight device drove sharks away. Apparently it works by emitting an electrical pulse which affects the gel in the sharks nose.

There’s no doubt that the perceived danger of shark attack is a lot higher than the actual danger, but that will only serve to boost that market for this device.

Even paranoid British surfers and swimmers could be a viable market!

Motivational Quote Of The Day

“It’s important to have a plan, a big picture. You can deviate from it or change it completely, but it gives you something to work for.”                    

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Shannon Miller

Alternative   
Quote Of The Day

“Ah, yes, divorce…from the Latin word meaning to rip out a man’s genitals.”

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Robin Williams

Talk O Clock

I checked the calendar and it’s not April 1st. This is a genuine business, but it has to be one of the strangest we’ve seen this year.

So you need to get up at 6.00am tomorrow morning…. What do you do? Set your alarm clock? No that’s too simple. What you do instead is contact Talk O Clock, who for a fee will get a complete stranger to ring you up and wake you in whatever way they see fit. The company have a panel of ‘wakers’ who (for reasons I can’t imagine) feel that waking a complete stranger at the crack of dawn is an enjoyable use of their time. If the customer doesn’t answer, he is called again by a robot. Amazing.

The more I think about it though, maybe it’s not such a bad idea. You have someone who wants to be woken by a stranger, and someone else who wants to wake strangers. Maybe a pair of weirdo’s who are made for each other!

Today’s National Day   

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NATIONAL LEAVE THE OFFICE EARLY DAY!  

———————————————————————————–

IMPORTANT PUBLISHERS NOTICE…

Forty-year Betting Veteran Makes Shocking Confession…

“I Still Don’t Have A Clue
  Which Horse Will Win!”

But By Analysing The Result Of Over
100,000Races, I’ve Discovered A Back Door
Route To a £20,000+ Guaranteed Year
Round Profit From Carefully Selected UK
Races…

Anyone Can Copy Me, It Takes Just
Ten Minutes A Day. And You Get To
Choose How Much You’ll Win…£10…
£20…Or Even £50 A Race!

For the full story visit;

www.streetwisenews.com/shotgun

Business Tips, Advice, & Ideas

Do You Really Need Investment?

It’s a bit of a knee-jerk reaction for many entrepreneurs to automatically think they need investment when they’re attempting to launch a new business, but it isn’t necessarily the case.

There are many ventures that don’t need outside funding at all, and to seek it out, can be expensive in either cash or equity loss. Having said that, there are circumstances where there is no alternative but to seek funding. For example

1.  If you need a prototype – where you have created something new. Having samples made, testing and modelling can be expensive.

2.  If you need specialist equipment – This will be particularly relevant in high-tech and engineering. Computer technology and bespoke tooling  doesn’t come cheap.

3. Where you have a run away success. This is something a lot of people don’t think about. Strong sales can create a problem if you don’t have the funds to finance production and distribution.

If none of the above apply, think very carefully about whether you really need outside funds. It’s always best if you can retain full control of your venture and aren’t weighed down by heavy interest repayments. 

Motivational Quote Of The Day

“A sense of humour is a major defence against minor troubles.”  

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Mignon McLaughlin

Alternative  Quote Of The Day

“A friend is the guy who will bail you out of prison, but your best friend is the guy sitting in jail with you.”                                              

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Joey Diaz

Tow And Go Service

It doesn’t take a great deal of ingenuity to set up as a taxi driver, but even with a simple service like this, it’s possible to add a twist and set yourself apart from the crowd.

Jackie Robinson Jr, a taxi driver from Kentucky, set up what he calls a ‘Tow and Go’ service….although strictly speaking, there’s no towing involved. The idea is quite simple. When you call for the service, Robinson takes along a colleague who will drive both you and your car to it’s destination. Needless to say, this is potentially life and livelihood saving for someone who’s had a few drinks more than intended and doesn’t wish to leave their car in a vulnerable place.

There are obviously insurance implications to a service like this, but it’s definitely something you could change a premium price for. I can see a high demand for this is any urban area – particularly at weekends.

Today’s National Day   

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NATIONAL SAY SOMETHING NICE DAY!  

PUBLISHERS NOTICE

Important Notice:

How To Get Weekly Compensation
From The “Get-Rich-Quick-Gurus”

I’m receiving £938 a week straight out of their pockets! To find out how YOU could do the same visit…

www.streetwisenews.com/fortune

Business Tips, Advice, & Ideas

The Pacemaker Secret

Wilson Greatbatch died in September this year, but there are many who owe their lives to him. He invented the heart pacemaker, and what’s particularly interesting is that he did it by accident.

In 1956, Greatbatch was building a heart rhythm recording device, when he mistakenly inserted a resistor that was the wrong size. He noted that the circuit it produced emitted intermittent electrical impulses which seemed to mirror those of a human heartbeat. This single observation led to the development of the modern pacemaker, half a million of which are implanted every year.

He was just lucky then? Well not quite. You see, when he ‘got lucky’ he was working hard and he was taking action with something. And then when he had the lucky break, he invested his own time, effort and $2,000 savings into converting the chance discovery into something useable and marketable. During the development phase, he was forced to feed his family from his vegetable garden.

