Archive for September 2010
The UP! personal 3D printer from China retails for $1500. What is 3D printing, you ask? A 3D printer builds an object, from a digital file, by spraying layers of material one at a time. Objects grow from the ground up.
Reader Survey: What’s Your Website?
Do you have a blog or a website? I’m always interested to see what my readers are up to. Put the URL in the comments below, or shoot it to me in an email at dane@danecarlson.com.
Add Some Grease To Your Gadgets
The famous handmade Bacon Case is now available for the iPad. Here it is. Landed at your Grill. Ready for the newest Apple Gadget. Enjoy it. Feel the real seamless result of 2h handwork, the iPad Bacon Case. Available at Antjes’ Etsy store. Photos by Antjes.
Knitwear Designer Sells A Unique Use For Plastic
After spending 15 years as a work-at-home mom, Kelly Machado felt it was time to take her business outside the house. So she made the move from her online business to Knitting on the Fringe, a fiber arts studio reports The Detroit News. After 15 years of [...] operating an online knitwear design business, Kelly [...]
Chicago Toy & Game Fair’s Young Inventor Challenge
Students 18 and under can showcase an original toy or game and win prizes and industry acclaim in the Chicago Toy & Game Fair’s Young Inventor Challenge. The 8th Annual Chicago Toy & Game Fair will be held Nov. 20 and 21 at Navy Pier, Chicago. The grand prize will be awarded by popular vote [...]
Vets Seek Help On State Contracts
APP.com: The Coraopolis, Pa.-based National Veteran-Owned Business Association believes New Jersey should join nearly a dozen other states in the union and set aside 3 percent of all funds offered through state contracts for veteran-owned businesses. And, not surprisingly, some Shore-area vets who own businesses agree. The organization even has a term for these business [...]
Upcoming Biz-related Conventions and Tradeshows
The National Franchise & Business Opportunites Show – Chicago When: 9/11/2010- 9/12/2010 Where: Schaumburg Convention Center – Illinois 1551 N Thoreau Dr. Schaumburg, IL 60173 The National Franchise & Business Opportunities Show focuses on self employment opportunities for individuals wanting to start up a full or part time business of their own, or wishing to [...]
Inventor’s Journal: Jim Atkinson
In this episode, Rich Whittle talks with Jim Atkinson about how to save money heating your home with the DryerNet, dryer vent filter.
The Friendliest Young Woman In The Room
According to a story in The Wall Street Journal, for women like Giovanna Coluccio who peddle novelty drinks in Manhattan bars like Turtle Bay, selling shots is a game and a science. Each interaction with a potential customer is an investment. Coluccio is one shot girl in a stable of 25, nearly all of whom [...]
Students Paid To Launch Businesses
Could you imagine being paid to start a business while working towards your MBA in college? That’s the idea behind the MBA Entrepreneur Fellow program in the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Business Administration. “The Entrepreneur Fellow program offers what every entrepreneur hopes for — an opportunity to bring a business to life,” said [...]
According to Hacking Netflix, Redbox announced that a customer in Tampa rented Clash of the Titans and pushed them over the 1 billion rental mark. Redbox is celebrating with the “Thanks a Billion” contest with free rentals and a chance at prizes including 50 $500 gift cards, a home theater system or a trip to [...]
SwitchFlops, The $30 Million School Project
At 16, Lindsay Phillips came up with the idea for a flip-flop with interchangeable straps during art class. Today, her company — Lindsay Phillips — employs 35 full-time staffers and is projected to bring in $30 million in revenue this year, reports AOLSmallbusiness. The idea is simple — SwitchFlops are sandals with interchangeable straps. So [...]
The Ghosts Of Partnership Past
Richmond BizSense: John Watkins doesn’t like what he sees when he Googles the name of his new business. “A couple of spots down, the first thing you see is ‘awning company goes bankrupt,’” Watkins said. It’s true. When you search online for Watkins Awnings, near the top of the search results are a couple of [...]
According to the National Watermelon Promotion Board, as of 2010, only sixteen percent of grocery stores still sell watermelons with seeds. That’s a forty-two percent decline from 2003. What’s more is their alarming prediction. The board states that within a generation, children won’t even know watermelons are meant to come studded with shiny black seeds, [...]
Sometimes you see a simple solution to a problem and you just want to share it. Someone over at RealSimple.com got the great idea of placing two rubber doorstops under a laptop computer. The extra elevation allows air to circulate, which prevents problematic overheating. Photo by John Lawton.
Sometimes it’s work or sometimes it’s stress at home, but we all know what it is like to feel a little down. No one can be happy 100% of the time, well except maybe Logan Lindabury. Logan has made it is job to help others stay positive. Through his website, Happiness Can Help, and consultations, [...]
What’s In A Name? Potential Pitfalls.
Kori Stanton’s online cookie business seemed to be off to a promising start last spring when its goodies were featured on the “Rachael Ray Show.” But, according to The Wall Street Journal, the free national publicity had one unexpected and unwelcome consequence: A company with a different but similar name threatened Stanton with a trademark-infringement [...]
