Archive for April 2004
Dollar stores are the fastest growing retailers in America. Marginal Revolution: More than 4000 new dollar stores have opened in the last three years, an increase of thirty-four percent. The dollar store sector accounts for $16 billion a year, larger than the recorded music industry. Dollar General, a very large chain, will add 625 stores [...]
Wall Drug was the quintessential struggling small businesses in a dieing small town in 1936, when it stepped back and examined its intrinsic resources and realized that its key to success was free ice water: “No, because you know what, Ted? I think I finally saw how we can get all those travelers to come [...]
Financing Tips For First-Time Entrepreneurs
Boston Business Journal: “Recognize the odds. Entrepreneurs should recognize that venture financing is not always the answer to every funding question. In fact, the substantial majority of new ventures in the United States look to sources other than venture capital for startup funding. For example, of Inc. magazine’s list of 500 fastest-growing companies in 2003, [...]
More Retirees Launching Businesseses
Startup Journal: “The number of self-employed older people has been inching up for several years, even as the overall number of self-employed Americans has declined. It is a trend that AARP expects to accelerate after finding in a poll last summer that many people plan to keep working into their 70s or even later, and [...]
Small Businesses Deliver Meals
CNN: “Fresh food delivery services offering customized meals are gaining acceptance among busy, well-paid professionals, many of whom aren’t battling weight problems. Some say the plans provide balanced meals on days when they otherwise would have worked hours without eating then binge on something they’d regret later. Programs usually include three neatly packaged meals and [...]
Women Entrepreneurs Doing Better Than Men
New York Times: “This year, women own a 50 percent or larger stake in 10.6 million privately held companies, the Center for Women’s Business Research said. This is almost 48 percent of the country’s privately held businesses. Companies owned by women have $2.46 trillion in sales and employ just over 19 million people nationwide, according [...]
Everyone is reporting that Google has filed for an IPO, but the interesting news is that they’re going to auction all of the IPO shares. TheStreet: “‘An auction is an unusual process for an IPO in the United States,’ the company said in the filing. ‘Our experience with auction-based advertising systems has been surprisingly helpful [...]
Business Lessons from Sesame Street
About.com:”The lesson of ‘One of these things is not like the others…’ taught us at an early age to look for patterns and single out the unusual. The simple lesson for small business today is to be different, stand out and you will be noticed. In the list of carpet cleaners which one of these [...]
Jeff Cornwall: “When facing growth, remember that ultimately there is only one type of growth that matters: profits. Never just chase sales for the sake of more sales. Only grow your sales if they also grow your profits. Profits will not ‘just happen’ as you get bigger and sell more. They must be planned for [...]
Small Business Trends: “Chad Moutray, of the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, says [paraphrasing]: America has a very low cost of entry to start a business. That’s why the U.S. is an entrepreneurial country. Also, America’s universities need to focus on entrepreneurs… because half of the population works for small businesses, yet education [...]
Picking a Business Opportunity
When searching for a business opportunity or franchise, don’t get immediately hung up on “how much money can I make?” Startup Journal: “A better first question at the start of a search, if painfully obvious, is to ask yourself: What do you like to do? What sparks your imagination and engages you? How do you [...]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has published a list of the most dangerous jobs in America. The top 10: Timber cutters Fishers Pilots and navigators Structural metal workers Drivers-sales workers Roofers Electrical power installers Farm occupations Construction laborers Truck drivers via Eugene Volokh and Marginal Revolution.
Lucas Gonze: “In any field where visibility creates success, resources that are online will experience positive feedback at the expense of their offline rivals.” I agree. I’m not going to mention a business opportunity or franchise that I can’t find anything about online, because its not fair to my readers to present something that they [...]
Eight years ago today, on April 29, 1996, pay per click was born in a deal between Proctor & Gamble and Yahoo.
→ dollarstoreservices.com Not a franchise, Dollar Store Services offers a total comprehensive package which covers every pertinent aspect of opening and running a successful retail business long term. They will find your new dollar store location, negotiate the lease, perform the store design and layout, physical build out and provide ongoing support as well as [...]
This Weblog Featured on Busines Blog Consulting
Rick Bruner: “Dane Carlson, an entrepreneur, has started this blog seemingly just as a resource to other aspiring entrepreneurs, not as a promotion for his own business (in fact, it’s not even clear from his About page what his business is). He explains more of the blog’s mission.”
2-Year-Old Runs Cash Register at Eatery
Associated Press: Formosa Gardens restaurant has an unusual worker manning the cash register: 2-year-old Gordon Tan. “He can do the credit card machine too,” said his mother, Tiffany Lei, who owns the restaurant with Gordon’s father, Jason Tan. It was a busy day in January at the restaurant when Gordon first climbed up onto a [...]
When you’re considering purchasing a business opportunity or franchise, make sure that you talk to enough other people involved with the business. Don’t just talk to the references the seller gives — they’re most likely very biased. Google the opportunity and find others involved, and (maybe more importantly) no longer involved to get a better [...]
