Filed under: Decor, Estates, Books

Three centuries worth of New England’s magnificent houses and mansions are collected in an equally grand new book from Rizzoli: Great Houses of New England, by Roderic H. Blackburn (text) and Geoffrey Gross (photography). Spanning a wide range of styles, these stately houses are the originals from which many of today’s McMansions have been copied. They’re more than just artifacts, however; as Blackburn writes, “Through the architecture and decorative arts we see the development of a people and their region.”

Among the more splendid examples in the book is the Jeremiah Lee Mansion in Marblehead, Mass., dating from 1767 (pictured here), the impressiveness of which is “conveyed by its subdued monumentality,” Blackburn notes. Lee, a shipping merchant, built it to emulate aristocratic estates in England, so you might state not all that much has changed. Also of note are the beautiful brick Georgian Macpheadris-Warner House in Portsmouth, N.H., dating from 1716; Rosecliff, a palatial McKim, Mead & White mansion which was the setting for the motion picture version of The Great Gasby; and Brookside, a gracious Greek Revival in Orwell, VT. See the gallery for more.

%Gallery-22552%

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Share This

Share This

Filed under: Estates

This contemporary villa located in the European playground of St Jean Cap Ferrat was created by designers Lazzarini Pickering and is a stunning contemporary residence which has beautiful ocean views. The home is located on the exclusive Avenue de Rothschild in this Mediterranean resort of the wealthy. There’s a huge main villa with views along the French Riviera and living areas on three floors. The main villa can be bought separately or with two smaller three bedroom guest houses and a staff apartment. The property also includes gardens, a terrace, swimming pool, wine cellar and parking for two vehicles. This home is listed at $23.5 million.
%Gallery-21188%

Continue reading St. Jean Cap Ferrat, Estate of the Day

Read

Share This

Share This

Filed under: Small business

With more than 5,800 locations in 34 countries, Baskin-Robbins is a powerhouse in the retail industry (the company is now part of Dunkin’ Brands). But like many great businesses, the early days were fairly humble.

Last week, the co-founder of Baskin-Robbins — Irvine (Irv) Robbins - passed away. He was 90-years old.

To Robbins, business was about some easy principles; one of his mottos was: “We sell fun, not just ice cream.”

In 1945, Robbins set up an ice cream store, starting with 21 flavors. It certainly was good timing. After a World War and a big economic depression, the US economy was poised for economic growth. And there would be a new mega-trend: suburbia.

By 1953, the store renamed itself to Baskin-Robbins, and yes, there were 31 flavors (one for each day of the month). Yet, Robbins wanted to supercharge growth. As a result, he helped to pioneer the concept of franchising.

Then, by the late 1960s, Baskin-Robbins sold out to United Fruit for $12 million.

However, I think it was Robbins’ fun that was a massive factor in the company’s success. Some of the neat flavors included Baseball Nut (when the Dodgers came to LA in 1958) and Lunar Cheesecake (when we landed on the Moon in 1969).

True, there were some bad ideas - like Ketchup flavored ice cream (sounds awful, huh?) — but when having fun, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll ultimately stumble on some innovative ideas.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar On the web Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Share This

Share This

Filed under: Earnings reports, Intuit Inc (INTU), Small business

With the slowing economy, there’s much fear that businesses will cut back on marketing dollars. Well, so far, this doesn’t seem to be a problem for Constant Contact (NASDAQ: CTCT), which provides email marketing services to small businesses.

According to the company’s Q1 report, revenues shot up 87% to $18.2 million and GAAP net income came to $338,000. The total customer base now stands at 185,948, up 78% over the past year. In fact, the monthly customer retention is about 97.8%. In other words, customers seem to be happy with the web service.

To capitalize on things, Constant Contact is now expanding its offerings as the company is getting traction from its survey product. There’s also a new tool to integrate with Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU)’s QuickBooks.

While vigilant and cautious, Constant Contact doesn’t see any problems from the macroeconomic environment. Actually, the company boosted its full-year 2008 revenue guidance to $82.5-$84.5 million from $81-$83.5 million. The adjusted EBITDA is expected to range from $3.2-$3.6 million.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar On the web Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

Share This

Share This

Porter will head state’s small business office - Boston Globe
Massachusetts Housing and Economic Development Secretary Daniel O’Connell (right) announced today the selection of André M. Porter to head the Massachusetts Office of Small Business and Entrepreneurship.   Porter is the former deputy director for

MYOB Launches Web Hosting Services - WHIR
May 12, 2008 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Australian accounting and small business software tools provider MYOB ( myob.com.au ) announced on Monday it will be offering domain registration, email hosting and website hosting services. Level 1 PCI

Doing business with the government made easy - Daily Territorial
United States government agencies are some of the largest purchasers in the world. So how does a small business get its name and product in front of those purchasers? One can start by finding someone like Sandra DiCosola of Summit Contract Management

NFIB Focuses On Health Insurance Cost For Small Businesses - eMaxHealth.com
The National Federation of Independent Business last week in Washington, D.C., launched a new advertising campaign that focuses on the cost of health insurance for small businesses, CQ HealthBeat reports. The campaign, titled “Solutions Start Here

Keeping the business flame burning - East African Standard
Thinking of starting a small business? What’s your ‘burning desire’ and how can you shape it into a reality that’ll provide you with satisfaction and profit that lasts? These are the questions budding entrepreneurs need to answer before they

SBA Physical Application Deadline is May 19; Disaster Loan Outreach - Biloxi Sun Herald
The U.S. Small Business Administration is reminding homeowners, renters, businesses and non-profit organizations that May 19 is the deadline for disaster victims to submit applications for physical damage caused by severe storms and tornadoes

