The Accidental Business
September 10, 2007 by Rich Whittle | 2 Comments
Fast Company:
What kind of job did you have at 17?
I posed that question to the grown-ups I encountered recently while exploring Whateverlife.com. The teen-girl site and company was started by Ashley Qualls, an entrepreneur from a working-class neighborhood outside Detroit, who happens to be 17 herself.
One of the many fascinating things about Whateverlife is that Ashley didn’t set out to start a business. The Internet practically did it for her.
Web design was a hobby, something she’d been learning online since she was 9. As a high-school sophomore, she figured out how to create layouts for MySpace pages, and her friends at Lincoln Park High School were keen to customize theirs, much like school lockers.
As word spread throughout the MySpace universe, the 15-year-old couldn’t afford the servers to support her exploding online audience.
A friend suggested using Google AdSense, which generates ad revenue based on a site’s traffic. Ka-ching. Whateverlife was off and running.
Ashley has created nearly 3,000 layouts, her monthly audience is around 7 million, and revenue has grown from a couple of thousand bucks a month to as much as $70,000 – more than $1 million in less than two years.
The Accidental Business has become a burgeoning byproduct of the Web. Just look at the collectors-turned-entrepreneurs on eBay alone.
By providing a cheap and instantaneous distribution or publishing platform, the Internet democratizes entrepreneurship. It’s a beautiful and powerful thing.
Photo by Martynka Wawrzyniak.
In Success, Teens, Work at Home | 2 Comments
SOHOs in the Inc. 500
September 10, 2007 by Rich Whittle | 0 Comments
Terri Lonier at Working Solo eNews:
The Inc. 500 list has just been published, and every year I find it intriguing to chart how many firms are SOHO (small office/home office) companies — generally defined as having 20 or fewer employees.
This year, nearly one in four (23%, or 115 companies)are members of the SOHO ranks. Remarkably, there’s even a soloist who made the Inc. 500 list at #121 — Jim Fairchild, an environmental consultant in Elgin, Illinois.
This year Inc. also expanded the list online to the top 5,000 fastest-growing private companies. Eleven of these are one-person firms, although this may increase as more soloists apply in future years.
Photo by Inc..
In Competition, Self-employed, Success | 0 Comments
Snare Big-Time Customers
September 10, 2007 by Rich Whittle | 0 Comments
BloggingStocks.com:
Most young companies dream of getting their first heavyweight customer — a huge player, central to their industry, like Google Inc., or better yet, a General Electric.
Snaring such a customer can change an entrepreneur’s fortunes overnight. Of course. But how do you gain the attention and trust of a large and important company? It’s certainly tough — but there are some strategies to help out.
First of all, make sure you are in a niche that large companies don’t consider core to their business, advises Steve Waldis, who is the CEO and founder of Synchronoss Technologies.
According to Steve: “We developed a solution focused on the order management process that is a critical and often very complex process but not core to our customers’ business. Our customers can now focus on marketing and building out world class networks, and we can focus on connecting the two.
Chris Cabrera, the founder and CEO of Xactly Corporation (which develops sales software), also knows how to snag big-time customers.
He says that big companies often see working with small companies as a risk. They wonder, will your company be around tomorrow? Can you scale your solution?
To deal with the pushback, a small firm may want to try using new technologies, such as on-demand software. With this, a customer does not have to pay large up-front fees. Instead, there is a monthly or quarterly subscription payment.
Read more.
Photo by MSDesigns.
In Planning, Small Biz, Strategy | 0 Comments
Inventor Leads Way In Graffiti Busting
September 10, 2007 by Rich Whittle | 0 Comments
PendleToday:
Ray Britner transformed himself from tree feller to inventor after an accident which left him with sight in just one eye.
The local council now uses his most famous creation, a special blast cleaner named Doris, to clean graffiti from public places.
John David, Executive member for the environment, said: “Before Doris came along, removing graffiti was time-consuming and very labour intensive. Thanks to Ray, our workers can respond more quickly to reports of graffiti
and make sure it’s removed as quickly as it appeared.”
