Archive for December 2009
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Sign Language Biz Helps Babies & Parents Communicate
readingeagle.com: When Jodie A. McCaffrey, 32, takes her 15-month-old daughter, Abigail, to a restaurant, there is no question about what Abigail would like to drink or eat. That’s because McCaffrey has taught Abigail to communicate with her by using baby sign language. The process isn’t all that unusual. A program known as My Smart Hands, [...]
Steal A Little Time To Workout With Rubberbanditz
As nice as it would be to visit the gym daily, that is one routine that doesn’t always fit into the average day. For some it is simply a lack of time, for others it is a lack of money. Either way, it is still important to make time for some exercise. Ari Zandman-Zeman had [...]
Business Moments You Don’t Want To Pass On
photo credit: TheTruthAbout… Many business owners come across several different business opportunities, sometimes more opportunity offers then they know what to do with. Often times they are not quite sure which ones to go for and which ones to say no to. Bplans recently posted an article offering tips on which business plans you should [...]
8 Ways To Light The Bulb Above Your Head
Have you ever felt like you are stuck in a rut in your life? Fast Company believes you can change that by simply harvesting the ideas already swimming in your head. A sunriser gives out energy, a sunsetter sucks it away. A sunriser goes through life open to the idea that the best may still [...]
Applying Proper Credit Policies
photo credit: Andres Rueda Small Biz Trends: Your business can’t survive if you don’t have enough money coming in to pay your bills. Having to spend time chasing down money can be a huge expense you just can’t afford. Taking the time to put the proper credit policies and procedures in place to ensure you [...]
Promoting Your SMB With Facebook And Twitter
photo credit: benstein When it comes to promoting your small business it is essential to choose more than just one type of media to do your promoting. You have to remember that not everyone you plan on targeting has Internet, cable, access to magazine ads and more. So always remember to choose more than one [...]
Small Biz Owners Will Miss Oprah
Oprah Winfrey created bestsellers with her book club, and she has certainly helped turn some people into major stars, but she has also done a lot for small businesses as well, reports AOL Small Business. Over the years, Oprah has mentioned favorite products of hers, while beleaguered but grateful CEOs have then done everything they [...]
Surviving An Unhappy Workplace
photo credit: wili_hybrid There is no such thing as a perfect workplace, it just does not exist. There is always something that is not quite right with someone whether it’s something big or something small, there is always something there out of place. The good news is that a majority of the time whatever is [...]
Make The Most Of Your Holiday Newsletter
photo credit: kevindooley SmallBizTrendsBe consistent: Whether you’re opting for a monthly, bi-monthly, or weekly newsletter, make sure you stick to a consistent publishing date so that people know when they’re coming. Your readers should know when to expect your next issue and be waiting for it. This may mean experimenting a bit to determine the [...]
12 Facts About Entrepreneurs That Will Surprise You
The Kauffman foundation for entrepreneurship released a report titled “The Anatomy of an Entrepreneur”. It’s based on a survey of 549 company founders across a variety of industries, reports OnStartUps.com. 1. The average and median age of company founders when they started their current companies was 40. 2. 95.1 percent of respondents themselves had earned [...]
The Right Way To Let An Employee Go
photo credit: FunnyBiz The Wall Street Journal: At one time or another, as a business owner you’ll probably have to deal with a problem employee who under performs or violates one of the rules you’ve outlined in your employee handbook. Your first course of action is to talk privately with the employee, adjust the job [...]
Coca-Cola’s Quest For The Perfect Bottle
GreenBiz reports that since joining the Coca-Cola Company in 1997, Scott Vitters has gone to work most days with one question on his mind: How do we get to our vision of a 100 percent renewable, 100 percent recyclable bottle?” It’s a simple question, with anything but a simple answer — getting to a renewable, [...]
Going Green In Your Office With Ease
photo credit: Olof S Today many people are going green, using green products, cutting down on energy usage, increasing their recycling and more. Companies that have gone green are finding that they’re experiencing higher volumes of customers as well as profits, this is because people everywhere are getting on the train with going green and [...]
Imagine a toothbrush so much fun to use that kids would brush their teeth without a single reminder from Mom or Dad. Dr. Fresh is asking second through fifth graders across the U.S. to dream up just such a toothbrush with the “Be A Dental Inventor” contest – the fourth annual toothbrush design contest according [...]
Entrepreneur’s Journal reports that with the recession, the federal government implemented a variety of tax-saving programs to spur business. But as should be expected, there are limits. Might some of the tax-breaks go away next year? Net Operating Losses (NOLs): Typically, you can carry back NOLs two years. But, with new legislation from Congress, the [...]
Trip To Ethiopia Inspires Business
Brainerd Dispatch: Doretta Busbey started creating felted wool handbags as a way to pay for the plane ticket to Ethiopia to pick up the daughter she adopted with her husband. The couple has three adopted children, two daughters and a son, from Ethiopia. It was Busbey’s first trip to Ethiopia. She didn’t know what to [...]
