May 26, 2013

Niche Biz: Earthquake Solutions

Worried about what might happen to your family during the next earthquake? One entrepreneur sells kits and consults on the topic. “I’ve been interested in natural disasters since childhood,” Kelcy said. “But I guess when I started to tune into it in terms of a career happened when I was in college and working at

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DNA You Can Play With

How do you explain DNA to people who are less than interested? Make it fun, of course. Jun Axup, a biochemistry student, has made a DNA plush toy. The hand-sized plush dolls look more like Saturday morning cartoon characters than anything Axup might encounter under a microscope while working on new cancer drugs. The dolls

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How to Run A Dollar Store

The NY Times up a really long, and very interesting article about dollar stores. The long quote below deals with operations, but the article touches on numerous aspects of the biz: In Hamilton’s view, the secret of a good dollar store is an obsessive manager who can monitor 8,000 to 10,000 items, constantly varying pop

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Pool Cleaning Biz Booming

The economic downturn and the decline of the housing market killed off many pool-cleaning business as homeowners cut back on expenses in order to continue making their outrageous mortgage payments. The recession hasn’t been all bad news for pool cleaners, though. For some, business is booming: In some areas, foreclosed homes with pools have become

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