El Train's For Profit Ideas

SBA Facts

2007-10-23T18:45:00.000-07:00

The SBA programs have helped nearly 20 million small businesses, both directly and indirectly since 1953.
The SBA currently has a loan portfolio of nearly 219,000 outstanding loans worth more than $45 Billion.
From 1991-2000, the SBA helped almost 435,000 businesses get their start with more than $94.6 Billion in loans – more money than in the entire history of the agency before 1991.

The most creative post of the year

2006-11-28T09:34:00.000-08:00

Google Answers is so great and makes Yahoo Answers look so insignifigant. Take a look at how many ways you can legally make 3,000 a month off of a 30,000 a year investment.

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=535096

Online Poker
Trading Currencies
Flipping Homes
& So much more.

Investment Idea: San Diego Condos

2006-07-26T13:25:00.000-07:00

Where to look:

San Diego Condos in the Gaslamp/Downtown.

I have a hunch that downtown San Diego condos are a great place to start looking to make big bets. Many people are bearish on the San Diego housing market and they are justified to an extent. But what is causing this sentiment? Lost jobs? Stagnant growth? Poor weather or government? Interest rates on mortgages? Well they are higher but relatively very low, historically. Is San Diego less desirable today than yesterday?

To the contrary the Gaslamp district is getting better and more attractive. Job growth is healthy. Do the research! It was voted 5th best big city to live in.

No my friends the correction or cheapening of downtown condos is due to excess supply and low demand which comes from an increase of supply or overbuilding by zealous developers. Watch this market. Look for a comfortable bottom or create a comfortable bottom with low ball offers and snatch up these bargain priced condos while you can. Sit out for at least 3 months and study and get ready to pounce on adjustable rate mortgages adjusting upward and an uptick in defaults. This is my theory:

There was an extreme pendulum to the positive in condo prices from 2002-2005. Now that same pendulum is swinging negative due to oversupply, not new land on the beach being built or major job losses. In the next 18 months we will witness the pendulum come back to where the market price should really be, a market derived medium with mid 7 interest rates and personal income growth.

Ex. 2BD 2BA condo at 1100 sq ft.

Peak: $535K in 2005
Predicted Lows Sellers will accept: $365-405K late 2006
TRUE MARKET PRICE: $450-$470K Early 2008

Whether I am right or wrong you have to respect the fact that I have an opinion. Also this assumes no major event changes things such as a 9/11, an earthquake or stock market collapse. Or an event like the Fed cutting rates back down to 1%. If one of this events happens all bets should be off. Stalk this very unique market and prepare to pounce.

700k homes on 70k income

2006-07-25T05:49:00.000-07:00

As an avid reader of Fatwallet, I came across an interesting post yesterday. The discussion centered around the brave or stupid owners of $700,000 homes with income in the neighborhood of $70,000 for the entire household.

Read the post here:

Reading post after post one would believe that mortgage interest rates are going to rise to 11% before 2007! My goodness give me a break. You can predict the short term economic future with great success, but you can't predict intangibles. You can't predict the unpredictable. Who could predict $3.20 gas prices five years ago? Who could predict 9/11 five years ago? Who could predict Krispy Kreme tanking in the manner it did? You can not predict the future, but you can make beats that have odds behind them. Listening to media and mass market commentary are like playing the slot machine, the odds belong to the house not you.

And if you are going to bet, do not play the nickel slot machines. Skip the slots if you can. But at least bet using $1 or if you can $5 limits. The jackpots are bigger and the payouts are too. If you lose, you should have gained a costly education as opposed to cry about losing $100.

Propser.com

2006-06-21T09:38:00.000-07:00

Not a bad idea if you ask me. Not a great implementation strategy either. More of an eeehh!

At Propser.com, the founders describe themselves as the online market place for people to people lending. I thought about this idea a while ago but lacked the interest or the real know how to implement it but the site is now up and running. Long story short, many lenders/people can lend to 1 borrower an amount of money not exceeding 25K, all while reviewing the perspective borrowers credit worthiness and group affiliation for an agreed upon interest rate. However I see business slowing down for this company for one specific reason. Savings rates. When potential lenders have the opportunity to make 5%+ guaranteed in a savings or money market accounts, why would they risk their funds to make up to 8% with a person that may or may not pay them back?

Pop Quiz Should you:

A. Lend $300 to Joey Tuffguy, with a C+ credit score, for "business supplies" to make a potential 8% per annum?
B. Place $300 in a big bank of the US savings account and make a sure 4.75 per annum?

In other words savings rates are too good to enter into a lending situation with a stranger that may or may not pan out. I saw one borrower asking $600 to pay his rent, with a poor credit rating, whhoooaaa!

Plans for prosperous improvements:

When this site begins to offer bigger loans, from more informed and risk tolerant lenders, for borrowers/people in bigger payout businesses such as house flippers that need 120 day loans, then the potential for success will increase. Higher interest can be charged and there is a more win/win potential.

Housing Bubble Ready to pop? Not for me!

2006-05-23T12:04:00.000-07:00

I had a revelation today and it is really simple. For those of you in real estate for the investment of it, whether you flip, buy and hold, get cash flow or a combination of the two I have some advise for you. In Real Estate as in life you have two choices.

A. You can wait for the RE market to correct itself.

or

B. You can increase your income and correct the RE market.

Ask John Mackey how much his life would change if gas went to $7 a gallon. Ask Angelo Mozilo, if he takes his kids to the movies only on matinee times. Do you think that if Toll Brothers sold their homes for 1.67 million instead of 1.71, their bottom line will be in the red?

My advice to you is learn to earn more and "mass media econmoic concerns" will not concern you. Sometimes the most basic concepts are the hardest ones to grasp!

Orange County Real, Estate

2006-05-09T21:06:00.000-07:00

Ok, they made me an offer I could not refuse. Recently I was offered a sweet commission to do SEO for a small remodeling company in Orange County, California. The company, a small remodeling firm that thrives on sales derived from phone calls. As the money starts coming in and organic page rank begins to take place, I plan on sharing the keys to my success and even the website so that you can follow. But lets just start by saying, I started a quick blog by the name of www.orangecountycabinets.net , a couple of other legitimate tricks, keyword campaigns and link exchanges that work on increasing page rank and whalah, here comes the calls.

The deal I cut? I guranteed the owner 25 phone calls per month. If I hit my mark each month, I get paid $300 per phone call. To ensure a low budget but effective quality control, I ordered a cell phone whose number is only for people that find his website via the internet. Keep your fingers crossed and send me any SEO tips you have learned along the way. I thank Thumb's SEO and NYC Money for giving me a great start a few months ago.

Hey what happened to Thumb?

Option Arms: Investors Should Know

2006-05-08T17:09:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time.... I shouldn't have left you..... without a tight beat to step to.....

- Timbaland & Aaliyah

Negative Amortization Loans

I dont know about you but all I have ever heard about Option Arms is well, negative. I am not here to convince you to go out and get a negative amortization loan for a real estate investment but for those of you that dont know how they work I want to give you a macro look at the investment. The Wall Street Journal had a great article covering this. Think of it this way and very simply:

If the deferred interest is less than the appreciation of the home, you win.

If the deferred interest is more than the appreciation of the home, you lose.

However the greatest benefit to a negative amortization loan is the cash flow of the loan. I could spend the next several minutes explaining why so many investors exploit this great loan. But if you dont take the time to work out the numbers, then how will you ever know if the loan is bad or not? I urge you to study this loan, its good and its bad.

Key Secrets to make the ARM a great investment

1. Never buy an investment that doesn't cash flow.
2. Buy your property in an appreciating neighborhood. If the appreciation is at least 3% a year, a real act of "nature" would have to occur in order for one to not make money with this loan. Regardless of rate hikes.
3. Make an interest only payment once a year, and pay the min payment the other eleven.
4. Set a limit interest rate. Of course if you get in at a 6.2% interest rate, and rates are rocketing upward, make a limit according to your return projections.
5. This loan works best on cash flowing apartment buildings.

Love it or hate it, the option arm is here to stay and many investors take advantage of it.

Judith Levine's: Not Buying It, Part I

2006-04-12T15:37:00.000-07:00

I was recently approached by an industry insider who sent me a copy of the book, Not Buying It: My Year without Shopping, by Judith Levine. I just started reading the book and I will write a full review to come in Part II. This woman conducted, by choice, a social experiment of buying nothing for an entire year beyond necessities such as food, basic toiletries and pre 1980 utilities, no wI-FI baby! This is interesting, considering that so many Personal Financial Blogs serve to teach people how to either save money, make money, show off the many they have made and even still what they intend to do with the money they plan to make.