Inventor Strives For Germ-Free Worship
The current panic over the H1N1 flu pandemic couldn’t have happened at a better time for one local inventor, reports The New Richmond News. Doug Henricksen of rural New Richmond is close to ramping up production on his newest invention — a germ-free dispenser for communion wafers. Henricksen has begun marketing the Communalabra Germ-Free Communion [...]
People are looking for new ways to make money for the family. Woman’s Day has a list of ways that some entrepreneurs have found to put a few extra dollars in their pockets, ranging from the ingenious to the downright weird. Professional Christmas Tree-Light Installer If you have a talent for hanging holiday lights, you [...]
If you’re thinking about going into the videography business, you’ll want to check out another Videomaker tutorial, How to Start a Wedding Video Business. This video covers a little about equipment, developing a contract, and how to cover a wedding. It really just scratches the service, but it’s a start. Wedding Videographer Style and The [...]
As 2009 draws to a close, the Web’s attention turns to the year ahead. What can we expect of the online realm in 2010? CNN has a list of 10 themes to define the Web next year: 1. Real-time ramps up 2. Location, location, location 3. Augmented reality 4. Content ‘curation’ 5. Cloud computing 6. [...]
Man Builds Model Cars From Discarded Cans
Sandy Sanderson needed something to keep himself occupied after breaking his wrist in a motorcycle accident. He started building amazing model cars from discarded aluminum cans, according to a story on Jalopnik. While finishing a canned beverage he thought of model airplanes he’d seen made from cans and thought why not make cars out of [...]
Unique products to inspire and amuse. USB Pet Rock. It was bound to happen. Sno Wovel. The answer to winter heart attacks. Personal Trainer T-shirt. You call that a workout? You haven’t sweated enuff! Internet Panic Button. Perfect for when Twitter is down. Photos by thinkgeek/redferret/trendsnow/redferret.
Turning A Service Into A Product
Open Small Business has a list of steps to turn services into products: 1. Identify something you can replicate repeatedly – The idea behind a product is that you want to be able to get paid for selling a “thing” and not selling your time. Also, you want to sell the “same” thing over and [...]
Zhu Zhu Pets, the cute robotic hamsters that have become this year’s overnight holiday toy sensation, are selling out across the country, reports Fortune. The National Retail Federation recently listed Zhu Zhu among the top 10 holiday toys. Zhu Zhus are even showing up on eBay, priced at $60 to $100. The runaway success has [...]
Husband And Wife Take On Video Game World
Company founders and creators of FriiBoard, Gail and Tom Stewart wanted to create products that make the gaming experience more real and more fun for players of all ages. “We wanted to go beyond the simply aesthetic Wii accessories on the market. What was lacking was realistic sport-specific ‘movement’ off the screen to go with [...]
Entrepreneur Helping Divorced Couples
As a child, Jainarain Kissoon was constantly surrounded by the issue of divorce–just not in the conventional sense, reports Entrepreneur. His mother was a divorce attorney, so the topic came up often. Still, it wasn’t until his mother’s cousin suffered through a painful divorce that something clicked for Kissoon. He wonderd if there was a [...]
5 Things Every Startup Should Know
Entrepreneur asked Rob Rohn and Dan Mermelstein, who started selling aftermarket auto accessories from their college dorm room, to share a few of the business insights they wish they’d known when they were just starting out in 2001. 1. Focus. 2. Different is not enough. 3. It’s who you know. 4. Hire smart. 5. Get [...]
Christmas Crafts Keep Mom Busy Year-Round
KFBB.com: For some, decorating and shopping for the holidays is a chore, and for others the Christmas season is time to go all out. But for one Great Falls mom, spreading Christmas cheer pays the bills, through a two day craft show that makes Santa’s operation look like a part time hobby. In this house, [...]
Little Blue Cube Is Bringing In Serious Green
According to a story in Entrepreneur, Damian Cox spent most of his adult life working in hospitality and in his financial planning practice. It wasn’t until a local distributor showed him an innovative new product that he started thinking about switching gears. The product, a small cube that helps conserve water in public restrooms, was [...]
Low-Cost Marketing Ideas For Your Biz
You’ve got a great idea and a plan to turn it into a business, writes Entrepreneur StartUps. Now all you need are customers–and to get them, you need to spread the word about what you’re doing. One problem: Your marketing budget makes your grade school allowance look like a princely sum. Find businesses in your [...]
photo credit: pasotraspaso In the past we’ve talked about all kinds of management tools and leadership qualities, but this time, we’re going to cut right to the chase. You won’t find these five tips anywhere else, since you’re the first ones to read them. Moreover, these are indeed CEO best practices that I’ve observed in [...]
Marketing Biggest Hurdle For Game Inventors
To hear him tell it, Evan Koch is sitting on a gold mine, a pet project called Zurround that he’s been developing for the last 2 1/2 years, reports The San Francisco Chronicle. He just needs to find someone willing to back his play, so to speak. No, it’s not a killer app or a [...]
