RIP Murray Jarvik, co-inventor of nicotine patch
By Sebastien | Filed under News
Dr. Murray Jarvik, a pioneer reacher of smoking addition and co-inventor of the nicotine patch, has died. He was 84.
In the early 1990s, Jarvik invented a transdermal patch that delivers nicotine directly into the body to help smokers fight the urge to light up.
What’s Safer: Buying a Franchise or Starting Your Own Business?
By Sebastien | Filed under Franchising
Have you always wanted to own and operate your own business? Given that there’s a high failure rate for independent, non-franchise businesses, you might want to consider buying a franchise instead. After all, franchising provides a proven system coupled with the support of a larger organization – invaluable pluses for first-time and therefore inexperienced business owners. A few key advantages singular to buying a franchise include instant brand awareness and credibility, administrative and/or technical support, quicker return on investment, strong management, franchisor-provided training, and a franchisee network devoted to supporting fellow franchisees. »Read More
Selling Your Franchise: What Are Your Rights?
By Sebastien | Filed under Franchising
Would you like to sell your franchise? Easy enough in theory, but not necessarily so easy in practice – the terms and conditions for selling your franchise are outlined in the Franchise Agreement, and Franchise Agreements are as a rule drafted with the interests of the franchisor in mind. Hence, you may very well find buy-back and right of first refusal clauses in the Franchise Agreement, which limit your rights regarding selling your franchise business.
Buy-back and first refusal clauses give the franchisor the right to (1) buy back your existing business from you before you can accept offers from other buyers and (2) first refuse to buy back your business before you entertain outside offers. The purpose of these clauses is to give franchisors control over who enters their franchise system: they have the ability to buy your business at a low cost so they can then sell to another franchisee for a substantial profit. »Read More
Negotiating the Terms of Your Franchise Agreement
By Sebastien | Filed under Franchising
It is of course up to the franchisor to decide whether one not its franchisees can negotiate the terms of a franchise agreement. Unsurprisingly, the majority of large, established franchisors will not allow franchisees to make changes to the franchise contract, since they tend to have a history of successful, content franchisees and are aware that, given the size and success of their concept, there are always potential franchisees willing to buy into their system as is. »Read More
The FTC on Earnings Claims Statements
By Sebastien | Filed under Franchising
Are you considering buying a franchise? One of the first steps you ought to take is to determine whether that franchise is doing well or poorly financially, which involves determining what the franchise’s actual quarterly and/or annual earnings are.
The FTC gives franchises an opportunity to disclose franchisee earnings information via the Item 19 section of the UFOC (Uniform Franchise Offering Circular) document (soon to be termed “FDD: Franchise Disclosure Document”). Franchises are free to reveal anything it would like about income, sales and cash flow. »Read More
The Key to Franchise Success? Target a Narrow Customer Base
By Sebastien | Filed under Franchising
If you’re thinking that purchasing a franchise concept that appeals to as many people as possible equals success, think again: targeting a narrower customer base may be a better way to go.
As a new franchisee, you want to distinguish yourself – I mean, let’s face it: you’ll have lots of competition to deal with, and you want to secure all the advantages you can. There are two primary advantages to selling a specific product to a particular subsection of the public: »Read More
Wetsuit’s inventor dies
By Sebastien | Filed under News
Surfing would still be shivering and facing a high risk for hypothermia if it weren’t for Hugh Bradner, inventor of the first wetsuit.
Bradner, a renowned physicist and professor emeritus at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography died May 5, 2008, in San Diego after a prolonged illness. He was 92.
RIP
Giant NES Controller Coffee Table
By Sebastien | Filed under Random
Some people definitely have too much time on their hands…. like our friend Kyle for example who made a gigantic NES controller coffee table. The best part is that the controller actually works! Check out his blog for more pictures.
Microsoft now hiring Google Killer
By Sebastien | Filed under Business, Internet
Found in one of Microsoft’s European offices:
Never seen before pictures of Hiroshima
By Sebastien | Filed under News, Random
These pictures were taken on the ground, from the inside of the disaster. It is far from the abstract image of the nuclear mushroom. These pictures show Hiroshima a few days after Enola Gay dropped the atomic bomb, on August 6th 1945, at 8.17am. These pictures have not been revealed to the US general public yet…
These photographs, taken by an unknown Japanese photographer, were found in 1945 among rolls of undeveloped film in a cave outside Hiroshima by U.S. serviceman Robert L. Capp, who was attached to the occupation forces. Unlike most photos of the Hiroshima bombing, these dramatically convey the human as well as material destruction unleashed by the atomic bomb.
Please contact Sean L. Malloy (smalloy@ucmerced.edu) if you have any information that might help identify the original photographer.
Click on the pictures to enlarge them