Could I go an entire year without purchasing consumer products such as my iPod, cell phone or custom made English spread collar shirts! Of course I could. I have friends that cant go a day without a cell phone, let alone a year. Its all about mentality, but it is also an extreme luxury to be able to do so. But even more importantly, this goes against my Hummer sized consumerism which I would use to become even more efficient. Below you will find a list of my Hummer Size Wish List.

My Consumerism Wish List:

1. $7.00 gasoline. I did an entire post on this one.
2. Increased sales tax: Money to go to schools and police only
3. More organic/natural foods: Government to subsidize production. Less chemicals and preservatives in the food. Better Food equals less medical cost in the long run. Better health at the root of the problem not maintenance at the end.
4. More public space fees: Parks, Beaches, Lakes, Forrest? That will be $9 please! At least they will be cleaner and less crowded. Unless you have special pass
5. Driver License Minimum Age: 19. Sorry that's the rules, but hey you cant afford the gas anyway!
6. Cell phone rates, double. Too many cell phones being used for to little productive reasons. Lets raise the rates!
7. Movie Makeover: More features at the movie. Two for Mission Impossible 3: $25, 2 shrimp pastas $40: , and a foot massage $90, getting it all done in 2 hours, priceless!

What a world!

Online Fashion Consulting

2006-04-10T09:58:00.000-07:00

The web has offered the consumer masses so many wonderful advancements to use such as email, e-commerce, databases, information, VOIP phones and the like but there are so many areas, where it still comes up short. Suppose your business if prepared perishable food. How and why would someone buy your cookies online when they can't see, taste or touch them? There are always early adapters and those that like to try new things, but getting the flood gates open to masses for such specialized businesses are difficult to do on the web. And the list does not stop with just perishable foods, what about service related businesses like landscaping, plumbing, legal and tutoring? The web has a cruel way of making the smallest 2 person outfit look like a legitimate deal, and who is to say that is a bad thing, except when my basement gets flooded and I need someone with real experience that wont turn a $200 problem into a $3500 headache.

This brings me to the world of online fashion. Its not hard to drop $25 on a Guess t-shirt, because we all know that an XL will turn into a L over time and we dont expect more than 3 high fashion wearings of any one t-shirt anyway. But when attempting to buy a 2 piece business suit without first trying it on, there in lies a problem. A picture of a model in the suit just wont lead me to spending $400 because I like the color.

Yet, this presents an opportunity to use the web for a service that is information rich and needs live pictures to be really beneficial. Imagine trying to learn how to play basketball with just words and graphics, no video of live players. I have a consultant that is in the fashion industry. Even moved from L.A. to NYC to be closer to the action. I am in talks with him to start his own website that is full of content such as tying ties, fashion trends, color selection, every modern man's basic needs and updated fashion tips. He currently blogs but has little time or motivation to take it too seriously. And no knock to the Queer Eye, but not every guy dressed fashionably has an allergy to women. The guy knows fashion well. However, what we have proposed is making sure that we can exploit the web for all it is currently capable of. For this reason the site will be rich with video content, not just diagrams and text of tying a tie, for example.

The only issue we are having is the one of considering how the site will generate revenue. Should it come from advertising such as Google Adsense? This may take away from the image he is going after. Should the site get money from referrals to request service? This may help but there is not much one on one help he can do for people in Wyoming as he lives in NYC. The most lucrative opportunity which I would like to strive for is the intellectual property/celebrity play. Give quality information away for free, in an effort to get a following and sign a deal for professional distribution/exposure. Why not package a quarterly fashion consulting DVD for a big name retailer, or a regional luxury car dealer, or as an online sales promotion. Do you have any ideas?

Apartment Buildings: Big Boy Investing!

2006-04-04T18:21:00.000-07:00

RE for the Big Boys
For anyone interested in making real money, you must consider buying apartment buildings in great cities. All day everyday, if you are reading this blog, you have probably heard all the scary news of how the housing market will burst. Bust or boom the greatest investment in real estate has to be commercial real estate. Commercial apartment buildings (5+ units) to be exact. These investments are ones I consider to be bubble proof but not fool proof. Remember the two most important rules of buying real estate.

Investment Rules
1. You make money when you purchase, not when you sell!
2. The greater the barrier to entry(inventory, location, price), the greater opportunity for making money. That's why Los Angeles, San Diego, New York and Boston are so expensive. Anyone can buy in Texas, but that means that anyone can also develop there too. More competition means less scarcity. Less land means greater demand. Simple econ 101!

Personal Case Study
I found a great little 5 unit apartment building in Los Angeles. The cost is $865,000 for 5 one bedroom units that all come with a loft. When purchasing an apartment building the barrier to entry is gigantic for the average person. Think of it, in order to purchase you need at least 20% down payment. There has to be a reason why getting admission to this party is so difficult. The answer has to be, because of just how very lucrative it is. I recommend these high barrier to entry markets only because home prices may or may not go down, but one thing nearly every investor can agree on is that rents are very, very low! Nearly 2.5 to 1 when compared to mortgages of like kind properties.

The Math
This apartment building is great because it presents a condo conversion opportunity. The market will stand selling these units for $300K when you can purchase each unit for $173K. You add about $30K to each unit for upgrades and conversion costs and you can do the math. A nearly $500K payday. I am searching for a lender that is willing to give better finance terms on the LTV, but I'll end this posting by saying the big boys own commercial real estate in tough to get into areas.

Tips (use loopnet.com)

Commercial Real Estate is difficult to get into, but also lucrative. Consider partnering up. It is better to make 25% of $100, then 100% of $10.
In high barrier markets, remember to negotiate. Make money on the buy not the sell, this will sustain a price correction.
Consider your exit strategy before you enter. Income, condo conversion, flip.

Work the math on a deal I know very well. Address: 7120 S. La Cienega, Inglewood CA 90302. Use Zillow.com, (does not work), price paid was $535K about 9 months ago. Use $54K for fix up and holding cost, while rents more than cover the new note. See current listing price on loopnet.com here. Not bad huh?

$1,000,000 follow up to Deymond Lashley

2006-03-29T13:51:00.000-08:00

You have to love the internet, the blogosphere especially. I received a very colorful reply to my what makes one rich rant of a couple of days ago. In the response Deymond Lashley goes on to tear apart my entire posting as being less than critically thought.

Deymond goes on to say, "Don't quit your day job, unless it involves critical thinking (not your strong suit). "

Ok to be honest I often soften blows from my truest opinion because i feel that if I were to say what I really felt, I would offend too many people and be deemed too radical. Well Deymond, congratulations you have caused me to come out of my shell and I dedicate this to you:

Rich in 2006:

1. Owning a mortgage(home) does not make you rich. I dont care how much equity you have in the home, unless that money is working for you, all you have is a cash flow from your pocket into the bankers pocket.

2. Petty salaries does not make you rich in 2006. No matter if you do it by yourself or with a partner, making $150K a year does not make you rich. Dont even mention your salary until you cross $175K by yourself and have your company afford you a housing and car allowance.

3. Savings of $350K or less does not qualify you as rich. Money in the bank, is the same as money in the tank.

4. The legal definition for wealth "and these definitions are outdated"

a natural person who has individual net worth, or joint net worth with the personÂs spouse, that exceeds $1 million

a natural person with income exceeding $200,000 in each of the two most recent years or joint income with a spouse exceeding $300,000 for those years and a reasonable expectation of the same income level in the current year;

How do I define wealth? Simply, speaking from a purely financial standpoint, when you have the means to leave your everyday life tomorrow, without making any apologies or preparationss to do so and settle in another country for more than a year, then you are rich. This means you don't need to sell your house, it will just be. You don't need to cash in your 401K, that money was for your grandkids graduation gift. You don't have to sell your business, it will run with or without you. Until you have the capacity to do these things, you are not rich in America you are simply above average.

The overall point I am trying to stress is stop thinking of wealth as the number, $1,000,000. Think past that mental roadblock. For years it had given me problems until I begin to study wealth and lifestyles. $1,000,000 is a number, don't think of it as a goal, think bigger or at least more quantifiable. We are often limited to our own minds. I hope this helps.

For Profit Idea: iElderCare

2006-03-28T09:50:00.000-08:00

Business Type: Elder Care for the 21st century

Estimated Start Up: $Varies - $5K- $25K

Where: Local markets at first, with potential for national or regional growth.

Concept: Many families are seperated from their aging parents because of many reasons such as a new job on a different side of the country. Nursing homes and In home nurses are not always needed and can often be very expensive. What if that parent is fairly active, by senior standards, but needs help with errands, prescriptions, meal preparation and household cleaning? No nursing degree needed, just common sense, basic first aid training, basic domestic skills and some certifications that can be obtained over time such as CPR and the like.

So this has probably been done many times, what makes this idea different?

