Archive for July 2010
How to Make a True Profit on eBay
The following is a guest post from Corry Cummings. Selling products on eBay has become a very popular way for millions of people to make extra money. Some people only sell a few items to make a little extra cash while other people make a career of selling products on eBay. There are many different [...]
Your Tax Dollars At Work — There’s An App For That
The Apple App Store, the Android Market and BlackBerry’s AppWorld have a surprising new competitor. The United States government. According to a story at Gadgetwise, the government announced a Mobile Apps store at USA.gov, featuring four new free apps to accompany 14 others that the government created while the marketplace was presumably under development in [...]
Reaping The Benefits Of Entrepreneurship
Josh Lesher is only 17 years old reports ReadingEagle.com, but he has already bought a combine and launched a business. Taking out a loan on his own, Josh bought a used combine for $50,000 and now has started working on clearing fields. “This is all in my name,” said Josh, an Upper Tulpehocken Township resident [...]
Chuck Gordon, then an art student at UCLA, balked at the thousands of dollars he would have to pay to store his belongings while spending a semester in Singapore two years ago. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, he ended up stowing his stuff in friends’ homes and garages. Gordon thought plenty of people with extra space [...]
Taylor Mingos and Aaron Houghton are working together to help Durham startups get off the ground through their website, Downtown Durham Startups reports The Herald-Sun. “Many people outside the area have no idea that there are one or two startups in downtown, let alone the 15 or so that we have,” Mingos said. “People in [...]
Cafe Serves Up Venture Capital With The Granola
Call it the Buck’s Silicon Valley Barometer: The economy may be wobbly and the mood of the country anxious, but the Woodside cafe is humming again with deal-making breakfasts, reports The Mercury News. On a recent morning, just about every one of the cafe’s 110 seats were occupied — even at 10 a.m. Entrepreneurs shared [...]
According to The Gary Post Tribune, Jeff Will, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Valparaiso University, came up with the “Here Kitty, Kitty” app, for sale at iTunes for 99 cents, which plays sound that cats might find so appealing they come out from under the couch. He figured if cats came [...]
Giving The Gift Of Personalized Chocolate
Chocolate has been a symbol for Valentines day for many years but many people don’t realize just how special this treat can be at any time of the year. Thanks in part to companies like Tasty Image more people are finding that customized chocolates, from custom lollipops to party platters, are just what they need [...]
Boy Scouts Add New Merit Badge For Invention
The Boy Scouts of America do good, we all know that. And now they do invention. According to Fast Company, the 100-year-old organization has teamed up with MIT’s Lemelson program, founded by the father of modern invention in America, Jerome H. Lemelson, to provide a new merit badge: that of invention. Aside from defining what [...]
CPAs Help Entrepreneurs Succeed
According to Suite101, the services of Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) often extend beyond helping clients file their tax returns. They are often found behind the front lines helping start-up business owners realize their dreams no matter what they may be. Borrowing on his own experience in opening his office in the mid 1990s, Adonu “Don” [...]
Mary Ogwang used to live in in a one room house made of metal in Uganda. Her husband, a police officer, only brought home $2 a day. Then Mary heard about BeadforLife. That was where she found the opportunity to make enough money to start her own business making clothing. From there she’s been able [...]
One Cool Inventor, One Cool Innovator
IndyStar.com reports that Andrew Shelton was just 21 years old, a junior at Wabash College, when he had an idea for a new product: a backpack cooler that keeps drinks cold and easy to carry. He got the idea after lugging an oversized cooler to the Indianapolis 500 with a friend, with drinks spilling everywhere. [...]
Shannon Wiggins had a long list of things she’d never do. She never wanted to get married, have kids or own animals. So you might be surprised to find that she lives on a farm with a husband and five children. Besides running a farm she also sells various goat milk soaps reports Peninsula Daily [...]
How Much Should You Pay Yourself?
Jay Goltz at The New York Times has his answer to this question. Actually, there is a simple answer. I think business owners should pay themselves whatever is left — whatever is left, that is, after everyone and everything else has been paid and after money for growth and paying down debt has been factored [...]
Funding The Micro Entrepreneur
When things get unstable in the workforce the unemployed tend to look towards self-employment as an alternative. However, the switch isn’t for the faint of heart. You have to feel a certain dedication to what you want to do before you can succeed with it. Alexia Parks for The Huffington Post recently touched on the [...]
Has the novelty of poking, status updates and photo tagging worn off for teens and their notoriously short attention spans? Mashable reports that a survey conducted by online gaming site Roiworld found that teenagers are showing signs of “Facebook Fatigue.” Teens still spend an impressive 80 percent of their internet time on social networking sites, [...]
