Brilliant ideas - Entrepreneur.com

http://www.entrepreneur.com/100brilliantideas/index.html

Documents - free

http://www.docstoc.com/

--
Justin

"If you can imagine it you can create it. If you can dream it, you can become it."
William Arthur Ward

"If you don't know where you're going, chances are you will end up somewhere else"
Yogi Berra

What to put in an offer when you’re buying investment real estate

What to put in an offer when you're buying investment real estate

via Invest in Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate Investment Properties by Benjamin Bach on 2/3/10

A friend of mine asked me this morning what clauses we usually put in an offer, when we're helping our clients buy and sell an investment property in Ontario.

While every purchase and sale will have unique features demanding custom clauses – often a few Schedules worth of them – most of the time, we use the same base of conditions and clauses when our clients are buying a rental property.

Conditions:

Real estate agreements are either 'firm' or 'conditional.' A firm offer is one where the are no additional conditions on the part of the buyer, and conversely, a conditional offer is where the buyer has some time to do due diligence, such as needing to get approval for financing, having the property inspected, or making sure that the city will let you develop an apartment building on the parcel of vacant land. Most of the time our clients put in conditional offers.

The typical conditions we use are: a financing condition, an inspection conditions, and verification of income and expenses & supporting documents.

If the property we were looking at was a potential development site, we'd probably put in a Zoning condition – allowing us to research and verify that we could develop and build what we wanted to – and an environmental inspection, to make sure that we weren't buying a potentially contaminated site.

It's important to verify the income and expenses, and review the actual leases and bills. We want to run our own eyes over those documents; trust but verify! Also, the bank or lending institution is going to want to see the information as well, as they do their own financial due diligence on the investment property.

Clauses:

In addition to the conditions, we usually will include a number of additional clauses in the Schedule A (and often we'll append more Schedules, depending on the offer. The most I've written is 4 additional schedules to the agreement of purchase and sale. The client was a lawyer ).

If you were purchasing an property that was already rented with tenants, one of the clauses would be that the rents and leases are all legal according to tenancy laws of Ontario, and that the landlord doesn't have any pending or upcoming issues with the Landlord and Tenant Board.

I include a clause asking for the current lodging licence, if it is a student rental that requires one. Also, make sure that the license is current when the property closes – If we don't complete the transaction till August, I still want the license to be in place then!

I like clauses where the seller hands over all architectural & electrical plans, and any information they have on hand about possible expansions of the property. It's amazing what owners have, and how useful it can be in a few yeas when you want to make some changes to the proeprty!

Depending on the type of property, there will be additional clauses; every property is unique, so each agreement of purchase and sale will vary. We recommend all of our clients run offers by their lawyer, and it's a good thing for you to do too.

What clauses and conditions do you include when you're buying a property?

Related posts:

1. State of the Student Housing (investment) Market
2. 2009 Kitchener Waterloo Investment Real Estate Market Update
3. Property Management for KW investment property

Trends in Canada

Aging of our population - by 2036, seniors are projected to more than
double, from 4.7 to 10.9 million

- Consider implications on healthcare spend, obligations on family
members, quality of care providers, etc

