Archive for December 2004
Fortune Small Business: “Last month StartupNation’s, a radio talk show aimed at small business, reached an industry landmark when it entered its 50th broadcast market. StartupNation’s founders, Jeff and Rich Sloan, are no ordinary radio jocks. The brothers, who live in Birmingham, Mich., are serial entrepreneurs who have invented a device to keep car batteries [...]
California in a Housing Bubble
UCLA: “In an outlook to be formally released today, forecasters say California and the nation are beset by a housing “bubble” that will depress construction next year, slowing the nation’s economic recovery.” via Chuck Huckaby.
Divergent Entrepreneurial Climate Rankings
Dr. Cornwall is interpreting the wildy varied results of three entrepreneurial climate rankings from the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council, the Small Business Survival Committee, and the Corporation for Enterprise Development: The differences lie in definitions of entrepreneurship (broadly defined versus a narrow focus on high growth) and their theories of the proper public policy [...]
What Are The Best Christmas Gifts?
Marginal Revolution: “Experiences, not possessions. Concerts and travel are remembered for longer than clothes and jewelry. The result is robust to different ages and groups, but tends to be strongest for high-income individuals.”
Ed Sim: “As you know, hiring is a critical component in the success of any company. People and their ability to execute are what separates the winners from the losers in any industry. Hiring the wrong person, particularly in an early stage company, can cost you dearly. On the contrary, hiring the right person can [...]
Fred Wilson: “This is something we feel strongly about in our investments. We’d much rather see entrepreneurs build something quickly, get it out there, and let the customers bang on it and evolve it. The entrepreneurs who insist on over engineering their solutions inevitably end up with nothing to show for it.”
The Kent State Burr: It was a “drunken lark” in 1990 that set Bob Tanner of Cortland on an 11-year journey. Bob and his friend Jeff Stosik, a New York City hot dog vendor, were doing the bar scene in downtown Kent when they decided to get some post-drinking sustenance. The two stumbled over to [...]
Dave Winer: Make a list of adjectives that apply to the product, things you want to convey in the name. If you don’t have such a list you’ll never know how to judge the potential names you come up with. Using a thesaurus look up some of the adjectives. Let your mind wander. It’s important [...]
Five More Misconceptions About Patents
Per my current favorite blogger, Bob Shaver, none of the following are true: I have a “Poor Man’s Patent” so I am entitled to stop others from “taking my invention”. My invention is worth lots of money because it is patented. I am not infringing his patent because I changed my design more than ten [...]
Spike TV Inks Maloof Family for Entrepreneurial Themed Series in 2005
In a new series, scheduled to premiere on Spike TV in 2005, the Maloof Family will transform struggling family businesses into successful enterprises: The series is based on the philosophical principals of the Maloof family that have enabled them to amass a billion-dollar family empire that spans banking, real estate, hospitality, beer distribution, gaming and [...]
Interstate Wine Shipments Coming Soon
NY Times: “If the Supreme Court argument Tuesday on interstate wine sales proves to be a reliable roadmap to the eventual decision, consumers who want to order wine directly from out-of-state wineries will soon be able to do so with the court’s blessing.”
Amazon: “Whether someone is starting a business for the first time or the fiftieth, this book provides more knowledge and know-how than any other resource. With information on buying a business or franchise, writing a business plan, handling finances, accounting, legal issues, personnel, operations, marketing, sales, customer service, taxes, insurance and ethics, this comprehensive volume [...]
CBS Market Watch: Generation Y Americans, those age 16 to 27, eat out 24 times a month on average, according to the November survey of 1,000 consumers by Technomic, a Chicago-based market-research firm focused on the food industry. “The Y generation purchases food from restaurants almost once a day on average,” said Michael Allenson, a [...]
Paul Allen: “I’ve decided that the first advice I will give every entrepreneur is to form an advisory board of perhaps 6-10 successful people, to meet with them regularly, and to use their collective wisdom to help solve every business problem.”
Red Herring: “Almost 30 IPOs are on December’s new-issues calendar. That’s right – 30 deals. Bankers hope to raise about $4.2 billion. This projected volume is even more significant when placed against the seasonal backdrop. The December IPO production line traditionally closes down by mid-month.” via Jeff Cornwall.
It Doesn’t Take a College Degree
Latina Lista: Perhaps one of the most noteworthy things to know about the nominee for Commerce Secretary, Carlos Gutierrez, is the fact that he doesn’t have a college degree. Yet, this Cuban refugee who learned English from a hotel bellhop and got his start in the cereal business driving trucks, has a resume that rivals [...]