Realtors(R) Return to Capitol Hill - Forbes
WASHINGTON, May 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — As Realtors(R) across the country gather today for the National Association of Realtors(R) Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo, they come committed to working with Congress and the administration to

Small Banks Seen Facing Tough Sell In Raising Fresh Capital - CNN Money
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- As small banks begin to approach investors hat-in-hand for new capital, it isn’t likely they’ll all get the same warm reception that their big-bank cousins received. In recent months, crowds of eager investors have been

SBA Stands Ready to Assist Victims of Current Severe Storms and - Forbes
WASHINGTON , Might 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Following the announcement of the Presidential disaster declaration in Maine covering several counties as a result of severe storms and flooding April 28, Administrator Steve Preston of the U. S. Small

Choose a Topic: Business Personal Finance Small Business Center - WOI-TV
Only about one-third of family businesses actually make it to a second generation. Here are the stories of six family business that are the exception to the rule, businesses now being run by a fifth or sixth generation of family members

Share This

Share This

You’ve know about investment bubbles.  We’re are all living through the results of the housing bubble.  Of course with the bursting of the housing bubble there is now a new bubble in commodities.  It started in oil, but has grown into metals and food.

How does this start?  Bubbles begin when your pension fund and your 401K mutual funds begin looking for higher returns.  That’s not a bad thing.  Just like securitization of home mortgages isn’t a just bad thing at it’s base.  It’s disastrous in the extreme when it becomes inflated into a “bubble.”

So, what’s with the commodities bubble?  Most importantly, as an individual, what should I do about it? 

First, don’t trade in commodities futures.  It is strictly for the huge boys who can stand to lose a pile of money or people who can actually take delivery of the commodities and put them to use. 

Second, don’t trade in commodities futures.  The large boys have stopped expanding their positions in commodities.  This week a major New York pension fund decided not to increase their position in commodities.  They’ve hundreds of millions invested in commodities and have authorized much more.  However, they have decided not to make the investment.  I would bet that many other large portfolio managers are looking at their exposure in commodities just now. 

Is it the beginning of the end for commodities investment?  No, but it is certainly the end of the beginning.  We’ve seen the major run up.  Current massive position holders will start looking for opportunities to take profits and reduce their exposure.  If the large boys are looking to get out, I would too.

Share This

Share This

Share This

PimpYourWork.com

Sure, everybody has a calendar somewhere in their system. However, these are just basic calendars, showing you what date it is. What if you need a calendar that’s easily accessible while at the same time, feature rich? This is where Rainlendar comes in.

Rainlendar grants you to have your own planner directly in your desktop. Events for the week are shown to you in a single glance: no need to hop from one date to another. If events aren’t enough, you can also create your to-do list with Rainlendar. Don’t want to miss out on an important event? Alarms can be created for both your events and to-do list, notifying you in advance. Rainlendar’s appearance can be customized by using skins. This way, the calendar can blend with your desktop so that it won’t be out of place. With Rainlendar, having a calendar just became fashionably simple.

Rainlendar is compatible with Win2000 or newer and Linux Ubuntu 7.10 or equivalent Linux distribution. Click here to see Rainlendar’s official website.

Share This

Share This

Share This

Share This

Share This

Share This

Internship program should be win-win situation - Chicago Tribune
You’re thinking you could use an extra pair of hands around the office this summer but can’t afford to hire more staff right now. Well, an internship program might be just what your business needs. It’s an affordable way to help lighten the load

Walsh College program helps 3 firms make needed changes to thrive - Detroit Free Press
One company got help with succession planning. Another received marketing assistance. One was offered tips on how to improve its bidding process. These three Detroit-area firms were the winners of a small-business makeover sponsored by the Walsh

Concordia Launches First Small Footprint Integrated, Quick-Service - Forbes
Concordia Coffee Systems, the worldwide leader in quick-serve Espresso systems, announced this day the Integrated Beverage System 4 (IBS4), a 19 inch wide unit that can deliver 164 different hot and cold specialty drinks at the touch of a button. On

IRS steps in to ease owners’ tax trauma - Orlando Sentinel
Deciphering one’s tax responsibilities can give small-business owners a major headache, but the Internal Revenue Service hopes to help ease the pain with a new educational campaign. The year-long effort is designed to help entrepreneurs learn more

Gallatin business incubator would support entrepreneurs - Nashville Tennessean
GALLATIN — A proposed mixed-use development on Gallatin’s east side, which would combine commercial and residential functions while serving as a business incubator, could give more small businesses a chance to survive, officials believe. City

Are Cubs fans like entrepreneurs? - Chicago Sun-Times
Is it possible to really understand what races through the minds of entrepreneurs who slide head first into their businesses? The National Business Incubator Association estimates that four out of five companies will strike out swinging within their

BIZ BUZZ: Sarasota chamber announces small business awards finalists - Herald Tribune
The Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce has announced the finalists for its 2008 Frank G. Berlin Sr. Small Business Awards. Small Business of the Year: CSI Networks; Dinnerware Depot Inc.; US Tent Rental. Young Business of the Year: Sarasota

Corporate Officers - Chicago Tribune
Cablevision Systems Corp. is expected to announce this morning an agreement to acquire Newsday from Tribune Co. in a $650-million deal that would create a regional news and advertising giant with a powerful grip on Long Island. Charles Dolan

Development centers offer guiding light to small companies - Los Angeles Times
Nervously practicing her pitch for hours in her home office, the co-founder of educational toy maker Budding Brilliance Corp. tried not to think about the dollars at stake in her presentation to a group of Tech Coast Angels , an influential Southland

Avoid errors when letting someone go - Chicago Tribune
NEW YORK—It’s something small-business owners dread: having to tell employees they’re being laid off. It’s inescapable in a weak economy, or as a company changes the way it does business, that some workers must be let go. There might be no way to

Share This

Share This