Archive for September 2010
The Most Powerful Colors In Biz
Photo by Colour Lovers.
It’s Different When You Are A Pregnant Biz Owner
Jennifer Walzer is founder and chief executive of Backup My Info!, which is based in New York. She’s also pregnant with her first child and writes an interesting post in The New York Times about how she is treated differently. I don’t want to throw off the rhythm of office operations, and I’m pretty confident [...]
THAT’S MY BUSINESS!: Jennifer Rogers-Echeverry
In this episode, Rich Whittle talks with Jennifer Rogers-Echeverry about her almond business, My Husband’s Nuts, and how she uses Foodzie.com to help her with sales.
Power Tots Empowers Young Minds and Bodies
It’s important to give our children an opportunity to move. Through play they are able to also exercise, bettering their minds and bodies. Power Tots aims to do exactly that. By offering young children a combination of gymnastics, yoga, and dance, they are offering kids an opportunity to build up their self-confidence and a way [...]
Tourism Lets Entrepreneurs Make A Living Off Their Passions
Brian Wynn loves surfing so much that he learned the fine art of building his own boards. Now he runs Surfboards by Brian Wynn in Egg Harbor Township. Bill Stage’s office life was in and around New York, at CBS and MSNBC, among other TV networks. But he could never spend enough time on the [...]
An interior designer from India has created a new kind of bicycle that is truly green reports 14 WFIE. From a distance, this looks like any other bicycle. But up close, you can see the frame is actually made from bamboo. The bamboo is held together with hemp fiber and resin. The inventor of the [...]
A Cheaper, Faster Way To That First Sell
In its early days, a product is often relatively expensive to produce and it lacks the history of growing sales that is essential to get to first base with chain store buyers. So, how do we get sales started? And how do we get our product’s direct cost down to the point that it can [...]
The Naughty Cookie Takes To The Web
What was originally a pet peeve has become a business for a work-at-home mom of four reports Halifax News Net. While living in Vancouver, Dawn Emson, like many people, got caught up in the biscotti biscuit rage. While she liked the hard, crunchy treats, she didn’t like to have to dunk them to eat them, [...]
Galco’s Soda Pop Stop in Los Angeles looks like any other mom-n-pop grocery store when you enter, but a quick look around and you’ll see what makes the shop unique. The store sells nothing but soda, 500 different types of fizzy sweet-tooth-satisfying beverages. CHOW.com profiles Galco’s in a bubbly documentary that will have you wanting [...]
Entrepreneur Grows Alongside Her Tweenage Characters
When Juliette Brindak drew a few characters on a rainy day just five years ago, she never intended to create a business reports GreenwichTime.com. Founded in 2005 with the help of her father, marketing expert Paul Brindak, 55, and her sister Olivia, 16, Miss O and Friends (missoandfriends.com) is a family-friendly website based on a [...]
According to PCMag.com, the next time you visit Twitter.com, you may see a much more media-centric home page. The company is rolling out a new design that supports embeddable images, video, and maps. Twitter also tweaked some of the basic Twitter interface options, adding keyboard shortcuts and unlimited newsfeed scroll—no more “More” buttons. Some of [...]
Inventor’s Journal: Jeff Scholen
In this episode, Rich Whittle talks with Jeff Scholen about how he got his simple idea made into a money-making product with the help of Quirky.com. Editor’s note: Quirky.com has reduced their idea submission fee to just $10, so you’ve got no excuse not to try out that new idea!
Work Smart, Stay Productive On The Road
Gina Trapani over at Fast Company has some good tips for keeping everything together when you are away from home base.
It works for instant mixes, so why not for pet waste removal? Steve Rhodes has created a device that mades pet waste removal easy and fast reports The Oregonian. [It is called] the SaniPet. It’s a bottomless plastic container the pet owner buries in the ground. Much like in an existing product, the Doggie Dooley, [...]
Too Much Computer Time Hurts Ability To Innovate & Remember
According to a report in The New York Times, constant interaction with computer devices is robbing brains of much needed downtime. This means that overzealous geeks diminish their ability to learn, remember information, and come up with new ideas. One study showed that people who took a walk in nature learned significantly better than those [...]
Do you remember the stereotype about the inventor that sits alone in his garage tinkering? Not anymore! TechShop is bringing them all together reports CNN Money. Opened in 2006 in Menlo Park, Calif., it’s a D.I.Y. geek’s paradise, a wonderland of lathes, drill presses, welders, sandblasters, industrial sewing machines, table saws, grinders and everything else [...]
In Katrina’s Wake, Disaster Prep Company Born
Five years ago, many looked on as wind, rain, and floods devastated our country’s Gulf Coast. Afterward, many also looked for an opportunity to help. According to Inc.com, among them were Nicholas Connor and Dennis Bertken, who both witnessed the destruction in 2005 and thought we all could do better. They shared a belief that [...]
