The Birth Of A Firm,The Growth Of A Country

Why is it that some countries seem to have more innovation and growth in their business sectors then others? It might be that these countries are willing to foster an entrepreneurial spirit that spurs new technology and subsequent growth.

According to report from the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics from The University Of Michigan, "There is now substantial recognition of the contributions

of entrepreneurship to innovation, job growth, and improved

productivity. This also appears to be true for countries,

as those with higher levels of new firm creation seem to have higher

levels of subsequent economic growth (Council on Competitiveness, 2007; Reynolds, 2007a)."

This is also true in countries where the spirit of entrepreneurship is strong. A number of Asian countries, particularly China and India, exhibit high levels of economic growth due in part to the level of new firm creation.

While the United States is a haven for new firm creation it pales in comparison to China and India where the level of high growth start-ups is roughly six times as many in the the United States

• China and India 15 million compared to 3 million high growth potential start-ups.
• China and India also have a larger labor pool to draw from with eight times as many workers in the eighteen to sixty four year old age range.
• China and India also have ten times as many entrepreneurs, 200 million compared to 20 million for the United States.
• The World Bank estimates the GNP of China to be at 6.5% this year, India currently stands at 5.8% and the US is still contracting at 5.5 % which is slightly better than previously expected in the global economic slump.

Resources:

http://psed.isr.umich.edu/psed/documentation

US Department Of Commerce.

Picture: Cattle Drive in Mackay,Idaho

The Lingerie Football League!

I love Football! I started playing a few years ago with some kids in the local park and they taught me how to quarterback and tackle. Over the years I took my kids to see the San Diego Chargers play and they went to summer camps hosted by the Chargers team and they were taught to play by several of the players.

I recently came across a new football league starting up and will be playing in venues across the country this Fall--The Lingerie Football league! The teams are made of up of absolutely the most beautiful women you have ever laid eyes on wearing bikini like outfits, playing full contact tackle football. These women are tough and centerfold beauties at the same time! I wish I was good enough to play! I would be the ugly duckling of the group. Pushing my feelings of inadequacy aside, I'll definately watch them and might go down to San Diego to see a game. The ten teams are spread across the country and have name such as the San Diego Seduction, The Seattle Mist, Los Angeles Temptation ( It's good to see L.A. get a football team back in town--it's about time) Dallas Desire, and the Denver Dream. On the East coast you have The Atlanta Steam, New England Euphoria, Tampa Breeze, Chicago Bliss, and Miami Caliente!

The salaries for the players will be based on a percentage of gate attendance in the host venues. They need to see attendance rise to at least 60% of capacity for the league to remain viable. The games start in September 04, 2009.

The picture is of a herd of wild horses out in Challis, Idaho.

If you would like to learn more about the Lingerie Football League you can check it out at

http://www.lflus.com/

Resources:

http://www.lflus.com/

NFL Owners Interested In Lingerie Football?

By: Darren Rovell

http://www.cnbc.com/id/30811629

Small Business Startups, Building A Skateboard Shop

Krusty's Board and Skate:

The first thing that you notice when walking into Krusty's Board and Skate Shop out in Challis, Idaho is the wall of colorful skateboard decks from Baker, Element, Speed Demon, Birdhouse and Pig, and Bottega Montana. The second thing that you notice is that the pricing of everything in Cory Rice's shop is about 30% cheaper than any skate shop that you have ever been in. This small fact has never been lost on the multitudes of kids that come into the shop to hang out and buy from the excellent selection ( I mean to say that Cory has exceptional taste in selecting his stuff to sell.) We have found really great shirts like a Rob Dyrdek signature shirt (not even kidding you--$15) or an obscure Baker team shirt. It's obvious that Cory loves skateboarding and more importantly he loves the kids in his community and will often save bearings and parts that are still decent to give to the kids when they can't afford to buy new ones. The kids in Challis have told me that Cory will open his shop any time that he can be available even if it's two in the morning--they might have been stretching it on that one but, I like to try to take their word for it!
I talked with Cory and asked him how he got started with Krusty's Board and Skate Shop and he told me that it all came about when they worked on bringing in the new skateboard park (Cory was a key figure in Challis to bring in a skateboard park for the kids in his community.) The builder that they decided to use is Mark Garroad from Driggs, Idaho. Mark got Cory interested in starting his own skateboard shop and connected him with Habitat Skateboard to obtain a license. He then bootstrapped his operation and used three thousand dollars of his own money to buy a bunch of Speed Demon complete skateboards with the deck,wheels and trucks in place. Those Speed Demon completes sold out as soon as he hung them on the rack. He then invested that money and a little more of his own to convert his garage into a shop to keep his overhead to a minimum and built up a substantial inventory. Cory still keeps his day job and operates his shop in his free time. He hopes to build up the business by reinvesting any profits coming into it.
Krusty's Board and Skate Shop is located in Challis, Idaho operated by Cory Rice and family @
(208) 879-5742