Justin

Sent from my iPhone

Zappos.com's $1.6M Mistake That Boosted its Brand

Amazing company...

~~~~~~

Zappos.com's $1.6M Mistake That Boosted its Brand

Zappos.com, the popular shoe site that embraces exceptional customer service and successful use of social media, made an expensive mistake over the weekend that cost them $1.6 million but ultimately used the blunder to boost their brand image.

So what happened? Zappos.com's sister site, 6pm.com, ran into a technical glitch that priced everything on the site at $49.95 or under for several hours on Sunday morning. Items that ranged up to thousands of dollars could be bought at $49.95.

When Zappos.com realized the mistake, they shut down the site to fix the problem and restore the original prices. But here's the best part: the company honored the prices they mistakenly sold the products at. Aaron Magness from Zappos.com stated, "While we're sure this was a great deal for customers, it was inadvertent, and we took a big loss (over $1.6 million - ouch) selling so many items so far under cost. However, it was our mistake. We will be honoring all purchases that took place on 6pm.com during our mess up."

What can marketers and business owners learn from this?

Staying consistent with their core value of building honest relationships with their customers, Zappos.com held up their end of their promise to deliver phenomenal service. Instead of allowing the media to criticize the mistake, they used the press to display their commitment to consumers. The free publicity helped generate buzz for Zappos, secured its reputation for stellar customer service, and greatly increased the reach of 6pm.com across the web.

For many businesses, it is important to remember that social media and traditional media can play a huge role in generating buzz for your company and impacting your brand image. Taking advantage of PR, even in bad situations, can help your company shine amongst your competition. By flipping an unfortunate incident on its head, your company will not only gain credibility for admitting its mistake but also receive customer trust for handling the situation in a transparent and honest way.

http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/6011/Zappos-com-s-1-6M-Mistake-That-Boosted-its-Brand.aspx

--
Justin

"If you can imagine it you can create it. If you can dream it, you can become it."
William Arthur Ward

"If you don't know where you're going, chances are you will end up somewhere else"
Yogi Berra

Business ideas

Other possible business ideas:

• Real estate kit
• Green kit
• Green rating = zagat ratings
  Social networking that incl reviews and ranking by members
• Local green guides in book form / iPhone app/internetbased guides
• Green yellow pages - listings of all green business in local area. Look up Ecometroguides and Dotherightthing.com -
• Green consulting business. Look up: interfaceraise
  

How to up your innovation quotient

Hanging out with idea generators: Who sparks you?
- get together every 4-6 weeks to stimulate the creative juices...

Establish a sounding board (advisory board of directors)
- meet 2x/yr

Brainstorming sessions

... From the 60 sec innovator, jeff davidson

Justin

Sent from my iPhone

I wish, I wish...

Single phrase helps identify challenges that are ripe for an innovative solution. "I wish someone would..."

Justin

Sent from my iPhone

Tim Ferriss - Practical Tactics for Dealing with Haters

Wise words of wisdom.

Tim Ferriss Scam! Practical Tactics for Dealing with Haters

via The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss by Tim Ferriss on 5/18/10

Brute force seldom works with haters. Redirection does. (Photo: Deadstar 2.0)

I recently spent a week in Amsterdam enjoying bicycles, canals, Queensday, and… ahem… coffee shops. For real. Honest. The best coffee I've had in Europe has to be De Koffie Salon.

I also gave a short keynote at The NextWeb about how to deal with haters, protect yourself from (some) media, respond to FlipCams, and other personal branding self-defense 101.

Think you have crazy people contacting you or commenting on your blog? Me too. I share some of my favorite hater e-mails, Amazon reviews, and voicemails. It'll make you feel better to hear the stories.

It is possible to learn to love haters. But it does take some know-how and tactical planning…

I elaborated on a few points in an interview in the Netherlands with Amy-Mae Elliot, who originally posted them on Mashable in her piece Tim Ferriss: 7 Great Principles for Dealing with Haters:

1. It doesn't matter how many people don't get it. What matters is how many people do.

"It's critical in social media, as in life, to have a clear objective and not to lose sight of that," Ferriss says. He argues that if your objective is to do the greatest good for the greatest number of people or to change the world in some small way (be it through a product or service), you only need to pick your first 1,000 fans — and carefully. "As long as you're accomplishing your objectives, that 1,000 will lead to a cascading effect," Ferriss explains. "The 10 million that don't get it don't matter."

2. 10% of people will find a way to take anything personally. Expect it.

"People are least productive in reactive mode," Ferriss states, before explaining that if you are expecting resistance and attackers, you can choose your response in advance, as opposed to reacting inappropriately. This, Ferriss says, will only multiply the problem. "Online I see people committing 'social media suicide' all the time by one of two ways. Firstly by responding to all criticism, meaning you're never going to find time to complete important milestones of your own, and by responding to things that don't warrant a response." This, says Ferriss, lends more credibility by driving traffic.

