Archive for July 2011
Entrepreneur: Every frat house and bar has its self-appointed beer expert. But if you really want to learn what’s worth drinking and which brews complement your favorite foods, the go-to guy is Matt Simpson, aka The Beer Sommelier. Based in Marietta, Ga., the fast-talking Simpson has built a formidable one-man business around his knowledge of [...]
3D Laser Scanning Accident Sites
According to the BBC, police in the UK will soon use laser scanners at crash sites to make 3D images of the scene, instead of having to painstakingly log everything at the scene. The 3D laser technology uses a special scanner mounted on a tripod to take a 360-degree image of the crash site recording [...]
Is Your Business Failing Facebook?
Sometimes a business will join Facebook with visions of instant success and many followers. Forbes offers a few reasons why your business may be failing on Facebook. You’re trying too hard. Spamming your followers with non-stop brand-related chatter will make you lose followers, not gain fans. Social media works best when it involves an element [...]
Helping Businesses Find Employees
Job placement companies are not new, but they are still a booming business. This is something Sheri Welsh knows a lot about. In 2002, she launched Welsh & Associates. Whenever a company needs professional personnel, she helps them find the right person for the job, reports Mlive. When a client needs professional personnel, Welsh already [...]
When most people think of magicians, they think of the many magic tricks they perform. However, who made those tricks? At the recent convention of the Society of American Magicians, you just need to look beyond the trick. That is when you realize some of the most innovative minds came together to create the most [...]
World’s Largest Automatic Truck Wash
According to The Presurfer, this fully automatic truck wash facility in Lloydminster, Canada is the world’s largest. More than 20,000 gallons of water are used for each wash. The wash in the video costs $140.
Cancer Battle Leads To Donor Registery
Many of life’s events are cause for inspiration. For Jay Feinberg, it was his battle with cancer, reports Reuters. It has been 20 years since he battled leukemia and won, but that hasn’t stopped him from pushing forward to help other with the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation. Feinberg abandoned plans to become a [...]
Businesses Finding Employees Through Social Media
When was the last time you fixed up your social profiles? According to Forbes, many companies are seeking out qualified employees on social networking websites like Facebook. Where are you finding talent for your business? It looks like use of Facebook by hiring managers didn’t increase much over the last year. This year 55.3% of [...]
Niche Biz: Flower Beds and Planters
From spring to fall, many yards are filled with beautiful flowers. If that yard is in the same neighborhood as Kathleen Gostissa, it was probably her handiwork that made those flowers so beautiful. Kathleen has always enjoyed flowers, but she has found a business in tending them for others. Known as Creative Containers, she puts [...]
A couple months ago, American Express OPEN commissioned me to write my startup story, How I Accidentally Became a Professional Blogger in 2001. They did this to promote a contest that they’re running called Big Break for Small Business. As part of the competition, they’re going to give five small businesses $20,000 to help grow, [...]
KoiPondFever Helps Keep Ponds Running
Koi ponds are relaxing for the owner to watch, but the up keep is not nearly as fun. The cost of keeping the pond going can grow quickly if you’re not careful. KoiPondFever.com is dedicated to providing quality products at reasonable prices. Not only do they provide the items you need, but the owner, RC [...]
Summer’s Most Important Invention: Air Conditioning
On July 17, 1902 in the midst of a steamy summer, Dr. Willis H. Carrier developed and later patented the first modern system to provide man-made control over temperature, humidity, ventilation and indoor air. From there, his innovation created an industry dedicated to making the world a cooler place to live, work and play. In [...]
Everyone Is Getting In On The Party
House parties touting direct sales products like makeup or Tupperware have been around for a long time. The success of the house party is well-known, and it is quickly growing into a marketing tool for all. With the help of one company, many popular brands are adopting the trend for their own needs. House Party [...]
Fighting Mosquitoes With Smelly Socks
What do you use if you want to trap and kill mosquitoes? If you’re Fredros Okumu, all you need is the smell of some old, sweaty socks. An African inventor recently discovered an interesting fact. While humans may find the scent of sweaty socks repulsive, mosquitoes are attracted to the smell. So, he has devised [...]
Aerial Wedding Photographer Causes Stir
An Australian man caused quite a stir in Bathurst, New South Wales last week while testing the equipment for his new aerial photography business. The locals thought it might have been a UFO, but it was really just a microdrone helicopter. Microdrones are unmanned arial vehicles (basically remote controlled airplanes and helicopters) similar to what [...]
What Makes A Mormon Entrepreneur?
Deseret News: Take two cups of creativity, add a cup of practical thinking and season the mix with market savvy. That’s the recipe for making a Mormon entrepreneur. In recent years, clever Mormon “marketeers” have pitched everything from having your family history printed on a set of brass plates (complete with rings) to action figures [...]
National Ice Cream Day: July 17th
When I was a child, my mother worked for Thrifty Drug. There was no better treat than when she brought home a half gallon of Mint Chip ice cream. Thrifty was purchased by Rite Aid in 1996, but the Thrifty brand of ice cream lives on there. I mention this because I just found a [...]
