Archive for January 2010
Business Ideas from Twitter #2
This post is sponsored by Ad.ly. @connectwithcoop: I might buy all my facebook contacts domain name names to sell back to them in the future. joking…but good ‘assholery’ business idea… @narhasan: Tom Wujec on 3 Ways the Brain Creates Meaning http://on.ted.com/671D [TED] Awesome mega-board business idea at minute five. @KevinMartelli: New business idea: mobile print [...]
Win a Clean Air Lawn Care Franchise
Clean Air Lawn Care has officially launched Opportunity 2010, a once in a lifetime opportunity to win a Clean Air Lawn Care franchise with the tools provided for success. From their press release: Clean Air Lawn Care founder and CEO, Kelly Giard, was recently named Entrepreneur Magazine’s Emerging Entrepreneur 2009, an incredible honor and a [...]
Creating A Biz In A Stadium Parking Lot
Jason Wotman admits the whole idea was born out of laziness. Tailgate parties are fun, but the transportation, set-up and clean-up are certainly no picnic. After one particular New York Jets game when Wotman and his friends’ grill was stolen and they were tired of bringing “back all this gross stuff covered in burger juice,” [...]
Home Biz Advice: IWearYourShirt.com
A home-based business doesn’t get started in a day. I was able to set up my website quickly, but I didn’t make my first sale until a little more than a month after I launched IWearYourShirt.com. When I first started, I really had no Twitter following, either. But I said to myself that as long [...]
Entrepreneurs Shake Up Liquor Industry
South Florida, home to industry giant Bacardi U.S.A., has become a magnet for upstart brands and U.S. launches of international products, reports The Miami Herald. The region is itself a choice cocktail in which to test-market a new drink — a gateway location, a SoBe chic tourist economy, celebrities galore, a wide range of ethnicities [...]
Kick-Start: Build Value Every Day
Business is all about high-touch/ high-trust relationships. In this age of dramatic distraction, it’s especially easy to forget that. People do business with people they trust and people who make them feel special. Create a ritual that ensures you reach out to three possible or current customers every day. This isn’t about asking for the [...]
Top 6 Colleges With Entrepreneurial Programs
For young budding entrepreneurs approaching graduation this spring, or for those looking to go back for a post-graduate degree, finding the right program for your needs is very important. In their seventh annual joint effort, Entrepreneur Magazine and The Princeton Review teamed up to rank the top 25 undergraduate and graduate entrepreneurship programs in the [...]
Recession Affecting The Super Bowl
Super Bowl time is almost upon us and with it a veritable plethora of clever television commercials. Super Bowl ads also have the reputation of being the most expensive television commercials for the year, according to a story at TV Squad. However, this year that is not quite as true this year because, for the [...]
Copy Cafe: A Copy Center in a Box
Copy Cafe is a copy center business in a box. They are a turn key business opportunity that can get you up and running in under thirty days. A Copy Cafe store can offer copies for nearly half the price of the large competitors (Fedex-Kinko’s®, Office Max®, Office Depot® and Staples®) and still make a [...]
Last week I spoke with Paul Cooper from BodyCo, a tattoo franchise in Canada. I don’t have an tattoos, and after talking to him, I don’t think I’ll be setting foot in a tattoo shop unless it is a BodyCo one. Paul explained that the typical method of tattooing is a dirty and unhealthy experience. [...]
Creative Moms Have Toys All Sewn Up
MiamiHerald.com: Miranda Kuskie likes that her children can pile up separate strands of felt spaghetti instead of a plastic blob of noodles. “They like to stick all the noodles in the pot and stir it up. And they can’t really do that with the plastic food,” said Kuskie, 25, of Nampa, Idaho. Kuskie, who provides [...]
What Did You Think of Shark Tank Episode 13?