3. "Trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity." (Colin Powell)

"If you treat everyone the same and respond to everyone by apologizing or agreeing, you're not going to be recognizing the best performers, and you're not going to be improving the worst performers," Ferriss says. "That guarantees you'll get more behavior you don't want and less you do." That doesn't mean never respond, Ferriss goes on to say, but be "tactical and strategic" when you do.

4. "If you are really effective at what you do, 95% of the things said about you will be negative." (Scott Boras)

"This principle goes hand-in-hand with number two," Ferriss says. "I actually keep this quote in my wallet because it is a reminder that the best people in almost any field are almost always the people who get the most criticism." The bigger your impact, explains Ferriss (whose book is a New York Times, WSJ and BusinessWeek bestseller), and the larger the ambition and scale of your project, the more negativity you'll encounter. Ferriss jokes he has haters "in about 35 languages."

5. "If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid." (Epictetus)

"Another way to phrase this is through a more recent quote from Elbert Hubbard," Ferriss says. "'To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing." Ferriss, who holds a Guinness World Record for the most consecutive tango spins, says he has learned to enjoy criticism over the years. Ferriss, using Roman philosophy to expand on his point, says: "Cato, who Seneca believed to be the perfect stoic, practiced this by wearing darker robes than was customary and by wearing no tunic. He expected to be ridiculed and he was, he did this to train himself to only be ashamed of those things that are truly worth being ashamed of. To do anything remotely interesting you need to train yourself to be effective at dealing with, responding to, even enjoying criticism… In fact, I would take the quote a step further and encourage people to actively pursue being thought foolish and stupid."

6. "Living well is the best revenge." (George Herbert)

"The best way to counter-attack a hater is to make it blatantly obvious that their attack has had no impact on you," Ferriss advises. "That, and [show] how much fun you're having!" Ferriss goes on to say that the best revenge is letting haters continue to live with their own resentment and anger, which most of the time has nothing to do with you in particular. "If a vessel contains acid and you pour some on an object, it's still the vessel that sustains the most damage," Ferriss says. "Don't get angry, don't get even — focus on living well and that will eat at them more than anything you can do."

7. Keep calm and carry on.

The slogan "Keep Calm and Carry On" was originally produced by the British government during the Second World War as a propaganda message to comfort people in the face of Nazi invasion. Ferriss takes the message and applies it to today's world. "Focus on impact, not approval. If you believe you can change the world, which I hope you do, do what you believe is right and expect resistance and expect attackers," Ferriss concludes. "Keep calm and carry on!"

Bus idea: green rating for restaurants and retail

From 75 green business : Glenn croston

Bus idea: hub for student property owners and investors

An information hub for investors of student rental properties.

Includes:
- Mls capabilites for all surrounding areas around the uni and colleges
- rss or automated feed of new listings into your mailbox
- facts and figures about the university eg enrolment
- property mgmt resources
- financing resources and lenders
- contractors
- links to offcampus housing sites
- can be Canadian site or us based

The solution is nearby...

Charles Kettering : brilliant inventor

"a problem's solution exists alongside the problem itself" . Your task
is to find the solution that has existed all along and apply it.

...from the 60 second innovator, jeff davidson

Bus idea: Shopify + resume = easy to produce resume template?

Hmmm....why not apply this to the resume industry?

No More Excuses – How to Make an Extra $100,000 in the Next 6 Months

Hmmm, it's time to go big or go home. I need an OMFG idea. And if I get one and it involves selling something, I'm checking out shopify.com.

No More Excuses – How to Make an Extra $100,000 in the Next 6 Months

via The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss by Tim Ferriss on 12/8/09

The Wilburns have created a multinational from their home.(Photo: Dana Smith)

"So, do you have any ideas?"

"Well, if we're going to do something, it should be big. It should make people sit up and say OMFG. Make people actually do something," I responded.

The conversation continued in front of the Thai restaurant, me pacing on my cell phone in San Francisco — foregoing food in excitement — and Tobi in his offices in Ottawa, Canada.

We decided in the subsequent 10 minutes to offer $100,000 cash as a bribe to you all. The overview?

* $100,000 for the grand winner
* $120,000 total in prizes
* 6 months starting January 1 but you can (and should) get started now
* Even if you don't win the prizes, you should end up with a viable business at the end of 6 months

The details make it even better…

Background

Randy and Nicola Wilburn in the above photo, featured in BusinessWeek's "Mom-and-Pop Multinationals", are just two of the thousands of people in 35 countries who have used the steps in The 4-Hour Workweek as a basis to create near- or fully-automated businesses. The principles of automation have been equally applied within both Fortune and Inc. 500 companies.

