Wednesday, November 11, 2009

COOL PRE FAB HOMES BY ROCIO ROMERO

We've been fans of Rocio Romero's for years. Her LV Homes are clever, chic, cool and
affordable. Perfect for a home, guest suite, or headquarters for your COOL VENTURE.
Visit her site at www.rocioromero.com to learn more and check the YouTube video below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvU8rglZYEY

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

SELLING FUN TREATS FROM YOUR VAN


If you are one of the multi-millions who lost their job in this economy, and just can't stomach returning to the 9-to-5 workaday grind doing something you are not into, consider finding a fun product and sell it from your car or van.

Austad's golf empire was started this way by selling random golf clubs from the trunk of a car at driving ranges and golf courses! In 1963, Oscar Austad started a mail-order catalog to sell golf clubs and golf gear. Today, the company generates a multi-million $$$$ sales revenue.

Everyday in Manhattan, the Cupcake van sells freshly baked cupcakes and cookies to New Yorkers who are hooked on the treats. The van's website www.cupcakestop.com
lists where the van will be each day.

If you are interested in selling goodies from your truck or van, contact the County Clerk's office in your region. Inquire about getting a Food Handler's license. Requirements vary state by state.

A Cool Venture is doing what you love, and watching the money fall into place. Your passion will fuel your venture and you love working on your project! If you do what you love, you will never 'work' another day in your life!

Monday, September 14, 2009

AUBURN UNIV. RURAL STUDIO'S HOUSE PROJECT:STUDENTS BUILD $20,000 HOUSE


Auburn University Rural Studio's House Project challenged architecture students to build a house prototype for $20,000. The goal is that builders will eventually replicate these prototypes for hopeful homeowners who live below the poverty line & thus qualify for a fed rural development loan.

http://www.cadc.auburn.edu/soa/rural-studio/20k/index.php/project/

Sunday, September 13, 2009

TRADING PLACES

Looking for ideas to start your dream business? Or, are you searching for ways to expand your existing business by generating new customers and building your bottom line?

Head to a trade show!


Under one roof you can search, discuss, ask questions, learn, develop networking skills, showcase your wares, write up orders, learn about an industry, and stay on top of what is current/coming in your field.


One can spend $799 on a trade show directory that lists local, regional, national and international shows, but you can find the perfect show online by visiting one of the following websites:

~www.bvents.com
~www.mytradefairs.com

~www.eventsinamerica.com

You'll find trade shows on every topic and resources to develop a dynamite traveling
roadshow of a sales tool for your small business.

Walk around and learn about an industry
or show/demonstrate/introduce your product or gadget and write up the orders for buyers who will drop by your booth.

Many entrepreneurs have launched their businesses at trade shows by introducing their gadget or line to customers that are looking to purchase new items for their stores, catalogs, or clients. You can do it, too. Your booth doesn't have to be an elaborate mobile facility you see hear. It can be a table with your logo on a business card and you--an eager, dynamite salesperson that has something of value to sell!

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Cool Job: MARINE METEOROLOGY

During the hurricane season, we flock to the beach fascinated by the size of the waves and intrigued by the science that studies coastal morphology, marine geology & geophysics.

You can make a career of
studying these natural forces that create & guide the tides, and more, as a Marine Meteorologist.

Marine Meteorology deals primarily with the physics of the marine atmosphere including the study of atmospheric phenomena above the oceans, their influence on shallow and deep water, and the influence of the ocean surface on atmospheric processes.

Marine Meteorologists are essential vigilantes in studying and fighting global warming, predicting rogue waves, tsunamis and earthquakes, developing alternative energy sources such as turbines that could harness the power of waves, helping to map our changing coastlines and much more.

The Coastal Studies Institute at Louisiana State University
has been around for more than 50 years and offers training and study in this fascinating field. The Institute’s origin began as a result of a national study to evaluate the environmental problems faced by the defense department during World War II.

Dr. Richard Russell, the founder of the Institute, served on this panel.
One of the major findings was that a lack of coastal environmental data that could be used for accurate prediction of coastal conditions was the cause of major failures in wartime operations.

Dr. Russell met with the newly appointed director, of the Coastal Geography Programs of the Office of Naval Research, Dr. Evelyn Pruitt, and convinced her that a long-term systematic research program should be oriented towards understanding the geomorphology and coastal processes that occur along the world’s coastlines. As a result of this relationship, a long-term contract between the Office of Naval Research and Louisiana State University was established.


