Archive for September 2010
To make sure their worker bees understand the value of teamwork, Google has hired a company beekeeper (found by using, what else, a Google search), who oversees employees as they harvest honey from hives on the sprawling Mountain View campus. The beekeeping club, which consists of four hives painted red, blue, yellow and green, is [...]
A marketing audit is a structured review of a business’s current marketing activities that is done to ensure that the marketing plan is performing as expected. Each aspect of the marketing plan is reviewed to determine whether or not it has led to increased revenue. The audit should be very comprehensive and look at a [...]
KFC Pays For Ad Space On “Buns”
KFC wants folks to watch its backside. Or, more precisely, the backsides of female college students it’s recruiting to promote its hot new bunless Double Down sandwiches. According to USA Today, women on college campuses are being paid $500 each to hand out coupons while wearing fitted sweatpants with “Double Down” in large letters across [...]
THAT’S MY BUSINESS!: Brent & Marie Paugh
In today’s vidcast, Rich Whittle talks with Brent Paugh about his MargaritaTexas drink mix business.
Cool Invention: Verbatim Clip-it USB Drive
The new Verbatim Clip-it USB Drive combines the utility of the humble paper clip with the state of the art digital storage of a flash drive. “Clip-it USB Drive” can easily be attached to documents or other objects just as you would use a paperclip. Available in a range of vibrant colors: Yellow, Green, Pink, [...]
Entrepreneur Resurrects Ice Cream Biz
The Monitor: Eugene Fernandez calls his ice cream “homemade,” but that’s not quite accurate — “cone made” is more like it. That’s because he manufactures his product — from his own recipes and with ingredients such as fresh mangoes, Mexican vanilla, hand-shelled pistachios and real coconut milk — inside a giant ice cream cone at [...]
New Bizop Classified Ads This Week
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Marketplace: For years, if you wanted illegal drugs in New York City, you’d get the number of an anonymous dealer who would show up at your location with the goods. Now an entrepreneur who goes by the name of “Ronnie” is trying this technique with… grilled cheese sandwiches. Hungry customers get Ronnie’s number from a [...]
Wal-Mart To Aggressively Roll Out Smaller Stores
According to The Associated Press, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is planning an aggressive push into urban markets with a new small format that’s a fraction of the size of its supercenters. The expansion, expected to be spelled out next month at the retailer’s meeting with analysts at its headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., is aimed to pump [...]
A reader wrote: Your emails are so fascinating and uplifting! Thank you for being a beacon of hope and creativity in the small business world. I keep wanting to recommend your email list to people I know who could use some inspiration. Problem is, I don’t see a link on your site that I can [...]
Coupon Clipping Mama Makes It Her Career
When Erika Vitiene walks into a store she has a map. Her map will lead her to the right deals so she can feed her family for as little as possible that week reports MercuryNews.com. Using each week’s circulars from grocery store Publix, the Bradenton resident plans seven dinner meals for the week according to [...]
Card Rewards Consumers For Buying Locally
Oregon-based Supportland is using incentives to reward consumers for choosing local businesses when they buy products and services of any kind, according to a story by trendspotter Springwise. Supportland has developed a rewards card that works at any of the company’s network of some 50 locally owned Portland-area businesses. Using the free card, consumers are [...]
While residents of Taiwan and China are cleaning up after a typhoon, another company has secured a patent for a submarine that might be able to stop typhoons in the near future reports the Telegraph.co.uk. Ise Kogyo Co., a hydraulic engineering company based in Mie, central Japan, has obtained a patent for a submarine designed [...]
Cash And Credits For Startups Using Amazon Cloud
ReadWriteCloud is reporting that applications are open now for Amazon Web Service’s Startup Challenge. This is the fourth year that AWS has run the competition, designed to help recognize startups that are using (or planning to use) any of the paid Amazon Web Services, including Amazon EC2, Amazon S3, or Amazon Mechanical Turk. Prizes include [...]
In this episode, Rich Whittle talks with Leigh Woods about how she was able to bring her idea, the Mumoocie sleep pillow to market. For a list of inventors clubs in your area, go here.
Variety Is The Spice Of Holiday Picks
Reuters is reporting that Toys R Us Inc is betting on variety to hit its sales targets this holiday season, with toys ranging from Mattel’s $13 plush toys that sing in perfect harmony with every squeeze, to a $110 remote-controlled monster “Bigfoot.” The world’s largest dedicated toy retailer is also offering more exclusives and opening [...]
