Urban Onramps

In France, turning impoverished banlieues into incubators for entrepreneurs

admin — Sat, 18 May 2013 00:52:41 +0000

Liz Alderman:

Despite pledges by Nicolas Sarkozy when he was president to address economic and social inequality after a series of violent riots in 2005 and 2007, though, critics say little has changed.

That is why a new generation of people like Mr. Benamer are trying to turn the suburbs into incubators for entrepreneurs, who see using their own initiative as the only way up and out of the banlieues, which are home to an estimated 10 percent of France’s 63.7 million people.

Through persistent lobbying, banlieue entrepreneurs have been founding “angel” investment funds, persuading big French companies like AXA Insurance and BNP Paribas to contribute seed money that fuel start-ups ranging from trash removal to taxi fleets. It was one such fund that recently helped finance the national expansion of Mr. Benamer’s Eat Sushi chain.

No one can yet quantify the new businesses emerging from this movement, or measure its success. But the activity is occurring largely outside the sphere of the French state.

“If we wait for the government to do something, people will just remain stuck,” Mr. Benamer said. “If we want things to improve, we have to do it ourselves.”

As part of the self-help effort, banlieue-based organizations that promote ethnic diversity have been aggressive about placing minorities into mentoring and jobs programs at French companies that as little as a decade ago routinely rejected applicants with non-French names.

“Things are changing,” said Majid El Jarroudi, a consultant of Moroccan origin, who grew up in the Paris banlieue of Montreuil.

Mr. Jarroudi, 36, started his career operating a small restaurant. He founded an organization, Adive, to assist banlieue entrepreneurs after visiting the United States and marveling at how much easier it seemed for minorities to move ahead.

Attitudes have shifted slowly in France, he said, but these days, “there is a growing recognition that the banlieues should not be seen as a place to fear, but as a source of dynamism, full of people who are eager to work and to succeed.”

via In Paris’s Banlieues, New Recipe for Success Is Local – NYTimes.com.

Evergreen: Here are 10 Nonprofit Funding Models

admin — Thu, 16 May 2013 05:02:08 +0000

William Foster, Peter Kim, Barbara Christiansen:

What follows are descriptions of the 10 funding models, along with profiles of representative nonprofits for each model. The models are ordered by the dominant type of funder. The first three models (Heartfelt Connector, Beneficiary Builder, and Member Motivator) are funded largely by many individual donations. The next model (Big Bettor) is funded largely by a single person or by a few individuals or foundations. The next three models (Public Provider, Policy Innovator, and Beneficiary Broker) are funded largely by the government. The next model (Resource Recycler) is supported largely by corporate funding. And the last two models (Market Maker and Local Nationalizer) have a mix of funders.

via Ten Nonprofit Funding Models.

$3.99 is the best price for a self-published ebook

admin — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:26:10 +0000

Laura Hazard Owen:

Self-publishing platform and digital bookstore Smashwords analyzed 11 months’ worth of sales — $12 million, 120,000 ebooks sold — to discern some best practices for self-published authors…. Among the findings:

Most authors price at $2.99…

Smashwords founder and CEO Mark Coker found that authors chose to price at $2.99 ”more frequently than any other price point. In last year’s survey, $.99 was a more common price point than $2.99. In this year’s survey, $2.99 was [chosen] about 60 percent more often.”

…but $3.99 sells the most copies.

Smashwords’ findings suggest that those $2.99 authors should price up by a dollar: “One surprising finding is that, on average, $3.99 books sold more units than $2.99 books, and more units than any other price except FREE. I didn’t expect this. Although the general pattern holds that lower priced books tend to sell more units than higher priced books, $3.99 was the rule-breaker. According to our Yield Graph, $3.99 earned authors total income that was 55% above the average compared to all price points.”

via What’s the best price for a self-published ebook? $3.99, Smashwords research suggests — paidContent.

Oil hungry, SUV-driving, fracking-friendly Texas reduced its carbon emissions more than California & Europe

admin — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:06:24 +0000

Walter Russell Mead:

Yes, you’re reading that graph right. Texas—oil hungry, SUV-driving, fracking-friendly Texas—reduced its carbon emissions more than the usual green suspects of California, Germany, and Europe. The Energy Information Administration released a report yesterday full of emissions data for the fifty states over the first decade of this century. The state with the biggest absolute emissions reductions: Texas….

Despite the reductions, Texas still has higher carbon emissions than any other state. Greens are seizing on this fact as evidence that the Lone Star State is environmentally derelict, but focusing on the total emissions rather than the sharp downward trend misses the larger point: Texas is finding ways to become more carbon-efficient without gutting its energy industry.

via Texas: A Global Green Paragon | Via Meadia.

PayPal Says Its Time to Ditch Passwords and PINs

admin — Sun, 12 May 2013 20:04:32 +0000

Thor Olavsrud:

Composed of a number of Internet companies, system integrators and security providers, theFIDO Alliance went public in February. Since that time, Barrettsaid, the level of interest and growth of the organization has been”extreme.”

“Passwords are running out of steam as an authentication solution,” he added. “Theyre starting to impede the development of the internet itself. Its pretty clear that we cant fix it with a proprietary approach.”

“Our intention is to really obliterate within a certain number of years both passwords and PINs, including internally inenterprises,” Barrett added. “Starting this year you will see FIDO-enabled devices appearing in the market.”

via PayPal Says Its Time to Ditch Passwords and PINs, and Apple may lead the way with iPhone 6 – Digital Lifestyle – Macworld UK.

