Archive for May 2008
Entrepreneur creates DIY ethanol machine
SFGate: A Silicon Valley entrepreneur is betting that drivers stung by rising gas prices will be eager to make the switch to ethanol for their cars — and that they’ll want to make it at home in a $10,000 refrigerator-sized machine. Thomas Quinn, founder and chief executive of Los Gatos-based E-Fuel Corp., is selling what [...]
[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=XKxPHvrAhKg[/youtube]
Moli a new site for small business social networking
Miami Herald: As social networking trickles into the business world, Moli.com is working to become the go-to social media resource for small businesses. The West Palm Beach Web site launched last year as a place to manage multiple profiles. Now it is introducing a new feature: The Moli Small Business Center, where business owners can [...]
Warning: Minimal Butt Exposure. [youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=xMZR9y7ECTg[/youtube]
Steve Ballmer Egged In Budapest
Nothing sticks it to the man like a good egging. [youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=mtBQ4UCXQeo[/youtube]
Keep Your Spoon To Yourself At Work
From Yahoo.com TOKYO (Reuters) – A veteran sumo wrestler who attacked a junior grappler with a cooking instrument has been ordered to take a salary cut for his violent outburst. Toyozakura, whose ladle-wielding assault left the victim bleeding and needing eight stitches, will take a 30 percent pay cut for three months, Japanese sumo officials [...]
This Big Brother Bus Stop ad in Australia uses blue tooth technology to send cell phone users within range of the bus stop text messages. The first message reads “I’m watching u. Ur at the bus stop on St George’s tce, out in front of Boost Juice.” The second message (sent 30-40 seconds later) reads [...]
Have A Book You Need To Market? Throw Money From A Plane!
From MSNBC.com JAKARTA, Indonesia – If you’re short of cash and don’t mind running in tropical humidity and smog for a few bucks, read on. An Indonesian businessman plans to throw 100 million rupiah (about $10,600) out of an airplane over the capital this Sunday as a publicity stunt to promote his new book. “I [...]
Sick of all those magazine ads piling up? Eat them! Fine Print reads: 100% edible paper. Fiat Panda 1.2 Natural Power Climbing €11.000. Offer valid until supplies run out. Better make this ad disappear quickly.
Coca Cola Unhuggables Commercial
[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=WNI0xQW6urw[/youtube]
Personal Development is all the rage, people are learning more about healing and growing in order to become healthier and more successful. Personal Development businesses are popping up all over the place, and Aura Imaging is an interesting venue that can assist seekers with more knowledge about their electromagnetic field…or aura. What IS an aura [...]
Mom/Daughter Team Create One Special Wedding Gift
Many mom-owned businesses exist because the woman was looking to work from home and care for family. The Blue Top Hat is different. This is a business run by a mother and her daughter. Their business idea came about when they were trying to figure out a gift to give one of their best friends [...]
Spokane Journal of Business: Sarah Bishop named her business, Moxie Nannies Inc., after the type of person she thinks makes a good nanny: energetic, determined, and knowledgeable. Experienced as both a nanny and a parent, Bishop says she knows how hard it is for parents to find a person who’s qualified to come into their [...]
Kids Worming Way Into Family Business
syracuse.com: Some warm, rainy night when you’re driving along Route 321 in Camillus you might notice a woman and her young children with flashlights and headlamps on, walking the grounds at the Carpenter’s Brook Fish Hatchery. Don’t worry, they’ve got permission from hatchery officials. It’s Sara Holden and her kids looking for night crawlers. The [...]
Alaska Star: Traffic into the store is steady, and the mood is happy, most of the time. Things can change at the whim of the real boss, Cora, the 22-month-old daughter of Alexis Kallen. Kallen brings Cora to work with her most days and juggles business and mommy-hood as best she can. Cora is potty [...]
Necessity Fuels Entrepreneurial Mom
The Morning News: Ashley Leis is proof that necessity is the mother of invention. The former mortgage lender invested about $50,000 to open an hourly drop-off daycare service out of frustration. She decided to be a stay-at-home mom when she had her daughter four years ago but soon found that at-home life was a tough [...]
Everyday Edisons® Announces Virtual Casting Call To Close Out Season Three June 2-23
Due to popular demand, Everyday Edisons will extend our Season Three casting calls with a sixth and final casting call. Rather than visit one more city, we’ve decided to open it to anyone and everyone via the Internet. Now anyone may prepare and submit an idea for review by Everyday Edisons and major national retailers [...]
Want To Save The Planet? Stay Home.
Laura Vanderkam at USA Today: Kermit the Frog need not be morose — it seems everyone wants to be green these days. Americans increasingly care about the environmental impact of their decisions, and so magazines teem with ads touting companies’ environmental cred. Unfortunately, this strategizing has missed some low-hanging fruit. We might be using Coldwater [...]
Inventor Aims To Make ‘Hip Visions’
Poughkeepsie Journal: Instead of heading into corporate America after college, 21-year-old Rob Ianelli works for himself, as the president of a company he wants to make known for its cool ideas. Realizing his talent for thinking creatively and visually, Ianelli launched Hip Visions LLC after becoming a patent holder for his bottle-opening sunglasses design. He [...]
