Archive for the 'Ideas' Category
The Car Seat Lady has made a business out of consumer’s car seat hassles and offers experienced, private car seat installation lessons
The Spectrum: For Zion Adventure Company co-founder Jonathan Zambella, downsizing led to his dream job. In 1995, he was working as a banker in Pennsylvania but lost his job due to downsizing, giving him the “opportunity to be unemployed.” Zambella, an avid rock climber, knew he didn’t want to stay in the financial sector. “I [...]
The Many Uses Of Googles Calendar
photo credit: edans When we think about Google we think about all of the business tools that we can take advantage of, all the things found on Google that will make our business life easier. However, I don’t think enough credit has ever been made to the Google calendar. Below are just a few [...]
photo credit: luis perez In business we are always trying to come up with cool new ways to advertise, ways that catch peoples attention and save us money in the process. We all know that one of the best ways to advertise is by word of mouth. It travels fast and very effectively. One way [...]
Storytellers To Follow On Twitter
photo credit: Atilla1000 In light of recent posts on improving your blog and how to make your blog work for you, I thought it to be a good idea to post a little list of some storytellers that you should follow on Twitter, recently found on DirectorTom.com. You never know what ideas or story [...]
photo credit: Steve Keys One of the things that use to be prevalent everywhere in business years ago was the concept of the suggestion box. Today it is very rare to see these out in any type of business, rather we ask that our customers and employees send their suggestions in emails. The New York Times suggests [...]
Meeting Employees Personal Needs
photo credit: Torley For most small businesses, the owner is the key person in the leadership role. Some owners and managers of businesses are convinced that it is only the money that creates passionate performance, productivity, and connectedness in employees. I’ve heard it many times in one form or another: “They are well paid; I [...]
Catherine Patton: Business Ideas Come from Everyday Needs
WomenHomeBusiness.com: Catherine Patton, founder of Patton Medical Devices, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2001. As a result, she is now faced with the daily struggle of effectively managing her disease. Using injection therapy, Patton quickly grew tired of giving herself an injection each time she needed insulin. The multiple daily injections often left [...]
Is 2009 the year of the rental company? The Start Up Donut Blog thinks so: Zilok takes advantage of a number of relatively recent developments, not least the Internet (and in particular Google Maps), to enable you to search for things and then to rent them from a neighbour. They claim that the average drill [...]
Don’t Overthink Your Business Idea
photo credit: woodleywonderworks Wanna-be entrepreneurs tend to overthink and over-complicate their business ideas. Opening a pizza hamburger stand isn’t a unique idea, but depending on your location it could be an ideal business opportunity. There’s no reason to be clever just for cleverness sake. You don’t need to create something from scratch. Everyday I profile [...]
What You Can Do With A Bad Headline
photo credit: Piez A headline to your articles is the single most important part of that article. Your headline is what will determine whether a person reads your article, just scans over it looking for important information or simply deletes it without even reading one sentence. Your headline tells what type of article the reader [...]
Why You Should Get A Free Phone Number
photo credit: SimonDoggett Many of us think that in order to have a legitimate working phone number we have to sign up for a long contract and pay an outrageous amount of money for it. This is not necessarily true in all cases. Google Voice offers a free legitimate working phone number that you would [...]
Moms Can Make Good Dough From Home
The Huffington Post: When a full-time job as mom doesn’t cut it anymore cash-wise in this struggling economy, it doesn’t necessarily mean going back to work out of the house. There are lots of ways to work from home, keeping your work hours to school hours and managing mom responsibilities. For many of these businesses, [...]
Where To Find Your Content Inspiration
photo credit: svensonsan I can’t tell you how often I’ve uncovered the seed of an idea from something totally unrelated to marketing that I could twist to apply it in a totally new and relevant way. Duct Tape Marketing recently did an article on several different and some what unusual places where you can go [...]
Preserving Cash For Your Business
photo credit: AMagill If you’re running a small business today and aren’t thinking about how to tighten your belt, you are surely in rarefied company. But if you’re like the rest of us, you’re scrambling to cover expenses, pay bills and make payroll. Take a look at all of your expenses going out in such [...]
What Partners Not To Choose For Your Start-Up
photo credit: kunalmehta When making the decision to take on a partner for your start-up, one needs to remember to choose wisely. This person should be considered as your right hand man, someone that you will be involved with for the long hall. I recently read an article on Entrepreneur.com that gives some examples of [...]