Toaster Burns Jesus Into Every Slice Of Toast
A new toaster has emerged that makes it possible to burn Jesus into a slice of toast every time you use it reports newsoxy. The toaster went on sale last week starting at $39.95. It takes your daily bread and burns the image of Christ on it. The inventor hopes to expand by introducing more [...]
The Etch A Sketch iPad Case, the Apple accessory that makes your new toy look like an old favorite. Sold for $39, the case includes small stands to prop your iPad up. As the sellers reason, 150 million Etch A Sketches have been sold—why not the iPad version? What could be cooler? Via: HolyKaw Photo [...]
Top Three Commercials From ‘The Club’ Past
Last week we mentioned the death of James E. Winner Jr., the inventor of the club. His death, which was ironically a car accident, has created a tidal wave of articles and comments on the topic. Urlesque has recently posted a list of five commercials that they feel were the best in remembrance of the [...]
Cool Job: Entrepreneur-In-Residence
Google’s idea man. Craig Walker, the crafty upstart behind Google Voice, will be named Google Venture’s first “entrepreneur-in-residence,” The New York Times reports. Google bought Walker’s call routing service, GrandCentral, for a reported $45 million in 2007 and turned it into what is now Google Voice. Essentially, as the Times writes, Walker will now be [...]
Wine Cellar Innovations Makes Storage Simple At Any Size
Whether you own a store that is in need of a wine isle makeover or you want to turn your basement into a small cellar for your collections, with Wine Cellar Innovations the only limits are as far as your imagination. Originally known as Deckebach Construction & Remodeling, the business was launched in 1977. In [...]
Looking to reduce marketing and advertising expenses in these tough times? The Wall Street Journal suggests partnering up with bigger-named companies that can integrate your products in ad campaigns of their own. Take Mountain News Corp., which tracks snow conditions for ski mountains through its website. The company received a dramatic spike in exposure (a [...]
According to CNNMoney, IBM and five other major U.S. corporations said they would make it easier for small companies to apply for billions of dollars worth of corporate contracts to help boost the economy. AT&T, Bank of America, Citigroup, IBM, Pfizer and UPS said they will participate in a Web-based procurement system that will enable [...]
Home-Schooler Gets Lesson In Making A Profit
Via: Mother Nature Network
Bringing High Speed Internet Into Rural Texas Homes
To many people J.W. Breeden is known as ‘that kid’ reports statesman.com. As in, that kid who was fascinated by technology in preschool, who earned his first $50 hooking up a family friend’s computer when he was 7 and who had his first business customer in the seventh grade. As in, that kid who wrote [...]
Scholar Promotes ‘Microfranchises’ In Emerging Economies
The Salt Lake Tribune reports that during his travels in Africa exploring the impact of microlending on business start-ups, Jason Fairbourne noticed something strange. When an entrepreneur became successful selling a particular product, say tomatoes, many others would mimic that person’s business. Soon the local market was flooded with tomatoes, and failed tomato vendors. Out [...]
Sometimes the slightest moment can be life changing for an entrepreneur. According to BostonHerald.com, the turning point for Judy Cockerton happened 12 years ago. After a decade of teaching, including a stint at the Learning Center for Deaf Children in Framingham, she had launched her own business, a pair of specialty toy stores in Brookline [...]
It’s not uncommon to see board games on display at restaurants and cafés, but they’re typically used to prop up laptops at least as often as to provide hands-on entertainment. According to trendspotter Springwise, Toronto’s Snakes & Lattes serves up not just coffee but also 1,500 board games available for the playing. Billed as “the [...]
Small Business Wins Off The Field
Super Bowl XLV is providing some small businesses the opportunity of a lifetime thanks to the NFL’s Emerging Business Program reports the Dallas Business Journal. And while those businesses say obtaining Super Bowl-related work has been fair and straightforward, some businesses from Super Bowls past say the program is oversold and hard to navigate. Bob [...]
5 Free Things For New Entrepreneurs
Katherine Lewis over at Current Mom writes as a new entrepreneur, I was shocked by how many valuable services and products were available for free. We all know the failure rate for new businesses is depressingly high, largely because of cash flow problems. It pays to be cheap when you’re starting out — at least [...]