Five-O Skate Shop of Idaho Falls:

I went to Five-O skate shop in Idaho Falls recently and talked to Peter to see how they were doing. He said that sales were off but, that it was starting to pick back up. He also told me that they have a lot of fun and exciting things planned for the summer! They are working on bringing in the Vox Pro skate team in to do a demo at the Skate park in Idaho Falls, they are planning numerous skate competitions at the park, he said that they might be as often as once a week--some with cash payouts! They are planning their annual giant game of skate in the parking lot and also they are planning a huge skate shoe sale! Peter said they were thinking putting every shoe in the shop in the sale and they will be going for between $15 and $50! They have some great new Enjoi and Volcom shirts hanging on the racks.

Uberskater and Artist Jared Garcia is now hand painting decks for Five-O! The designs are sic! For $35 gripped, the decks are flying out of the store! Go to Five-O and ask for one of Garcia's custom decks!

One marketing idea that Mark, the Owner of Five-O came up with was to implement text message advertising into the mix. You enter a number into your cell phone from business cards that they hand out and whenever they have a sale or competition it sends a text message to the network of cell phone users! Pretty hot idea!

Investment Dark Pools

A dark pool is a trading platform that allows investors to trade in large blocks beyond the public quoting system. Dark pools of liquidity have been around for years but, have been increasing in presence in the U.S. equities markets and they are creating concerns that investors will retreat from the public quoting system that most people are familiar with and plunge into the dark pools causing a problem with efficiency and price transparency in the equity market, characteristics that drive a healthy market.
A keynote speech by Eric R Sirri Director for the Division of Trading and Markets of the Securities and Exchange Commission at the Dark Pool Symposium on February 1, 2008 details one of the most fascinating areas of investing--dark pools.
A dark pool makes it possible for an investor to trade with out displaying their full scale of trading interest.
The dark services offered--range from floor brokers to the undisplayed size and order of a trade in an automated electronic communication network(ECN) or an alternative trading system(ATS)
The key that makes it a dark trade is that it is undisplayed.
The main concern about dark pools is that they will become a threat to the public quoting system and cause the markets to be less transparent. Au contraire mon frere! Studies show that the volume of trades have not shifted out of the public quoting system and into the dark side.
Another concern is that dark pool investing platforms will create a problem with efficiency in the equities markets but over the past few years Director Sirri says that efficiency has improved.
http://www.sec.gov/news/speech/2008/spch020108ers.htm

Is It Time For A Bull Run?

There is a boy in town that runs around yelling,"hamburgers tell the future, hamburgers tell the future!" I wish that were true I would run over to the local hamburger stand and demand to know what we can expect from the economy and the stock market. Instead I have to read analyst reports to try to get a feel for what will happen.

In a recent report by Ned Davis research they see the end of the Bear and predict the start of a Bull run based on past cycles of the stock market and various stimulus packages. They also see the recession ending somewhere between March and June. The Federal Reserve is saying that a pickup will happen by June. Ned Davis Research believes that we could see a recovery in stocks of about 72% for the year--I hope so! I'm still suffering when I look at my investments but I'm starting to reposition to buy.

On the down side at a gathering of academic economists in San Francisco, the economist there remain pessimistic about the way that the Federal Reserve has handled the financial crises and the economy.

Yup! I think I'll go buy a hamburger.

End of Year Retail Sales--Shop, Baby Shop!