202 Things You Can Buy and Sell For Big Profits!
Amazon: “This book is packed with great ideas and an incredible amount of information. I found so many practical ideas and helpful suggestions in this book that I can’t wait to get started buying and selling right away! The book has all the answers for people that want to make extra money buying and selling [...]
Don’t Get Too Hung Up On Protecting Your Idea
Startup Journal says that you shouldn’t worry about your attorney stealing your business idea: Whether your attorney will steal your idea should rank pretty low among the worries and challenges you’d face if you pursue this. Should you consult with an attorney before franchising a business concept? Yes, before launching any serious business you’d be [...]
Barbara Mackoff reviewing for Amazon: PR pundits and business owners Friedman and Yorio tackle the fear factor of women who want to quit their day job and build a business. They ask, “Are you the girl to run the show?” They answer with a sassy list of pros and cons (“You will be able to [...]
Entrepreneur: “You’ve seen all those nifty kiosks in your local malls–they sell everything from hair products to cooking utensils to candy and cookies. Customers crowd around these carts and pony up big money for their wares. But can entrepreneurs really make serious money in these smaller venues? And what makes certain kiosk entrepreneurs ultra-successful?”
Ken Jennings Becomes Microsoft Encarta Spokesperson
BetaNews: “Microsoft has tapped Jeopardy! king Ken Jennings, who recently finished his 75-game run on the show, to become the spokesman for its Encarta product line. Jennings will embark on a nationwide media tour called ‘Quiz the Whiz’ that challenges news desks to stump the human encyclopedia with questions from Microsoft’s Encarta Reference Library Premium [...]
The Most Hated Advertising Techniques
According to Jakob Nielsen, when users were asked how various aspects of online ads affected their Web experience, they rated the following attributes most negatively: Design Element Users Answering“Very Negatively”or “Negatively” Pops-up in front of your window 95% Loads slowly 94% Tries to trick you into clicking on it 94% Does not have a “Close” [...]
Chris Yeh: “In her 1928 essay [A Room of One's Own], Virginia Woolf argued that, ‘A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.’ To the same extent, I think the same thing applies to entrepreneurship. Most entreprenuerial dreams die an early death because they are starved [...]
Pennsylvania To Raise Small Businesses’ Taxes To Lure Big Businesss
Pennsylvania plans to raise taxes on small businesses so that they can attract more big businesses, according to Law & Entrepreneurship News: Pennsylvania is looking for ways to reduce state corporate net income taxes by 30%. The proposed tax cut for corporations would include a provision that increases the Pennsylvania small business tax rate by [...]
Patent Pending: Names for new companies and products need to be named carefully. This is an area that is diffucult anyone, and especially so if you don’t know the rules. When selecting a name for a company or a product, you should think about what type of mark you have selected. Not all trademarks are [...]
Popgadget: “Anyone who’s run to Kinko’s at 3 am for business cards to hand out at a 9 am meeting, only to find out that it takes them a week to ship, will appreciate the business card cutter. The cutter will make clean edges, not the perforated frayed ones that make it so obvious that [...]
Why Some Stores Have Longer Lines
Tyler Cowen: “Some stores may use growing and shrinking lines as a substitute for changing prices. The waiting time in line at my [supermarket] is often longest late at night. In essence they are charging you a higher price to shop late at night. The company ‘wins back’ some of this tax by skimping on [...]
More Twentysomethings Starting Businesses
AP: “A survey done this year by the National Association for the Self-Employed found that about 15 percent of its members are in their 20s or early 30s.” via re:invention.
Quiz For Small Business Success
SBA: “We at Small Business Success Magazine conducted a survey of more than 100 California business owners. Their comments about small business success guided us in creating the following quiz. Choose the answer you think is best for each question. Use the sheet at the end to determine your total point score and then see [...]
This week’s Carnival of the Capitalists is up at The Entrepreneurial Mind.
Go It Alone! : The Secret To Building A Successful Business On Your Own
Amazon: There is an epidemic of unhappiness in the American workplace. A full 70 percent of workers in the United States report that they are disengaged from their jobs. When asked, ‘Do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?’ only 20 percent of nearly 2 million employees said yes. It [...]
→ signsnow.com To put it as simply as possible: The Signs Now Advantage. Signs Now offers a proven business model with a high success rate. They are the original developers of the fast turnaround signs business and we continue to build upon that solid foundation to adapt our unique business model to fit the continually [...]
→ cartridgeworld.com Cartridge World is one of the world’s leading refillers of empty ink cartridges with over 650 franchised retail stores worldwide. They can refil most inkjet, laser, photocopier and fax cartridges while customers wait. Currently, over 70% of all printer users throw away their used ink cartridges. Cartridge World, with local retail stores and [...]