Virtual Shopping in Real World Places
In South Korea, a supermarket chain is experimenting with a new system that let’s commuters shop from subway stations with the cellphones. The biggest problem with ordering groceries for delivery has always been that looking at a selection of food online is very different from browsing the aisles at your local megamart. Homeplus, a South [...]
Ecoscraps Makes Compost from Food Waste
Did you know that each year Americans throw away more than 30 million tons of food waste and that this waste accounts for nearly a quarter of all landfill waste? Today I learned about a company that is trying to profit from this trend. EcoScraps makes organic compost from food waste that they collect for [...]
Blow Me is a company in the UK that will setup at your event and alcohol breath test everyone before they get into their cars to drive away. They use Draegar 6510 breathalyzer, the same one used by police forces across the UK. They are mostly booked the morning after cooperate events, after employees and [...]
A Pennsylvania couple has started a business to supplement company’s safety trainings with rattlesnake specific information: Bob Zumstein has been lecturing on timber rattlesnakes for years and recently had been invited to talk to two Marcellus Shale companies about where workers might encounter these venomous suckers and what they should do if they spot one. [...]
Popular Science: The future of wallpaper is: glowing? That’s Philips’ vision for the future it seems, as the company is teaming with Kvadrat Soft Cells to create a kind of luminous textile for the consumer market that will essentially embed adjustable LEDs in an acoustic panel that can be hung on the wall to provide [...]
Weird: Long-Distance Heartbeat Pillow
Ever spend time away from someone you care about? The Pillow Talk pillow, invented by Joanna Montgomery, hopes to help loved ones separated by distance still feel a connection when bedtime comes, reports Scotsman News. Pillow Talk … aims to connect couples in long distance relationships through sensor rings worn in bed at night and [...]
How Washington Can Create Jobs
If the country would like to generate more jobs for people, they must also create more businesses with openings for people to take. That is why The Huffington Post has shared a few ideas on how the government can help entrepreneurs jumpstart job creation. 1) A 30 percent refundable tax credit for members of accredited [...]
Oversized Coat Pockets For Travel
When you consider the cost of checking in your luggage, Andrew Gaule’s invention seems very appropriate. Although some people would never want a coat with pockets for cargo, people who need just a little extra space for their travel supplies can find refuge in the Rufus Roo. Andrew’s unique coat offers fliers some extra space [...]
I’ve been doing some maintenance on the site today, so it should be noticeably faster. Please let me know if you experience any technical difficulties. Does the site feel faster to you?
Cashing In On The Dog Tag Trend
Personalized tags are not limited to your dog or military personnel, it is a trend that has been around for some time. Whether you want to wear them as a necklace or use them to keep track of luggage, there is a market for the product. X=Tag is at the head of the market with [...]
Student Entrepreneurs Face Big Challenges
According to Leader-Post, a survey released last week shows that 70 college students in Canada have found work for the summer. However, the outlook hasn’t been as good for young entrepreneurs. Only one percent of the students actually started their own business. There are many deterrents for students entering the business world, including raising the [...]
What Can You Do With Extra Office Space?
Earlier this year, the Entrepreneur Fund had to lay off seven employees. Although the loss was a disappointment at a time when unemployment is high, they felt there was something they could do to help others. So, they have decided to rent out their empty offices to entrepreneurs in need, reports Duluth News Tribune. “This [...]
Umbrella Company Found Their Niche: Rain
Find a need and fill it; it’s the basic building block of any real business. That’s exactly what Cheeky Umbrella founder Jen Zurowski did: When she learned Vancouver would host the 2010 Winter Olympics, Zurowski teamed up with a designer and founded Cheeky Umbrellas, tackling what she considered a major gap in the umbrella market. [...]
Game Inventor Holds The Winning Hand
What should you do if you have a winning card game people will love? If you’re Joel Nord, get some business partners, Ken Noack, Rick Pierucci, Ted Maniates, Donald Porter Jr. and Ray Miller, and sell it to casinos. Nord invented his card game, Wild 52, in high school. At the time he called it [...]
Princess for a Day: Traveling Boutique for Kids
The Post Journal: Attention mothers of little princesses, there is a new spa boutique that not only provides quality entertainment, but will come to you. The Polished Princess is the new traveling spa providing parties for girls ages 4 and older. The business performs mini-manicures and pedicures, guided facials and custom-made themed cakes and goodies. [...]
She Turned Her Hobby Into a Small Business
There’s an article to go along with the video at USA Today.
The Eyeglass Business is Ripe for Change
One of my sons recently had his first visit to the optometrist. There was no surprise that like his mother and father he needed glasses. What was a shock though was the price the local optometrist wanted for glasses for an eight year old: $400! Were they serious? Have they never seen how eight-year old [...]