Small Bizs Added 18,000 New Jobs
Marketwatch reports that small business employment grew by 0.09 percent in June, equating to a 1.10 percent annual growth rate, according to the latest Intuit Inc.Small Business Employment Index. This translates to approximately 18,000 new jobs in June and a revised estimate of 330,000 total new jobs since October 2009. The monthly report is based [...]
How They Did It….The Old Spice Commercial
Last Thursday, we showed you an incredible TV commercial about Old Spice deoderant. Isaiah Mustafa, the actor in the commercial, appeared on the G4 TV program and spilled some of the secrets behind the commercial.
Sam’s Club Offers Small Biz Loans
USA TODAY is reporting that Sam’s Club said it will offer small business loans of up to $25,000 to its small business members. The division of Wal-Mart, based in Bentonville, Ark., is testing a program with Superior Financial Group, one of 13 federally licensed non-bank lenders, and will offer $5,000 to $25,000 loans to members [...]
According to The Unoffical Aple Weblog, artists are taking to the iPad like ducks to water. The device seems to be a natural tool for many artists to use, and the public is now starting to see the fruits of the relationship in the form of some startling and beautiful digital art. Kyle Lambert is [...]
According to the New York Daily News, Beck Johnson had a business plan, his startup funding a dream of opening an ice cream stand, but first he needed a variance from the Sunapee zoning board to open in a residential zone. He admits being a bit “freaked out” before his presentation, but ultimately got the [...]
A Little Lemonade To Aid Gulf Oil Spill Cleanup
Cullman Times: Maddie, Roy, and Morgan Grimmett have been working hard for the past couple of weeks from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m to supply Cullman residents with lemonade and a smile. Their lemonade stand was custom made by their uncle, Lucas McCollum, and presented to Maddie by her great-grandfather, Roy Drinkard, as an early [...]
Two Guys And Their Bacon Explosion
The Kansas City Star reports that It’s not hard to come up with theories on how the Bacon Explosion got its name, but here’s the real story, straight from the pig’s snout: It was December 2008, and Jason Day had something to show his barbecue contest teammate Aaron Chronister. Day, having thrown back some holiday [...]
Thrifty Mom Turned Deal-A-Day Entrepreneur
Jamie Ratner was looking for the perfect wedding dress. Determined to find a good deal she was not deterred when she saw all the hefty price tags stuck to each Vera Wang dress. That was until she managed to find one at 90% off reports Gazette.net. After her wedding, she sold the dress for a [...]
Chances are that you’ve seen someone, somewhere with a bronzed pair of ‘baby’s first shoes’. For many bronzing is synonymous with childhood. Many people have gone out of their way to have the objects that their children loved bronzed so it can be remembered forever. That’s not all that can be bronzed, though. Just ask [...]
Invention Allows You To Insert Batteries Any Way You Like
If you have used a digital camera or any gadget that requires batteries, occasionally you insert the batteries the wrong way preventing the device from working till you switch them around. GadgetVenue reports that Microsoft has invented a new technology called InstaLoad that allows a device to be powered regardless of which way you put [...]
MercuryNews.com: Call it the Buck’s Silicon Valley Barometer: The economy may be wobbly and the mood of the country anxious, but the Woodside cafe is humming again with deal-making breakfasts. “There is more activity on the venture capital front. There is renewed enthusiasm,” said Jamis MacNiven, who co-owns the restaurant with his wife, Margaret. “A [...]
Officials Promote Niche Tourism
2 According to The Billings Gazette, some state officials are convinced that there are riches in the niches for many overlooked Wyoming tourist spots if promoters can attract “rut nuts” and “culture vultures.” Cultural tourism is niche tourism, but they will come if they have something that is promoted for them to come and see,” [...]
Florida Tests Inventors’ Sand-Cleaning Ideas
The Associated Press reports that Florida officials are seeking inventors to save the state’s pristine beaches from the Gulf of Mexico spill. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection organized a demonstration by 10 U.S. and Canadian inventors to find the best methods to clean tar off an oil-fouled section of Pensacola Beach. Eight others were [...]
When Mik Bushinski couldn’t quite find a summer job that would be flexible enough for his needs, he created one reports StarTribune.com. So he took an interest-free loan from an uncle, bought a used minivan and some freezers, set up an order with an ice cream distributor in Minneapolis, and started Mik Mart Ice Cream. [...]
The Multi Direct Selling Party
Mlive.com: Julie Ronan knows how to make the best out of any situation. In January 2009, the 35-year-old Saginaw resident was laid off from her job as a hearing specialist. She was six months pregnant with her third child. But Ronan, who already was dabbling in independent sales consulting and home product party hosting, turned [...]
If your grandparents owned a popular clothing line and your dad was the founder of a commercial bakery, what type of business would you be in? That is exactly what The Orange County Register asked Robert Gray. I’ll give you a hint, it has nothing to do with what they’ve done. [T]he answer is an [...]