Now add to this technology components such as ability to record these meetings between the new age" go-fer" and the loved ones to the people that are footing the bill. Such as the use of real time web cams, online to do list, digital video and or pictures, mp3 recorded conversations for quality control, video conferencing with the family. Very simple technology that is not currently exploited in this field.

Service
Essentially this service would contain common task such as grocery shopping, light cleaning, food preparation, prescription assistance, doctor visits, cell phone tutorials, new product purchases and other tasks completed as requested by the elderly person that does not need a full time nurse, but rather a 3 hour per day for 4 days a week assistant.

Users:
1. People priced out of the full time elderly care and nursing homes
2. Fairly active seniors that need minor assistance
3. Family concerned but geographically unable to visit as often
4. Lonely seniors

Compensation:
1. Pricing models vary depending on services and areas, but read this clip from a CNBC article,

In fact, the U. S. General Accounting Office says that nearly 40% of people age 65 now will spend some time in a nursing home. The federal Health Care Financing Administration projects that spending on nursing home care will rise from about $94.1 billion now to $125 billion a year by the end of 2005 and $330 billion by 2030.

The average annual cost of a private nursing home is now about $55,000, or $150 per day -- with many facilities in large cities costing more than $65,000 a year. Those costs can add up quickly, and Medicare does NOT cover them -- except for a few days in a skilled nursing facility after a hospital st

$1,000,000 and still not enough?!

2006-03-27T15:02:00.000-08:00

What defines someone as being rich in 2006? For simplicity's sake, lets focus on financials and skip the intangible gifts of health, wisdom, family and the like. I dont skip these things lightly, rather I am speaking from a money, asset and income point of view.

Scenarios

Does income make one rich? If so, who amongst these people are rich:

1. A 30 year old man who brings home $10,000 a month and has $7500 a month in expenses. After all this person is making $120K a year.

2. A 42 year old woman who lives at home with her parents to trim expenses, pays no rent and makes $3200 a month from wages. No rent, good public transportation...good life?

3. What about the twenty something couple with no kids, bringing home $7500 a month in income? No kids, own a home, 1 cat, 1 dog and perfect health.

4. A young professional entertainer, making $350K a year. Has celebrity and access to the finer things in life, at least the things capitalism tells us are finer.

I submit to you that while all of the above situations are favorable in their own light, none of them are rich. I honestly believe people in general, investors or even money smart people lack basic financial intelligence. So many new investors and people working for their money constantly think that making $1,000,000, will change their life. Think of this, average household salaries in Los Angeles is in the 40k's. A person making 40K a month does not even clear 1/2 of a million, yet because they have not hit the magic million dollar mark, they are not considered rich? This person makes what the average person makes in a year in one month. Yet, we get stuck on the concept of 1,000,000 dollars.

I have said it before and I stand by it today. A million dollars is not what it used to be. There are cars that cost more than that. In fact you should not be able to call yourself rich with a 1 million in the bank as 10 million is the new million. But on the flip side we must shift our thinking from wanting to be rich, to that of having our needs taken care of and the ability to exercise our wants. Let go of $1,000,000 and start thinking one of two ways, think like a billionaire or think about being happy; A million dollars is so lukewarm.

Conclusion

Mentality makes one rich.

For Profit Idea: Zillow.com

2006-03-06T11:22:00.000-08:00

Have you tried zillow yet? If not I suggest you do and before you head there, let me first tell you about the site. The site describes itself as, Zillow.com is an online real estate service dedicated to helping you get an edge in real estate by providing you with valuable tools and information. The site I must say I love it. There have been many critics of the site because they proclaim that the Zestimate, or quick home price appraisals are typically not accurate. Read the L.A. Times article:

But for those math geeks that want precise numbers, hire a freaking real estate appraiser and quit complaining. These are probably the same people that argue about the difference between their Toyota Camry and the Lexus ES 300 is leather seats. Ok, lets see how many heads turn in your Camry. Or lets see where the valet parks their Camry in relation to the Lexus, but I digress.

The current tools of looking up taxes, historical purchase prices and utilizing google mapping technology is great in and of itself. Oh what short memories people have. Do you realize what a difficult process each of these features would have been 7 ears ago? However I do have an idea that would solve the critics complaints and add stickiness to the site, upping its resell price. It would require a quick login, which would establish users for future sell, like MySpace, Skype and every other hot web site.

Business Improvement Idea:

Zillow should add a "Ziki" sub price option to its homes zestimates. Ziki, is another way of saying wiki, but with a Z, as Zillow does, in which users could add their knowledge of not a specific house, they already have that capability, but rather a specific neighborhood or zip code. Once lets say 5 ziki prices are collected, they would begin to appear under the Zestimate. This would afford the site to have more up to date numbers than it currently does. The site can not be all things to all people, but I love it and can't wait to see what the sites of tomorrow will bring.

At Larrin's for Profit Ideas, we dont make a lot of the products you buy, we make a lot of the products you buy better.

Why we should blame ourselves, for broke friends!

2006-02-17T10:12:00.000-08:00

In life its so easy to compare ourselves to our friends, classmates, co-workers, people at church or even people we see on tv. Please don't act like I am the only one. I am going to give you a quick quiz, if you are guilty of any of these then this post is for you. If not, then read the follow up.

Quiz

Have you ever compared the car you are driving to the car of someone in your social circle and said, a. my car is better, b. if i lived at home with my parents, my car would be better or c. she is 8 years older then me so when I get to be her age my car will be better.
Have you ever watched a lifestyle show like Cribs and said, so and so's house is not as big as celebrity #5, therefore he is a poser?
Have you ever talked about a buddy for buying a knock off accessory? "That was a fake Coach bag, I would never!"
Have you ever said to yourself that if I had the money that friend #3 had, I would have turn that $100K into a million six times over.

Lesson
The point i want to make here is this. Its not enough to just stop comparing yourself to your friends and colleagues. The next level of higher thinking deals with creating a plan that will broaden the spotlight to not just you but to your loved ones as well. Any person of any real substance, will do their best to succeed so that they can bring their loved ones with them. Any person worthy of being labeled a friend, should desire that their success is not complete, until they have set their friends up as well.

Real Life Examples: I was a classmate in college with a guy named Todd Ramasar, agent to an all star NBA player. They were friends/teammates in college. It was not enough for this player to get an NBA contract and buy his friend a car, he made this guy his agent.

I have another friend whose brother plays for the Denver Broncos. How easy would it be for this guy to buy his sibling what she wanted and tell her to never worry about a thing. Instead he offered her an opportunity to manage one of his business ventures.

What about the nepotism in politics, like the Bush Cheney relationship. What about the Bush-bush relationship? Think about almost any internet startup, the co-founders of Google, what about the Walton family of Wal-Mart fame. Dont you understand it is lonely at the top, so its necessary to bring your friends with you.

In conclusion I will leave you with this point. Becoming successful as an individual is the equivalent of getting to second base in baseball. You are in a good position to score, but until you get your friends to score as well, you have failed to realize your potential in life. The next time you at your friend's shortcomings you should see your shortcomings as well, because if you were in a position to bring her up, would that not be the best?

Progress

2006-02-08T16:24:00.000-08:00

Its been a while but focus is a bastard to complete. Not to mention doing taxes the legal way, while attempting to squeeze every penny from every legal business expense. But nevertheless I am making good progress on my money making ventures. Recently started a small consulting service in which I hire skilled professionals on a contract basis. This is going well, but I have my eyes set on two really big targets. As I have said in the past, I have given up on trying to make a couple hundred more a month and set my sights on bigger fish. In the coming days I ll post some of my victories.

2006, things to think about

2006-01-04T15:50:00.000-08:00

I have one goal on my mind. One new years resolution. One thing I want to change about my life and quickly. What is it? Passive income. How can I get it, like yesterday? Passive means, once the system is in place, the money just comes on in like a royalty check. What can I do to make this happen? I have a few ideas, and owning a vending machine aint one of them. Neither is owning stocks, as that would be portfolio income, can you say Kiyosaki? I hope to detail my path in 2006 to get passive income in 2006, enough to take on my monthly bills. I will win, I will attain my goal. I will start with a milestone of $1500 and I am giving myself 90 days to do it. Follow me as I write about my progress. If you have any ideas dont be stingy, share the wealth!

Christmas Post

2005-12-23T09:29:00.000-08:00

For those of you busy with Christmas shopping: a quick word of caution:, try not to go over board spending money and charging credit cards on gifts that will not impact someone's life, past January.

Enrolling a friend in a business course is just as good as a waffle maker. A book teaching people to better their lives via financial wisdom, physical health or mental stability is better than a pair of $200 boots. Other creative gifts, like a savings bond or a gift card for gasoline will go much further than most things you can get from the mall.