On pulling off a Snow Fall

admin — Sat, 11 May 2013 10:19:41 +0000

Om Malik:

The New York Times’s multimedia project Snow Fall was a huge success, attracting big audiences and lots of plaudits. But the paper can do even better — it can build a new business from this type of project, and change the definition of journalism in the new century….

Now, let me explain why the Times can do it. And for that I will point to Hollywood again. One of the reasons why Hollywood studios succeed with the multi-tier approach to their “product” is because they do their best to ensure that they create an optimum experience. And they can do that with the right story, the right stars, the right production values and, most importantly, they have distribution. And gobs of money.

The Times and other big media companies have a lot of those same capabilities. They have great stars (real people, for god sake, are better stars than anything Hollywood can produce — see the Cleveland samaritan), they have great storytellers (editors and reporters, whose Pulitzers are testimony enough) and they have the ability to create the right production values (photographers, visual artists and designers). The Times also has a big audience – 35 million monthly visitors to their website in the U.S. alone, according to comScore – which means it has a lot of attention, which can be channeled effectively to promote new concepts.

via How the New York Times can fight BuzzFeed & reinvent its future — Tech News and Analysis.

Peers Find Less Pressure Borrowing From Each Other

admin — Sat, 11 May 2013 10:08:12 +0000

Wendy Kaufman:

Both Lending Club and its much smaller rival, a company called Prosper, have been around for several years. But lately things have really taken off at both companies….

Google is teaming up with the nation’s largest peer-to-peer lender. The search and tech giant is investing $125 million in Lending Club, which gets borrowers and lenders together outside the conventional banking system. Google’s move and the actions of other big players reflect a growing interest in peer-to-peer lending.

Chanda Lugere works for a bank, but when she wanted a loan to consolidate her credit card debt, which carried a high interest rate, the bank didn’t have much to offer. She tried other banks, but even with her excellent credit score she got nowhere.

So Lugere, who’s in her 30s, went online seeking alternatives. She found Lending Club.

“I went ahead and applied for the loan and I was able to get it funded in one week. And my rate was 6 percent. So it’s half of what I had been paying. I thought it was a really great experience from beginning to end — really easy, you apply online and they gave you status updates….”

“Last year we facilitated about $800 million in loans and we are planning on $2 billion this year,” says Renaud Laplanche, the CEO of Lending Club.

The system works like this: Investors put up the money to fund the loans; typically they’ll have pieces of hundreds, even thousands of loans which are ranked according to risk. An investor’s rate of return will vary accordingly.

Laplanche says investors make a nice profit, but consumers still get lower rates than they would with a conventional lender because peer-to-peer lending operates like a marketplace.

“It is a more direct funding process between the investors and the borrowers,” he says. “There’s no branch network. Everything happens online and it is really powered by technology and the Internet. And we use technology to lower cost.”

In the industry’s early days, most of the money for loans came from individual investors. But today — and this is a big change — large institutional investors like insurance companies and pension funds have put up a lot of the cash….

So, what about Google’s investment? It’s not putting money into loans but is making an investment in Lending Club itself. Neither company is saying exactly what it plans to do. But Renton and others speculate that Google sees synergies between Lending Club and Google Wallet, the company’s virtual payment system. Imagine, for example, Google’s own credit card or perhaps an instant big-ticket loan.

“If you can hook up a loan institution who is really innovative that can get something happening quickly, there is the potential that Google Wallet could hook up with Lending Club and you could go buy a car on your cellphone,” Renton says.

Indeed Lending Club’s Laplanche has grand ambitions: He wants to make small-business loans, student loans, car loans, even mortgage loans. For him, the multitrillion-dollar market for consumer credit is a giant opportunity.

“It’s really one of the few large markets that has not been fully transformed by the Internet, so we believe we can become the mainstream alternative to the banking system,” Laplanche says.

But David Schehr, who follows banking and investment services at the research firm Gartner, says P2P lenders won’t be putting conventional banks out of business anytime soon.

via P2P: Peer-To-Peer Lending Offers Alternative To Traditional Banks : All Tech Considered : NPR.

Eventbrite’s New iPad Credit Card Reader Allows Event Organizers To Collect Ticket Payments At The Door

admin — Sat, 11 May 2013 03:00:15 +0000

Leena Rao:

In December, the company launched the Eventbrite ‘At the Door’ iPad app, and today the company is debuting the complimentary credit card reader to allow event organizers to collect ticket payments on the go.

Called the ‘At The Door Card Reader,’ the lightweight, plastic device is just under two inches long and fits into the iPad’s dock connector port to allow users to swipe credit cards. The device, which is the company’s first piece of proprietary hardware, is orange and rectangular.

The reader itself makes collecting spontaneous payments on the go fairly easy. But the beauty of the new device is how it works with Eventbrite’s companion iPad app. The app and reader aim to offer a complete box office, at the door solution for event organizers. With the app, you can swipe an attendees card, and obtain their email, name and other information for further use. Event organizers can also factor all the last-minute ticket sales into total sales data from an event.

The ability to capture and track important data from on-site sales is important. By accepting payments via the At The Door app and card reader, organizers will have a full, comprehensive picture of their sales data captured through the Eventbrite platform – from both on-site sales and online sales data. This capability gives organizers powerful visibility into the behaviors and preferences of their attendees, as well as an easy way to stay in touch with them.

via Eventbrite’s New iPad Credit Card Reader Allows Event Organizers To Collect Ticket Payments At The Door | TechCrunch.

