Archive for May 2010
The Wall Street Journal: The phenomenal growth of women-owned businesses has made headlines for three decades—women consistently have been launching new enterprises at twice the rate of men, and their growth rates of employment and revenue have outpaced the economy. So, it is dismaying to see that, despite all this progress, on average, women-owned business [...]
Her father, renowned linguist Dr. Paul Pimsleur, was the brains behind a language learning system that bears his last name. So when Julia Pimsleur Levine, then a documentary filmmaker, wanted to teach her first son how to speak French, she was understandably picky. According to BusinessWeek, audio learning materials for myriad languages based on her [...]
Family Launches Warm Cookie Biz
KCCI Des Moines: Lana Lewis and her son Dereck started Tank Goodness and promise they can get cookies from their oven to their customers’ offices. “The whole design of the box is to keep the cookie warm,” said Dereck Lewis. He said the concept is as simple as the recipe. “The best part is you [...]
The harmonica may seem as American as the blues. But for years, virtually every harmonica in the U.S. was made somewhere else, with Germany’s Hohner accounting for most of them. Musicians now have a homegrown alternative reports BusinessWeek. On Feb. 1, Harrison Harmonicas shipped its first batch of products from a workshop in a business [...]
Mompreneurs Split Their Time Between Two Passions
Chicago Tribune: In order to manage her business and family, Cristen Dokic has structured her work schedule to free up blocks of time for her kids. Dokic, who in November 2009 launched Language and Culture Plus LLC , which offers foreign and English language training, is up by 6 a.m. to check her e-mail. She [...]
BusinessWeek reports that Angie Onassis Parlionas admits she was “obsessed with lip gloss as a kid.” But between softball games and wrestling matches, she often ended up having to buy yet another tube after losing the one she had been using. Today’s generation of girls can be flighty, and it won’t cost them. Parlionas, 31, [...]
When Brett Stern sees a problem, he fixes it. A lifelong tinkerer, the 50-year-old inventor used his expertise in industrial design to market snack foods, so says BusinessWeek. Unable to find a beer-flavored potato chip, Stern whipped up his own batch. Within two years, he was shipping packages of aptly named Beer Chips, which retail [...]
5 Things You Might Not Know About The $20 Bill
Seven years ago, the revamped $20 bill debuted with a colorful new look and a slew of high-tech security features. Answers.com takes a look back at the history of the “double-sawback” to uncover five things you probably didn’t know about the bill: 1. The average circulation life for a $20 bill is 25 months. 2. [...]
Inventors Wanted: Stop Cell Phone Use In Prisons
Arstechnica reports that the campaign to rid our nation’s prisons of cell phones went to the next level, with a call from the Department of Commerce for intel on devices that can get the situation under control. The government is “seeking comment on technical approaches” to the problem, Commerce says. The illicit use of cell [...]
Facebook Serving More Than 50 Billion Banner Ads Per Month
During the first quarter of 2010, Facebook served up more banner ads than any other website, according to new data from comScore published in The Wall Street Journal. In total, the social networking site displayed 176.3 billion ads during the period, for an average of better than 50 billion ads each month. That total represents [...]
How Entrepreneurs Benefit from Collaboration
Despite “collaboration” becoming increasingly accepted and valued in business, there are still those that remain hesitant about sharing information or resources and about working with others. It’s still common to hear people say “I have developed a great tool, but I’m afraid that if I share it with anyone, they’ll steal my idea.” ReadWriteWeb reports [...]
Student Smokes Competition With Award-Winning Invention
When Trevis Kurz looked around at his surroundings last March, he knew he was representing Ohio State to people from all over the world. The commotion was incredible, the excitement was infectious and the competition seemed insurmountable. “There were 50,000 people,” Kurz said. “It was total chaos, I didn’t know what was going on that [...]