And never forget that Christmas is not a time for guilt trip shopping, but it has a deeper meaning to Christians and regular celebrators alike. Giving is a gift in itself and should not be done as a chore or on one day in December, because one did not do anything the other 364 days of the year.

Wake Up Call

2005-12-15T14:46:00.000-08:00

Pop Quiz:

1. What product has the strongest demand in Beijing China, this year?
2. In Sweden, how many mega-pixels do average camera phones come with?
3. True or False: In rural Africa, there are more cell phone users than land line users?

The answers: If you dont know the answer or at least an educated guess to these questions, you are sleeping at the wheel.

I just want to encourage anyone with a goal of being successful beyond a professional career. (Let me clarify what I mean. A professional career such as a CPA, a film editor, web designer/programmer, a low level attorney, a customer service supervisor or an entry level analyst,) Please understand "I aint hatin the playa, just the game". I dont have issues with people that go to school, do well and achieve a good living. But I am honest enough to tell truth as I understand it. I am the type of person to tell my friends when their breath stinks or when they have had too much to drink. Its easy to look the other way, but when the fit hits the shan, it will stink.

I just want to sound the alarm to those of you smart enough to read the signs that the world is shrinking. Its getting flat. I am glad that you have a new 2006 luxury car. I am happy that you own a piece of rental property. I am even excited about the fact that your online business is making a good profit. Your success in Real Estate development should be commended. However did you know that half way around the world exist an army of people, that speak English, whose education level is as good or most times better than yours, just itching to take the job you earn $64K a year for $11K with no benefits?

And they are so hungry. Waiting to take your job. Stay on your toes. Look for opportunities where you can automate your processs and still make money. Look to highly specialize what you do. Can your system be easily duplicated? Think of ways to differentiate and you will last beyond the boom years of the 2000's.

Irregular Inspiration

2005-12-09T09:17:00.000-08:00

In life different people are inspired by different people. For some, religious leaders or symbols like Ghandi or the Cross provide inspiration. For others inspiration comes from an ill or deceased loved one, like the "cancer kid" who asked the ballplayer to win a game in his honor. In this post I wish to tell you exactly who i get inspiration from.

Do you know who inspires me?

i am constantly inspired by people that make money in spite of their intellectual resources. In other words people that can accumulate wealth, not because they have the best grades in school, create the best investment systems or even come into money due to their relative's hard work, but because they have an innate knack for making money. Here are a few examples of people in my life who fit this exact structure.

I meet a restaurant owner, who does not even cook, keeps loose financial records, and does very little advertising, but the place is always packed and the food is good. who says you need to know a business in order to get in that business.
I know a gentleman that owns a mattress production company. Easily does 7 figures of work per year and does not even own a computer. no college, basic math skills and is bilingual. the guy has a nose for money and is a good people person.
I have a friend that works a job making $11 an hour, yet through side gigs and relative frugality, this person has managed to save $10K in 2 years, while living away from parents and no credit card debt.

In other words, if you are reading this blog I promise you that you know someone in your circle who claims that Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Robert Kiyosaki or an entertainer like Jay Z or Jessica Simpson inspires them into success. But i think that is a narrow view for business inspiration. For every billionaire there is a person that has squandered a great fortune, thus anomaly heros should be taken out of the equation. But the little guy that makes money all day everyday, found in every neighborhood, that came from nothing and uses bare essentials to get on top, i believe is a greater source of inspiration when one begins to search for examples to model themselves after.

A Whole Real Estate Idea

2005-11-30T09:37:00.000-08:00

Are you interested in investing in real estate? I have a great idea for you to take a "shortcut" to locating a good area that may be out of town or out of state. Whether you are looking for a condo, a townhome, a SFR, or an apartment building everyone knows that it is always about location, location, location. So if you are living in San Francisco and desire to purchase a property in the Midwest, how do you know a good area of Springfield USA, from an ok area of Springfield USA? In other words, where do the upscale people live juxtaposed to the poser thugs?

I submit this idea to you:

Buy your property in areas where a Whole Foods Market is within close proximity. Maybe even walking distance. Why? You have to understand a little bit about their customer base, but lets just say it takes a certain type of person that will pay $4.99 a pound for grapes whereas similar grapes could be purchased from the grocery store for $1.20 a pound. If Whole Foods is in the area, the area is good, period. Just look at what Whole Foods requires before they will even consider opening in your area. I live in Los Angeles and I will tell you this, within any 1 mile radius of any Whole Foods Market, finding a 1 bd 1 ba condo for less than $315K is nothing short of a miracle.

Of course you want to find locations that have great schools, low crime, good neighbors and a good job market. But Whole Foods understands this and if you want to start your out of town search, checking for an existing Whole Foods is a great place to start. In Whole Foods last quarterly earnings annoucement the CEO, John Mackey let us in on new developments so here are a couple of places worth looking at, enjoy:

"Our new store pipeline continues to increase with today's announcement of nine new store leases totaling 549,000 square feet. The stores range in size from 50,000 to 80,000 square feet with an average size of 61,000 square feet and are as follows: a 60,000 square foot store in Chandler, Arizona; a 50,000 square foot store Orlando, Florida; a 52,000 square foot store in Eugene, Oregon; a 56,000 square foot store in Tarzana, California (a Los Angeles suburb); a 65,000 square foot store in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania (a Philadelphia suburb); an 80,000 square foot store in Dallas, Texas; a 61,000 square foot store in Reading, MA (a Boston suburb); a 50,000 square foot store in Connecticut and a 75,000-square-foot store in London."

You know what really grinds my gears II

2005-11-21T15:17:00.000-08:00

I really enjoyed expressing myself in my first gear grinding post, so i asked myself why not go for another one.

I. If you are in the business of making money for yourself outside of your job, there will always be somebody that feels they need to compete. So when you tell them you invest in stocks or have a small internet business, then they feel the need to tell you "they have been there and done that" but it did not work for them. Or the subject of how their best friend's uncle is Warren Buffet's maid. This is where we get the phrase," silence is golden."

II. Kids in high school that are feed the lie, if i go to college and get a degree i wont have to work at McDonalds "flipping burgers". First of all, the only thing a degree will guarantee is that you will have 4 year years of tuition to pay for. Trust me plenty of college grads may not flip burgers, but they sure as hell carry them to me as i sit down to eat at the $6 burger joint. A degree is a great assest, but in life unless you have incredible skills, its about who you know, not how many degrees you have. Besides, America's richest man was a one time college drop-out.

III. People that get cell phones that they cant use or dont even need. What is the point of buying a Treo 650 if all you are going to use is the speaker phone function. "You aint that business", so go get a smaller phone.

IV. People that swear up and down that leasing a car is bad and that buying is the only way to go. Their argument, at the end of 5 now even 6 or 7 years, I will own a car, and you wont own anything. I wont argue which is better in this post, but I will say what you own is a depreciating asset, thats worth about 30% of what you paid for it, and about 20% of what you paid in total finance charges. And whats your reward for buying your car? Your warranty expired 3 years ago!

V. Lastly, People still caught up in race, when doing business. Its freakin 2005/2006! I think times were better when the Klan and Nazi's were easily recognizable. At least then ignorance was vocal and it would tell you why they would prefer that you or your kind would not patronize their businesses. Today, it is very subtle and covert. Its too bad that many people lose out on great opportunities because they have prejudged someone else based on their ethnic make-up. And whats real bad its not just minorities that are victims, but nowadays a lot of discrimination is given by minorities. Do you think Bill Gates or Donald Trump care about any color but green when it comes to buying their product?

And thats all i have to say about that.

GM cuts jobs: Real estate vulture time, thanks!

2005-11-21T09:47:00.000-08:00

After the many hurricanes hit the south, there were a few echoes here and there, from people I know, about going into the affected areas and buying up property. Wasn't there a scripture in the Bible about building one's house on sand? Anyways, that a risk i dont fully understand, but an opportunity nonetheless.

"However General Motors Corp. will eliminate 30,000 jobs and close nine North American assembly, stamping and powertrain plants by 2008 as part of an effort to get production in line with demand and position the world's biggest automaker to start making money again after absorbing nearly $4 billion in losses so far this year."

Cities where one may want to consider researching the real estate investment market include: plants will close in Oklahoma City, Lansing, Mich., Doraville, Ga., and Ontario, Canada. GM also listed Spring Hill, Tenn., as a plant closing even though one production line will remain open there. A shift also will be removed at a plant in Moraine, Ohio.

Research and due diligence, for items such as job growth, education levels and coming or developing industries could prove these areas to be great opportunities in the mist of sorrowful times for some. Its not personal, just business.

