Saturday, December 31, 2005

Cancelling AOL

Folks,

I am tidying up at year end, and I am getting rid of aol.com, a service I've
been with from way
back... but now they have gotten so bad, my main complaint is for $24 they make
me wait a
long time to load ads before I can see my email... so if you have an email for
me, make sure it
is john@johnspiers.com...wileyccc@aol.com is going away.

Also years ago, I got very cheap long distance thru aol, via www.talk.com. I
checked my
account today and learned I have been paying about $45 in taxes EACH MONTH for 2
or 3
dollars in long distance service. Well, since I've switched to comcast for long
distance, and
contracted a flat rate, I don't think I'll get nailed again. In case you find
this unbelievable, I've
posted the bill at the group website...
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiers/files/ ...

Apparently, every govt entity is piling on taxes on telephone bills for new,
unnoticed
revenues.

Well, I'll be saving some $600 this coming year cancelling talkamerica long
distance... you
may want to examine your telephone bills closely.

John


2005 Taxes

Re: [spiers] Re: 2005

I'm not sure what product/service area Peter is interested in, but ....
the government-funded export promotion agency is TAITRA, I think at
Taitra.org.tw. They have a product / supplier matching service and
regular events.

They also run a very cool "intro to Taiwan" service including free
Taipei tour and lunch! Check it out at:

http://www.taiwanbiztour.com

While in Taipei, it may be worth a look to walk the endless aisles of
the Taiwan World Trade center, where companies have static displays of
products. Unlikely to find much innovation there, because the
innovative stuff is being developed by yourself!

The above research will yield the areas that Taiwan's companies are
focussing on innovating. Some interesting products in the area of green
building technology (power LEDs), specialty agriculture (Wufeng rice is
so good it is coveted in Japan), and most of the world's high-end
bicycles are made around Taichung.

I, too, would be interested in observations from the front lines, and
let me know if I can help as I am somewhat familiar with the place.

- Paul

On Sat, 31 Dec 2005 10:06, John Spiers wrote:
> Those of you who travel to Taiwan regularly, give Peter a hand here, as
> for me... i check out the
> trade shows happening anywhere I go, they are always surprising...
> I've only been to Taiwan 2 or
> 3 times so I am no expert... I'd be delighted to get your reactions an
> ideas posted to thhis site as
> you progress on your trip... and that is true for everyone. Dispatches
> from the frontlines, so to
> speak...
>
> John
> On Fri, 30 Dec 2005 21:57:39 -0800 (PST), Peter Mahurin
> wrote :
>
>>
>>
>> Hey John
>>
>> Thank you for your enjoyable and accurate insights in the year 2005.
>>
>> I'll be in Taipei during January and February of 2006 visiting
>> friends.
>> Can you suggest any areas of interest that are ahead of the box that
>> might be worthwhile to look into.
>>
>> What would you look for in Taiwan today?
>>
>> Thanks again for your time and support. Best wishes to you and
>> your family
>> in the New Year.
>>
>> Kind regards,
>>
>> Peter


2005 Taxes

Re: [spiers] Re: 2005

Those of you who travel to Taiwan regularly, give Peter a hand here, as for
me... i check out the
trade shows happening anywhere I go, they are always surprising... I've only
been to Taiwan 2 or
3 times so I am no expert... I'd be delighted to get your reactions an ideas
posted to thhis site as
you progress on your trip... and that is true for everyone. Dispatches from the
frontlines, so to
speak...

John
On Fri, 30 Dec 2005 21:57:39 -0800 (PST), Peter Mahurin
wrote :

>
>
> Hey John
>
> Thank you for your enjoyable and accurate insights in the year 2005.
>
> I'll be in Taipei during January and February of 2006 visiting friends.
> Can you suggest any areas of interest that are ahead of the box that
> might be worthwhile to look into.
>
> What would you look for in Taiwan today?
>
> Thanks again for your time and support. Best wishes to you and your family
> in the New Year.
>
> Kind regards,
>
> Peter


Friday, December 30, 2005

2005 Taxes

Re: 2005



Hey John

Thank you for your enjoyable and accurate insights in the year 2005.