The clicker is a “personal response device,” a small electronic gadget about the size of a slim calculator. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports the trendy, high-tech learning tool, used to take attendance, poll student opinion, and administer quizzes, is taking hold on campuses across the country, with an estimated two million college students now using them, [...]
A popular slogan and bumper sticker says that stuff happens. It couldn’t be more right; however, when stuff happens to your home there is 911 Restoration to help. They provide “water damage repair, sewage backup cleanup, mold testing & removal, fire damage restoration and professional assistance on environmental clean-up jobs.” For over 30 years they [...]
Patent Office Admits the Truth…
According to the CBS Business Network, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, under its new director, David Kappos, has finally begun to seriously address transparency of information with a new data visualization dashboard. The big lesson? As a number of people who watch the organization have thought, for years — years — the USPTO has [...]
Living Self-Employed Online: The Manual They Forgot to Give You
Glen Allsopp over at LifeHacker has a great post about how to live self-employed online. If you’ve just made the leap to working for yourself, currently run your own business, or you’re looking to make your money online in the future, this article may be just what you need. 1. Write a Mission Statement (But [...]
12 Year Old Invents Crutch Keeper
Georgia Coughlan magnetic device that helps hold crutches together when not in use has been patented and sold to the Bay of Plenty District Health Board reports SunLive. The design uses a plastic mould which holds a strong magnet attached to the crutches. “I wanted something strong enough to hold the crutches together, but not [...]
Beer-Brewing Kits For Homes With Limited Space
Home beer-brewing kits may produce superlative results, but they also tend to take up superlative amounts of space. Therein lies the raison d’etre for Brooklyn Brew Shop, which sells a variety of diminutive kits aimed at apartment-dwellers and others with limited quarters. According to trendspotter Springwise, each kit from New York-based Brooklyn Brew Shop was [...]
With school-aged kids back in school for the day, mompreneurs are finally able to get their businesses back into gear reports lfp.com. However this is a balancing act that is not as easy as many would think. Lara Galloway, who lives in Lakeshore near Windsor and runs mombizcoach.com, describes a mompreneur as a woman whose [...]
People Will Pay 50% More For Items They Can Touch
You’re probably familiar with the effect of a sumptuous dessert tray wheeled to your table at a fine restaurant. When the cheesecake or torte or flan is within lunging distance, your salivary glands practically demand you order a slice. According to a group of researchers at Caltech, the same kind of marketing could be an [...]
Some say you just need to win once to be successful but, unfortunately, that win doesn’t always happen on the first try. For some entrepreneurs, like Elie D. Ashery, it can happen on the second or even third attempt reports Tomas Heath for The Washington Post. He is president and chief executive of Gold Lasso, [...]
Web Impostors May Face Prison In California
California Web impostors beware: You may soon be breaking the law, even if you aren’t one of the perpetrators targeted by the state’s “e-personation” bill, Bloomberg Businessweek reports. The measure, which is awaiting Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s signature, carries fines of as much as $1,000 and a year in jail for anyone who poses as another [...]
U.S. Slipping In Entrepreneurship
According to Inc.com, the U.S. is no longer tops in the world for entrepreneurship — and large companies are partly to blame, concludes a new Small Business Administration study. The report – titled “Global Entrepreneurship and the United States” – compares U.S. entrepreneurship and performance against 70 other countries. It found that large companies account [...]
Story Links: Labor Day 2010 What’s In A Name? Potential Pitfalls SwitchFlops, The $30 Million School Project Students Paid To Launch Businesses Inventor’s Journal: Jim Atkinson Chicago Toy & Game Fair’s Young Inventor Challenge THAT’S MY BUSINESS!: Dan Florio Targeting Hockey Moms Where Did The Seeds Go? Listen Now: Or download: Weekend Wrap-up Sept 10, [...]
Do you have an extra $80 million under the mattress just waiting to find the ultimate celebrity status vehicle? Look no further than U.S. Submarines’ Phoenix 1000. The Phoenix 1000 is a 213 foot luxury submarine with a total interior area in excess of 5000 square feet. The significant volume, coupled with very large acrylic [...]
What do schools, homes and offices have in common? Printers. Almost everywhere you look there are printers of varying sizes and brands being used. The cost of keeping them supplied with ink can also get a bit pricey. Eco Ink To Your Door is a franchise that specializes in remanufactured printer ink and toner cartridges [...]
Unique products to amuse and inspire. Musical Beer Bottles. 99 bottles of beer on the wall…. Wunda Weeder. Take gardening work lying down Evian Live Young T-shirt. Does my butt look small in this? Guitar Spatula. Flip your pancakes without missing a beat. Photos by trendhunter/Wunda Products/incrediblethings/.
Entrepreneur Serves Treats With A Side Of Community Involvment
One of Patricia Barnett’s favorite memories was of having ice cream with her father. When he died she decided to honor that memory by starting her own shop reports The Oregonian. Barnett’s creation, Gelato and Yogurt Lounge at 13611 N.W. Cornell Road, also aims to serve up a scoop of community involvement along with its [...]
