October already! Harrison Murray Estate Agency and the Nottingham Estate Agency have issued a seasonal reminder and some hints and tips on how to keep your property safe. 

‘Lighting. Consider installing motion-sensitive lighting fixtures above front doors, porches, garage doors and entrances to back gardens. Fit timers to indoor lights when you are out for the evening or going on holiday.’

‘Codes. If you are moving into a new property, familiarise yourself with the alarm and set a new passcode. And above all, don’t forget to use it!’

‘Locks. Securely bolt or padlock side/back gates. Fit window locks to all downstairs windows, and to easily accessible upstairs windows. Remove any ladders that could be used to gain access through upstairs windows or a flat roof.’

‘Be letterbox aware. As vehicle theft becomes more sophisticated, and often to order, thieves turn to letterboxes to obtain keys. Make sure you put these and other valuables out of easy reach and sight of the front door.’

‘Valuables. Put your mark on valuables with a UV pen – a discreet way to identify your items if they are stolen.’

‘Sheds. Many sheds are used to store cycles, garden equipment and tools. Ensure you have a sturdy padlock on your shed door. The same goes for your garage.’

‘Vision. If possible, don’t allow the front of your home to be obscured by trees or hedges that may provide hiding places for thieves.’

‘Opportunist thieves often turn to Facebook and Twitter to target unsuspecting victims, so don’t divulge information regarding your whereabouts. And never reveal that your property is empty.’

‘Neighbourhood Watch. Be a good neighbour and join the local Neighbourhood Watch group. If you are new to the area, this is also a great way of getting to know your neighbourhood and meeting new people.’

Smashburger

There can be few markets more ‘mature’ than the one for fast food – and hamburgers in particular. With companies like Macdonalds, Burger King and dozens of others, firmly established in the market, it seems pretty unlikely that a newcomer could come along and prosper. And yet Smashburger have done just that in the US, opening over 200 restaurants in the past 5 years. They describe their strategy as a simple one – build a better burger.

I wouldn’t recommend starting a hamburger chain, unless you have very deep pockets, but the success of Smashburger proves something important – there’s always room in any market for individuals  or companies who are prepared to go the extra mile, and sneak up on the sleepy or complacent, established competition.

Today’s National Day

NATIONAL INNER BEAUTY DAY!

PUBLISHERS NOTICE

Dear Streewise Customer,

 A few weeks ago, I received an email from a guy making an astonishing claim. He claimed to be making £3,000-£6,000 a month using a gambling system which, when used correctly, could never lose!

Needless to say, there were all sorts of questions flying around my
head…

       . Is there really no risk?

       . Did he have proof?

       . Can anyone do it?

       . How is it done exactly?


  For the answers take a look here:

http://www.streetwisenews.com/Glatrad/

I’ve seen detailed video evidence of this being done and it’s no exaggeration  to say that this is the holy grail. If you hate losing, you’re going to love this.

Take a look now. 

Kind Regards

John Harrison 

  P.S I’ve arranged for you to try this out risk free for the next 90 days.
       Once you’ve learned how to do this, you can use it for life.

NAEA Propertymark has revealed the worst devaluers of a property.

‘Installing solar panels. The problem with technology is that it ages quickly, and it can be expensive to upgrade. Solar panels can also appear as unsightly and unattractive.’

‘Swimming pools. Although great fun for a weekend or two in the summer, swimming pools in Britain aren’t usually considered an attractive house feature. They’re expensive to maintain and use up a lot of space.’

‘Over personalisation. If your taste is particularly colourful or bold, it might be worth re-decorating before you start to market your home. Typically, modestly decorated homes are most desirable.’

‘Planning permission and building regulations. If you have had any works carried out while you’ve been living in the property, such as extensions or conversions, make sure you obtained appropriate planning permission and building regulations, and have access to these documents.’

‘Darkened rooms. If you have two identical properties, and one is bright and airy while the other is dark and dingy, nine times out of the ten, the brighter one will be worth more, because it’s more desirable.’

Upcycling Profits

If you watch the Apprentice, you may have seen an example of upcycling – the process of reusing unwanted items by converting them into something better. In this case, it was old clothes, scarves and ties which were transformed into new garments which sold at eye watering prices.