Am I a prostitute or barber college student

2005-11-18T15:09:00.000-08:00

I must beg the question, am I really selling myself for less than I am really worth? I dont mind blogging, but sometimes it feels like a chore. I am sure you have read the "superstars" of blogging. You even look at their feedback and ask yourself, how come I dont get 30 comments, for a crappy post? You know who I am talking about, and no knock on those guys but lets deal with the real, most personal finance blogs are the equivalent of getting a haircut from the barber college. If your money goals were acheived would you really have time to write about how you plan to increase your wealth? Sometimes you may even say to yourself forget about 30 posts, what about 30 page views?

Some bloggers get all the love, the house, the 7 figure mate, the Mercedes, the tennis courts and the front row tickets at the show. Then there are bloggers like me, I feel like I should have better results but I dont. Thus i whore my thoughts for a measly few visits per day. Dont get me wrong I am thankful to have anyone read my thoughts, but there came a time in Brad Pitt's (bio)life when he said, I cant keep dressing in an El Pollo Loco chicken outfit, and will get paid what I am worth. I am working hard to give up my chicken suit, because I know i have a great voice, a great mind and I can do better than the backpage of the paper.

Real Estate and so called professionals

2005-11-16T08:50:00.000-08:00

As a real estate investor, it amazes me how many "haters" there are out there. For instance when I call an out of state lender and tell them I need a loan, they are more than glad to direct me to their "best loan" package. But then when I tell them that I make a substantial portion of my income from my investments and side businesses, I often get called a "day trader" or "house flipper" or even a risky prospect. If I can make more money investing in the stock market in one month, then the professional Agnet, broker or lender does in 4 months, that means that I am a risk?

I dont understand why is that at 25, I get so many people that will on one hand say, you are doing well for your age, but in the same sentence tell me that I am trying to take on too many risks. Aren't you supposed to take risks when you are young and have the tolerance.

Please understand this, in Robert Allen's book, the One Minute Millionaire, we are exposed to the three rejection rule. This means that until you have heard the third rejection, you have not really been exposed to a persons true intentions. I wish to advise anyone reading this post, that no matter your age, race or investment strategy don't ever get down from someone that choose to take the easy route.

At the SuperBowl there are thousands of reporters, hundreds of announcers, fans in the stands...... but at any given time, only a chosen 22 can occupy the field at one time. Those guys on the field are the ones playing the game, the others are just commenting on second hand information.

Everyday Idea: Save Holiday Money

2005-11-08T12:00:00.000-08:00

Here is an idea:

If your house is the designated family meeting spot for the holiday's, here is an idea. Go out to eat. Unless you are a gourmet chef by trade, the labor of cooking all day to please a family and friends that have the craziest taste buds, is a daunting task. Why not take a trip down to the local quasi upscale diner for holiday dinner. Such as Cheesecake Factory or Red Lobster.

I would venture to say on a cost vs cost comparison analysis, you would come out better in the long run eating out, but if you add the value of time savings, you would almost have to come out on top. For a family of 10 adults a grocery bill could easily top $250, after stopping at Costco or BJ's, then a stop at Whole Foods or Wild Oats for your vegan cousin not to mention the trip to the local Kroger or Safeway for the last minutes fixings.

If your time is worth $20 an hour, or you make about $36K at the job then here is what your holiday is going to look like.

Eating at Home:
Total cost to cook at home for 10 adults:
Food: $250
Cooking Labor: $20/hr X 8 hours: $160
Pre and Post Clean Up: $20/hr X 3 hours: $60

Total: $470.

Eating Out
Take the same family to the local restaurant, where a T-Bone dinner is $18 per, with tax and tip, no more than $25.

$25 X 10 = $250. A great savings. No dish washing and everyone eats what they want.

And you still have time to make it home to let the ladies watch TiVo's Desperate Housewives and the fellas catch the big football game.

Brilliant!

Determining a good investment property

2005-11-07T08:58:00.000-08:00

If you should decide to get into real estate investing or are making plans to and you want a good way to measure if a property is overpriced, look at the price per square foot ratio. Simply stated:

Asking Price/Square Foot = Price per square foot.
$480,000/1200 sq ft = $400 per square foot.

Dont just make offers on real estate based on asking prices or what an agent tells you. Analyze competing and recently sold real estate and get an average of the price per square foot. Knowing this simple formula will often times help you tremendously in knowing if something is overpriced or not. In Los Angeles it is amazing how regular people and agents price their properties and the prices people are paying for real estate. I will not predict a bull or bear market in real estate, I will just say, ask yourself, is the ability to live in Los Angeles versus another area of the country really worth paying more than twice as much for half the home? Only you can answer that question

making money while you sleep

2005-11-07T08:48:00.000-08:00

For years I have tried to figure out ways to make money while i was asleep. Things I have considered.

1. Vending machines- not as easy as it sounds. startup money is not great, but volume is required in order to compete with competiton, labor, theft, vandalism and the like. The greatest barrier to entry is the real estate. you know location, location, location. what is in it for the owner of the land can make or break your profitability.

2. Apartment ownership- greatest barrier to entry, down payment money. a great investment for the right person.

3. Giving to charity/church- this has been the most rewarding as in life you must believe that what you give is what you get. so when you give good, dont think money, but good that is what you get. Giving $100 to Red Cross may not bring you back $200 in cash, but when you get that 1st class upgrade on your cross country flight, that is your return, good for good.

With this in mind, I have been spending so much time learning the ends and outs of commission junction and search engine optimization. My buddy at NYCMoney has inspired me so much. Read this post for more information. But in short, this will not get you rich quick, however any goal you can set, AND FOLLOW THROUGH with, you can make good money.

You know what really grinds my gears?

2005-10-21T10:39:00.000-07:00

You know what really grinds my gears? Stupid terms like jumbo shrimp and dry ice, thanks Peter Griffin.

But in business there are several things that really grinds my gears, I will list a few for your entertainment.

I. Friends that find out some profit making idea about two years after you found out about it, and they ask you to participate in their idea. Examples: "Hey bro, if you sign up at freewhatever.com, I can get a free whatever". "Hey man I think I am going to buy some Apple stock, those iPods are selling like hotcakes. GTFOOH."

II. People that try to get you buy something they dont even understand. Example: Why would I get a mortgage from your company when you took Algebra I in 11th grade and passed based on a technicality?

III. Free Seminars: If you are a real estate millionaire or an insurance billionaire why do you have free time to go around telling me how I can make millions like you did? I have yet to meet a real wealthy person that just goes around offering to teach others how to do what they did, because they want you to win.

IV. Excuse Investors: Dont buy real estate in California its too expensive. I was going to buy a home in New Orleans, but then Katrina came. I would buy Google shares but they are too expensive. STFU and do something.

V. Ignorant people: Dont you hate when people tell you that what you have done and have been successful in is the wrong way to do it. Example: Someone will say "I would never buy the stock market, real estate is a way better investment. Besides the stock market is way too risky!" And they say this the same day you made a killing on the three stocks you bought last month. The worst part about is the fact that the money you made is the same money they would ask you to use to invest in their Ponzi scheme idea next week.

And thats all I have to say about that!

Real Estate Investment Idea

2005-10-17T10:57:00.000-07:00

I dont feel as though I am new to the real estate investment circle. I have first hand experience on a deal or two in my day. But I am ready to jump from the Carlton Sheets class, into the baby Trump class. But how can I do this if I am always thinking so small? I have buddies that say, "If I buy a duplex for $200K and it can cash flow with +$222 a month then that is great right? Well yes and no. Listen my little friend, time is too short and more importantly valuable. So indeed you can do well with positive cash flow, after all that is the name of the investment game, but when in Las Vegas, if you play the nickel slots you will win nickels. When you play the dollar slots you win dollars. And when you own the casino, YOU JUST WIN BABY! This idea is one that I hope to get me somewheres between the dollar slots and the casino ownership.

I found a dream home, that would normally be featured on MTV cribs in Raleigh, a nice city that is growing by leaps and bounds. This is one city you dont have to worry about home price appreciation busting anytime soon, as increases for this cycle are in the single digits. But given some time, promising markets either live up to their potential or they are exposed for what they lack.

Idea: Note many details left out to quicken the story. The home is listed for $920-980K. Wow that's not too shabby huh? About 6500 sq ft, not bad. Here is a comparable.

Because we are not in Los Angeles or Boston, there is a such thing as making an offer under asking price, WHO KNEW?! For simplicity sake just say I am willing to pay 900K and the buyer is willing to accept. Now lets say the house would appraise for $960K. And the bank has no problem lending this amount. Of course you would need a cooperative seller, but why couldnt I offer to purchase the place for 960, with the stipulation the buyer makes the 1st years, mortgage payments, for simplicity sake lets say $5k for 12 months equals $60K. Of course one would need to cash or plan for the next year(s) of payments, but that is my idea of how to take a million dollar home and get paid to live there for the 1st year.