Everybody has a great idea that could change the way we work, the way we live or the way we play. Everyday Edisons documents the development process of 12 inventions and the parallel stories of the people who invented them. Selected from thousands at casting calls held across the country, the “Everyday Edisons” learn how [...]
Story links: U.S. Slipping In Entrepreneurship Web Impostors May Face Prison In California People Will Pay 50% More For Items They Can Touch Patent Office Admits the Truth… Inventor’s Journal: Jeff Scholen ‘The Club’ Inventor Dies In Car Crash Store Sells Nothing But Soda Listen Now: Or download: Weekend Wrap-up Sept 10, 2010
Bacon Edition – products to inspire and amuse. Bacon Math Tattoo Jones Bacon Soda Maple Bacon Ice Cream Bacon Light… Photos by holykaw.alltop.com/agoodappetite/thedailybacon.com.
Google Ventures Hires First Resident Entrepreneur
Google Ventures has hired the man behind Google Voice to build a new startup reports The New York Times. Craig Walker will be Google Ventures’ first entrepreneur-in-residence. He co-founded GrandCentral, the service that became Google Voice, which gives people one phone number and routes their calls and voicemails to one place. Google bought GrandCentral for [...]
Pumped Over Tire-Inflating Robot
The Dallas Morning News: For decades, inventor George Carter watched as Americans wobbled down highways on low tires. Carter, who developed the Photon laser-tag game in 1984, says he realized 20 years ago that the problem of underinflated tires would only worsen with the disappearance of full-service gas stations – and he, of course, began [...]
Some States Make Money From Rest Stops
A 1956 federal law aimed at protecting restaurants and gas stations located just off the exits of a growing Interstate highway system. The federal law bans the selling of food or fuel — or anything not sold from a vending machine — at rest areas on Interstates built after 1960. By that time, states in [...]
With the second week of the NFL season just days away, The Cleveland Plain Dealer takes a look at some of the products available for the 21st century tailgater. Drill Blender You normally don’t have a blender in your truck, but you might have a cordless drill. That’s all you need to enter margarita and [...]
As senior merchandiser for the e-commerce site ThinkGeek.com, Ty Liotta, is responsible for discovering and creating such must-haves for geeks as a T-shirt that sniffs out Wi-Fi hotspots and the Tauntaun sleeping bag, modeled after the animal carcass that saved Luke Skywalker from certain death on the frozen planet of Hoth, reports Bloomberg Businessweek. Against [...]
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that after an impasse of more than a month, the Senate on Thursday approved a small-business bill that includes measures aimed at boosting access to capital and tax credits to provide temporary financial relief. Democrats hope the legislation will help show voters they are in control of managing the [...]
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What have you read and liked? You Call the Shots: Succeed Your Way— and Live the Life You Want — with the 19 Essential Secrets of Entrepreneurship The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur: The tell-it-like-it-is guide to cleaning up in business, even if you are at the end of your roll. Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to [...]
Recently, I found an email in my inbox with the subject line “FREE BEER.” I almost deleted it without opening it because what could it be other than spam? Surprisingly it was a real message from a real person and wasn’t about beer at all. The sender, Andrew Wilson, thought that by using the unique [...]
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Entrepreneur Teaches Others How To Manage Hot Dog Carts
A humble business like a hot dog cart can earn entrepreneurs a huge income. Imagine earning $100,000 or more working when you want and being your own boss. To reach the six figure level will take some, knowledge, effort, time, enthusiasm, and persistence but the rewards are amazing. According to WebWire, Perry ’The Hot Dog [...]
‘The Club’ Inventor Dies In Car Crash
The president of First National Bank in Hermitage, Steve Gurgovits, fondly remembers that fateful day when James E. Winner Jr. came into his office for a loan reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “He sat down and sort of had a grin on his face,” Mr. Gurgovits said on Wednesday. “He said, ‘This is my next venture.’ [...]
Using A Virtual Assistant For Your Startup
According to a story at ReadWriteWeb, Lindsey Harper recently wrote about her experiences using Mechanical Turk to validate her startup idea. Noting that friends and family are unlikely to be objective when assessing whether or not your idea is viable, she spent $28 on the Amazon service in order to poll 200 people on her [...]
The inventor of the internet, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, is calling for everyone to get it for free reports the Silicon Republic. During his keynote speech at Nokia World in London, Berners-Lee stated he wants to see everyone given a low-bandwidth connection “by default,” as it could be vital in giving people access to critical services. [...]
