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Sher-Lee’s kids were intrigued by the idea of receiving mail but, unfortunately, they almost never received any. Inspired by their interest, Sherri-Lee formulated a business that would deliver postcards to those kids who loved to receive mail.
A huge mural greets visitors to the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Boston.
It’s a memorial to the building’s namesake, who died unexpectedly in 1993.
But as young men in sweats and sneakers make their way into the gym, something strange happens. The mural comes alive. The photo of a beaming Lewis in formal attire transforms into Lewis the basketball player, streaking down the court.
Larry Bird’s picture morphs into that of another famous player, Robert Parrish.
With each step, the mural transforms, representing the many scenes in one man’s life.
Artist Rufus B. Seder calls these “movies for a wall” Lifetiles. The Massachusetts artist invented the Lifetiles medium and is the only artist in the world using it. He has more than 30 Lifetiles installations around the globe.
Lifetiles don’t use electricity, moving parts or tricky lighting — just an elaborate and painstaking process done out of Seder’s Eye Think Inc. studio near Boston.
Patent Attorney Mark Bergner provided the following five points that may help independent inventors control the cost of their patent application.
1) Provide me with the best write-up that you can up front with some illustrative (even hand-sketched) diagrams, along with any design documents you may have.
2) Try to do as much of the work as you can yourself.
3) Provide me with a nearly completed concept of the invention.
4) Answer any questions provided in a draft clearly and completely.
5) The costs of obtaining a patent, even a relatively complex one, pale in comparison to the costs you will encounter in trying to commercialize your product.
When entering this new year, it is time to think about many different changes we can make in our business. One of them is to be a little greener this year. When thinking about all the office parties you’ll have for holidays, birthdays, promotions, retirements and more, think about all the waste they generate. Here are a few suggestions for throwing a greener office party.
Look around your office and see what you already have that you can use for decorations.
Use decorative plants as center pieces, these also can go home with guests at the end of the party.
Use biodegradable cups and plates.
The use of recyclable wrapping paper, if not destroyed during the un-wrapping, it can also be used more then once.
When it comes time for the clean-up, use green materials, use cloths/rags that can be washed and re-used rather then paper towel.
Remember, enjoy the party, have fun and let the party serve it’s purpose, but try to be a little more cautious this year and eco-friendly in terms of all the waste that you can cut down on.
Juan Pablo Giometti, president and CEO of NHEO, Inc., has announced the launch of National Hispanic Entrepreneurs’ Organization, a nonprofit organization created to empower Hispanic entrepreneurs who are underrepresented in America. As the premier business organization serving Hispanic entrepreneurs, NHEO’s mission is to close the minority gap that Hispanics face in the business world and foster entrepreneurship among Hispanics through mentoring, networking and education. The organization acts as an information hub for new and existing Hispanic business owners and offers timely access to business and community resources at the local, regional and national level. NHEO also helps stimulate economic growth by providing high quality, prescreened information in the English and Spanish languages.
“I am excited that NHEO is up and ready for business,” said Giometti, president and CEO of the organization. “Our overall objective is to increase the chances of success of Hispanic entrepreneurs by providing them needed business wisdom, resulting in increased revenue as well as job growth within the country.”
The National Hispanic Entrepreneurs’ Organization (NHEO), headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is the leading Hispanic nonprofit organization for entrepreneurs. Established in 2008, the organization was created to empower Hispanic entrepreneurs, who are underrepresented in America, through information, connections and support. For more information, please visit www.nheo.org or call (704) 909-794
There are millions of home based business’ today, and most of these business’ do not contain the proper insurance policy. Consider all of the possibilities in a home based business such as computer, inventory, slip and fall coverage, fire, theft, cell phone, lap top, files, etc.
Many entrepreneurs mistakenly believe they’re covered by their homeowners insurance, but most homeowners policies limit loss of business property to $2,500, don’t cover losses away from the home, and exclude liability coverage for business-related activity.
There are a few different policies that your business might fall under, so when signing up, ask your agent a lot of questions, be honest with them about what you have involved in your business such as your inventory, equipment, number of customers that come to your home.