You see, that’s the thing about luck-you’re more likely to stumble across a piece of it if you’re taking action (any action!) with something. And if you do, it will usually only benefit you if you take hold of it, and use it as a stepping stone to something tangible. The people you hear about getting rich through a lucky break were usually working hard when they got it, and then worked even harder to turn it into money and a better life. Luck, on its own, is rarely enough.

Motivational Quote Of The Day

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.”     

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Scott Adams

Alternative Quote Of The Day

I won’t say ours was a tough school, but we had our own coroner. We used to write essays like ‘What I’m going to be if I grow up.”  

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Lenny Bruce

Another Invention By Accident

While working for Eastman Kodak in 1942, Harry Coover, attempted to create some material to make a transparent gun sight. It wasn’t a success. The resulting compound was simply too sticky. The same thing happened again when Kodak scientists were working on polymers for aeroplane canopies, and it was then that Coover – soon to be Sir Harry Coover – realised they might have discovered something useful after all.

Superglue went on sale for the first time in 1958. Aside from being responsible for more than its fair share of visits to hospital casualty departments, it’s made a big contribution to modern life. And it all came about by accident.

History is littered with examples of people who set out trying to do one thing and failed, but somehow managed to end up doing something better. What did they have in common? They were all trying to do something!

Today’s National Day   

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NATIONAL TELL A LIE DAY!  

PUBLISHERS NOTICE

Important Notice:

How To Get Weekly Compensation
From The “Get-Rich-Quick-Gurus”

I’m receiving £938 a week straight out of their pockets! To find out how YOU could do the same visit…

www.streetwisenews.com/fortune

Business Tips, Advice, & Ideas

Do You Have Hidden Assets?

Just read something which, aside from being fascinating, may provide a ‘light bulb’ moment for someone.

BT’s network has 75 million miles of copper wire. At today’s price that’s worth around £50 Billion – which is more than three times the company’s market capitalisation of around £15 Billion! So the company is worth far more in scrap value than it is for it trading and profitability potential.

Now I know the company aren’t about to throw in the Telecom’s towel and go into the scrap metal business, but that got me thinking; How many individuals and companies are sitting on big assets which they don’t really think about?

And is there a way they could capitalise on these assets outside of their regular trading activity. Perhaps it’s worth thinking about your own hidden assets. They may be more modest than BT’s, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be life changing for you.

Motivational Quote Of The Day

“When I was young I thought money was the most important thing in life; now I’m old I know it is.”

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Oscar Wilde

Alternative   
Quote Of The Day

“Hate your job? There’s a support group for that. It’s called everybody and they meet at a bar.”        

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Drew Carey

3,000 Lunches A Day – And No Kitchen

A San Francisco company run by two Stanford business graduates provides lunches for over 3,000 office workers in the bay area each day, and they don’t cook or prepare a single one.

Eat Club’s secret is that they are middlemen – reaching deals with individual restaurants each day, negotiating discounts, and then delivering to their customers for a flat $7.50 a head. Nothing fancy- just three menu choices each day.

This seem like an excellent business model – let someone else invest in a restaurant, kitchens and everything else that’s needed, and then simply sell what they produce. If consumer tastes change, the company aren’t locked into one kind of food and can very quickly change supplier.

I can’t think of any reason why a business like this wouldn’t have a great chance of success in any major city – and with much lower risks and start up costs than a traditional catering operation.

Today’s National Day   

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NATIONAL I WANT YOU TO BE HAPPY DAY! 

Important Publishers Notice:

How To Get Weekly Compensation
From The “Get-Rich-Quick-Gurus”

I’m receiving £938 a week straight out of their pockets! To find out how YOU could do the same visit…

www.streetwisenews.com/fortune

Business Tips, Advice, & Ideas

Prepare For The Sipp Price War

Next year Vanguard, the world’s second-largest fund manager, is launching Britain’s cheapest private pension to date, throwing down the gauntlet to its competitors and fuelling expectations of a price war.

The self – invested personal pension (Sipp) will have an annual administration charge of 0.15%, capped at £375. That is far below the industry average of 0.35%. There will also be no additional costs for exit fees, valuation statements or transfers.

Vanguard says the Sipp will initially only be available to people who are building up their retirement savings, not those that have already started drawing on them. A pension drawdown service is expected to launch in the next year.

Someone putting the full £40,000 annual pension allowance into the Vanguard Sipp would pay £172 a year in charges. The same amount in a Vanguard fund held in the most expensive platform’s Sipp would cost up to £400 a year.

Compounded over decades of pension saving, these fees can add up. A 43-year-old investing £40,000 for the next 25 years would save almost £10,000 with Vanguards Target Retirement fund if invested Vanguard’s Sipp instead of a higher-cost platform.

Two years ago Vanguard introduced an Isa and investment platform credited with starting price war that has forced rivals to push down their costs. The Sipp, which promises to let savers sign up in just ten minutes, could shake up the market again by forcing another reduction in costs.

