The Basics: OZOcar is a hybrid luxury car service that services NYC. Eco business people and celebs hire them instead of using traditional limos. Great concept.

Experience Challenge: Their website is simple and clean, but one challenge we noticed is that their rates page opens a PDF rate sheet without warning. PDFs are slow to open and when people get surprised by them they often feel like their browsing mojo has been stripped away. PDFs also take webmasters longer to update compared to a standard html page.

OZOcar Juiced: We juiced the page by creating a simple rate table that visitors can browse easily. Clean, strait forward and easy to update. We even included a link to download a PDF version of the rate sheet for corporate types that need to print it out.

I stole Fred Wilson’s twitter badge because I liked the simplicity of the layout. After using it for a few weeks on We Like It Raw, I noticed that the code was a bit off. Every time I updated my twitter account the badge would show that I had lasted updated “6 hours ago”, even if I had just updated it a minute ago.

Turns out there was an error in the script. So, I took the liberty of fixing it and Fred’s code too. Here it is.

I know this was a terribly simple fix, but I wonder if there is a name for this action. Some sort of new open source model?

My biggest pet peeve are answering services and telemarketers. The worst is when people call you, and the a sexy girls voice (automated unfortunately) tells you to hold while you are connected to the person that is calling you! Doesn’t that just seem absurd?!?

If your calling me, it better be you! Not your automated service, not your secretary, not your mother or your sister, I want to hear you on the other end.

If your Steve Jobs or another CEO of a Fortune 100 company, it’s another story, and I’ll accept your call via your secretary or your dog for that matter. However, if your not don’t try and pawn me off to your subordinates.

I vow for as long as I live, whether I’m making $10/hr or $50,000/hr I will be the one that calls you, or answers your call, if I don’t answer, my voicemail will and I’ll eventually return your call.

Via: BIG marketing for small business

“The online travel business in India is really heating up. Don’t believe me? Check out this photo of some competitive outdoor advertising passed on to me from my cousin, Manik.”

Hot babes in Las Vegas

Can’t wait to see what type of other funny things people will find.

For the past 6 months, our team has been constantly talking about getting office space. We all work from our homes, but its come time now that we would like to work closer together.

The only problem with an actual office is that you get this mental picture in your head of the movie Office Space. I like the comfort of my home, and I really like being able to do other things that I wouldn’t typically do from an office:

* Make breakfast/lunch
* Take a shower
* Simply Lounge

Though the Cloud Room, first shown to us from Uncrate, is a little out there - I really do like the idea of a portable office space. For people who work from anywhere and they work all the time, I think a solution that has the premise of this would be really nice.

I can’t stress the importance of budgeting, whether it be with your personal finances or your business’. Setting up budgets for our team is a recently new concept. At the end of every month, preferably 2 days before the months end we set up a budget for the following month and do a recap of expenses, receivables, salaries, and taxes for the month closing.

When setting up a budget for a new month the following factors are most important to take into consideration; it may vary depending on the industry you are in, but here are the basics:

Total Begining Account Balance
Plus: Upcoming Receivables
Less: Expenses (Monthly Subscription fees, Bank Fees, etc.)
Less: Upcoming Payables (Consultants, Accountants, etc.)
Less: Salaries (Yours, Other partners, employees)
Less: Taxes Withheld and matched by the company
Equals Total Ending Balance

In order to complete a recap of our closing month we just take the actual numbers of the above categories. It’s a simple process that may take an hour to two of your day, but definitely worth the time. If your confused about the process feel free to send us a message and we can help you set up budgets for yourself or your company.

Its great to see when large companies like Delta make even small contributions to becoming socially responsbile. Any contribution whether small or large can have an affect.

Starting June 1, 2007 Delta customers will have the option to donate to the planting of trees in sustainable managed forests around the world when you book your ticket with Delta. These trees will help off-set carbon emissions by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and converting it to oxygen as part of their natural processes.

As a kid green was just a color. As I grew up in my teens it became the color of money. Starting off in my career it became a niche type of business for a select few. Today, green is a growing mainstream business model, also known as “Socially Responsible”.

Fortune Magazine’s March issue featured an article on America’s Most Admired Companies. Three out of the top Ten Companies on this year’s list have made “Going Green” a major business priority. General Electric, Starbucks, Toyota Motor (top 3) and UPS ranked sixteenth, are eco-friendly companies.

This isn’t “Green Washing” either. These companies are making significant investments into green technology. Take for instance UPS. Not many people know about UPS green initiative, but in fact they recently bought a fleet of alternative-fuel delivery trucks, including 50 new generation hybrid electric vehicles that will cut fuel consumption by nearly 44,000 gallons a year.

Green is no longer just a color…its a way of life.

In response to: REQUEST HELP DHRUMIL, by Nitin Shah

I really do want to help you, but when you type your emails in all CAPS and highlight everything red and blue, it really makes it tough. Not only because I think you are YELLING AT ME WHEN YOU TYPE LIKE THIS, but because the technicolor email actually hurts my eyes.

And I know English isn’t your first language (it isn’t mine either), but using abbreviations like “r” for “are” and “u” for “you” and “4″ for “for” isn’t good form. It is okay if you are my 8 year old baby cousin, but it doesn’t work to well if you are a 32 year old college grad.

Lastly, take an opportunity to explain yourself a little further. Sending me an email that only includes your request isn’t enough. If I’ve never heard from you before, I’m not going to invest 5 hours of my time and energy to research Visa options for you. It doesn’t work like that. And why are you emailing me about your Visa in the first place?

Look, I’m not here to poke fun at you, I’m just saying that it maybe useful to teach yourself some basic email etiquette. Not only will peoplebe more likely to respond to your emails, but you’ll also be giving India a good name.

I’m happy to help a fellow Indian out, but help me help you. Theek hai?