Talk about computer recycling has got us searching for an existing computer franchise opportunity. Fast-teks seems to be one franchise going places.

Fast-teks is a home-based opportunity that services the computer market. In the US there are millions of computers that at some point need to be repaired or upgraded. As mentioned before, it's huge marketplace.

The thing we like about Fast-teks is that unlike traditional computer repair stores, the Fast-teks team come to you. There's nothing people hate more than taking the computer across town to be fixed.

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It's been BOB's intention for a while to start flagging up interesting articles from elsewhere in the blogosphere but we find ourselves echoing Steve Pavlina; "Why do intentions take so long to manifest?"

In life as in business, procrastination can be costly. For example, following on from BOB's "Five Things Before You Start a Business" we had meant to draw attention to Business 2.0’s series of articles on How to build a Bulletproof start-up but in delaying over the weekend we find both Anthony Cerimano and Dale Carlson have already done so.

What can you do if you have what you're sure is a good idea but, on researching it, find someone else has beaten you to it?

Well, Scott Allen offers some succour in his article " How Unique Does Your Business Idea Have to Be?"

"Businesses are not automatically entitled to protection just because they are the first one to take an idea to market", he says whilst providing useful links to his articles on patenting and trademarks and to the US Patent Office. (This boasts a history dating back to 1790 but it may be pertinent for those outside the States to reflect the idea was not original. As the UK Patent Office points out Britain has the longest continuous patent tradition in the world whose origins can be traced back to 1449).

Of course, before thinking of patents or trademarks you need a name for your idea.

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With copper prices heading towards record highs, attention has turned towards the latest business opportunity of recycling computers. 

The latest entrepreneurial passion was highlighted in this weekend's UK Financial Times which reported that as "copper prices hover near records, companies are looking high and low for new sources of the metal."

The FT went on to say, "They might do well to start looking in the attic...  Many computers, monitors and other electronic equipment that fall into disuse each year end up either in attics or rubbish dumps."

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We're mad about cars at BusinessesForSale.com. This month's auto opportunity is a fantastic auto-body shop in New Jersey, US.

The owner claims to be making over $400k profit, which is why we like this business. The facility covers over 12,000 square feet in North East New Jersey and has contracts with some large auto-insurance companies.

If you're thinking of buying a business such as this, then make sure you'll also be acquiring the rights to any important contracts. The business claims to be making over $1,6m turnover and is being sold for family reasons.

Click here to contact the person selling this business

In business opportunity terms, Greece lags behind its European partners. However, for a lifestyle change it's up there with the best.

Several British and American chains have successfully established branches in the commercial hubs of Athens and Thessaloniki, despite the prevalence of family-run businesses.

Ranking among the world’s 20 most developed nations, Greece is an EU member state with a population of 11 million, over half of whom live in Athens and Thessaloniki.

Greece has enjoyed a stable political environment since the mid 1970s, joined the EMU in 2001, and its growing economy has boosted business confidence over the last decade, leading to considerable foreign investment.

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There are 100s of tea rooms on BusinessesForSale.com. They can be found as far afield as Texas!

1. Award Winning Tea Room, Chichester, UK £195k.

2. Tea Room and Gift Shop, Tampa Bay, Florida, US, $65k

3. Tea Room with 3-bed Accommodation, Cambridge, UK, £249k 

4. Tea Room and Restaurant, Virginia Beach, Virginia, US, $195k

5. Beach Side Tea Room and Gift Shop, Devon, US, £309k

In April 2005, Jane Smart and her partner Nick decided to buy a UK tea shop and take their futures into their own hands. By Jo Dalton at BusinessesForSale.com

“We really wanted to take more responsibility with regards to what decisions were being made and we wanted to not have to answer to people,” Jane explains.

“We knew that we wanted to run a tea rooms/café type business in our local area – between Winchester and Bournemouth.

“We also wanted to buy the kind of place where people could nip in for a cup of tea, but also sit down for a few hours and read through their papers. We were after somewhere where people could come to relax.”

