Archive for August 2007
Photo by The Rocketeer.
WAHM Finds Answers On Time Management
24-7 Press Release: For Renae Heikkila juggling a husband, 5 children, 2 dogs, 3 birds and her Coastal Vacations business was more than she could handle. She was making great money with her Coastal Vacations business, however, it was starting to feel “not worth it” when her management of time was out of control. “I [...]
"Hipee Baby" Is A Labor Of Love For Creative Mom
Roseville Press Tribune: When it comes to seemingly impossible twists, Ryanne Cruz knows how to transform them into something wonderfully unexpected. This was especially true when Cruz’s husband Myron’s sudden job transfer uprooted their young family from their Bay Area home to Roseville. Cruz, owner of Hipee Baby, a new tie-dyed baby clothing business, said [...]
More Moms Are Starting Businesses To Stay Home With Family
St. Cloud Times: Ranadene Tapio believes in signs. The Sauk Rapids woman should have noticed the emotional sign when she cried every day during her almost one-hour commute. She didn’t feel good about her job as an admissions director for an assisted-living home in Golden Valley because she wasn’t spending that time with her new [...]
Gadgetell: 8 full-fledged cameras from Olympus with great and cool features will be available soon. Keynote features include Digital Image Stabilization Edit (IS) and a Perfect Shot Preview mode. From the top of the list, the Olympus 790SW (an update of the 770SW if you will) is waterproof, shockproof, freeze proof, sand and dust proof, [...]
The Entrepreneur’s Marshmallow
VentureBeat: The Marshmallow Test, which was done back in the early 1960s by Walter Mischel with 400 four-year olds at Stanford University. Children were put in a room by themselves with a two-way mirror and filmed. On the table in the room was a marshmallow. The researcher then told each child that, “I’ve got to [...]
Credit Fallout Could Help Venture Capitalists
The New York Times: The sky is falling. The sky is falling. The ground is rising. Could the subprime problems that have fouled the public market be a mixed blessing for Silicon Valley’s high-technology investors? Highly out of favor in recent years, public offerings of technology start-ups are enjoying a mild resurgence. And some venture [...]
Entrepreneur Daily: A new study reveals that twentysomething women are closing the wage gap between men and women. In New York, Los Angeles and other metropolitan cities, women have actually forged ahead of men in salary earnings. In Dallas, full-time working women are making 120 percent of the average male salary. A close analysis shows [...]
Local6.com: A family in West Salem, Ohio, is using life-sized cardboard children placed near oncoming traffic to slow speeders in their neighborhood. Mike Wood and his wife said their homemade cutout children make them feel uneasy at times because they look so real but said they force motorists to slow down. “First when (motorists) saw [...]
Kiplinger: Looking to increase sales? Encourage “brand sirens” to sing your product’s praises online in blogs, on social networking sites, your own Web site’s comment section and other Internet locations. Favorable word-of-mouth advertising is a proven sales booster, of course, and the Web can spread the word to millions of potential customers. OK, so what [...]
The Stork Store Launches Improved Website
eMediaWire: Online baby birth announcement and gift e-tailer, The Stork Store, recently launched a redesigned and improved website. The plan behind the design is to make it easier for customers to navigate and discover new gift ideas as well as make it a more secure shopping experience. “When we first started our website it was [...]
CNNMoney.com: If you’ve thought of quitting your day job and starting your own business, you’re not alone. According to the Small Business Administration, 672,000 companies were created in 2005. That’s the biggest startup boom in U.S. history. Still, starting your own company is risky. The SBA says 544,800 small businesses closed that year. So how [...]
Gadgetell: Here’s a useful tool! Imagine sticking your mobile phone to your dashboard surface without worries of it falling off at the mere acceleration of your car. Here’s how it works. Tough 3M adhesives at the back of this Proporta Magnetic Dashboard mount causes it to attach to your dashboard, which in turn secures your [...]
Springwise: Since newborns grow out of a clothing size every month or so in the first half year of their lives, German Lütte-Leihen came up with a solution: a layette rental service for a fixed fee per month. Parents can choose from different sets of onesies, pajamas and outerwear. The clothes are delivered by post. [...]
American Venture Magazine: When analyzing the marketing mix most entrepreneurs quickly learn there are two basic type of market research…..”primary” and “secondary”. Primary research is the collection of original data employing numerous methods including surveys, interviews, questionnaires, etc. This method is generally too costly and time consuming for most small firms. Secondary data is simple [...]
Niche E-Tailers Attract Bargain Hunters
Reuters: Think of a retail boutique with a very, very limited range of products and bargain basement prices. Now, put that on the Internet and you have the next big thing in online shopping. Niche online stores are making a name for themselves by finding cool stuff — from travel deals to live event tickets [...]
