Archive for March 2011
AllegiantAir wants it’s customers to be able to gamble on fuel prices. They’ve written a letter to the Department of Transportation asking for permission to allow their customers to be able to choose between a traditional fixed-price ticket and a discounted, variable-price one. If the price of jet fuel falls by the departure date, customers [...]
Put Yourself To The Entrepreneur Test
PsychTest has created the Entrepreneur Personality Test. It is a unique test that can assess whether you’re entrepreneur material. The test covered seven key business traits, namely Self-sufficiency, Conscientiousness, Drive, Social Skills, Optimism, Risk-taking, and Networking Ability. With over 12,000 test-takers to date, PsychTests data revealed that entrepreneurs who took the test outscored those without [...]
Woman Sells First Spot in iPad 2 Line For $900
When demand is greater than supply, and you have some of the supply, you can always make money. Mashable has a story about one woman who sold her spot in line for the Apple iPad 2: College student Amanda Foote has turned the die-hard techie tradition of waiting hours, sometimes days, to be the first [...]
BMOC $0.99: The Book With My Favorite Bizop
One of my favorite books of 2007, BMOC by Warren Meyer, is now on sale in a Kindle version at Amazon for $0.99. While the book is fictional, it does contain a number of interesting business ideas, including my favorite outlandish business opporunity of all time: fountain coin harvesting. Warren Meyer runs an exceptional blog [...]
Mom Biz Academy Helps Moms Hit The Books
If you’re a mom interested in starting a business, Lara Galloway has the tools to help you get started. She has recently launched a new resource for mompreneurs called the Mom Biz Academy. For $47 per month, women will have access to resources, informative monthly calls, and more. Galloway says there are six steps for [...]
Inventors Vying For “As Seen On TV” Fame
Timothy Dahlin thought he had the next “As Seen” product, but left the room quite disappointed when his idea was rejected. His creation, the Ice Chest Cooler Label, sticks to coolers and people write on them what can be found within. His goal was to make it easy for people picnicking to figure out which [...]
Weekend Thread: What Other Sites Do You Read?
What are some other websites your read? In the comments below, please share your other favorite websites and blogs.
The season must be approaching quickly, because golf and tees are filling the news. A couple weeks ago, an inventor combined the golf tee and a pencil, creating the Teecil. Now an inventor has combined the birdie used in badminton with the idea behind tees, creating the BirTee, reports Ottawa Citizen. After whacking badminton shuttlecocks [...]
Mompreneur Finds Success In A Cup
The news is filled with stories about successful entrepreneurs that got their start while a teenager. Krimson Black is yet another one of those success stories. Her cafe, The Krimson Kafe, has been in business for 13 years now. She is no longer a teenager, but she is a successfol mom-entrepreneur. Oconee Patch asked her [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: March 11
1702 – The Daily Courant, England’s first national daily newspaper is published for the first time. 1872 – Construction of the Seven Sisters Colliery, South Wales, begins; located on one of the richest coal sources in Britain. 1888 – The Great Blizzard of 1888 begins along the eastern seaboard of the United States, shutting down [...]
Tackling The Snow In Luggage Racks
It’s not uncommon to see SUV’s driving down the road with piles of snow stuck in the luggage rack right after a winter storm. So, two fourth graders created a solution and entered it into the Invention Convention for their school district, reports PhillyBurbs.com. They call it the Roof Rack Scraper, a modified shovel-scraper that [...]
Superfocus Glasses For Astronauts
According to Ubergizmo, NASA supplied the astronauts on the recently launched Discovery with special glasses that would make it easier for them to see in space. Superfocus glasses aim to help folks suffering from presbyopia. The glasses act like a regular pair of spectacles, with prescription lenses on the outer layer, while a pair of [...]
Have A Great Idea? Tell Everyone!
The New York Times: You’ve heard of high-tech start-ups being in “stealth mode,” meaning they’re not telling anyone what they’re up to yet. It has a glamorous aura to it, conjuring up images of a brilliant project in the works that will soon be sprung upon the world, disrupting established players and leaving everyone scrambling [...]
There is something about parenthood that is simply inspiring. Parents recently shared some of their favorite moms and pops that were inspired by their own children. Melissa Radcliffe, the Peekaru Original Inspiration: “My daughter was 5 or 6 months old when it started to get bitter cold,” says Radcliffe. “When we took my son to [...]
A Youth Revives Old Trade: Shoe Repair
Winona Post: He’s a six-foot tall Texan complete with cowboy hat, thick work boots and the hint of a drawl, and planted in a little shop on the East End of Winona, Adam Jimenez is reviving an old art. The art of shoes, of boots and saddles and fine leatherwork; the 27-year-old San Antonio native [...]
Twitter Use Among Small Businesses Rising
A recent survey from BIA/Kelsey and ConStat is showing a trend in the number of small businesses using Twitter. Surprisingly, it has not had much effect on print advertising. According to gaebler.com, Twitter use among businesses has more than doubled between 2009 and 2010, reaching 19%. However, it still falls behind an investment in print [...]
