Archive for August 2009
How To Keep Your Great Employees
photo credit: ArtemFinland Many businesses today have quite a few great employees that they want to keep on their staff, but they can not necessarily offer them more money. Many think that if they can’t offer more money, those employees will walk. Some might if more money is a need of theirs, but some [...]
Is Small Business Credit Reaching A Turning Point?
photo credit: =Lonely.X.Poet= I recently came across an article located on Business Week that may give some small business owners peace of mind and a new sense of hope for their businesses future. Everything that has a beginning must have an end, this is even true for depressions and recessions, and we may be looking [...]
Self-Service At Bars: A Tap At Every Table
Springwise: When heading out to their local watering hole for a drink, some customers prefer to serve themselves. The TableTender system, available in Britain and the United States, is designed and built for each specific venue. There’s a tap (or several) located at each table, which allows patrons to pour at their leisure—to a point. [...]
U.S. Patent Office Backlogged, Inventors Wait
Al’s Morning Meeting: The U.S. Patent Office is sitting on a mountain of applications that would take at least six years to clear, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel found in a two-part investigation. The newspaper points out that a patent could be the key that protects an upstart company or idea. It could ignite the economy, [...]
Mom's Business Is To Send Your Kids Mail
examiner.com: Clever mompreneur, Sherri-Lee Pressman, took note of just how much her kids loved getting mail. In fact, she says her kids would often ask, “Is there any mail for me?” “I literally came up with the idea standing at the mail box with my then three year old son asking if there was any [...]
The Web Has Changed Job Searching
BusinessWeek: The Internet has changed a lot of things over the past decade or two—including how we search for jobs. Sure, the basics are the same: Find an opening and apply for it. But the Web has permanently altered the employment process. And with more than 1.2 million info tech jobs lost this year, according [...]
Small Business Ideas: 400 Latest & Greatest Small Business Ideas
I just picked up a copy of Small Business Ideas: 400 Latest & Greatest Small Business Ideas by Terry Kyle. If you enjoy my site, and all of the ideas we present here, you’ll definitely enjoy this book. A full review is coming soon.
photo credit: makelessnoise In The Shark Tank has up a recap of Episode 2 of ABC’s The Shark Tank. You can watch the full episode online, for free. One highlight from the recap: The last in front of The Sharks was Marc Furigay and his product Classroom Jams. Classroom Jams is an educational record label [...]
PostalMethods is a convenient method for small businesses to automate the sending of postal mail directly from the computer. You create a document and upload it. They print it, address and mail it. All for one flat rate. Their system also interacts directly with programs like Quickbooks and Simply Accounting.
Your Pro Kitchen offers a professionally-equipped, commercially licensed multi-station kitchen facility for professional cooking and baking. In addition, they are flexible enough to support many different uses, such as cooking classes, private events, and the production or bottling of your products.
Razor Blades Delivered To Your Door
Springwise: Razor blade refills are one of those purchases that tend to irk many consumers, primarily for the frequency with which they’re needed and the relatively high prices at which they’re often sold. Aiming to salve irritation on both points, Raz*War offers subscription plans for home delivery at prices beginning at EUR 27.50 per year. [...]
Dorm-in-a-Box: A Better–And Cheaper–College Experience
Fast Company: Getting a kid off to college later this summer? You could schlep around to Bed Bath & Beyond and Target, or try a new startup called Dorm-In-A-Box that’s taken aim at that ad nauseam shopping for what is, let’s face it, a pretty predictable set of goods. This offshoot of a private-label product [...]
His Invention’s A Swinging Idea
The Press-Enterprise: Even if Trevor Schultz weren’t the inventor of the Swing Heeler, he’d likely be a fan. And he certainly would’ve tried the product that looks like a sci-fi cross between a spatula and a bee stinger and is designed to provide golfers weight resistance on their hind leg, so they stay planted and [...]