How the Syrian Electronic Army Hacked The Onion

admin — Fri, 10 May 2013 15:13:13 +0000

Onion Inc.’s Tech Team:

Don’t let this happen to you

From examining the details of this incident, as well as those effecting the AP, Guardian and others, it’s clear that the SEA is not using complex methods of attack. All of the hacks so far have been a result of simple phishing, or possibly dictionary attacks—all of which are preventable with a few simple security measures.

Make sure that your users are educated, and that they are suspicious of all links that ask them to log in, regardless of the sender.

The email addresses for your twitter accounts should be on a system that is isolated from your organization’s normal email. This will make your Twitter accounts virtually invulnerable to phishing (providing that you’re using unique, strong passwords for every account).

All twitter activity should go through an app of some kind, such as HootSuite. Restricting password-based access to your accounts prevents a hacker from taking total ownership, which takes much longer to rectify.

If possible, have a way to reach out to all of your users outside of their organizational email. In the case of the Guardian hack, the SEA posted screenshots of multiple internal security emails, probably from a compromised email address that was overlooked.

via How the Syrian Electronic Army Hacked The Onion – Onion Inc.’s Tech Blog.

Here’s an internship focused on capital campaigns and annual fund coaching (GR-based)

admin — Fri, 10 May 2013 01:32:11 +0000

Parrish Consulting is looking for an intern. Details here.

Alumna Works to Support Business as Missions Organization

admin — Thu, 09 May 2013 08:54:58 +0000

Nathan Pilling:

HOPE’s model of Christ-centered microfinance accompanies people in the long-term process of spiritual and physical transformation. Each loan is serviced by up to 20 community visits and meetings over a period of six months. During this time, HOPE offers ongoing business training and connects associates with churches and individuals in their community who can disciple them.

Eustace, who describes her position with HOPE as her “dream job,” is currently working on a multi-month costing analysis to increase organizational efficiency for Esperanza. “This year, administration is pushing initiatives to redesign and standardize internal processes,” she said. “A lot of changes are being made to help us impact thousands of more Dominicans. It’s an exciting time to be involved.”

Daniel Sterkenburg, M.B.A, who taught one of Eustace’s senior business courses at Cedarville, is gratified to see the work that she is doing. “It’s really pleasing to see Abby use the skills that she obtained here both in business skills and specifically through the global business major,” he said. “It makes my work worthwhile.”

Eustace remembers with fondness how Cedarville influenced her involvement in business as mission. “My business professors always emphasized keeping Christ at the center of our lives and work,” she said. “I remember the OneVoice Gospel Choir singing in chapel, ‘Jesus Be the Center of It All.’ That’s my prayer as I work with HOPE in the Dominican Republic: to help free people from spiritual and physical poverty.”

via Alumna Works to Support Business as Missions Organization | Public Relations | Cedarville University, a Christian College.

How Andrew Sears at TechMission harnesses the Web to fuel urban ministry

admin — Wed, 08 May 2013 22:36:04 +0000

Eileen Gorman:

Starting with a church-based computer training center at Bruce Wall Ministries in inner-city Boston, Sears saw one provision after another propelling him and his partners forward to use technology to respond to the issues woven into impoverished communities.

While the initial computer training work connected urban youth with skills for viable employment, Sears realized that much more than technological training was needed to overcome the hurdles the youth were facing.

So in 2000, in partnership with other Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) leaders, Sears founded TechMission. Its primary programs today are a volunteer matching service for individuals and organizations (ChristianVolunteering.org), distance learning for urban ministry professionals (City Vision College), an internship program (City Vision Internships), and a web portal to share teaching resources and connect urban ministries across the country (UrbanMinistry.org). TechMission also runs Safe Families, an educational tool designed to help parents and churches keep children safe online (safefamilies.org)….

TechMission has served a vital role in connecting under-resourced individuals with technological training, and also in connecting a sometimes disconnected group of urban ministry practitioners with each other….

Sears says he learned a formative lesson about addressing systemic issues of poverty while working briefly with a children’s shelter in South Africa. Years after his time there, he learned that many of the children from the shelter had died violently. And then there were the children who never made it to a shelter. The shelter’s leaders shifted from serving a few children with limited long-term impact to battling the causes of children living on the streets. Over 10 years, shelter leaders reduced the number of children living on their streets from 10,000 to 1,800.

“We list our values as Jesus and justice to emphasize both meeting the needs of the whole person and our affiliation with the social justice tradition of the church, like the Salvation Army, Gospel Rescue Missions, and the Christian Community Development Association,” said Sears. “The problem is that our society is structured in a way that those with the greatest physical needs are often segregated from those with the most resources.”

via The Tech Poverty Fighter | This Is Our City | Christianity Today.

BAM & the Olive Tree

admin — Wed, 08 May 2013 19:52:46 +0000

Mats Tunehag:

Today there is a global Business As Mission movement. [This] was not the case 20 years ago….

We can learn from the olive tree. Many of us think in terms of two kinds of olives: green and black. But there are 1000 or more varieties. In the BAM movement we are not just two categories: business people on the hand, and church and mission people on the other. No, we are part of a greater eco-system, of investors, bookkeepers, prayer partners, entrepreneurs, academics, human trafficking experts, theologians, marketing and sales people, and many others.

It takes about 25 years before an olive tree bears fruit, olives that can be eaten. But once it starts bearing fruit, it can produce olives for 2000 years or more. Olive trees are intergenerational blessings.

