Several people have asked me if they have to look at my two initial posts (1st ten) and (2nd ten) things to do at 50-something. The answer is “no.” Just post a comment. I’m enjoying the comments that have already been posted, and I’m looking forward to hearing from you (and I’m also looking forward to sending someone the book gift certificate!).

Here again are the rules:

Leave a comment ON THE ORIGINAL June 6th POST giving me one additional item to add to the 50/50 list. Please don’t comment on today’s post, because I’m randomizing the comments and they have to be on the original post to do that.

Deadline for the comments is Friday, June 20 at 11:59 PM (Eastern Daylight Savings Time). Your comment must be appropriate for 50-something Baby Boomers.

The prize? A $30 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble or Borders, your choice.

The comments will be put into a random drawing, and I’ll announce the winner here at Small Business Boomers. I need 30 more items, and I hope you all can help provide them.

Make sure your e-mail address is included in the designated space with your comment. Otherwise I won’t be able to contact you if your name is drawn.

The prize is only available to those in the U.S. and Canada.

Tags: 50-somethings, baby boomers, comments, contests

Share This

Share This

Share This

Back in Might I wrote a couple of posts on wine-related businesses for boomers. Sean Kelly over at Franchise Pick has some more information about a wine store franchise called Cork and Olive. The Florida-based stores do wine tastings, sell wine and other related products.

The owner, one Michael Probst, shut out, laying off 40 employees and abandoning the franchisees. But, as Sean says, if the franchisees can get together and figure out a way to survive in a co-op situation, they might be better off.

I don’t know of a successful example of doing this, but the situation illustrates not only the dangers of franchising without all the information (there were clear indications in public records that Mr. Probst had some financial problems), but also that there might be ways to continue to operate a franchise on your own.

What do you think? Should the franchisees band together in a co-op and continue to operate? Or should they cut their losses and get out now?

Don’t forget the “50 things to do at 50-something” contest - comment and put yourself in the running for a $30 book gift certificate. Final comments must be posted by June 20.

Tags: baby boomers, Cork and Olive, franchises, wine businesses

Share This

Share This

Share This

Filed under: Estates

Today’s home won’t appeal to everyone. Unless you enjoy Moroccan style this isn’t the place for you. If you like it though, welcome to Casa Blanca, a dramatic home located on the Carpinteria coast next to Montecito, California. This estate which was finished in 1996 has a history that reaches back to the 1920s. Upon entering the iron gates of the home, you’re welcomed into a courtyard with a water fountain. Once inside, there’s a a lighted dome with skylight above the entry The six-bedroom home has some dramatic features including a living room with 19-foot ceilings and sliding glass doors that disappear into the sides of the walls. The dining room has hidden built-in cabinets and a Murano glass chandelier. The master bedroom suite has coffered ceilings, fireplaces and a terrace. The master bath opens to a secluded patio with a tiled spa. Every bedroom has a deck or a terrace. The back of the house has 180 degree views of the ocean, islands and coast line with direct beach access. The exterior of the home is very beautiful and evocative but the home’s rather bland interior doesn’t deliver on the exotic promise of the exterior facade, at least in the photos I’ve seen.

The home is one of eight in a gated enclave. The property shares a tennis court and pool pavilion with kitchen. The ideal shared amenities is the Natatorium which was designed by famed local George Washington Smith and has historical significance. This pool house has a pool room, game room and men’s and women’s separate showers done in a Moorish style with painted arches, marble fireplace, tiled walls and floors. The most interesting feature is a sumptuous indoor pool area with elaborate mosaic tile work that is capped by a large retractable skylight. This home is listed at $12.9 million.

%Gallery-23681%

Continue reading Casa Blanca, Estate of the Day

Read

Share This

Share This

Pimp Your Work

Timelines are a great tool for illustration. However, creating one can be a tedious and slow process for people who don’t really do graphics.

Dipity tries to simplify the creation of an online timeline for nearly any topic by providing a seamless way of adding and editing entries. Registration is painless and won’t require any e-mail confirmation. Once you’re logged on, you have 2 choices: setup your personal lifestream or a custom timeline.

The personal lifestream is a timeline of feeds or a timeline of entries from your Picasa, Twitter, Pandora, Wordpress, Last.fm, Flickr, Yelp, Blogger, and Youtube account. Quite a short list, which is why Dipity added the option of adding any RSS feed.