Upcycling is something of a trend, appealing as it does to the modern pre-occupation with environmental issues and reducing waste. We recently came across Dutch company Dead jeans who have taken this on board. They recognised that people can grow quite attached to their old jeans and that when they wear out, not all the garment is useless. With that in mind, if you carefully cut out the back pocket of your beloved denims, the company will fashion it into a felt lined phone sock. Price is a far from frugal 30 Euros. Not bad for the company when you figure out that someone else provided the materials!

So…could you bring a pair of old denims back to life in some way or other, which would yield a profit. Or could you upcycle some other garment? We’d love to hear how you get on with this, although anyone who decides to try something with old underpants will be excluded from the newsletter without warning!

Today’s National Day

NATIONAL GET FUNKY DAY!

PUBLISHERS NOTICE

Dear Streewise Customer,

 A few weeks ago, I received an email from a guy making an astonishing claim. He claimed to be making £3,000-£6,000 a month using a gambling system which, when used correctly, could never lose!

Needless to say, there were all sorts of questions flying around my
head…

       . Is there really no risk?

       . Did he have proof?

       . Can anyone do it?

       . How is it done exactly?


  For the answers take a look here:

http://www.streetwisenews.com/Glatrad/

I’ve seen detailed video evidence of this being done and it’s no exaggeration  to say that this is the holy grail. If you hate losing, you’re going to love this.

Take a look now. 

Kind Regards

John Harrison 

  P.S I’ve arranged for you to try this out risk free for the next 90 days.
       Once you’ve learned how to do this, you can use it for life.

There seems little doubt that parking in major cities is only going to get worse. That’s the issue behind Parking Auction, a new I phone app which attempts to match users with spaces.

The app was launched recently on Manhattans Upper West Side. Users can log on and for a fee, and be connected to another user who is vacating a space – for a fee. Strictly speaking, it isn’t legal to ‘sell’ a parking space and so what the service is providing, is ‘information’. I’m not sure what the difference is in practical terms though.

Having spent more time than I care to think about, driving around towns and cities looking for that elusive parking spot, I can fully appreciate the need. Who wouldn’t pay a couple of quid for a parking space when they’ve been driving around for twenty minutes? Perhaps one to investigate here in the UK then.

Thinking more broadly, what other ‘free resource’ might be ripe for similar treatment? I’d happily pay to take someone’s place at the front of a queue for example. Could that be a basis of an app based service as well?

Superior Swimwear

Successful businesses often have their birth in a personal problem. So it was with Manchester student Alex Dixon when she was looking for swimwear for her own curvy figure. There simply weren’t the attractive designs which were available to those with smaller sized breasts.

With the help of a £2,500 government loan Alex set up Beach Bacchanal, which allows customers to have a hand in designing their own swimwear through online liaison. The key benefit is that the brand brings the styles which are normally only available for slimmer figures, to a wider audience with a D cup or above.

I don’t know much about woman’s swimwear but I do know that mainstream clothing manufaturers seem to focus on a pretty narrow band of body shapes with what they can offer, and that many people who fall outside of the ‘norm’ are left short changed. Swimwear is just one area of clothing where this type of opportunity exists.

Today’s National Day

NATIONAL BODY LANGUAGE DAY!

PUBLISHERS NOTICE

Dear Streetwise Customer,

Imagine if your betting profits were a nailed on 100% certainty…that you were guaranteed to never lose a bet…and that there was a totally fool proof system you could deploy that would only ever win or break even at worst. Well thanks to a rule which every bookmaker in the UK is forced to follow, you dont have to imagine it.

Becouase It’s The Loophole To End All Loopholes!

And for reasons I’ll explain fully, it’s a loophole that’s open to anyone and everyone with an internet connection…and it will be open forever.

Here’s your chance to find out about this secret loophole for yourself, because Nick has come up with a unique offer that will put almost £300 in your pocket…even if you prove him wrong!    

For full details Visit:

www.streetwisenews.com/hogf 

Take a look now. You’re going to love this one!   

Very Best Wishes,

John Harrison
Streetwise Publications

One of the subjects I can rant on at will (of which there are many!) is the sizing of shirts. It’s just so difficult to get one to fit properly, and it’s not hard to see why. We’re all different shapes and sizes and the mainstream manufacturers do little more than give you the small/medium/large sizing options. A New Jersey based company is tackling the problem.