Tom Edwards openly admits his guilt over drinking and driving. However it is that guilt that has motivated him to create a new tool in the fight against drinking and driving reports Florida Today. About three years ago, Edwards was driving through Merritt Island on the way to his Rockledge home, when he was pulled [...]
Postpartum Boot Camp For Mom And Baby
There is nothing quite as tough as trying to work off baby weight. It’s those few pounds that seem to just want to stick around forever. Nine years ago Kristen Horler found herself in a position where she didn’t want to drop her child off at daycare and go to work. So she started working [...]
One entrepreneur has gotten really niche recently with his up and coming business, Hockey-Mama, reports StarTribune.com. Minneapolis ad man Doug deGrood has developed an Internet retail site devoted to hockey moms called, not surprisingly, Hockey Mama (hockey-mama.com). The apparel includes stocking hats, beanies, baseball caps, jackets and fleece vests bearing the Hockey Mama logo. According [...]
I would like to dedicate this Labor Day holiday to the 14.9 million women and men who, through no fault of their own, lost their jobs in the economic downturn. I’ve been there. I feel your pain. Days upon days looking for a job. Just looking for a job becomes a job, a non-paying job. [...]
Up Close and Personal With Crocodiles
Like crocodiles? Then you’ll love Crocosaurus Cove park in Darwin, Australia where tourists to this unusual theme park can get up close and personal with crocodiles. The Daily Mail has more on the crocodile itself: Saltwater crocodiles are the largest reptiles on the planet. Their main habitat is northern Australia and New Guinea, Indonesia and [...]
Swagapalooza: Looking for Innovative Consumer Products
Swagapalooza is an experiment in democratizing PR. On September 9th, the world’s most-followed bloggers, tweeters, and digital influencers will gather in New York to judge five-minute auditions from the creators of the latest, greatest, and most unexpected new products… And to connect with each other. The event gives any new consumer product the chance to [...]
Men’s Cosmetics Becoming A Bigl Market
When cosmetics began disappearing from her bathroom drawer a few years ago, Gretchen Bain, who lives in Merchantville, N.J., knew the culprit. Her husband, Jarrod. It turned out that Mr. Bain, 34, a Customs and border-protection officer who is 6-foot-3 and weighs 240 pounds — and whose uniform includes a 9-millimeter handgun — had developed [...]
The Snogometer is not some new fancy device. Rather, this invention is the product of a 16 year old mind from the 60′s reports the BBC. Designed to measure the power of a kiss, the archive Pathé news footage shows Malcolm putting his startling development through its paces whilst his mother (yes it is actually [...]
How’s this for a business idea? One family is selling t-shirts that read Stop Spending MY Money. I asked the mom, Kathy Conforti, where the idea came from: Hi. So good to hear back from you. The idea believe it or not came from my oldest son Richard who is 14! We were all watching [...]
Silly Bandz Become Dating Tool
We first brought you the story of Silly Bandz, the rubber bracelets that are all the rage among grade-schoolers back in March. Now they’re getting grown-up treatment at bars and clubs. Adults on the prowl are using the colorful bands instead of bad pickup lines to make love connections says the New York Daily News. [...]
Keep Leaf Makes Going Green Stylish
While on a trip to India when Jaswinder Salh was a teenager, she swore to herself that someday she’d have a job that would make a positive difference in the world. It is now two decades later and Jaswinder has kept that promise reports TheStar.com. She’s the founder of Keep Leaf, a Toronto-based company known [...]
Researcher Walks Into A Bar, Makes $712,883
A researcher at Northwestern University walks into a bar. Oh wait, no he didn’t—because he’s too busy spending the $712,883 he received in grant money to create joke-writing software. According to The Chicago Sun-Times, the federally-funded project has had some conservative backlash—Sen. John McCain ranked it as 36 on his list of the 100 most [...]
New Bizop Classified Ads This Week
New listings this week on the Business Opportunities Weblog Classifieds. How To Price Foreclosure Trashout, Cleanout, Debris Removal Jobs And Services Sweet September With Apriori Beauty! Earn A $25 Gift Card Garaunteed Money Cleaning Foreclosures-how To Start A Business Cleaning Foreclosures & Foreclosed Homes Pricing Guide For Foreclosure Cleaning & Real Estate Foreclosure Cleaning Services [...]
Farmers have been using vending machines to sell carrots for awhile now. What’s new is that one group of farmers has teamed up with an advertising agency to rebrand baby carrots and advertise them in a way that mimics snack food like potato chips. What do you think?
Lewiston-Auburn, Maine has begun the race to find a young entrepreneur. Not just anyone, though. They are on the lookout for someone with a connection to their community that is interested in building there. There are a few catches, of course: you have to be willing to locate that business in Lewiston-Auburn, Maine’s second largest [...]
Her Own Biz, At Just 11 Years Old
Micro businesses are everywhere. They are run by people of all ages, educations, talents and passions. The New England Cable News Network highlights an amazing story in Massachusetts of a unique and successful micro business, but with an intriguing sole proprietor. McKenzie Plante, an 11-year old girl in the seaport town or Gloucester, Massachusetts, has [...]
