A reader writes:

The idea that this recession is over is a myth. A little more than two years ago, I left a pretty well-paying corporate job behind because it was making me miserable. I enrolled at the University of Wales, earned a Masters Degree, and returned home. Since then, I've held two jobs. The first, which I started a year ago, was a temp job doing pretty much what I'd been doing before I left, albeit for less money – but I took it because I needed money to start paying down my college loans. That job dried up in April.

After five months of being jobless (and unqualified for unemployment, since I hadn't held a permanent position), I recently started as an instructor at a junior college about fifty miles from where I live. It's a part-time job, and it doesn't pay much, but at least it's work. My financial situation is still in the toilet, but at least now I can see the top of the bowl. Thankfully, my parents have allowed me to stay at their house during this time, which has alleviated much of my financial burden. Unfortunately, that may not remain an option for very long.

My dad, who immigrated here from Ireland in the mid-'70s, is a butcher by trade, but, with my mom's help, he has run his own sausage-making business since I was born. A few years ago, he finally had enough clients to give up butchering and stake out his own claim as a wholesaler. He has about four or five times as many customers now as he did then, but their week-to-week orders are down, meaning he's having trouble making ends meet.

This morning, my dad, who will turn 63 next May and has problems walking thanks to some asshole who plowed into his car five years ago, told me that he's been applying for jobs as a courier or delivery man – the only things outside of butchering for which he's really qualified, since his only educational background is in some GED courses he took in the '70s. Meanwhile, to try to make ends meet, my mom, who turns 55 next week, has been desperately seeking her own second job. Because, aside from my dad's business, she hasn't held a full-time job since I was a baby, she is understandably filled with an immense amount of self-doubt. Three times this week, I've heard her quietly sobbing in front of the computer as she scours different websites, growing ever-more frustrated with the hoops through which many companies make candidates jump.

After the accident I mentioned, my dad's insurance company dropped them as clients. They have a different insurer now, but the premiums are astronomical – through no fault of their own, only through the fault of the afore-mentioned asshole. My little brother, who's finishing up his last year in college, has a crazy amount of food allergies, so they are completely paranoid about losing the health insurance for his sake. Had I the money, I'd help them out myself; but I barely have enough to meet my loan payments. Then this, which my mom just told me a few hours ago: For the first time in their lives, my folks are worried they're going to miss a mortgage payment because they simply don't have the money in the bank to pay it.

My parents aren't like those irresponsible people at which pseudo-libertarians point – the type who got in over their heads and now expect society's or the government's support. My dad worked for twenty years to build his business to a point at which it could be his last job; his hope was to sell the business in a few years in order to retire. But he's not even close to that; in fact, it seems like he's further away than ever. My parents have never been late on any bills. They work hard, pay their taxes, and are active members in the community. They've done everything that they were supposed to do. Similarly, I've done what I was supposed to do: gone to school, worked hard, gotten a good education, and decided to give back by teaching at a JC attended heavily by minorities. And yet, we're still drowning.

The recession isn't over; it's killing us. What's worse is that it appears to me that the American Dream isn't just, as punk rocker Ben Weasel put it, "an ugly fucking lie." The American Dream is nonexistent. When I see those who contribute nothing to society getting further and further ahead while my parents, whom I have seen work their asses off my whole life, drift further and further behind, I find that belief in the American Dream is like a belief in Santa Claus – a story told to kids to keep them in line.

startups, Software, apparel

Where Bras Meet Software: Zyrra Raises Money From Jess McLear, Jean Hammond, & Local Angels For Its Bra Industry “Revolution”

Erin Kutz 10/19/10

Derek Ohly is known as the “bra guy,” both around the office at MassChallenge, the startup accelerator and entrepreneur competition, and throughout the Boston-area investor community, he says.

“I didn’t expect to end up in the world of bras, and here I am,” says Ohly, a graduate of Babson College’s MBA program (a likely story). “I have designed them, sewn them, fit them, and sourced them. As I like to put it, I have a PhD in bras.”

This isn’t just a weird hobby for Ohly. He’s CEO of Zyrra, a MassChallenge finalist company that’s using computer-aided-design (CAD) software, a patent-pending bra measurement system, and Tupperware-style parties to get custom-fit bras into the hands of women who just aren’t happy with how theirs currently fit.