Small Businesses Do Thrive In A Recession
photo credit: ginnerobot New York Times: “The answers are very specific to the company’s circumstances,” said Ken Gaebler, chairman and chief executive of Gaebler Ventures, a business incubator and investment firm in Chicago. “A good entrepreneur knows which buttons need to be pressed to thrive in a tough situation and make it through to the [...]
10 Bizs Based On A Bad Economy
In their list of top 10 business opportunities in a down economy, John Assaraf and Murray Smith, founders of OneCoach, a provider of small-business coaching services, recommend the following: 1. Business coaching 2. Social networking for business 3. Alternative fuels 4. Environmental services 5. Health care 6. Nail salons/beauty products 7. Discount retailers 8. Luxury [...]
Lure Last Minute Shoppers With Your Coupons
photo credit: striatic Many people are struggling this year due to the recession, most of which are planning on spending a lot less this holiday season then they have in the past, and most of them are also putting off their holiday shopping for as long as they can in hopes of save up a [...]
KFC Sells Chicken For Penny A Calorie
KFC, the erstwhile Kentucky Fried Chicken, has introduced a special meal promotion with a novel pricing twist: It costs 1 cent a calorie, reports WalletPop. The 395-calorie Kentucky Grilled Chicken meal comes with a drumstick and thigh, green beans, mashed potatoes, and gravy. For that square meal, customers pay $3.95. KFC might also have just [...]
photo credit: LiveFromAmsterdam Seth Godin’s: Just for a second, think about the influence, buying power, network and track record of the people you listen to the most. Have they earned the right? In business we hear a lot of advice, tips and constructive criticism whether we ask for it or not. It is inevitable, wherever [...]
Who wants to be a millionaire… for under $200? Come on, even your mom could afford that. Business Pundit suggests a trip to the following places… 10. Zambia 9. Paraguay 8. Guinea 7. Laos 6. Indonesia 5. Iran 4. Turkmenistan 3. Sao Tome & Principe 2. Vietnam 1. Somalia Photo by Zambia/Paraguay.
NWA Online: Parents who want to feed their babies a nutritious food, sourced from farms within 300 miles of Washington and Benton counties, can buy Oh Baby! food in local stores. Mother and business owner Fran Free Gunsaulis displayed the baby food, which she cooked in her own kitchen on her Cincinnati farm this summer, [...]
Artist Finds Her Niche In Mixed Media Art And Clothing
At first it might seem that clothing would have nothing in common with a painting business but that’s not entirely true. For Sandra Schulze there is a lot more behind those businesses than meets the eye. Inspired by the photo of her friends’ daughter, Sandra went to work on what would become her first mixed [...]
Best Games For Budding Entreprenuers
The art of the deal isn’t something students usually study in elementary school, and neither are the principles of real estate, the rough and tumble rules of the stock market or best practices for starting a business, writes WalletPop. However, there are games for kids that do exactly that. The best part? The learning is [...]
photo credit: lotopspin Copyblogger: You don’t get to opt out. Businesses that think they can ignore all this “Twitter stupidity” tend to get painfully rude awakenings. The conversation will happen with or without you. You definitely don’t need to respond to every chuckle head with a Facebook account (and you shouldn’t), but you need to [...]
What shape is the Postal Service in? It’s hurting, reports The Week. With more and more personal and business communication being conducted via e-mail and social-networking sites, mail volume peaked at 213 billion pieces in 2006 and has been declining ever since. The recession has only made a difficult situation worse. Mail volume declined by [...]
Great Resources To Get Your Start-up Off The Ground
photo credit: pizzodisevo When starting up your own business, you can always use all the help and resources that you can possibly get your hands on! Starting a business can be overwhelming and difficult at times, but it doesn’t have to be insane and next to impossible if you take advantage of the right resources [...]
Asking For Your Customers Help
photo credit: helgasms! Damniwish.com: Try this: Ask your customers to write a review. Tell them it’s important before the holidays. Don’t give an incentive, just ask them to do it. They’ll do it! In business we know that our customers and clients are the number one thing that will make us succeed. They will ultimately [...]
Culinary Schools Cooking Up Sales Growth
According to The Los Angeles Times, the business of culinary schools is on the rebound after being hammered by the recession earlier this year. The article cites several schools in the L.A. area that have experienced high sales growth due to people looking to save money by cooking for themselves, and the unemployed who are [...]
Derek Sivers: In China, some doctors are paid monthly when you are healthy. If you are sick, it’s their fault, so you don’t have to pay that month. It’s their goal to get you healthy and keep you healthy so they can get paid.
photo credit: *Zara If you’re doing good work, have products that people enjoy, and provide a service and experience that exceeds expectation, chances are, your business is benefiting from word of mouth referrals. While this occasional lead generation windfall may be great, there are things you can do to shine a light on referral generation [...]
Cyber Monday Sales A Bright Spot
Shoppers logged on to e-commerce sites in droves yesterday, spending at a pace that probably set a single day record. The Wall Street Journal cites a comScore report that estimates that online retail sales grew by 6 percent compared with last year, to $900 million. But just as shoppers on Black Friday were spending less [...]