Mom Becomes Successful Inventor
Stephanie Veve had enough of wrapping her kid’s ice pops in napkins. So she did what many have thought of, but never fully perused—she came up with a new invention. The Temecula entrepreneur and mother of three created Pop Pals. According to Southwest Riverside News Network, Pop Pals are a sleeve for ice pops youngsters [...]
Mark Zuckerberg and Evan Williams are now household names, and in many ways, these entrepreneurs are like rock stars in the startup world. In fact, the journey of an entrepreneur through the startup experience is a lot like that of a musician seeking stardom and millions of adoring fans, and artist Shane Snow has a [...]
Even The Babysitter Can Take Credit Cards
According to ReadWriteWeb, small businesses, mobile vendors and yard sale junkies across the world unite – credit and debit cards have come to the street-side, the festival ground and the front yard with the release of Square. Square is an app for both iPhones and Android devices that allows its users to accept both cash [...]
Campaign For A National Entrepreneurs’ Day
According to Inc.com, entrepreneurs are on their way to tweeting themselves to an official day in their honor. At least that’s the hope of a Twitter petition launched to persuade President Obama to declare March 20, 2011 the first annual National Entrepreneurs’ Day. David Hauser and Siamak Taghaddos, co-founders of Needham, Massachusetts-based Grasshopper, a virtual [...]
LOLCat King On What Makes Internet Culture Viral
Ben Huh is the CEO of The Cheezburger Network, a ring of highly lucrative websites that curate and capitalize on Internet memes and macros. During the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco, he sat down with Jolie O’Dell of Mashable.com, to tell us all about Internet culture, from what makes for a guaranteed flop online [...]
Would New Law Hamper Startup Fundraising?
According to Mashable.com, the U.S.’s proposed Financial Reform bill could place some pretty tough constraints on angel investors, possibly upsetting the balance of early-stage venture capital for tech startups. A report got into the nitty-gritty details of the massive bill and uncovered some stipulations that would definitely affect the early-stage investment market, possibly making raising [...]
Unique products to inspire and amuse. Zombie Blood. When Gatorade just isn’t enuff. Shark Sleeping Bag. But I keep having this dream about being eaten by my sleeping bag. Rock Guitar Shirt. I’m gonna rip it off at the end of Freebird. Bacon Flavored Envelopes. Call my cardiologist, I can’t get enuff bacon. Photos by [...]
The 5 Rules of Solopreneur Success
Do you believe that you have to limit your company’s growth because you’re a solo entrepreneur? “Solo” doesn’t necessarily mean small but sometimes we forget to think big. If you’re content and meeting your goals, that’s fabulous. But if you want additional growth, freedom, and financial independence, Marla Tabaka at Inc.com says begin by creating [...]
Entrepreneur Makes Childhood Dream A Reality
Missoulian: Some little boys love army tanks or fire engines. For Nathan McEwen, it was always ice cream trucks that captured his imagination. Being one of eight kids growing up in his Washington family, he rarely got to stand in line at the cheerfully decorated truck that cruised his neighborhood, selling all kinds of delicious [...]
Students Raise More Than $100,000 To Build Facebook Alternative
Mashable is reporting that four New York University students have a vision to build Diaspora, “an open source personal web service that will put individuals in control of their data,” or essentially the anti-Facebook. They started with just a dream and a prayer — that prayer was to raise $10,000 by June 1 so that [...]
Teens Robot Could Save Homes & Lives
YourLocalGuardian.co.uk: A sixth-form student from Sutton Grammar School has been chosen to represent the UK in a European-wide young scientist competition. Andrew Cowan, 17, from South Park Road in Wimbledon, created a remote controlled search and recovery robot as part of his A-level coursework. The robot so impressed the competition judges, that he was chosen [...]
Travelocity Says Chatroulette Marketing Works
What’s this? The oddball, quirky and occasionally X-rated site that connects random strangers for video chat is a marketer’s dream? That doesn’t sound right. But that’s exactly what Travelocity, the popular travel brand known best for their mascot, the travelling gnome, is saying. In a recent interview with ClickZ, a news and advice site for [...]