“Bra guy” is a relatively new gig for Ohly, dating back to about 2004, when his MBA classmate and now Zyrra co-founder Christi Andersen mentioned that there was a pervasive problem with bra fit. So Ohly, who says he was overwhelmed by the number of women sharing Andersen’s gripes, set out in the bra business. He started by taking a sewing class at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education.

“I said, ‘I’m here to learn how to make bras.’ It was a good moment,” he says, noting that he was the only guy in the class. The group of women responded, “Sign me up,” when he explained his aim to make better-fitting bras—early market validation for the company’s product, he says.

Zyrra incorporated in late 2004 and spent a few years designing, prototyping, and building the bra models and the sizing system to plug into the CAD platform in order to design them in a more individualized way, and came out with its first bra model around 2007. The startup worked out of office space in Boston’s Chinatown neighborhood before moving to MassChallenge for the accelerator and business plan competition phase this summer.

Ohly and Andersen’s company isn’t just unique in that it’s applying software that’s typically been used for architecture and product development in the electronics, engineering, and furniture sectors to lingerie-making. The startup also has a different makeup of investors than most others in the tech space. The lead investor for its Series A financing, which is expected to close later this month in the range of $500,000 to $700,000, is angel investor Jess McLear, a member of angel group Golden Seeds and also a mentor at MassChallenge. Jean Hammond, another Golden Seeds member, has also backed the company.

“The angel community is about 90 percent men,” Ohly says. “We will have a slightly different breakdown.”

The company sells its bras (as well as matching underwear) through …Next Page »

Erin Kutz is an Assistant Editor for Xconomy. You can reach her by e-mail at ekutz@xconomy.com or by phone at (617) 252-0700.

robert shumake detroit

Loopt adds Facebook Places integration | iLounge News

iLounge news discussing the Loopt adds Facebook Places integration. Find more iPhone news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.

Hard News Pays Better Than Fluff — or Does It?: Tech News «

A study has drawn attention in media circles by suggesting that stories on "serious topics" such as the Gulf oil spill draw more revenue for media outlets than stories about celebrities like Lindsay Lohan. But the reality is a little ...

Macsimum News - Apple number 65 on 'Newsweek' environmental ranking

MacsimumNews - Your Leading Apple News Alternative. Apple number 65 on 'Newsweek' environmental ranking. Posted by Dennis Sellers Apple ico Oct 19, 2010 at 7:59am. image Yesterday we noted that “Newsweek” has released its list of ...

robert shumake hall of shame

A reader writes:

The idea that this recession is over is a myth. A little more than two years ago, I left a pretty well-paying corporate job behind because it was making me miserable. I enrolled at the University of Wales, earned a Masters Degree, and returned home. Since then, I've held two jobs. The first, which I started a year ago, was a temp job doing pretty much what I'd been doing before I left, albeit for less money – but I took it because I needed money to start paying down my college loans. That job dried up in April.

After five months of being jobless (and unqualified for unemployment, since I hadn't held a permanent position), I recently started as an instructor at a junior college about fifty miles from where I live. It's a part-time job, and it doesn't pay much, but at least it's work. My financial situation is still in the toilet, but at least now I can see the top of the bowl. Thankfully, my parents have allowed me to stay at their house during this time, which has alleviated much of my financial burden. Unfortunately, that may not remain an option for very long.

My dad, who immigrated here from Ireland in the mid-'70s, is a butcher by trade, but, with my mom's help, he has run his own sausage-making business since I was born. A few years ago, he finally had enough clients to give up butchering and stake out his own claim as a wholesaler. He has about four or five times as many customers now as he did then, but their week-to-week orders are down, meaning he's having trouble making ends meet.

This morning, my dad, who will turn 63 next May and has problems walking thanks to some asshole who plowed into his car five years ago, told me that he's been applying for jobs as a courier or delivery man – the only things outside of butchering for which he's really qualified, since his only educational background is in some GED courses he took in the '70s. Meanwhile, to try to make ends meet, my mom, who turns 55 next week, has been desperately seeking her own second job. Because, aside from my dad's business, she hasn't held a full-time job since I was a baby, she is understandably filled with an immense amount of self-doubt. Three times this week, I've heard her quietly sobbing in front of the computer as she scours different websites, growing ever-more frustrated with the hoops through which many companies make candidates jump.