Set up safety rules for everyone, don’t take a job that your not qualified for or that your insurance would not cover in case of an accident or disaster. Make sure you thoroughly read all contracts before signing on a job. Install motion lights and smoke detectors to help ward of potential hazards.
Is your business covered properly under insurance?
Everywhere we look we see how the unemployment stat is going up everyday. Granted, sometimes it is necessary to let people go, but what if you have all great employees with great production under their belts, but the economy just keeps working against you? Below are a few options for you other then termination.
Call a meeting with all of your staff, this can be either a large all in one group or by departments if you choose. Lay out all of the financial matters on the table for everyone loud and clear, let them know there are some difficult changes that are to occur if the company is going to survive.
Include the employees on the different options that you have come up with in order to continue the company. They are more opt to be calm and helpful if you make them a part of it. Discuss pay decreases, decreases in health benefits or paid sick and vacation times. Mention the possibility of decreasing hour’s or employees being moved to part-time status.
Layoffs and terminations can have a devastating impact on a company, with repercussions lasting a long time. A cohesive organization that’s concerned for the well-being of others is often willing to sacrifice something of its own to help ensure the viability of the company.
Do you have suggestions on actions other then termination that a company can take?
Keeping your website in tune should be a very important part of your business. Here are a few examples of how one can improve their business website and make it more productive.
Analytics stats reveal an amazing collection of information about your prospective customers, including the number of unique visitors to your site, new visitors vs. repeat visitors, where visitors came from and how they navigate through your site, the leading online conversion funnels, and from which page visitors exit your site.
You should always’ be working to improve your business’ website, this will maximize the value of the site to your business.
What can you think of that will help to improve a business website?
This new year has been several times called the year for innovation. For upgrading less than perfect products and so on. Netbooks is definitely on a rise in sales and quite possibly on it’s way to killing the sales for personal desktops and laptops which is increasingly hurting manufacturers such as dell computers.
However, there are quite a few drawback’s to these small and flashy styled netbook’s that may still make people choose their typical laptop instead.
Absolutely a disruptive model. I purchased one of these devices 2 months ago as a second traveling PC, and it’s “disruptive influence” covers more than just thinking about hardware. Not much hard drive storage? I started using cloud storage for the first time. Not much memory? I dropped Internet Explorer in favor of a thinner web browser client.
For those of us like myself who have both a desktop and a laptop for many reason’s, I believe we will always’ opt for these devices rather then a tiny netbook without the storage and memory that we need. I keep so many programs on my computer’s, that is why I have two. The question is, will our business be enough to keep manufacturers open such as Dell computer’s?
What are your thought’s on these new netbook’s replacing personal computers?
In business our number one goal is to keep our customers happy at all times. The timeless classic of “the customer is always’ right” comes into play here. But there are going to be time’s when there is more then one customer on the phone-one of them will have to hold. Or there is more then one customer in line-the other’s will have to wait.
To cut down on the frustration that the customer may feel at this point, try giving them something that will keep them entertained even just for a few minute’s. Rather then have that boring classical elevator music that we all love so much on the phone, try a comedy station, or maybe a trivia station.
In your store, have some small games set up in a waiting area, like miniature bowling or basket ball maybe even miniature golf. Who know’s, this could even get customers to interact with each other!
As you consider the inevitable short-comings of your business, take a moment to brainstorm alternatives that can keep people engaged while they are really waiting for you to deliver.
What are your suggestions for keeping customers occupied while they wait?
Randi Altschul, a New Jersey toy inventor, has developed a user friendly, non-invasive, saliva-based diagnostic “Lolli-pop” device for monitoring glucose levels in Diabetics.
The POP TEST is a credit card sized saliva-based diagnostic device for checking glucose levels in diabetics.
It works in a simple three stage process: bend out the stem, apply a small amount of saliva by licking the end and bend back the pop to compare color change against chart .
The POP TEST diagnostic lollipop platform includes testing devices for the levels of alcohol, keto, drug presence and pregnancy.
Raymond Schneider politely elbowed his way through crowds of customers as he made for the bulk candy bins at Dylan’s Candy Bar across from Bloomingdale’s in Manhattan.