The modern BAM movement is still young; we are in some ways still within the first 25 years of the life of an olive tree. We do see some fruit, but are eagerly awaiting more. But we need to nurture and care for the BAM olive tree in these early days of the movement. We want to build a movement that can bring good and lasting transformation, and we know it takes time. But we need tenacity; we must hold onto our vision, maintain our values, as we build BAM communities.

We embrace the promise the God will bless us so we can be a blessing – in and through business – in our generation and for many generations to come.

via BAM & the Olive Tree | Mats Tunehag.

TEDx: Successful reentry through entrepreneurship

admin — Tue, 07 May 2013 18:38:19 +0000

Henry Rock runs City Startup Labs in Charlotte, North Carolina:

Here’s A Webinar On The Clergy Housing Exclusion

admin — Tue, 07 May 2013 17:18:18 +0000

This is put on by ECFA:

Clergy Housing Exclusion & Love Offerings Webinar

Thursday, May 9, 2013

60-minute session starting at 1:00 PM Eastern, including Q&A with the presenters.

The first 50 people to register for this webinar using promo code ClerLov will receive a $10 discount.

Join us for the Clergy Housing Exclusion & Love Offerings Webinar with Michael Batts, CPA and the president and managing partner of Batts Morrison Wales & Lee and Michael Mosher, an Illinois attorney and founder of Mosher & Associates, LLC.

Register for the webinar on Thursday, May 9 at

~ 1 pm EDT ~ 12 pm CDT ~ 11 am MDT ~ 10 am PDT

ECFA Members: Free

Registered Users: $39

via Clergy Housing Exclusion & Love Offerings Webinar – Thursday, May 9 from 1 – 2 pm EDT.

Here is Dave Ramsey’s advice on student loan debt

admin — Tue, 07 May 2013 16:35:46 +0000

Integrate faith and work @ Marketplace Revolution U.S.

admin — Mon, 06 May 2013 18:04:05 +0000

Partners Worldwide U.S.:

Your business can be your ministry, and your work can be worship – that’s what we believe at Partners Worldwide! We are a network of people called to business and passionate about ending poverty.

Join us in Chattanooga, Tennessee, this June 6-7 for the 2013 Marketplace Revolution U.S. National Conference. Primary audience: Business and professional people concerned about job creation anywhere in the 50 United States. Secondary audience: People called to business and transformation in their workplace or across the globe.

You will connect with peers, engage a replicable model for job creation in communities of high unemployment – that you can take back to your own city – and learn about partnerships that are transformational for all involved. Register today!

via Marketplace Revolution U.S. | Marketplace Revolution.

Faith-based migration

admin — Mon, 06 May 2013 16:44:37 +0000

Joel Kotkin:

Of course, some immigrants still come for venerable reasons, such as the freedom to worship. Christians, who make up some 42 percent of Asian-Americans, face surveillance and repression, particularly, in China, where religion is tightly regulated, and dissent from the party line can land adherents in jail. Over half of Asian immigrants, Pew notes, cite freedom of religion as a key advantage of living in America. New faith-based migration could also be seen soon among Christians fleeing increasingly Islamic regimes in Egypt, Syria and other Middle Eastern countries.

via A NEW WORLD | immigrants, immigration, new – Opinion – The Orange County Register.

Overflow Church seeks a full-time Worship Arts Pastor/Director in Benton Harbor, MI

admin — Mon, 06 May 2013 16:38:17 +0000

Worship Arts Pastor/Director

Full Time

Overflow Church, Benton Harbor, Michigan

Overflow Community Church, a local Wesleyan church in Benton Harbor, Michigan, is seeking a Worship Arts Pastor/Director to join our ministry team.

Qualified candidates will possess:

A dynamic, growing relationship with Jesus Christ
High school diploma or equivalent with further education/training in music or equivalent level of experience.
A personal passion for worship as a lifestyle (worship celebration services that experientially convey the truth of God’s Word into people’s lives, encourage participation and has a desire to see the arts and prayer be active in the life of the church.
A deep commitment to living missionally in a multicultural church setting.
Demonstrated experience and a desire to grow and implement the creative arts as part of Sunday celebration services and able to build bridges through the Worship Arts.
A heart for, and demonstrated ability, to help move Overflow further into the fulfillment of our worship celebration statement, “Overflow’s praise and worship styles vary often and reflect both the diversity and creativity of our God and our community. We invite you to join us in worship today and to know that each week may look a little different, but the Spirit of Worship is the same.”

To learn more about Overflow Church and its vision, check out www.overflowchurch.org. Qualified individuals should submit an application, cover letter, resume, a short bio, references and a video example of the individual leading worship. Submit packet of information to: Overflow Church, Attn: Worship Arts Position, PO Box 732, Benton Harbor, Michigan 49023, employment@overflowchurch.org.

Here’s a 30-year vision for Gospel Entrepreneurship

admin — Mon, 06 May 2013 13:33:31 +0000

Josh Kwan:

Our original dream was to create an accelerator program for early-stage organizations — both nonprofits and businesses — where we could provide lift-off for their growth. We initially set out to start a relatively simple program, which became our mentorship-driven accelerator. And as we studied the marketplace, conducted scores of interviews, and forged the relationships necessary to create the program, we realized that the opportunity and the need are much greater. More than a program, we envision an ecosystem.

We hope to catalyze an ecosystem of support for Christian entrepreneurs and begin tackling some of the defining challenges of our time. We are investing in entrepreneurial talent who share our philosophy; we are building a community of experts who have climbed the summit of their fields; and we are gathering a network of investors and philanthropists who are passionate about helping the next great organizations flourish. Over the next 30 years, we’ll be working together to advance the common good and give glory to the King. Today’s dream seems much more daunting and can only be accomplished through the support of many other people, and with a healthy dose of humility for the work that the Lord must do for anything to happen.

via Fieldnotes Magazine » Practical Wisdom for Emerging Leaders » Helping entrepreneurs build high-impact organizations.