The Little Secret of Web Startups
TechCrunch.com: This post is written by Marcelo Calbucci, the founder and CTO of Sampa, a personal homepage creator that will be shutting down this month. He’s writing a series of posts about the lessons learned from the venture. “In the middle of 2008 we decide to do a qualitative analysis of our user base. People [...]
The Entrepreneurs Behind The US Half Of MyPacifier.com
examiner.com: Examiner: What is your business all about? Carol: The company, MyPacifier.com, was started by our family in Denmark when the founder, Pia Callesen, was tired of picking her son up from daycare and finding another’s pacifier in his mouth. She was tired of being told to write the name with a Sharpie on the [...]
Slurls.com: What’s a slurl? To be a slurl it must abide by 4 rules. 1. There’s a website AND 2. It’s an active website AND 3. There’s a double meaning AND 4. It’s not deliberate. Here’s some examples: 1hourscrap.com – Rapid scrapbook making carsexpress.com – Vehicle leasing and sales teacherstalk.co.uk – Teachers’ discussion forum therapistfinder.com [...]
Half Million Dollar Rent for a Hot Dog Vendor?
photo credit: Valerie Everett Slate: A hot dog vendor was kicked from the curb outside New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art last week for failure to pay his monthly rent—of $53,558. Pasang Sherpa was under contract to pay the Parks Department $362,201 a year for a stand on the south side of the Met’s [...]
$12 for a Chance at Minor Riches
USA Today: North Carolina gold tends to be small flakes. The largest found at the Cotton Patch since owner Jeff Pickett took over two years ago was 8 grams — about the size of your pinky nail. At current prices, that would be worth about $240. “Anything larger than that is a heart attack,” Burns [...]
Move Over Twitter, Entrepreneur Comes Up With Tipdrop
Star Community Newspapers: Seeing that Tweeters were posting “worthless dribble,” programmer Jonathan Leger decided to come up with a site that has focus. “People were tweeting thoughts with no application, like what they ate for breakfast or that they’re walking the dog,” he said. “I wanted to have something focus on a subject matter and [...]
Good: Most people seem to be in agreement these days that simple ideas often offer the best solutions. Here’s an invention that fits the bill perfectly. Prepara has invented NASA-technology enhanced at-home plant growers that don’t need soil. Which, if you have a black thumb and an incurable love of plants like I do, could [...]
This sounds like an interesting business idea. It’s from the UK, but could be successful here, too: What is a gnat? Basically it an airplane just like the ones the big boys in the military use for target practice, but much smaller and specifically designed to be shot at with shotguns. Imagine it. After a [...]
Home Business Gardening Service Ideas
Denver Gardening Examiner: Start a home business gardening service that fits your skill set. There are a wide variety of home business ideas for gardeners. Use your green thumb to teach others how to garden. Help seniors with their gardens or simply sell your own produce. Use one of these gardening business ideas or come [...]
WAHMs Are Finding Jobs Benefit Finances and Family
TCPalm: As the economy sputters and unemployment increases, more Treasure Coast moms are working at home to bring in extra money quickly without disrupting their schedule. Jean Jannetty of Vero Beach has been a stay at home mom for 14 years. But her husband’s construction company hasn’t been doing well, so Jannetty began looking around [...]
How To Start A T-Shirt Company
Inc.: It started with a nickname. Every day, Johnny Earle would go to work at the Braintree, Massachusetts, music emporium Newbury Comics, and every day his colleagues would call him something different. “Hey, Johnny Appleseed; Johnny Pancakes; Johnny Cupcakes!” Somehow, Cupcakes stuck. That was back in 2000, when Earle was ordering T-shirts for his metal [...]
photo credit: hellfroze We always talk about all of the right moves you should make in your business, but I feel it is equally important to talk about what to stay away from and what not to do in your business. If you have a Twitter account for your company or you are thinking [...]