There’s more good news. Vanguard has some of the lowest fund fees in the industry. A typical Vanguard fund fees in the industry. A typical Vanguard fund comes with an average fee of 0.2%. Hargreaves Lansdown, the biggest investment platform, charges an average fund fee of 0.94%.

Note too that the account-fee cap applies across all the products you hold with Vanguard, whether that’s Sipp, Isa or a general account. The drawback to the Vanguard Sipp is the choice of funds. It only offers a limited own-brand selection.

Hargreaves Lansdown charges more – a 0.45% management fee plus fund fees and some dealing charges – but offers a full range of funds, investment trusts and UK and international shares.

Some investors will pay more in order to get access to a far wider choice of investments. But the success of Vanguard’s Isa shows that many will opt for a limited selection in return for low and clear charges.

Motivational Quote Of The Day

“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”   

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Jack London

Alternative   
Quote Of The Day

“My neighbour asked if he could use my lawnmower and I told him of course he could, so long as he didn’t take it out of my garden.”   

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Eric Morecambe

Manify It!

There’s a particular type of shop which I hate, and which my wife seems to gravitate towards for some reason. They smell horrifically florid – hardly surprising since half the stock seems to comprise of dried flowers, pot pouri and scented candles.

I really can’t stand anything about the places – but particularly the smell – which is why I was interested to read of a business set up by 13 year old Hart Main from Ohio.

Hart didn’t like the smell of the ‘girly’ candles his sister bought, and decided to create something different. ManCan was born and led to the development of a whole range of ‘manly’ scents including coffee, campfire, fresh cut grass, bacon and dirt!

What a great idea – and from a 13 year old who started the business by saving his paper round money.

The business he created poses a wider question though – what other primarily single sex products could be modified or adapted so that they appeal to the opposite sex?

Today’s National Day   

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NATIONAL LAUGH AND GET RICH DAY!  

PUBLISHERS NOTICE

__________________________________________________

I Have Some Very Good News…

Financial trading can be very complicated, or it really
can be as simple as this: 

1. Load up a piece of bespoke software  
2. Set up some simple checks and balances
3. Let it loose on the markets
4. React to some
5. Collect your profit! 

…And Repeat

You can now get on the inside and start profiting from this straight away. To find out how visit:


www.streetwisenews.com/wizard 

Business Tips, Advice, & Ideas

It’s Been A Good Month For…

An anonymous gold prospector has found the UK’s largest ever gold nugget. The 121.3g (4.2oz) lump, which is in two pieces that fit together like a jigsaw, was discovered at the bottom of a Scottish river using the technique of “sniping” – lying face down in the water wearing a diving mask, snorkel and dry suit. The previous record holder is the 85.7g Douglas Nugget, discovered in 2016 using the same technique.

Storm Atiyah helped UK wind farms generate almost 45% of Britain’s electricity on a Sunday last month. Customers on some smart-energy tariffs were even paid to use the excess. Octopus Energy paid 2,000 customers 5.6p for every kilowatt-hour used in certain overnight periods.

IT’S BEEN A BAD MONTH FOR …

Boris Johnson had to shave £400,000 off the asking price of his former marital home when he sold it recently. The four-bedroom, five-storey end-terrace in Islington, which he shared with his second wife, barrister Marina Wheeler, was put on the market in May for £3.75m, but eventually sold for £3.35m. The pair bought it in 2009 for £2.3m and will share the proceeds of the sale.

Thousands of small businesses could be plunged into debt after the collapse of a dubious digital advertising scheme. They signed up to lease screens displaying advertisements, with the revenue from these expected to cover their monthly payments. The advertisements did not appear and the agency went bust, but the contract they signed means the lease payments must still be made for three years.

Motivational Quote Of The Day

“Whatever you want to do, do it now. There are only so many tomorrows.

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Michael Landon

Alternative   
Quote Of The Day

“Age is strictly a case of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” 

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Jack Benny

Perfect Porridge

I don’t make porridge very often these days, and one of the main reasons is that I rarely get it right. I can’t be bothered measuring out the ingredients and so it ends up either the consistency of lumpy milk or lightly set cement.

One solution of course is the pre-measured satchets you can buy now, but they are expensive and it doesn’t help with the milk. Porridge-eating entrepreneur Tim Evans has come up with a different solution. He’s just launched his first product, the Oats Made Easy Porridge Bowl which takes the hassle out of the process.

The idea is remarkably simple. The bowl has two lines marked in ceramic pen one for the level of oats and the other for the level of milk. Just pop in the ingredients, stick it in the microwave and you have perfect porridge every time.

Today’s National Day   

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NATIONAL COMPLIMENT DAY!  

PUBLISHERS NOTICE

__________________________________________________

I Have Some Very Good News…

Financial trading can be very complicated, or it really
can be as simple as this: 

1. Load up a piece of bespoke software  
2. Set up some simple checks and balances
3. Let it loose on the markets
4. React to some
5. Collect your profit! 

…And Repeat

You can now get on the inside and start profiting from this straight away. To find out how visit:


www.streetwisenews.com/wizard