If you blog about business, you owe it to yourself to submit your weblog to this Yahoo category: Directory > Computers and Internet > Internet > World Wide Web > Weblogs > Business Since it isn’t acommercial cateogry, you shouldn’t have to pay the normal $299 annual fee for inclusion, but unlike other directories Yahoo [...]
How to Research Your Business Idea
Entrepreneur: “Somewhere between scribbling your idea on a cocktail napkin and actually starting a business, there’s a process you need to carry out that essentially determines either your success or failure in business. Oftentimes, would-be entrepreneurs get so excited about their ‘epiphanies’ — the moments when they imagine the possibilities of a given idea–that they [...]
→ gotchacoveredblinds.com Each Gotcha Covered office is independently owned and operated by families in your hometown area. These professional business owners have undergone an extensive training program designed to assist you, our customer, in choosing the window fashions that are just right for your home decor. That’s why they offer only national name brand merchandise [...]
YoungBiz: “Our quest to find America’s top business owners ages 19 and under led us to interview hundreds of teens, asking a variety of questions about the value of their companies, how they contribute to their communities, and what makes them successful. This year’s YoungBiz 100 earned a combined total of over $7 million in [...]
Virginia Postrel writes in the NY Times that the big deal about Internet commerce is not the lower prices. It’s the selection. The Internet offers variety that is simply impossible in traditional stores: When I wanted a contemporary light fixture in copper, I used Google to find a specialty retailer that had one I liked. [...]
Innovation is Distruptive to Big Companies
Economist: “Mr Christensen described how ‘disruptive innovation’–simpler, cheaper and more convenient products that seriously upset the status quo–can herald the rapid downfall of well-established and successful businesses. This, he argues, is because most organisations are designed to grow through ‘sustaining innovations’–the sort, like Gillette’s vibrating razor, that do no more than improve on existing products [...]
Legitimate Businesses You Can Start for $20
About.com presents ten small-scale business ideas that you can jump start for online $20: Webpreneur Consultant Housesitter / Petsitter Professional Organizer Avon Independent Sales Representative Personal Services – Shopping & Errands Desktop Publishing Tutoring eBay Seller Secretarial Service – Typing / Transcription / Proofreading
Shoestring Marketing for the One Man Band
Wizard Academy: “A mechanic friend, Tony, carries in his glove box several dozen computer-printed 5X7 flyers that say, ‘I specialize in fixing BMW’s like this one. Is it running like it should?’ When work is slow he drives through parking lots and looks for BMWs. When he finds one, he scribbles a little note to [...]
USA Today: “The $50 bill will sport a more colorful, patriotic look, with infusions of red and blue, a waving flag and a metallic silver-blue star — all part of government efforts to combat sophisticated counterfeiters. The redesigned $50 note, unveiled Monday by Treasury Secretary John Snow, will be issued in late September or early [...]
Reap the Rewards of Paying Attention
BizJournals: “The antennas-up philosophy starts with being aware of your immediate surroundings. If you’re looking to be a master seller, you must understand and capitalize on where you are, whom you meet and what you say. If you’re at an event, your job is to keep your antennas up until you meet the key players. [...]
→ jims.net The Jim’s Group is one of the most successful franchising companies in Australia, holding the world’s largest lawnmowing franchise. One of the many reasons for the success of the Jim’s Group is the ethos held by the company founder, Jim Penman. Recently, Jim was nominated as one of “Australia’s icons” by Readers Digest [...]
Dr. Cornwall of The Entrepreneurial Mind links to a study [PDF] published by the National Commission on Entrepreneurship that compares the origins of Fortune 200 companies in 1917 and 1997: “Of the 1997 Fortune 200 companies, 197 of them were traced back to one or more entrepreneurial founders. Many of the 1997 Fortune 200 were [...]
How to Start a Business And Keep Your Day Job
Startup Journal: “Venture capitalists and angel investors may get all the hype. But in the vast majority of cases, a start-up must demonstrate real results, including a solid customer base and sales, before most investors and even bankers will bother with them. ‘Business schools and business-plan competitions give would-be CEOs the incorrect impression they can [...]
Improving Economy Spurs Job Exodus
Sacramento Bee: When the former lawyer strolls into his auto dealership on Folsom Boulevard in Sacramento, he smiles as though in a fantasy. He sees nothing of his old life of legal hassles, court briefs and pinstriped suits. Biundo’s new career – brokering and selling upscale cars for well-heeled clients – is no accident. Four [...]
Entrepreneur.com: “You just need to be smart about it. Opening up a corner grocery across the street from the corner grocery that’s been there for 30 years and is the primary source of groceries for your town of 3,000 is probably not a wise move. If you’re not sure what kind of business to start, [...]
In an interview with Young Money Magazine, billionaire entrepreneur and Dallas Mavericks’ owner, Mark Cuban explained the key to recognizing a profitable business opportunity: Knowing the industry very well. Most people think it’s all about the idea. It’s not. EVERYONE has ideas. The hard part is doing the homework to know if the idea could [...]