Friday was episode 13 of Shark Tank on ABC. The ideas presented where: The Fractionist The Podillow Wee Can Shop Grease Monkey Wipes I wasn’t very impressed with any of the ideas, even the Grease Monkey Wipes business that made a deal with the sharks. Which idea impressed and or inspired you the most? If [...]
Young Entrepreneur Finds Success On Net
Misty Calhoun stumbled across the Belly Bling Web site two years ago while searching the Internet for navel ring vendors. She ordered a titanium piece adorned with colored stones from the online store and has remained a customer of the Cedar Falls-based business for the past two years, according to a story in the WCFCourier. [...]
If you’ve been meaning to get around to working on your lackluster keyboard chops Klava can help you hone your touch typing skills without having to install any apps or sign up for any services, reports Lifehacker. The flash-based keyboard tutor has a simple interface. You can select from basic English, advanced English—the change is [...]
New Invention: Coffee Condiment Stick
The CoffTeaCon-Stix is a coffee and tea stirrers containing pre-measured sugar and non-dairy creamer. Watch the video for a demo.
Crazy: A Music Player for the Unborn
You know what they say: It’s never too early to bias your children’s musical tastes. The Ritmo Advanced Sound System is a prenatal music player. It allows you and your baby to share the same music. What’s next? A video player that projects movies onto the skin of the mother’s belly? Update: My wife says [...]
$30 Million Spent On Virtual Gifts
Leena Rao over at TechCrunch asks should we be considering virtual goods when evaluating online holiday spending? We’ve seen that e-commerce spending over the holidays was strong, with consumers shelling out nearly $30 billion over a period of a few months. Now, virtual goods platform PlaySpan reports that digital goods have seen a similar, if [...]
Make Money Without Actually Having A Job
Job market got you down? If applying to real-person jobs isn’t landing you the position you want, it may be time to try something different. Like offering up your body to medicine. Or selling your opinion for $50/hour. Or, easiest yet, hanging out at someone else’s house. Business Pundit has come up with seven ways [...]
The tour organizer received assurances, he says, from four gangs that they would not harass the bus when it passed through their turf. Paying customers must sign releases warning of potential danger.
Necessity is the mother of invention. The father is unknown. Golf Ball Launcher. Par 4? Forget it! Crazy Earphones. Just Don’t Poke A Q-tip In Your Ear. Twirling Battery Charger. Become Your Own Power Company. Treasure Seeker Shoes. Walk Like A Pirate, Matey. Photos by Air Force Golf/Solid Alliance/Song Teaho and Hyejin Lee/IWantOne.
On a recent evening in this southern French city, Maurice Berrayah parked his black Renault sedan outside a gray warehouse, and a Chronodrive supermarket employee packed his trunk with a week’s worth of milk, wine, eggs and other foodstuffs his wife had ordered online earlier in the day. “We don’t have to go grocery shopping [...]
Most Govt Vendors are Tiny Middlemen
Of the thousands of firms that supply goods to the government, most are not manufacturers, but middlemen. Most are tiny one or two person businesses like Nicole Corey in New York City. NY Times City Room: Here, amid her homemade pickles and jams, Nicole Corey keeps New York City agencies and those of its neighbors [...]
Used Cell Phone Franchise: Cell Again
Their franchise system focuses on low-risk, kiosk locations where customers not only purchase phones and accessories, but can also sell their old cell phones. They have five current locations with four in Utah and one in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Entrepreneur Creates Treadmill Desk
Overweight and struggling with back pain, Steve Bordley knew he had to do something. His job chained him to a desk for 12 to 14 hours a day. A gunshot injury from a hunting accident had nearly disabled him, leaving him unable to do much outdoor activity, according to a story in The Arizona Republic. [...]
Orange Dog: Green Dog Products
A little over a year ago, Nick Schklair, a veteran of IT marketing and sales, was working on a very new project and stumbled on a totally new (for him) market. While trying to develop a product for the BBQ industry he stumbled across a product for dogs. “I was experimenting with the use of [...]