Making Your Website Mobile Friendly
photo credit: William Hook In the day and age where people are constantly on the go, it’s no wonder that technology is making it possible for people to do so many things from a cell phone, as that is generally the device people are using most often. Is your site mobile friendly though? Look below [...]
photo credit: e-magic Throughout our adult life many of us wonder why we do certain things that we do whether it be in our personal lives or our business life. We rack our brains trying to figure out our own behavior and decisions we make. I read an article this morning on OpenForum giving some [...]
photo credit: h.koppdelaney When we think of selling a product or service, sometimes it almost seems as though we have to damn near sell our own soul in order to make a sale. This does not have to be the case! Here are some selling tips for you that should make your sale going smoother [...]
Summertime Is Business Time, For Your Entrepreneurial Teen
Summer is the time of year when kids would normally go out looking for a part time job, somethng to fill their free time while they wait for school to start back up. Unfortunately, thanks to the recession, kids are less likely than ever before to find the job they want. Many mom’s start a [...]
Women Entrepreneurs Boosting Productivity
photo credit: michale Women entrepreneurs are a fast growing sector of business, as they move into new businesses everywhere and even are moving into innovation more and more. So how do they prioritize what is important with everything else that they tackle during their day? OpenForum posted a very interesting article regarding how women entrepreneurs [...]
Find Your Loved Ones After a Disaster: WeAreSafeAndSound.com
Just in time for the start of hurricane season comes a new business called We Are Safe And Sound. It is a electronic lost and found bulletin board for families. Families pre-register for the site and receive a login ID, password and voicemail box number. If, unfortunately, they’re involved in a disaster like a hurricane, [...]
Proven Headlines That Sell Like Hotcakes
photo credit: faeryboots In business when entering into marketing and advertising, every business owners dream is to strike their prospects with attention getting headlines, content, pictures and more. Below are some suggestions on proven awesome headline formulas that are sure to sell like crazy, recently found on Copyblogger. Put it out there plainly and simply. [...]
photo credit: ArtemFinland Most people often times do not like to discuss their finances, especially if they are not doing very well at the moment. It’s because most people actually don’t know how to handle their finances correctly which is what gets them into trouble, and more over, they sure don’t want to be scolded [...]
photo credit: TheTruthAboutMortgage.com Writing valuable content-rich articles for your target market and submitting them to article directories and other publishers is one of the best ways to market your business, become known as an expert in your field, and add subscribers to your list. As stated on Solo Entrepreneur this week. One of the most [...]
Great Resources For Beginner Bloggers
photo credit: evhead When contemplating starting a new blog, you may not know what to write, how much to write, what to put on the site other than the posts and more. I recently came across an article on The Mogul Mom that had some tips for beginner blogger that i think can really come [...]
Dealing With Negative Customers
photo credit: koni_photo In business we have all been there, you greet a person walking through your store door with a smile and right off the bat you just know they are going to be a pain in your side. Every little thing you do or say annoys them, they ask for your help and [...]
I think that these gold vending machines might do really well in the United States, especially as more people figure out that paper money is basically worthless: Long attracted to the safety of solid gold, Germans will soon be able to sate their appetite for the yellow metal as easily as buying a chocolate bar [...]
photo credit: Shooting Nouns Since Fathers’ Day is upon us this Sunday, here are a few gift ideas for entrepreneurial dad found on Inc.com. And remember, when buying some of these gifts for dad pay attention to the websites. You may discover something that could improve your’s. Netbook. yes we have all seen the commercials [...]
Big Idea Group announced a new product line idea hunt. Arthur Blank is seeking innovative concepts for either their existing lines or new but complementary lines. Royalty potential for winning concepts is tremendous. Innovation Criteria for New Product Lines * Can be produced Dec.-July * Fit ABCO’s manufacturing and distribution capabilities * Innovative and unique [...]
photo credit: 7son75 Businesses are jumping on twitter right and left and that’s probably a good thing. But, businesses are also jumping on thinking that’s all you need to do. Create a twitter account, create a bunch of followers, and start tweeting out this week’s lunch special. However, it is not that simple because you [...]
There is still money to be made despite the economic climate according to industry research firm IBISWorld. The company identified the leading start-up opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors to potentially make a profit in 2009 and beyond. Their report can be downloaded as a PDF here.