Another weight loss solution is coming down the pike. A new medical implant, a gastric pacemaker, can be implanted in the stomach and acting as stomach nerves, signal to the brain a premature feeling of fullness. Popular Science explains just how it works: The device, made by Mountain View, Calif.-based IntraPace, will be implanted in [...]
Do you remember YouTube video starring 3 year old Gavin Justice-Farmer? Gavin’s mom video taped his reaction to the news that Michael Young, his favorite Texas Ranger, may be leaving the team, and it went viral. According to NBC DFW, the video has been such a big hit that the mom has now created a [...]
Subway Now Bigger Than McDonald’s
WSJ: It’s official: the Subway sandwich chain has surpassed McDonald’s Corp. as the world’s largest restaurant chain, in terms of units. At the end of last year, Subway had 33,749 restaurants worldwide, compared to McDonald’s 32,737. The burger giant disclosed its year-end store count in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing late last month. Subway [...]
Infographic: Netflix Beat Blockbuster
Taking The StartupBus To Success
Lu Doan is heading out in search of risk and opportunity with 24 strangers. Of course, this is not your usual road trip. These 25 people are looking for the opportunity to pitch their business idea to investors, reports NaplesNews.com. What is the catch? Well, no one gets on the bus with their own ideas. [...]
Book Review: Microbusiness Independence
Ready to escape the rat race, but not sure how? That is the main question to ask yourself before picking up Microbusiness Independence by Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton. You may remember that I spoke with this husband and wife team just last year about their automatic chicken waterer called The Avian Aqua Miser. They [...]
Accidential Inventor Recognized For Zinc Lozenges
A man who discovered that zinc lozenges can cut time off a cold, George Eby, has recently been recognized for his work. According to StatesMan.com, whether people will listen is another story. Not even after the respected Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews looked at the conflicting studies and declared that zinc, given within 24 hours [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: March 10
1876 – Alexander Graham Bell makes the first successful telephone call by saying “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you.” 1891 – Almon Strowger, an undertaker in Topeka, Kansas, patents the Strowger switch, a device which led to the automation of telephone circuit switching. 2000 – The NASDAQ Composite stock market index peaks [...]
Dallas Market Center: Product Search Contest
Dallas Market Center recently put out a call for entries for their contest The Next Big Thing. It is a search for the newest, most innovative product. The winner of the contest will receive a prize package worth $10,000 and the opportunity to show their product in front of 50,000 retail buyers! Anyone who has [...]
Snail mail can be trendy too! Take a look at these newly designed letter openers. They make receiving mail fun again! Check them out, featured by Fast Company: Paper mail may be going the way of the dodo, but thanks to some major design upgrades, letter openers are here to stay. The once-utilitarian tool has [...]
Blackmarket NYC Food-Cart Permits Prices Jump
WSJ: Monawara Sultana says her rent is going up: $14,000 for a two-year permit to run a food cart where she sells $1 hot dogs outside of Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. And it’s not the city levying the increase or recouping the money. It’s the permit holder, who is asking for double what [...]
The Toepener is a simple device that attaches to doors, enabling users to open the door with their feet. It is the ideal solution for exiting a public restroom. It provides a sanitary, hands-free alternative for users to open the door and avoid touching the handle. The Toepener is a great way to help reduce [...]
One Simple Idea: Invent, License, Collect the Royalty Check
Stephen Key lives the life that many of my readers dream of: he develops ideas for new products, licenses them out, collects royalty checks, and doesn’t look back. In his new book One Simple Idea, he explains how you can do it too. In this book, Key reveals the secrets that helped him and thousands [...]
Involuntary Entrepreneurship Grows!
Most people who become entrepreneurs do so because they have a vision. Here’s another reason though… because they have to create their own jobs just to make ends meet. Call it Involuntary Entrepreneurship. I had a friend who once said “‘Consultant’ is what you put on your resume when you don’t have a job!” Evidently [...]
It feels good to do nice things for others, and this does not exclude children. An organization is hoping to motivate kids into giving games by accepting donations, and by selling them games that they can play. According to The Huffington Post, once they are done with the game, they can re-donate it to the [...]
New York City used to have hundreds of breweries, wineries and distilleries, but Prohibition wiped them all out. In 2002, the state of New York created a new licensing scheme for distilleries that has made it easy for almost anyone to get into the whiskey making business. Slowly but surely, new distilleries are opening up. [...]
Do you have any ideas for unique tools that would improve the life of someone that suffers from diabetes? The 2011 Diabetes Mine Design Challenge is looking for your ideas. This year they will be selecting three grand prize winners. Each winner will receive $7,000 in cash, a consulting session from IDEO, a free ticket [...]
