My .00001 cent....thanks for asking

Moving:
What was popular here was the "starving
student moving companies"...I think the
company has fallen on hard times lately
but one strong idea in the concept is using
"young able bodied university students" to
do the moving. doesn't quite answer your
question but perhaps some insight in it for
someone.

Also I've moved four times : I use a professional
moving company which is the Delancey Street
Movers(private organization which helps ex-
convicts in gainful employment and community
living) I like their work. They like their
jobs and they are fast professional movers.
I'd rather pay extra to help a civic minded
organization and for a good job. No Website-
they don't need it: word of mouth works fine
and free publicity in newspapers.

> I recently helped my niece move and she
> temporarily hired a couple of guys and their
> truck...and a couple of skeez buckets showed
> up and I fired them on the spot...
(can definitely relate to this experience)...

an aside business takeoff:

*place where you can get boxes and the tools
you need for your move
*people who will come in and do professional
packing for seniors and those with disabilities.

> So, we are wondering about the feasibility
> of a Man With a Van type of service?

Man with a Van is a great idea for helping
people to get things from flea markets to their
home. I know I've seen things while out walking
(without a car) and passed them up because of
the logistics of getting a van and movers. (
a business idea in there somewhere)

> Do you have one in your area?

No man with a van per se. But most of the
furniture stores have "contracted" with people
with moving vans or trucks to do moving of
major appliances or small furniture groupings.
No website.

> If you have moved

As far as payment it varies: usually the moving
company decides whether 2-3 people needed for
the task and how many miles you're traveling
to and from the move...Also they look at the
number of pieces being moved...
In general I'd say for an average furniture
mover I know of:
3 men, 6 rooms, 1 large truck, traveling about
total 35 miles(includes them traveling to your
home) around $700-850...now I'm not an expert
and I'm sure this figure fluctuates for area
gas prices, locale , whether the move involves
taking things upstairs versus elevators , terrain
etc....

> BUSINESS 3...JEWELRY. The home made kind.

Once worked in a boutique which sold hand
crafted jewelry and other handmaid items
as well...

*biggest problem for artisans: getting their
jewelry to the big markets...they usually start
out either contracting someone to take their
jewelry to many different small retail stores
within a certain mile radius(professional
sales reps want about 10-30% depending on if
the artist is well known or not and other factors)
or doing the marketing themselves(they found
that harder because of the rejection factor in
sales)

If you're able to attend one of the wholesaler
trade shows (as a guest: for free) you would
learn a lot from the sales reps about what it
takes to get your jewelry to the larger markets...

Another idea is to come up with designs and
have a group of young teens make the jewelry
and or design it and rep it for them...(classes
in making jewelry is HOT HOT HOT)...2-3 hr
basic jewelry making classes can command 25.00/
head(you supply the tools) the students will
keep coming back for more classes...

Street artists do well around tourist areas...
(small-medium table displays)

> have a couple of friends doing some serious
> jewelry making, one in glass beads the other
> in PMC (precious metal clay).

Some artists get together and rent out a
small store but display to give the impression
of one big store and share retail sales responsibilities....

One of the most successful women(deceased now)
had a small boutique(no more than 600 square
feet) and filled up all the space with not
only handmade jewelry but handmade clothing
as well on an "exotic asian theme"; she did
real well...

> Now in case you don't know this, the JEWELRY
> business is practically recession proof.

Definitely so! (accessories sell when clothes
don't--because you can get so much mileage with
accessories)

> ONE marketing concept we are using is to
> have a MOBILE showcase

Some hair salons welcome the mobile showcase
of jewelry because their long sitting customers
get bored. However, I've found the jewelry moves
better when the cost is no more than 25-30
dollars because paying for nails and hairstyling
takes up much of your money. Usually people will
buy a new pair of earrings , necklace etc because
they may have a special event to go to ....

> Another potential is to supply the hair
salon owners with "unique" accessories no
other salon has...it brings in foot traffic.
But the key: uniqueness..most retail owners
get upset when anothe salon has similar jewelry.

Aside:
Recently went on a vacation to New York and
what was very hot was : "designer knock offs
on street corners" and WATCHES--people were
buying watches like crazy. One guy owned a
small boutique in the 4 star hotel I stayed
in and all the watches were 11.99....on the
street all teh watches are 10.00...go figure:
watches are major accessories--the garment
district of manhattan has lots of watch whole
salers...choosing watches which look like
movado, gucci , rolex etc is the key....