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| Saturday, August 29, 2009 |
| The Achievers: Anita Ahuja - Converting Trash to Treasure |
The Forbes.com article profiles Anita Ahuja, a 47-year Indian women, who has started an organization called Conserve which recycles waste plastic bags into fashion accessories. Not only her ecofriendly business generating good profits but it is also providing employment to many of the city's poor people.
Her organization uses poor garbage pickers to gather waste plastic bags, a source of polyethylene, which are then used for making products such as totes. These products are then exported aboard through wholesalers to countries in Europe and the US.
The products show up in stores in Britain, France and the U.S. (including chains like Whole Foods (nasdaq: WFMI - news - people )) at anywhere from $16 to $50. So far she's sold 174,000 pieces. Last year Conserve brought in $317,000, keeping $150,000 in its for-profit arm. That money was put back into the business and used to run a school for the children of the ragpickers--200 enrolled and counting. Along the way, she's taking on Delhi's recycling mafia and the Indian bureaucracy, and getting a toehold in Parisian fashion. She got the idea of starting Conserve in 1998 while discussing the issues like sewage and garbage with her friends. Her initial idea of recycling the kitchen waste of an entire neighborhood into compost didn't work out. However, as usually happens with most entrepreneurs, that project led her to the idea of recycling waste plastic bags into various homemade accessories.
Over the next two years Ahuja experimented with recycling the bags. She tried weaving them together to create a tarpaulin-like covering for the shacks of slum dwellers. Another time she tried pasting pieces of the polyethylene onto canvas and cardboard. She saw that a thicker fabric could be used to make bric-a-brac like pen holders and file folders, and realized she'd finally found a successful recipe when her homemade products were popular at a fair at the U.S. embassy in New Delhi. She decided to venture into accessories. Buyers of her products now include Global Girlfriend, a Colorodo-based online retailer that sells Conserve totes wholesale to Whole Foods stores. She is also expanding her facility to meet the needs of larger retailers such as Target and Zara. Thanks to Anita's efforts, her organization is not only profitable but it also provides livelihood to many poor garbage pickers and other employees.
Bharti Sharma, a mother of one daughter, does quality control in the workshop and represents the organization at trade fairs--a long way from her ragpicking days. "I've worked here seven years, and my life is so good [that] I have no plans of leaving this place," she says. For complete article, see:
Forbes: Bag LadyLabels: achievers, inspiration, inspiratonal story, motivation, motivational story |
posted by Little Rishi @ Saturday, August 29, 2009
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| Free paid survey panel - PineCone Research |
Pinecone Research, an excellent survey group, is currently accepting new applicants. They sent me an email asking for referrals.
Unlike many other survey panels, they do not regulary have open registration but accept new applicants occasionally. They typically pay $3 per survey and at times, also offer surveys for sweepstake entries. Their surveys are also reasonable in time and generally take under 20 minutes. Payment is made for each survey via Paypal within a couple of days or so of the survey completion. I always look forward to their surveys since once I start them, I know I will get paid rather than getting a message that I am not qualified to take the survey.
To join, see:
Free Paid Survey Panel: PineCone Research
For other free paid survey panels, see:
Free Paid Survey Panel: PineCone Research
Free Paid Survey Panel: HCD Survey Panel
Free Paid Survey Panel: Amazon.com Survey Panel
Free Paid Survey Panel: RewardPort
Free Paid Sites
Please also see Disclosures and DisclaimerLabels: focus groups, free paid survey, free survey panel, PineCone Research, survey |
| posted by Little Rishi @ Friday, August 28, 2009
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| Good, free paid survey panels - HCD Survey Panel |
These days there are lot good survey panels and Web sites that enable people to make some money for participating in surveys and focus groups. One such panel is HCD Survey Panel.
I have been a part of the HCD Survey Panel for quite some time and have been participating in their MediaCurves.com studies. MediaCurves.com conducts many surveys testing TV commercials. These studies are usually small, lasting for 10 minutes or less, and if qualified, you can points for participation. Once you have accumulated 1,000 points, you can cash it out for $10.
