An interesting story of revitalization …

From the NY Times: The Young and Entrepreneurial move to Downtown Detroit-Pushing its Economic Recovery (ht Brian).

Recent census figures show that Detroits overall population shrank by 25 percent in the last 10 years. But another figure tells a different and more intriguing story: During the same time period, downtown Detroit experienced a 59 percent increase in the number of college-educated residents under the age of 35, nearly 30 percent more than two-thirds of the nations 51 largest cities.

These days the word movement is often heard to describe the influx of socially aware hipsters and artists now roaming the streets of Detroit. Not unlike Berlin, which was revitalized in the 1990s by young artists migrating there for the cheap studio space, Detroit may have this new generation of what city leaders are calling creatives to thank if it comes through its transition from a one-industry.

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Some owners of individual retirement accounts still have bad vibes about the stock market. However, the safest fixed-income investments are paying microscopic returns, and the risk of inflation remains worrisome. That’s why investing some of your IRA money in gold or other precious metals might be appealing. Here’s what you can and can’t do when it comes to your IRA and precious metals.

Physical IRA Ownership of Precious Metal Coins and Bullion

The Internal Revenue Code allows IRAs to own certain gold, silver and platinum coins, as well as gold, silver, platinum and palladium bullion that meet applicable fineness standards. For example, an IRA can own American Gold Eagle coins, Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coins, American Silver Eagle coins, American Platinum Eagle coins and gold and silver bars (bullion) that are 99.9% pure or better. Some well-known gold coins, including the South African Krugerrand, are off limits, as are bullion bars that are not sufficiently pure.

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Setting goals and targets with which to measure success is a sensible and professional way to manage a business. It may be possible for an owner operator or very small business to succeed based on information kept in the proprietors head but once a business starts to grow it becomes vital to establish plans to stay focused.

One of the key benefits of the planning process is that it forces a thought process around where the business should succeed and where potential dangers may lie. One tool in this process is a SWOT analysis – or looking in details at the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats to the business. And the more people that have an input to this process the better since different perspectives can generate interesting views on the markets and competition.

Cashflow is king in any business of any size. No matter how profitable a business may be simply running out of cash to fund the build and delivery timescale can kill. G

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Mobile broadband bills abroad sting customers Around two-thirds of people have been stung with high bills after using their mobile phone abroad, with over 80% of bills reaching £100 more than they would usually be, a study finds.

While many people enjoy their summer holiday, they could return to expensive phone bills by using mobile broadband abroad – in fact, figures from the Carphone Warehouse suggest that almost 80% of smartphone users will surf the net while they’re overseas.The research also showed that only 6% of Brits know how much it costs them to use the internet on their mobile phones.Matt Stringer, UK Managing Director of the Carphone Warehouse, said that there had been a huge increase in the number of smartphones sold in the last year.”However, even though adoption is high, the findings highlight the potentially high costs associated with using smartphones abroad,” he explained.”Data users should keep a look out for Wi-Fi spots where they can connect to the internet without using the local 3G network.”Recently, the Gartner report showed that smartphone sales have soared in 2011, with sales increasing from 54.5 million in the first three months of 2010 to 100.8 million in the same quarter this year. Read all post…

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They say two things are certain in life: death and taxes. To that, I’d add a third: rising health-care costs. According to the latest study by , which monitors medical costs, the cost of health care is projected to rise by 8.5 percent next year, an increase from the 8 percent rise in 2011.

But be thankful for small favors. PwC says costs would actually be increasing more, if it weren’t for factors including:

• Cost sharing. More employers are shifting rising medical costs to employees by requiring them to contribute more to coverage or use high deductible plans (the fastest growing type of plan in 2011).
• Price tiering for out-of-network providers. Risi

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A 30 45 second video can tell a lot about your product or service in a very attractive and concise package. The St. James Acting Studio illustrates this with their latest video announcing their summer 2011 programs.

This small business created their own channel on YouTube to provide information related to their products and services. They constantly upload new student videos to their YouTube channel so potential clients can readily see the progress students make and can evaluate the work they do.

You can engage your target market by showing, on video, how your product solves their problem and takes away their pain.

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