January 2014

Making Gates and Making Money

Naturally the first step to developing a new small business is to identify consumer demand for a particular product or service. Traditional businesses such as hairdressers and restaurants manage to survive and flourish largely due to the necessity for both haircuts and food. And a practice as old as the hills – gate making – […]

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Video: The First Software Patent

‘Inventors’ is a series of portrait videos by filmmaker and photographer David Friedman, chronicling the work of contemporary inventors from all walks of life. It offers rare glimpses into the inspiration for their creations, which range from the first digital camera and first video game console to a drive-able amphibious ice-fishing vehicle. In this episode:

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Niche Biz: Natural Gas Royalties

Associated Press: Private landowners are reaping billions of dollars in royalties each year from the boom in natural gas drilling, transforming lives and livelihoods even as the windfall provides only a modest boost to the broader economy. In Pennsylvania alone, royalty payments could top $1.2 billion for 2012, according to an Associated Press analysis that

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Dog Sniffs Out Bedbugs

The Oaklahoma Daily: Liberty Belle, a 2-year-old Beagle, is trained to sniff out bedbugs. Husband-and-wife team Christen and Glen Collymore adopted Liberty Belle from the J & K Canine Academy in High Springs, Fla. The Collymores created their business, K9 Special Forces, in February. Although the company is young, the trio already have worked in

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The New York Night Owls

Who needs sleep when there are start-ups to launch? Between endless e-mail conversations and talkative co-workers, getting actual work done during the day isn’t always an easy proposition. The New York Times has an interesting article about a group of entrepreneurs, freelancers, and software developers who have come up with a nocturnal solution to that

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