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The world is split in to two types of people (It isn’t, but there are only so many ways you can open an article!) – those who like shopping, and those who don’t. For the latter group, any time spent travelling to the shops, looking for what they need and making a purchase, is time badly spent. They want everything to be easy. Add into that, the people who do like shopping, but don’t have the time or mobility to shop as often as they’d like, and the appeal and profit potential of  the shop that comes to you, becomes apparent.

More and more businesses are being set up on this simple premise. It works for the customer because he doesn’t have to leave home to get what he wants, and it works for the business because it negates the need for premises – the key cost in most retail enterprises.

So…is there scope for taking your product direct to your customers door? If not, is there some product you’d be happy to have presented and delivered to your own  home, which isn’t currently available in this way ? If there is, chances are that others feel the same way and it could form the basis of a profitable business.

A Perfect Life?

Are you paid £100,000 a year to work part time?
Do you have a house worth £1.5 Million?
Do you drive an Aston Martin?

If so, congratulations…according to a recent survey you have a perfect life!

However, the research involving  3000 people commissioned by Sky Broadband discovered that over 8 out of 10 people were not happy with their current lives and felt they were a long way for achieving their ideal goals. Of those who were not happy with their lives 66% put their problems down to being dissatisfied with their salary and not being able to afford to pay for all of the things they wanted.

40% of people said they would  ideally like to take at least one exotic foreign holiday a year. The four most popular choices of destinations were New York, Australia, the Maldives and the Seychelles.  The most popular area for having a second home was Cornwall.

A spokesman for Sky said, “while a few Brits are content with what they already have, many are simply working towards a better life which involves more money, a bigger house and a fancy car.”

However, not all future happiness was put down to not having enough cash. Both men and women said marriage and children were a very important factor in their future happiness along with spending more time with family and friends.

Spanish Property Hotspot

We talked the other week about the Paramount Studios’ theme park that is coming to Murcia in Spain. The latest set of stats from the National Institute of Statistics – showing 1,308 homes sold in a month compared to a national average of about 100 – suggests Murcia is becoming something of a bottom-fishing hotspot.
 
Valda Cerina of southerncomfit.com is being quoted in various media as saying, "There is evidence of a universal whispering campaign. It is perhaps based on a gut feeling that this region is well placed to pioneer recovery. Investors looking for high returns will find it difficult to find comparable locations." Early days, but more to come on this.

Written By A 90 Year old

The following was written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio.

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I've ever written.

My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree. 
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone. 
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come...
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

UK Property Guides

The Property Ombudsman has a series of four guides for anyone buying, selling, letting or renting residential property. These have been created on the basis of the most common complaints made about estate agents and pick up on various issues.
 
For example, ‘A simple misunderstanding for buyers and tenants is that the agent is working for the person who is their client, normally either the vendor or the landlord. Although they also have a general duty to act fairly to others engaged in the process, their contractual duty is to the person who instructs them.” You can download the guides from www.tpos.co.uk. 

Bottom Fishing Buys

A new property index from real estate advisors Ober Haus suggests that Tallinn, Estonia, Riga, Latvia and Vilnius, Lithuania have all now bottomed out property price-wise. Across the board, prices fell some 40 per cent from their peaks. But they are coming back.
 
Some investors are looking at Tallinn where, according to the index, ‘The upcoming introduction of the euro on January 1, 2011, along with the rise in consumer confidence and drop in unemployment are continuing positive signs for residential prices.’ More to follow.