Since he was laid off in December, Mr. Schneider, a 33-year-old interior designer, says he has become a “gummy junkie,” stocking up on sweets every time he shops for groceries.
“Sugar is comforting,” he said as he scooped Red Licorice Scottie Dogs into a plastic bag. “There’s nothing more stressful than growing financial insecurity everywhere.”
The recession seems to have a sweet tooth. As unemployment has risen and 401(k)’s have shrunk, Americans, particularly adults, have been consuming growing volumes of candy, from Mary Janes and Tootsie Rolls to Gummy Bears and cheap chocolates, say candy makers, store owners and industry experts.
At Candyality, a store in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago, business has jumped by nearly 80 percent compared with this time last year, and the owner, Terese McDonald, said she was struggling to keep up with the demand for Bit-O-Honeys, Swedish Fish and Sour Balls.
“People may indulge themselves a little bit more when times are tough,” said Jack P. Russo, an analyst with the Edward Jones retail brokerage in St. Louis. “These are low-cost items that people can afford pretty easily.”
What’s in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but if its name ended in “pod,” it might attract the ire of Apple’s shark-like legal team.
Apple’s obsession with the blockbuster success of its iPod has driven the corporation to chase down many companies attempting to use the media player’s three-letter suffix in their product or business names. Names that have come under fire include MyPodder, TightPod, PodShow, and even Podium. On Monday, Sector Labs, a small business whose Video Pod trademark has been blocked by Apple, took legal action to fight back.
“It appears that Apple is not only trying to put an iPod in everybody’s hands and white earbuds in everyone’s ears but to control the use of our language and most particularly the word ‘Pod,’” Sector Labs’ lawyers wrote in a 239-page response to Apple’s trademark opposition, which has blocked Video Pod’s development. “If we are not careful, in Apple’s quest for dominance, they will soon attempt to take over the words ‘Phone’ and ‘Tunes’ — let us hope they do not attempt a coup over the exclusive rights to the letter ‘i’.”
A Hoovers search query turns up about 600 companies that use the word “pod” in their name, including Peapod and PODS International. But clearly, Apple hasn’t given up on the battle for this word.
It’s a terrific idea for aspiring entrepreneurs to work in the industry they’re targeting, whether they are college business majors or 50-year-old refugees from corporate careers.
“You will learn about the industry supply chain, the key industry financial metrics, why customers buy certain products, and the competition’s products,” says Edward D. Hess, professor of business administration at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.
“You will learn about the plumbing of a business: The infrastructure of quality, financial, HR, and customer management processes, controls, and information systems. All of this will make your transition to entrepreneurship easier. Work hard and learn everything you can,” he says.
You may benefit from the fact that companies that have downsized need extra help right now. If you can demonstrate that you’re a quick study who will indeed be a help to the company’s efforts—and not a hindrance—your chances for success will increase.
When going into business with a family member, there are some good points, but then on the other hand there are many bad points to doing business with family that often times result in the dissolving of the business. Below are the top reasons why it is recommended that you don’t go into business with your family.
Expectations. In business there are always expectations, but with family usually one member feel’s the other should be doing more or handling more which causes resentment and fighting.
Family discounts. This quickly becomes a problem as the service provider bends over backwards for their family member at a discounted rate, then this expectation of always getting that same family discount is applied in the future.
Money in family is evil. If it’s one thing that has been proven to end a family relationship quick in the past, it’s fighting over money. This almost never comes out for the positive.
The Project that Never Ends. Lastly, it becomes exponentially difficult to create a logical “end” to the transaction. The service recipient will likely request the provider’s assistance post transaction, which may begin consume copious amounts of time.
What have you learned from working for family members?
When working in a group situation it is very important to evaluate the group on their performance, how they are getting along, the tasks they are able to complete and in what time frame they can complete them. Here are a few suggestions on taking the pulse of your group and making sure they are staying on track and in sink.
Point out the strengths of the group. Don’t forget to also point out the weaknesses of your group, they are just as important as their strengths. Define what the groups most important and highest priorities should be.
Figure out together what the group does well and what they also do poorly at so they can improve on such things. One of the most important things to tackle is figuring out what barriers your group needs to take down in order to complete everything that needs to be done.