Mom Succeeds With Saucy Business
PNJ.com: Sue Shattuck’s sauces are sizzling. Jars of the Milton native’s ready-to-serve Bayou Creole, Maui Sunset and Milano Marinara sauces are a hot commodity in several area stores. And a recent deal with Whole Foods Market soon will stock San Francisco store shelves with the tasty toppings. Gourmet Mom’s is the little business that just [...]
When I got my first job, most business cards ended up in Rolodexes. Today though, many are scanned and destroyed almost immediately. One Sock has some great tips for creating business cards that are easily scanned: Putting half your contact details on the front and half on the back is irritating as it means the [...]
Scams So Rampant on Facebook, Top Exec Falls For One
Lies, fake news about Facebook and outright scams have grown more common on the giant social network than weeds in a Farmville player’s fields. ReadWriteWeb reports that now the problem has reached the very top of the organization, with one of only four members of Facebook’s hyper-exclusive Board of Directors apparently handing his account credentials [...]
Composting may be the right thing to do for the environment, but it can be hard to get around the smell and the mess—particularly for urbanites without expansive yards. Trendspotter Springwise reports that Compost Cab is a new service about to launch in Washington, DC, that can be called upon to handle all the dirty [...]
Lovin’ It Loops: Anastasia Snyder
11-year-old Snyder started knitting two years ago. A year into her hobby she decided to turn it into a money-making enterprise. According to Forbes, she now sells 12 items a month, including knit purses ($10), cellphone socks ($6) and coin pouches ($4). She pays $3 per bundle of yarn, enough for 12 socks, which each [...]
Brad Sugars at Entrepreneur says if there is one mantra you should adopt now and plan for in your business, it should be that repeat business equals profit. The reality of business is that it costs anywhere from six to eight times as much to generate a new customer as it does to sell to [...]
Biz In A Boxx: For Your Budding Entrepreneur
If your kid looks at lemonade stands and card trading as opportunities to rake in the dough instead of an afternoon diversion, WalletPop suggests you check out Biz in a Boxx. This is one game you can give your budding entrepreneur that could potentially have excellent ROI (return on investment.) The Biz in a Boxx [...]
Microfinance Loans May Be The Solution
According to AllBusiness.com, while microcredit loans first originated in the Third World as a way to help launch small businesses thousands of American entrepreneurs are finding it as the alternative solution to traditional lending. Many of the micro lenders, which are mostly non profits, receive the bulk of its funds from the Small Business Administration. [...]
Redefine ‘Entrepreneur’ For Modern Times
According to Dawn Duncan over at North Colorado Business Report, we often think of “entrepreneur” as synonymous with “owner,” and although this is technically true, I have come to learn that there is much more to this term. When we associate entrepreneurship in a linear fashion, we forget that there are many people among us [...]
msnbc: Some 80 years ago, John Ruocco’s then 16-year-old uncle was struck and killed by a drunk driver in the Bronx. Although it happened years before he was born, Ruocco grew up hearing about the tragedy from his parents, who witnessed it, and vowed to do something about drunk driving. A couple of years ago, [...]
Cash Strapped Entrepreneurs Get Creative
BBC News: Got a great business idea but no money to finance it? It’s the age old problem faced by would-be entrepreneurs. But a new generation of online funding platforms is taking the pain out of raising capital to get new ventures off the ground. The platforms cater for everyone from starving artists to tech [...]
Cool Idea: Microwave Popcorn Poppers
Alain Karyo, an architect, is the founder of Catamount Glass. The 31-year-old company first made beakers for schools and laboratories, but switched to designing cookware when Alain saw the need for a sturdy alternative to existing glass cookware, reports The Daily Grommet. Catamount’s popcorn popper is made of borosilicate glass that can withstand high temperatures [...]