They just conducted a study with 300 viewers of a Public Service Announcement (PSA) from the U.K. illustrating the dangers of texting and driving. Results showed that majority of viewers (80%) reported that they are less likely to text while driving after watching the PSA. The study also found that 85% of American viewers reported that the PSA should be aired in the U.S. The majority of viewers (87%) believe that the PSA is appropriate in nature, and 86% also indicated that the PSA was extremely effective.
To view more in-depth results, see:
MediaCurves.com: Americans Less Likely to Text While Driving after Viewing Controversial U.K. Public Service Announcement
To become a member of the panel, see:
HCD Survey Panel
For other free paid survey panels, see:
Free Paid Survey Panel: PineCone Research
Free Paid Survey Panel: HCD Survey Panel
Free Paid Survey Panel: Amazon.com Survey Panel
Free Paid Survey Panel: RewardPort
Free Paid Sites
Please also see Disclosures and DisclaimerLabels: earn money, focus groups, free paid survey, HCD, money opps, survey, survey panel |
| posted by Little Rishi @ Friday, August 28, 2009
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| Wednesday, August 26, 2009 |
| Free books and audiobook, including Robert G. Allen's Multiple Streams of Income |
     
Enlighted Wealth Institute (EWI) is offering a chance to get Robert G. Allen's books free. You can choose from Multiple Streams of Income, Nothing Down for the 2000s, and The One Minute Millionaire. I filled out a form in the morning, and received a link to download the audio book (Multiple Streams of Income) via email in the afternoon.
For details for getting a free book, see:
Free Robert Allen's Books
For free audiobook, see:
Free Audiobook
Related post:
Free 3-day Success Summits-Multiple Streams of Income and Real Estate workshops
Note: I am an Amazon.com and EWI affiliate. Please also see Disclosures and DisclaimerLabels: empowering america, free book, freebies, mag, Robert Allen |
| posted by Little Rishi @ Wednesday, August 26, 2009
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| Free 3-day Success Summits-Multiple Streams of Income and Real Estate workshops |
Enlighted Wealth Institute (EWI) is offering free 3-day success summits, on generating multiple streams of income and real estate investing, in various cities through out the US and Canada. Class timings are 9 AM to 6 PM byt may vary depending on your city. The invitation I received for the Real Estate workshop in September 2009 provided the following partial list of topics that will be covered:- How to find Foreclosures and Pre-Foreclosure Properties
- How to purchase Real Estate with "No Money Down"
- How can I use the Internet to find, fund and farm my Real Estate business?
- How to structure your Real Estate to protect yourself and be as profitable as possible!
- How to find motivated sellers and the best approach to purchase from them
- The Massive Tax Deductions that are available in Real Estate Investing
- How to Create and Maintain your POWER TEAM for exponential Real Estate and Internet results! In addition, the invitation also listed the following free gift for attending the summit: "How to survive in a recession economy - Creating multiple streams of income kit". The kit seems to include various CDs and Robert Allen's Multiple Streams of Income book.
For summit dates and cities, and other details, see:
Enlighted Wealth Institute (EWI) site
For other free EWI events, including Commercial Real Estate Workshops, Real Estate Workshops, Multiple Streams of Income Workshops, Enlightened Wealth Retreats, Enlightened Wealth Summits, and MSI Telecourses, see:
Free EWI Events
For free Robert G. Allen's tele-seminars, see:
Free Robert G. Allen's Teleconferences
Related post:
Free books and audiobook, including Robert G. Allen's Multiple Streams of Income
Note: I am an Amazon.com and EWI affiliate. Please also see Disclosures and DisclaimerLabels: empowering america, free book, free books, freebies, investing, investment, mag, mortgage, real estate, Robert Allen |
| posted by Little Rishi @ Wednesday, August 26, 2009
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| Tuesday, August 25, 2009 |
| Clarion's "Make Your Stay" $1,000,000 Giveaway |
As part of its "Make Your Stay" $1,000,000 Giveaway, Clarion by Choice Hotels is offering a chance to win $1,000,000 in cash and other instant-win prizes like a laptop or digital camera. You can enter daily. Contest ends September 10, 2009 at 11:59 p.m. ET (the "Promotion Period").