The problem?

Some things just aren't as simple in execution as they appear on paper. If there is one place where readers fail or give up, it is on such automated "muses", as such automated businesses are called in book to abbreviate.

It's most often due to lack of technical skills, lack of testing abilities, or — much more often — simple intimidation and failure to attempt it at all. The truth: it's easier to continue in the predictable and comfortable mediocrity of the 9-to-5 than to start a business. It seems too big and there is little perceived incentive to change.

Let's change that.

Tobi Lutke is the CEO of Shopify. Several months ago, I polled more than 50,000 Twitter users about e-commerce platforms, and the near-unanimous response was that Shopify offered the easiest-to-use full-service platform in existence. I'd never heard of them.

It seems I was late to the party.

From Pixar to Tesla, Pamela Anderson to Amnesty International, I saw slick design after slick design, all of which could be set up in minutes. Even Google Website Optimizer is built-in for testing. I was so surprised and impressed that I became an advisor upon meeting Tobi at RailsConf.

I want to give you a reason to finally take the jump with full confidence. Here's what we're doing:

The Competition – More Than One Winner

Shopify and I are running a 6-month "Build Your Business" competition. The store with the most revenue for two consecutive months (we'll use your best two) wins $100,000.

There are other runner-up prizes, and there will be worthwhile surprises. To support you with the tools and skills you need, there will be expert tutorials on critical subjects (like Google Adwords testing, design, etc.) on a monthly basis at minimum, posts on this blog with real-life examples, and more.

The bullets:

* $100,000 for the grand winner
* $120,000 total in prizes
* 6 months starting January 1 but you can (and should) get started now. Even two weeks of practice will give you a massive advantage. I strongly suggest playing with it now.
* The best two consecutive months of sales count
* Even if you don't win the prizes, you should end up with a viable business at the end of 6 months
* The steps and details in the new, expanded 4-Hour Workweek will be used as ground-zero for instructions
* Contest open — unfortunately — to US residents only. Please see "Afterword" below for why you should do it regardless. The tools and guidance will be available to all entrants.

Outside the US? Perhaps you should just incorporate a US company online? But – I'm no lawyer. Speak with a professional first and read the fine print. Be sure to read the FAQ, which opens up even more opportunities.

Tens of thousands of online stores have been created with Shopify: everything from Nerdbots to CrossFit.

Will you be next? I know a Fortune 500 company employee who's quitting in 2010 because his Shopify store makes more than $1,000,000 per year. Not bad for a side gig!

If you've thought of starting a muse but have put it off or given up, here are two reasons to make 2010 the year that changes everything:

$100,000 and know-how guidance from experts. Though I'm an advisor, I receive no commission or payment whatsoever for this competition. It's to get more people to pull the trigger.

If you decide not to pull the trigger, ask yourself "why not?" If not now, then when?

This competition is intended as a benevolent and encouraging kick in the ass. This stuff isn't rocket science, but it does require stepping outside your comfort zone for a bit to realize: this isn't that hard. It's just unfamiliar. If you do it now, a lot of people will be in the same boat and you'll take the trip together.

No more excuses. Click here to learn how simple it can be.

###

Frequently Asked Questions with Tobi

[The most up-to-date FAQ is on the contest page here]

> Rachel: Can you sell a combination of affiliate products and your own products through shopify?

Yes absolutely. In fact we highly encourage our customers to source extra products that round off the product offering. A lot of our customers started by selling just a single product and later on started cross selling related products between their stores for additional sales.

> BrianReid: Can we use a drop shipper like Doba for products?

Yes, Shopify even integrates directly with drop shippers and consignment warehouses such as Shipwire, Webgistix and Amazon fulfillment. These services are really the key to fully automate your online store because manual shipping is labor intensive. At Shopify we have something called the App Store (http://apps.shopify.com) which allows you to add extensions to your store (think a mix of wordpress plugins and facebook apps). I know there are a few developers currently working on Doba integration.

> Erica: I'm using 1ShoppingCart right now. Can I just move stuff over to Shopify and qualify, or does it have to be a new business?

The point of this competition is to encourage people to create new businesses. If you could simply move a million or multi million dollar business over to Shopify and take the pot then the entire thing would be fairly uninteresting. So in other words, moving an existing business over: no go. Creating a new, related business that you organically grow from the start without simply redirecting your old store: OK.

That being said, we would love to get your existing business on Shopify. If you want to talk more in depth about this, contact me at tobi[at]shopify.com.

