Natural soap

Description: This type of soap is a product increasingly sought by consumers. Such soap is a mixture of different ingredients and flavors, but the goal is to develop unique recipes.
    The business aim is to produce natural soap. Here you can see details of ingredients and the manufacturing process:

Resources needed: - acquisition-related expenses for the necessary ingredients
                                 - obtaining recipes for soap

                            - expenses related to pattern acquisition and special knives to complete the production process

                                 - costs for setting up a company
                                 - Expenses in obtaining the marketing privileges for soap
                                 - Packaging expenses
Pros: - natural products will become increasingly sought
          - does not require expensive production

Cons: - obtaining marketing authorization for such a product is a process that can be nerve-racking

           - innovative recipes are needed

Conclusions: Taking into consideration the trend in increasing consumption of natural products, it can be a profitable business.

Train models

Description: This business consists in a railway layout with all its functional elements. The time needed for such a project is between 5-12 months, but the profits are very high, as a model sells from 30.000 to 50.000 euros depending on size. There are many collectors interested in this hobby that would be more than willing to invest large sums in order to benefit from such a model. Development costs vary depending on materials, imagination, project size, complexity
and functionality. Before starting such a construction, it is needed a very good documentation in existing models on the market. Here you can see the largest model of its kind in the world:

Resources needed: - documentation regarding the construction and layout functionality

                                 - calculation of the necessary materials

                                 - cost of acquisition of materials

                                 - cost of acquiring the necessary tools

                                 - passion and patience

Pros: - sale prices of such models are very high

         - the investment may be gradual

Cons: - it is a process that requires patience and attention to detail

Conclusion: It is a business that can be done indoors with small, gradual investments that can make a profit.

Kids furniture

Description: This activity consists in designing and building custom furniture for the little ones. These pieces of furniture are: cabinets, tables, chairs. You can use various types of materials, but the use of lightweight materials is recommended in order to avoid accidents in operating the product. Designs, shapes and colors used are at your imagination, but you have to resize them accordingly.

          The business aim is selling small pieces of furniture for children.
Resources needed: - documentation regarding the production of these objects
                                 - expenditure on procurement of materials
                                 - expenditure on the acquisition of necessary tools
                                 - arranging a location functioning as a small workshop to produce the pieces of furniture
                                 - setting up a company
Pros: - such products are sold at quite high prices
          - once you have the plan / sketch of the piece and the required  tools, the production process is simple
          - raw materials used in the construction of these objects are found in stores and are reasonably priced
Cons: - you need to have a location designated for this purpose, an unprofessional place of execution can lead to accidents or poor quality product
Conclusion: On a small scale, an activity of this kind can be performed in workshops and using small appliances, while earnings can be substantial.

Origami

Description: This is a traditionally Japanese activity which involves valuing paper by folding and cutting it to obtain various ornamental patterns. The things and forms that can be achieved through such a process depend only on your imagination and skills of the artist.The business aim is to make origami and marketing it.

       Here is an example of the process:

Resources needed: - documentation in making origami
                                 - the purchase of paper for these items
                                 - imagination, patience
Pros: - there is no need for expensive materials
          - some of the most complex models are sold at high prices
Cons:  - high complexity of a model is a very time-consuming labor.
            -it  is a complex work that requires patience and passion from the artist  

Conclusion: If the needed skills are practiced and developed, this can become a very profitable activity.

Bento (Japanese Boxed Lunch)

Description: It's a compact arrangement of food in a small box (which can be easily transported) and provides a balanced nutrition. This amazing food is served in a special package that functions as a clever storage food. There are various recipes available on the Internet for Bento.
               The business is making and marketing Bento in fast-food diet. This can be done through some special containers, if you do not have or you can’t get the traditional trays used for Bento, here
is an example of achieving such an arrangement:

Resources needed: - documentation and experimenting in terms of achieving recipes
                                - expenses in obtaining the marketing and opening of a company
                                 - renting  a small location
Pros: - no need for complex and expensive equipment
          - it is not difficult, if the recipe is followed
Cons: -there can appear extremely high costs in renting out the location of the activity
           - quality and sanitary controls are strict in the food business niche
Conclusion: Such a product would bring us balanced nutritional meals to the work place(instead of the traditional sandwich).