Ray, who named his invention after his late mother, explained: “I was interested in the history of blast cleaning and realised many of the systems in place had health and safety issues.
The Doris system is now used on a global scale and has even been recognised by the North West Regional Assembly and Envirolink North West for being environmentally friendly.
Photo by pendletoday.
In Invention, Niche, Protection | 0 Comments
Outsourcing Can Minimize Operating Costs
September 10, 2007 by Rich Whittle | 0 Comments
Tennesseean.com:
Operating costs include expenses necessary to produce a product or provide a service. That includes salaries and wages, raw material costs, and the cost of any facilities that go directly toward producing the product or providing the service.
Bootstrapping operating costs through outsourcing can help owners get to break-even sooner and improve profit margins as the business grows.
Outsourcing is a strategy that can work very well for a start-up and very small businesses. Rather than bear the cost of renting space and hiring a staff, these businesses utilize the excess capacity of someone else’s business to make their product.
For example, many upscale coffee shops outsource the roasting of coffee beans to a larger producer. They contract with a roaster, or sometimes another coffee shop, to supply them with freshly roasted beans as needed to meet demand.
Read more.
Photo by MSDesigns.
In Operations, Planning, Strategy | 0 Comments
Stricting Carding Policy At Supermarket
September 9, 2007 by Dane Carlson | 0 Comments
From Yahoo News
A 65-year-old woman who went into a Farmington supermarket to buy wine was turned away because she didn’t have an ID with her. But Barbara Skapa of Mount Vernon says that won’t happen again.
“I’ll be bringing my driver’s license with me from now on,” Skapa said.
She normally carries her license. But with her leg in a cast, Skapa was being driven by a friend when she went into the Hannaford Bros. market last week in and picked up several items, including a few bottles of wine.
The cashier told her it was policy to check for identification, said Skapa, who believes “no one would mistake me for 30 or even 40.” Skapa asked if her friend could buy the wine for her, but that was disallowed too because it’s considered “third-party” purchasing. Skapa asked to see the manager.
A spokeswoman for the supermarket chain, Rebecca Howes, said Hannaford’s new policy is to check IDs of anyone who looks under 45 and wants to buy alcohol. The previous policy was to check for proof of age of those who look younger than 30.
The policy is not unlike those of many other Maine businesses and chains who want to stop minors from illegally buying alcoholic beverages and cigarettes.
Photo by Yahoo News.
In Humor | 0 Comments
De Niro Way Of Dealing With Customers
September 9, 2007 by Dane Carlson | 0 Comments
Dealing with annoying customers – The De Niro way. Robert De Niro demonstrates how to deal with pain in the ass customers – funny!
Watch The Video
In Humor | 0 Comments
Fire Protection Business Gone Wrong
September 9, 2007 by Dane Carlson | 0 Comments
From BoingBoing
Daniel says “If anyone ever asks you for the definition of irony, you can show them this photo I took about a mile from my apartment.”
Photo by BoingBoing.
In Humor | 0 Comments
Kid Arrested For Throwing Cheetos At Dad
September 9, 2007 by Dane Carlson | 0 Comments
From Diablog
It was a real bell-ringer for a Des Moines, Iowa, man when he was charged with domestic assault after bonking his father in the face with a bag of Cheetos.
Patrick Hamman, 22, was arrested for throwing the bag of Cheetos at his father, Michael Hamman, hitting him in the face and covering poor dad in Cheetos dust.
It was a cheesy thing to do, Patrick said, admitting he was high on methamphetamines at the time of the argument. Good thing the bag didn’t contain the world’s largest Cheeto found by Navy Petty Officer Mike Evans in 2003. That baby was about the size of a small lemon.
Photo by Diablog.
In Humor | 0 Comments
Banana Briefcase!
September 8, 2007 by Dane Carlson | 0 Comments
From Concierge
I long ago gave up traveling with bananas, even though they’re one of my favorite fruits, because they never survived the journey all that well. Apparently I’m not the only one, because someone else with a much more entrepreneurial spirit decided to invent the Banana Bunker.