> Erica: For the Shopify folks: Do you offer a 1-click post-sale upsell feature like Upsell Express from 1SC?

I'm not familiar with the 1-click post-sale product but marketing to prior clients is a big part of Shopify. We have great integration with Sendloop, Vertical Response, Campaign Monitor and all such services. Through the App Store that I mentioned earlier there are also some really exciting new apps being developed that help people find related products that go well with their current cart content. Shopify is a very flexible platform.

Afterword

Gross revenue and US residents only? A case study in technology and real-life lawyering…

First and foremost, the best prize we can offer is this: your own near-automated, cash-flow positive business at the end of six months. The $100,000 is just a catalyst, a push. The former is, as the proverb goes, teaching you to fish, whereas the latter is handing over a single fish.

No contest is perfect. Shopify can't verify net profit (without private investigators proving margins), so revenue is used as the measuring stick, which is trackable. Does this handicap you if you sell comic books instead of race cars? Not necessarily. It just means you'll need to sell more units. Important: the most any single transaction can be applied the contest is $5,000.

Life is a competition. The rules were the best we could put together without making it impossibly complicated.

But, what's up with the "limited to US residents" and all that?

From a post on Etsy about their own contest challenges (the whole post is worth a read):

Etsy is an international site. We have buyers and sellers from all around the globe. And we love our community. To solely enable U.S. residents to participate in an aspect of our site did not sit well with me or with Etsy. So I called an attorney who specializes in contest law to find an alternative. Unfortunately, his response supported my disappointing findings. He explained that in order to hold an international contest, Etsy would need to consult a licensed attorney who specializes in contest law for each and every country eligible for the contest. And, in fact, for many countries a translator would have to draft the rules. "How much would this cost and how much time would it take?" I innocently asked the contest law attorney. His two-word answer was most discouraging: "a lot."

Here is Tobi's version, especially frustrating, considering that Shopify is based in Canada!

"When putting together the contest we really wanted to make it a contest for anyone, anywhere in the world. Throughout the planning I spent more hours on the phone with lawyers than I'd care to admit to anyone. Unfortunately, as time when on, it became clear that it would be impossible to hold the contest anywhere outside the US without fundamentally altering the original concept.

Without going into too much detail, the crux of the matter is the classification of the contest as a game of chance versus a game of skill. Apparently, being good at selling stuff online is considered chance by many agencies and therefore would be governed by Lottery laws, as silly as this sounds.

That being said, you can still participate in this contest wherever you are. The prize money is significant, but don't forget the spirit of the contest: to give a kick in the pants to all those people who have wanted to start businesses but haven't. The real prize is having a business of your own at the end of the six months. You'll still have all the same resources and guides as everyone else: support from the Shopify team, help and guidance from Tim and other experts, and more control over your financial independence."

###

Elsewhere on the web:

Get the brand-new Expanded and Updated 4-Hour Workweek, published 12/15, which includes more than 50 new case studies (including families) of luxury lifestyle design, muse creation, and world travel.

Wouldn't it be cool if...?

Business idea : wouldnt it be cool if when you're reading a hard copy or paper copy of a newspaper article or magazine or book and wanted to capture that information somehow...that you could take your iPhone or other smartphone... point to the article's title or somewhere in the article and have the app from the iPhone (smartphone) recognize and scan a barcode that has been embedded within the article, then have that app automatically allow you to send yourself an e-mail, Facebook,
blog, tweet or share it?

Justin

Quirky...everyone has a product idea

Wow - This Quirky site is pretty cool - Maybe a place to submit my crazy product ideas (Smoggles?)...

Compostalooza! A Crowdsourced Composter Competition

via TreeHugger on 5/12/10

Quirky is one of those wonderful ideas that could only exist in this internet age. Inventors and designers with an idea used to struggle in their basements, get taken by agents and marketers and most of their ideas never saw the light of day. I've been there. Quirky provides a platform for ideas to be presented, and if "influencers" are influential enough, they actually get put into production. One we have shown was the, um, quirky petaldrops. Sometimes Quirky calls for proposals; next week, designers are...Read the full story on TreeHugger

How to Make Visa Obey Your Every Desire: The Credit Card Concierge Experiment

I wonder if my Visa has a concierge like this?

How to Make Visa Obey Your Every Desire: The Credit Card Concierge Experiment

via The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss by Tim Ferriss on 5/1/10

Photo: Andres Rueda

The following post is a guest post by John Hargrave, whom I met in 2007 at SXSW.