Michael DiGonis believes that he has invented the taxi of the future. It is a hybrid vehicle with a recyclable cabin, and it is wheelchair friendly. While many traditional taxis may not be able to provide wheelchair accessibility for their patrons, his taxi will make sure they can receive the door-to-door service they deserve, reports [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: March 9
1500 – The fleet of Pedro Alvares Cabral leaves Lisbon for the Indies. The fleet will discover Brazil which lies within boundaries granted to Portugal in the Treaty of Tordesillas. 1842 – The first documented discovery of gold in California occurs at Rancho San Francisco, six years before the California Gold Rush. 1933 – Great [...]
Poke the Book: Do Something Now!
Seth Godin’s new book, Poke the Box, is a short 84 page manifesto that will push you to get up and try something. If it fails, so what? Try something else. Godin offers some great, humorous, advice for overcoming the roadblocks and obstacles that you’ll face as you attempt to make something happen. From the [...]
A Low Risk Way to Learn How to Make Money
37 Signals’ Jason Fried offers some great advice on how to learn how to sell something (online): So here’s a great way to practice making money: Buy and sell the same thing over and over on Craigslist or eBay. Seriously. Go buy something on Craigslist or eBay. Find something that’s a bit of a commodity, [...]
Weird Dating Site: FindYourFaceMate.com
I’m not sure if this is a joke, but a new dating site that is set to launch later this month disagrees with the notion that opposites attract. Findyourfacemate.com (website not up yet) is banking on sameness being the root of attraction. The site will help you find a date that look’s similar to you. [...]
Niche Biz: North Korean Restaurant
You can’t easily travel to North Korea, but if you’re in or near Washington DC you can sample their recipes at a new North Korean restaurant called Pyongyang Soondae (or Pyongyang Sausage in English): Washington City Paper has the full details: The first thing you notice on the menu is what isn’t there: beef. It’s [...]
Today is International Women’s Day. Now is the time to look back and consider just how far women in business have come. To celebrate, TheStar.com has pulled together some quotes from various business women on what they feel we should be proud of. “More women graduating from college and graduating with professional degrees than ever [...]
Jobless Entrepreneurship Tarnishing Steady Startup Activity
According to the “Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity” report released by the Kauffman Foundation, the business startup rate is at its highest in 15 years. However, many of these entrepreneurs are choosing to take the sole proprietorship route instead of starting a business that would employ others. While there has been a consistent rate of [...]
Would you believe me if I told you that water is not needed to surf? Yes, traditional surfing still requires a surf board and waves. However, a new game allows you to surf some imaginary waves at home. The game is called Waimea Wipeout. Through the roll of a 10-sided die, you will determine just [...]
Cool Idea Keeps Drinks Cold All Day
One morning George Wood awoke to find that he had left out a freeze gel pack on the counter. However, he did not expect to find it still cold. George had spent that last 40 years complaining about his bedtime glass of water. It would be cold when he set it on his nightstand, but [...]
Niche Product: The Rescue Reel
Kevin R. Stone is an orthopedic surgeon and an unlikely inventor. When Kevin had seen footage of people jumping out of the windows of the World Trade Center on 9/11, he was inspired. He went to work on a device that would allow people to escape from a tall building, through the window, in the [...]
Business Idea of the Day: Travel Deal Finder
Need an idea for a business? BizThoughts has an interesting idea for a travel website that I’ve often wished existed: Imagine if there was a site where you could enter in your home city, a set of travel dates, and a maximum spending price. Then you’d get a list of travel deals matching your criteria. [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: March 8
1775 – An anonymous writer, though by some to be Thomas Paine, publishes “African Slavery in America,” the first article in the American colonies calling for the emancipation of slaves and the abolition of slavery. 1817 – The New York Stock Exchange is founded. 1910 – French aviatrix Raymonde de Laroche becomes the first woman [...]
Invention: Snow Skiing With a Jetpack
If stuntman and extreme sport fanatic Troy Hartman has his way, we might see high speed uphill snow skiing in the Winter Olympics some day. Did I say uphill? Hartman built himself a jetpack, strapped it to his back and put on his snow skis. At 50% throttle, he was able to ski at nearly [...]
DailyMail: There is something about getting a man to talk about his feelings that usually sends him running in the other direction. But a 24-year-old psychology buff believes she has the answer – getting naked. Sarah White has brought a brand new type of therapy to the people of New York. By slowly peeling away [...]
A Sight for Sore (Or Degenerative) Eyes
A prosthetic eye has gained clinical approval in Europe and is now available on the market in the UK, Switzerland, and France. The prosthetic is called the Argus II and is valued at $115,000. It functions to restore partial sight in those that suffer from degenerative eye disease. Though the Argus II now only restores [...]
Do you have a wall in your house with half a dozen light switches in a row? I do. Which one turns on the outside light? Which one turns on the fan? Which one turns on the accent lighting? A bunch of switches in a row aren’t the most intuitive way to layout the switches. [...]