PeerSpectives: “The easiest way to set a price is to calculate the cost of producing a product (direct costs, overhead and labor), add in a profit margin, and stamp the resulting number on a price tag. This method requires very little research. However, in the complexity of the marketplace, it is not likely to be [...]
Brian Dear: “I think it’s time to turn the tables and start getting paid to insert flyers and upsell messages back to the companies we all do business with. Time to pay the local San Diego Gas & Electric utility bill? Fine, here’s the check, and oh, here’s a coupon for 15% off on your [...]
Starting a Business Is Like Getting Married
The Entrepreneurial Mind: “Of course, like with any idea, even already developed ones like these, you still need to go through a very thorough opportunity assessment and develop your own business plan for your specific market. Also, make sure it is something that really interests you and that you can be passionate about. There are [...]
Finding Your Leg Up With a Niche Product
Sara Blakely of Spanx, Inc.: Entrepreneurs find their inspiration in the strangest places. My lightening bolt came from rampant visible panty lines and uncomfortable thongs. One night I wanted to wear my cream pants with open-toed shoes, but I couldn’t find the right undergarment. Everything I tried gave me panty lines and additional lumps and [...]
Marginal Revolution: “If sushi restaurants are new to a country, and are succeeding, buy shares in the stocks of that country. Raw fish, of course, can be toxic. Quality can be hard to monitor with the naked eye. Sushi consumption is a sign that people are starting to trust each other.” via Kottke.
Seller Assisted Marketing Plans in California
Seller Assisted Marketing Plans sellers are required to file with the Attorney General’s Office prior to advertising or selling business opportunities in California. The Attorney General’s Office then reviews the information for compliance with law before the company can begin selling in California. The SAMP law requires that the seller give the same information to [...]
Dot-Com Era Digital Archaeology Opportunities
Robert Cringley: “What has changed is that, through the relentless passage of Moore’s Law, computers are on average 16 times faster today than they were back in 1998. This makes me wonder, in fact, whether there aren’t hundreds of promising technologies from the late 1990s that are worth another look today. It would probably be [...]
FC Now: “On this day in 1985, Coca-Cola announced a change in the Coke formula. While many people thought that it might have been a gambit to increase interest in the original formula, the move to New Coke was, in fact, a major misstep. After widespread public outcry, Coca-Cola ended production of the new formula [...]
10 Business Lessons From A Young Entrpreneur
MSN: Scott Smigler, 22, is one young entrepreneur who has learned some important lessons from his pursuit of entrepreneurship. Smigler started Exclusive Concepts Inc., a company that provides professional Web design and online marketing solutions to growing businesses, when he was only a freshman in high school. Smigler ran the company by himself at first, [...]
The IPO Myth and “Real” Entrepreneurs
The Entrepreneurial Mind: “Real entrepreneurship for the vast majority of entrepreneurs involves hard work and taking a risk to pursue a very basic dream. These entrepreneurs have a passion to start a particular business that they believe in their hearts can make them a living doing what they love to do, and doing it on [...]
Wall Street Journal: “It’s tough to make your business stand out in a resort town, where everyone offers the same mix of T-shirts and party food. But in Cozumel, Mexico, Jess Ruiz and Daisy Rubi, a married couple from the Philippines, have figured out a way not to depend on the jaded, seen-it-all Americans who [...]
Crossroads Dispatches: “A quiet launch is counter-intuitive. But it’s a totally deliberate (and effective) strategy. Think: Guerilla marketing, grassroots word-of-mouth, buzz-building, emotional branding, experiential marketing, conversational marketing, business blogging using influencers, sneezers, connectors, power law nodes, mavens — and, even — gasp, CUSTOMERS. Quiet evokes mystery.” via Scobleizer.
→ wallysfishnchips.com After many years of great success with his unique Fish-n-Chips business, and numerous requests for his process of preparation that renders fish fillets truly addictive, Wally has designed a personalized plan at an unbelievable low cost. He is now prepared to offer this special opportunity to everyone who would be interested in attracting [...]
→ glassmechanix.com The Glass Repair Industry grosses over one billion dollars yearly! As glass replacement prices rise and inflation continues, more and more fleets and individuals are turning to glass repair over replacement. The business potential in glass repair is unlimited. Typical clients of glass repair are fleets, insurance companies, car lots, car rental companies, [...]
No Wal-Mart Effect in Health Care
Business Week: “In recent years, Americans have enjoyed the glories of falling consumer prices. It’s commonly called the Wal-Mart (WMT ) effect: Huge retailers use their buying power to force suppliers to cut costs, then the retailers pass some of those savings on to their customers. Forced to stay competitive, other retailers follow suit. The [...]
Inc: “In 1982, 80% of Inc. 500 CEOs credited their companies’ success to novel, unique, or proprietary ideas. In 1992, 80% of Inc. 500 CEOs described the ideas for their companies as ordinary or mundane. It was superior execution, they said, that brought them success.”
