Archive for September 2011
Renting Yourself Out as A Paid Passenger in Jakarta
No matter the country, over regulation always opens up opportunities for quick thinking entrepreneurs to profit. In Jakarta, poor men, women and children rent themselves out as traffic jockeys to help richer Jakartans get around the carpooling requirements: With 20 million vehicles on the streets each day, and with far less pavement than in big [...]
Just walk down the candle isle, and it quickly becomes obvious the market they are trying to reach. Women are traditionally known to burn and enjoy the scent of candles. However, what about men? It was that question which lead a 13 year old boy to start his own candle company. “It started out as [...]
Part-Time Consigning Big Business
What if you only had to work twice a year, with enough time between projects to rest? That is the joy in a part-time consignment sale. Instead of opening up a large shop like many consigners before her, Jennifer Hundley decided to turn consignment into big events. Having almost given up on the idea of [...]
Even The Snowman Has Been Patented
Making a snowman seems simple enough. You roll the balls of snow around until they are the size you want, and you stack them. Once they’re stacked, decorate your new snowman as you see fit. However, one inventor has decided his frosty deserves to be patented. In the patent application Ignacio Marc Asperas from Melville, [...]
Tourist Opportunities Below London’s Streets
The next time you take a trip to London, it may not be the attractions you can see that will draw your attention. Ajit Chambers wants to draw visitors underground into old subway stations and bomb shelters. Old London Underground plans to open the first site, Brompton Road station, in time for the 2012 Olympic [...]
Why Are Paperclips Protected By Law?
Did you know that if you live in the United States nearly every paperclip you’ve ever used has been manufactured domestically? Why? Do we make the best paperclips in the world? Not necessarily. According to the Wall Street Journal, paperclips are protected by a 127% tariff! The two main U.S. makers — ACCO and Officemate [...]
When to Say No Thanks to New Opportunities
A reader wrote: Hi Dane. I just posted up a new article that I thought might be of interest to you, given your site’s focus on new business opportunities. It highlights a few pitfalls that business owners commonly face when they start branching out. What kinds of opportunities should you turn down? Good question. The [...]
Niche Dating Site: French Farmers
NY Times: Patrick Maignan, a robust gray-haired farmer, lives alone on his farm, surrounded only by the freshly plowed wheat fields of this lonely corner of northern France. The New York Times The lack of love in the countryside is a serious topic. Far from tourist routes and cellphone coverage, he works seven days a [...]
The $700 Million Yogurt Company
Forbes: In a scant four years, Hamdi Ulukaya has built something that even Silicon Valley types should covet: a $700 million business that’s profitable, dominant and growing at a furious clip. Even more incredible: Ulukaya makes yogurt. Photo by Timothy Valentine.
$4.3 Million Prize for Making Insects into Food
The European Commission is offering a $4.32 million prize to the group that comes up with the best idea for developing insects as a popular food. The Commission is counting on cattle and other large animals being an increasingly untenable source of protein in decades to come, and hopes that some research group will be [...]
The Winipeg Free Press, a newspaper in Canada, is moving some of their employees out of the newsroom and out into the world. They’ve opened a cafe called the News Cafe that in addition to serving coffee, the cafe hosts events, but also offers the public an opportunity to interact with journalists and editors who [...]
Is this the doorbell of the future? Click the image for a larger version.
Pedal Portland: Bicycle Training
A new business called Pedal Portland in Portland, Oregon wants you to get that bicycle out of the garage and onto the road: Paulsen’s idea is to offer personal, one-on-one consultations designed to take the guess-work out of riding bikes. Whether you have a bike and just aren’t confident to start riding it around town [...]
Are you looking for a home inspections opportunity that does not involve a franchise? Pro Sight has the perfect affiliate opportunity for you. A typical home inspection franchise would cost you between $27,000 to $55,000 plus royalties. However, an affiliate membership will give you all the benefits at a reduced cost. If you have no [...]
One of the problems many new parents face is isolation. It can be lonely, especially when you have a new baby and a demanding schedule. That is something Amy Lundy knows a lot about, reports Gulf Coast Business Review. The former New Yorker started Small Fry Society, a program for moms with babies or infants [...]
Korean Women Are Jumping The Gender Gap, Too
We often mention successful American women who successfully cross the gender gap into the man’s world of business. What about women in other countries? Korea leads a traditional “man’s world,” and Lee Bok-hui has found a way across that gap and raise attention for her invention. Lee Bok-hui used to wonder what happened to all [...]
Business Owners Waiting For The Right Climate To Grow
President Obama’s job speech will be later today, and many business owners are apprehensive about what they will hear. A recent survey shows that entrepreneurs are ready to grow their businesses, but they are waiting for the right moment. Citibank’s latest small business survey, released Tuesday, found that 49% of small business owners are holding [...]