To learn more about the programs at LSU, visit:

http://www.csi.lsu.edu/marine_meteo.asp
For more information, contact:
Coastal Studies Institute
Howe-Russell Geoscience Complex

Old Geology Building, Room 331
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA 70803
Phone: 225.578.2395

Friday, August 21, 2009

BUILDING COMMUNITY GOODWILL FOR YOUR BIZ

If you are in the startup phase of your small business & wondering how to generate clients/customers/revenue OR if you have an existing business, but sales are off right now, consider doing some pro bono work for a non-profit organization in your community.

Help them set up a website or blog, offer to write a press release for an event, volunteer to serve as auctioneer at their upcoming fund-raiser, or use your company van to help them pick up/make a delivery for a weekend.

You will build goodwill in your community, meet the officers of the organization who will keep you in mind for future $$ projects and you will make contact with the group's influential fundraisers who are in a position to hire you for their business needs. Plus, there is no reward like helping someone.

We're all in this together flying around on this crazy rock of a planet we call home!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

PIGGYBACKING:Opportunity Is Knocking


Many of us are on the verge of launching a great project but lack the funds to take on high rents for an outside facility. We can't overlook the concept of piggybacking--sharing space in an existing but non-competitive small business where we bring value to the operation.

For example, we know of:

~ a day care biz that bargained for space in an industrial/corporate park & now has a built-in clientele

~an air brush tattoo artist that was given space at no charge in a tween clothing store at the local mall
. The artist attracts shoppers generating additional revenue for the store & makes $500+ a day

~the recent trade school graduate who has a bin at the local gas station where he performs dent repair,car detailing and other 'sprucing up' missions.

Do not feel defeated because you lack the funds to launch your dream business. Look around your community. There is a enterprise that is waiting for you to set up shop in a small space within & bring in additional revenue to the existing business with your own personal magic!

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

LEARN ON YOUR NEXT VACATION

In between jobs, looking for a new career, need experience in a particular field?
Check out Vocation Vacations. They offer short-term immersion in a wide variety of
fields. Mentors guide you along the way.
Great way to experience something new!
Visit
http://www.vocationvacations.com/

Sunday, July 19, 2009

OPERATION FRESH START

You might be one of the hard-working millions who lost your job in '08/'09 and the hiring prospects are bleak. Or, you are weary of your work-day life and need a change to fuel your soul, jump start your heart, feed your mind.

Ask yourself:

1. do you really want to continue in your present field?

2. do you want to work for someone else?

3. can you morph your current experience/interests
into a new business opportunity OR can you apply your experience/interests to embark on a more adventurous/suitable career?

If you answered 'yes' to any one of these questions, then
you are ready to embrace the philosophy of COOL VENTURES:

Work=Play/Passion Into Profit


Why work another day in your life, when you can do something you love?
Find your passion and figure out how to get paid to pursue it.

There are 3 steps to Operation Fresh Start:

1. Make a list of your skills/talents
2. Make a list of your interests/hobbies/passions/loves
3. Find the points of intersection in lists 1. and 2.

For example,
in 1. you list "management skills" and

in 2. you list that
you are "passionate about golf"--


For 3., consider this formula:
"management skills" + "passionate about golf"

=
your new career:
~event planner for golf tournaments

~charity pro-golf organizer
~manage a golf club at a resort
~work with corporations to sponsor golf tournaments

Here's another example:
1. you have "sales, people skills"
2. you "love the outdoors/hate being cramped up/love to travel"
3. your alternative career/pursuit might be:
~small biz vendor at beach selling food/renting chairs/renting surfboards
~air brushed tattoo artist (no experience needed) on a cruise ship
~tour organizer for a major travel firm

Another example:
1. "computer skills/ web whiz"

2. "love flexible hours/seek independence"
3. your potential career or new small business might be:
~consultant to small to medium sized businesses re: web needs/
software upgrades/blogs/podcasts, etc.

Your turn,
1. make a list of your skills, talents, life/work experience
2. make a list of your passions/interests/desires/goals
3. find options/similarities/connections in lists 1. and 2.
Translate them into a new small business for yourself or a new
Cool Venture career.

You might not want to start your own independently-owned
small business, but you can still have a COOL VENTURE~
take your current work experience and bring it to a
cool company that will help you express yourself, be yourself
and have fun every day.

This blog will explore options, directions, and opportunities to
help you live the $$$$-making life you crave & need.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

ANDRE & COQUELINE COURREGES: A MINI HOMAGE TO MY HEROES

Two of my heroes, Andre & Coqueline Courrèges, have been rocking their Cool Venture since the Sixties.