If you find large-scale pranks (Super Bowl, anyone?), impersonating celebrities, and other clever mischief amusing, he's the king of the domain. His book Prank the Monkey is a guide to unleashing your inner Loki.

Given my interest in outsourcing and pushing the envelope with concierge services, he suggested the following post, which looks at just how far VISA will go to keep you happy. I've run similar experiments with American Express Platinum Card with similar results. There are no credit card affiliate links in this post, so no ulterior motives. Just eager for you to reap benefits you've probably never taken advantage of. Enjoy.

Please share your success stories, past or present, in the comments.

Herewith enters Sir John Hargrave.

###

I recently signed up for The Visa SIGNATURE Chase Freedom card, for one reason: it has a concierge service. [Tim note: In fact, all of the "Visa Signature" cards have this concierge service, among other benefits]

A credit card concierge service is much like a hotel concierge service, except you don't have to tip. A concierge is your own personal assistant, someone who will do anything you want them to do: make dinner reservations, book a trip to Hawaii, or shop for negligees for your grandmother.

We're so used to being treated badly by credit card companies that it's almost impossible to believe that they are serving you. But that's how it works: they're your virtual assistants, ready to help you with anything.

Anything?

I wanted to test the limits of my Visa Chase Freedom concierge service, so I spent a week making incredibly ridiculous requests, to see how they'd hold up…

TEST #1: GIANT TUB OF NACHO CHEESE

I made my first call to the Visa Chase Freedom concierge service by calling the toll-free number on the back of my card. I was connected to a concierge named David, who I pictured wearing a little bellboy hat, like a hotel concierge, though I think they just wear a telephone headset nowadays.

David spoke English, which was a nice change from my usual calls to Visa. "I'm traveling to Austin next week, and I want a big tub of nacho cheese. Make that a HUGE tub," I told him. "Enough to fill a punch bowl."

"Does it need to be in a tub?" he asked, taking the request with the seriousness of someone who worked for me.

"Can, jar, tub, I don't care," I said. "I just want liquid cheese, and a lot of it."

"Would you like us to get back to you by phone or email?"

"Phone, please. I don't want there to be any miscommunication about my cheese."

"Is it okay if we have this information to you by 2:00 pm tomorrow?" he asked.

"That would be fine," I responded, "as long as I get my cheese intel."

"You'll get it, sir," he assured me. "Thank you for calling Visa Signature concierge service."

Chase Freedom, before it runs away.

Here's how the service works: your request is assigned a "case number," which goes into an enormous pool of concierge requests. These requests get outsourced to overseas workers who track down the information and enter it into their system. Then you either get e-mailed, or an English-speaking worker phones you back the next day with what they've found.

"I have your information," said a young woman named Jenny who called me the following day. "There is a supermarket in downtown Austin named Fiesta that sells large cans of nacho cheese." She gave me the address, phone number, and the price of the cheese.

I went to Austin the following week, where I went to Fiesta, and I actually found the cheese exactly as she had described.

I was floored. This service was a dream come true. Just think of the ridiculous errands I could send them on next!

When I heard that the Visa Chase Freedom card came with a concierge service that would do anything I wanted, I had to put them to the test. Don't we all want to make our credit card company work for us for a change?

TEST #2: CROSSWORD PUZZLE

"I'm really stuck on 62 across," I complained to Maurice, the concierge who helped me the following night. I came to learn that I would get a different concierge every time I called, but they were all quite helpful, with none of the attitude that you normally get from customer service reps.

"What crossword puzzle are you doing, sir?"

"It's the USA Today puzzle," I said. "The clue is BLUE GROTTO LOCALE. I have no idea what that means."

"Blue Grotto locale," he repeated, writing it down.

"The only Grotto I know is at the Playboy Mansion," I told him. "But this is 11 letters, and starts with I."

"Okay," he said. "You want to hang on?"

"Sure," I said. He put me on hold for about two minutes—the same amount of time it usually takes me to get through to someone at Visa—and came back with the answer.

"You ready?" he said.

"What, you already got it?"

"The answer is ISLE OF CAPRI," he said. "11 letters, starts with I."

11 letters, starts with "I".

"That's incredible!" I exclaimed. "Are you like an idiot savant of puzzles?"

"You just happened to get someone who likes crosswords," he said, modestly.

"I will call you every time I need a clue in the future!"

"Uh … okay!" he said, as brightly as he could.

How many times have you been at a restaurant, arguing with your friends about which President was the fattest, or whether Kevin Bacon has ever done a nude scene? Now you don't need to pull out your smartphone and Google it, you can just call Visa and have them look it up for you.

Having a Visa worker do your bidding: much classier than an iPhone.

TEST #3: DAILY AFFIRMATIONS

"I suffer from low self-esteem," I told Jamie, my new concierge. "My psychologist recommended that I give myself a daily affirmation. You know, something like, 'I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me.'"