Conclusion: There is more to life, especially the life of a real estate investor outside of the big cities of San Diego, Virginia Beach, The O.C. and the big Apple. Think BIG!

Real Estate Investment

2005-10-16T10:23:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles, Orange County California, Las Vegas, Boston, Manhattan and Miami; What do they all have in common? Controversy in the housing market. For the past 3 years naysayers have been predicting the bust of the assumed housing "bubble". Conversely for the past 3 years investors have been realizing that this is not the year the sky will fall and have been cashing in on the greatest, "little man" money grab since the dot com days. I personally do not care if these markets crash or soar I understand that there is money to be made either way.

I wish to encourage anyone reading this to realize that life is a cycle of cycles. All investments are cyclical and the cycles are what should be studied. No matter the investment, learn the vehicle(stocks, land, gold, businesses) and then look to understand the cycle.

Avoid various mistakes such as opening a bakery at the height of the Atkins diet. Wait out the diet cycle and look to attract at the end of the cycle. By the way Atkins is a pretty good diet, if you have the will power. Another example would be to avoid investing in companies that hit their 52 week high. This is a general rule of thumb and rules were made to be broken. You can wait for a dip in the price if you love the company and then make your move. This goes for the housing market as well. The boom of the past 5 years is not only cyclical but regional. Do your homework understand the cycle and then you will begin to understand how you can make money during the booms and during the busts.

Idea #8: Child Care Cameras Online

2005-10-11T15:01:00.000-07:00

Many of the ideas I come up with often are already in use. But the art of the deal is not inventing the hamburger, but rather creating a system that is so bullet proof, that you turn the hamburger into McDonalds.

I did some research on "nanny cams" and "child care webcams". I mean how great would it be for a parent to check in on their kids from work over a secure webcam? I know all of you single people may be wondering, what the hell am I talking about? But it is simple, the technology and conveniecne is already out there. This idea calls for the implementation of marketing such a product to business owners that probably lack the technical know how or fail to see the benefit of such a product.

Business Type: Childcare premium service sales

Estimated Start Up: <$2K. ( marketing, advertising)

Where: Local markets

Potential Coverage: national, unlimited

All that is required is a video server, web cams, a high speed web connection, and a secure login. But the best part is none of that is your concern. Essentially all you need to do is identify a company in your area that offers such a service and you and/or your sales team is armed with a product that has a high demand and a great ROI for either parents or child care owners.

Think of the same model that cabinet and carpet companies use. Most of them are not manufacturers of the products they sale, they just mark-up the products and order them for you. As for profit potential, that depends on how you set up your business plan.

At Larrin's for profit ideas, we dont make a lot of the ideas you have, we make a lot of the ideas you have better.

NYC Money and $7 gas prices thoughts

2005-10-06T11:38:00.000-07:00

I was reading the post by my blog buddy at NYC Money about gas prices.

It must be nice to not have to need a car, to save on gas, insurance, maintenance and payments. Gas prices are the real killer.....or are they?

It got me to thinking. As I live in Los Angeles home of the Notorious 405 freeway. The only freeway in the world that has a 60% chance of a traffic delay at 1:25 am on a Saturday. How I have longed for a toll for that freeway. Maybe I will get my wish after all. Think about it, when McDonald's raises their prices on Big Mac's how many NFL players even notice? And what about your soy milk? Last year 2 for $5, this year 2 for $7. If you have a decent amount of wealth and income, these price rises are often blessings in disguise. Smaller lines, equals more time, equals less mistakes, equals fresher offerings, equals less stress. Hell I think $7 gas prices could end world hunger and bring peace in the middle east, j/k!

If gas prices went to $7, many people would cry but I would be happy. I would have the means to drive and not only that I would get back so much time. Lets say you have a job that pays you $30 an hour, or roughly $57,000 a year. This means that your time per hour is worth at least $30. If you want to drive from Orange County (Anaheim) to San Fernando Valley (near Hollywood) at 4:00pm the distance is roughly 85 miles round trip. With no traffic the trip should take no more than 1.5 hours. Lets add traffic and the time is more like 3-3.5 hours driving. You have wasted or not optimally used a finite resource called time, doing what? Flipping driving an automobile! With the additional 1.5 hours your time is worth $45, but many people would complain about the additional $$25 ($4 more for 6 gallons with a car with at least 21 mpg, Ford Explorer) in gas it would take to complete the trip.

Now imagine that same logic but instead of 60,000 per year, add a zero to 600,000 per year. Instead of $30 per hour its $300 per hour. This is the rationale that many wealthy people consider when small things like gas prices rise. Even at $3, gas is still cheaper than milk, per gallon, and milk prices are subsidized! Food for thought.

Kiyosaki Seminar in Los Angeles

2005-10-03T10:14:00.000-07:00

This weekend I attended the Rich Dad's seminar featuring Robert Kiyosaki in Los Angeles, sponsored by local radio station KFWB.

A few notes on the seminar:

1. The workshop was attended by over 2,000 people. Over $85 a ticket at the door.

2. Kiyosaki used a couple of cuss words, some of the multi syllable kind. I dont know why but this shocked me. Kind of like learning about mom's sex life before dad. Whoa, too much information.

3. He professed that his mission is not to tell you how to make money, but to educate you so that you can figure it out yourself. He asked himself, how he made money and replied (one of the ways), "write a book that sold over 25 million copies and get a commission of $3 per book" I was like damn! Do the math on the Rich Dad, Poor Dad book alone.

4. I just wondered what was his cut for speaking as he spoke, from the top of his head for about 1 hour total during the entire workshop.

Thoughts on Kiyosaki:

1. I am a supporter of Robert, especially for beginning investors. His common sense approach provides a wealth of information that I would have never been privy too, as I grew up in a poor dad household.

2. While I support him for beginners, anyone that has spent more than a year reading his materials, needs to get out of the nest and start doing. As Robert will probably tell you, he makes his most money from those that are scared to leave the nest and always feel they need more information. One more book, one more CD, one more course, one more workshop. If you dont have something on the inside click and say I can at least try, then you will be the smartest broke person on the block.

3. His educational seminars run seamlessly and he really is an MC. Very little Q&A, very little information at a seminar that you cant get from the books. I admire his system, whether you agree with the message or not, the system is flawless for making money. And even his wife is involved, amazing. Take notes from the methods and focus less on the message.

Back to the Mainland

2005-09-30T09:53:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay, I was...ummmmm.. spending quality time with the mrs.

Talk about expensive... While Hawaii boasts the lowest unemployment rate in the union at around 2%, they also have prices more expensive than Manhattan. A gallon of milk: $5. Gasonline: 3.40 and a pineapple from the Dole Plantation: 2 for $35!!!!!!

I have come up with some real good ideas in the off time. Check back soon to see the updates.

Aloha! and Mahalo!

Cash Flow Idea #1

2005-09-20T15:46:00.000-07:00

Concept: Many people that get in the stock market either dont succeed or fail to maximize their success because they fail to set real goals. If your goal is to simply "beat the market" at the end of the year and you are under young with very few responsibilities then you are essentially wasting valuable time. In about 6 months time, I plan to sell a piece of real estate and I plan to come into some good money. I am one of the lucky homeowners in California. So what am I going to do with this unexpected cash? Lets just say you too were able to benefit from a lump sum of money. For example $100K. If you made a goal of trading that 100K successfully 3% positive per month you could essentially have a job that pays you 36K per year. Imagine if you were able to trade successfully 6% a month, a 72K per year job. Trading is not rocket science, but I dont take it legality either. There is a difference between trading in your spare time and trading to pay the bills. Your hunger level is greater when all you have is dependent upon riding your winners and cutting your losers. And dont get greedy. If you think this is just a fantasy read The Kirk Report, living proof that is can be done.

Recap: You can trade your income each month if you have the desire and access to capital.

freaking blogger

2005-09-13T12:25:00.000-07:00

I changed the template and all of the customized information including links disappeared. I plan to put them back up shortly, so please be patient.

Blog to change a little bit

2005-09-13T12:19:00.000-07:00

I am starting a new blog (more on that later) and slightly changing the focus of this blog to make it more readable. I still intend to write about for profit ideas, but now i am focusing on ideas that will assist you and me in getting out of the rat race. The key to these ideas will be that they will be centered around increasing cash flow and be owner oriented. This simply means, the owner may have to work by putting up the initial cash infusion or system development, but after that the system will make money for the owner with little to no work. I am not interested in get rich quick schemes, but rather focusing on ideas that when implemented well, can increase your cash flow by a minimum of $500 a month.