Have you been to the end of season sales? Oh my Hell there are some bargains to be found for sure! My favorite store, Victoria's Secret has a huge sale going on and I was able to pick up the most beautiful luxuries in there--made of dark pearl grey lace and silk with scallops of roses on the boarder. Everything in there was heavily discounted and the crowds were thick. The department stores had some good sales but, I couldn't really find anything that I wanted to part money for except for a Calvin Klien shirt. My favorite brand Lucky Jeans had no discounts what so ever! I love their shirts but, they are $75 a pop and I hate spending that much for a tee shirt!

Reuter's News is reporting that retail sales for the holiday season were the worse since 1970!
It's not just in the United States, European retailers are struggling as well. Britain retailers are reporting discounts as deep as 90% to attract shoppers.
The deepest discounts right now can be found in apparel and electronics.

Elle: "It's impossible to use a half-loop stitching on low-viscosity rayon. It would snag the fabric. And you didn't just get it in - I saw it in the June Vogue a year ago. So if you're trying to sell it to me for full price, you've picked the wrong girl."
Legally Blond

The Money Behind Reality Shows

I have always loved Reality shows. I admit that I'm a voyeuristic junkie when it comes to watching people open their lives, happiness, cat-fighting, back stabbing, plotting, pushing people over balconies, fighting for cash, and grief to us from TV land. I have always wondered what the attraction was to participating on a reality show and expose yourself to a gazillion viewers like that. I admit, if I could stand to go hungry without slipping into a coma I would be the first to sign up for Survivor and I would be chowing down on water buffalo gonads with the best of them! The newest season takes place in Brazil this time! I would probably end up ditching them for the beaches of Rio though! You know that the winners make a butt-load of money but, what about the other contestants--do they make anything? What about the Network hosting the show, what's in it for them?

For the producers and networks the answer is obvious, they make way more money producing reality shows than the do with sitcoms or dramas and they are cheaper to produce as well!
These shows provide a strong rating and bring in gob's of money from advertisers. Coupled with the fact that those participating on the show don't require the same amount of pay as regular actors and actresses and producing the shows are relatively cheap, it makes for a profitable formula.

Don't you wonder how much that those are in the shows make?
In an MSNBC article The Cost Of Going On A Realty Show states that, "Some shows, particularly those without game elements, offer stipends to compensate their cast members. "Real World" roommates are paid small stipends for their "story rights"; the exact total isn't disclosed, but executive producer Jonathan Murray told USA TODAY, "I used to say it was enough to buy a used car. Now it's probably not quite as big a used car."One thing's clear, though: You should want to be on a reality series for the experience, because participation in a series definitely does not come with a guarantee of fame and fortune. "

According to In Touch the stars of MTV's The Hills make between $35,000 to $75,000 per episode. Spencer and Heidie each pull in $65,000 an episode for the drama that they provide.

If you have ever thought of trying out for a reality show they have casting calls for so many reality programs. Here's a link for a listing:
http://www.realitywanted.com/calls/search/sort/dateupdated/order/desc/page/100
I perused through the pages and picked my favorites.

• T.V. Made Me Do It: Are you a TV-inspired wild animal or reptile trainer? Now Casting. Were you inspired by a show on Discovery Channel, Animal Planet or National Geographic to work with venomous snakes, wild bears,… (no liability there!)


• Wife Swap Casting Beautiful Families:Do you have a family full of models? Is looking good the top priority in your family? Are designer clothes a must? If you answered yes - then I want you! The premise of Wife Swap is that one…Start: 09/23/2008 End: 01/29/2009


• I Survived a Japanese Game show: Think you have what it takes to compete and win in TOKYO on ABC's hit show "I Survived a Japanese Game show"?? Do you have the drive and craze to become the next Majide Champion and win $250,000??…Start: 12/01/2008 End: 01/25/2009


• Producers of SUPERNANNY looking for rebellious Teens for New Show!:Must be 18 or older. The producers of SUPERNANNY and U.S. cable hits It’s Me Or The Dog (Animal Planet) are now searching for rebellious teenagers for a brand new series from the United Kingdom. …Start: 12/15/2008 End: 02/27/2009 (I have several volunteer teen boys that would like to up against the SUPPERNANNY!)