The custom timeline allows you to create a timeline based on, well, anything. Adding an event is a point-and-click affair and editing them is just as easy. You can also invite other people to edit the timeline for you, making it a collaborative effort.

One peculiar thing about the Dipity timeline is the lack of a delete option. Once you’ve entered an event, you can’t remove it. Despite this flaw, the ease and simplicity offered by Dipity makes timeline-making a whole lot easier and more interactive.

Dipity works with most world wide web browsers. Click here to learn more about it.

Image credit: Screencapture by Celine Roque from Blue Rabbit Media

Share This

Share This

Share This

Don’t Tell Obama, McCain: Conventions Taking in Corporate Cash - Bloomberg
June 10 (Bloomberg) — John McCain , who wrote the law banning corporate donations to the political celebrations, and Barack Obama , who refuses lobbyist money, will be nominated for president at conventions largely funded by industries whose Washington

Senate blocks plan to add oil company tax - Salon
With gasoline prices topping $4 a gallon, Senate Democrats wanted the government to grab some of the billions of dollars in profits being taken in by the major oil companies. Senators voted on whether to take into account a windfall profits tax against the

Internet companies to block child porn sites - Reuters UK
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Verizon, Sprint and Time Warner Cable have agreed to block World wide web bulletin boards and websites nationwide that disseminate child pornography, New York’s attorney general announced on Tuesday. The ISPs also agreed with New York

GOP nixes Democrat-backed tax on oil companies - Houston Chronicle
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans this day successfully blocked a vote on a Democratic-written energy package intended to slap the major oil companies with a new windfall profits tax and roll back other tax breaks the industry now enjoys. While

Senate revisits windfall profits tax on oil companies (192) - Houston Chronicle
We’re sorry, but the article you requested isn’t currently available on Chron.com . If it’s an older article that you had bookmarked, you might be able to find it in the archives . If you got to this page from a current link on our site, then it’s an

Senate GOP blocks oil taxes - Boston Globe
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans blocked a proposal Tuesday to tax the windfall profits of the largest oil companies, despite pleas by Democratic leaders to use the measure to address America’s anger over $4 a gallon gasoline. The Democratic

Senate GOP blocks oil taxes - Newsday
WASHINGTON - Senate Republicans blocked a proposal Tuesday to tax the windfall profits of the largest oil companies, despite pleas by Democratic leaders to use the measure to address America’s anger over $4 a gallon gasoline. The Democratic energy

Avant Premiere of “Say It in Russian” at Monte-Carlo TV a - MSN MoneyCentral
Imperia Entertainment, Inc (PINKSHEETS: IMPN) announced that last night’s special public screening of the feature film, “Say It in Russian” during the Monte-Carlo Television Festival was attended by approximately 300, including international

Companies Stay Tight-Fisted - Forbes
Insider activity remains bullish. While net insider selling of $4.6 billion in May was the highest amount since November 2007, it was 64% below the $12.9 billion in May 2007. Click here for “Energy Bull Market: Six Must-Own Stocks,” a free special

Republicans block taxes on oil companies - Forbes
Senate Republicans have blocked a Democratic plan to tax the windfall profits of the largest oil companies. Democrats on Tuesday failed, 51-43, to get the 60 votes needed to overcome a GOP filibuster of the energy package, and bring the bill up for

Share This

Share This

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - US SUMMARY: Stocks, dollar mixed - Forbes

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - US SUMMARY: Stocks, dollar blended Forbes, Share This Share This No Comments »

Search Subscribe Your email:   Subscribe Unsubscribe   Pages About Contact-us

RSS Feed   June 2008 M T W T F S S « May   Jul »   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30   Recent Posts 19 Battery, Estate of the Day Set up a 401(k) for Your Business Hidden layoffs: Small businesses start to cut Credit Card Junkies - Don’t Touch That Business Credit Card! Forstmann Mansion, Estate of the Day Financing your Business Startup - Substitute Loan Sources Economic Downturn = Fewer Medications = That’s a Good Thing John Paulson in Southampton, Estate of the Day Raising Prices - The Idea is Catching On Should You Start a Business After Retirement? You Might Have No Choice Categories General work pimps Latest News Money and Stocks Real Estate News Small Business Stores Trading Tools Video Your Business Archives November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007