Outsourcing Tutoring to India: need insight

2005-09-06T10:38:00.000-07:00

Many American companies are taking advantage of outsourcing service jobs to various foreign companies. There are several schools of thoughts as to whether this is good, bad or indifferent to the American economy. However, one such industry that I have been contemplating after reading larger established companies have taken advantage of outsourcing is academic tutoring to India. Did you know many tutors charge $50 and more an hour for advanced subject tutoring?

I have an idea in the making, however I was wondering if you knew of any resources for making contact with Indian students without getting on a plane and going to New Delhi?

This idea, has a great twist, but I need some assistance getting it off of the ground.

Idea #7: Expert Publication

2005-09-01T14:25:00.000-07:00

Business Type: Information services

Estimated Start Up: >$5K. ( marketing, advertising, insurance, data collectors)

Where: Local markets

Potential Coverage: wedding industry, party planners, catering services, optometrist, doctors, beauty suppliers, grocery stores

Information is in big demand. Have you ever tried find a list wedding planners in your city? What about a list of venues to rent for a party. There is information out there, but it is not standardized. There is very little specialization occurring on the web. So the idea is make a publication, either online or offline that focuses, better yet specializes on one subject well. Instead of a phone book for everything, imagine a phone book for mechanics, child care or car washes. Industries that can not immediately benefit from the web like a product driven business. I guess I am taking the Real estate idea and expanding it to several areas.

Business insights: elance and google answers

2005-08-30T09:27:00.000-07:00

If you are an entrepreneur in need of a website, some legal assistance, an advertisement, a business plan, accounting help or any other type of regular business need, check out Elance.
This is an ebay owned company that uses the ebay approach to services. I used them to get a quote for an LLC filing a year ago. Great source of information.

The greatest site on the web no one is talking about is Google Answers. IF you ever wanted to know, "how many banana pie manufacturers were located in New York and Florida", you simply post the question, offer a price for how valuable you think the information would be and wait for "experts" to answer your question. You can submit a question for as little as $2.50.

Hurricane katrina: profits on the horizon?

2005-08-30T09:16:00.000-07:00

It is hard to imagine the devastation of entire cities, but for centuries this is nothing new. My thoughts are with the people that are suffering, but I know that life will go on for these people. I was watching Mad Money with Jim Cramer yesterday and boy that guy only sees money. Which in business I guess is key. In your private life you can care and have compassion but in the business world, you can only care about profits, loses and legalities that may affect either.

This got me to thinking. As a real estate investor, can you imagine the damage that has been done to properties? Now, using the Mad Money mentality, can you imagine the awesome deals that are to be had in the region? Profiting off of other people's misery may be very cruel, but when you think in black and red, you can see opportunities clearly.

Lastly, I am so tired of the media's sensationalism when it comes to reporting money. " The government is spending 30 billion for this" " The hurricane damage may be $25 billion for this" I wish they would stop with such misleading reporting. The Wynn Casino in Las Vegas cost well over 3 billion to build and that is one building. You must think to yourself, billion is slowly becoming the new million. Stop telling yourself, if I only made a million I would.... Think bigger than your mind constrains you.

Idea #6: The New SAT tutoring

2005-08-22T16:15:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: Do not try this at home!

Business Type: Not very legal service: SAT tutoring

Estimated Start Up: less than $100

Where: Affluent kids that are not smart enough to cheat on their own whose parents are morally challenged.

Have you ever watched the Godfather and sat in awe by the effort the men gave to ensuring their family was doing well? What about seeing Denzel Washington in Training Day, rooting for the bad guy? Earth to you guys! THEY WERE CRIMINALS.

As Pacino said in Scarface, " You need people like me. You need people like me so you can point your f+++&$n' fingers and say, "That's the bad guy." So... what that make you? Good? You're not good. You just know how to hide, how to lie. Me, I don't have that problem. Me, I always tell the truth."

Back to the idea. How easy is it to take an SAT test for someone else in high school. Lets check the security hurdles. A proctor, usually a school assistant or para-eduactors looking to make some extra dough. Most teachers wont work 5 hours for $80. You should have a valid high school id, about as hard to make as chocolate chip cookies. Then you have the option of taking the test in any school in the country. This test is just begging to be worked.

Here is the plan. Organize a group of college kids that scored well on the SAT. Discretely acquire parents to pay you $2 for every point you score on the SAT, for their kids. The test is out of 2400 points.

Lets say on average you get a 2000 score, you make $4000 bucks. You pay the college kid $500 for 5 hours of work. Save about $200 to hush up money. And you are looking at $1300 profit for organizing like vito corleone!

Because so many scholarships and admissions decisions are tied directly to grades and test scores, $2000 is a small price to get into "great private school" compared to "party state college". In other words for $4000 investment, your child can have exposure to some of the finer things in academic life. Please don’t be so naive to think this is not already happening, I just wanted to bring it to light.

Lastly, I would never do this, and I encourage you to read this only for its entrepreneurial content, but imagine the possibilities of success or failure, cash versus possible jail time. The caper would be too easy. Just make the administrators offers they cant refuse.

Make money on the web 101

2005-08-21T19:15:00.000-07:00

I would like to attempt to make a good list of several ways that I know how people are making money on the web, if you know of others please let me know.

1. Sell original merchandise (guess.com | dell.com)
2. Sell original service (legalzoom.com| SEO | web designers)
3. Resell a product or service (resell web hosting)
4. Sell personal items (ebay.com | overstock.com)
5. Affiliate Marketing (www.cj.com| amazon.com | small companies)
6. Paid search displays (AdSense)
7. Sell Banner Ads: (on site or blog
8. Phishing (wikipedia)
9. Pharming (wikipedia)
10. Online Rebates (ebateplace.com)
11. Other illegal activities, (I'll never tell!)
12 Online Poker (I know most people lose with this but many make a healthy, questionably illegal, living doing this) -Thumb
13. Creating a small program that helps people via the web and then get bought out by an internet giant ( Konfabulator bought out by Yahoo | Blogger bought out by Google) -Thumb

need inspiration: meetup.com

2005-08-21T19:09:00.000-07:00

A cool website called Meet Up, allows people to form and join groups in which members have common interest or goals. I know its been around for a while, but hey everyone may not be as fast as you are speed racer, cut me some slack!

However if you are looking for long lost vampire buddies or a flag football team to join, here is the place to find it. Aside from the cost of your time and sorting through many bogus groups, should you find the diamond in the rough group your life could receive a real quick boost.

If I come across any good entrepreneurial groups, I will let you know.

Idea #5: Cookies for sell online

2005-08-17T13:46:00.000-07:00

This concept is one of those, "we dont invent a lot of the things you buy, we make a lot of the things you buy better!"

Business Type: Online Cookie Store

Estimated Start Up: $2.5K. ( marketing, website, quality packaging)

Where: Online and Domestic

Cookies anyone? Ok I will admit that I have the world's sweetest tooth, because every time I eat something sweet, I think of a way to bring my sugar high to the masses! My friends call me the cookieman!

But for about two years now I have had this pipedream of selling cookies online. Although I do bake and cook rather well, the key to money making is taking yourself the furthest away from the product or service as possible. For instance, you wont catch Warren Buffet selling insurance or Steve Jobs at a crappy Apple Store "Genius Bar" repairing an iPOD battery.

Now here is the deal. Locate a fair size baker or bakery in your area, there cookies/sweets must be loved, like a local legend. Contract to purchase a variety of cookies from this person everyday. These cookies will have possibly an extra pinch of cinnamon or sweetened with a teaspoon of honey, something to make them a lil different. Now comes your part. Contract to have designer boxes and packaging created. Possibly gold foil and a red box like Tiffanys to differentiate yourself from the mom and pops outfits that are polluting the web.

Open up the "cookiestore.com" and beat the competition on service and presentation. Think JetBlue. Offer a money back guarantee on all cookies sold. Offer discounted shipping, offset by pricing strategy.

Pricing Strategy: $15 a dozen, $2 shipping - minus $4 wholesale dozen - minus 4 shipping and packaging - $2 Labor = $5 profit.

These cookies are to be sold and marketed as high end cookies to willing customers everywhere. The best part is the fact that you keep no inventory beyond boxes and packaging. Quick entry to market due to the fact that the production infrastructure is already in tact. Your business is winning customers over with presentation and service. If you think that $17 (shipped) is too much for a dozen, do a search for yourself for gourmet cookies.

Marketing the cookies: Too easy, offer affiliate programs, partner to offer giveaways with a company like Crate and Barrel, SEO, link exchange, add a baker's blog, sky is the limit for this cookieman.

Link Exchange

2005-08-17T10:53:00.000-07:00

If you add my link I will add yours. I am new to the SEO thing, but I am a fast learner.