Next Little Thing: Cheaper Cancer Scans
Greg Colip had a comfortable life as a Houston attorney specializing in the oil-and-gas industry. He never thought he’d become an expert in cancer screening. That changed when a friend arranged a quick chat with Jerry Bryant, a local scientist, in a hotel lobby. That led to the creation of Cell>Point, a company that plans [...]
David & Goliath Trademark Disputes
Every businessperson would agree that trademark infringement is a serious issue. But when a multi-million dollar corporation goes after a mom-and-pop store, you can’t help but root for the underdog. Most of the time, David doesn’t stand a chance against a Goliath of the industry, but here are a handful of cases where the little [...]
Biz Poll Results: Small Biz Websites
On Monday, we asked readers if they knew the percentage of small businesses that have a website. You may be surprised with the answer. 22 percent said 17% had websites, 15 percent said 25% had a web presence, 22 percent guessed 38% had sites, 13 percent said 44% and finally, the largest percentage 28% selected [...]
Mom Creates Dolls With Real Girl Style
The Press-Enterprise: Three years ago, Kristi Necochea went shopping for a doll for her daughter, Madelyn, then 4 years old. “All I saw were Bratz dolls that didn’t seem appropriate,” she recalled. Disappointed but inspired, she started a company that makes the kind of dolls she couldn’t find in the stores. Today, Friends Forever Girls, [...]
The Justice League Of Entrepreneurs
With the Justice League of America, some of the world’s most powerful superheroes banded together to fight crime. With the Start Project, some successful Silicon Valley entrepreneurs are banding together to start companies according to Brad Stone in the Bits blog at The New York Times. They’re not wearing costumes, but the idea is basically [...]
For More Workers, Home Is Where the Office Is
According to The Wall Street Journal the home is the new hotbed of entrepreneurial activity. For those who have temporarily joined the ranks of the self-employed, a home office is the natural (and cheapest) place to get work done. For others who are using severance packages to take a shot at entrepreneurship, the home can [...]
David Carr over at The New York Times has an interesting look at Twitter. I can remember when I first thought seriously about Twitter. I was at the SXSW conference, a conclave in Austin, Tex., where technology, media and music are mashed up and re-imagined, and, not so coincidentally, where Twitter first rolled out in [...]
Next Little Thing: Brain Games
Plastic tendrils are clutching my temples, reading electric signals from my brain. I’m sitting in a conference room in San Francisco looking at an orange box floating on a large flat screen. My goal is to make it disappear using nothing but thought. “Cheshire cat,” I think, and the box starts to fade. No, Chris [...]
Entrepreneur Sees Phones As Future Tickets
Mobile phones are many things to different people, but a Milwaukee technologist and entrepreneur hopes to turn yours into a ticket to a party, club or concert through Twicketer.com, reports The Wall Street Journal. The Web site, currently in beta testing but available to the public, is a mobile ticketing service that lets anyone schedule [...]
Female Entrepreneurs Are On The Rise
Women are entering the world of entrepreneurship at a much faster rate than men, although their businesses have been much harder hit by the recession than their male-owned equivalents, reports The Financial Times. The latest start-up figures from Barclays show that the recession has done little to quell the rise in self- employment with 460,000 [...]
Exercise-Loving Mom’s Inspire Neighbors To Get Fit
hometownlife.com: Sue Pilarski and Cassandra Smith not only serve as proof that working moms can find time to stay in shape, they also inspire others to fit adequate exercise into a busy schedule. The married 30-something Livonia residents, each of whom have two young children, have packaged their motivation into a new business venture, Get [...]
Pet Urns Keep Beloved Pets Nearby After They’re Gone
It’s hard to lose a friend… even if that friend had fur and walked on four legs. Pet urns are big business.
