Archive for June 2010
Is Entrepreneurship Harder For Women?
According to The Commercial Appeal, the path to entrepreneurship is a harder one to take for women than it is for men. With various gender obstacles to face, many women simply find that they cannot get as far as they would like. Although Denise Burnett loves her role as leader of one of the largest [...]
Newspapers Unveil Auction Site
According to a report at MediaPost, a number of newspaper and broadcast TV news Web sites have come together to create Boocoo, a national online listing and auction site with a local focus. It is intended to compete with Craigslist and EBay. Developed by Michigan-based Ranger Data Technologies, Boocoo is a self-serve consumer-based product scheduled [...]
Birthing A Business In 48 Hours
Have you ever tried to start a business in under 48 hours? Or is this a challenge you just wouldn’t feel comfortable taking on? The Washington Post has recently reported about one set of entrepreneurs that spent this past weekend launching their own business. With just minutes to go until deadline, the coders sit furiously [...]
Staples Launches Entrepreneur Competition
The Boston Globe is reporting that Staples Inc., the Framingham-based retailer of office supplies, is once again looking for young entrepreneurs who are creating ventures that can have a positive impact on communities. Working with Ashoka, a community of social entrepreneurs, Staples said it is launching its fourth annual youth social entrepreneur competition. The grand [...]
Mom’s Cloth Art Leaves An Imprint In Homes & Hearts
When some people want to get a message across using crafts they might try needle point. Others might consider picking up an artist’s brush and painting a portrait. Then there is the founder of Tekst-doeken, Brigitte Wolfhagen. She brings words to life using a little creativity, a few special words and some canvas or linen. [...]
Brewing 9,000 Year Old Beer for Profit
Scientific American: This summer, how would you like to lean back in your lawn chair and toss back a brew made from what may be the world’s oldest recipe for beer? Called Chateau Jiahu, this blend of rice, honey and fruit was intoxicating Chinese villagers 9,000 years ago—long before grape wine had its start in [...]
Buy the Coffee, Get the Internet at Starbucks
Today, Starbucks announced via tweet that starting July 1st, internet access will be available via Wifi for free at all of their US locations. When you first login, you’ll be served with targeted content and news to go along with your latte.
Where to Market Your Invention Online
The following is a guest post by Deb Maubach of Homeschool-Entrepreneur.com. I recently read on Momma’s Choice about a family-owned website that consists exclusively of useful items invented by parents. If you have an invention that you have developed, then you will want to contact Inventive Parent.com and see if they will offer your product [...]
When a toy fad goes cold, make sure you’ve already explored the next big trend, says Wham-O CEO Kyle Aguilar. Bloomberg BusinessWeek recently sat down with Aguilar and asked him about toy fads. What is the life span of a hot toy? It can last decades or just a season. Sometimes a product has its [...]
TechCrunch Disrupt Award Winner
CNNMoney takes a look at the Winner of the $50,000 TechCrunch Disrupt Award, Soluto. In a field filled with Web-based and mobile apps, Soluto stood out starkly. It’s old-fashioned, runs-on-a-computer software. But the startup trounced all others by tackling a universal problem: PC troubleshooting. Soluto’s software monitors the PC it’s installed on for common annoyances [...]
Serial Entrepreneur & Under 25
Cincinnati.com: Energy seeps from this young guy in the bright-colored sneakers and a backward ball cap. So much that he can’t decide what to tell me about first. Maybe it’s My All Card, a savings card he co-created with a partner to offer discounts at more than 800 local businesses. Or the fact that Jeff [...]
University of California, Berkeley business students Nikhil Arora and Alex Velez perked up when a business ethics professor mentioned a sustainable business opportunity: using nutrient-rich discarded coffee grounds to grow mushrooms, reports Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Hooked on the idea of “creating a business out of waste streams,” Arora says, the pair tested the idea in a [...]