Idea #4: Butler Service

2005-08-14T11:03:00.000-07:00

Business Type: High End Service

Estimated Start Up: $6K. ( marketing, training, advertising, insurance, back ground checks)

Where: Market to affluent areas as a status symbol.

Remember Mr. Belvedere and Alfred, Bruce Wayne's butler? If you like old guys with British accents then they are perfect choices, but how can you justify paying someone 60K per year to answer your door and serve tea and crumpets or biscottis?

This new age butler is one that is versed in culture, style, fashion, technology and finances. Lets not forget about the traditional knowledge of teaching gentlemen and lady like behavior, table etiquette and even improving your vernacular. Should you buy Joe and Seven for All Mankind Jeans? Ask Jeeves! Should you lease or buy that Hummer H2? Ask Jeeves! Your husband has dinner in Japan next week and needs to learn basic Japanese. Ask Jeeves!

In other words, when this person has completed getting your car washed, filling up the gas tank, changing the oil and organizing your mail you have an instant "queer eye, tech geek, Jim Cramer, James Bond type" at your disposal for instant advice.

The value added benefit to this service is that the service is paid for on a community pay plan. This means that one butler's salary is paid by splitting the butler's costs and time between 4 households. In order to schedule consultations or services, simply logon to "www.newagebutler.com" see available times and reserve your butler. During training you could even teach Englsih accents!

Cost are to be determined, however each butler receives training based on areas that they need knowledge on. The butler is contracted through the New Butler company and all jobs and pay are handled thru the office.

Any feedback?

Google Maps Exploited

2005-08-10T09:54:00.000-07:00

Interested in seeing what others are doing with Google maps already? Check them out here:

Also here is a nifty little tool where you can add your blog location to a google map.
http://maps.quodlibet.be/blog.php

Idea #3: Exploit Google Maps

2005-08-09T10:45:00.000-07:00

Business Type: Online data resource

Estimated Start Up: $2.5K. (programming cost, marketing)

Where: Local markets at first, with potential for national or regional growth.

Snapshot: If you haven't used GoogleMaps yet, then you were probably too busy playing Oregon Trails on your Apple IIe, or maybe that game of paper, rock scissors was too fun to give up.

But have you seen what some people are doing with Google's open source functions of Google Maps? Take HousingMaps.com for example. Craig's List + Google Maps = HousingMaps.com. You can see potential apartment listings on a map, for free at least for now.

What if you took a similar approach of exploiting Google Maps with an ethnic/interest based search for specific cities? We know that CitySearch and Yahoo Local, etc have a long way to go before the produce constant useful results; its difficult to be all things to all people on a local level. This leaves room for the little guy.

1. Google Maps + Cuban/Persian/Italian Interest in Austin Texas
2. Google Maps + Gay Interest in San Diego
3. Google Maps + for Budget Minded in Charlotte
4. Google Maps + Athletes in Atlanta
5. Google Maps + BBQ Joints in Seattle
6. Google Maps + Real Estate Investors

Compensation

1. Google adsense.
2. Affiliate Marketing
3. Potential for interviews
4. Any other suggestions?

Spoils of Success

2005-08-08T19:34:00.000-07:00

Which car would you get with your first million dollar paycheck?

Bentley GT?

Bugatti Veyron?

Aston Martin Vanquish?

Either way they are all nice to look at.

Idea #2: Real Estate Agent Ranking Site

2005-08-08T18:42:00.000-07:00

Business Type: Online consumer data resource

Estimated Start Up: $15K.

Where: Local markets at first, with potential for national or regional growth.

Concept: What if you could view the stats of a real estate agent as easy as a professional ball player? Is the agent good or great? Expensive or competitive? Bilingual? What if you were a Texan that wanted to invest in San Diego real estate, but wanted an agent that specialized in multi family properties near universities?

This company would be in the business of data collection of real estate agents performance. Of course it would help if you started of local as there are well over 1 million real estate agents in the country. The company would communicate directly with the state department of real estate to secure the names and other public information stored on licensed agents and brokerages.

It would be in the mode of a "wiki" site where users play a large role in the addition of new data. Users add their experience and rank agents according to various ranking criterias.

Users:
1. Experienced buyers and sellers post comments on agents
2. New users come to find an agent
3. Agents come to read posts about themselves and competition

Compensation:
1. Possibly seek power of a market by centralizing information that was previously not available.
2. Advertise mortgages and related real estate services.
3. Publish annual reports
4. Advertising

Idea #1: How to website video

2005-08-07T22:27:00.000-07:00

With the Internet's Big three: Yahoo, Google and MSN attacking the world of video search, the market for videos is ripe.

Idea:

Create a website that offers how to videos on demand for people to use and learn from. Topics ideas:

I. Cooking - "How to bake a pound cake"
II. Home Improvement - "How to lay concrete" Four part series.
III. Child Care - "How to swaddle your baby"
IV. Auto Care - "How to check your breaks"
V. Computer - "How to color correct in PhotoShop"

The concept is to make videos ranging from 1-4 minutes that users can view and learn for free. Novice film makers using iMovie or other small scale editing tools can easily upload a clip for review and even get paid for each time their clip is viewed.

The site is free to registered users. The money is made via traffic, advertisements and category sponsorship and other creative ways of compensation. When the "VideoPod" becomes a hit then little videos like these would be perfect to watch on the go.

Any suggestions?

Real Estate Investment Group

2005-08-07T22:06:00.000-07:00

Business Type: Real Estate Investing Local Shares

Estimated Start Up: $100K-$250K.

Where: Housing markets mentioned in the pending "bubble".

Do you think there is a bubble coming? I am not here to argue for or against, but inform you that either way, the intelligent investor is still making money whether it rains or shines.

The run up in real estate prices over the past 4 years has been nothing short of breath taking, especially in my two hometowns of Manhattan and Los Angeles. But I am really concerned when my old high school friends that used to take the remedial math class, approach me about taking out a an option ARM mortgage or buying a $100K house in November and selling that same house for $350K.

But for those of us that are experienced in real estate investing or making money wisely period we must realize that no one man is an island. Of course you can flip here and there, but when you are in a market where your investment candidates are 500K plus, one must be careful that their next investment is not their last.

So use the strength of many investors to secure higher end properties, less prone to market moves and competition. Essentially this idea is nothing new, but on a local stage, many 6 figure candidates are missing out on the potential to leverage their investments with the funds of investing partners.

Gather a pool of 5-10 investors, appoint and pay a manager to acquire, analyze and invest in higher end properties that may be too risky for one person to do by themselves. Highlights include background checks, LLC formation, attorney consultation but once the "foreplay" is over, the potential to dominate a market with deep pockets is endless. Of course mortgages are involved and business banking but this is an effort take beginner's from investing Chump to Mogul Trump.

Each investor is allocated a shares of the property and investment fees, but I would rather see 7.5% of $500K profit than 100% of a $12K profit.

Sour milk and cereal

2005-08-07T21:54:00.000-07:00

Ok, since you really have no way to validate this besides taking my word, I hope you will give me the benefit of the doubt. But nearly 4 years ago I came up with the idea of creating a gourmet cereal bar. I even had a name, "Poppa Krunch."

Much like Starbucks is a gourmet coffee house, I thought it would be great to go down to the local Poppa Krunk and pay $6.50 for a bowl of gourmet granola cereal with chocolate soy milk, fresh strawberries, blue berries and a glass of fresh squeezed OJ. You know all the milk choices, cow, goat, soy, almond, rice; toppings bananas, berries, spices, sugars, honey, etc. Now the kicker would be the fact that the company would not sell regular cereal, but exclusive gourmet cereals like you might find in Whole Foods or Wild Oats market.

I said why not, people pay $1.00 for a Krispy Kreme and a $5.00 for Coldstones ice cream, things that can easily get from the grocery store, so why not charge them for a bowl of custom made cereal. Laugh now, but they laughed at Ben and Jerry as well.

Then last year I read an article in Business 2.0 about a company called Cereality.

Although I was a bit crushed, I felt good that my idea had been implemented. Now for some more original ideas.

Background

2005-08-07T21:26:00.000-07:00

I decided to start this blog, to get some feedback on the way I think as an entrepreneur. Many times I have gotten great, at least what I considered to be great ideas for a product or service based business, but after sharing them with people that are not motivated, or after dissecting the ideas myself, I have found myself becoming stagnant in my follow through. So this blog is to serve as my sounding board to see if my mind is made for the boardroom suites or for the alleyway streets.

I know intellectual property and ideas are our greatest asset, blah, blah, blah, but until I take an idea and push it through, it just an idea.

I was really motivated to write this blog after finding Neville's Financial Blog .

It was like I found some college kid, then saw his links on the web and began to realize that I was not alone in my quest to get out of the rat race and in the race of life.