After making some decisions about what they were looking for, the couple began their search.

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The 100 companies on BusinessWeek's list may not be big, but they're agile and fiercely competitive...
Click here

Before you do anything else, finding the answers to these five important questions will help you decide whether and how you should go for it.

Information does not guarantee success in business but it does give you a road map to build on and it will point you in the right direction. Importantly, as your business grows the things you need to know will change.

Before you hire staff, raise money, spend money or even think of a name for your business, get the answers to the following five things:

1. Define the market sector for your product or service (e.g consumer electronics) and know how big that market is. (Try and quantify it with stats, values, numbers, locations, people etc, that are relevant).

2. Explain any trends within the market sector - e.g growth, legislation, cultural changes, restrictions, opportunities etc and find out what factors determine why a customer purchases within the market sector.

3. Now describe what your products and services are and what makes them unique.
  
4. Explain your route to market. How are you going to get your products or services out there? Describe which organisations/ individuals you will need to work with in order to develop your product or service. What are the key strategic relationships you will have to build?

5. List your five biggest competitors and what they offer and for how much? What unique selling points do your competitors offer? What are their weaknesses?

If you're thinking of buying a farm then consider the palm tree opportunity on BusinessesForSale.com.

What more do you want in life? Located in sunny California and surrounded by over 50,000 palm trees, for $300k this tropical paradise business could be yours.

Tree types include the Windmill Palm (Trachycarpus Fortunei), King Palm (Archontophoenix Cunninghamiana), and the Queen Palm (Syagrus Romanofskiana).

Click here to change your life!

They won't make millions from farming but more people in Britain are choosing to farm as a lifestyle choice. By Jon Neale

A quick search on any news website reveals a host of stories pointing out the woes of the agricultural community.

For example, a report by Deloitte & Touche in 2005 indicated that the incomes of British farmers had dropped by a fifth in the previous 12 months.

The average lowland farmer currently earns £66 per acre of land, compared to £81 in 2004. The consultancy firm predicted that this figure would drop to £62 per acre by the end of 2006, mainly as a result of declining subsidies.

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A recent news story in (UK) London's Evening Standard mentioned that wealthy London professionals were quitting city life to become farmers.

This might explain why the third highest search term for reaching BusinessesForSale.com through Google is in fact 'Farms For Sale', after 'Businesses For Sale' and 'Buy a Business'.

The Standard reported that this sudden surge in farming was being driven by large bonuses as a result of increased M&A activity in the past 12 months.

It's truly amazing when a trend reported in the press can actually be spotted so clearly on BusinessesForSale.com.

Two years ago we reported that the most popular US business to buy was a gas station and the most popular British business was a pub. We put out a press release (see here) and got swamped by journalist requests. It was our most successful release because we managed to tap into the zeitgeist.

As water restrictions hit the UK, at BusinessesForSale.com we've put together a list of drought-proof opportunities for entrepreneurs who love water. 

Exotic Fish Farm, Yorkshire, UK 
It doesn’t get more niche than specialising in the retail of coldwater ornamental fish including Japanese Koi and Shubunkins. For £575k, this fish farm comes complete with six large ponds and a giant (legal) hosepipe.

Water Therapy Centre, Utah, USA
According to the website, the ‘Water & Wellness Centre’ is committed to enhancing the physical, mental and spiritual health of people by educating them about the water they drink and is responsible for the documentary “The Shocking Truth About Water.” This priceless business can all be yours for $135k.

Mineral Spring Water Distributor, London, UK
This business bottles water from an ancient deep well in South Wales and has a huge range of thirsty clients – including offices, factories and high street names. For £2.5m you get a fleet of 13 vehicles and as much mineral water as you can drink.

Water Purification System Manufacturer, Pennsylvania, USA
As water becomes a precious commodity this kind of business is set to grow. This patented water purification system and technology is designed to process large quantities of waste water.

