Start Up Hubs

Well, I have been doing my homework lately. I came upon some information about how significant location is for start up companies. It seems that Silicone Valley is the first place everyone thinks of. Then come Boulder and Boston. So, I got a little excited and decided to consider moving to one of these hubs. Then I did my research. The cost of living in those areas is through the roof, and so is the traffic. And the payoff is questionable.

 

I tried to convince myself that being surrounded by a healthy business environment and educated individuals would certainly be worth the move. And then the light bulb went on. How does putting oneself in supreme debt exemplify intelligence? This is a question that all the great minds have asked at one time or another. [If it feels a little radical, it is. That’s when it falls into the realm of the lone pioneer forging a new path into the new world. It doesn’t help that I was just watching a film about Michael Reynolds, the earth ship pioneer and fanatic. ]

 

So, my proposal is that all the people who are part of an expensive entrepreneurial hub mutually decide to move to a different place. And, why not Toledo, Ohio? I moved to Toledo for personal reasons but it has a lot going for it. I bought a house for $18,000 cash. Can you do that? Imagine how much money you would save on your mortgage payment. There are beautiful parks, rivers, and scenery here. You would not believe how beautiful Ohio is. Rolling hills, farmhouses, nature preserves. And the traffic is miniscule. I just hop on 23 and I can go anywhere in Toledo within 15 minutes.

 

We have a great coffee shop called Panera’s which is probably the same as all of you have. We have new office spaces and hotels popping up everyday. The only thing we don’t have here is entrepreneurial minds and positive business role models. Toledo eats businesses for dinner. But, if enough people formed a hub here we could act like pesticide for bad business practices.

 

So, what do you think? In Toledo your bills can get SO cheap that you can get your budget balanced for the first time since starting out on your entrepreneurial adventure.  You can be part of a start up hub that could be a model for other startup hubs. And you could provide me with some badly needed intelligence and motivation J

Headgear and Good Marketing
Mood:  cheeky
I was going to write this long post called "Somewhere Between Screw or Be Screwed" but I will make it short for this post. Basically, if you don't indenture yourself in business you will not be screwed. (For example, if you rent a storefront, you are indentured contractually to the landlord, whether or not your business succeeds.) If you indenture someone else to your business you will screw them. This doesn't have to be a bad screw, though. It may be just the screw they needed to get the job done. 

Dog Eared Computer Tips
Mood:  energetic

Update to blog! It is now called "Dog Eared Computer Tips!" Being a number cruncher I go thru alot of information and I tend to "dog ear" information I think I might need later. I am always researching new ways to access and store information. There is also a pun in the title, as in tips of dog ears! Get it? And, everyone likes dogs, right? Well, except maybe cats. (My cats asked me to make that note  

I am going to design a tee shirt for this blog too and have some computer dog ears made available for sale. So, please contact me if you are interested either in purchasing or helping me design the logo, the tshirt, or the ears.  

Girls Yoga Pants
Mood:  chillin'
Girls yoga pants are hot items right now. Are you listening, Ebayers?

Pizza Pizza
Mood:  smelly
"Pizza Pizza" is the biggest search on the internet in the food catagory by a mile! Who says the world doesn't run on Pizza.

Online Magazines
Mood:  incredulous
Ezine rejected my submission because the tone was negative and I used the word "crooked" in my post. At least I got a buzz out of someone!!! I have to pat myself on the back! I suppose if you are brain damaged you could read my post as an attack on alot of web services, but I hope these companies can stand up to alittle critique. They all have their limitations and I was just pointing them out.   2 points for me!

Helvetica
Mood:  cheeky
Oh, yeah. BTW, in case you are wondering why I'm using Helvetica in my blog, it's just a graphic design addiction. I apologize in advance. Of course it's not a good font for online. And I won't use it in YOUR webpage. 

Advanced Google Search Tools
Have you gotten rusty on Google's command line searches? These are the searches that are in the little search box on Google's browse. Go to http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/web/101-google-tips-tricks-and-hacks-462143 and bone up. for example, if you want to search a specific site, use "site:" followed by the url abbreviated (i.e. tripod.com) along with your desired search word, and voila. This is alot more expeditious than using Google advance search tools or coding your own url. 

Alexa 1,000,000 top sites report
Mood:  a-ok
I want to make a quick entry so I don't forget. I looked at the free Alexa report called '1,000,000 Top Alexa sites" and I want to tell you that it doesn't show the "data leak" I was talking about. They must be filtering out alot of records for that report. You will only see the leakage in the website I mentioned. 

Wanna know About Google Page Rank?
Mood:  caffeinated
I have found the definitive site about how Google calculates page rank. It is at http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2007/06/05/google-pagerank-what-do-we-really-know-about-it/. But, I am still working on getting some raw data to get you the deeper dirt. Hang in there!