An honest conversation may lead to some soul-searching and performance discussions afterward, but that’s a separate managerial issue. If you haven’t tried this simple activity with your group, give it a shot. You don’t even have to call a “special meeting”; it can be done over coffee or lunch.
In today’s economy, managers are sometimes forced to cut down on their head count and then in turn start relying on their part time employees and some freelancers to fill in the gaps. Below are some helpful tips on managing your part time employees.
Since your employee will be limited in the office, it is most important that you clearly define their job description, don’t just give them several miscellaneous job tasks to complete.
Assign your part time employees to projects rather than putting them on teams and in departments. Remember that your part time employees are just as important as your full time employees. Don’t treat them with any less respect then you would a full time employee.
Understand the relevant employment law. Each state has its own laws when it comes to how much time off part-time employees are allotted, both for daily breaks and for vacation time. If you don’t have a benefits administrator at your company, the U.S. Department of Labor’s website provides the relevant compliance laws for part-time employees in your state.
When it comes to branding there are many important aspects to look at and think of and execute in the best manner possible. But what about the wrong turns in branding that we can learn from? Below is a list of common branding mistakes to avoid in your business.
Branding on price. Basing your brand on your low price is like racing someone else to the bottom of a hill, and usually someone will always beat you there.
Changing your promise. While bringing in new team members who may want to put their mark on the brand, it is important to keep it up to date, but completely changing the theme of your promise will only confuse your target market.
Over promising. Try not to make yourself sound better then you are. Rather, under promise what you can do and then go above and beyond that and over deliver to your customers when you can.
Me-too branding. I can’t tell you how many entrepreneurs have said, “If I only get x percent of the market, I’ll be rich.” You have to give consumers a compelling reason to give you their business to get that percentage. You can’t expect to siphon off business from the market leader without a substantive reason.
What mistakes in branding your business have you learned from?
Today there are many businesses big and small who are in need of some advice and help in several different sectors of their company. Most of these businesses go on to spend money they really don’t have in order to hire a consultant to come in and fix their business. Today I am giving you a short list of some ways you can think like a consultant to fix your business without spending your hard earned money.
You can’t fix it if you don’t know what’s broken, so make out a list of all your problems within your business so you know where you stand.
We can only do so much in one day, so tackle your list one at a time, pick one each day or week and tackle the problem until it’s fixed.
Realize the symptom of causing the problem and the problem itself and be sure to fix the right problem.
Now that you know the correct problem and symptom to fix, are you sure you know how to fix it? Make sure you diagnose the solution before jumping into solving the problem.
For many families, tough economic times require even tougher strategies to save money on groceries.
Laura Muresan, of Southeast Grand Rapids, knows how to stretch her food dollars to make every penny count. She not only cuts food costs, she uses less energy for cooking and reduces food waste by using leftovers.
“I’m an opportunist,” said Muresan. “I buy what’s useful, nutritional and economical.”
Muresan doesn’t clip coupons, yet she spends less than $100 a month to feed her family of three. A stay-at-home mom, Muresan runs a modest eBay business. She and her husband, Calin, have a 7-year-old son, George, whom Muresan homeschools.
“It’s empowering to cook foods with inexpensive ingredients,” Muresan adds. “When I’m expending my food dollars, I’m not spending my money on junk foods.”
Relying on pantry staples such as dried beans, oats, rice, squash, onions and potatoes, Muresan adapts recipes to suit what she has on hand, and she doesn’t use convenience foods. The Muresans bake their own bread, usually homemade flat bread that can be made in a skillet.
“I use what I have to get rid of, or that’s cheap,” she said. “If a recipe calls for something, and you don’t have it, substitute with something else or just leave it out.”
Five weeks after opening a new ice cream and sandwich shop, Aimee Klinge does not miss her 20-year career as a dental hygienist.
“Putter’s Dream came from an idea my husband and I had. We wanted to build a Putt-Putt Golf course in this area since there weren’t many places a young family could go for fun together. You can go to the movies and eat out, but there isn’t much else to do that isn’t expensive and for the whole family to enjoy one another,” she said
“We decided to start with an ice cream and sandwich shop first. We hope to have the golf course built in six to 12 months.”
