Archive for March 2011
Innovators like Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs all quit school to pursue their dreams. Should you? Inc. takes a look at two entrepreneurial college students. One chooses to leave school and work his business full time, while the other decided to do both at the same time. Consider their argument, and tell us [...]
Serial Mompreneur Helps Moms ‘Venture’ Out
If you were to ask Holly Hurd about her role in business, she would tell you that she is a “serial entrepreneur.” She has a big stack of motivational books by her bed, and she’s even writing one for motivation. She has had her finger in a variety of ventures, and she currently resides in [...]
Are Bookbinders a Thing of the Past?
With so many people buying Kindles, iPads and Nooks, do traditional bookbinders have a future? The San Francisco Bay Area’s small bookbinderies are struggling amid the weak economy and spread of digital publishing. One local bookbindery is making iPad cases to boost its revenue, but others haven’t been so lucky. WSJ’s Cari Tuna reports. The [...]
Recognizing The Inventor Of The Phone Camera
Have you ever wondering who it was that created the technology that makes it possible for you to grab candid photos or video with your phone? Although the technology is in most cellphones today, it really got its start in NASA. According to NHBR, Eric Fossum was a member of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory team [...]
Does Your Business Need a Secret Menu?
In-N-Out Burger is a California-based hamburger chain with a cult-like following. One of the things that makes them so special is that they have an incredibly simple simple menu. The only foods on their menu are hamburgers, cheeseburgers, sodas, shakes and fries. With so few items, they can excel at making quality food. But the [...]
Eliminating Smelly Water Bottles
Chris Hotell was tired of the smell that came from water bottles as they got old. The only way to eliminate that smell is to give the bottle a thorough cleaning, but that’s nearly impossible due to their odd shape. Determined to do something about it, Chris created something a little different. Naming it the [...]
Meet the Readers: Devin Walker
Once a week or so I’m going to profile the very special people who read this site. If you’d like to participate, shoot me an email. Tell us about yourself. (Name, age, where you live..) Devin Walker, 42, Lawrence, Kansas Tell us about your work or business. Printpop.com is your online destination for digital reproductions [...]
Video: Inside Google’s Auto-Driving Car
Not content with just dominating the Internet, the search engine company Google has begun work on a car that drives itself. Their automated cars use video cameras, radar sensors and a laser range finder to “see” other traffic, as well as detailed maps (which they collect using manually driven vehicles) to navigate the road ahead. [...]
Waiting for something cheaper than an iPad before you move to a tablet computer. The NY Times thinks you might be waiting awhile: The iPad 2, unveiled on Wednesday, offers several sleek improvements over its predecessor. But its most attractive feature is perhaps the same one its predecessor had: the price tag. And what makes [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: March 6
1840 – The Baltimore College of Dental Surgery opens, the first dental school. 1869 – Dmitri Mendeleev presents the first periodic table to the Russian Chemical Society. 1899 – Bayer registers aspirin as a trademark. 1992 – Michelangelo computer virus begins to affect computers.
Weekend Thread: What’s Your Favorite Business Book?
Is there a business book that has really helped you? Is there a book that has inspired you to be who you are? Leave a comment below and share your favorites.
Smart Shirts Will Monitor Heart Rate
Imagine that at your next routine check-up at your doctor’s office, you are given a new shirt to wear during your appointment. When the nurse comes in to check your vitals, she doesn’t bring a thermometer, or a blood pressure gauge. In fact, she doesn’t have to touch you at all. Instead, she finds your [...]
When Is the Right Time to Teach Kids Financial Skills?
The following is a guest post by Rudy DeFelice. As a father of three and founder of Kidworth, Rudy DeFelice is familiar with the issue of when parents should start addressing kids’ financial literacy. The answer may surprise some. Here’s a hint: most parents don’t start early enough. Given uncertain economic conditions, the rising cost [...]
Are You Fit For Entrepreneurship?
Deciding to become an entrepreneur requires a lot of commitment, skills, and the drive to succeed. However, there is no test that will tell you whether you will succeed or it is a bad idea. An education in business is not enough to guarantee your success. Forbes has put together a short list of “reality [...]
Moms in Business Unite Conference Registration Open
If you’re a mom who wants to participated in one of the five Moms in Business Unite conferences being held across the US this year, now is the time to register. Anyone that registers early will also receive an “early bird” discount. The early bird cost is $110 for the full-day San Diego and Boston [...]
While many of us spent the winter pushing our snowblowers up and down the driveway or sidewalk, Howard Davis created a way to ride on his, reports YorkRegion.com. Troubled by a gimpy right knee, Howard needed a gimmick that would allow him to do his own snow removal without walking. A grandson Christopher of Innisfil, [...]