The most common dream of the poor around the world is that their children become government workers

admin — Sat, 04 May 2013 11:45:45 +0000

Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo: We have started including the question “What are you ambitions for your children?” in surveys given to poor people around the world. The results are striking. Everywhere we have asked, the most common dream of the poor is that their children become government workers…. the poor don’t see becoming an entrepreneur as something to aspire to.

From page 226 of this book (I’ll write more on this later):

African Bus Routes Redrawn Using Cell-Phone Data

admin — Thu, 02 May 2013 23:49:46 +0000

David Talbot:

Researchers at IBM, using movement data collected from millions of cell-phone users in Ivory Coast in West Africa, have developed a new model for optimizing an urban transportation system.

The IBM model prescribed changes in bus routes around the around Abidjan, the nation’s largest city. These changes—based on people’s movements as discerned from cell-phone records—could, in theory, slash travel times 10 percent….

…telecom giant Orange released 2.5 billion call records from five million cell-phone users in Ivory Coast. The records were gathered between December 2011 and April 2012. The data release is the largest of its kind ever done. The records were cleaned to prevent anyone identifying the users, but they still include useful information about these users’ movements….

The IBM paper is one of scores being aired later this week at a conference at MIT.

via African Bus Routes Redrawn Using Cell-Phone Data | MIT Technology Review.

Not your typical nonprofit coffee shop: Purple Door Coffee in Denver

admin — Thu, 02 May 2013 16:44:56 +0000

Mark Smesrud:

We’re in the middle of week 3. Wow! It’s been amazing. Our sales have been great! We’ve developed regular customers! We’ve been welcomed into the neighborhood! We held our grand opening party and were overwhelmed by the turnout! Things are going great!

Most importantly, our employees are awesome! Both of our employees are hard workers who are eager to learn, willing to jump in, and they take instruction very well! We’ve all been learning together.

Right now we are continuing to roll and develop all our routines. We’re intentionally getting our story out to our neighbors. And dreaming and thinking about the future of Purple Door. Soon we will hire another employee. As our two current employs become more and more proficient behind the bar we will have room to train another employee. This will also free Madison and I up to do more of the running of the business and non-profit components, as well as lean even more heavily into the job and life skills training.

via Week 3! | Purple Door Coffee, Ltd..

Purple Door Coffee is a startup associated with Belay Enterprises.

Text Marketing: This guy says 90% of text-marketed messages get read and acted on

admin — Thu, 02 May 2013 16:09:23 +0000

Daniel Burrus:

In many respects, text marketing is even better than email marketing. The latest IBM research shows that 90 percent of email marketing goes unopened and unread. Most business owners and marketing department executives have experienced this firsthand. So in order for your email campaign to work, you have to send out a lot of messages.

However, the opposite is true for text marketing in that 90 percent of text messages get read and acted on. That’s a huge response rate. But before we go any further, let’s make one thing perfectly clear: Successful email marketing strategies will not work for text messaging! So even though text marketing is the new marketing hotspot, you have to use the tool correctly.

Burrus’s 3 Keyes to Making Text Marketing Work are:

1. Get permission first

2. Set positive expectations

3. Give high-value information

via Better Results Using Text Messaging To Dramatically Improve Your Marketing Efforts | LinkedIn.

All Dogs & More ready for business

admin — Thu, 02 May 2013 14:25:52 +0000

In Chattanooga:

The food truck All Dogs & More will celebrate its grand opening from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, May 3, at The Bethlehem Center, 200 W. 38th St. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place at 11:30 a.m.

All Dogs & More is owned and operated by Launch business graduate Julius Burrows. Launch is a nonprofit organization that offers budding entrepreneurs a 10-week course in business planning, mentoring, coaching and resource connections. Grand-opening events are sponsored by Launch and A Better Tomorrow, which helps at-risk youth discover their purpose through life-skills education. For details, call 423-523-9307 or visit www.launchchattanooga.org.

via All Dogs & More ready for business | timesfreepress.com.

Marketplace Revolution 2013 in Chattanooga: Come and See

Proposed taqueria just a matter of time for abandoned Wealthy St. gas station

admin — Thu, 02 May 2013 13:58:57 +0000

Deborah Johnson Wood:

Renovation of a long-vacant gas station at Wealthy St. SE and Henry St. SE into a proposed taquería could be moving forward soon. Recently erected construction fence surrounds the property owned by Winchester on Wealthy/Hidden Pearl LLC, implying that preparations are moving forward.

Paul Lee, owner of The Winchester restaurant (648 Wealthy St. SE) nearby, says preliminary approvals by the Grand Rapids Board of Zoning Appeals, Grand Rapids Historic Preservation Commission, and Grand Rapids Planning Commission are in place, and construction awaits only the needed permits before breaking ground. Lee adds that the restaurant could open in July or August, but declined further comment.

via Proposed taquería just a matter of time for abandoned Wealthy St. gas station.

Evangelicals for Social Action on Marketplace Revolution

admin — Wed, 01 May 2013 20:28:31 +0000

Al Tizon:

“Your business can be your ministry, and your work can be worship.” That’s the motto at Partners Worldwide, a network of people called to business and passionate about ending poverty.

