Rental Cabins In The Air

I started with a crazy thought: “What if people could rent a cabin up in the sky for the weekend?” Right away my mind tries to make sense of the idea, and because the over-all goal is to have profitable innovations, it looks for ways to make it into a money making idea. I first imagined cabins which are suspended under large hot-air or helium balloons.

As much fun as it might be, this didn’t seem very practical. When I explored the idea further, though, I wondered if existing balloon-ride businesses could tap into other markets. If, for example, the gondolas were outfitted properly, and the balloons tethered, so they could be allowed to float two thousand feet overhead, would meditators then pay for a peaceful meditation retreat in the sky?

Another thought came to mind. Balloons could be high in the air, but easily cranked back in on a line. This might be simpler and cheaper than traditional rides, which involve chase vehicles and unpredictable landings. Perhaps this could be another way to make money with the balloons, charging a lower rate for simple up and down rides, and so getting new customers that couldn’t afford the usual rides.

This is how a crazy idea comes back to earth. Perhaps even the “weekend cabin in the sky” idea could someday be a money making idea, but if not, that’s okay. The point here is to get the creative flow going, and then find more practical ways to channel the output.

More Crazy Money Making Ideas

The following are pure imagination. I leave it to you to find a way to make these ones into potential money making ideas. Good luck and have fun!

- Put seats on the wings of an airplane and sell rides to thrill seekers.

- Sell advertising scratched out on the face of the moon.

- Rent out the animals at the zoo.

- Start an underwater school.

- Make a roller coaster course people pay to take their personal cars on.

- Sell pets genetically engineered to die young, for those who hate long-term commitments.

- Rent out children to undecided prospective parents.

- Have marriage insurance policies that cover the cost of a divorce, just in case.

- Have a swimming pool restaurant; diners sit in floating seats and eat off floating plates.

Scan the list and stop on any of the crazy ideas that catch your attention. Chances are good that you can find some way to transform it into a more practical idea, and that is the point. This exercise in imagination may be fun, but it is also a profitable technique for generating money making ideas.

Crazy Money Making Ideas is a post from: Business Blog | Lilamitre-arte.com

You Can Pick Your Work

As computer consultants, you have so much flexibility that you’re not likely to get bored. You choose what you want to do. It’s a lot of fun. You get to select exactly which technologies and the platforms and the products that you’re able to sell, service and support. You don’t have to get boxed into working with products that you don’t want to deal with anymore.

You Can Find Plenty of Clients in Your Area

It doesn’t matter where you are located. If there are small businesses, no matter what the industry, you can build a very nice business servicing and supporting their IT needs. But let’s face it, it really isn’t just about the financial rewards. You can make a very good living as a computer consultant for small businesses right in your local area. And if that two-hour commute is really getting on your nerves you can set up your computer consulting business right in your own home.

You Have Freedom to Choose

With your own business as a computer consultants you can choose your own bosses, your clients, your colleagues, partners, vendors, and contractors.

You Can Pick Your Own Schedule.

You also get much greater control of your working hours and when you’re on call. You can hand-pick the “perfect” clients that will allow you to work more realistic hours and you won’t feel like you’re going nuts around the clock.

You Will Increase Your Self-Worth

You’ll be servicing small businesses that usually don’t have an outside IT department and they desperately need your help. You’re the main person – their part-time, virtual IT person.

The Bottom Line about Computer Consultants

As computer consultants, you get the freedom to hand-pick a portfolio of clients and projects that provide a gratifying experience for you and you won’t get bored. You’ll love getting up and going to work every day.

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Computer Consultants: The Benefits of Self-Employment is a post from: Business Blog | Lilamitre-arte.com

It’s important to note that when you establish a fixed price contract you do that with a customer – not a client. Until a customer has proven that they’ll be with you through the duration they are a transaction related customer. They are not a long-term client yet. When you first start out with somebody if you set up a price fixed contract the customer will be a lot more receptive because they perceive lower risk.

This perception may mean a lower margin for you because your fixed price contract is less per hour than you normally charge. Don’t worry about this. The more important objective here is to turn this customer into a client after you have established the willingness and ability to pay.

Fixed Price Contract Conditions

Doing price fixed contract work is only viable if you have very a defined project. It is very difficult to do with an emergency service call. You don’t know what you’re walking into. Keep that in mind. Don’t do foolish things like committing yourself to spend three days on a server rebuild for a fixed rice contract of $250.

Include in every fixed price contract two or three sentences that explain that it is subject to credit approval. If you grant credit, always leave yourself an out if they refuse to give you a credit application or the credit application is incomplete. This first fixed price contract is the riskiest. Because of this you want to do things that are in your own best interests.