Best States For Growing A Small Biz
MSNBC: If you’re seeking the ideal place to grow a small business, Florida is the state for you. Four of America’s five best markets for small businesses are in Florida, led by No. 1 Orlando, according to a new Bizjournals study. Florida’s top-rated markets are scattered throughout the state. Orlando is the economic hub of [...]
Keep Cool With A Cucumber Pepsi
MSNBC: As the summer begins to sizzle, we can think of no better way to slake our thirst than with a icy cold carbonated beverage. And if you’re in Japan, now you can keep cool with a cucumber-flavored soda. “Pepsi Ice Cucumber” hit the stores this week, but it doesn’t actually have any of the [...]
From Metro These neon signs for Red Zones are so cool that I hope they are real installations and not print ads. Photo by Billboardem.
Rob May on why blogging sucks and video is where it’s at: The more I play in the online video space, the more I like it. Normal blogging is difficult because the moment there was money in it, everyone started trying to game the system by stuffing posts with keywords, maximizing titles for SEO, but [...]
Dunwoody Mom's Invention Gives Shorties A Lift
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: If you’ve visited a public restroom in a Whole Foods location or at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport lately, you may have noticed a new convenience — the Step ‘n Wash. Joi Sumpton, a mother of two, was sick of hoisting her kids up to wash their hands and realized there was something missing in [...]
Work-Life Balance for Caregivers No Longer a Struggle at Denver-Based Transportation Company
PRNewswire: Johnson Storage & Moving Co., a Denver-based transportation company with affiliates in five states representing both United Van Lines and Mayflower Transit, sets itself apart from its competition with a creative, flexible work arrangement philosophy. Since 1995, Johnson employees have worked from their home offices, cared for their families and still excelled professionally at [...]
Selling Mary Kay Helps Mom Balance Career And Time With Kids
OC Register: Describe your business: I am an independent consultant for Mary Kay. I sell skincare products and cosmetics. Why did you start this business: I started using Mary Kay’s Time Wise line about18 months ago and my face looks amazing now. I get compliments all the time and people can’t believe I just turned [...]
redferret: Unlike most electric fly traps, Fly Pod isn’t at all industrial looking, and instead, is silent, neat, hygienic and discreet – making it ideal for use in the home. The flies’ fascination with the light is their undoing; the soft glow lures them in, and they wing their way to a very sticky end. [...]
Opening A Biz? Do Your Homework
Clarion Ledger: Nancy Tanner Crisco and Janis Burgess lacked a written business plan when they opened What’s Cookin’ in Brandon in 2005 but nevertheless took a hands-on approach. The two women visited a similar business in Starkville for menu ideas and a lesson in how to start a business that specializes in preparing and stocking [...]
Toronto Sun: Knowing how much people love to enter contests, Carolyn Wilman has made a business out of it. “I teach people how to have more fun in their lives by entering contests and winning,” the entrepreneur says. Wilman’s company is called Imagination Edge Inc. but she’s best known as the “Contest Queen” . Her [...]
MSNBC: First there were pet spas featuring puppy pedicures, so we should not be suprised that now dog lovers everywhere can make Fido more fashionable with celebrity-styled dog wigs. The brainchild of Hollywood stylist Ruth Regina, the canine toupees are called Wiggles, and come in variety of shapes and sizes to accessorize the tiniest chihuahua [...]
NYPost: Today Keith Millman and Westley Ciaramella have parlayed their love for inventing toys and games into a thriving business, Brooklyn-based Catapult Concepts, which produces more than 100 concepts a year for manufacturers including Mattel and Hasbro. It started eight years ago, when the two met at their first day attending the toy-design program at [...]
Rhonda Abrams At Gannett News Service: Every entrepreneur I know wants to make more money. But surviving in business is not only about how much money you make, but when you make it and when you spend it. In other words, “cash flow.” If you can’t control your cash flow, you can’t control your company. [...]
From News.com An elderly New Zealand man who suffered a heart attack at a hardware store was revived by a salesman who just happened to be demonstrating a defibrillator to store staff. The man, who was in his 80s, collapsed in an aisle of the Placemakers store in Albany, near Auckland, and his heart was [...]
AZFamily.com: They say, “Need leads to innovation,” and that was never more true than in the case of Richelle Nassos who turned her son’s fears and tears into a major business. It’s first aid with a little TLC. Part doctor bag, part playtime, it is a first-aid kit designed just for kids and all designed [...]
OC Mama Launches Its Way To The Hearts And Homes Of Mothers In Orange County
PRNewswire: OC Mama is a website created and written for mothers living in Orange County, California. An online weekly publication, the website offers a plethora of information and resources for new mothers. Included on the site are a list of various family services throughout Orange County, write-ups of products for parents and kids, highlights of [...]