Niche Biz: Nagging Service For Dieters
Springwise: Anyone who’s ever tried to lose weight or improve their fitness knows that it can sometimes be tough to get motivated. For those who need a little extra help getting going, a new service called WeightNags will nag customers mercilessly until they get off the couch and get some exercise. WeightNags, which was just [...]
Springwise: We’ve written about eBay feeder businesses before. Now, another example has popped up in the UK focusing on the collection and delivery of ‘pickup only’ furniture and antique items. For prices beginning at GBP 40, Lots2 will collect and deliver items bought on eBay or other auction platforms from or to anywhere in London, [...]
Walmart Launches Online Classifieds
AuctionBytes.com: Walmart launched Walmart.com Classifieds beta to provide additional opportunities for their customers to save money and live better. This free, community-based resource allows customers to buy and sell items locally, find local jobs and learn about events in their area. The new Classifieds at Walmart.com provides an expanded offering of products and services, the [...]
It’s not often we hear about people taking a moment for tea. Karen Hattaway still does. She’s even built a business around it. Sweet Necessi-Teas is an online boutique that offers wonderful little tea treasures such as aprons, cup/saucer totes, clothing, and other accessories that can be enjoyed. A mother and wife, Karen was a [...]
Mom Creates Web Site With Family Dining Deals
WBNS 10TV: Stay-at-home mom Dana Davis found a recipe for success in her kitchen — not on the stovetop, but on her laptop. Davis created a Web site to help families find dining-out deals from restaurants, 10TV’s Tracy Townsend reported. At KidsMealDeals.com, visitors enter a ZIP code, the day of the week and the number [...]
Single Mom Starts A Home Business, Earns Master's Degree
Democrat and Chronicle.com: Everyone loves a good deal. Francine Jones ’06 recognizes this, and bases her business around providing the best bargains for all of her customers. FAB Products (Francine’s At-home Business), created in May 2005, offers cost-effective gifts for all occasions. “I saw a vision of how as a flea market and catalog shopper [...]
Virtual Assistance Gives Single Moms The Opportunity To Stay Home With Their Kids
PR.com: In November 2007 just before her new son was born, Tia Peterson, soon to be a new single mother, made the decision that she would stay home to raise her son. She began freelancing as a virtual assistant and has never looked back. Instead, she has moved on to form a virtual assistance firm [...]
A Baby Sling That's Ready To-Go
With her real child, Shani also came up with her own brain child. It didn’t have a business name as of yet. Putting together things she liked about different slings she created her own fashionable pouch style sling that she soon found other parents wanted too. This simple creation that fit her own needs ended [...]
A Baby Sling That’s Ready To-Go
With her real child, Shani also came up with her own brain child. It didn’t have a business name as of yet. Putting together things she liked about different slings she created her own fashionable pouch style sling that she soon found other parents wanted too. This simple creation that fit her own needs ended [...]
PowerHomeBiz.com: House sitters provide a professional service for house, pet and plant care in your absence. House sitters are trained and trusted people who have been groomed to take up the responsibility. There may be occasions when you might be out on a holiday, business trip or even hospitalized having nobody to take care of [...]
Springwise: As the weakening economy causes purse strings to tighten in many parts of the world, consumers are increasingly looking for new ways to earn some extra money. Enter My Gold Party, which facilitates Tupperware-style parties that help guests sell their unused trinkets, cashing in on record gold prices. Launched earlier this year, My Gold [...]
USA Today: The One Minute Entrepreneur, written by a team headed by motivational speaker Ken Blanchard, author of the classic The One Minute Manager, dispenses inspirational wisdom on the keys to creating, nurturing and sustaining a business. Most people who launch a small business fail within 10 years, according to the trio. An aim of [...]
Jill Caren is a mom with no childhood momentos of her own. No photos to show her children of when she was a baby and it’s not something she can get back. Instead of just feeling bad about what she’s missing, she created a business to help other parents avoid that same problem. I Love [...]
Mompreneur Creates Sleep System For Babies
Brantford Expositor: Necessity became the mother of invention for first-time mom Stacey Battersby, who cured her sleepless nights by coming up with a safer alternative to traditional crib bedding. “It promotes peace of mind for parents,” said the city woman, whose SleepaRoo system is being sold at speciality stores across Ontario, as well as online. [...]
Stay-At-Home Mom Asks Manufacturers For Proof It's Organic
Free Press Releases: Bunch , a stay-at-home-mother of two, just launched her web site, The EverGreen Home. The company started out of a simple need to purchase a mattress for a family member who was allergic to dust mites. Commercial mattresses, Bunch quickly learned, were rife with heavy chemicals. So she pursued organic bedding. After [...]
More Moms Get Down To Business
ArgusLeader.com: When Shelly Gaddis was pregnant with her first baby, finding affordable, trendy maternity clothing was almost impossible on a tight budget. She scoured secondhand and consignment shops in Sioux Falls but never found many clothes she really liked. Selection and sizes were hit-or-miss. This time around, with baby No. 3 due in June, Gaddis [...]