Join them in Chattanooga, Tennessee, this June 6-7 for the 2013 Marketplace Revolution U.S. National Conference, where the primary audience will be business and professional people concerned about job creation anywhere in the 50 United States. The secondary audience: People called to business and transformation in their workplace or across the globe.

via Marketplace Revolution | Evangelicals for Social Action.

Introducing Navajo Nation’s First Poet Laureate

admin — Wed, 01 May 2013 20:22:03 +0000

Her name is Lucy Tapahonso:

The Navajo Nation’s first-ever Poet Laureate has been named and will be officially introduced to the public on May 17.

On April 24, Elmer Guy, president of Navajo Technical College, announced the appointment of Luci Tapahonso as the Navajo Nation’s first Poet Laureate. Tapahonso will officially assume her role for the two-year position at the college’s commencement ceremonies on May 17, Guy said in revealing the award.

The goal of designating a chief poet is “to encourage other Navajo poets, writers, film makers and artists to realize how important their work is to the continuance and growth of Navajo contemporary culture,” Guy said at a press conference announcing Tapahonso’s honor. “Luci represents the best of what it is to be Diné, honoring our traditions, while at the same time forming a contemporary voice that speaks beautifully to all people.”

Tapahonso has written five books of poetry and stories, as well as a children’s book. Saánii Dahataal (1993) and Blue Horses Rush In (1997) are two of her better-known collections, both published by the University of Arizona Press. She also holds the distinction of being named Storyteller of the Year by the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers in 1999, a year after being recognized with the Region Book Award from the Mountains & Plains Booksellers Association, the Navajo Nation said in a press release.

She is one of 11 children and grew up in Shiprock, New Mexico, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English from the University of New Mexico.

via Luci Tapahonso Named as Navajo Nation’s First Poet Laureate – ICTMN.com.

What a stupid idea

admin — Wed, 01 May 2013 02:14:31 +0000

Dustin Curtis:

“What a stupid idea,” I thought to myself.

As we finished our coffees, I think he sensed my apathy, and we parted ways. But just before I walked away, he asked a question:

“What do you think about the name we’ve been using? It’s called Pinterest….”

[ skipping down the blogpost]

The (next) app had one awesome feature, though–it would only record when your finger was on the screen, so you could take a bunch of little videos through time and connect them together to build a story. But it was a self-contained app, with its own feed and no obvious viral mechanics. I couldn’t see it ever succeeding.

“What a stupid idea,” I thought to myself.

I liked the logo, though. It was a V on a green background, for the name “Vine….”

[Conclusion] The future is extremely hard to see through the lens of the present. It’s very easy to unconsciously dismiss the first versions of something as frivolous or useless. Or as stupid ideas.

via What a stupid idea | Dustin Curtis.

Zion Cafe is a business-as-mission next to a brothel in Thailand

admin — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 04:43:35 +0000

David Doty:

But nearby, and far too prevalent, the karaoke bars and massage parlors, fronts for extensive prostitution, sadly a major tourist “attraction” in Thailand, are never far from one’s awareness while observing this dynamic city. Of hope, however, a small café, the Zion Café, sits right next door to a brothel just around the corner from the Congress’ hotel. You see, the Zion Café is a Christian business, a business-as-mission, an intentionally planted business that seeks out and welcomes the young women of its surrounding neighborhood into a safe, embracing relationship and space amidst a local culture, broken like so many others around the world. A new friend and I ate dinner there our first night in the city. It was as if breathing fresh, mountain air after coming in from an oppressing smog. Here, in the Zion Café, an unassuming corner restaurant nestled in the din of Chiang Mai, a ground-zero point itself in the center of the East, the Light of Christ shines forth. Please keep the wonderful folk operating the Zion Café in your prayers for surely they were called to this city, this neighborhood, and this very building for such a time as this, as a line of rescue thrown out to all God’s children.

via Sawasdee-cup from a Chiang Mai Global BAM Congress Delegate | Eden’s Bridge.

Shortage of pizza-makers as Italians are too proud

admin — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 01:40:15 +0000

Nick Squires:

Italians may be reluctant to get their hands dirty by stoking ovens and kneading dough, but foreign immigrants have no such qualms and are now filling the gap, producing an increasing share of the three billion pizzas that Italians eat each year.

Egyptians have shown themselves to be particularly adept at mastering the art of the perfect pizza and now run many of the pizza restaurants and hole-in-the-wall takeaways in big cities like Rome, Milan and Turin.

“I would say about 80 per cent of Egyptians who come to work in Italy end up as pizza makers,” Amadeo Al-Wikel, who emigrated from Cairo to Rome 12 years ago and now runs his own pizzeria on a street corner near Rome’s Trevi Fountain, told The Daily Telegraph.

“We are good at it because we are prepared to work hard. Italians, in contrast, want a nice comfortable office job where they can work six hours a day, five days a week, in air-conditioning. They’re not prepared to work 10, 12 hours a day.” Alessandro Rossi, who runs another pizzeria in Rome, is also surprised that Italians refuse to take up an occupation that is part of their cultural DNA, especially as unemployment among young people has reached 35 per cent.

“The Italian mindset is that being a pizza-maker is humiliating, it is a manual labour job,” he said. “Young Italians want to own 40,000 euro cars and wear nice clothes but they are not prepared to work for it. So the gap is being filled by the Egyptians, the Filipinos and the Arabs.”

via Shortage of pizza-makers as Italians are too proud – Telegraph.

