PROFIT WHILE HELPING

http://www.undp.org/gimlaunch/

The first report of United Nations Development Program’s Growing Inclusive Markets Initiative and the first such one with such depth and local knowledge, Creating Value for All showcases 50 studies by researchers predominantly from developing countries. These case studies demonstrate the successful pursuit of both revenues and social impact by local and international small- and medium-sized companies, as well as multinational corporations. Best study we've seen on the exciting subject of micro-finance and opportunity to "do well and do good".

The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid by C.K. Prahalad of the University of Michigan is the primary text on the subject.

REVERSE MENTORING IS A HUGE OPPORTUNITY FOR RECENT GRADUATES TO START A NEW BUSINESS

When General Electric head Jack Welch realized that GE was falling far behind other companies in its use of the internet as a business tool, he knew he needed help. But who could he ask? Welch himself rarely surfed the Web, finding it overwhelming, but he realized that understanding and embracing online technology was critical to GE's long-term success.

To catch up, Welch instituted a "reverse mentoring" program at GE. He required more than 500 of his top executives to find a younger, tech-savvy "Web mentor" to teach them how to use the web and understand e-business. Following Welch's lead, over the past few years, a growing number of organizations, from Proctor and Gamble to the Seattle Public Schools, have implemented reverse mentoring programs to help them understand technology, business trends, and pop culture.

WORLD CLASS, FREE ENTREPRENEURIAL WORKSHOP

Founded in 1966 in Harlem, the Workshop in Business Opportunities (WIBO) is a private non-profit organization that is committed to assisting men and women with the drive to become successful entrepreneurs. WIBO’s mission is to enable small business owners and budding entrepreneurs from under-served communities to obtain financial success by starting, operating, and building successful businesses that develop economic power, provide jobs and improve communities.

In 43 years, WIBO has developed over 15,000 entrepreneurs resulting in the creation of 31,500 jobs. Over 54% of WIBO graduates are in business after 5 years, compared to the national average of 20%.

The 16-week workshop and consulting services are equivalent to a mini MBA program. Due to private support, the workshop is free and the cost for materials is $199 with further discounts for individuals with incomes under $50,000. The market value of the workshop is $4000. All
other services are free.

http://www.wibo.org/

GREAT OPPORTUNITIES TO PARTNER WITH VETERANS TO LAUNCH NEW BUSINESSES

The US Department of Veteran Affairs has partnered with the Small Business Association to offer veterans small business loans.
http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/vre/smbus.htm

There are also special opportunities for women veternas as well...
http://www1.va.gov/WOMENVET/

MCKINSEY HAS A VERY INFORMATIVE FREE ONLINE JOURNAL

The highly respected management consulting firm, McKinsey and Co has a free online magazine that offers lots of insight and perspective on a broad range of business issues.

http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com

CREATE A HIPSTER LAUNDRYMAT

Why are the typical laundrymats so ugly and lacking style? Create a cool laundrymat that has some lifestyle energy.

TRAVEL CHEAP AND EXPLORE OPPORTUNITIES IN OTHER COUNTRIES

For 50 years, LET'S GO have published the world’s favorite budget travel guides, written entirely by students and updated every year. With pen and notebook in hand and a few changes of underwear stuffed in our backpacks, they spend months roaming the globe in search of travel bargains.

http://www.letsgo.com

RUN FOR PUBLIC OFFICE

This is a great resource for anyone contemplating a run for any public office. Even though this is a democratic site, the ideas are useful regardless of political persuasion. (if a wrestler can do it, so can you.)

http://www.runforoffice.org/resources

FORD IS OFFERING SMALL BUSINESSES A VEHICLE JUST FOR THEM

This summer, Ford will be introducing its Transit Connect small business van to the US market. Hugely popular around the world, the van is a perfect fit for companies looking for something not as big as a full sized van, but carries more than a mini-van. It gets good fuel efficiency and is very reliable. Ford dealerships can also help arrange customized exterior skins (creating a mobile billbooard for your small business). The truck also has GPS, and an in-dash computer with wireless keyboard and printer. wonderful product. An electric version of the van will be available in 2010. Nice to see someone in Detroit is developing products that are part of a bigger solution.
http://www.fordvehicles.com/transitconnect/

EXCELLENT INSPIRATIONAL BOOK FOR REBOOTING YOUR LIFE

This wonderful book is full of great ideas about how to become a content producer and reorient your perspective about how you travel through the world.

http://www.amazon.com/How-Be-Explorer-World-Portable/dp/0399534601

HYPER-PROGRESSIVE ENTREPRENEURIAL SCHOOL

The KaosPilot: School of New Business & Social Innovation is a very progressive school located in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, which is a part of the KaosPilots INternational school chain. KaosPilot is a 3 year long education for young entrepreneurs from 21 to 31 years, in the fields of new business design, marketing, creative design and social innovation. The program focuses on personal development, value-based entrepreneruship, creativity and unorthodox approaches to the problems and challenges in business, society and organizations. Really cool.