‘Sexy Espresso’ Stands Leave Competitors Steaming
HeraldNet: It’s a fad that’s picking up steam in Snohomish County’s hyper-competitive coffee market. Espresso drive-through stands with bikini- and lingerie-sporting baristas are popping up from Monroe to Edmonds. In the past year, at least six of these java joints employing provocatively dressed young women have opened in the county. A few owners of these [...]
Fresh And Sweet Childrens Products: Baby Marmalade
Some of the best mom-owned businesses bring together different products that people are interested in for a one stop shopping experience. Yulia Orlova is one of those mom’s. Over at Baby Marmalade you can find things from children’s clothing to furniture. She has approximately 20 different brands to choose from. Giveaway: A recent addition to [...]
Fresh And Sweet Childrens Products: Baby Marmalade
Some of the best mom-owned businesses bring together different products that people are interested in for a one stop shopping experience. Yulia Orlova is one of those mom’s. Over at Baby Marmalade you can find things from children’s clothing to furniture. She has approximately 20 different brands to choose from. Giveaway: A recent addition to [...]
eBay Buys More Time With Family And Friends
The Walton Sun: Ever consider quitting your job and working from home? Well, a local couple has done just that and it has paid off for them. Instead of working a 9 to 5 job, Daniel Porter and wife April, stay at home with their three young daughters and work from their computer selling on [...]
Are Your Ideas Sticky? Take The Test
Bringing Brands To Life!: Got a few minutes? Feel like taking your SAT…again? No, not that SAT! “The Stickiness Aptitude Test,” or SAT, was designed by The Heath Brothers and Guy Kawasaki. Go ahead. Take the quiz. Post your scores in the comments. Photo by sachyn.
Grads, Think About Starting Your Own Biz
Rhonda Abrams at USA Today: Graduating from college or graduate school? Congratulations! What are you going to do now? Send out resumes, look for a job? Well, I’ve got another idea. How about starting your own business? I don’t have figures on what percentage of graduates will launch their own companies, but I do know [...]
The Wall Street Journal: The entire world seems to be heading toward points of inflection. The developing world is embarking on the digital age. The developed world is entering the Internet era. And the United States, once again at the vanguard, is on the verge of becoming the world’s first Entrepreneurial Nation. At the Chicago [...]
Niche Biz: Ex-Boyfriend Jewelry
Springwise: Most women have some: earrings, necklaces, rings or other jewelry given to them by an ex-boyfriend. Once treasured, the items become an irritating post-breakup reminder of a relationship gone bad. Fortunately, a new site offers a place to unload such relics from the past: ExBoyfriendJewelry.com. ExBoyfriendJewelry.com facilitates the buying and selling of “ex” jewelry, [...]
11 Year Old Starts Green Business
KEYC-TV: In local news, an 11 year old girl from New Ulm has taken up an unlikely hobby that looks to benefit the environment. News 12′s Kira Klapper has more on her mission. 11 year old Kennedi Kokesch makes all these birdfeeders with recycled glass. After seeing glass being thrown away, and into garbage bins, [...]
Deaf Entrepreneur Succeeds Despite Disability
Bernama.com: Being deaf is no obstacle for 36-year-old Tengku Arman Harris Tengku Ismail to succeed as an entrepreneur. He is among Terengganu’s rare breed of successful ‘people with disability’ (OKU) entrepreneurs in the batik industry. Tengku Arman, who communicated via sign language through his 59-year-old mother Wan Zaitun Wan Mansur, indicated that he started work [...]
When a new baby is born, life tends to get very busy, fast. It’s a reality that new moms and dads have to face. Keeping track of all the important appointments among other things. The founders of Babble Soft were new parents and found themselves in the same situation. In time they ended up creating [...]
Bediboo Eco-Friendly Baby Gear
baltimoresun.com: A couple of years ago, Gretchen Pike, a mother with a couple of very small children, started an Internet company selling the kind of baby gear you can’t find everywhere, like Ergo baby carriers, old-fashioned European and wooden toys, and eco-friendly kids’ clothes. Her husband christened it “Bediboo.” The business took over their house, [...]
Boutique Owner Juggles 2 Roles: New Mom And Entrepreneur
Delmarva Media Group: For all intents and purposes, Shannon Polczynski has two new babies: a 2,000-square-foot retail children’s store and a precocious, brown-eyed baby boy. She became a new store owner and a new mom within a few months of each other — something she wouldn’t have expected a year ago. “It’s tough trying to [...]
The New York Times: The Rooz Cafe, a restaurant and coffee shop in Oakland, Calif., signals its distaste for patrons who post reviews on Yelp.com with a small sign: No Yelpers. The sign is routinely ignored by devotees of Yelp, a San Francisco Internet company that enables average folks to write reviews of everything from [...]
Is The U.S. The Best Place To Be A Young Entrepreneur?
Young Entrepreneur: Young entrepreneurs are always saying that they don’t have the resources around them to start a business. A new study out of England suggests, however, that young Americans might be better off than their British counterparts. According to The Prince’s Trust, a UK based youth charity which focuses on entrepreneurship, more than a [...]