The Bottom Line on Fixed Price Contracts

The key thing to remember with fixed price contracts is that you are more likely to get stuck with the first bill with a new customer than anywhere else. Use fixed price contracts as way to entice new customers and to lower your risk of nonpayment. Your goal is to turn these fixed price contract customers into long term clients but first you need to know how willing and able they are to pay their bills.

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Fixed Price Contracts For First Time Customers is a post from: Business Blog | Lilamitre-arte.com

From talking to hundreds of people in this situation right now, the number one thing is that you have to decide that you really want to and really need to do it. Don’t put tons and tons of time getting all this IT training and business training and spending all this money until you’ve decided that you really want to do it.

Why Become a Computer Consultant?

There are lots of reasons why people want to become a computer consultant. You may want to be more responsible for your own career destiny, you may want to be able to build something from scratch that you can call your own, or maybe you’re just totally fed up with being stuck in the cubicle, reporting to your boss, and just in general being held back in your career over things that are way beyond your control.

Take Some Action Right Now

As your first step toward becoming a computer consultant, take out a piece of paper right now and write down “The Top Five Reasons Why I Have To, Need To and Want to Become a Computer Consultant.” Then go ahead and list them. This is really your declaration of independence.

Set a Deadline

You are now laying it on the line and saying all the reasons why you want to, why you have to, why you need to make this happen now. Why you need to start taking the right steps to get going in the right direction. Most importantly though, is when you get done narrowing it down to the top five list, preferably putting the most important reasons to you at the top of the list, give yourself a concrete deadline.

Take out the calendar and make a promise to yourself that you’re going to make it happen and write it down right on the bottom of your piece of paper. Print it out or rip it out of your notebook, put it up on the bulletin board next to your desk and look at it every day. The more specific this is, the easier it is going to be for you to make it a reality.

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Computer Consultant Startup: What’s The First Step? is a post from: Business Blog | Lilamitre-arte.com

Motivation

You have to really want to become a computer consultant badly. Think about anything you’ve ever really achieved in life. Whether it’s graduating from school or passing a test. Maybe it was getting your driver’s license, getting married, maybe buying your first car or home, maybe becoming a parent.

Whatever it is, it took a lot of motivation and determination. There’s always going to be ups and downs, some tough days and some tough weeks, but in most cases it’s probably going to be well worth it in the end. There are tools and tips you can use, but ultimately the drive and the desire has to come from within.

Step By Step Plan

The second part is knowing the key steps that you need to do week by week as you get through your first few months. You need to know what to get for your office, what to have in the car with you, what to do when you’re setting up credit policies, what to do to scope out the competition, what to charge, who to network with, who’s worth sucking up to and know who you’re wasting time with. All these things can be taught.

You’ll need to figure out your expenses, what you need to bill out at, how to organize everything, what to buy, and probably just as important, what not to buy. You’ll need to figure out how to work more efficiently, get paid for your time and get paid well for your time working as a computer consultant. The great part is that these are all very teachable things.

You Can Become a Computer Consultant

If you manage to master various software applications and network operating systems and hardware devices over the years you can definitely get your hands around a handful of important business skills that you need to become a computer consultant.

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Computer Consultant Skills: Can You Be Your Own Boss? is a post from: Business Blog | Lilamitre-arte.com

One of the first things you will need to research to run a concession business correctly and legally is to find out the regulations of your city, county, and state governments. These regulations include health standards, location standards, and other standards that you will need to be aware of if you do not want to receive a citation, fine, or even be shut down. All of these things can happen if you do not research the local laws concerning your business. As is appropriate with any type of business, research everything before you make an investment talk to other people in the same field that you want to be in. Try to learn everything you can in order to be fully informed about the decision you are about to make.

Some states have regulations regarding how many feet you must be away from the highway where you set up. Many states have fees you must pay in order to be properly licensed. Most states have health inspections to make sure everything is up to code for service to the public. All of these requirements and more will be things you may encounter. Never assume it is simple.

Another thing you are going to encounter is deciding what type of food you are going to sell. Are you going to sell prepackaged food that you don’t have to cook or are you going to prepare everything by hand on a grill. Whichever of these you choose, it can also make the difference between what type of license you must acquire. Also, are you going to choose something unique or go with a standard that has already proven successful? Whatever you choose, this is something you must think about in depth.

Location is also something you will come upon when opening a concession business. This is one of the most important things to consider because if you are in the improper location, it may be difficult to attract customers. This is the one of the biggest keys to making money.

Equipment is another thing you must decide on. Are you going to purchase a hotdog cart in order to make a smaller investment, or are you going to choose to purchase a concession trailer, which is a considerably larger investment?

Determining these decisions all go together. Location and equipment are partly decided by what type of food you choose to prepare. Food and location are also decided partly by what equipment you can afford. Each and every decision you make affects another decision after it. Knowing what you are going to encounter is an important reason for researching.