This nifty device, which I just discovered over at Gadling, is basically a plastic tube with an accordion center that will fit over any banana. Your snack won’t end up bruised, and the books next to it won’t be sweet and slimy. The Banana Bunker costs $4.99 and comes in four colors. No word on how the TSA will react when it finds one in your carry-on.
Photo by Brooke W – Concierge.
In Humor | 0 Comments
Man Scans Butt At Work – Caught
September 8, 2007 by Dane Carlson | 0 Comments
Watch the whole thing and laugh at the end… its the best!
In Humor | 0 Comments
Selling Watches Just Got Easier
September 8, 2007 by Dane Carlson | 0 Comments
From Hemmy
An advertisement by Jung von Matt/Alster for watchmaker IWC. Bus straps have been fashioned from images of IWC’s Big Pilot’s Watch to allow bus travellers near the airport to try before they buy at Berlin, Germany. 16 more advertisements after the jump.
Photo by Hemmy.
In Humor | 0 Comments
UnGoogle Yourself Today
September 8, 2007 by Dane Carlson | 0 Comments
From WikiHow
Do unflattering photos or embarrassing blog postings pop up when someone Googles your name? Or are you concerned about your privacy in this new digital age? With Google’s excellent indexing of the Internet, the reality is that friends, family members and employers can find out more information about you than you potentially want them to, just by “Googling” your full name.
Here are a few ways of getting out of this situation.
1. Stop using your full name. The best way to “ungoogle” yourself is to not offer your full name or abbreviate your last name when signing up for online accounts, posting from your blog, or attaching yourself to any content that’s published on the Internet. You can also create an online pen name or a screen name to go by.
2. Google yourself to find out what other people are seeing when they search your name. If you have a common name, it’s possible that you’ll be buried in the search results with all the other “Sarah Smiths” or “Chris Johnsons” in the world. Don’t forget to search your name with quotation marks around it, as well as variations that include your middle name or initial.
3. Make changes to the content that’s already been indexed by Google with your name on it. Change your name on public profiles that contain your name, such as blogs or social website accounts. Delete any accounts you might no longer use or might contain compromising or personal information.
Photo by WikiHow.
In Humor | 0 Comments
Business Policy Takes On 4 Year Olds
September 8, 2007 by Dane Carlson | 0 Comments
From BBC
A four-year-old girl was asked to take down the hood of her cardigan while visiting a seaside amusement arcade.
Karen Lewis’s mother Cheryl, from Shrewsbury, said her daughter was upset following the incident at Les Harker’s Amusements in Rhyl during a holiday.
She said Karen was with her granddad playing on the 2p machine when a worker made the request because of “security”.
The arcade owner has defended the decision saying that his employee was only following instructions.
Ms Lewis, 36, said: “I was having a game of bingo while the little one was on the 2p machine with my dad Desmond.
“She had her hood up on her cardigan, a young lad came across and asked her to take her hood down because of security.”
When Ms Lewis learned what had happened, she spoke to the worker. She said: “He said ‘It’s policy, they don’t allow any hoodies in there.’”
Photo by Billboardem.
In Humor | 0 Comments
Mom Offers Business Advice
September 7, 2007 by Angela Shupe | 0 Comments
Florida Today:
Mary Davis of Cocoa wanted advice on how to start her own business, so she went to the bookstore to find it.
Instead, she found no books on the topic of how to be a mom and an entrepreneur at the same time.
So the aspiring business owner and aspiring mother struck out on her own.
And, now, she has written a book on how women can combine the two desires — to own a business and still have time for a family.
The book is called “The Entrepreneurial Mom,” and it’s now on the shelves.
Q: Why did you write this book?
A: I have 15 years’ experience as a business owner and a mom — home interiors and furnishings.
When I started my business, back in 1992, it was around the time I was going to start a family. I knew it would be a balancing act.