Entrepreneur’s Declaration of Independence
When in the course of business as usual, it becomes necessary for one people to dissovle the economic bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Natures and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to [...]
We will buy many products in our lifetime. Many times packaging, marketing and advertising will make a difference in which brand we choose to purchase. However, even before a product is manufactured, wrapped up and shipped out, it has to have a name. The moment the product is given a name, a crucial marketing decision [...]
Andrea Parrish and Peter Geyer — aka the “Wedding Can Couple” — say they’ve reached their goal of recycling 400,000 aluminum cans to pay for their July 31 nuptials. Parrish told Green House that she figured recycling cans would be an eco-friendly way to fund their $3,800 DIY wedding. She set up a website and [...]
Amazon Offers Huge Royalties To Kindle Authors
Thinking about self-publishing a book? Stop thinking and just do it! Amazon has a new business model that may give you half a chance at actually making some money off the deal. Inc.com is reporting that Amazon is now offering 70% of net sales in royalties to authors. No publishers or agents needed to wet [...]
We first told you about them back in March. Silly Bandz are rubber bands, often in neon colors, that are shaped like everyday objects: a guitar, a baseball bat, a princess. Unlike the beige round elastics stashed in your desk drawer, these are meant to be worn on the wrist, and they snap back into [...]
Why Can’t All TV Commercials Be This Entertaining?
Editor’s Note: I don’t know if it sells any Old Spice, but it entertains for 32 seconds and I’d love to see the outtakes.
Turn Wristband Into iPhone 4 Saver
There’s one surefire way to solve the iPhone 4 antenna problem: don’t let your hand or fingers come in contact with its metal band. Easier said than done, right? Unless you’re willing to constantly use the speakerphone, a headset, or a pair of gloves, your only viable option is to keep the iPhone in a [...]
The #1 Mistake Entrepreneurs Make
If you take a moment to consider the various mistakes that new entrepreneurs have made, what would you say is the worst? According to VatorNews the top mistake that entrepreneurs make is trying to raise money from various VCs before they are truly ready. Before they go out to VCs, entrepreneurs should build a product, [...]
Recycling is expanding from newspapers and bottles to entire houses as foreclosures, tax credits and landfill costs prompt businesses and non-profit organizations to salvage materials from old homes. According to USA TODAY, stores are springing up to sell used lumber, appliances, cabinetry and flooring. Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit that builds and rehabs affordable homes, [...]
According to VentureBeat, most people think of innovation as a “Eureka!” moment – or something that comes from hours upon hours of tinkering. But Josh Makower, CEO of ExploraMed, argues that innovation is a skill that can be taught in this Entrepreneur Thought Leader lecture given at Stanford University. By studying what propels innovation, he [...]
World Cup Makes Productivity Dive Like Cristiano Ronaldo
The World Cup doesn’t make people lazy, it just refocuses their attention and kills productivity. A new infographic from InsideView makes this abundantly clear. Click the image for a larger version.
While it could be argued that some services tend to see a decline when people are trying to spend less, I think we can all agree that busy people who wear a lot of dry clean only clothing for business won’t stop using that service anytime soon. Where you have a busy person in need [...]
Six Ways For Small-Biz Owners To Save Money
The Wall Street Journal takes a look at six ways to save money without drastically changing your business practices.
New Bizop Classified Ads This Week
New listing this week on the Business Opportunities Weblog Classifieds. How To Start A Dry Cleaning Delivery Business Turn Your Spare Time Into Spare Cash Get Real Nationwide Newspaper Advertising People Helping People, Inc. New Smart Phone Linking Business Opportunity Established Business Wanted Can You Write Like You Talk? Discover Your New Goldmine! Tired Of [...]
1-In-5 Small Biz Owners Don’t Use Any Credit
The Dallas Morning News reports that a survey released by the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy says one in five small businesses nationwide don’t use any form of credit at all.
I recently came across an article locate on USA Today that talked about the Golden Rule, the one that says ” treat others as you would want to be treated”. While this is a great philosophy to have in life and business, we have to remember that it doesn’t always work out as planned. For [...]
Open Forum: The time we spend at our desks is mainly spent using the Internet, and a majority of that time is spent in a browser or with a desktop application like Microsoft Outlook — which of course uses the Internet. Faster Internet access means that you can get more done in less time, online. [...]
8 Questions to Ask Before You Start A Tutoring Business
How do you know if you should start a tutoring business? Is your area’s economy fairly resilient? Poor people don’t pay for tutors. Do a significant number of people in your area value higher education? Dumb people don’t want paid tutors. Are there a significant number of universities nearby? Athletes often need paid tutors. Do [...]