StartupChicks Home To Women In Business
Jennifer Bonnett spent more than 20 years in the information technology field and she noticed a sad trend, most tech startup events were filled with men. Often, she was the only woman in the room. So, she created a startup group for just women. A month after that February weekend two years ago, StartupChicks was [...]
A Scratch and Sniff Business Suit
Neatorama: According to Marc Abrahams, the founder of the Ig Nobel Prize and the Annals of Improbable Research, some Korean businessmen own special suits that emit a pleasant aroma when rubbed. These suits allow the owners to remain fresh after very long days at work and play
Look What $0.02 Bought You in 1914
Today you can’t buy anything for 2 cents, but way back in 1914 you could buy any of the following: A Cake Pan 3 Yards of White Tubular Corset Lace A Hardwood Butter Ladle According to the Inflation Calculator, $0.02 in 1914 is worth $0.43 in 2011. To bad that $0.43 still doesn’t buy much. [...]
TruFlavorWare: Lets The True Flavor Through
Sick of the metallic or plastic taste that comes with using that style of silverware? Don Ladanyi has created a unique, non-metallic silverware that allows the true flavor of the food to come through. His TruFlavorWare is great for people sensitive to those tastes, but the quality of the product and the “Made in USA” [...]
Mom and dad may want to go out for a little adult conversation and coffee, but that does not mean the kids will behave. Traditional coffee shops are not known for being kid friendly, but one entrepreneur has launched a kid-friendly cafe with a place for them to play. Play cafes are places where parents [...]
iOL Lifestyle: For most new parents, the crippling sleep deprivation, the constant nappy changes and the overwhelming responsibility that a newborn baby brings are challenge enough, yet growing numbers of parents are using these early years to nurture not just a child, but also a fledgling business. There is even a name for the phenomenon, [...]
Quebec: New Home For Video Game Industry
If you thought the United States was the place to go if you want to work with video games, you are wrong. Government incentives in Quebec has drawn many of the game companies to move north. Companies ranging from Electronic Arts to Ubisoft have been drawn to the province as a result of a refundable [...]
Do You Have The Startup Mentality?
If everyone could start a business, they would do it. However, it takes a special type of mentality to start a business, and do it successfully. Business Insider takes a look at some of the necessary traits. You enjoy being the visionary leader. Being able to envision what the business and the industry will be [...]
Mother Nature Can Be the Mother of Invention
WSJ: From floodgates for homeowners to “diapers” for absorbing storm waters, they’ve come up with ways to tackle the problems brought on by tornados and other major events—including, of course, Hurricane Irene. “Often large disruptions such as natural disasters create the basis for new business opportunities,” says Andrew Zacharakis, a professor of entrepreneurship at Babson [...]
Standing Desks: The Healthier Historic Alternative
In the the 18th and 19th centuries, nearly everyone used a standing desk, like the one that Ernest Hemingway is using the in the inset photo, and today they’re coming back in style as their health benefits are becoming more apparent to a sedentary population. The WSJ has more: A growing number of workers at [...]
A reader wrote: I’m struggling in my marketing. I understand that I advertise benefits and not features, but since some of my company’s products are, shall me say, odd, I don’t really know how to do that. Ok, ok, we sell fake vomit and other novelty gags. The products seem to sell themselves when people [...]
The Fruit Box is an Australian company that delivers fresh fruit to corporate breakrooms as a traditional alternative to the standard fare of unhealthy snacks. Ten years ago, the company had just two deliver vans, 280 customers and less than two full-time staff members. Today, the company has more than fifty vans, and delivers 600,000 [...]
Pawn Shops: Oldest Form of Borrowing, Last to Digitize
The Huffington Post has up an interesting article with lessons from a digital pawn shop: At a time when businesses around the world are looking for ways to modernize and adapt to rapidly-changing new technologies, it’s easy to overlook opportunities to innovate in industries deemed firmly entrenched or depleted. It’s a dangerous mistake, because sometimes [...]
Emoticons are coming to a car near you with the introduction of the Drivemocion. The Week: LED circuit board that attaches via suction cup to a car’s back window and is operated by remote control, the Drivemocion comes programmed with 16 messages to express a wide range of driver emotions, including remorse (SORRY, when cutting [...]
The next time you visit a concession stand for nachos and a drink, keep your eyes open for this common sense invention. An Albuquerque inventor may make your next trip to the concession stand a little more enjoyable. His invention is called the Rock Top and it’s basically a plastic tray with a hole in [...]
Commonly Overlooked Legal Mistakes
The last thing you want to do when starting a business is make legal mistakes. Entrepreneur has highlighted a few of this mistakes you should avoid. Making handshake deals with clients and vendors. Always put your business dealings in writing. Don’t naively assume that everything will go according to plan. “This is often not the [...]
