No Laissez-faire for Starbucks
There was an interesting piece in the Wall Street Journal this morning about one customer’s experience with the Starbucks customizable gift card.
But when my friend Roger Ream, president of the Fund for American Studies, received a Starbucks gift card for Christmas, he found there was a limit to how personalized a card could be. His […]
Policy-Making for Business and Entreprenuership
The Kaufmann Foundation came out with an interesting paper about local and state policymakers targeting entrepreneurs rather than existing businesses. Typically there are big incentives, usually in the form of tax breaks, which are offered to an existing business to move its operations to the new state. The paper argues that this type of thinking […]
My Experience with the Capital One Autofinance Check
I bought a used Jeep Commander last month and used my Capital One Auto Finance Blank Check. When I got to the finance guy I showed him my check, with a pre-approved rate structure guaranteed for 45 days, and I said if he could beat the rate then I would happily finance with him. […]
One Dollar Starbucks
Sir James Mackintosh said “the powers of a man’s mind are directly proportional to the quantity of coffee he drinks.”
I saw that quote above the Urinal in the bathroom of a Panera Bread. And how true it is.
Too bad I don’t like Panera coffee. The Starbucks blends are much better and that is […]
Honest Garage: Getting Paid to Keep Mechanics Honest
A couple of weeks ago I read an good paper in experimental economics (http://forum.johnson.cornell.edu/faculty/schneider/ ) and came away with an interesting idea for a small business venture.The paper is about asymmetric information in expert services and talks specifically about the car repair business. The question that is being asked is essentially ‘are car mechanics honest or […]
Living and Eating in IKEA For a Week
Now here is an entrepreneurial idea. Mark Malkoff needed a place to stay for a week while his apartment was fumigated. He couldn’t convince any of his friends to let him crash in their studio apartments and the hotels in New York City are much too expensive. So, he decided to approach IKEA and ask to […]
Netflix Rental Downloads on Your TV
I used to love the Netflix business model because it was such an improvement over the brick and mortar rental business. Then Blockbuster answered by offering essentially the same service, except with the option of returning and renting from its physical locations.
I thought for sure Netflix was going to be left behind, but it seems […]
How Smart People Buy New Cars
New Vehicles are a commodity and should be bought and sold as such. Dealers will try to convince you otherwise and will use lots of sales tricks to get you to buy from them. Don’t let them fool you. You should make the dealers compete with each other to give you the best price possible, […]
Ad-Supported Napkins
Giving away things for free has proven to be a profitable business, when the ‘free stuff’ is supported by ads. A couple of days ago I stumbled upon a great new business startup that capitalizes on this idea.
Napads.com gives away free napkins to its approved list of high profile bars, lounges and nightblubs. The napkins […]
The American Anomaly: Stocks Don’t Always go up in The Long Run
Occasionally I will mark up really great articles I have read and make a note to go back and read them again. Usually these articles totally disrupt my worldview and will make me rethink old ideas. Today I went back into an old publication of the Economist and found a real gem.
It is conventional wisdom in […]