In Brooklyn, NY, there’s a store that only sells artisanal flavored mayonnaise. No, it’s not a joke. Founded in 2011 by chef Sam Mason and designer Elizabeth Valleau, Empire Mayonnaise creates mayonnaise with exotic flavors and formulations. We use natural and organic local eggs and flavors whenever possible, but our primary goal is to make […]
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Every small business owner can attest that location plays a big part in success. In this economy, an off-the-beaten-path location could make a bad scenario worse for store owners. Thousands of small businesses face the dilemma of being in a location that is not working, yet they are bound by a lease which is difficult
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The NY Times up a really long, and very interesting article about dollar stores. The long quote below deals with operations, but the article touches on numerous aspects of the biz: In Hamilton’s view, the secret of a good dollar store is an obsessive manager who can monitor 8,000 to 10,000 items, constantly varying pop
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PeachMac’s founders, Darryl and Anne Lyndon Peck, have been in the Apple/Macintosh market for over 20 years. In 2007, they decided to make time for their family, and so opened a small retail and service store specializing in Apple products in Athens, Georgia. Quickly, Peck found that his new business venture posed a challenge: How
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CNN Money: Since founding Quacker Gift Shop in 2005, Jennifer Brown and Steve Kudron get this question a lot: Is there money in selling rubber ducks? Yes. So far, about a million dollars worth. Their duck-themed shop — selling everything from a wedding greeting card to the ubiquitous rubber duckie — attracts customers of all
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The Week: Walmart is test-driving a system that could dramatically change the way Americans shop. The program, called Scan & Go, lets customers scan their own goods with their smartphones then pass through a self-checkout line, and zip out of the store. The company recently conducted a trial run with employees and their friends and
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Nestle is sending a floating supermarket up the Amazon river in an attempt to reach customers not normally exposed to normal retail channels: The world’s largest food company will send a boat with 100-square meters (1,076 square feet) of supermarket space on a journey to 18 small cities and 800,000 potential consumers on the Para
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NY Times: When Mandie Miller left her job as an on-air traffic reporter in Charlotte, N.C., to have her first child, she started baking cakes for friends, just for fun. The response was so positive that in April 2009 she started a business, Got What It Cakes. Ms. Miller put up a Web site, but
Small Retail Biz Moving to Facebook: F! Commerce Read More »
PizzaMarketplace: Who would have thought that Food Trucks would start a retailing revolution in the United States? Imagine purchasing records, flowers and clothing from what used to be exclusively called “Food Trucks.” Could these new retailing trucks turn the old retailing models on its head, or are they great small business opportunities? Look no further
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Mystery shopping is an aspect of market research where you are hired to pretend to be a “real customer” to evaluate products and services you receive. Companies use this information to gauge competition, train new hires, and reward employees. The result is that you get to make extra income just by shopping and giving your
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