Entrepreneur creates DIY ethanol machine
A Silicon Valley entrepreneur is betting that drivers stung by rising gas prices will be eager to make the switch to ethanol for their cars — and that they’ll want to make it at home in a $10,000 refrigerator-sized machine.
Thomas Quinn, founder and chief executive of Los Gatos-based E-Fuel Corp., is selling what he bills as the world’s first home ethanol distilling system. Cars can run entirely on ethanol if they’re properly equipped, though currently in the United States the maximum allowed is a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.
The EFuel100 MicroFueler is a 6-foot-tall, white-and-green box on wheels that weighs 200 pounds when empty. Each EFuel100 MicroFueler can make a blend of gasoline and ethanol, and can produce up to 35 gallons of ethanol a week, which is about enough to fill up the average car’s fuel tank twice.
Image via p2library
Moli a new site for small business social networking
As social networking trickles into the business world, Moli.com is working to become the
go-to social media resource for small businesses. The West Palm Beach Web site launched last year as a place to manage multiple profiles. Now it is introducing a new feature: The Moli Small Business Center, where business owners can connect with peers and have access to expert resources in a social network setting.
The idea behind this site is to save time and money for the beginning entrepreneur who doesn’t have the resources to create a Web site from scratch. The tools are designed to help entrepreneurs take their businesses to the next level.
Anyone over 18 can create a profile on Moli for free, which includes a personal URL address. It costs $3.99 a month to add a shopping cart to the page.
The site also offers data-mining capabilities by tracking the demographics of visitors to each page. It is available to any member, but can be more useful for start-up businesses wanting to know more about their audience. Some analytical reports are for free, but it’ll cost $3.99 to $7.99 to purchase 20 to 30 additional statistics.
Image via Crunchbase
FETCH! Pet Care Franchise: Linda Frankel Opens 166th FETCH! Pet Care franchise
Recent News: FranBest congratulates Linda Frankel who has opened the FETCH! Pet Care franchise for Chicago’s North Shore. Linda was ready for a change from her career in investigational drug research, and chose the FETCH! Pet Care franchise because she thought it was a great way to combine her love of animals with a low investment, low overhead home-based business. Frankel’s FETCH! Pet Care, which is the chain’s 166th pet care franchise, will service Northbrook, Glenview, Buffalo Grove and Deerfield, IL markets.
Services provided: FETCH! Pet Care franchise owners provide pet owners with a range of services that meet every need and budget, including boarding and daycare in the sitter’s home, overnight sitting or daily visits in the client’s home, private and group dog walks, pet taxiing, and miscellaneous home care. A free in-home consultation permits clients, pets and sitters to get pre-acquainted and address each pet’s unique needs. FETCH! Pet Care franchise owners now service more than 13,000 active clients throughout 1,600 cities and towns in 34 states across the U.S.
Market need: “Selecting a sitter to care for a pet and a home is a critically important decision,” notes Linda. “Now, there’s no need to impose on family members or friends, or subject one’s pet to kennel boarding. Our highly trained staff of sitters ensures all pets receive the love, attention and skilled treatment expected of a professional caregiver, and that the client’s home remains secure.”
Paul Mann, FETCH! Pet Care founder and president, notes, “The demand for professional pet care services is at an all-time high — especially those that allow pets to maintain their routine while receiving the attention they need. With many pet owners frustrated by the lack of professional and reliable caregivers, or reluctant to kennel their pets due to health and other concerns, our safe, convenient, and nurturing care provides peace of mind.”
Operational Advantages: To assure operational efficiencies, FETCH! Pet Care employs a sophisticated telephone dispatch system and advanced software that tracks assignments and delivers real-time electronic client order confirmations and automated sitter assignment reminders. In addition, each sitter undergoes a thorough criminal background check, references review, and training regimen, and each location is fully licensed, bonded and insured.
Experience: Founded in 2002 and with over 1,600 service areas across the United States, FETCH! Pet Care is the pet sitting industry market leader — the new face of pet care in the 21st century. The company offers a humane alternative to kennel boarding by providing loving, in-home overnight and/or daily care to any kind of pet in the most professional and reliable manner possible. FETCH! Pet Care’s carefully selected, screened and trained pet sitters and dog walkers, who are all pet owners themselves, have serviced over 13,000 clients this past year alone.
Investment: $18,295 to $34,500.
Recommendation: If you’re a pet and animal lover, this is definitely an opportunity worth checking out. Being a home based franchise has tremendous advantages and less risk than those with equipment and a lease. Click on the get information button below and ask for their full franchise package. If you’d like, you can fill out a request for multiple pet care franchises also from FranBest.com.
Fetch! Pet Care