Components to Build a Concession Business is a post from: Business Blog | Lilamitre-arte.com

The desire to help others is what originally led South African Elmare Lombard to leave her successful psychological practice after 15 years to start a natural aromatherapy line.

From experimenting with essential oils and plant-based oils in her kitchen to eventually seeking international markets for the line, Lombard has made her dream a reality today. Her Molo Africa line is now being distributed in the U.S. by BioPharmetics Inc.

But her company, founded with family members and community leaders, also helps establish farming projects for disadvantaged people in her native South Africa. Molo Africa has a proactive employment policy that helps single parents get jobs with the company or affiliated businesses. This initiative is designed to promote self-sufficiency and brings a sense of pride for individuals.

Molo Africa supports the independent farmers of Africa through advice and assistance; the purchase of raw products at fair market prices; and through education initiatives that help impoverished South Africans develop skills in agriculture, basic education, entrepreneurship and computer training.

The company’s product line includes pure essential oils, natural aromatic room sprays, massage butters, shea soaps and scented candles. Molo is an African greeting meaning “hello.” Bearing evocative African names such as “Hamba Suka” and “Sefako,” the products contain essential oils that were extracted from exotic plants farmed and processed naturally in African countries.

Gertrude Mewy is an example of the kind of success story Lombard’s company helped to create. The single mother from Guguletu, Cape Town, was raising her four children on a small salary as a domestic worker. But she dreamed of being an entrepreneur. With the help of the Foundation for Economic and Business Development, she started her own pottery business.

Her hard work paid off when she became a supplier of ceramic beads to Molo Africa. Its contract with Gertrude enables her to employ two full-time workers, both of whom are single mothers. Her business now supports nine people and there are plans for more business deals between Gertrude and Molo Africa.

Company Brings Hope to African Entrepreneurs is a post from: Business Blog | Lilamitre-arte.com

Pick a starting point that you’re interested in and stick with it until you are successful or you have established that you idea is not as profitable as you originally thought.

Okay, when you begin to market, where do you start? You know you don’t want to compete with some of the large companies on the Net. However there are great opportunities for small and nimble operators.

Analyze what you are selling or what you want to sell. It should be in an area that you know a lot about or want of learn about. It may have wide appeal, but think of those it appeals to most. For example, does your product appeal to musicians? That’s a pretty wide market. Narrow it down. Who is most likely to be interested, singers or instrumentalists? From there you might want or need to narrow it even further. For example, your product might appeal to musicians of a certain age, or musicians who favor a certain kind of music or even a particular singer.

After narrowing it down as far as you can, think of appropriate keywords. Check with Google to see how many sites come up using these keywords. Next use a site that tracks keyword usage (such as Word Tracker or Overture) to see if there are plenty of users looking for that information. If there are enough potential customers and the competition is low, you may have found your niche.

After you have chosen your niche, try to use it in your Website title. This can help your Website ranking. Another tool for choosing a niche is to study the competition and find out how to make your site unique.

Choosing a niche will help your Website stand out. Find one with plenty of potential customers and little competition and you have a very good chance of watching your business grow.

Choosing Your Niche Market – Developing Laser Focus is a post from: Business Blog | Lilamitre-arte.com

One of the first things to consider when you are trying to choose a location for your business to operate is the population of the area. In order for your business to run successfully, you need to make sure the location you choose is well trafficked and fairly densely populated. The more populated the location, the more potential customers you have. If you choose a location that only has a few houses and businesses, you might consider a location that has more houses and businesses. Businesses are great to be around because employees who need a quick lunch break can be a great source of income. They can also be a great source of word-of-mouth advertisement, getting friends and even fellow employees to come sample your culinary delights.

Another important thing to remember when choosing a location to sell from is finances. You have to determine how much money, if any, you are willing to pay for a spot on someone’s property. For the most part, to park on the property of another business or a private individual, you must expect to pay for the rental of the space. Prices for renting a spot are usually dependent upon the size and location of the space. Be on the look out for the least expensive place you can find that will still provide you with the customer base that is necessary to be able to make money at your business.

This brings us to another thing that must be kept in mind when choosing location is that you must have permission to set up on private property. You are not allowed to just set up anywhere there is a space. You must first check with your city and county about the laws that concern concession food sales. Once you know these requirements, when you decide to settle in a spot, you must always ask the owner of the property you would like to set up on if that is ok. Many times, the offer of a nice chunk of monthly space rent will convince a person to allow you to be on there property. Either way, written permission must be obtained to make sure that no legal problems arise.

Wherever you decide to set up your concession trailer food business, several details must be seen to before that can happen. Choosing a location for your business must include consideration of population, cost of space rental, and gaining permission of the city, county, and private party who owns the space. This can be a very profitable business. To make your chances of making money better finding a great location can certainly play a part.

