Posts Tagged ‘economy’

Springwise:

With cycling gaining ground as a regular mode of transportation, flat tires and broken chains are on the up, too. Which creates an opportunity for bike-loving entrepreneurs: mobile bike repair shops.

In the Netherlands, for example, we’ve spotted companies like Fix Fiets and Bikemobiel, both of which do house calls in vans or trucks outfitted as mobile workshops. Service is even more mobile (and emission-free) in Cologne and Berlin, where stranded cyclists can call a ‘Radambulanz’—a cycling mechanic with a small trailer containing tools and spare parts for fixing flat tires and performing other common repairs.

While some mobile repair services tack on a small trip charge for coming to a customer’s home or workplace, rates are generally comparable to those charged by brick and mortar bike shops. And although they’ve been popping up in Europe over the past few years, mobile services are far from commonplace.

Time to launch a well-branded Geek Squad of bike fixers?

Editor’s note: In the US, AAA will begin offering roadside assistance for cyclists in Oregon and Idaho.

Photo by bikemobiel.

From Business Opportunities Weblog.

CNNMoney:

Recent efforts to help small businesses haven’t mirrored those implemented in the aftermath of 9/11, but new measures from the stimulus have been productive.

Obama’s $787 billion stimulus plan includes incentives for banks to make more loans backed by the Small Business Administration. The program temporarily reduces fees associated with those loans and ups the loan guarantees to 90%.

The plan also calls for a new initiative known as “America’s Recovery Capital,” which allows viable small businesses to receive interest-free loans of up to $35,000 to pay down existing debts.

But lending activity remains down, primarily because banks still see small business loans as a huge risk.

(According to one analyst’s report, their 2008 failure rate hit almost 12%, compared to 2.4% in 2004.) Banks also hesitate before making SBA-guaranteed loans because they cost a great deal to administer — regardless of the loan amount — and because the agency can back out of these guarantees even after banks make the loans.

Photo by edopter.com.

From Business Opportunities Weblog.

photo credit: electricnude

Below are some recession indicators that you may never have thought would be a sign that we are in a recession, but when you sit down and think about each one of them, they make a lot of sense actually.

• Movie rentals at home are up more than before.
• More people are beginning to get into farming their own fruits and vegetables.
• Online dating sites increase in volume.
• Sales on neck ties goes way up.
• Sales on mens underwear goes way down.
• McDonald’s sales goes up, most likely due to their cheap menu prices.

It goes to show that during a recession it is expected to see certain sales going up for those products that are catered more towards home bound life and sales going down for those products that are catered more towards out of home bound life, as posted on BPlans.com.

From Business Opportunities Weblog.