Hibeam.org off the beam?

While looking for resources helpful to budding Hawaii entrepreneurs, I came across a site called HiBeam.org. HiBeam is an acronym for Hawaii Business and Entrepreneur Mentors which "was founded in 2000 to help launch and build new technology, biotechnology and life sciences companies by providing them with expert professional advice and access to funding sources. Since then, the HiBEAM portfolio companies have raised over $100 million in equity funding."

While the site looks promising, it appears to currently be inactive, as it were, with no events listed for Feb 08 and the last news item being posted more than a year ago on 2/23/07.

Anyone know what's happening with hibeam.org?

Work-From-Home Jobs in Hawaii Could be on the Rise

A significant increase in the number of telecommuting work-from-home jobs in Hawaii if bills being presented in the Hawaii state legislature are passed, according to an article in a recent edition of the Pacific Business News.

If passed, the bills, Senate Bill 2238 and House Bill 3271, would give employers in Hawaii tax credits based on the number of telecommuting workers they employ, the number of hours those workers log, and the location of the company.

Employers could recoup from 75 to 100% of the expenses they incur for employing telecommuting workers.

According to results of a study by the Dieringer Research Group conducted in 2007, the number of telecommuters in the United States has increased by 65 percent in the last three years. And if the new bills are passed by Hawaii lawmakers, that number will spike in the Aloha State.

Shutterstock.com: Make money from your digital pics

Nowadays, it seems like just about everyone has a digital camera. While that may not be true, just about everyone has a cell phone and most cell phones of today have built-in digital cameras.

And with easy access to these picture taking devices, people are turning into amateur photographers. Just today, for example, I went hiking out in Hauula on Oahu's windward side. While I forgot my digi cam at home, I did have my cell phone. As such, I was able to click a few pics, including the one posted here.

You may not be aware of this, but there is a market for your digital camera pictures. One place that I reviewed is shutterstock.com. The deal with shutterstock.com is you submit pictures that you have taken. Shutterstock.com lists many dos and don'ts for picture submissions, including the fact that pics submitted must be at least 4.o megapixels, which eliminates all of my cell phone pics plus even the largest pic on my ancient 3.2 megapixel digi cam!

What is the compensation ($$)? You get 25 cents for every pic of yours that someone visiting the site sees and then downloads. Nope, not a lot of bucks but if you submit a bunch of pics over time, the chances of making some spare money is more likely.

Additionally, you can make some money from shutterstock.com by referring buyers to the company. According to shutterstock.com, if you refer friends and acquaintances to the site and they sign up, you'll get an incentive bonus. So, for example, if you clicked here, checked out the site, liked it, and signed up, I'd get a bonus.

I read one guy's review of shutterstock.com and he said he has submitted 200 pictures and takes in about $80 to $100 a month.

Other sites similar to shutterstock.com where you can make $$ for pictures you take are www.istockphoto.com and us.fotolia.com

Is working at home a good fit for you?

Back when I was in my 20s, I worked as a loan adjustor for a Servco Financial Corp., a locally based Hawaii company. For those wondering what I did as a loan adjustor, basically I was a debt collector. In other words, I called up or visited face-to-face people who had fallen behind on loan payments to the company. As an adjustor, I was given some latitude in negotiating repayment terms with delinquent customers. For instance, I was able to waive late fees and in some cases delinquent interest payments.

I worked out of Servco Financial’s main branch on King Street right next to Fort Street Mall. I was fortunate to have the company pay for my parking (big issue and headache, particularly for folks working in downtown Honolulu. Plus, I got a mileage allowance if I had to go out in the field to collect debts. I mention all this here because I could have very well done much of my work from home.

This is not to say that I would have done an effective job at home, but given a telephone and access to the company’s computer network (not available back then but easily available nowadays), I could have done much of my “adjusting” work from a desk in my home.

An ABC news bit about the pros and cons of working at home posed some questions to determine how good of a fit a work-from-home situation would be for people. And those questions included.

1. Are you highly disciplined and goal-oriented?
2. Can you be effective without a support system?
3. Do you have a dedicated work space?
4. Can you thrive without office camaraderie?
5. Can you work well without constant direction?
6. Can the work you do be done from anywhere?

People who can answer yes to all these questions will find that working home will be feasible.

Photo credit: David A. Harvey (sol.as.arizona.edu/~dave/)

Site Review: telecommute-jobs.com

Loking for a telecommuting job (i.e. a job to work from home)? Got $39 to pluck down? If you do, there is a site called telecommute-jobs.com that seems on the up and up.

Did some checking and couldn't find anyone calling telecommute-jobs.com a scam. In fact, the site has the Better Business Bureau stamp of approval. Ditto for the Internet Trade Bureau.

You can post your resume for free there. And if you are an employer (in which case you likely wouldn't be reading this blog) you can post job listings there, also for free.

However, if you are hunting for a job and want to submit aps thru the site's job bank, you will have to subscribe for the $39 fee, which is for a three-month subscription.

A good thing is that telecommute-jobs.com offers a money back guarantee in the first thirty days if you are satsified with them. At the site's FAQ, they say that "only 3 out of every 200 purchasers ever request a refund from us." Take that for what it's worth.

I searched but could not locate a testimonial link from satisfied subscribers who landed telecommuting jobs through the site.

To be honest, by clicking on the links to the site above, I have an affiliate link affixed to them. What that means is if you go there and decide to subscribe, I'll receive a little $$. Would appreciate that. And if you want to keep me out of the loop because you don't trust me, click here to go to the site sans affiliate link. No problem.

Get Paid $10 to review a website

Came across this opportunity where by reviewing a website and providing feedback about its pros and cons, you get paid $10.

The catch is that there are a glut of wannabe reviewers and not a whole lot of websites to review (yet?).

Anyway, you might want to check this site out. It's usertesting.com

Envelope stuffing for bucks..legit?

The short answer is no.

Here's the deal. For those who pursue this undertaking (usually for a fee of $29.95 or some amount along that line) thinking that they'll make some easy bucks while stuffing envelopes while kicking back watching TV or listening to music on their iPods, they're in for a nasty surprise.

It's a scam.

Yes, it is true that there is stuff to stuff in an envelope, but the "stuff" inevitably is a letter soliciting folks to get into the stuff-envelopes-from-home-to-make-bucks biz.

What happens is that even though people realize they've been scammed, they'll pursue it. After all, they're out $29.95 (or whatever) and they've at least got to get their money back.

And who knows, maybe, just maybe they'll hit it big.

Good luck.

My suggestion is to look for opportunities that you feel good about, that are based on honesty, and that you are truly interested in, and not just the money part of it.

That, in my opinion, will lead to success.