A new bill would allow space mining companies to legally do what their name implies: extract raw materials from asteroids and perhaps even other planets, and sell them for profit. If passed, an entirely new and unexplored industry would begin to spring up everywhere. Without legal limitations, (ambitious) companies will be able to begin R&D for machines that could do the job.

Asteroid mining base concept; Image source

Space mining could have a great impact on the world economy. According to Forbes’ Bruce Dorminey, “For some metals the commodities markets will be completely reshaped”. For the first time there will be an influx of materials coming from a source other than Earth. With space mining it will no longer matter if resources are renewable or not, because while the resources on an individual asteroid may be non-renewable, there is an unfathomably large number of asteroids in space.

Near-Earth asteroids; Image source

Asteroid mining, if successful, could change our preconceived notions of sustainability. I for one hope that the bill gets signed into law, because as I’ve made clear in a few of my previous blogs, I’m a huge advocate for progress. Advancements in technology, no matter how radical are necessary to advance us to the next stage as a species. And I’m all for that.

In his Blogpost on Side Hustle Nation, Nick Loper discusses the Girl Scouts, and why they are so successful in their sales of cookies every year. For the uninitiated, the Girl Scouts of the USA is an organization in the United States with the mission of “building girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place” (Source).

Girl Scouts selling cookies in California; Image source

Every year they hit it out of the park, selling 200 million cookies on average (Source). The Boy Scouts of America sell popcorn. But they don’t do nearly as well as their female counterpart financially speaking. Loper points out a few of the reasons why. The Boy Scouts’ products are overly transparent, too expensive, and lacking a certain je ne sais coi, that Girl Scout cookies possess. As Loper puts it, in order for Boy Scout popcorn to be successful, they need to “Make it ‘a thing'”. This concept can be applied to any business. Getting customers excited about your product is a great way to increase sales; positioning your company as the only place that offers your product or service is a good way to do this. The girl scouts have done it. Many other businesses should follow suit if they want to be more successful.

The ‘one for one’ business model has been getting a lot of attention recently. Companies such as Toms and Roma Boots are built around the model, giving a pair of shoes to someone in need for every pair sold.

Toms advertisement; Image Source

Other ‘one for one’ companies have a different approach. United by Blue , for example, pledges to remove one pound of trash from oceans and waterways for every product sold. In short, a ‘one for one’ company gives customers a philanthropic incentive to buy their product. This leads some to believe these companies are more interested in selling their products than they are in genuinely helping people. According to one critic, “Toms isn’t designed to build the economies of developing countries. It’s designed to make western consumers feel good.” This claim is somewhat valid. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Giving away shoes, or removing trash,  won’t solve any deep rooted economic, social, or political issues. But that doesn’t make it any less valid. While I agree that it has its faults, the ‘one for one’ business model is truly helping people around the world, and a short term solution is better than nothing.

Charlotte Jia’s Blogpost discusses Amazon’s recent debut of its first physical bookstore, located in Seattle.

Amazon’s physical store; Image Source

The store offers books with ratings of 4 stars (out of 5) or higher online. Ideally for Amazon, the store will become the “go-to” place for purchasing a (physical) book. What advantages does it have over a traditional bookstore? In my opinion, not many. Since it only offers books that have good ratings, by nature it will not have any newly-released books. I am struggling to visualize the customer segment that could embrace this type of store. For instant gratification on a book purchase, an E-reader does just fine. If having a physical copy is necessary, then Barnes & Noble, The Elliot Bay Book Company, or any other Seattle bookstore would almost certainly satisfy that desire.

In a world where physical companies migrating to virtual world, it is surprising that an dominant online presence would chose to move in the opposite direction. While it is an interesting idea, I disagree with Ms. Jia that opening a physical store is “great move to expand Amazon’s business”. It will be interesting to see how this new venture works out for Amazon, but I wouldn’t be surprised if its the next big flop.

In her article on Business Insider, Maria Nazario describes a small New York company with a unique business model. The company, Fair Folks & a Goat, has differentiated itself from the plethora of small designer shops in the “Big Apple” by doubling as a café and allowing customers to purchase memberships.

Fair Folks & a Goat; Image Source

For $25 per month, customers get “unlimited best-in-class coffee and other beverages”, along with a 10% discount on all apparel. More and more of our daily purchases are becoming subscription based. Twenty years ago, if you were in the mood for movie you would have to drive to Blockbuster and rent it. Now for $8.99 per month, you can stream unlimited movies with Netflix. Even more recently, if you wanted to buy a song you would have to pay $0.99 on iTunes for it, or simply buy the whole album at a store. Today, for $10 per month anyone can hear and download unlimited songs with Spotify. Both of these companies have had immense success. What does this mean for the future? What will be the next industry to cater to the subscription-based business model? The answer to that question might just be the next billion-dollar idea.