Klinge said she and her husband, Joe, wanted to do some thing for the community they love. They have lived in Daphne since 1993.
“We can now hold children’s birthday parties. We have an inflatable slide and bounce houses, when reserved. We will provide a host to help with the parties. Kids make their own sundaes,” Klinge said.
Here’s a great prank you can pull on anyone who uses a desktop computer.
Place a small Post-It note on the bottom of the mouse covering the rollerball. When your victim tries to use their computer they will think the mouse is broken.
I played this on a co-worker once and she was crawling all under her desk trying to find a loose cable.
As a topper, you can write “Happy April Fools Day” on the Post-It note. Simple, yet effective.
Somewhere beneath the rubble of the housing market collapse, there’s a man trying to dig out and build a clientele. And he’s doing it one question at a time.
After getting laid off from an architecture firm for the second time last year, John Morefield had a choice to make: either scratch around for one of the few architecture jobs available in Seattle or do something to control his destiny.
It’s an odd way to grow a business. Every Sunday, Morefield sets up shop at the Ballard Farmers Market. But it isn’t anything tangible that Morefield is slinging from behind his small plywood booth; he’s selling advice.
For 5 cents, Morefield offers pointers on home improvement projects. He got the idea from the Peanuts cartoon — you remember Lucy and her questionable nuggets of psychiatric help.
“If you’ve got any questions about your home — your kitchen’s too small, your bathroom doesn’t work, you want an extra story — drop a nickel, fire away,” he says.
The booth is more than a cute gimmick. Occasionally, Morefield has been able to turn these 5 cent questions into better paying jobs.
Admit it: Thanks to some late-night pitchman, you either own a Popeil Pocket Fisherman, a Snuggie blanket or a Thigh-Master, or have been tempted to buy one.
Bill McAlister, 50, co-owns Media Enterprises, a six-person sales and marketing firm that specializes in as-seen-on-TV products – including the Smart Mop (”the mop with a twist”), Urine Gone (”Love your pet, hate the smell”) and his current hit, Mighty Putty.
On the strength of such products, McAlister says, his firm cleared $50 million in revenue last year. He expects sales to grow by 15% to 20% in 2009.
McAlister and other direct marketers hope to prosper through the downturn. With top-tier marketing firms slashing their ad budgets, competition for airtime has steadily declined, making room for a new class of advertisers. Infomercials were once relegated to the wee hours of the morning, when slots come cheap.
Now they’re turning up in prime time, even squeaking onto the Super Bowl telecast: Cash4Gold, a direct advertiser that melts down jewelry, made headlines in January by snapping up an unsold 30-second slot.
What’s the biggest, fastest moving consumer goods brand in America?
The answer isn’t Coke, Gillette or Johnson & Johnson.
It’s Great Value, Wal-Mart’s own-label.
Thanks to its presence in every one of Wal-Mart’s 4100 US stores, and the fact that more than 5000 stock-keeping units are sold under the Great Value label, it is the biggest grocery brand in the US by both sales and volume.
According to market research group GfK, three out of 10 US shoppers are now ‘buying more store-brand products’ than they did a year ago, and 75% cite ‘current economic conditions’ as playing a big role in this decision.
Nielsen says sales of own-label goods rose by 10% in 2008, a trend likely to increase this year.
Despite lower prices, the reduced production costs and zero marketing expense of Great Value mean it will always deliver more profit per unit to Wal-Mart than the equivalent manufacturer brands.
And as the penetration and market share of Great Value increase, the space and sales available to manufacturer brands are reduced, and Wal-Mart’s already legendary bargaining position with suppliers is strengthened.
Laura Muresan, of Southeast Grand Rapids, knows how to stretch her food dollars to make every penny count. She not only cuts food costs, she uses less energy for cooking and reduces food waste by using leftovers.
“Putter’s Dream came from an idea my husband and I had. We wanted to build a Putt-Putt Golf course in this area since there weren’t many places a young family could go for fun together. You can go to the movies and eat out, but there isn’t much else to do that isn’t expensive and for the whole family to enjoy one another,” she said