Stantt has gathered data about the different shapes of men’s bodies using 3D modelling in order to develop a system for easily creating clothing that fits, to order. Stantt customers simply enter in their chest, waist and sleeve length and the company will automatically pick the best shirt shape and size out of a range of 50 in order to best suit their needs. Threadmason is another company that is challenging the generic sizing of men’s clothing. Using the same three measurements, the New-York based company has created 24 sizes that offer varying lengths and cuts for the torso and sleeves for T shirts.

These are two US based companies. I’m not sure whether a similar service exists here in the UK, but the problem certainly does. Consumers are increasingly demanding more choice, and there are profits to be made for those who deliver it.

Online Mapping

Online mapping seems to be an idea with almost infinite spin-off potential. I recently came across “walk, jog, run” which enables you to map and then get data on any walk or run you’ve either done or are considering. Site users can store walks or runs they’ve done for other users to view and copy. Other sites map film locations, music venues and beauty spots. A site has even recently been set up in San Fransisco to map every tree in the city.

Whatever your interest, it seems there’s a potential to set up a mapping site linked to it, and once you’re under way, much of the content will be supplied by site users, who by their nature will be geographically dispersed and ‘on the spot’ to provide the local low down.

So, what information would you like to see mapped? If you’d like to see it, and it’s not available yet, chances are that other people would like to see it as well.

Today’s National Day

NATIONAL HAIR DAY!

PUBLISHERS NOTICE

Dear Streetwise Customer,

Imagine if your betting profits were a nailed on 100% certainty…that you were guaranteed to never lose a bet…and that there was a totally fool proof system you could deploy that would only ever win or break even at worst. Well thanks to a rule which every bookmaker in the UK is forced to follow, you dont have to imagine it.

Becouase It’s The Loophole To End All Loopholes!

And for reasons I’ll explain fully, it’s a loophole that’s open to anyone and everyone with an internet connection…and it will be open forever.

Here’s your chance to find out about this secret loophole for yourself, because Nick has come up with a unique offer that will put almost £300 in your pocket…even if you prove him wrong!    

For full details Visit:

www.streetwisenews.com/hogf 

Take a look now. You’re going to love this one!   

Very Best Wishes,

John Harrison
Streetwise Publications

Google haven’t done too badly over the past 20 years or so – are we agreed on that? Then it makes sense that we can all learn something from the way they operate…something we can use in our own businesses and enterprises.

The people at Google realised something important fairly early – it’s virtually impossible to predict which products or services will take off and fly, and which will crash and burn fairly quickly. And so they don’t waste time perfecting an idea before launching it on the market. Teams are urged to launch quickly, perfect what’s working based on feedback from users, and drop the losers fast. It’s an approach that can be a little stressful from a customer service point of view (lots of people using products which aren’t properly developed) but as a vehicle for getting things done fast, it takes some beating.

One of the huge mistakes I see people making all the time, is perfecting an offering before even finding out whether enough people want it. Far better to have an imperfect product which everyone wants than a perfect one without a market.

Dating Service For Married People

Dating agencies face a paradox which is far from unique – the more successful they are at their job, the quicker they lose their customers. It’s a problem which wasn’t lost on the owners Howaboutwe, who found their membership dwindling – not because they were bad, in fact quite the reverse. The solution they came up with could be a model for other businesses in the same position.

The company launched a new dating portal for married/committed couples with the aim of helping them keep the magic alive by getting out of their rut and out on the town. The site provides information and advice to help keep romance alive.

Every business that solves customer problems should ask themselves the following question – “What might my customer need next?” Once you have a relationship with a customer, it’s a shame to leave someone else to benefit from serving their future needs.

Today’s National Day

NATIONAL MUD PACK DAY!

PUBLISHERS NOTICE

Dear Streetwise Customer,

Imagine if your betting profits were a nailed on 100% certainty…that you were guaranteed to never lose a bet…and that there was a totally fool proof system you could deploy that would only ever win or break even at worst. Well thanks to a rule which every bookmaker in the UK is forced to follow, you dont have to imagine it.

Becouase It’s The Loophole To End All Loopholes!

And for reasons I’ll explain fully, it’s a loophole that’s open to anyone and everyone with an internet connection…and it will be open forever.

Here’s your chance to find out about this secret loophole for yourself, because Nick has come up with a unique offer that will put almost £300 in your pocket…even if you prove him wrong!    

For full details Visit:

www.streetwisenews.com/hogf 

Take a look now. You’re going to love this one!   

Very Best Wishes,

John Harrison
Streetwise Publications