After the accident I mentioned, my dad's insurance company dropped them as clients. They have a different insurer now, but the premiums are astronomical – through no fault of their own, only through the fault of the afore-mentioned asshole. My little brother, who's finishing up his last year in college, has a crazy amount of food allergies, so they are completely paranoid about losing the health insurance for his sake. Had I the money, I'd help them out myself; but I barely have enough to meet my loan payments. Then this, which my mom just told me a few hours ago: For the first time in their lives, my folks are worried they're going to miss a mortgage payment because they simply don't have the money in the bank to pay it.

My parents aren't like those irresponsible people at which pseudo-libertarians point – the type who got in over their heads and now expect society's or the government's support. My dad worked for twenty years to build his business to a point at which it could be his last job; his hope was to sell the business in a few years in order to retire. But he's not even close to that; in fact, it seems like he's further away than ever. My parents have never been late on any bills. They work hard, pay their taxes, and are active members in the community. They've done everything that they were supposed to do. Similarly, I've done what I was supposed to do: gone to school, worked hard, gotten a good education, and decided to give back by teaching at a JC attended heavily by minorities. And yet, we're still drowning.

The recession isn't over; it's killing us. What's worse is that it appears to me that the American Dream isn't just, as punk rocker Ben Weasel put it, "an ugly fucking lie." The American Dream is nonexistent. When I see those who contribute nothing to society getting further and further ahead while my parents, whom I have seen work their asses off my whole life, drift further and further behind, I find that belief in the American Dream is like a belief in Santa Claus – a story told to kids to keep them in line.

startups, Software, apparel

Where Bras Meet Software: Zyrra Raises Money From Jess McLear, Jean Hammond, & Local Angels For Its Bra Industry “Revolution”

Erin Kutz 10/19/10

Derek Ohly is known as the “bra guy,” both around the office at MassChallenge, the startup accelerator and entrepreneur competition, and throughout the Boston-area investor community, he says.

“The angel community is about 90 percent men,” Ohly says. “We will have a slightly different breakdown.”

The company sells its bras (as well as matching underwear) through …Next Page »

Erin Kutz is an Assistant Editor for Xconomy. You can reach her by e-mail at ekutz@xconomy.com or by phone at (617) 252-0700.

bench craft company reviews

Loopt adds Facebook Places integration | iLounge News

iLounge news discussing the Loopt adds Facebook Places integration. Find more iPhone news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.

Hard News Pays Better Than Fluff — or Does It?: Tech News «

Macsimum News - Apple number 65 on 'Newsweek' environmental ranking

robert shumake detroit

robert shumake detroit

robert shumake detroit

Loopt adds Facebook Places integration | iLounge News

iLounge news discussing the Loopt adds Facebook Places integration. Find more iPhone news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.

Hard News Pays Better Than Fluff — or Does It?: Tech News «

Macsimum News - Apple number 65 on 'Newsweek' environmental ranking

robert shumake twitter

A reader writes:

The idea that this recession is over is a myth. A little more than two years ago, I left a pretty well-paying corporate job behind because it was making me miserable. I enrolled at the University of Wales, earned a Masters Degree, and returned home. Since then, I've held two jobs. The first, which I started a year ago, was a temp job doing pretty much what I'd been doing before I left, albeit for less money – but I took it because I needed money to start paying down my college loans. That job dried up in April.

After five months of being jobless (and unqualified for unemployment, since I hadn't held a permanent position), I recently started as an instructor at a junior college about fifty miles from where I live. It's a part-time job, and it doesn't pay much, but at least it's work. My financial situation is still in the toilet, but at least now I can see the top of the bowl. Thankfully, my parents have allowed me to stay at their house during this time, which has alleviated much of my financial burden. Unfortunately, that may not remain an option for very long.