KFC Markets ‘Fiery’ Wings On Fire Hydrants
Fast-food chain KFC is giving two Indiana cities $7,500 so it can emblazon founder Colonel Sanders’ face on their hydrants and fire extinguishers to promote new “fiery” chicken wings, according to a story in USA Today. Experts say to expect more ads like this, on public property from sewer grates to the local landfill, as [...]
Striking It Rich: Is There An App For That?
Most apps take at least six months of full-time work and cost between $20,000 and $150,000 to develop, according to Forrester Research, which covers the tech industry, reports Newsweek. Apple rejects almost 60 percent of submissions at least once, often—according to programmers—with little more than infuriatingly vague or inconsistent explanations. Of the 85,000 that have [...]
Katherine Lewis at CurrentMom is often asked about Twitter for small business, either by independent consultants or business owners. And her answer is always the same: if your customers and competitors are on Twitter, you need to be too. 1. Follow Competitors and Customers 2. Tweet Useful Information — But Not Too Much 3. Monitor [...]
Andrew Logan has what every manufacturer craves: an endless source of free raw materials that his suppliers can’t wait to dump and a market starving for his product, reports Fortune Small Business. Logan, a biologist in Idaho Springs, Colo., turns waste from breweries into a fish-food ingredient. His company, Oberon FMR, spent a decade refining [...]
Amid the economy’s many ailments, some good news has remained mostly off the radar: The at-home work force is growing, and it is encompassing new occupations ranging from radiology and nursing to auditing and teaching, according to a story in The Wall Street Journal. The bad news: Fierce competition means your odds of landing one [...]
Business Networking, Mom Style
Edmonton Journal: For many women who shift from professional life to maternity leave, starting a new business can be a natural fit — a way to put those multitasking skills to use while making money closer to home. The trouble is, those former professionals often cultivated their business connections by shmoozing at lunches, business association [...]
Patent Office Tightens Screws On Software Patents
The Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI), a key panel within the Patent Office, has tightened the rules for American software patents, arstechnica reports. The recently-released decision builds on last year’s landmark ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in the case of In Re Bilski. In that case, [...]
Google To Replace Billboards In Street View
According to a new patent that was just granted to Google, the company could soon extend the reach of its advertising program in Google Maps to Street View, reports ReadWriteWeb. This patent, which was originally filed on July 7, 2008, describes a new system for promoting ads in online mapping applications. In this patent, Google [...]
Frisbee Production Returns To U.S.
It’s a sign that the economy is slowly improving, but at least it’s a start: Wham-O is bringing back half of its Frisbee manufacturing to the United States from China, reports WalletPop. Kids in China may someday turn over their Frisbee and find “Made in America” on it. What a twist that would be! The [...]
Chris Dannen over at Fast Company has an interesting look at the just concluded Consumer Electronics Show. Sometimes it takes a million square feet of gizmos to understand where humanity is headed. After all the pageantry and pixels, here’s what the world learned about tech in 2010. There Is No Such Thing as a Netbook [...]
Next Little Thing: Breaking The Sound Barrier
Before an audience of sleepy journalists and venture capitalists, Emo Labs CEO Jason Carlson took the stage with a TV and a giant set of speakers playing the Beach Boys, reports CNNMoney. Then he whipped off the speaker box to reveal the real source of the sound: a sheet of clear plastic. There were audible [...]
The Secret Behind Kindle’s Best-Selling E-Books
One big reason readers choose e-books over ink and paper versions: The digital ones are cheaper, reports CNet News. That wasn’t the case when e-books first appeared a decade ago. But Amazon has made a point of selling its Kindle titles at a discount to physical editions, even if it means losing money. And then [...]
Biz Ideas & Opportunities For 2010
Over the holidays, trendspotter Springwise reviewed all of the smart new business ideas they covered in 2009, and selected some that they believe will provide entrepreneurs with plenty of opportunities in 2010. Needless to say, it was a huge challenge to pick from such a wide range of innovative concepts. Small-Scale Food Production Using Membership [...]