Mom Makes Millions With Healthy Snacks
HoumaToday.com: Nadja Piatka has the kind of mom-to-millionaire story Oprah would love. Piatka began her business in the early 1990s as a single mother baking low-fat goodies in her home. Ultimately she turned her enterprise into a company with international distribution. Piatka has authored two cookbooks, sold one of her recipes to Quaker and had [...]
When the NFL and MLB began using bobblehead dolls as promotional tools in the early ’60s, they sparked an obsession with the trinkets. After a two-decade slump in popularity beginning in the ’70s, the bobblehead stormed back after the San Francisco Giants distributed a Willie Mays figure at a 1999 game. Today, according to Fast [...]
Ridiculed Entrepreneur Is Success
The investors on BBC’s Dragons’ Den might have thought his creation was junk but this is one entrepreneur that has proven them wrong reports the Mail Online. James Nash refused to give up on his dream and he is having the last laugh as Marks & Spencer struggle to keep up with demand for his [...]
Is Your Great Idea A Real Biz?
Entrepreneurs constantly comb their brains and the world around them for new ideas. The trick often lies in figuring out whether a great idea actually has the potential to be a great business. According to Forbes, to sift out true business opportunities from the sand of merely bright ideas, would-be entrepreneurs can ask a series [...]
Turn News Events Into Publicity
The best PR programs often leverage a company’s best assets, its subject matter experts, by seizing and capitalizing on the news of the day. Aaron Kwittken at Entrepreneur calls this Carpe Diem PR. Absent new company developments, the key for any company is to secure frequent, meaningful media mentions and buzz, by finding natural ways [...]
3 Ways to Make the Most of Business Opportunities
I’ve heard people complaining (or bragging) that they would achieve success easily if only they were provided with the right opportunities. The trouble with opportunities is that they don’t come knocking when you expect them to; rather, you have to be on the lookout for them at each and every point of your life. The [...]
Enterpreneurship Hits 14 Year High
Rather than making history for its deep recession and record unemployment, 2009 might instead be remembered as the year business startups reached their highest level in 14 years – even exceeding the number of startups during the peak 1999-2000 technology boom. According to the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity, a leading indicator of new-business creation [...]
AARP Develops Internet For Grown-Ups
According to a report at MediaPost, after investing two years and millions of dollars, AARP unveiled what it is calling “the Internet for grown-ups.” That’s according to Kyle Lewis, AARP’s VP of media sales and business development, who said the online overhaul was critical to meeting the growing digital demands of the 50+ crowd. We’re [...]
Online Won’t Kill The Radio Star
Vivian Schiller, president and chief executive of NPR, talked with Kara Swisher of The Wall Street Journal about the rise of Internet radio, getting programs on Apple Inc.’s iPad and forming partnerships with other nonprofit news organizations. NPR has an amazing amount of stuff you’re doing digitally compared to public, regular or commercial radio stations. [...]
General Mills Seeks Innovative Packaging Solutions
Whoohoo! A familiar sound to most, it’s the Pillsbury dough boy’s iconic battle cry that can make your mouth water for the brand’s flaky, buttery, oh-so-delicious crust that’s American as pie itself. General Mills is the $15 billion+ food company behind Pillsbury’s famous pie crust and responsible for more than 100 other leading U.S. brands [...]
Procter & Gamble Looking For New Packaging
Procter & Gamble leads the world as the #1 maker of household products. You’d be hard-pressed not to recognize one of their many billion-dollar name brands, including Bounty, Charmin, Crest, Downy, Gillette, Iams, Olay, Pampers, Pantene and Tide, among others. Since 1837, P&G has worked tirelessly to develop consumer products that make life a little [...]
The Clorox Company is committed to making products that promote a cleaner world and healthier homes. From the kitchen and the bathroom to schools and daycare, Clorox Company disinfecting products play a crucial role in helping to kill and reduce the spread of the bacteria, fungi, and viruses that can make us sick. According to [...]
Is using coupons like this stealing? Or, is it a fair trade in a fair market? What do you think?