Organize Your Ideas To Make More Money
As you move back into the fall season when it’s likely – possible? – that business will pick up, you’re going to find your mind percolating with all kinds of new ideas for your small business: There is an interesting story over at Cincinnati.Com about organizing your ideas to make more money. • Leads book. [...]
Luis Rodriguez may be on to something with his idea of taking window perforated vinyl (like the stuff they put on buses where when you look at the bus you see an advertisement, but if you are on the bus you see nothing) and making a facial mask out it. You wouldn’t need holes for [...]
Google Opens Local Shopping Feature To Small Bizs
According to a story at Inc.com, Google is attempting to help small businesses convert shoppers browsing online into in-store buyers with its “Local Shopping” feature. The feature lets shoppers search for goods online then see who locally has the product in stock. Google started with big retailers such as Sears and Best Buy in March, [...]
Bizs You Can Start From Your Smartphone
You’re out of work. The job listings are thin. You have no money to start your own business. Maybe you don’t even have a computer to assist in conducting a proper job search. PC World scoured the earth for solid business ideas–endeavors that you can mostly start up with little more than a smartphone and [...]
Via BoingBoing, comes word of a Tea Party multi-level marketing program called TeaPartyBizOpp.info. I’ve no idea if this is actually real, since I’ve been unable to contact because the site’s owners because they’ve taken down their contact information due to “the many threats, and vulgar hate mail we receive daily from far left radicals.” Anyone [...]
Multi-Million Dollar Prizes For Inventors
According to The Week, in an attempt to discover and deploy new technologies more quickly, a growing number of organizations are offering hefty cash prizes to inventors with breakthrough ideas. Here are five $1 million-plus innovation prizes currently up for grabs: $1 Million For Growing Chicken In A Test Tube In an attempt to put [...]
Coaches’ Lips Sealed With ‘Boomguard’
According to PR Newsire, a Long Island special education teacher has revolutionized big-league play-calling with BoomGuard, a brilliantly simple device that shields coaches’ mouths from potential lip-readers. Inventor Ramone Ward remembers the autumn Sunday in 2005 when it came to him: for all those NFL coaches holding laminated play cards over their mouths and running [...]
Nate Ashcraft is well on his way to creating a reputation as an inventor and someone that likes to ‘think big’ reports TC News Net.com. His first place finish last year in the local Invention Convention and runner-up finish the year before may have helped him land an appearance for episode 12 of “Think Big” [...]
Cardholders Swiping Debit Cards More
Consumers in the U.S. are keeping their credit cards in their wallets in favor of using debit cards to avoid building up more debt, according to a new report by Javelin Strategy & Research. Among the 11 percent of consumers who claim they have an increased ability to put funds into savings, 46 percent have [...]
Bed bugs should be on their toes, there is a beagle named Angel that is ready to sniff them out reports The Palm Beach Post. The year-old pup is the only dog in South Florida certified by the National Entomology Scent Detection Canine Association to sniff out live bedbugs and viable eggs, according to the [...]
Website Serves Up Dining Deals In Naples
When you decide to look into a new restaurant, where do you find out the latest information? Seasonal Dining Deals hopes to attract Naples residents to their site where they list some of their favorite dining deals in the area. They offer information that will help someone hoping to dine on a budget make the [...]
Amy Rosenthal hung 100 dollar bills from a tree in Chicago just to see what would happen. Via: The Daily What
Small Bizs On Hold Waiting For Aid
According to USA TODAY, Small businesses have put hiring, supply buying and real estate expansion on hold as they wait out the vote on a small-business-aid bill that stalled in the Senate earlier this summer. The much-debated legislation offers tax breaks and waived loan fees. But it also comes with more divisive components, such as [...]
THAT’S MY BUSINESS!: Dan Florio
In this edition of THAT’S MY BUSINESS! Rich Whittle talks with RunPee.com‘s Dan Florio, about making over $45,000 telling people about bathroom breaks.
Analyst Spins Yo-Yo Passion Into Million-Dollar-Plus Biz
According to Entrepreneur magazine, it all began back in 2005, when Pat Cuartero–a high school 2A yoyo champ turned Merrill Lynch analyst–discovered a higher purpose: getting more people in New York City to play with yo-yos. He funded startup costs with about $8,000 of credit card debt, and in his first five months, he netted [...]
There’s no engine running when Jackson Poole loads up his ice-cycle to start on his organic ice cream route. Instead it’s all muscle power since his ice cream truck is made up of a bicycle/cooler reports the San Francisco Chronicle. Poole rides his custom-made bicycle cart (he originally wanted an ice cream truck but wasn’t [...]
New Bizop Classified Ads This Week
New listings this week on the Business Opportunities Weblog Classifieds. Do You Bake? Looking For Consultants. Similar To Tastefully Simple. All Natural Mixes Spend 59 Minutes With Me And You Will Start A Home Business Ready For Profits! Is Franchising Right For You? Give Away Free Prescription Discount Cards… No Selling! Make Money! Help People [...]