Getting into the Direct Sales Business
The following is a guest post by Andrew Shure, the CEO of Shure Pets. The first key step is to figure out where your passion lies. You will be the most successful when you have a passion for the industry or the product. Narrow down a few choices and then research companies by visiting their [...]
The Wall Street Journal: For small businesses looking for advice, the Internet provides an ideal consultant: the consumer. All sorts of start-ups and small companies are using the Internet to involve customers in decisions on everything from what to sell, how products look and work, how much they cost, and even how the company operates, [...]
Katydid Collections Offers Fashions That Men, Women, And Children Can Love
An average of 18 out of every 1000 pieces of luggage don’t make it to their destination on time. Furthermore, 0.075% of luggage is lost forever.* Of those misplaced and permanently lost pieces of luggage, how many of their owners would you say found inspiration for a business? I can think of at least one. [...]
Your Brand is More Than A Logo and Color Palette
Brand is more than logo and color palette. It encompasses the larger brand story – how the company was formed, the founder’s personal story, and the benefits the company brings to the world. “For many young companies, brand story comes later,” explains Bruce Miller, a Design Coup principal, “but in practice, the story forms the [...]
Finding Money For Your Business
photo credit: AMagill The following is a guest post by Sahail Ashraf. You know how it is. You’ve got this great killer business idea that is guaranteed to bring in the bucks, but you just don’t have the money for it. You have some money, but not enough to fund the development of your product [...]
The Cost of Information Overload
Website Magazine: Feeling data-stressed? Got some info-tension? You’re not alone. Recently a conference was organized by Basex to discuss, what else, information overload. Some interesting facts and ideas come from the conference: • The cost of Information Overload to the U.S. economy is $900 billion annually, as of 2008. • A mere 12% of the [...]
Entrepreneurs, Don’t Go It Alone … Especially Now
Rhonda Abrams, USA TODAY: You don’t have to go it alone. You can find a great deal of help — much of it free — whether you’re transitioning to self-employment (sorry about your layoff!), facing new challenges in your existing business (sorry about the economy!) or hoping to start or expand a company (yes, you [...]
Free Live Teleseminar: The True Bankruptcy to Billionaire Story
From Rags to Riches, Street Gang to Wall Street, Alcoholic to Workholic, Bankruptcy to Billionaire Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 6PM Pacific 9PM Eastern Listen to a live teleseminar of the true story of how Bill Bartmann went from being a homeless, alcoholic gang member and later a bankrupt businessman with a million-dollar debt and [...]
Get More Out Of Your Facebook Account
photo credit: Bumi In today’s world of growing technology, there are so many sites that businesses can and do belong to such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and more. So how do you know if you are truly getting everything that there is to offer out of these type of sites for your business? Here [...]
Mom’s Big Idea Earns Her Big Paycheck
ABC15: It’s a trend a lot of mothers are cashing in on. They’re quitting their 9-to-5 jobs, staying home with the kids and starting their own companies. Amy Maschue’s big idea is now earning this Phoenix mom a big paycheck. Maschue’s busy life consists of being a wife, a mother of four children and running [...]
Having A Credit Policy Is Important
photo credit: danesparza Now is the time to create a credit policy to keep your existing customers, get paid, and stay in business. This policy should include clearly outlined procedures and actions for when someone can’t pay so you can immediately take steps to help your customer and protect your business. Recently stated on Entrepreneur.com. [...]
10 Ways to Stay Marketable When You’re Out of Work
Business Pundit: Out of work? That doesn’t mean you’re also out of opportunities. Any single one of the ten methods below will help you stay marketable. 1. Take a class 2. Join an interest group 3. Volunteer 4. Attend a conference 5. Use social media 6. Join a job search group 7. Learn a new [...]
Moms Made For Friendship And Partnership In Business
Naperville Sun: Kristy Brezinsky and Kristen Frederick have paired their two favorite pastimes: fashion and fundraisers. Frederick, 40, met Brezinsky about four years ago after a mutual friend hooked them up, saying the two women were meant to be friends. Each had a background in fashion design and modeling — skills the two women have [...]