Free Must Read Report for Entrepreneurs
Copyblogger Brian Clark had an amazing conversation with entrepreneur Jason Fried of 37 Signals and author Steven Pressfield and put it together into a free report. Problogger Darren Rowse called the report a “must read.” That’s good enough for me. The report is 31 pages and is called How to Have a Great Life and [...]
Buying and Selling Websites on Flippa
There are many sites to buy and sell existing websites online. My current favorite is Flippa.com. Flippa is an online auction house (like eBay) for the individual sale of web sites and domain names. Buying a prebuilt website can be a good way to supplement your online earnings, but before you buy a website, keep [...]
The deadline for Entrepreneur Magazine’s, Entrepreneur of 2010 Award is fast approaching. If you meet the qualifications below, you’d better hurry, because you only have until June 15, 2010 to enter. Entrants must have 2009 gross sales of at least $350,000, own at least 51% of the business and meet the minimum and/or maximum number [...]
Foreign knock-offs of American toys often wind up inadvertently parodying them. The low production value of a zombie-esque action figure and hilarious typos resulting from poor translation can almost make a toy more entertaining than the real version. Here are a few toys Urlesque.com collected. ‘Spader-Man’ instead of Spider-Man. I wonder if actor James Spader [...]
Instant Store, Just Add Customers
Vendr seamlessly adds storefront capabilities to any website or blog with just a few lines of code. It does that by adding a “Store” button; when clicked, it dims the background page and overlays a brightly lit store that provides customers with an engaging and fluid shopping experience. Both physical and digital goods can be [...]
Are You Afraid of Social Media?
The following is a guest post from author and marketing specialist Michael Carney. Social Media is the hottest topic in marketing circles right now and many businesses are feeling pressured to get involved with social outlets such as Facebook, MySpace or Twitter. Small wonder — eMarketer is reporting that social media has reached the tipping [...]
One of the often overlooked sections of this website is our directory. Over 2300 different bizops, franchises, dealerships and online opportunities are listed there. Here are companies we’ve posted about this week: 7-eleven a franchise Alphagraphics a franchise Anytime Fitness a franchise Arbonne International a business opportunity Arby’s a franchise Baguette Express a franchise Bakers [...]
Three words can best describe Angela and Karen Samuels and the business they run together. Those words are Sexy Bolder You, reports thestar.com. The words are displayed prominently in Voluptuous, a chain of stores in Toronto that sells trendy fashions in sizes 12 to 20 and is owned and operated by the sisters. But what [...]
Accidental Ad Campaign Weatherproof found a vein of gold in the decision of Obama to use a jacket of the firm during its recent trip to China this past November and placed the ad in a highly visible place. Barack Obama is seen dressed in a black jacket with hands in the pocket, smiling with [...]
New Bizop Classified Ads This Week
New listing this week on the Business Opportunities Weblog Classifieds. Dvdnow Kiosks – Dvd Rental Business Opportunity Always Wanted To Be On The Ground Floor? An Complete Edu-tainment Business For Kids – Under $100! You Earn $1000 Commission Per Sale!! Direct Sales Professionals Increase Your Referrals With My Product $1000 Commission Per Sale New Company [...]
What You Can Learn from Small Businesses Success Stories
There is not bulletproof recipe to launching a successful business. Luck, flair, persistence and drive are some of the many factors that will make – or break a start-up. But while there is no blueprint on entrepreneurship, history has taught us that you cannot make it without the 6 factors listed below These rules are [...]
Teen Founds Profitable Ad Network
Fifteen year-old Christian Owens, founder of online advertising network Branchr, was recently named Enterprising Young Brit 2010. The Daily Mail gives the annual award to teen tycoons with startups in the United Kingdom, reports VentureBeat. Owens founded the startup, which counts MySpace as a publisher — to give you a sense of the prestige — [...]