Is My Idea Good Enough to Start a Biz?
smallbizbee: I hear this a lot, “do you think my idea is good enough to start a business?”…and normally what people mean is “do you think I’ll make money doing this?”. The short answer is- most ideas you can think of are good enough to start a business around – in short you can probably [...]
photo credit: Marcus Vegas In business we all know that happy employees means happy work place which equals productive work place. A Lot of businesses ponder many ideas on improving their employee morale without emptying their wallets in the process. Below are a few ideas that OpenForum had regarding improving employee morale. Eating lunch with [...]
photo credit: Felixe Is it possible to learn valuable business lessons from Big Bird? As funny and odd as that may sound, it sure is possible. Most of what is found on their shows has gone through an enormous amount of testing, conversation, and more before it is finally aired on TV for all to [...]
Adressing Cash Flow Issues With Your Vendors
photo credit: Randy Son Of Robert All to often business people assume that when they are having cash flow problems that they are just automatically stuck, there’s no options for them, no way out until the situation just turns for the better on it’s own. This is a huge misconception on their part. There are [...]
photo credit: Ana_Cotta Many businesses have two playbooks, meaning they have one for when their business is doing good, and one book is for strategies on when their business is going through a difficult time. This is a good idea and practice to have, however, it is not 100% sufficient. There is a lot more [...]
Indicating Trust For Your Website
photo credit: notsogoodphotography Keep a tidy site: Take as much pride in your Web site as you would a company newsletter or direct mailing. Your content should be grammatically correct and use an appropriate tone. Your links should work. Your pages should be neat. If you are a small business who is looking to expand [...]
Internet Business Things That Dont Matter
photo credit: MastaBaba Control. Don’t let your controlling nature get in the way of growing your business. Delegate work to others and let them make decisions. Let go. Mellow Business recently posted an article on numerous things internet business related that a lot of people stress over when there’s really no cause to do so. [...]
How To Obtain More Income From Your Current Traffic
photo credit: mattlemmon Are you doing all you can to turn potential customers into buyers? Here are three simple strategies that will go a long way toward making sure that your shoppers’ dollars are flowing into your registers. Boost your sales by supporting some commercial customers. When you help them increase their business, this will [...]
How To Make Conferences Better
photo credit: HVX Silverstar In business large or small, we all have conferences or meetings of some sort with everyone who is on staff. These conferences and meetings are a way to keep everyone up to date in one shot as well as get new ideas, brainstorm and more. So how do we make our [...]
Here are some unique products to amuse and inspire. The Hand Fitness Trainer Slips on like a glove, elastic bands provide resistance. Whatever happened to good ol’ tennis balls? Reversible Doormat Perfect for your bi-polar friends. LED Cord Mirror Now if I can just figure out which cable goes to what. Zipit Motorized Clamshell Package [...]
Entrepreneur: Keyword research is incredibly effective for market research because the main reason people use search engines is to find solutions to their problems. And people with problems might be willing to pay money to solve them. But there are so many ways of expressing the same problem. “Cat food” could also be “cat treats,” [...]
photo credit: uberzombie Whether you are writing a simple article, a cornerstone blog post, or a landing page designed to breathe life into your budding dreams, there might be nothing more important than the care you give to crafting your argument. CopyBlogger recently posted a very interesting article regarding how to make sure your copy [...]
photo credit: kwerfeldein Like air travel, IT projects deliver too little, too late, for too much. (Share your views about working with IT by participating in this survey.) Smart “IT travelers” know how to increase the likelihood of getting to their destination, on time and on budget, provided that they keep a few principles in [...]
photo credit: pasotraspaso Today so many people are looking for better and more promising companies to work for, they want to work for a comopany that not only has a good purpose in life but has a great CEO who takes care of their employees and customer’s as well. Below are a few good tips [...]
Tips On Running Your Food Business
photo credit: kspoddar So many people often open up a new restaurant or some sort of eatery thinking there shouldn’t be too much to it, it’s food, everyone loves food and for the most part know’s how to cook food. The problem is that when it comes to food and the places people pick to [...]
Unlocking Everyone’s Ideas For The Next Big Thing
Springwise: Seasoned entrepreneurs know there’s a big difference between a great idea in the mind and a successful product in the hand. Here to bridge that gap is Quirky, a service that uses a collaborative process to actualize killer ideas that might otherwise go to waste. Anyone can submit their business plan and sketches to [...]
Open-Mic Nights’ For Biz Ideas
Springwise: Bloblive is a networking event that’s essentially intended to be a live version of Ideablob: Attendees air their business ideas in front of a live audience of fellow participants in exchange for advice, feedback and connections. The first Bloblive was held in Philadelphia last fall; since then, it has been expanded to Nashville, San [...]
photo credit: Nano Taboada When in business we all have many many decisions to make throughout our days, and we all wonder on just about every single one of them if we are truly making the right decision or if it will come back to haunt us one day. Below are some elements of what [...]