http://www.kaospilot.dk

VIRTUAL WORKER ROLE MODEL

Mullenweg, 25, is the founder of Automattic, the company behind the open-source blogging tool WordPress and a handful of other software projects. WordPress.com powers 12 million blogs, including those of The New York Times, which invested in Mullenweg's company last year. H e spends his days either traveling the world to meet WordPress fanatics or holed up in his home office, where he often blasts Jay-Z and writes software code into the wee hours. The 40 employees all work from home too.
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20090601/the-way-i-work-matt-mullenweg.html

MASS PRODUCTION OF START-UPS? CHECK OUT Y COMBINATOR

Paul Graham's business school and investment fund, Y Combinator, has launched 145 companies -- for an average of $25,000 each. Y Combinator, is a hybrid venture capital fund and business school that invests in, advises, and, literally, feeds 40 or so early-stage businesses a year. Investments are small -- less than $25,000 per company -- but Graham supplements the money with smart advice, introductions to later-stage investors, technical help, and a sense of community. The model has produced many promising companies, a few sizable acquisitions, and copycat funds in cities across the country and around the world.
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20090601/the-start-up-guru-y-combinators-paul-graham.html

http://ycombinator.com/

TEENS STARTING BUSINESSES IN RECORD NUMBERS

Interesting article from the New York Times about teens starting new businesses.

Laura Durst, 18, of Woodstock, Conn., created a Web site that helps teenagers who want to work from home. She earns $250 a month from ads. http://workinmyroom.com/

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/28/jobs/28teens.html

HIGH SCHOOL VALEDICTORIANS ARE A POWERFUL NICHE COMMUNITY

VENTURE IDEA: There are more than 18,000 high schools in the U.S. That means there are more than 18,000 valedictorians who finish number 1 in their class each year. Yet, there seems to be no home that aggregates this elite group. Create a venture that leverages this special group of achievers. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/28/nyregion/28valedictorians.html

CONVERT AN OLD BUS INTO A COFFEE SHOP

http://boulderspace.wordpress.com/2008/03/03/coffee-and-blogging-on-the-bus/

LEARN ABOUT ECO-SUSTAINABILITY FOR A SEMESTER IN AN ECOVILLAGE SOMEWHERE IN THE WORLD

Living Routes' mission is to provide future leaders with the skills, knowledge, and wisdom needed to repair the earth after 200 years of industrialization and to build durable economies and healthy communities that can thrive into the indefinite future. They offer for-credit sustainability education programs on every continent in semester, January-term and summer formats, and continue to develop new and innovative programs to meet an increasing demand.

http://www.livingroutes.org/programs/village.htm

Another resource to learn about ecovillages...
http://gen.ecovillage.org/about/index.html

GO COUCHSURFING FOR A YEAR TO GAIN INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE

The CouchSurfing Project is a free, Internet-based, international hospitality service, and it is currently the largest hospitality exchange network. The project was commenced in 2003 and formally launched on January 1, 2004. The idea is people in the network crash on the couch of others around the world (free room).

As of March 2009, it had more than 1 million members in 232 countries and territiries. According to their own published statistics, 35% of their members are currently offering their couches to host travelers (with another 18% saying "maybe", and others who are travelling at the moment).^[1] According to Alexa it is currently the most visited hospitality service on the Internet, averaging more than 30 million daily page views in July 2008.

Members use the website to coordinate contacts and home accommodation (or "surf" others' "couches") with other network members around the world. The website allows the creation of extensive profiles, and uses an optional credit card verification system, a personal vouching system, and personal references to increase security and trust between members. The site offers other features such as discussion groups, events and meetings, and live chat.

http://www.couchsurfing.org/

EASY, FREE SERVICE TO CREATE AN E-COMMERCE WEBSITE

sample of an e-commerce site built using the free weebly service


http://www.weebly.com

Aservice called Weebly lets users create a free website or blog in minutes by using a simple drag and drop interface. No ads. One of Time Magazine's 50 best websites of the year.

They receently launched a simple yet powerful way for you to create an online store. With a set of easy to use tools, you have complete flexibility to add featured products on the home page, create pages for categories or products, and feature videos, audio and photo galleries to show off your products in the best light.

Best of all, Weebly does not take a cut of your sales, and these features are included free in all Weebly accounts -- so you can get started selling easily and for free!

CREATE A TARGETED VENDING MACHINE BUSINESS

The vending machine business is an important industry for increasingly active people who need this convenient option for foods and drinks.

This is a wonderful opportunity for generating "passive income" for continual cash flow.

Annually, more than 5 billion drinks and 8 billion snacks are sold through American vending machines. A Department of Commerce study showed that fewer than 5% of new vending businesses fail - compared to a 65% average for other small businesses.

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/starting-vending-machine-business.html