Business Opportunities Weblog

February 9, 2012 by Angela Shupe | News

OC Register:

More than one in five small-business owners (22%) expect to add jobs over the next 12 months, while 8% expect to eliminate jobs, according to the new Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index poll.

This is the most optimistic owners have been in four years, Gallup says.

Small-business owners tend to be optimistic. Otherwise, how could they stand the uncertainty of the business world and the economy? Their role in the economy is significant: half the gross domestic product, two-thirds of the net new jobs over the past 15 years.

How did past expectations compare with what small businesses actually did about jobs?

At this time year ago, 23% said they expected to add new jobs and 11% expected to eliminate them over the next 12 months. In the past 12 months, 22% CUT jobs and 13% added them, the reverse of what owners expected they would do. Other years show similar over-optimism.

Photo by Juhan Sonin

0 Comments
Tags: Small Biz, Statistics, Trends

February 9, 2012 by Angela Shupe | Inventions

Chicago Tribune:

Reavill won a prestigious contest in London late last year called the OmniCompete Health Pitch Battlefield, whose independent judges said his invention is a simple way to catheterize the heart. It reduces risks to an “absolute minimum” by moving the catheter insertion to the arm, the judges said, replacing a complex wire-guided procedure through the neck, which is typically used to monitor the heart during a hospital stay for very ill patients.

Reavill plans to hire 13 to 20 disabled vets to get the production off the ground — with the goal of hiring up to 18,000 if the device goes national. He recently procured a bank loan agreement and is hoping the award recognition and hospitals’ willingness to try the catheter will attract a venture capitalist.

Called the ReavillMED CV, the Food and Drug Administration-cleared device includes a catheter called a PICC line, IV tubing that sheathes it to provide sterility, and a transducer that can directly measure blood pressure to help determine needed fluid levels. The catheter is inserted into the arm and travels to the heart within 20 to 30 seconds via the bloodstream. Traditional heart catheterization through a vein in the neck can take 20 minutes or longer.

Photo by Alex Murphy

0 Comments
Tags: Health

February 9, 2012 by Angela Shupe | Inventions, News

Apparently one “I” can make a big difference if you choose to name a product with the word phone in it. At least, that is what driPhone recently discovered.

Apple, through a Wellington-based patent firm, told Hayden Crowther it was opposing his application to trademark the driPhone name in New Zealand because it is too similar to its ubiquitous iPhone product.

It has also suggested he change the letter `i’ to a `y’ to avoid confusion.

But Mr Crowther told Fairfax Media he was not intimidated by the situation and thought Apple’s case had “little weight”.

Mr Crowther said he would continue to register his trademark in New Zealand and the rest of the world. He has until April 1 to respond to Apple’s opposition.

2 Comments
Tags: Accessories, apple

February 9, 2012 by Angela Shupe | Featured, Interviews, Inventions

Our next interview in the Get on the Shelf series features Mike Sewell and his product, the StepNpull.

What product did you submit to Wal-Mart’s Get on the Shelf contest?

We submitted StepNpull which is a hands free door opener designed for commercial latch less doors. It gives the user the option of pulling the door open with their foot instead of touching the door handle. Although the primary intent is for use on public restroom doors, StepNpull is also a great option on any commercial door where the user’s hands may be full. For example, the front door of an auto parts store, Laundromat or shipping store.

Where’d the idea come from?

We invented StepNpull in the summer of 2007. Our inspiration came from observing how many people use a paper towel to grab a public restroom door handle when exiting. We believed a better option would be pulling the door open with your foot. After constructing and testing several designs we found that stepping down and pulling the door open was the most effective method. Although we have added enhancements to the StepNpull over the last 4 years, the basic design has remained the same.

What’s your background (and or day job)?

StepNpull was invented by Ron Ely, Kelly Coddington and Mike Sewell. All 3 of us work for a major wireless carrier in Springfield MO

What difficulties did you have creating the product?

Our goal was to invent the most effective design that could be manufactured for a reasonable price. We initially manufactured in our garaged but quickly learned we needed to find a manufacturer to work with. After working with 2 different manufacturers we were introduced to a Springfield MO based company named Custom Metalcraft in the summer of 2008. We have been working with them every since. It has been more of a partnership where they have helped us work thru several improvements including the powder coat finish, machining changes and engraving our logo on the face. It truly was a work in progress for the first couple of years.

Have you sold any? (or is the product currently for sale somewhere
already?)

To date we have sold approximately 5000 units. Most of our sales are in the US but we have shipped StepNpulls to Canada, Mexico, UK, Australia, Ireland, France, South Korea, Brazil, Panama, Spain as well as other countries. We work or have worked with at least 20 US distributors including Lowe’s (online item), Grainger and Newton distributing. We also have distributors in Canada, Australia, Spain and Panama.

Do you have any advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?

I think the best advice I can give is be prepared for the long haul and never give up. It sounds cliché but it is so true. We, like most entrepreneurs, expected an unrealistic growth curve. The reality is that even the best ideas and the best products take time to succeed, especially a product like StepNpull that is truly revolutionary. Today we are more excited than ever about the future of StepNpull. Every day it seems we forge a new relationship or we receive great feedback from our customers or we embark on a new distribution opportunity. Success is possible but it must be earned.

Their Get on the Shelf link is: http://getontheshelf.com/product/106/StepNpull

Their video is below.

StepNpull Promo Video from Authentic Studios on Vimeo.

0 Comments
Tags: get on the shelf

February 8, 2012 by Dane Carlson | Administrivia, Featured

My.biz is celebrating ten years of the .biz (dot biz) domain name. To make a party out of it, they’re sharing the success stories of dot biz domain owners and letting the public vote on their favorite one.

I’m sure you can think of one dot biz domain to vote for. After all, you’re reading one right now.

I’ve been blogging on this domain (www.business-opportunities.biz) since November 2001, and although I’ve been tempted a number of times to switch to a dot com, there’s something downright honest about running a money-making site, about real people making money in the real world on a .biz domain. I think it doesn’t try to trick you into thinking that it’s something that it’s not.

Now that there are hundreds of top level domains to choose from (and soon, an infinite supply), I’m glad to be a dot biz domain, and hope that you’ll support me in the contest.

You can vote for me here.

1 Comment
Tags: .biz, contests, domains, dot biz