I'll be in Taipei during January and February of 2006 visiting friends.
Can you suggest any areas of interest that are ahead of the box that
might be worthwhile to look into.

What would you look for in Taiwan today?

Thanks again for your time and support. Best wishes to you and your family
in the New Year.

Kind regards,

Peter


2005 Taxes

Folks,

As I try to make clear from time to time, we work to support a lifestyle, and
our work supports our
lifestyle. (I have a new working definition of success too: the point we worry
more about time than
money, that's when we turn successful).

The tax codes and such in USA still to some extent make small biz self
employment attractive, and
in keeping with this, I recommend you carefully pull together any expenses you
incurred, or
reasonably could have incurred, in your process of startiing a biz, and share
these with your tax
prep person.

Now I am no accountant, CPA or finance wiz, so let me start by saying CHECK WITH
YOUR CPA. (If
you don't have one, check with the local Small Biz Admin or the back page of
local newspapers for
small biz accountants.

Correct me if I am wrong, but here is how it works: You have a household income
of say $60,000,
you spend $20,000 on your biz, then your taxable income is $40,000. If your tax
rate is 25%,
then you got $5000 free money toward your business. Of the $20,000 you spent,
so much is
"dual use" (rent, cellphones, car) that it is ultimately lifestyle support.

And I do mean correct me, any of you CPA's want to clarify and expand, I'd be
much obliged... for
my part my cpa takes my records and hands me a bill.. that is all I know.
(Although he did make
my sabbatical to finish a bachelors degree and gain a masters degree a biz
expense...again, a
lifestyle choice my biz "paid" for.)

If you have no biz expenses 2005, perhaps you ought to buy 2 hours of a CPA's
time this January
and ask what spending say $5000 on starting a biz in 2006 would "cost" you, and
what it may
gain you.

My mind races ahead, you CPA's ought to offer noncredit courses in your local
community colleges
"How much you have to spend (as in can afford) on starting your own business"

John


Thursday, December 29, 2005

And China Textiles

Folks,

here is a good article on Chinese textile exports to USA..and USA policy...

http://mises.org/story/1986

John


Retail Changes

Folks,

More on Amazon... the 9 January 2006 edition of Forbes has a note from the
editor
explaining how Amazon and others are data mining to cross sell... and later on
page
59 a story on young Japanese booksellers thriving with the cross-sell strategy.
Of
course, USA is #1 in this strategy, look at Starbucks selling music with coffee.

(Forbes is the only biz mag I subscribe to, Amazon offers it cheap at

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005N7QA/
qid%3D1127347538/sr%3D8-1/ref%3Dpd%5Fbbs%5F1/104-9278078-
5627109?v=glance&s=magazines&n=507846 ...)

So, watch your retail customers... are they cross-sell savvy? Can you offer
cross-sell
advice? We've always benefitted from what retailers learn, and passed on what
we
learned to retailers... will amazon sell what its data-miners learn to
independents like
us to assist us in product direction?

Also, gift cards were big this year by many reports. Long ago I heard that 20%
of gift
cards are lost, so selling $100 worth of gift cards is an immediate 25% pure
profit to
the issuer. A neighbor of mine was part of the crew that developed the
monstrously
successful Starbuck's gift card, and he confirmed the figure, with a larcenous
grin
(and massive home remodelling I might add).

If left alone, you'll see everyone in gift cards, and a lowering of prices for
everyone as
competition gives this 25% pure profit back to the consumers. But it won't be
left
alone. Expect legislation and lawsuits eventually, and more compliance expense
and
more government oversight, making USA less competitive.

Incidently, of the $250 in gift cards this family received this Christmas, a $50
card
has been mislaid. Exactly 20%!

John


Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Amazon Results

"Amazon.com, Inc., today announced that the 2005 holiday season finished as its
best ever,
with the company's surpassing 108 million items ordered for the first time. The
2005 holiday
season also brought another single-day record with more than 3.6 million items
ordered, or
41 items per second, on Dec. 12th."

***
The 12th was the second Monday before Christmas, the third Monday after
Thanksgiving...
something to study... is this a pattern? Of course the biggest day for face2face
retail is the
day after thanksgiving... as more sales migrate to the 'net, will timing of
shipments from
sources be altered?

What other implications?

John