Cake, Fresh From The Microwave
Going from the microwave to your mouth in mere minutes, The Greeting Cake Company has a cake that will change your opinion on microwaved foods. Unlike most foods that find their way into the device, these cakes come out moist and delicious. With cakes for nearly any occasion, they are the perfect gift or the [...]
Things That Star Trek ‘Invented’
Star Trek is one of the most famous television shows and media franchises in the world today, and while many love the storylines of the original show, along with its spinoffs and movies, Roadtickle says we may not fully realize the impact the show has had on our lives. No, we are not talking about [...]
Anne Field at True/Slant takes a look at widely held misconceptions about small business that tend to be reinforced constantly by the media: 1. Venture capital is a viable funding source for many, if not most, startups. Some very glamorous companies like Google and Twitter have received lots of VC money. But, here are the [...]
The News Tribune: If you think high school is tough, with its cliques and mean girls, you probably haven’t visited the ever-widening world of mommy blogs, where women bully and bad-mouth each other in posts that are more personal and more spiteful than you’re likely to find on sports or entertainment blogs. Or on blogs [...]
Being a Mom and running a business is like having two full-time jobs. Inc.com asked women who do it for their advice on how to juggle running a family while building a business. 1. Set aside some time for yourself 2. It’s okay to say ‘No’ 3. Outsource household work 4. Be present 5. Don’t [...]
NJ.com: Joseph Hudicka’s story is typical of most budding iPhone entrepreneurs. His idea for a software application for the phone — known as an app — is a fusion game of hockey and checkers. He successfully pitched it to investors, who shelled out thousands of dollars to an offshore software development firm. His research and [...]
Twitter Readying Business Center
Appscout reports that Twitter has confirmed that it is readying the launch of its new Business Center. Aimed at business users, the new service has been in beta testing mode for almost five months. The service has already been rolled out to “a handful of accounts.” Twitter has begun offering more businesses access to the [...]
When you walk into this bar it isn’t alcohol you will see, rather you’ll see the makings of a relaxing afternoon. The Skin Bar is a spa that recently opened in Hanover reports the PatriotLedger.com. For Ann Simon, the American dream is alive and well in Hanover with the recent opening of her new spa [...]
Which Way Does Your Banana Bend?
InnovationTools.com suggests you grab a banana and place it in front of you on table. Does it bend to the left or the right? Now turn it over, you should find that it now bends in the opposite direction. Alas, you do not have magic powers of banana bend reversal, but you have just demonstrated [...]
Chatroulette Founder Comes To America
This week, Andrey Ternovskiy, the eighteen year old Russian founder of the world’s weirdest social networking website, Chatroulette, gets the New Yorker treatment. In Julia Ioffe’s story, we learn that Ternovskiy struggled in school–his offenses included “chronic truancy and correcting the English of his English teacher” (he learned English by chatting with friends online). A [...]
Better Decade For Businesses To Come
photo credit: Pink Sherbet Photography We’ve all heard the stories of several different businesses that were once known by everyone that are now going under, seen as a horrible place to work, bad business leaders and more. Several different companies sure have set the bar for bad behavior that was once kept under wraps but [...]
photo credit: Noah Sussman At some point in our life we have all had to call a customer service line for one reason or another. Every time someone complains it seems as though they have worked themselves up into a huge frenzy before they get on the phone so, by time they sit through the [...]
photo credit: cod_gabriel We can all stand to save some money here and there in business today. Every little bit really adds up after a while. Cutting your bills down a little can be a great way to save some money. Most businesses don’t realize the money they are wasting on some unnecessary technology. First [...]
Is My Business Idea A Good One?
The following is a guest post from John Crickett. Firstly let’s clarify what a good business idea is. To me a good business idea is one that is both profitable and sustainable. By profitable, I mean that you sell your product for more than it costs you to deliver it and after deducting a contribution [...]