My dad, who immigrated here from Ireland in the mid-'70s, is a butcher by trade, but, with my mom's help, he has run his own sausage-making business since I was born. A few years ago, he finally had enough clients to give up butchering and stake out his own claim as a wholesaler. He has about four or five times as many customers now as he did then, but their week-to-week orders are down, meaning he's having trouble making ends meet.

This morning, my dad, who will turn 63 next May and has problems walking thanks to some asshole who plowed into his car five years ago, told me that he's been applying for jobs as a courier or delivery man – the only things outside of butchering for which he's really qualified, since his only educational background is in some GED courses he took in the '70s. Meanwhile, to try to make ends meet, my mom, who turns 55 next week, has been desperately seeking her own second job. Because, aside from my dad's business, she hasn't held a full-time job since I was a baby, she is understandably filled with an immense amount of self-doubt. Three times this week, I've heard her quietly sobbing in front of the computer as she scours different websites, growing ever-more frustrated with the hoops through which many companies make candidates jump.

After the accident I mentioned, my dad's insurance company dropped them as clients. They have a different insurer now, but the premiums are astronomical – through no fault of their own, only through the fault of the afore-mentioned asshole. My little brother, who's finishing up his last year in college, has a crazy amount of food allergies, so they are completely paranoid about losing the health insurance for his sake. Had I the money, I'd help them out myself; but I barely have enough to meet my loan payments. Then this, which my mom just told me a few hours ago: For the first time in their lives, my folks are worried they're going to miss a mortgage payment because they simply don't have the money in the bank to pay it.

My parents aren't like those irresponsible people at which pseudo-libertarians point – the type who got in over their heads and now expect society's or the government's support. My dad worked for twenty years to build his business to a point at which it could be his last job; his hope was to sell the business in a few years in order to retire. But he's not even close to that; in fact, it seems like he's further away than ever. My parents have never been late on any bills. They work hard, pay their taxes, and are active members in the community. They've done everything that they were supposed to do. Similarly, I've done what I was supposed to do: gone to school, worked hard, gotten a good education, and decided to give back by teaching at a JC attended heavily by minorities. And yet, we're still drowning.

The recession isn't over; it's killing us. What's worse is that it appears to me that the American Dream isn't just, as punk rocker Ben Weasel put it, "an ugly fucking lie." The American Dream is nonexistent. When I see those who contribute nothing to society getting further and further ahead while my parents, whom I have seen work their asses off my whole life, drift further and further behind, I find that belief in the American Dream is like a belief in Santa Claus – a story told to kids to keep them in line.

startups, Software, apparel

Where Bras Meet Software: Zyrra Raises Money From Jess McLear, Jean Hammond, & Local Angels For Its Bra Industry “Revolution”

Erin Kutz 10/19/10

Derek Ohly is known as the “bra guy,” both around the office at MassChallenge, the startup accelerator and entrepreneur competition, and throughout the Boston-area investor community, he says.

“The angel community is about 90 percent men,” Ohly says. “We will have a slightly different breakdown.”

The company sells its bras (as well as matching underwear) through …Next Page »

Erin Kutz is an Assistant Editor for Xconomy. You can reach her by e-mail at ekutz@xconomy.com or by phone at (617) 252-0700.

robert shumake detroit

robert shumake twitter

Loopt adds Facebook Places integration | iLounge News

iLounge news discussing the Loopt adds Facebook Places integration. Find more iPhone news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.

Hard News Pays Better Than Fluff — or Does It?: Tech News «

Macsimum News - Apple number 65 on 'Newsweek' environmental ranking

robert shumake hall of shame

robert shumake detroit

Loopt adds Facebook Places integration | iLounge News

iLounge news discussing the Loopt adds Facebook Places integration. Find more iPhone news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.

Hard News Pays Better Than Fluff — or Does It?: Tech News «

Macsimum News - Apple number 65 on 'Newsweek' environmental ranking

robert shumake twitter

Loopt adds Facebook Places integration | iLounge News

iLounge news discussing the Loopt adds Facebook Places integration. Find more iPhone news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.

Hard News Pays Better Than Fluff — or Does It?: Tech News «

Macsimum News - Apple number 65 on 'Newsweek' environmental ranking

robert shumake hall of shame

Loopt adds Facebook Places integration | iLounge News

iLounge news discussing the Loopt adds Facebook Places integration. Find more iPhone news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.