Niche: Dirty Shopping Cart Handles
A new study has found that 72% of shopping carts handles have fecal matter on them. As many as 50% of those carts also tested positive for E. coli bacteria. According to the lead researcher from the University of Arizona study, Charles Gerba, “That’s more than you find in a supermarket’s restroom.” Don’t worry though, [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: March 4
1493 – Explorer Christopher Columbus arrives back in Lisbon, Portugal, aboard his ship Niña from his voyage to what is now The Bahamas and other islands in the Caribbean. 1628 – The Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal charter. 1792 – Samuel Slocum born, inventor of a machine for the production of wrought iron [...]
I never realized how much food Americans waste until I worked in a restaurant. And my mom worried about me eating the last 3 green beans on my plate. According to California Watch, millions of produce in the U.S. rot or are plowed over, restaurants dump tens of thousands of tons of edible food every [...]
Program Helps High Schoolers Go Into Business
Paige Janis has an interesting idea on what she finds fashionable. Not a big fan of popular styles, she started making her own clothing to fit her personality. She has even gone as far as to take a few sewing classes and join the American Sewing Guild. As her interest in sewing together clothes has [...]
The Emergence Of Women And The Lifestyle Business
The number of women going into business has steadily increased over the years. For example, 45% of the students studying entrepreneurship at Belmont University are women. Women also make up more than 40% of entrepreneurs across the country. As we see the number of women entering the business world rise, their reasons for becoming entrepreneurs [...]
Want to be an entrepreneur? You should try traveling around the world. It was taking that kind of approach that inspired Jesse Maddox to create an app for people that want to, well, travel around the world. In just over a month, Jesse has taken the steps necessary to launch his new app: TripLingo. The [...]
Custom Clothing Without The Custom Cost
Finding inexpensive custom clothing is difficult, especially if you’re working on a budget. No one would know this better than Steve Downing. Steve had finally managed to have a closet full of good quality suits and fitted shirts when he was blessed with successful weight loss. With the loss of 50 pounds came a problem; [...]
As a small business owner, it is important to make sure you are claiming all of the tax deductions that you deserve. The Huffington Post has created a list of ten tax deductions that are often overlooked. If you haven’t filed your taxes yet, check out the five deductions below and see if you qualify. [...]
Monopoly is a great game that has been around for years, but how relevant are the skills learned playing it to to the small business owner today? One of the biggest problems small business owners face is a lack of understanding of how all things fit together in business and in order to manage and [...]
Sixth Grader Creates Snow Day Predictor
When David Sukhin was in sixth grade he created the DAS Automatic Snow Day Calculator. He’s now 16 and in 11th grade, according to WBUR. Every time it snows, he checks the site and it has never once been wrong about his own school shutting down for the day. The site asks for various pieces [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: March 3
1875 – The first ever organized indoor game of ice hockey is played in Montreal, Canada as recorded in The Montreal Gazette. 1885 – The American Telephone & Telegraph Company is incorporated in New York. 1904 – Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany becomes the first person to make a sound recording of a political document, [...]
College just got a little easier. I said, a little. But sometimes a little goes a long way. Koofers.com is a college-sharing website that enables students to share class notes and professor ratings, find the cheapest textbooks and even create their ideal schedule. Entrepreneur.com calls it simplified sharing. The company launched on Virginia Tech’s campus [...]
Wavegarden For Landlocked Surfers
Would you like to surf, but live too far away from the ocean to take it up? According to SF Gate, a company in Spain has teamed up with surfer Kelly Slater to build surfable wave pools. Even the greatest surfer ever Kelly Slater has ambitions of making wave pools a reality with his new [...]
Amazon Threatens to Turn Off California Affiliates
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Amazon.com will cut ties with the 10,000 participants in Amazon’s associate program if legislation to require the company to collect sales taxes is enacted. In a letter to California’s Board of Equalization, which oversees the collection of property taxes, sales taxes and other fees, Seattle-based Amazon said four [...]
Video Success: Pen Fishing Rods
This fish was caught with a fishing pole that fits in your pocket. The The Pen Rod Extreme is the “world’s smallest fishing rods and reels” and was invented by Michael Di Pippo. About the size of a large pen, the rods telescope out to reveal sixty three inches (5’3”) of fully functional fishing rod. [...]
Business with a Mission: Pangaea International
Pangaea (def): the hypothetical landmass that existed when all continents were joined… It’s a small world after all, and getting smaller. While international business is by no means a new concept, the concept of fair trade actually is fairly young. In fact, the Fair Trade certification is all of 12 years old. According to Inc.com, [...]