Getting a Ph.D. is easier than launching, sustaining and growing a start-up

admin — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:58:31 +0000

Steve VanderVeen

I’m proud to be part of the Hope community, because it is very supportive. But, in my opinion, getting a Ph.D. is easier than launching and sustaining and growing a start-up. I’d love to be able to encourage more students like Travis who have ideas for social justice, spreading the Gospel, for-profit and non-profit businesses, etc.

via Center for Faithful Leadership: Update: Dirty Water Beer.

Yes, Los Angeles has the worst traffic in the country

admin — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 19:48:36 +0000

Laura J. Nelson:

Los Angeles has reclaimed the dubious honor of having the worst traffic in the United States, according to an annual congestion scorecard.

The report, from data company Inrix, reaffirms what many Angelenos already believe: that L.A. has the worst traffic in the country, that its freeways are among the most crowded, and that the worst time of the week to drive home is Friday afternoon.

The average Los Angeles driver spent 59 hours sitting in traffic in 2012, or about two and a half days, the data showed. In Honolulu, the second-worst city and a previous traffic jam winner, drivers wasted about nine hours less….

On Friday afternoons, the Inrix study revealed, it takes the average Los Angeles commuter more than an hour to get home.

Los Angeles also is home to 35 of the 162 most-congested sections of highway in the country.

And four freeways are in the country’s 10 most congested: the southbound 405, the eastbound 10, the northbound 405 and the southbound 5 Freeway.

via Study: Yes, L.A. has the worst traffic in the country — again – latimes.com.

Why teenagers really do need an extra hour in bed

admin — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 18:37:49 +0000

Russell Foster:

In the US, the observation that teenagers have biologically delayed sleep patterns compared to adults prompted several schools to put back the start of the school day. An analysis of the impact by Kyla Wahlstrom at the University of Minnesota found that academic performance was enhanced, as was attendance. Sleeping in class declined, as did self-reported depression.

In the UK, Monkseaton High School near Newcastle instituted a 10 am start in 2009 and saw an uptick in academic performance.

However, a later start by itself is not enough. Society in general, and teenagers in particular, must start to take sleep seriously.

Sleep is not a luxury or an indulgence but a fundamental biological need, enhancing creativity, productivity, mood and the ability to interact with others.

via Why teenagers really do need an extra hour in bed – opinion – 22 April 2013 – New Scientist.

Tech entrepreneur converts retired city buses into showers for the homeless

admin — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:54:49 +0000

Christina Farr:

San Francisco is teeming with tech entrepreneurs who want to save the world but who’ll pass by the homeless person on the street without a second glance.

Doniece Sandoval, a Bay Area tech entrepreneur, is not one of them. Her latest trick? Turning retired city buses into mobile showers for the homeless. The initiative, known as Lava Mae, is a response to a desperate need in the city. According to the most recent count, more than 6,500 homeless people sleep on the street or in shelters in San Francisco, and there are only eight shower facilities specifically available to the homeless, and most of these have just one or two stalls and aren’t open every day.

Doniece Sandoval is working part-time to convert MUNI buses into shower facilities

It all started two years ago when Sandoval hopped in a cab after a meeting in the south of market (SoMa) district of San Francisco, which is primarily inhabited by startups and the homeless.

Advertisement

“My driver turned around and said, ‘welcome to the land of broken dreams.’” Sandoval snapped out of her reverie and started to really look at the people around her.

“The woman I passed was crying and saying that she would never be clean,” Sandoval recalled, her voice cracking. While this sentiment might have multiple layers of meaning, she took it as a sign that she should focus on the issue of hygiene, one of the most pressing needs in the homeless community.

After mulling it over and doing some research, Sandoval hit on the idea of a mobile unit that could be outfitted with shower facilities. Access to water and sanitation is a basic human right, so as a short-term solution, why not put a shower on wheels?

Read the whole thing… via Tech entrepreneur is converting retired city buses into showers for the San Francisco homeless | MedCity News.

Poetry and Plumbing: Leadership as doing what is required

admin — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 15:53:24 +0000

Pete Scazzero:

“Sometimes our best is not enough. We have to do what is required.” Winston Churchill

Bob Biehl quoted these words to me after listening to my complaint about the detailed, administrative, technical chores that were before me as a leader. I wanted to write, create, preach and train. Hadn’t I been doing these things for the last 26 years?

James March, a former professor on international management at Stanford University, says there are two essential dimensions of leadership: plumbing and poetry. Plumbing refers to the management, i.e. things like fixing the faucet in the bathroom, that are repetitive and often unpleasant. Poetry is the imagination and innovation, the art that most people call ‘leadership.’

“No organization work if the toilets don’t work,” March argues. Yes, we want to be faithful to our God-given life. At the same time, leadership is servanthood. There are no exemptions from that.

via Leadership: Doing What is RequiredPete Scazzero’s Blog | Pete Scazzero’s Blog.

Some thoughts on Mark Charles’s Prayer for Indigenous Peoples and Immigration Reform

admin — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 14:13:08 +0000

Mark Charles is a brother-in-Christ and fellow CCDA leader. This week he posted, “A Prayer for Indigenous Peoples” at his blog here, and then this post was picked up by the Native News Network and posted here. His “Prayer for Indigenous Peoples” is timely (I encourage you to read it out loud). For me, one statement in the prayer in particular focuses the message. It’s this statement:

[Father,] for the glory of your name, I ask you to demonstrate to my country that without being reconciled with, and getting input from, indigenous peoples, this “nation of immigrants” lacks the authority to comprehensively reform immigration law, as well as the ability to rule these lands justly.

How often do we think about the Native American seat at the table in this issue of immigration reform? Do we think Native Americans need, or deserve, or should have a seat at the table?