Peacock farming

Description: This business is well-spread all over the world and it is considered a very profitable business. People that grow peacocks say that the birds make profits ranging from 15 000 -30 000 per year. This profit is generated by the marketing of peacock feathers, which are sold at prices ranging between 1-5 euros per piece, depending on its size. A peacock's plumage changes once a year, so you can get 150-200 peacock feathers from an adult bird, which produces on

average a profit of 450-600 euros / peacock / year only from the sale of feathers. If you choose to sell peacocks, they are sold for 500-800  EUR for a young bird, and for 1500-2000 euro an adult bird (over 3 years)

Resources needed: - outer town farming site
                              - documentation in terms of growing peacocks
                              - peacocks acquisition costs
                              - modifying the location in order to raise these birds
                              - feeding costs
Pros: -these are not fussy birds
           - they are cost-effective
           - a lot of peacocks bring high profits
Cons: - it is necessary to have an outer town location
           - disadvantages in obtaining authorization for this activity and respecting the legal compliances for such activities
Conclusion: Anyone who owns an outer town location could try this business.

I've Got Bieber-Fever!

Hello. My name is Mark Anthony McCray. I am 39 years old. I was raised on Run DMC, Public Enemy, Eric B and Rakim and A Tribe Called Quest. You're more likely to catch me listening to Lupe Fiasco, Mos Def or The Roots than anybody else. My name is Mark Anthony McCray and now....I'm a Belie-BER!

When it's Daddy-Daughter Weekend, we usually don't watch a lot of movies. I am a geek and my daughters are normally subject to my geekiness so I prefer time with them in the park, taking in local festivals or we might go to the library or Half-Price Books. We rarely veg out and watch movies, but we took in two this weekend: "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" (maybe I'll blog about that another day) and "Never Say Never" aka the "life" story of Justin Bieber.

I have three daughters. They are 13, 11 and 10. I was outnumbered and overwhelmed by an irresistible force, so don't roll your eyes at ME!

Anyway, there are three main lessons of which I was reminded while taking in this young phenom's "life" story. (I'll keep putting "life" in quotation marks until he does a biography after he's turned at least 30.) Suffice to say, I was very impressed:

1. We become who we say we are. Justin (we're on a first name basis like that), said to himself and anyone who would listen that he was going sell out Madison Square Garden one day. I recognize that affirmation won't make things happen magically (or will it?), but I also recognize that the power of life and death is in the tongue. Our lives become the substance of what we speak.

2. Hard work is still the most misunderstood factor in success. The kid is SUPER-talented. Always was apparently. Singing, dancing, multiple instruments...all self-taught. There's no question he was special from the beginning. However, without hard work, it would have come to NOTHING. Likewise, there are areas in which you are special and almost beyond compare. How hard are you working in your areas of giftedness?

3. You can't stop a person who won't quit. There's always a way. Even though he was from a small town and a single-parent household, he "Never said never" and proceeded to perform at malls, on street corners and his big break came from uploading YouTube videos. No major label wanted to hear from him. There was no category for him in their minds. But he found an audience. He made an audience. It's hard to stop a person who won't be denied.

4. Girls will be girls. I enjoyed watching them laugh, swoon and sing along more than I have anything in a long time. And there's nothing wrong with that! I don't think he has a single lyric more controversial than "Baby, baby, oooooooooooo, girl!" so I'm good with him for now.

Whether you're a fan or not (I still can't say I know a single word of a single song), you have to learn to recognize and appreciate excellence - and learn from a good role model when he's staring you in the face...even if that role model is still too young to drive.

One Queens Office Building Does More Than Offer Space For Rent. It Offers To Help Its Tenants Make More Money.

Executive Office Center owners, Steven and Jack Blumner may have hit upon a novel idea when they opened their state-of-the-art business center in the fall. The brothers, former owners of First Choice Real Estate, once the top selling residential brokerage in Queens, are not merely landlords.  They are actively engaged in helping their tenants make more money.

Since opening in October, the Executive Office Center at Fresh Meadows has attracted 50 tenants and virtual tenants, including seventeen attorneys.  “We’re right on schedule,” says Executive Director Jack Blumner, who expects that number to double by the end of the year.