Celebrating Female Entrepreneurs On The Stock Exchange
Inc: Nell Merlino, who helped found Take Your Daughter to Work Day and is now founder of Count Me in for Women’s Economic Independence, a resource for female entrepreneurs, was invited to a breakfast on the floor with Goldman Sachs partners to promote the holiday. “At the time, that was the most women who had [...]
Ready to sell your business, but not sure how to go about doing it? Naples News has a few tips that will help you get your exit strategy mapped out. There are several methods to consider. You can slowly downsize, liquidate inventory and withdraw as much cash as possible over a period of several years. [...]
The Makings Of An Entrepreneur
What’s the average age, experience level, and education of an entrepreneur? A recent study by LinkedIn took a look at some of their member profiles and compared the information. The scientists at the professional social networking company sifted through the more than 120 million member profiles to find those who identified themselves as a founder [...]
Radio’s Not Dead, Just Evolving
According to Orlando Sentinel, Jason Bailey plays a big part in the evolution of radio. At the very least, his company is finding creative ways to make some money through advertising. His company creates radio programming to sell advertising to, or insert product placement within each show- such as a one-minute segment on cooking, or [...]
Clever Mamma Offers Clever Mompreneurs A Way To Connect
Dynamic Business: Founder Danielle Price created the service after she noticed a lack of resources helping Mums to connect and network online with women in similar situations. “As a multi-tasking mum running my own small business, I have found the most successful client relationships have formed working with other mums.” “Clever Mamma actively promotes businesses [...]
Women’s Intuition In Marketing
Companies put a lot of effort into discovering what women want in a product, and consultants like Sandie Glass and Laura Wolfram give them the answer. Glass, 54, has worked for Procter & Gamble and Eureka! Ranch, a product innovation firm in Newtown. Wolfram, 40, has worked in marketing and branding for StarKist Seafood and [...]
No one really enjoys shopping with their kids. Between the “I Want’s” and the bathroom breaks, shopping with even one kid can be a long process. So, what can you do about it? If you’re on Merritt Island, just drop them off at Go Have Fun and shop kid-free. Melody Autry’s business represents a special [...]
Forbes: So likability is an elusive quality. It doesn’t mean always being perky and bright and constantly being happy. What makes each of us likable is distinct to us, and to some degree it’s in the mind of the beholder. But the basic drivers of likability are the same for most of us, and Michelle [...]
Bargain hunters love a good half off coupon for a product or service, but many businesses who enter into those deals are coming out with the short end of the stick. The customer gets a great price, but they are often hesitant to pay full price later. Sometimes the company makes money on the increase [...]
The idea of freemium, a free service that offers a premium paid subscription, has existed for quite some time, but it is gaining attention. Some freemium-based companies quickly becoming the new way to do business. LinkedIn Corp may be the highest-profile freemium story. The business-focused social network went public earlier this year and is valued [...]
The Premium Organic Cafe You Can Enjoy From Home
Sipping a delicious cup of tea, coffee, or nibbling delicious chocolate can generate thoughts of beautiful places. While it may not physically take you where you’d like to go, Premium Organic Cafe allows you to buy the ingredients you need to take yourself on a mental vacation from the comfort of your own home. With [...]
The Galcos Soda Pop Stop in Los Angeles only sells sodas. They have over 500 different sodas in glass bottles, and not a single Pepsi or Coke product on their shelves. The video interview below is incredibly inspiring to me for some reason. Photo by Dave Schumaker.
Video: How to Get a Provisional Patent
Last year on this day, Rich Whittle explained the seven easy steps for getting a provisional patent on Inventor’s Journal. Video below.
It’s Surfboard With A Jet Ski Motor
WaveJet is a patented Personal Water Propulsion (PWP) engine designed for use in a range of personal watercraft, including surfboards and other light boats. With WaveJet, Surfers can spend more time riding. And less time waiting. You will no longer have to depend solely on the strength of your arms or be towed into big [...]
Scientists have discovered a compound in coral from Australia’s Great Barrier reef that could revolutionize the sunscreen business. An algae living in the coral excretes a substance that protects both the algae and the coral from the sun’s ray. According to the Telegraph, scientists are close to synthesizing the compound in labs and a pill [...]
NY Times: Fifteen years ago, Mr. Lang noticed that the subway system’s vast ridership included few dogs. Passengers can bring small pets on board in carrying cases, but owners of larger dogs cannot travel with their pets by subway, bus or taxi. Sensing he could fill a void, he founded Pet Chauffeur, a taxi service [...]
Are You Ready For Google+ Biz Accounts?
Company profiles have not officially released yet, but ZDNet believes you should be prepared for what is to come. To help companies better plan and execute their Google+ corporate profile, Israel and other marketing experts shared five things organizations should note, based on existing features available to individual account users. Group audience into Circles “For [...]