There was nothing on the shelves at the time. I was in Books-A-Million, and I made a decision that, if I were to successfully manage a business and raise a family, I would write a how-to book as a resource for other women.
Q: What do you tell women who express interest in starting their own business?
A: It is possible for you to own a business if you’re a mom. There’s no reason why if you choose one you can’t have the other.
In Authors, Interview | 0 Comments
Mom Invents Device To Keep Pacifiers Handy
September 7, 2007 by Angela Shupe | 0 Comments
Lower Hudson Online:
Every night, Erica Dubrawski put her baby to sleep with a pacifier in his mouth. And every night, Charles woke up wailing when he dropped it.
Dubrawski even tried stashing a few binkies beside him in the crib – but they just fell to the floor. That’s where she ended up, too.
“I’m on my hands and knees under my son’s crib. He’s crying for his pacifier, and I can’t find it. I don’t want to turn on the light because that will wake him up,” Dubrawski said. “I said, ‘There has to be a better way to keep these pacifiers in the crib.’ ”
What if there were some kind of pacifier holder that both mom and baby could reach for in the middle of the night, she wondered?
She decided to make one by poking holes for the pacifiers in a Chinese soup container lid. She used string to attach it to the crib railings. And then she crossed her fingers and went to sleep, waiting for her son to wake up.
“When he cried for a pacifier, I grabbed one out for him. I knew where it was, and I didn’t have to search. After a week of this, I started to take his hand over to the pacifier in the holder. I was training him to find it himself. He took to it. I was excited and said, ‘This is really working,’ ” Dubrawski said.
Now shaped like a teddy bear in a cheerful shade of yellow, Pacifier Place holds two binkies and attaches to a crib with adjustable straps. It sells for $12.99 on her Web site and $9.99 at retail stores.
In Inventions, News | 0 Comments
3 Reasons Why Your Kids Will Enjoy Having You Work From Home
September 7, 2007 by Angela Shupe | 0 Comments
PR-GB.com:
The number one reason children love their parents working from home is time with you. Even if you are in your home office typing away, your children are content just being in your presence. They feel a sense of security knowing that you are at home. You also have the ability to take a break for lunch or a breather and say hi to your child. Give them a hug or ruffle their hair. Taking just a minute to say I love you to them makes their little lives brighter. Makes every working moment worth it to both of you.
When you work from home your children have the relief of knowing exactly where you are. This can be ultra comforting to a child. If your child becomes ill or injured while at school, they know that they can call home and mom or dad can come pick them up. They know that even though mom or dad does have to work, their parent or parents can be at home to care for them. There are so many times that parents have to struggle to take off from work to care for their children. It causes stress for the employer, guilt for you as a parent and misunderstanding from a younger child. Working at home allows children to be more comfortable with your job employment.
Your children also love you working from home since there is a greater time for special school events and family time. By working at home you are often able to work your hours around so you are able to attend school events and functions. Such an example would be a birthday party or special parent lunch at school. These may seem like such small events to most adults but to children they are so much more. Being able to attend such events makes children feel as if everything that is important to them is important to you as well. This makes our children feel that much more special in there parents eyes.
Photo from Stock.xchng.
In Children | 0 Comments
Inflight USB Power Unit
September 7, 2007 by Rich Whittle | 0 Comments
Lifehacker:
The Inflight USB Power Unit connects directly to the headphone jack found in the armrests of most commercial airplane seats and passes power to your gadgets via a USB connection.
It would be convenient as hell to have outlets at every seat instead of headphone jacks, but now you can get the best of both worlds.
The unit won’t power anything as big as your laptop, but should be able to supply a charge to any device that natively supports USB charging (like your iPod, cell phone, or PSP).
US $35+.
Photo by Caretools Inc..
In Tools | 0 Comments
21 Ways To Add More Hours To Your Day
September 7, 2007 by Rich Whittle | 5 Comments
LifeHack:
The first step to reclaiming more time from your day is to get hold of the big chunks that aren’t being put to good use.