Giveaway: Signed Copy of The 4-Hour Workweek
Update: Because of Labor Day, the winner will be chosen and notified on 9/4/07. So keep entering. Would you like to win a autographed hardcover copy of The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss? To enter the contest, answer this question in the comments below: What would do if you only had a four hour workweek? [...]
Catapult: Everyone uses them and by their nature, napkins are in your face. A blank space perfect for scribbling down notes, it occurred to Emmanuel Kastanias that napkins would be great for advertisements too. Kastanias says he found the idea staring him in the face while he was eating. “I was looking at the napkin [...]
Gizmodo: No need to curse the darkness with this Nightlighter, which not only lights your path ahead but shines a couple of really bright LEDs toward the ground, assuring you that you won’t trip over that sleeping dog in the middle of the floor when the lights have gone out. Powered by a trio of [...]
CubiCaller: Ask any one of the estimated 40 million cubicle dwellers in the US and countless others around the world how visitors get their attention in the cubicle. You’ll hear stories about loud knocking, feet shuffling, and the ever popular hovering until detected! The Cubicaller was invented by cube dweller Mike Mussoline to solve this [...]
Business Week: Keiretsu describes a mutually supportive business relationship, typically between a group of corporations with broad power and reach or between manufacturers, suppliers, and investors. The term was used extensively in Japan after World War II, when strong banks invested in specific companies and encouraged them to supply discounted products and services to each [...]
Entrepreneur: I’ve always loved the idea of making people feel and look beautiful on the outside and inside,” says Joey Shamah. He was a New York University business student working for his family’s apparel company when, at a party, he met Scott Vincent Borba, a Los Angeles beauty-industry veteran who helped launch Hard Candy cosmetics [...]
Lifehack.org: Most of us have one or two areas of knowledge that we strive to know very well — things related to our jobs, of course, and maybe a hobby or two. But while it’s important to develop a deep understanding of the things that matter most to us, it is just as important to [...]
From Metro Here’s an amazing street installation by Mark Jenkins. That is, it’s art. See, we are not all about blatant commercialism here at Billboardom. Although it wouldn’t hurt if the headless guy’s clothes were branded. Photo by Billboardem.
From Metro Guinness created these special cans that it distributed around bars to promote responsible drinking. Blame Canada. Photo by Billboardem.
Chad Vader “Chocolate Rain” Remix
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Mom Opens Restaurant To Help Son
El Paso Times: After nearly seven years of watching her adult son struggle to get a job, Sharon Ausderau decided that she could no longer hope for employers to look beyond his disability and provide him an opportunity to be productive. “His father died about seven years ago,” Ausderau said. “I don’t know how much [...]
Mom Aims To Revolutionize Tween Publishing With Kiki Magazine
PRNewswire: After a fruitless and exasperating search for magazines that would entertain, educate, and inspire her own daughters, Jamie Bryant found herself doing something she’d never dreamed of — launching a new national publication. Kiki Magazine, which debuts next month, is aimed at “girls with style and substance” ages 9-14. Part magazine and part studio, [...]
PC Magazine: Capture memories with live video, thanks to the EZ201 Small Wonder by RCA. It’s a portable digital camcorder that lets you record up to 60 minutes of standard definition or up to 30 minutes of high-res to its 512MB flash memory. With the integrated Memory Manager software, users can download video through a [...]
Attracting Customers with a Blog
Wall Street Journal: Five years ago, Steve Spangler was a science teacher outside Denver. These days, his educational toy company, Steve Spangler Science, employs nearly 30 people and he speaks to groups of science teachers across the country. Mr. Spangler largely credits his blog for his success. Steve Spangler Science recorded more than $5 million [...]
This week’s Carnival of the Capitalists is up at Reasoned Audacity.
Systems Work, People Fail, or How to Start Your Own Successful Business
The following is an advertorial by Dr. M. Remember these words, because they are the most powerful words for the online marketer today – “Systems Work, People Fail.” The effectiveness of online marketing has been vastly evolving from its early days. Marketing has been and always will be about linking customers to the marketer. What [...]
Losing Inventor Laughing All The Way To Bank
BBC News: One expert, Rachel Elnaugh, called the Stabletable device “the most ridiculous idea” she had ever seen. Its Surrey inventor Andrew Gordon had the idea after drinking five pints with friends at a wobbly pub table. He woke up with a hangover the next day and designed the gadget by cutting up a cereal [...]
The Salt Lake Tribune: Many teens mow lawns to earn some extra cash. When Matthew Millet was 12, he decided to turn his lawn-mowing chores into a full-time job. With the help of cousins who worked for a landscaping company, Millet, now 18, bought a truck, a trailer and lawn-mowing equipment and began his own [...]
