Author Archives: Rich Whittle
THAT’S MY BUSINESS!: Dan Florio
In this edition of THAT’S MY BUSINESS! Rich Whittle talks with RunPee.com‘s Dan Florio, about making over $45,000 telling people about bathroom breaks.
Analyst Spins Yo-Yo Passion Into Million-Dollar-Plus Biz
According to Entrepreneur magazine, it all began back in 2005, when Pat Cuartero–a high school 2A yoyo champ turned Merrill Lynch analyst–discovered a higher purpose: getting more people in New York City to play with yo-yos. He funded startup costs with about $8,000 of credit card debt, and in his first five months, he netted [...]
Add Some Grease To Your Gadgets
The famous handmade Bacon Case is now available for the iPad. Here it is. Landed at your Grill. Ready for the newest Apple Gadget. Enjoy it. Feel the real seamless result of 2h handwork, the iPad Bacon Case. Available at Antjes’ Etsy store. Photos by Antjes.
Chicago Toy & Game Fair’s Young Inventor Challenge
Students 18 and under can showcase an original toy or game and win prizes and industry acclaim in the Chicago Toy & Game Fair’s Young Inventor Challenge. The 8th Annual Chicago Toy & Game Fair will be held Nov. 20 and 21 at Navy Pier, Chicago. The grand prize will be awarded by popular vote [...]
Upcoming Biz-related Conventions and Tradeshows
The National Franchise & Business Opportunites Show – Chicago When: 9/11/2010- 9/12/2010 Where: Schaumburg Convention Center – Illinois 1551 N Thoreau Dr. Schaumburg, IL 60173 The National Franchise & Business Opportunities Show focuses on self employment opportunities for individuals wanting to start up a full or part time business of their own, or wishing to [...]
Inventor’s Journal: Jim Atkinson
In this episode, Rich Whittle talks with Jim Atkinson about how to save money heating your home with the DryerNet, dryer vent filter.
The Friendliest Young Woman In The Room
According to a story in The Wall Street Journal, for women like Giovanna Coluccio who peddle novelty drinks in Manhattan bars like Turtle Bay, selling shots is a game and a science. Each interaction with a potential customer is an investment. Coluccio is one shot girl in a stable of 25, nearly all of whom [...]
According to Hacking Netflix, Redbox announced that a customer in Tampa rented Clash of the Titans and pushed them over the 1 billion rental mark. Redbox is celebrating with the “Thanks a Billion” contest with free rentals and a chance at prizes including 50 $500 gift cards, a home theater system or a trip to [...]
SwitchFlops, The $30 Million School Project
At 16, Lindsay Phillips came up with the idea for a flip-flop with interchangeable straps during art class. Today, her company — Lindsay Phillips — employs 35 full-time staffers and is projected to bring in $30 million in revenue this year, reports AOLSmallbusiness. The idea is simple — SwitchFlops are sandals with interchangeable straps. So [...]
According to the National Watermelon Promotion Board, as of 2010, only sixteen percent of grocery stores still sell watermelons with seeds. That’s a forty-two percent decline from 2003. What’s more is their alarming prediction. The board states that within a generation, children won’t even know watermelons are meant to come studded with shiny black seeds, [...]
Sometimes you see a simple solution to a problem and you just want to share it. Someone over at RealSimple.com got the great idea of placing two rubber doorstops under a laptop computer. The extra elevation allows air to circulate, which prevents problematic overheating. Photo by John Lawton.
What’s In A Name? Potential Pitfalls.
Kori Stanton’s online cookie business seemed to be off to a promising start last spring when its goodies were featured on the “Rachael Ray Show.” But, according to The Wall Street Journal, the free national publicity had one unexpected and unwelcome consequence: A company with a different but similar name threatened Stanton with a trademark-infringement [...]
I would like to dedicate this Labor Day holiday to the 14.9 million women and men who, through no fault of their own, lost their jobs in the economic downturn. I’ve been there. I feel your pain. Days upon days looking for a job. Just looking for a job becomes a job, a non-paying job. [...]
Men’s Cosmetics Becoming A Bigl Market
When cosmetics began disappearing from her bathroom drawer a few years ago, Gretchen Bain, who lives in Merchantville, N.J., knew the culprit. Her husband, Jarrod. It turned out that Mr. Bain, 34, a Customs and border-protection officer who is 6-foot-3 and weighs 240 pounds — and whose uniform includes a 9-millimeter handgun — had developed [...]
Silly Bandz Become Dating Tool
We first brought you the story of Silly Bandz, the rubber bracelets that are all the rage among grade-schoolers back in March. Now they’re getting grown-up treatment at bars and clubs. Adults on the prowl are using the colorful bands instead of bad pickup lines to make love connections says the New York Daily News. [...]
Researcher Walks Into A Bar, Makes $712,883
A researcher at Northwestern University walks into a bar. Oh wait, no he didn’t—because he’s too busy spending the $712,883 he received in grant money to create joke-writing software. According to The Chicago Sun-Times, the federally-funded project has had some conservative backlash—Sen. John McCain ranked it as 36 on his list of the 100 most [...]
