As I mentioned, this month is tools and resource month! Here’s installment #5:
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Here’s a site I use and refer to often whenever I’m looking for cutting edge business opportunities and ideas…

The idea behind this site is cool: They enlist ’spotters’ who then submit interesting new businesses they’ve spotted around the world to the site. The site then reports on those new businesses to its members.

The best part: It’s free.

The latest issue includes a site with huge potential… I mean HUGE. It’s called Zopa.com and it allows you to invest your cash in pools of money that they then lend to individual borrowers. They call it a “Lending and Borrowing Exchange“.

It totally cuts out the middle-man (the banks and lenders) and allows you to get the interest on your money that the largest banks enjoy!

The risk is spread out so that you are not lending your money to a single individual, but a ‘group’ in a sort of risk pool. The better the credit rating of the borrower, the lower the risk (and interest you earn, of course)… or select a portfolio of slightly higher risk (lower credit ratings) and get more interest on your money. It’s your call!

Right now the Zopa site only operates in the UK… but they have plans to expand into other countries by the end of the year.

There are many, many interesting ideas on this site (like the one above) and one of my best kept ’secret weapons’ for generating business plans and ideas.

Check it out:

http://www.springspotters.com/

P.S. SpringSpotters also run a newsletter at TrendWatching.com which, while different in focus, complements the Spotters site extremely well. The latest issue is extremely relevant and exciting to all online marketers: The Rise of the “Nouveau Niche”… you can download the issue here, but make sure you sign up to receive future issues (they’re pure Gold :).