"Okay," said Jamie, not sure where this was heading.

"But that's a lot of work, so I'm hoping you guys can do it for me. Just call and give me a daily affirmation."

"You want us to call and tell you you're a good person?"

"That's right. I mean, if you think so. I'm not so sure myself."

"If you can hold for one moment, I can check on this for you," Jamie said.

Keep repeating this, and you can one day be Senator of Minnesota.

I bit my lip to keep from cracking up as she went to check with a supervisor. She came back with bad news. "I'm afraid we can't do this for you," she said, "but we can look up services that would do this for you."

"What?" I asked. "Why? Am I not good enough? Oh, I knew it."

"I'm sorry, we're just not allowed to do anything of a medical or emotional nature."

"You can't tell me I'm good enough because I'm not," I moaned. "Which is exactly what I thought!"

"Sir," she said patiently, "I'd be happy to look up other services that can send you these affirmations, and e-mail you that information."

"Could you at least attach a little positive note to the e-mail?" I begged. "Just like, 'Thanks for being you?'"

"Let me check with a supervisor," she said, a little less patiently this time.

I pushed hard on the affirmation, and she asked a supervisor three times before I relented. Apparently Visa Signature couldn't do quite anything, but I have to admit she did eventually come through on her promise, sending me this via e-mail:

Visa Signature Concierge

Dear John Hargrave,

Thank you for using Visa Signature® Concierge. The information you

requested is provided below.

Motivational Message Service

Please Note: Please find below one option for a company that

is able to provide phone, texts, and emails reminding you of "what a good

person you are."

Company: MedVoice Inc.
Contact: Renee Dotson
Phone: 800/720-1151
Cost: $89.25 per month for unlimited messages.

I decided to let Visa have this round, since they did technically satisfy my request, which was to find someone who could send me love notes. But now it was time for a real challenge.

I had applied for a Visa Chase Freedom card, just so I could test if their concierge service would fulfill my every desire. So far they had done an amazing job, but now I was about to cross the final frontier.

TEST #4: SPACE TRAVEL

"I'd like to book a trip to space," I said.

There was a pause. "You want us to send you to space," said Courtney, my new concierge/slave.

"That's right."

Cost: $200,000, plus a $15 fee for extra bags.

"Well, I have heard there are companies who can send you to space."

"Money is no object," I said, "but I am on a budget."

"So you want details on pricing?"

"Pricing, the waitlist, when I could travel, everything," I said. "Also, medical restrictions. I have a weak spleen."

"I guess you don't need restaurant recommendations to go with that trip," she cracked. Humor! I fell in love with the Visa Signature concierge service at that moment.

"That's a great point!" I said. "What do they serve on these flights? I want to know what I'm going to get to eat in space."

"Probably that astronaut ice cream," she said.

"YES! Tang!"

"We'll get this for you by 2:00 pm tomorrow," she said.

Their time quotes vary, depending on how difficult they think the request will be, and probably how many wage slaves are available to look up your request in the Philippines. But my requests were generally answered in less than 24 hours.

Possibly the coolest name of any company, ever.

The next afternoon, I got my response via e-mail, outlining not one but TWO space travel companies (Virgin Galactic and Space Adventures), with medical restrictions (none that they could find), and meal options (peanuts or pretzels).

Another test passed. There was only one more thing to find out: could the Visa Signature concierge service investigate themselves?

TEST #5: WRITING THIS ARTICLE

"I'm a writer on deadline," I told Bruce, my new concierge/manservant, "and I need to find out a little more about this Visa Signature concierge service. Are you familiar with this service?"

"I've heard of it, yes," he said.

"Here's what I need to know: is there anything you won't do? Like, I assume you won't help me find a contract killer, or overthrow a government. But what else? Where do you guys draw the line?"

There was a long pause. "May I place you on hold while I check on this for you?"

"You betcha."

He came back a few minutes later, sounding a little bit shaken. "Okay, we can get you a list like that, but we'll need about three days to put that together."

"Oooh. That's not going to work. I need to deliver this article tomorrow."

"That's the best we can do, sir."

"That's weird," I said. "You shouldn't have to research this one at all. Can't you just read it from your training manual or something?"

"I'm sorry, sir."

"But my deadline really is tomorrow. I can't finish the piece without it. I'm going to have to say Visa Signature concierge service couldn't deliver the final thing I asked for."

"We can deliver it," he repeated patiently, "just not until Monday."

"But the readers will never find out the answer," I pressed.

"I apologize to your readers." Bruce was polite to the end.

"All right," I said. "They forgive you. Monday it is, then."

All in all, I was incredibly impressed with the Visa Signature concierge service. It costs nothing beyond the annual card fee, and it's helpful for so many occasions. There's almost no limit to the things the concierges can do for you, except for… well, you know. Help you finish the end of your article.