Choosing a Concession Business Location is a post from: Business Blog | Lilamitre-arte.com

There are many good reasons why this can be a wise move. Being your own boss means you can set your own hours. This can be very important if you have small children, or simply want to spend more time at home. Working from home can also save valuable time, if the alternative is spending two or three hours every day commuting back and forth to your work place. And of course, working for yourself also gives you the opportunity to make a whole lot more money.

In other words, being your own boss gives you that valuable commodity called freedom. It sets you free from the limitations of being someone else’s paid employee, and in return makes you responsible for your own future. As a self-employed entrepreneur you are free to set your own hours, establish your own work habits, choose what work you will do or will not do, create your own products, drum up your own customers, and do what you have to do to make those customers happy.

And perhaps most importantly, when you are self-employed you are free to set your own prices and make as much or as little income as you are able. You will not have to answer to anyone other than yourself, your suppliers, and of course, the ever-present taxman, after you become successful.

**How to get started — Two Alternatives**

There are two obvious ways you can go about starting your own business. The first way is to quit your day job and launch full bore into your new business. We’ll call this the “All or Nothing Approach”. The second way is to continue on with your current employment and develop a business on the side, in your spare time. We’ll call this the “Spare Time Approach”.

Depending on your point of view, taking the All or Nothing Approach can be either an act of bravery or just plain recklessness. Unless you are independently wealthy, planning and timing are very important with this approach. That’s because once you leave your previous employment your source of income will be gone and you will have a limited amount of time to make your business work. It is “sink or swim”. And you can sink pretty quickly without a source of income.

So that means you should plan the changeover to self-employment very carefully. Every situation will be different. An acquantance of mine was able to step from his quasi-government job into a private consulting business because he spent the last few months of his employment developing leads and contacts within his industry. When he went on his own he had customers waiting in the wings and was able to more than double his income in his very first year.

But most of us are not so lucky. We do not have the quality leads or the specialized skills. Nor do most of us have the opportunity to use our present employment to build a launching pad of potential customers before we take off into the wild blue yonder of self-employment. Most of us are starting from scratch with a few vague ideas, a questionable set of yet-to-be-defined skills, and severly limited income. So our venture into self-employment had better take off within a few months or we’re likely to crash and burn.

That is why the Spare Time Approach is best for most new self-employed entrepreneurs. The Spare Time Approach lets you test your ideas, develop your skills, and build your business slowly. If you are unsure about the products or services you intend to sell, the Spare Time Approach lets you try out different product lines and see how well they fit in with your overall objectives. Often new entrepreneurs find that their first ideas are not realistic, or there is no market for the services they want to provide. Or they find they cannot charge enough to make any money providing the products or services they have chosen.

**Choose your product carefully**

Like all new entrepreneurs, whether you take the “all or nothing approach” or the “spare time approach” you should be very tight-fisted with your limited resources. That means do not invest any serious money in a product or business idea until you have checked it out thoroughly. The best way to “check it out” is to:

- Talk to people who are already selling the product or service.

- Establish the credibility of the person or company providing the product or service.

- Make sure the company provides on-going support for their product(s).

- Make sure there are no hidden or unexpected costs (such as franchise fees) that will eat away your profits.

This applies whether you are looking at an online product such as an MLM or affiliate scheme, or a more traditional product or service aimed only at local customers.

For example, an associate of mine produces Business Card Displays. The idea behind this product is that it provides new entrepreneurs the opportunity to set up an advertising service for local businesses. With this product, the entrepreneur creates a network of displays placed in high traffic retail outlets like grocery stores, hair salons, and bowling alleys. Then local advertisers can place their business cards in one of the compartments in the displays across the network. If someone browsing one of the displays sees a service they are interested in, they just take a card for future reference.

Sure, it’s not everybody’s cup of tea. But for someone willing to put in a few months of hard work at the beginning, it is a pretty easy way to create a business that will return a handsome income for years to come.

And this manufacturer stands behind his product. He can show you examples of successful advertising networks where his displays are used. He will also provide testimonials and contact information from real people whom you can ask how well the product is working for them. And to top it off, he uses the product himself in a network of over 40 displays, and can provide hands-on information about how it actually works in a real-life situations.

This is pretty rare in the world of “business opportunities”. Many are run by “take the money and run” types who make wildly exaggerated claims about how successful you can be. But in many cases they have never actually made the idea work for themselves.

As any successful entrepreneur will tell you, your choice of products is crucial to your success or failure. Many products are simply bogus ideas with no hope of working. And many others are designed to produce maximum profits for their creators, and minimum profits for people like you and me who sell them. So no matter how hard you work, or how committed you are to being successful, if you choose the wrong product you will be operating with a millstone around your neck.

Choosing A Business Opportunity – Starting Your Own Business is a post from: Business Blog | Lilamitre-arte.com