For complete details and rules, see:
Clarion's "Make Your Stay" $1,000,000 GiveawayLabels: contests, sweepstakes |
| posted by Little Rishi @ Tuesday, August 25, 2009
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| Friday, August 7, 2009 |
| Chance to win $25 Amazon.com gift card |
Christian Personal Finance, an excellent personal finance blog site, is offering a chance to win $25 Amazon.com gift card. To enter, you need to post a comment on any of its Christian PF Forums.
For deadline and other details, see:
ChristianPF.com: Amazon Gift Card GiveawayLabels: contest, free Amazon.com gift card, freebies, giveaway |
| posted by Little Rishi @ Friday, August 07, 2009
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| Wednesday, August 5, 2009 |
| Saving on passport photos |
Recently, had to get passport photos in 4.5 cm x 3.5 cm size for mailing to Canada. For some reasons, stores like CVS etc in my area only provide standard passport photos for use in the US, so they couldn't provide me the photo in 4.5 cm x 3.5 cm size. The alternative was to head to private photographers where I knew I would have to pay at least $25 and above. Instead, I headed to a free Website called ePassportPhoto to create my own photo. All I had to do was to get our pictures taken using our own digital camera.
The process of creating passport photos was very simple - I just had to upload one of our photos and then the site converted it into a passport-sized photo. For each photo I uploaded, it generally creates 4-8 individual photos (depending on the size of each individual photo) on a 4 x 6 photo; in my case, it created 7 photos in 4.5 cm x 3.5 cm size. The only thing I had to do after that was to download the jpg photo file. The entire process took less than 5 minutes. I then uploaded the photo jpg file at the online photo center at Wal-Mart and picked up the photo at their local store on the next trip. Total cost for the seven passport-sized photos? Under 25 cents, inclusive of sales tax! So I paid about 25 cents for the seven photos instead of $8-$10 we used to pay in the past for 2-4 passport pictures at stores like CVS, Costco, etc. So it was a really good deal - not only I got two photos in the required size that I needed to submit with my application but now I also have five additional pics for future use.
The photo site, by the way, does allow you to upload the pics to Snapfish or other online shops from the links on that site but we go to Wal-Mart frequently and didn't mind waiting to pick up the photo until our next trip there. Another good thing about the site is that it allows you to create passport-sized photos by allowing you to choose from various countries, including US, Canada, Thailand, Malaysia, South Africa etc. In addition, it gives you the option to specify whether the photos should be sized for passports, visa or greencard.
To details, see:
ePassportPhoto
Airline Miles Credit Cards Hotel & Travel Rewards Credit Cards Cash Back Credit Cards Gas Rebate Credit CardsLabels: Canada, frugal, passport photos |
| posted by Little Rishi @ Wednesday, August 05, 2009
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| Tuesday, August 4, 2009 |
| Free ebook at Oprah.com: Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann (till Aug 5, 2009) |
  From 11 a.m. ET Monday on August 5, 2009 until 10:59 a.m. ET on August 5, 2009, Random House is offering Colum McCann's new novel, Let the Great World Spin, as a free download Oprah.com. Oprah.com membership (free) is required to download.
Colum McCann's video on "Let the Great World Spin", see:
Video
For complete details, see:
Oprah.com: Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
Airline Miles Credit Cards Hotel & Travel Rewards Credit Cards Cash Back Credit Cards Gas Rebate Credit CardsLabels: free book, free ebook, freebies, mag |
| posted by Little Rishi @ Tuesday, August 04, 2009
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| Sunday, August 2, 2009 |
| 5,000 Delta Skymiles/NorthWest WorldPerks frequent flier miles for LASIK eye exam |
For a limited time, LasikPlus is offering 5,000 Delta Skymiles or NorthWest WorldPerks frequent flyer miles for attending a free LASIK eye exam. You can also get 20,000 miles for LASIK procedure.
For complete details, see:
LasikPlus: Delta Skymiles/NorthWest WorldPerks frequent flier miles offer
Airline Miles Credit Cards Hotel & Travel Rewards Credit Cards Cash Back Credit Cards Gas Rebate Credit CardsLabels: free miles, freebies, frequent flier miles, frugal, mile |
| posted by Little Rishi @ Sunday, August 02, 2009
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| Favorite Quote |
"Work is worship".
- Author Unknown
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