Archive for July 20th, 2009
Ever seen a floor of pennies? The Standard Grill in the Standard Hotel New York has a floor that is tiled with literally thousands of pennies. Could you offer this service in your community? Sixteen pennies are one inch by 12 inches, so each square foot contains 192 pennies.
This chart of Internet users is amazing! It explains why so much of traffic comes from China and India! Click to enlarge.
Fishing Net Born Of Frustration
The Bass Lasso is a fish landing net that is self contained in the handle. When you’re ready to use it, you simply pull it out and lock it in place. A few years ago, Rod Presnell was fishing. He caught a catfish that was large enough to make him grab for the handle of [...]
A new company wants to use robots to carve advertising messages on the surface of the Moon. New Shadow Shaping technology creates images on the moon that can be seen from Earth. Robots are used to create several small ridges in the lunar dust over large areas that capture shadows and shape them to form [...]
Cops Bust Entrepreneurial Kids
photo credit: Adam Finley It happens every summer. Someone calls the police and reports that juveniles are selling their product on the street corner. What’s the “dangerous” product? Lemonade, of course. The call came in at 7:06 p.m. Juveniles, seven of them, on a quiet residential street, selling an uncontrolled substance: lemonade. A neighbor had [...]
photo credit: Pink Sherbet Photography The IdeaLady thinks that many businesses could sell more by starting a party plan. The businesses that stand to gain most from this type of direct sales program are those selling products that can be effectively demonstrated in a sort-of-social setting. Jewelry, cosmetics, clothing, kitchen gadgets, home accessories, children’s toys, [...]
Trent Hamm at The Simple Dollar has compiled a great little list of 50 side business ideas that he’s collected. He thinks that “each of these ideas is very simple to start, and most can be done as a sole proprietorship at first.” Here’s a sampling: Antique refurbishment This is a perfect side business for [...]
Niche Biz: Billboards of the Past
Billboards of the Past sells old billboards – the actual full sized original artwork! The typical billboard is about 9 feet tall by 20 feet wide. via Coyote Blog.
Coffee Giant Opening Neighborhood Shops In Disguise
Chicago Tribune: A Seattle outlet of the 16,000-store coffee behemoth is being rebranded without visible Starbucks identifiers, as 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea. Two other stores in Starbucks’ native Seattle will follow suit, each getting its own name to make it sound more like a neighborhood hangout, less like Big Coffee, a Starbucks official told [...]
Max Motors in Butler, Missouri, is giving away an AK-47 when you buy a pick-up truck! Here’s a video interview with the owner from CNN. Embedded video from CNN Video
This is neat. Do you have an idea for a board game? Check out this company: The Game Crafter is a new company that lets you build your own, fully customized, table-top games. Board games, card games — you name it, there’s a good chance these guys can put it together for you, with fully [...]
Complementary Inventions Produce Faster Revenue
Gerson Lehrman Group: With many companies reducing work forces, many capable people find themselves between jobs. Often times they have an idea or concept that they have been refining, but without the time to finish and take to market. The biggest mistake people make is that they invent a new product in a new product [...]
Internet Marketing: Is Regulation Coming?
BusinessWeek: The impetus to regulate online marketing may be gathering steam. On June 18 a House of Representatives subcommittee held a hearing to take a closer look at how advertisers gather and use information on consumers’ Web-surfing habits. Up to now the government has had a hands-off policy toward online marketing, giving companies relatively free [...]
Delivering Letters To Your Inbox
The New York Times: The Swiss postal service has started redirecting some mail from the letter box to the in-box. A program introduced by the Swiss Post in June allows subscribers to receive scans of their unopened envelopes by e-mail message and then decide which ones they want opened and scanned in their entirety, to [...]
In The Last Year, Have You Bartered For Products Or Services For Your Biz? Yes No View Results Photo by freeelpaso.
Bee-Tee Business Booms During Rough Economy
WSPA: An Upstate mom says people stop her in airports and on the streets to ask her where she got her daughter’s t-shirt. It turns out she designed it to teach character to her two-year-old daughter Lena. Melissa Patton is the mom behind Bee-Tees. She designs t-shirts, hats, and bags with simple, inspirational thoughts: “Bee [...]
Mompreneur Brings New Meaning To Purse With The Aquabag
PR-Inside: Having two toddlers can inspire many things, but for Cathi Reyes, they are the inspiration to develop products that simplify life! Our first product, the Aquabag, is a water bottle/baby bottle bag that functions as a purse. It is an insulated bottle bag that has a built in wallet and two side pouches. The [...]
Website Simplifies Travel Planning With Insider Tips
Suzanne has always loved to travel. During those travels she would keep notes on the best places to eat, sleep, and visit, creating the ultimate travel guide. After some urging by some friends and family, that ultimate guide is now available online at Suzanne’s Files. With the help of a few ‘insiders’, Suzanne is able [...]