Mompreneur In The Running For SavvyMom's Mompreneur Of The Year 2009
SBWire: Serena Carcasole of Virtual Business Solutions (VBS) ON DEMAND is a top mom entrepreneur! And with the help of your votes, she could be crowned Canada’s Top Mom Entrepreneur in September 2009. Nominated to win The SavvyMom Mom Entrepreneur of the Year Award, sponsored by SavvyMom Media Inc., Carcasole is ready to take her [...]
Should You Apologize In Business?
photo credit: spud murphy As a person who once worked outside of the home, I have had my fair share of business people who truly are in the wrong but fail to ever admit such a thing, nonetheless apologize for their actions. So I was happy to see that My Venture Pad recently posted an [...]
How To Win A Biz Plan Competition
The New York Times: These days, business plan competitions yield prizes worth more than ever. The Wharton Business Plan Competition, for example, awards $20,000 in cash and $10,000 in legal services to its top entrant. Harvard Business School’s traditional track competition awards $25,000 in cash and $25,000 in business services to its winner. M.I.T.’s Clean [...]
Waste-Free, Muck-Free, And Eco-Friendly – Are You Ready For Lunch?
When it comes to the value of the lunch your child eats at school, citizenpip is giving parents something else to think about. How much does it cost our enviroment each time a child takes tossable lunch supplies to school? The average lunch includes a paper bag, a couple ziploc bags, a paper napkin, and [...]
Mashable: When you start a search at Google, the software tries to help by offering real-time suggestions to complete your search query as you type. One of the factors in the algorithm that determines the results is the overall popularity of searches by other users. 1. When will… 2. Why is my g… 3. Can [...]
Small-Biz Guide To Intellectual Property
The New York Times: The two most precious resources for any small-business owner are time and money. That’s why when the subject of intellectual property comes up, many owners run in the other direction. They see images of expensive lawyers and use that as an excuse to ignore the topic, reasoning that it is a [...]
4 Companies That Got A Lift From Oprah
Inc.: 1. Ecobags.com hired a PR agency to get its products on Oprah. Sales tripled after the company’s reusable grocery bags were featured on the show’s Earth Day episode in April 2007. 2. Since its croissants were featured in a segment as one of “Oprah’s Favorite Things,” Galaxy Desserts sales took off, leading the company [...]
How To Make People Want Your Advertisement
photo credit: dailyinvention When advertising to the public, it is important to grab their attention right off the bat to make them want and almost feel like they need what you are advertising. But many of us ponder how to create such an ad that will accomplish just that. Here are some helpful tips [...]
8 Tips To Stimulate Your Small Biz
Women Home Business: Is your business in the doldrums? Are sales slow? Reinvigorate your small business with these tips: 1. Learn from the past experiences, including your mistakes. 2. Look at everything with a fresh new perspective. 3. Set your goals. 4. Create your calendar of activities. 5. Do the work! 6. Pump up your [...]
photo credit: nDevilTV What is your customer experience like? Are you “wowing” key customers with personalized service? With so much business occurring online, wows aren’t easy to come by these days. To make your company top of mind, you must find ways to build vibrant personal customer relationships, even in the digital age. Stated on [...]
Reuters: U.S. output per worker rose at its fastest pace in six years during the second quarter as businesses wrung more productivity from fewer staff in a sign that a recovery from recession will be slow and unlikely to create a surge in hiring. A Labor Department report showed non-farm productivity, a gauge of hourly [...]
Canada.com: ‘Mommy, I have a wedgie” is a common refrain heard by moms potty training a daughter. Panties ride up. They get stuck. Or they sag. Too tight or too loose, they bother little girls because they just don’t fit right. Quite frankly, Rebecca Winterhalt had had enough. So it was serendipitous when, last summer, [...]