Her Own Biz, At Just 11 Years Old
Micro businesses are everywhere. They are run by people of all ages, educations, talents and passions. The New England Cable News Network highlights an amazing story in Massachusetts of a unique and successful micro business, but with an intriguing sole proprietor. McKenzie Plante, an 11-year old girl in the seaport town or Gloucester, Massachusetts, has [...]
Entrepreneurs Love Election Season
The Wall Street Journal reports that as campaign season ramps up, entrepreneurs that make products designed to help office-seekers and incumbents win votes are bracing for business. Small companies such as VictoryStore.com Inc. have introduced new marketing tools for political candidates in recent years, with users ranging from U.S. senators to small-town sheriffs. More politicians [...]
Cool Invention: The Dyson Balloon Acclerator
Via: TechnaBob.com
Online Shoppers Want One Thing This Holiday Season
According to Website Magazine, e-commerce merchants who are still unsure of what consumers want this holiday season can direct their efforts toward providing user reviews, security verification and fair pricing. In a word, 2010 holiday shoppers are looking for online retailers they can trust. That was the fundamental message from ChannelAdvisor’s 2010 Consumer Shopping Habits [...]
U.S. Birth Rate Falls, Possible Effect Of Recession
The Washington Post reports that the number of babies born in the United States has dropped for the second year in a row, according to new federal statistics released Friday that provide more evidence that the nation’s economic troubles are affecting the birth rate. Provisional data for 2009 found that an estimated 4,136,000 babies were [...]
See the complete list here. Photo by Online MBA
Tom Quinn isn’t the kind of entrepreneur who needs help getting his ideas in front of the right people. So why is he pitching his latest idea—a portable system to convert food scraps and other waste into ethanol—on a website frequented by basement tinkerers and dorm-room startups? Bloomberg Businessweek reports that Quinn’s E-Fuel is among [...]
According to a story at CNNMoney.com, “Made in USA still matters.” Is, and will remain Aegis Bicycles’ motto, even if it ultimately becomes the death knell for the company, promised owner Pete Orne. Orne bought the business in 2004 and like so many domestic businesses, it’s hanging on by a thread. Three years ago, Aegis [...]
According to a story in The Wall Street Journal, Raymond Stauffer was shopping at a New Jersey mall when he noticed something peculiar about the bow ties on display at Brooks Brothers: They were labeled with old patent numbers. Stauffer also happens to be a patent lawyer. He sued Brooks Brothers Inc. in federal court, [...]
Top 10 Reasons For Entrepreneurial Success
Jay Goltz owns five small businesses in Chicago. He recently posted a list on The New York Times “You’re The Boss” blog of what he believes are the most important success factors in business: 1. Look for opportunities to do something better than just about everyone else. 2. Accept risk as a necessary evil. It [...]
Toy and Game Inventor Expo 2010
The Toy and Game Inventor Expo is the only industry event designed exclusively to help the new toy and game inventor and entrepreneur by providing networking and educational opportunities. Independent inventors are an important source for new products to the Toy Industry, but because the industry relies heavily upon professional toy developers for new products [...]
According to a story at CNNMoney.com, after selling his Illinois gourmet food store and moving to Austin six years ago, Chris Miller was anxious to open another food-related business. So he became an early pioneer of one of food world’s hottest trends: mobile food trucks. Miller’s hot-dog trailer transplants a Chicago classic down south. “I [...]
Inventor’s Journal: Provisional Patents
In this episode, Rich Whittle explains the 7 easy steps to getting a provisional patent for your invention. Click here to download the US Patent & Trademark Office Form Cover Sheet for provisional patents.
The dog days of August are almost over and so is National Inventors Month. We covered a lot of inventors and inventions this month. One of my favorites is the look back at inventors from the past who came up with ideas that we use without a second thought. Inventor Legends: Edwin Binney and Harold [...]
The 5 Greatest Fictional Inventors of All Time
Tom Swift Wile E Coyote Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts Doc Emmett Brown Q (James Bond) Photos by gizmodo.
Trademark Is Your Invention’s Brand Protection
In celebrating National Inventors Month, we have concentrated on bringing you stories about inventors and inventions. In this post, we’re going to look at trademarks. Why trademarks? Federal trademark registration adds value to the products you have invented. According to the USPTO, a trademark is the name, symbol or logo that you have created to [...]
According to the Chicago ABC7 News website, 89-year-old Al Roth was inspired to invent the Clumsee after finding it increasingly difficult to hold onto his digital camera. The Clumsee is a handle extension for small digital cameras. The device screws into bottom of any point-and-shoot digital camera, allowing the camera user an easier grip than [...]
How much does it cost Netflix to stream a movie in HD? 5 cents 12.5 cents 23 cents 49 cents 99 cents View Results According to a story at Bloomberg BusinessWeek, delivering online video is becoming much more of a commodity business. The average price websites pay to stream video fell 40 percent to 45 [...]
