From The London Times:

Outside England 's Bristol Zoo there is a parking lot for 150 cars and 8 buses. For 25 years, its parking fees were managed by a very pleasant attendant. The fees were 1 for cars ($1.40), 5 for buses (about $7).

Then, one day, after 25 solid years of never missing a day of work, he just didn't show up; so the Zoo Management called the City Council and asked it to send them another parking agent.

The Council did some research and replied that the parking lot was the Zoo's own responsibility. The Zoo advised the Council that the attendant was a City employee.. The City Council responded that the lot attendant had never been on the City payroll.

Meanwhile, sitting in his villa somewhere on the coast of Spain or France or Italy .... is a man who'd apparently had a ticket machine installed completely on his own and then had simply begun to show up every day, commencing to collect and keep the parking fees, estimated at about $560 per day -- for 25 years.

Assuming 7 days a week, this amounts to just over $7 million dollars ...... and no one even knows his name.

If you could go to Shanghai for a vacation, buy two or more of these cars, one for your wife and one for yourself, and one for each of your kids, have them shipped to Canada and still spend less money than if you bought a car in Canada. Getting the car(s) into USA, still an ordeal.

This is not a toy, not a concept car. It is a newly developed single seat car in highly aerodynamic tear-shape road-proven real car. It is ready to be launched as a single-seater for sale in Shanghai in 2010 for a mere RMB 4,000 (US$600)!

Interested? Wait till you learn that it will cruise at 100-120 Km/Hr with an unbelievable 0.99litre/100Km (258 miles/gallon)!

Impressed? Totally, after you have read all the details below about the hi-tech and space-age material input into this car!

The Most Economic Car in the World will be on sale next year.
Better than Electric Car - 258 miles/gallon: IPO 2010 in Shanghai.
This is a single seated car, From conception to production: 3 years and the company is headquartered in Hamburg , Germany.
Will be selling for 4000 yuan, equivalent to US$600.
Gas tank capacity = 1.7 gallons
Speed = 62 - 74.6 Miles/hour
Fuel efficiency = 258 miles/gallon
Travel distance with a full tank = 404 miles

The Vendor Client relationship - in real world situations.

A Family Business (literally!)

I just started year seven working for David Marquardt, who owns The
Steam Team, a locally owned and operated cleaning and restoration
business in Austin, TX. About three years into my employment, David
started an online retail business, blue sky scrubs, which has grown
leaps and bounds over the past few years. In addition to blue sky
scrubs and The Steam Team, David also operates a construction division
within The Steam Team. And last but not least, a Limited Partnership,
consisting mostly of the properties that The Steam Team and blue sky
scrubs call 'home.'

Mr. Marquardt is probably the most genuine, generous person I have
ever met. I'm always trying to think of a way to say thank you to him
for being so giving. He is always finding ways to create happy lives
for his employees. The biggest impression he made on me was to
encourage me to finish my degree at UT - an accomplishment that
normally could never have been met by a single mother with a 2 year
old child.

A simple thank you does not seem like enough. So, after months of
brainstorming, it finally hit me today. I pulled into the parking lot
at worked and looked around.....and let me tell you what I saw.....
Here is my poem to the bossman; thank you from all of us.

Here is the story, so that you know
Mr. Marquardt runs the show
A group of businesses he does run
He makes our jobs quite a bit of fun

First came The Steam Team
and what they can do
is make anyone's carpets look new
And then there is business #2
A remodeling and construction crew

About as random as can be
there is business #3
The account for his every property,
we call this company MFLP
Already it's a little out of the norm
but now I'll tell you he sells uniforms

Seriously, Oh My Gosh
working for The Steam Team
is David's brother Josh
Billy, the manager of The Steam Team
hired his mom to keep the office tidy and clean
Our construction guy, his name is Jim
brought his grandson here to work with him

All of that sure sounds great,
so now let's talk about Austin Day.
We needed help pretty bad,
so Austin suggested we hired his Dad
Austin's Dad mentioned his other son, Cody
who was perfect to work with Jimmy Boddy

The story, it gets better still!
We just hired a guy
named Mitchell.
Mitch, as we call him, just happens to be
the brother of water tech,
Dennis G.

But wait! There is more...
David also
sells scrubs from the
building next door

blue sky scrubs are sold online
and purchased by the medical type.
The one who created this design
Just happens to be David's wife.

