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Ex-criminal thinking of committing new crimes.

TooSlick — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 23:17:12 -0800

Ex-criminal thinking of committing new crimes. I'm considering a new business wherein I show people how vulnerable they are to robbery, burglary, identity theft, kidnapping and any other form of criminal mischief.

My proposed plan of action is to 'target' Top 100 CEO's and the like, sending them a 'teaser' package pointing out some of the obvious, yet specific to them, risks to their current life security. This package would ideally prompt them to contact me for further, in-depth security consulting.

My credentials are also my dilemma in this endeavor: I am very criminally minded, genius level IQ, with a high thirst for risks and thrills. Nearly 20 years ago I was on the Most Wanted List for over 14 months during which time I committed or planned most every crime for money imaginable. Then came 13 years in state and federal prisons. I have been out now more than five years crime free. I want to use my powers now for good, not evil.

My question: will my past limit my future? How do I protect myself - and my clients - in this endeavor. I certainly have the credentials and know how to protect them, but at the same time I don't want my proposed business to come off like some old mafia shakedown of clients thinking that they're "paying for protection."

How does one trust an ex-con who is trying to help others from being connned?

No business taxes?

healthyliving — Wed, 21 May 2008 15:50:54 -0800

Is it true that if you have a business in New Hampshire or Nevada, there are less (or no) taxes than in California. Are other states like this, if so, which ones? Share your experience or direct me to a succinct, layperson site to understanding this. Thanks.

How much is my new business worth??

extrabox — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:11:38 -0800

I am starting up a new business, and I am trying to put a value on it in order to "discuss numbers" with several people who have expressed a serious interest in investing in it. In terms of a one year window, I know pretty close to exactly how much money it will cost to start up and operate the business. For the sake of argument, this number is $100,000.00.

In terms of how much much gross income I expect to take in for the first year, this could also be seen as $100,000.00, and obviously I would expect this number to grow over the next five years by as much as 20% each year.

In terms of investors, I want help with that first year $100,000.00 nut.

So, if some investor decides to kick in $50,000.00 as one has said he would, how much of the business should he get for that?

How much is this business worth as a brand new venture?

(If it matters, although the actual business is in Hong Kong - it is a distributorship - the investors, and ultimate owners are US based.

I appreciate any answers or advice!!!!

Are there any unforseen consequences with using eBay Motors to buy cheap cars to sell in Canada?

tempest in a teapot — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 11:37:33 -0800

I'd like to supplement my income by selling a few used cars from the Southern US to Canadians— at a fair price. What are the drawbacks? Recently, my husband's nephew bought a used Volvo from Texas through eBay Motors for considerably less than the same car could be had for in Canada. In fact, he's thinking about selling it now, and buying another because it worked out so well. This transaction was completed when the Canadian dollar was hovering around 87¢ US.

And to tell the truth, it makes even more sense now, as the US dollar is dropping like a sack of potatoes, and the Canadian dollar now buys $1.08 American. The price of goods doesn't reflect the (better-than) parity, though, and everything from books to cars routinely sell for 15-20% more here than in the States. Even used cars prices hold the trend.

I'm thinking of doing this as a way of supplementing our income. My husband has just returned to the working world after a long illness thatﾕs left us on the brink of bankruptcy. If we could make a couple of extra thousand dollars every month, we could pay down some bills and start looking to the future.

One benefit we do have is that while eBay Motors dealers won't ship outside the US, I am a US citizen, and we could have the cars shipped to my parents' home in Maine. I could then catch a bus, train, or ferry, and just drive the cars home from there.

We wouldn't try to cheat the Canadian government. We'll become a Used Car Dealer, pay the import fees, do all the paperwork, and file our taxes as any business would. We're not looking to get rich, just to earn enough to pay down debt.

Judging by the prices my husband researched today, this would work, and everybody wins. We make a better living, Canadians get solid cars at a fair price, and the government gets the taxes.

Am I missing something? Does this idea make sense?

How much should I charge?

arnicae — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 10:33:37 -0800

How much should I charge for my brand-new business, which is landscaping and disaster preparedness related? As always, there is I've come up with a great business idea that I have a lot of experience in, and believe there is a lot of higher-income-earner demand for. It is landscaping and disaster preparedness related. But I'm not sure what I should charge for this unique service!

Basically, I want to offer a couple of levels of help: an initial free meeting to assess their needs, then a basic plan for them, or an advanced plan that involves me supervising/implementing all the work myself (but they also pay for a separate electrician/plumber/landscaper who does the majority of the grunt work)

The market is definitely middle to high income range, and I want to make it seem affordable but not cheap- how much should I charge? This is basically expert consulting and developing a personalized plan- I expect each assessment would take me between 6-12 hours, depending on the area.

Hourly? Flat fee? (I prefer flat fee- it seems to be more suited to my target clientele) If you're a landscaper or a concept developer or maybe even an architect, how would you structure the fee schedule?

Thanks in advance!

What to consider when opening a brewery?

Telf — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 10:20:06 -0800

I think my town could support a microbrewery. Where do I start? What are some considerations? I live in Gainesville FL, the home of the University of Florida. UF has somewhere in the neighborhood of 50k students. We have a fairly beer-savvy community. Between the students, the townies, the grads that never leave and the alumni that come every football season, this town loves beer. We have pubs that feature 200+ beers. We have multiple stores that carry rare american craft and microbrews, many people drink belgian ales, one pub has a belgian on tap. We have an active homebrewing club and a successful home brewing supply shop. There are 2 brew pubs (If you count Hops as one).

I have NOT dug into the legislation yet, obviously that should be my first priority. How do I even start that? Where do I go?

Ignoring laws for one second, what else do I need to consider? I'm on pretty good terms with a number of local restaurant owners, I think I could get some start up money. How do I create a business plan, where do I get the "numbers" from? Is there a resource for getting information on similar projects/businesses?

Though I'd eventually like to run a pub of some sort, I'm imagining a straight brewery that distributes to local stores and bars.

I haven't decided whether bottling or kegging is the way to go, I imagine that bottles would lead to easier distribution. I'd want to minimize initial costs and just focus on one method or another.

Help me flesh out my hazy ideas or point me in the direction of some good resources.

Finally, I don't think this will work unless I can put out a bottle that is at least as cheap as Sam Adams to the consumer. What scale would I have to reach to begin making beer rather cheap/profitable. I'd like to be able to compete with common premium beers sold at most restaurants.

Thanks.