The Florida-Times Union: When Susan Miller risked everything to help her son launch Bold City Brewery from the ground up in Jacksonville, she admits she didn’t even know if his beer was any good. She took a big risk when she quit her job and helped finance her son’s dream here. It wasn’t out of [...]
VentureBeat reports tha beverage giant Pepsi announced a new experiment around barcodes in collaboration with a startup called Stickybits. Using a barcode-reader application on a smartphone, users can scan barcodes on Pepsi products like soda cans or bottles and access videos and links hidden in the code. Users can also upload their own videos, photos [...]
Toolbox Helps Small Biz Owners Boost Online Presence
The Daily News states that logging on to Make My Cake can be very dangerous. One look at the photos on this Web site — cupcakes dripping in buttercream frosting and fluffy cheesecake topped with cream cheese frosting swirls — could make you drop everything and rush off to one of two Make My Cake [...]
New York Times Bans The Word “Tweet”
The Slate is reporting that the Gray Lady will no longer tweet. That’s according to the New York Times’ standards editor Phil Corbett, who is pleading with writers to avoid using the word in their copy whenever possible, invoking the paper’s disdain for “colloquialisms, neologisms and jargon.” There are tweet partisans: The Associated Press gave [...]
An Internet Sensation And Making Money, Too
The first video starts out with an unsteady shot of Manjula Jain in her Rancho Bernardo kitchen. Alex Jain, her husband and the man behind the camera, says “Go.” Manjula began explaining her recipe for gulab jamun, an Indian dessert of fried dough balls in syrup, and Alex uploaded it on YouTube. He wanted to [...]
Reuters: Weronika Cybulska never intended to stray from the corporate path. But when the recession hit and she lost her marketing job with a New York jewelry manufacturer, the recent MBA graduate set her sights on entrepreneurship, replicating an online auction site she saw thriving in her native Poland. The 28-year-old émigré and her husband [...]
Cool Logos With Hidden Symbols
Did you know that some companies have symbols hidden inside their logos? Check out Toxel.com’s round-up of creative logo designs that use negative space to convey subliminal messages. Goodwill Goodwill’s logo is a stylized letter “g” that doubles as a smiling face. FedEx Negative space between the letters “E” and “X” creates an arrow. LG [...]
When Darren Drewitz found him self laid off and in need of work he did what anyone would do, he went looking for a new job. However it wasn’t a job that he found. According to The Associated Press, it was when he started receiving offers to do freelance work for different companies that lead [...]
Rhonda Abrams writes for Gannett that as a college graduate your next expected step is to look for a job. If you’ve just graduated, I’m sure your parents are urging you to get a job. After all, they don’t really want you moving back into your old room, playing video games, and walking around the [...]
Lawyers Are Using Social Media
According to Mashable.com, while most law firms, big and small, tend to err on the traditional side, social media has created new opportunities for attorneys to flourish as thought leaders and entrepreneurs. A recent survey from communications consultancy Greentarget notes that, “While the more traditional marketing channels for law firm credentialing continue to dominate … [...]
Almost 10 Million Chinese Students Take College Entrance Exams
China Daily reports that cities across China have banned traffic and construction noise this week to create a conducive testing environment for more than 9.57 million high school students sitting for their college entrance exams, starting Monday. The high schoolers will compete for only 6.57 million slots at China’s universities and colleges. If an emergency [...]
Keeping An Eye On Your Home Or Business
Alarm systems are tricky to use, expensive and a waste of time. Or are they? Dan Lawrence is the founder of My-Alarm, a company that offers security systems that do not require a contract, land line or wiring to be effective. My-Alarm sells their systems through a variety of dealers. While some might only offer [...]
I’m including this story because it’s NOT about Twitter or Facebook or the iPhone. It’s about Buttercup. Buttercup the chihuahua is a new mommy, but not to a scrappy litter of yapping puppies. No, the tiny 2-year-old pooch has become a mom to nine orphaned kittens at the Angel Animal Hospital in Surrey, England. Buttercup [...]