Hard News Pays Better Than Fluff — or Does It?: Tech News «

Macsimum News - Apple number 65 on 'Newsweek' environmental ranking

how to lose weight fast robert shumake hall of shame
robert shumake detroit

robert shumake hall of shame
robert shumake detroit

Loopt adds Facebook Places integration | iLounge News

iLounge news discussing the Loopt adds Facebook Places integration. Find more iPhone news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.

Hard News Pays Better Than Fluff — or Does It?: Tech News «

Macsimum News - Apple number 65 on 'Newsweek' environmental ranking

robert shumake twitter

Using the internet to make you money is something that can be done very easily. There are many different methods to making money. You can write freelance, simply click links, or even create your own website. Each of these things are very easy to do, but some make more than others. Some you can expect to make mere pennies, and with others you can make a pretty good sum of money. With many of these sites you can also create an income for getting people to sign up under you, or by getting referrals. When these people sign up under you, you either make a fixed sum, which is usually pretty decent, or you make money based off of their performance with the site. Either way referrals are one of the best ways to make a little extra money.

One of the best and easiest ways to make money is by writing freelance. There are many sites out there that offer you money simply by writing for them. Some sites pay a lot better than others, so you are going to need to find the write sites. The type of content you produce is normally different from site to site as well. With one site you may just submit one or two sentences, while with another you may submit an entire essay or article. The other difference between different writing sites is the amount of pay. This always has to do with the quality of your work, but also in what you are writing. IF you are writing only a couple sentences, you can only expect to make pennies. However if you are producing quality articles for the right sites you will get a quality amount of money upfront. There are also a few sites where you write articles, and make money based off of the amount of people that view the article. This is usually pennies, but the articles have unlimited potential.

Another way to make money over the internet is by using paid to click sites. These sites are just like they sound. The website provides you with opportunities to click on and view advertisements for a certain amount of time. After you view the advertisement your account is rewarded, but usually only with a penny. These sites like to make it seem like they will give you the world, but once you get in you begin to realize they are pretty much a big pain. To draw you in they usually offer a sign up bonus that is very decent. They will also tell you that they will give you an unlimited number of ads per day, which is not true. The amount of ads you get is usually very limited. The other thing they do is set higher minimum payouts, so that people can't just be with the site for a limited amount of time, and then request payout. These sites are hoping that you are going to give up.

One of the easiest and at times hardest ways to make money over the internet is through your own website. Now your website doesn't really make you money, unless you are using it to sell a product. I have never had any real experience with that, so this is not what I am talking about. The way to make money on your website, without selling something, is through advertisements. There are companies out there that will pay you to place an advertisement for them on your website. If someone is directed to their website through yours, you will get paid for it. It is usually better than pennies, but is still not a whole lot of money. The biggest thing with this form of money making is that you need to have traffic. If you don't have a ton of traffic to your site, how are you supposed to get clicks to these advertisers' sites? Traffic is something that can be very hard to attain, but you need to use any means necessary to get traffic.

Making money on the internet is something that has come about over the past couple years. The only problem is that there are many scam artists out there looking for the next person that wants to quit their job for the internet, or even just make a little extra change. I have a website you can visit for some of the best sites out there for making money, and for avoiding scams. The address is http://incomeinternet.awardspace.com/. Again making money through the internet is very easy, if you know what you are doing. You can do a number of different things, from writing to creating your own website.

robert shumake hall of shame

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Making Money Through

startups, Software, apparel

Where Bras Meet Software: Zyrra Raises Money From Jess McLear, Jean Hammond, & Local Angels For Its Bra Industry “Revolution”

Erin Kutz 10/19/10

startups, Software, apparel

Where Bras Meet Software: Zyrra Raises Money From Jess McLear, Jean Hammond, & Local Angels For Its Bra Industry “Revolution”

Erin Kutz 10/19/10

startups, Software, apparel

Where Bras Meet Software: Zyrra Raises Money From Jess McLear, Jean Hammond, & Local Angels For Its Bra Industry “Revolution”

Erin Kutz 10/19/10

No comments:

Post a Comment

Followers

Blog Archive

About Me