The Executive Office Center, offering serviced office suites and Queens virtual office services, is the first such business center to open in the borough of Queens.  There are scores of executive suite office centers in Manhattan and Long Island, but none until now in the densely populated borough of Queens.

Executive suite centers typically offer a menu of administrative services to their tenants, but supplementing these services with marketing support elevates the concept of serviced office space to a new level.  

Jack and Steven Blumner are no strangers to marketing.  In the 1990s they made their company, First Choice Real Estate, a household name in Queens by sending out millions of pieces direct mail to homeowners in the borough.  Now they are using the World Wide Web to help accomplish their objectives. 

     What they have done is to develop two consumer websites to help promote and facilitate business for their tenants, as a value added benefit.  The two websites are www.everythingunder1roof.com and www.queensforless.com. 

·         www.everythingunder1roof.com is a business directory of the Executive Office Center at Fresh Meadows tenants that shortcuts the customer’s hunt for business and professional services in Queens.   There are presently 50 companies affiliated with the office center.  In time, there will be several hundred, says Mr. Blumner, “and we want Queens consumers to know that they can find virtually everything they need right here under one roof.”

·         www.queensforless.com offers coupon discounts for Queens neighborhood stores and restaurants, while featuring the professional and business services of the Executive Office Center’s tenants.   Consumers are lured to the website by attractive retail discounts.  Once there, they also find the many different professional and business services offered by tenants of the Executive Office Center.

   
Tenants of the Executive Office Center are also featured on the 16 foot LED display that faces the busy parking lot of the Fresh Meadows shopping center. 
    
The Executive Office Center is the perfect place for attorneys and other solo professionals and small companies doing business in the borough of Queens.  It is ideal for companies that need a branch or satellite office in the borough.  The Executive Office Center is also the closest office business center to JFK and LaGuardia airports.  Business travelers to New York may wish to take advantage of the building’s close proximity to the airports.  Day suites and conference rooms are available at hourly, daily and weekly rates. 

    

Sweeping the Sidewalk

Remembering my father with each push of the broom

I like to sweep the sidewalk in front of my office building.  It reminds me of my father. 

As the broom flicks up the dust and leaves that seem to gravitate toward the entrance to the building every morning, I recall the dust clouds that my father’s push broom would launch, as he swept up his building site at the end of each day.

I could delegate this particular task to the company I pay to clean my office building every day, but I haven’t, and I believe that this is the reason.   

Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day. It is fitting for me to remember my father in the words of this blog, because he and my mother were survivors of that most infamous period in the history of mankind.   My mother survived the death camps by the grace of G-d.  My father survived the war in the woods in Poland for two and half years, through a combination of grit, cunning, iron will, and fortitude.

My parents met and married at the end of the war and arrived in New York aboard the SS Marine Flasher on May 28, 1948.  Their first stop in the America was Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where my father worked in a mattress factory for relatives.  After six months, they made their way to New York’s lower East Side.  My father told me that when he told his relatives of his decision to go to New York, they said to him, “But you will get lost in New York.”  To which my father replied:  “If I didn’t get lost in the woods for two and a half years, I won’t get lost in New York.”

In New York, my father graduated from making mattresses to making table pads, then went on to a series of jobs in the food business.  He bought a luncheonette in Brooklyn, and learned Spanish from a pocket guide, while he was still struggling to master English.  One day, a construction project across the street from the luncheonette, caught his attention.  Every day, he went outside to watch the construction.  Then, as legend has it, he went out and bought a set of architectural plans for a house for $50, and began his career as a builder.  Afterwards, he built homes in New Jersey for 40 years, until we had to retire him at the age of 75.

Back to sweeping the sidewalk:  My father once told me that being a Jew in Poland during the years of World War II was “like being nothing.”  “A dog’s life had more value,” he said.    But my father withstood the brutality of that nefarious regime with his mind and body, and dignity intact.  And he survived in America as he survived in the woods, meeting every challenge that faced him, doing whatever it took to survive. 

Like many children of Holocaust survivors, I have often asked myself the question:  Would I have survived?  Two and a half years outdoors in the cold, without food or shelter.  Would I have had the physical strength, the wits or the guile?  Probably not.  No, definitely not.  That’s why, with each flick of the broom, I say, “I’m like you, pops.  I’m sweeping, too.”