You may not realize this, but Willis Carrier is the man to thank when the days get hot and you turn on your air conditioning. Credited with inventing the modern air conditioner, this man not only changed the lives of people with in-home AC but it also changed the way we watched movies. According to [...]
When we think of multi-touch, we normally think of small devices like the Apple iPad or iPhone. LUSENS Inc. is a Canadian technology company that wants us to think bigger. They design, integrate, customize and support multi-touch, gesture recognition and motion interactive surfaces and solutions in the form of tables, kiosks, digital signs, walls, floors [...]
The growing trend of moms becoming mompreneurs has been astounding. Amy Ballon and Danielle Botterell are two women that fall within this category. Like many women, they love their lives — no matter how crazy it can get. According to TheStar.com, Amy and Danielle have recently collaborated on a book that demonstrates the real ups [...]
Meet the Readers: Gabriele Morelli
Once a week or so I’m going to profile the very special people who read this site. If you’d like to participate, shoot me an email. Hi to all the blog readers. Tell us about yourself. My name is Gabriele Morelli, I am originally from Florence (Italy) but live in Munich (Germany) since almost 5 [...]
UK Clamping Down On Misleading Ads
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received over 3,500 complaints in regards to online ads. However, the watchdog could not do anything about most of them. That is about to change, though. The ASA rules have changed, and they can now police over all misleading marketing messages, including website and social networking promotions, reports The Telegraph. [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: March 2
1791 – Long-distance communication speeds up with the unveiling of a semaphore machine in Paris. 1797 – The Bank of England issues the first one-pound and two-pound notes. 1807 – The U.S. Congress passes the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves, disallowing the importation of new slaves into the country. 1933 – The film King Kong [...]
The Restroom Business: 2theloo
OK, this is the weirdest business I’ve seen all day. 2theloo (to the loo) is a chain of Dutch restrooms. Each visit to the restroom costs 0.50 euros ($0.68). It seems, that in Europe, restrooms are not considered a public service and you pretty much have to pay for them everywhere. 2theloo was created in [...]
Reseller Opportunity: Self Balancing Unicycle
It’s like a Segway, but without the annoying handle, and less nerdy and awkward. Called the Solowheel, it’s a 20 pound computerized unicycle that uses gyroscope technology to self balance. It’ll be available in March for about $1,500. More from the manufacturer: The Solowheel consists of a wheel and two foldable foot platforms. Internally, the [...]
Amanda Hocking sold 450,000 e-books in January directly to her readers, for under $3 each. The 26-year old writer has never been traditionally published and according to one anonymous publisher it is unlikely that any traditional publisher could offer her a better deal than the Kindle store. Hocking only began self publishing in March 2010 [...]
Continuing Education For Entrepreneurs
Truckee Meadows Community College has noticed a trend among people within the community. Noticing that some of the residents would like courses in business, TMCC has created a series of non-credit courses for them to take. Each class will offer insight into the different ways to launch and make money, reports Northern Nevada Business Weekly. [...]
CompoKeeper Makes Composting Simple
For many people, making the “green” transition is not just a trend. It is also a way of life. From recycling to composting, it is a process that requires time, but the feeling of doing the right thing is its own reward. If you compost or you’re looking for an excuse to start, CompoKeeper has [...]
Have you ever wondered why a mom would start a business? Are you curious about what is running through their mind? The Globe and Mail recently broke down those reasons into seven main categories. I can’t bear to leave the kids, and we need the cash For some women, being available to their children is [...]
What Rocket Science Can Teach Us About Finding Business Opportunities
The following is a guest post by Storagepipe. “Did you know that disco record sales were up 400% for the year ending 1976? If these trends continue… AAY!” – Disco Stu Now that most companies rely on Internet marketing as the primary means of getting clients, there seems to be an increasing emphasis on the [...]
It is often said that we should learn from our failures. The lessons we learn during a failure can help us avoid those same problems the next time around. Many people would agree with that statement, however Business Insider believes that is the wrong approach. Do you? There’s only one problem with the “failure helps” [...]
Real Computers That You Wear Like Watches
A number of different companies, are creating products to take over the space on your wrist that used to be occupied by your wrist watch. Although these devices will tell time, that will be the least of their functions. NY Times: The Allerta inPulse, acts more like a computer than a timepiece. This device is [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: March 1
1628 – Writs issued in February by Charles I of England mandate that every county in England (not just seaport towns) pay ship tax by this date. 1790 – The first United States census is authorized. 1873 – E. Remington and Sons in Ilion, New York begins production of the first practical typewriter. 1893 – [...]
