Forbes "Boost Your Business" Contest

Forbes is hosting their annual "Boost Your Business" Contest for small business' across the country. They are giving away 100,000 to the best business pitch. So start writing down your plans and go over to their website to check it out here. Hurry because May 31 is the deadline for submissions.

Here are some of the requirements:
1. have at least one salaried employee, aside from the owner
2. be incorporated for less than five (5) years (at the time of entry)
3. be a for-profit entity
4. have annual revenues between $0 and $5,000,000

The Inland Empire

We are excited to inform everybody that we are now going to reach the Inland Empire. This upcoming June, we will be finally getting our 6th zone published. Recently it has only been able to viewed online as a pdf.

If you are interested in getting a copy of the June issue for the Inland Empire, or wish to advertise in the new zone, give us a call at (714) 893-3971 or email me at js@aptmags.com.

Car Wash Apartment Combo

Driving down PCH, around Sunset Beach, I never noticed this odd apartment building. Yet while taking pictures of the surrounding area, I caught glimpse of this car wash plus apartment complex combination. I was truly in awe of it, and wondered if this was successful; and if the residents enjoyed living here?

Living in a wide open, traffic congested, commuter, never know your neighbor environment, I never looked at this type of building suitable for southern California. I have been recently been hearing about residential plus commercial, tight night communities making a comeback. If that is so, and why not in Southern California, it might be important to start researching.

Slow Growth

Southern California is still hurting from the credit crunch, and DataQuick has produced some stats that do not show promise for the market. There are spikes in the market between months, but overall the median prices have fallen dramatically over the past year. Yet foreclosures are at an all-time high.

"Indicators of market distress continue to move in different directions. Foreclosure activity is at record levels, financing with adjustable-rate mortgages is at a six-year low. Down payment sizes and flipping rates are stable, non-owner occupied buying activity is increasing, DataQuick reported. "

All Homes	#Sold Feb-07	#Sold Feb-08	Pct. Chng	$Median Feb-07	$Median Feb-08	Pct. Chng
Los Angeles	6,300	3,468	-45.0%	$528,000	$460,000	-12.90%
Orange	2,449	1,471	-39.9%	$620,000	$520,000	-16.10%
Riverside	3,057	2,147	-29.8%	$410,000	$325,000	-20.70%
San Bernardino	2,274	1,242	-45.4%	$368,750	$290,000	-21.40%
San Diego	2,863	1,954	-31.7%	$480,000	$415,000	-13.50%
Ventura	737	495	-32.8%	$584,000	$445,000	-23.80%
SoCal	17,680	10,777	-39.0%	$495,000	$408,000	-17.60%

Keeping Updated

In today's world, it is important to stay up to date with everything that is happening around you. Yet there is so much being thrown at you, it is hard to pin down what is information gold or garbage.

If you are like us, and are running a business in Orange County, you want to know all that is going down in the business sector of the OC. That's when I turn to Jan Norman's blog for the OC Register.

You can find it at http://jan.freedomblogging.com/. It provides a lot of new and insightful tips that can help you boost your business.