NFIB: One inexpensive method of building your business that I am quite fond of is overnight radio advertising. It offers you the chance to get the word out without racking up huge bills. Consider that in major metropolitan media markets, advertising during drive time (7 – 9 a.m. and 4 – 7 p.m.) can run [...]
Auction Bytes: “eBay is creating a ‘Want It Now’ format to allow buyers to post items they are looking for and allowing sellers to respond to buyers with eBay listings. Buyers can create a 30-day listing describing the item or items they wish to purchase. User IDs are not revealed in the Want It Now [...]
→ cashamerica.com Cash America International, Inc. is a New York Stock Exchange listed company (CSH) serving the underbanked segment of the population. Cash America is the market leader in secured non-recourse lending, providing short-term capital to customers in the United States. For centuries, money has been loaned based solely on the value of an item [...]
→ dei-sales.com D.E.I. Management Group, Inc., founded in 1979 by Stephan Schiffman, has long been recognized as one of the nation’s premier sales training companies, delivering skills and management programs for organizations ranging from Fortune 500 companies to startups. Using face-to-face training and distance learning programs, they help organizations do what they do better by [...]
If you need an additional gift idea this holiday season, I heartily recommend the Oxygenics showerhead. I’ve used both a wall-mounted and handheld version of this showerhead for more than three years, and it works exactly as described. Most low-flow showerheads work by restricting the incoming water and then only allowing the water out through [...]
→ peeweeworkout.com Pee Wee workout is a pre-school health/fitness program developed in 1986 to educate as many children as possible about the benefits of healthy living. You can make a difference in the early development years of a child’s health. Teaching fitness, healthy lifestyles, and a respect for their bodies is what Pee Wee Workout [...]
Though the International Franchise Association is speaking specifically about franchises, their reasons for starting a business apply to why most new entrepreneurs: Many prospective franchisees have figured out that though their work efforts may be creating a significant amount of wealth, in most cases they are not sharing directly in the wealth they are creating. [...]
What Was The Most Important Lesson You Learned In 2004?
Chuck Fey wrote: At this time of year, many people often reflect on the past year, including their successes, failures and lessons learned. Here’s an opportunity to share what you’ve learned, and gain new insights from the experiences of other InnovationTools readers. Please respond to this question: What is the most important lesson you learned [...]
Ken Jennings Lost Because of the IRS
Wow, Division of Labour is right: Ken Jennings lost on Jeopardy because of the IRS. If the tax code were not so convoluted that it required an enormous tax preparation business for people to pay their taxes. To add insult to injury, he also has to pay an nearly half his winnings in taxes. Thankfully, [...]
Oxford Learning Centres Inc./ Learning Centers of America Inc.
→ oxfordlearning.com Since 1984, Oxford Learing Center has been energizing the learning ability of their students to absorb and process information by teaching them how to learn. This power stays with students for life. It is used in every subject and in every learning activity. Their unique Dynamic Diagnostic Assessment™ pinpoints how each student learns [...]
Study: Women Lead the Startup Stats
Business Week: “Female entrepreneurs may once have lagged behind their male counterparts, but now they’re making up for lost time. Business ownership among women in general is growing at nearly twice the rate (17%) as all businesses (9%), according to a new report released this month by the Center for Women’s Business Research. And the [...]
Examples of Successful Ebay Businesses
I just found a great two month old article in Entrepreneur magazine that I must have missed when it was first published. It features eleven different small business Ebay users, and how they’ve profited from the online marketplace. Here’s an example: Selling to other eBay sellers is also a viable option for entrepreneurs who wish [...]
Federal Business Opportunities
Metafilter: “Ever wanted to know where all your tax dollars really go? Mosey on over to FedBizOpps.gov and search the nice little database they’ve got there for all those federal business opportunities you just can’t wait to bid on….How about making a wearable computer for the Navy? Want to perform for the USO? How about [...]
Unfortunately, if you use Google PageRank (PR) to gauge the worth and legitimacy of a website, you’re now out of luck. Search Engine Roundtable is reporting that Google claims that PR is for entertainment purposes only. From an email from Google: The PageRank that is displayed in the Google Toolbar is for entertainment purposes only. [...]
I have a confession to make. Selfishly, I have held off mentioning that Jeremy Wright is auctioning off his weblogging talents on Ebay. For the winning bidder, Jeremy will post five to ten times per week for three months on any blog of the winner’s choosing. I didn’t want to mention his auction in hopes [...]
Automotive Maintenance Solutions
→ amscarcare.com The Sheldricks were not planning to sell just any common oil change. They researched the market and the competition and decided that performing complete automotive maintenance actually increased the performance of their customers vehicles. The same professionalism and integrity that has made the local AMS service center great has been incorporated into the [...]