Some things I guess you just have to do yourself.

(This post originally appeared on Credit Card Chaser)

Afterword from Tim: In the comments, several concierge service providers were kind enough to provide their thoughts, and one was kind enough to list some of the cannot-do's. Here are a few:

1. We cannot get you an interview to work for a sports team.
2. We do not have special access to confidential government reports.
3. We do not have discounts for venues, restaurants, or services not included on the website http://www.visa.com/signature.
4. If a hotel is completely sold out and booked, we cannot reserve a room there; however we'd be glad to check other hotels nearby.
5. We cannot research your school paper, or do your job for you.
6. We can't run personal errands or call your friends for you.
7. We can't plan your wedding, but we can help you find a wedding planner.
8. As far as what's considered unethical behavior, consider this an example: If child prostitution is legal somewhere, we won't help you find one; however if you're in Nevada and want to make an appointment for a rendezvous at the Bunny Ranch, we'd be glad to help you check rates and availability.
9. We don't have access to your credit card account information or rewards program.

Please keep these not-so-unreasonable limitations in mind when you give us a call. We'll hear from you soon.

Elsewhere on the Web – Odds and Ends:
Tim Ferriss on Angel Investing (video) – TechCrunch
How I answer the question "How should I monetize my blog?" (3-minute video)

Broker creates local groups for collective solar purchasing

Solar is the way to go. Just have to get the cost down to a level that is reasonable to the average consumer. Tap into it!

Broker creates local groups for collective solar purchasing

via Springwise by Springwise on 4/27/10

When consumers band together, their collective 'crowd clout' makes for hefty purchasing power. An example that recently came to our attention is San Francisco-based One Block Off the Grid, or 1BOG, which facilitates the group purchase of residential solar installations.

How it works? 1BOG launches campaigns in various cities, each lasting a few months, during which they negotiate group discounts with carefully selected solar installers and offer local consumers access to the discounted rates via the 1BOG website. Homeowners can enter their address on the site, select their roof from an aerial view of Google maps and outline where they want the panels located. They can also view detailed information on costs, leasing options, local rebates and how long the panels will take to pay for themselves. On average, 1BOG saves customers around 15 percent, and receives referral fees from installers.

To date, 1BOG has signed up over 600 homeowners across 11 US cities. In February, the company secured a USD 5 million venture capital investment which will accelerate its nationwide expansion. Studies from the International Energy Agency indicate that market penetration for solar today is less than one percent in the US. As electricity becomes more expensive and solar becomes more affordable, the demand for solar is sure to rise worldwide. One to tap into! (Related: Farmers barter produce for solar panel funding — Neighbourhood approach to renewable energy — Group buying for new parents.)

Website: http://www.1bog.org/
Contact: info@1bog.org

Spotted by: Cecilia Biemann

School yearbooks, personalized for each student

Great idea - Would have loved to have this during my high school yearbook club days!

School yearbooks, personalized for each student

via Springwise by Springwise on 5/11/10

By virtue of the sheer numbers of students typically involved, most school yearbooks don't include more than one or two shots of each individual child. Aiming to make school yearbooks more about the student and less about the school, TreeRing is a platform that lets schools create yearbooks that can be customized.

By combining the efficiency of just-in-time digital printing, the collaborative power of online social networks and an array of DIY customization features, California-based TreeRing strives to create personalized yearbooks for each child while also reducing the financial burden for schools. Toward that end, it has built a solution that allows schools to create a traditional "core" yearbook that includes the entire school, but to also invite parents and students to customize their own yearbook pages. Customization can be achieved via templates and drag-and-drop functionality using a combination of personal and shared photos and information captured about each student's stage in life—best friends, favorite activities, future aspirations, etc.—making the end result a record of each student's entire year, both in and out of the classroom. Once a student's yearbook is complete, TreeRing's state-of-the-art digital printing technology then prints that custom version. Pricing is between USD 10 and USD 25, Examiner.com reports, including four free customizable pages.

By allowing families to order online directly, TreeRing eliminates all yearbook costs for schools, including burdensome yearbook deposits. The company also offers a greener alternative to the traditional yearbook by planting a tree for every yearbook sold, thanks to its partnership with Trees for the Future. Could this be the next model for yearbook publishing? (Related: Personalised newspaper targets young readers — Customised magazine from Lexus, Time & Amex — Personalised music mag — Customised cookbooks stir in online recipes.)

Website: http://www.treering.com/
Contact: www.treering.com/Contact-TreeRing.php

Spotted by: Cecilia Biemann