Geometric & Space-Age design

Genius Andre Courrèges is the most plagiarized designer of his era. After M. Courrèges introduced his Space Age designs in 1964, the fashion world attempted to copy his
angular plastic skirts and jackets, crash helmets, white boots, goggle accessories, to name just a few concepts.

Tha
t Andre Courrèges studied to be a civil engineer might account for his revolutionary expression: boxy silhouette styling.
The clothes are triangles, trapezoids and squares in white/silver/aqua/orange/pink.

(Visionary Coqueline is driving the EXE, one of her many EV concepts.)

His clean, uncluttered couture captivated the fashion world, especially France, where he created the miniskirt.

Couture Future was born.


Fashion wasn't the only genre he conquered. Courrèges created some of the most enchanting fragrances of all time.

He and his wife, Coqueline, were two of the first eco-preneurs: The Maison de Courrèges, the fashion house run by André and Coqueline is a long-time
promoter of EVs, using them in fashion shows since 1969.

André and Coqueline Courrèges have produced a third fully-functional EV prototype, the Zooop, a lightweight car that can go 450 km (about 280 miles) per charge and uses "Lithium Polymer batteries that are lighter, have greater power density don't overheat, charge quicker and offer many more recharges" and can reach speeds of 180 km/h (about 112 mph), according to Gizmag.

The EXE is the second prototype of the electric car realized by Coqueline Courrèges , who has chosen lithium-ion for its performance.
Battery voltage: 370V
Battery capacity: 149 A/h



Wednesday, March 18, 2009

DO WHAT YOU LOVE...

What is the definition of a "Cool Venture?" It's an enterprise that is fueled by passion & motivated by an obsessive interest in a subject, rather than a focus on money as the goal. Working for money is o.k. but that makes the daily grind nothing more than a disagreeable necessity. Turning your passion into profit is cool.

A Cool Venture is a small business, fresh career, skilled trade or artistic pursuit.

When we concentrate our energy on things that we love to do, we will succeed because we will enjoy focusing on those pursuits. Work = Play. We will also love watching these ventures boom and will therefore spend more time making them all they can be. "Do what you love and the money will follow."

This blog will present interviews with entrepreneurs who run Cool Ventures and will offer rock-solid how-to information and resources on how to start your own.
I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, so if I figured out how to do it, anyone can. The strategies and tools shared in this blog will help you to never 'work' a day in your life again.

Please send a photo of your Cool Venture to post on this blog: coolventures@live.com

For those of you looking to launch more traditional small businesses and franchise opportunities, please visit www.startyoursmallbiz.blogspot.com.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Noteworthy Individuals Who Never Went to or Graduated From College. Many Are High School Dropouts

There are so many possibilities and options open to us without attending college. We will be posting a directory of these opportunities on a regular basis with how-to details.

But, let's get inspired by looking at a partial list of business leaders, celebrities, news-makers, artists, musicians, politicos, journalists, writers and entrepreneurs who never attended or graduated from college. Many on the list are high school dropouts. The list is offered
in no particular order:

Walt Disney
Heidi Klum
Bill Gates
Andrew Carnegie
Steven Spielberg

John Jacob Astor
Sir Paul
McCartney
Richard Avedon
Michael Dell
Lindsay Lohan
George
Washington
Carl Bernstein
Abe Lincoln
Carly Fiorina
Harry Truman

Ansel Adams
Julie Andrews
Billy Joel

Paul Allen
Edward Albee
Ray Kroc
Shawn Fanning

Louis Armstrong
Steve Madden
Andrew Fox
Yoko Ono
Sir Richard Branson
Karl Rove
Vidal Sassoon
William Randolph Hearst
Anne Hathaway
William Safire

Ted Turner
Charles Lindbergh
R. Buckminster Fuller
Harry Macklowe
Sidney Pollack
Peter Jennings
Gore Vidal
Steve Jobs
Ralph Lauren
William Faulkner
Mark Twain
Ernest Hemingway
Rosie O'Donnell
Chelsea Handler
Steve Wozniak
Dan Akykroyd




Susie Rakowski

www.coolventures.blogspot.com
email: coolventures@live.com
twitter: CoolVentures
www.startyoursmallbiz.blogspot.com
All Rights Reserved
Cool Ventures(TM) is presented with the understanding that its contents are in no way rendering legal or other professional advice or services. Tools and strategies are offered as a guide based on the author’s experiences. If legal, financial or other expert assistance is required, the services of a lawyer, financial and/or business counselor should be sought. The necessity of licenses and insurance coverage should be checked on a federal, state, county and local basis as they vary accordingly. It is suggested that visitors conduct their own due diligence research in starting their business.