Charles has a helpful backgrounder on the issue of Native Americans and immigration at this post: An apology, an Appropriations Bill, and a Conversation That Never Happened.

I think Charles is right.

The indigenous hosts of this land must be a significant factor in our country’s deliberations over immigration.

In practical terms, this won’t be easy. How do you unravel hundreds of years of very complicated history and set things right?

I don’t know. But Americans put a man on the moon, sent a submarine to the bottom of the ocean, and elected a Black president. Progress can be made in this area, and it won’t take hundreds of years.

Mark will be here in Grand Rapids on Wednesday, May 1. Restorers is hosting him to engage these topics and more at 7pm. I’ll be there. You are invited.

Opting Out among Women with Elite Education

admin — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 19:32:57 +0000

Joni Hersch:

This paper shows that female graduates of elite institutions have lower labor market involvement than their counterparts from less selective institutions. Although elite graduates are more likely to earn advanced degrees, marry at later ages, and have higher expected earnings, there is little difference in labor market activity by college selectivity among women without children and women who are not married. But the presence of children is associated with far lower labor market activity among married elite graduates. Most women eventually marry and have children, and the net effect is that labor market activity is on average lower among elite graduates than among those from less selective institutions. The largest gap in labor market activity between graduates of elite institutions and less selective institutions is among MBAs, with married mothers who are graduates of elite institutions 30 percentage points less likely to be employed full-time than graduates of less selective institutions.

via Opting Out among Women with Elite Education by Joni Hersch :: SSRN.

Zumba’s Entrepreneurship Lessons

admin — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 15:43:52 +0000

Bradley George:

By taking each of these four steps, the entrepreneurial leaders not only overcame obstacles but also innovated again and again. The story of Zumba has been less about sticking to a single business plan than using a method to test, learn, and apply fresh insight.

The four steps are:

1. Don’t fear failure

2. Experiment now with the means you have available

3. Your product may have a different value than you initially think – listen to your customers

4. Consider adjacent offerings, but learn what sustains the core business

Read the whole thing via Babson College presents: Zumba’s four steps for leading innovation and growth – Boston.com.

The unemployment rate in the Grand Rapids Hope Zones is 25%

admin — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 17:53:48 +0000

See the last line of the image. Second column. Average is 25.5%. A note at the linked page (link below) says that the average is drawn from all four Hope Zones. In the neighborhood where my church – Madison Square Church – is located, the unemployment rate is 27.8%.

CRI : Community Profiles : B2B Hope Zones : B2B Central Zone.

Urban Onramps

In France, turning impoverished banlieues into incubators for entrepreneurs

Related posts:

Evergreen: Here are 10 Nonprofit Funding Models

Related posts:

$3.99 is the best price for a self-published ebook

Related posts:

Oil hungry, SUV-driving, fracking-friendly Texas reduced its carbon emissions more than California & Europe

Related posts:

PayPal Says Its Time to Ditch Passwords and PINs

Related posts:

On pulling off a Snow Fall

Related posts:

Peers Find Less Pressure Borrowing From Each Other

Related posts:

Eventbrite’s New iPad Credit Card Reader Allows Event Organizers To Collect Ticket Payments At The Door

Related posts:

How the Syrian Electronic Army Hacked The Onion

Related posts:

Here’s an internship focused on capital campaigns and annual fund coaching (GR-based)

Related posts:

Alumna Works to Support Business as Missions Organization

Related posts:

How Andrew Sears at TechMission harnesses the Web to fuel urban ministry

Related posts:

BAM & the Olive Tree

Related posts:

TEDx: Successful reentry through entrepreneurship

Related posts:

Here’s A Webinar On The Clergy Housing Exclusion

Related posts:

Here is Dave Ramsey’s advice on student loan debt

Related posts:

Integrate faith and work @ Marketplace Revolution U.S.

Related posts:

Faith-based migration

Related posts:

Overflow Church seeks a full-time Worship Arts Pastor/Director in Benton Harbor, MI

Related posts:

Here’s a 30-year vision for Gospel Entrepreneurship

Related posts:

The most common dream of the poor around the world is that their children become government workers

Related posts:

African Bus Routes Redrawn Using Cell-Phone Data

Related posts:

Not your typical nonprofit coffee shop: Purple Door Coffee in Denver

Related posts:

Text Marketing: This guy says 90% of text-marketed messages get read and acted on

Related posts:

All Dogs & More ready for business

Related posts:

Proposed taqueria just a matter of time for abandoned Wealthy St. gas station

Related posts:

Evangelicals for Social Action on Marketplace Revolution

Related posts:

Introducing Navajo Nation’s First Poet Laureate

Related posts:

What a stupid idea

Related posts:

Zion Cafe is a business-as-mission next to a brothel in Thailand

Related posts:

Shortage of pizza-makers as Italians are too proud

Related posts:

Getting a Ph.D. is easier than launching, sustaining and growing a start-up

Related posts:

Yes, Los Angeles has the worst traffic in the country

Related posts:

Why teenagers really do need an extra hour in bed

Related posts:

Tech entrepreneur converts retired city buses into showers for the homeless

Related posts:

Poetry and Plumbing: Leadership as doing what is required

Related posts:

Some thoughts on Mark Charles’s Prayer for Indigenous Peoples and Immigration Reform

Related posts:

Opting Out among Women with Elite Education

Related posts:

Zumba’s Entrepreneurship Lessons

Related posts:

The unemployment rate in the Grand Rapids Hope Zones is 25%