Business Ideas from the Sun: Clothing
StarTribune: Some businessmen use charts to emphasize their point. President John Barrow of St. Louis Park-based retailer Coolibar presented a bikini. “Does anyone think this is a sun-protective garment you would recommend to patients?” Barrow asked a group of dermatology nurses at a conference. If Barrow had his way, more Americans would avoid swimwear that [...]
Ex-Con Makes Purses From Old Newspapers
A recent prison inmate from Georgia has turned his time in the slammer into an entrepreneurial education. His new business: making women’s purses from newspapers. I’m not joking. Vincent joined them a few years later. He worked for Diamond Plastics in Macon and on the chassis line at Blue Bird in Fort Valley until he [...]
Korean Karate Master Chops it Up on eBay
Koreak JoongAng Daily: The online auction site eBay is providing a global market for one-man businesses in Korea. According to eBay, which boasts over 94 million active users, the total amount of goods it sold last year was $62 billion, more than $2,000 every second. Cho Sung-hwan, a 35-year old karate master-turned-businessman, chalked up $150,000 [...]
Book Review of Get Rich Click!
Making money on the internet is hard. Not hard in the same way that moving a ton of clay bricks by hand is hard, but definitely more difficult than spending money online. Luckily though the skills necessary to generate revenue from page views and clicks are something that can be taught. Marc Ostrofosky’s book does [...]
CNN Money: After a decade as a divorce attorney, Alexander Rhoads grew weary of “seeing people in conflict,” he says. “It took a toll on me.” A foodie whose own kitchen is stocked with 150 seasonings, he began thinking about the spice store he loved visiting in his native Chicago. After two years studying similar [...]
How do you make money in the gold recycling business? Volume! Each year, ARA buys tons of scrap gold and silver from jewelers, pawn brokers or “cash-for-gold” operations. The company pays between 98% or 99% of the market value for the jewelry, processes it, and then resells the pure gold and silver at market prices. [...]
Lightweight Soil for Rooftop Gardens
Springwise: “CitySoil, a newly launched product from a Canadian startup by the same name, is an eco-friendly, ultra-lightweight soil engineered for weight-restricted rooftop gardens and green roof installations. The soil is made from only natural and recycled components; it’s also fully recyclable. Featuring high wind resistance along with porosity and permeability, CitySoil offers a thriving [...]
Boston Herald: As is often the case with great ideas, it started rather innocently. University of Washington business students Marc Barros and Jason Green, each also avid skiers, needed an entry for an entrepreneurial contest. Hey, they thought, why don’t we figure out how to attach a camera to a ski helmet and film our [...]
How 3D Printing Will Revolutionize Manufacturing
Forbes: The transformative technology of the 2015-2025 period could be 3D printing. This has the potential to remake the economics of manufacturing from a large-scale industry back to an artisan model of small design shops with access to 3D printers. In other words, making stuff, real stuff, could move from being a capital intensive industry [...]
CNN Money: It’s hard to imagine anything more innocuous than a lush suburban lawn. That’s what 63-year-old entrepreneur Jackson Madnick used to think — until a golf course killed his cat. His cat, Kitty, sickened and died 14 years ago. A groundskeeper at the nearby links told Madnick that many local animals had been dying [...]
SBA Loan Program Good News For Small Business
As successful businesses expand, they need money to help fund that growth. This is where the SBA 504 loan program may be able to help. Also called the Certified Development Company/504 Program, this is a long-term financing tool for economic development within a community. It provides growing businesses with long-term, fixed-rate financing for major fixed [...]
Popular Science: In a huge city, lighting the streets is a necessary but pricey precaution. Pedestrians and motorists are no doubt safer when streetlamps, not just car headlights, illuminate roadways and sidewalks — but streetlamps are expensive and inefficient to run. A prototype system that turns the lights on and off depending on traffic could [...]
Pre-Teen Dabbles In Mobile Ice Cream Sales
Who is the next generation of entrepreneurs? That honor would belong to kids. This generation of minds 18 and under have always found unique ways to make money. Don McFarlin is one of these kids. At 11 years old, Don bicycles around his neighborhood selling ice cream. According to PJStar.com, it started on this 4th [...]
San Francisco is home to an inventors dream. While many inventors are known for working out of their garage, TechShop allows them to leave the garage or basement and work on their creations in a workshop dedicated to inventing, reports ABC 7. For as little as $99 per month, their members have access to thousands [...]
DailyFinance: In the bitter catalog of inconveniences associated with moving, finding boxes barely deserves a mention: Compared to changing addresses and forwarding mail, switching phones and looking for the best supermarket, finding cardboard packing cartons is pretty minor. Still, whether one decides to buy brand new boxes from U-Haul or simply scavenges leftovers from the [...]
Morpeth Herald: A Ponteland [UK] scientist is brewing up a whole new career after taking on a challenge from her husband. Former chemical engineer Julia Austin is putting her years of experience at global companies to good use as she works to find the formula for a perfect pint. The 40-year-old was bitten by the [...]