Inventor Legends: Bette Nesmith Graham
Typists prone to making mistakes when using old-fashioned typewriters or word processors have Bette Nesmith Graham to thank for creating one of the most simple, yet lifesaving inventions in all of office-supply history. Born in 1924, Nesmith worked as a secretary while earning her GED in night school. While her husband was away in service [...]
According to a story in The Friday Flyer, like many inventors, Brian Belden saw a need and created a solution to improve the lives of others. While floating in Canyon Lake on a foam noodle last year on Memorial Day, Brian observed his friends shifting their beverages from hand to hand while trying to keep [...]
The Louisville Courier-Journal is reporting that Elvis is back in the building — and economists suggest it may be a sign of better economic times ahead. Elvis is a dipstick, of sorts, for our economy,” Doo Wop Shop manager Rob Baker said. “The party business is coming back. People are not thinking twice about having [...]
Nike Patents Auto-Lacing Sneakers
Who doesn’t remember Marty McFly’s power lace-up Nike kicks from the fictional year 2015? Well, the scene must’ve had a lasting effect on Nike, because as the real year 2015 approaches, the company has filed a patent for an automatic shoe-lacing system that eerily resembles the one scene here: Editor’s Note: Shouldn’t the movie clip [...]
Microsoft Co-Founder Becomes Super Patent Litigator
TechEye.net is reporting that Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft, has sued Apple, Ebay, Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Youtube, Netflix, Office Depot and Staples – as well as the company formerly known as AOL – for allegedly infringing a number of patents he owns. Allen has not sued Microsoft. Technology which Allen says he owns was [...]
How much does it cost Netflix to stream a movie in HD? 5 cents 12.5 cents 23 cents 49 cents 99 cents View Results The answer tomorrow. Photo by Lightstorm Entertainment.
Unique products to inspire and amuse. Baby’s First Smartphone. What’s next? Baby’s first Prius? Stay Puft Caffeinated Gourmet Marshmallows. I gotta cram for an exam, get me the caffeinated marshmallows, stat. Celebrity Phone Stickers. Uh, excuse me while I take this call from Einstein…. Meatball Bubble Gum. That’s Italian! Photos by thinkgeek/trendhunter.
Would Photography Be Different Had It Been Patented?
Louis Daguerre was a successful commercial artist hoping to increase the realism of his giant diorama paintings, some of them 70 feet long by 45 feet high. When using a camera obscura to sketch the outlines (or cartoons) for his paintings, he thought it would be better to create images directly with the camera. He [...]
Turn Your Faucet Into A Water Fountain. Tapi Tap Squeeze Drink Fountain ($5 USD) is a simple device that turns almost any household faucet into a water fountain with just a squeeze. However, when you want a drink, just give it a squeeze and a stream will shoot upwards, allowing you to reach the water [...]
Niche Biz: Urban Chicken Consultant
It started as a joke when Jennifer Murtoff of Oak Park, Ill. printed up 150 business cards that identified her as an Urban Chicken Consultant. She had no real intention of turning her lifelong poultry passion into an entrepreneurial pursuit. WalletPop reports that it turns out that beyond the Chicago prairie, urban chicken coops are [...]
Inventor Solves Real-World Problems
Glenn Reid has been an inventor for over 25 years. He helped launch iMovie and iPhoto. He founded Inventor Labs in Redwood City to address such issues; specifically, to convert abstract ideas into tangible products aimed at alleviating real-world problems, reports The Daily Journal. There are typically 30 to 40 ideas under development at any [...]
In This Store, Everything Is 100% Off
The New York Times is reporting that for six weeks, a group of people have been engaged in an unusual project in Bedford-Stuyvesant that they are calling the Brooklyn Free Store, where everything is available for the taking and nothing is for sale. The name of the store is painted on a purple banner hanging [...]
Inventor Legends: Edmund McIlhenny
Born in 1815, Edmund McIlhenny moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, around 1840, finding work in the Louisiana banking industry. By the eve of the American Civil War, he had acquired a small fortune and became an independent bank owner. During the Civil War, McIlhenny fled with his in-laws, the Avery family, to Texas, where he [...]
More than three decades after Clemens Franek moved to Los Angeles and teamed up with aspiring actor Woody Harrelson to sell beach towels whose circular shape helped beachgoers tan evenly, a Chicago appeals court has said the invention can’t be trademarked, reports The Chicago Tribune. Millions of dollars worth of the “most radical beach fashion [...]
Entrepreneur’s Kool Ties Keep A Loyal Following
A friend presented Phoenix business owner Steve Kafka with polymer crystals that were used on golf-course grass to allow it to absorb nitrates. But according to The Arizona Republic, the turning point was when the friend showed Kafka how incredibly absorbent the material was when introduced to water. He said, ‘If anyone can do something [...]
Cool Biz: Labels For Kids’ Gear
According to trendspotter Springwise, Oliver’s Labels sells a wide variety of name labels in multiple colourful styles, designs, formats and sizes. As an alternative to including personal information like phone numbers or addresses, however, Oliver’s gives its customers the free option of printing a 9-digit tracking system code on their labels that links them with [...]