Entrepreneurs Love Election Season
The Wall Street Journal reports that as campaign season ramps up, entrepreneurs that make products designed to help office-seekers and incumbents win votes are bracing for business. Small companies such as VictoryStore.com Inc. have introduced new marketing tools for political candidates in recent years, with users ranging from U.S. senators to small-town sheriffs. More politicians [...]
Cool Invention: The Dyson Balloon Acclerator
Via: TechnaBob.com
Losing It All And Earning It Back
12 years ago you might have recognized the name Bill Bartmann. He was on the richest lists with thanks to his debt collection company, Commercial Financial Services. After a serious scandal hit him and his business that is when everything began to go under reports Inc.. We started CFS in 1985. It was phenomenally successful [...]
Online Shoppers Want One Thing This Holiday Season
According to Website Magazine, e-commerce merchants who are still unsure of what consumers want this holiday season can direct their efforts toward providing user reviews, security verification and fair pricing. In a word, 2010 holiday shoppers are looking for online retailers they can trust. That was the fundamental message from ChannelAdvisor’s 2010 Consumer Shopping Habits [...]
Chris Schultz can divide his time in New Orleans into pre- and post-K periods: before and after Katrina reports Portfolio.com. For Schultz, founder of the technology incubator Voodoo Ventures, the difference is that stark. What Schultz—who founded and sold an Internet travel business, Destination V.I.P., before moving to New Orleans from Los Angeles in 2002—has [...]
U.S. Birth Rate Falls, Possible Effect Of Recession
The Washington Post reports that the number of babies born in the United States has dropped for the second year in a row, according to new federal statistics released Friday that provide more evidence that the nation’s economic troubles are affecting the birth rate. Provisional data for 2009 found that an estimated 4,136,000 babies were [...]
If you’re having computer problems, who do you call? If your computer is outdated then tech support for your machine might be out of the question. However, to take your computer in to a repairman can cost $50 or more just for a consultation and if you want them to come to your home that [...]
See the complete list here. Photo by Online MBA
Tom Quinn isn’t the kind of entrepreneur who needs help getting his ideas in front of the right people. So why is he pitching his latest idea—a portable system to convert food scraps and other waste into ethanol—on a website frequented by basement tinkerers and dorm-room startups? Bloomberg Businessweek reports that Quinn’s E-Fuel is among [...]
According to a story at CNNMoney.com, “Made in USA still matters.” Is, and will remain Aegis Bicycles’ motto, even if it ultimately becomes the death knell for the company, promised owner Pete Orne. Orne bought the business in 2004 and like so many domestic businesses, it’s hanging on by a thread. Three years ago, Aegis [...]
According to a story in The Wall Street Journal, Raymond Stauffer was shopping at a New Jersey mall when he noticed something peculiar about the bow ties on display at Brooks Brothers: They were labeled with old patent numbers. Stauffer also happens to be a patent lawyer. He sued Brooks Brothers Inc. in federal court, [...]
Spreading Business Knowledge To Kids
Chad Vail might be young but he is no newcomer to the word of business. Now a successful entrepreneur, he has entered into a new line of work. Chad is training a new generation of entrepreneurs reports The Berkley Independent. Vail, who is president of Junior Achievement’s South Carolina Coastal Region, recently spent a few [...]
Top 10 Reasons For Entrepreneurial Success
Jay Goltz owns five small businesses in Chicago. He recently posted a list on The New York Times “You’re The Boss” blog of what he believes are the most important success factors in business: 1. Look for opportunities to do something better than just about everyone else. 2. Accept risk as a necessary evil. It [...]
Mom/Daughter Business Caters To Pets
When you walk into the shop created by Debbie and Kristy Yettaw, they want you to feel like animals are people too reports Press-Telegram. Debbie, a laid-off transportation worker, and her 21-year-old daughter Kristy celebrated their grand opening onJuly 10. Inspired by her daughter’s love of animals and a troubled economy, Debbie says they took [...]
Toy and Game Inventor Expo 2010
The Toy and Game Inventor Expo is the only industry event designed exclusively to help the new toy and game inventor and entrepreneur by providing networking and educational opportunities. Independent inventors are an important source for new products to the Toy Industry, but because the industry relies heavily upon professional toy developers for new products [...]
An entrepreneur from Brunswick is hoping to save a lighthouse and keep it in the hands of the locals reports Mainebiz. Bob Muller, a consultant with a background in IT and high-tech image mapping, is scrambling to crowd fund between $75,000 and $150,000 in individual $49 donations in order to buy the lighthouse in Casco [...]
Slate: Modern-day squat evangelists make money off the claim that a “more natural” posture wards off all sorts of health problems, from Crohn’s disease to colon cancer. Inventor Jonathan Isbit runs a modest online business selling Nature’s Platform—a homemade, $150 device that fits over toilets to make them more like holes in the ground.* (He [...]