“Good use” is a fairly subjective term here, but it could mean both work that doesn’t get much done or leisure time that isn’t enjoyable.
Here are some places to start looking:
- Television – This is a good starting point if you need more time.
- Internet – Quickly replacing television as a huge time consumer is the internet.
- Games – A friend once told me that World of Warcraft was electronic crack.
- E-mail – It’s easy to get lured into checking your inbox, just one more time.
- Work – Cutting time from work isn’t easy.
- Chores – Beyond just hiring a maid, there are ways you can reduce time from your chores.
- Schoolwork – For students, the classroom offers a lot of opportunities to save time without ruining your GPA.
For steps two and three, go here.
Photo by MSDesigns.
In Ideas, Planning, Productivity | 5 Comments
Economic Data Reflects Slower Growth
September 7, 2007 by Rich Whittle | 0 Comments
Associated Press:
Growth in the manufacturing sector slowed in August while construction spending dropped sharply in July, indicating turmoil in the housing and financial markets could be spilling over to the broader economy.
One bright spot for the U.S. economy, however, has been the manufacturing sector’s exports, whose growth accelerated last month, but analysts are unsure whether that will be enough to offset housing-related woes that have hurt consumer sentiment.
The Commerce Department, meanwhile, said Tuesday that construction spending dropped 0.4 percent in July, compared with June, the weakest showing since a 0.6 percent fall in January.
It was a bigger drop than economists had been expecting and underscored the continued drag the severe slump in housing is having on building activity.
There were several positive signs for the economy in the ISM survey. The production, employment and export indices increased, while new orders declined but remained above 50.
Photo by MSDesigns.
In Consumers, Government, Trends | 0 Comments
Yamodo!
September 7, 2007 by Rich Whittle | 0 Comments
Fortune Small Business:
Designed to stimulate creative thinking, the card game Yamodo, asks players to define and illustrate a made-up word.
It captured the imagination of buyers at Barnes & Noble.com and the Discovery Channel store, which are already stocking it.
Yamodo creator Bill Phelps, 27, a MBA student from Pace University who calls himself the company’s “chief imaginator” -aims to make the game a childhood classic. “Just about anyone can tell you their favorite board game,” he says.
“If you ask enough questions, you’ll probably discover that it has more to do with the memories that were created while playing the game itself.”
Photo by Idea Storm Products.
In Ideas, Startup | 0 Comments
Why I Didn’t Think Of That
September 7, 2007 by Rich Whittle | 0 Comments
Miami Herald:
While many of the 135 plans submitted in this year’s Miami Herald Annual Business Plan Contest made us go Aha!, others made us go Huh?
Here are samples of some of the more creative entries we received:
• CLEAT SHEET: Golf shoes are expensive and old shoes are comfortable, so why not glue golf cleats to the soles of your old loafers? This company has the business plan to do it.
• STEP ON IT: Speaking of driving ranges, this company wants to set up auto race tracks for the blind. Using a series of beeps and audio cues to guide them, the visually impaired would get a chance to speed around a track and learn what all the fuss over commuting is about.
• EASY SEAT: This company would make expandable toilet seats for obese cruise passengers. The price-tag for an easy seat? $7.50 per day. Don’t worry, they’re disposable.
• DOGS FOR WOMEN: This site helps women — both single and married — find the right dog for their individual lifestyles.
• ANIMAL HOUSE: Still not sure what kind of pet you want? Check into the animal house, a hotel that comes with a different cat or dog in every room.
• DEL’S MCC: This cryptic company promises to share a counting technique that will let customers “learn six dances instead of 1! (Walk, Marching, Quick Step, Peabody, Paso Doble, Merengue!).”
• DOME HOME: This company would build geodesic dome houses and make designer covers for them too. ”I don’t know if people really want their homes to look like a forest, desert or a UM mascot, but if people find it satisfying to tattoo their skin,” they will want a design for their ”round uniform dome” too, the company says.
Photo by Rube Goldberg.
In Competition, Humor, Ideas | 0 Comments