Bath Spa, Barcelona, Spain
Described as an urban spa, this metropolitan oasis which offers a range of therapy treatments, has a 50 square meter pool offering relaxation and a chance for customers to momentarily slip away from the rat race.

Barclays Bank has developed a brand-new seminar to help Britain's small business owners boost their profit.

The bank will be running a programme of free seminars called Let's Talk More Profit and Let's Talk Bright Marketing from May 23rd.

New research from Barclays shows that 80 per cent of small business owners in the UK want to spend up to a third of their working day developing their business, specifically on areas such as marketing and profit making strategies.

Currently a third of owners spend less than five per cent of their time on these types of activities. The need to improve their bottom line is essential for any business and attendees of the seminar will look at various profit-making strategies and develop individual action plans to help them put their tactics into action.

1. People deny that the innovation is required.

2. People deny that the innovation is effective.

3. People deny that the innovation is important.

4. People deny that the innovation will justify the effort required to adopt it.

5. People accept and adopt the innovation, enjoy its benefits, attribute it to people other than the innovator, and deny the existence of stages 1 to 4!

©AC 2005. Inspired by Alexander von Humboldt's 'Three Stages Of Scientific Discovery', as referenced by Bill Bryson in his book, 'A Short History Of Nearly Everything'.

The approach of summer and talk of a leading British garden attraction for sale has got us talking about working in the great outdoors.

BOB has searched for a suitable franchise opportunity for those seeking a career change that embraces mother nature and has come across Archadeck.

Archadeck is ranked #1 in Decks & Porches in the United States by Qualified Remodeler magazine and #8 out of the "Top 500" remodelers. Founded in 1980 in Richmond, Virginia, it's America's largest builder of custom designed decks.

Archadeck also designs and build screened porches, sunrooms, gazebos, trellises, arbors, privacy screening, fences, planters, latticework, benches and many other outdoor structures.

The remodeling industry is worth over $120 billion a year and is considered larger than the new home industry. It affords excellent opportunities for entrepreneurs to start their own business.

Archadeck also has international presence with offices in Canada and Japan and Great Britain, and in 1999 won the Silver Medal for Best Overall Show Garden at the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show in London.

One of Britain’s most famous garden attractions, Bridgemere Garden World, is looking for a new owner.

Founder John Ravenscroft, who started the business as a rose grower in 1962, is hoping to sell the immensely popular 132-acre site on the Cheshire/Shropshire border, perhaps to a new market entrant looking for a ready-made investment opportunity or to an established group looking for a flagship garden centre.

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Here are BOB's 'Did You Know' facts for May...

1. There are two credit cards for every person in the United States.

2. In Chinese, the word for crisis and opportunity are the same.

3. Ben and Jerry's send the waste from making ice cream to local pig farmers to use as feed.

4. The Ford motor company introduced the assembly line in 1913.

5. 70% of internet porn traffic occurs during office hours.

6. You're unlikely to make a deal on a handshake with Donald Trump, he considers them 'barbaric'.

7. There is one slot machine in Las Vegas for every eight inhabitants.

8. Walmart employs 1.7 million employees.

9. Over 2 billion sandwiches are purchased in the UK each year - making it a £3.5 billion industry.

10. An estimated 25.5 million small businesses in American employ more than half the country's private workforce.

We had to profile Martha Stewart - one of the most successful businesswomen of all time - and star of the latest Apprentice show. By Adam Bannister

Honing décor and dinner party skills is an improbable way of casting off the shackles of female serfdom, but Martha Stewart’s domestic advice for American women has seen her storm the traditionally male world of business.

A hygienic cook, America’s most famous professional housewife has nevertheless had her finger in many figurative pies. Stewart has her own TV series, magazine and even branded houseware.

Stewart’s philosophy is simple: doing things for yourself is liberating in itself, even if it is just making your own applesauce for a change. It’s the American way.

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According to a UK survey, almost three quarters of small to medium businesses (SMEs) don’t feel sufficiently informed to be able to utilise new internet technologies like blogging.

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