You think that's crazy?
Last year, we hired someone
who has never been lazy.
I'm talking about my little sis,
her name is Wendy Griffith

To increase the sales
of the medical attire,
David decided a photographer
he must hire
He asked around for some names
and then he hired
my sister's husband, James

This story, it is not a lie.
I'm sure you're thinking
"My, Oh MY!"
David Marquardt,
yes he is
running a genuine
family biz!

####

Have you ever been told that you are overqualified for a job? Many people are finding this to be their response when applying for entry level jobs in the midst of a declining economy. Many individuals with college degrees are stuck in limbo between being unqualified for higher paying jobs, but being overqualified for entry level jobs. I couldn't believe that when I asked to become an operator that they said I was overqualified for the position.

I thought to myself "What? I've never answered phones for a living in my life, how can I be overqualified. So instead of running into the same problem over and over, I learned all I could in my spare time about computers and writing on the computer. Most companies asked for experience, but didn't articulate exactly how much experience and what type of experience they required. Most job postings asked for a year or two in writing, but needed no proof of it. I would put that I had that type of experience, and wouldn't be lying, but I'd leave out the fact that most of it wasn't in a professional setting.

Comparing the results from before the independent research and after, I found that my success in being called back for jobs increased by about 70%. I hadn't actually been involved in the respective fields longer, but I had read more tips on how to fit into them. There's really no substitute for experience in this fast paced world where everyone and their mother has a college degree. I had no idea that it would be such a staggering number of jobs calling back due to some slight research and independent honing of skills, but the results are absolutely skewed in that direction.

So next time someone tells you that you are overqualified for a job, don't get mad, simply get some skills needed to better excel in that field. The results from my independent study have told me that it's not so much credentials that matter, but rather how much you can say you've been there. Almost makes me wonder who decides who is being hired, but hey, you have to learn how to play the game.

The ingredients used at Fullsteam Brewery sound strange, almost exotic in the context of beers. Kudzu, scuppernong grapes and sweet potatoes can be found in backyards and farmers' markets, sure -- but a brewery?

North Carolina company has lobbied recently and had the alcohol content for beer raised from 6 to 15 percent. The company named after their brewing technique which steam brews lager yeast to ferment at ale temperatures will be changing the way that people view beer.

Founders of the brewery claim that beer has always taken a backseat as the drink of choice in the South, and they wish to remedy that. With the Workers' Compensation Series, the brewery will have easy drinking beers like India Pale Ale and their flagship brew, "Carolina Common," to be sold in cans.

The more specialized Plow-to-Pint series will be the real attraction, using heirloom grains and Southern botanicals and with experimental, odd ingredients. That series will be sold in cans and wine bottles, for draft in select locations and on tap only at Fullsteam.

By CHRISTOPHER LEONARD (AP) – 3 hours ago

When it comes to preparing for a swine flu outbreak, the top concern for most U.S. business leaders is getting enough vaccine for their employees, according to a new survey.

The Business Roundtable found that most businesses have a plan to deal with the flu, but don't know how or when they will get enough doses of swine flu vaccine for their employees.

It will be months before businesses are given the new vaccine, if they get it at all. Health care agencies will be the first priority, with about 90,000 sites — mainly hospitals, clinics, doctors' offices, county health departments and pharmacies — expected to receive doses.

Business Roundtable President John Castellani said almost 90 percent of the industry group's members — including several Fortune 500 companies — had a plan to deal with flu season that they have updated since the swine flu appeared in April.

"Companies are on top of the situation," Castellani said Wednesday.

Business owners are not the only ones worried about the costs and other damage from a potential outbreak. Another report released Wednesday estimated that closing U.S. schools and day care centers because of swine flu could cost nearly $50 billion.

The Brookings Institution's Center on Social and Economic Dynamics estimated that the cost of closing all schools in the U.S. for four weeks would be between $10 billion to $47 billion. The Washington think tank called that a conservative estimate.

The government is urging schools to close only as a last resort. But as of Monday, there had been at least 187 school dismissals across the country affecting at least 79,678 students, the Education Department said.

Companies are waiting to see how big the economic impact will be, and how much extra sick time they might have to grant, Castellani said. That all depends on the severity of the flu.

About one-third of companies said they want more up-to-date information about the flu's severity, according to the Business Roundtable survey. The businesses were dissatisfied with the World Health Organization's flu pandemic warning system, which tells how far the flu is spreading rather than how sick it is making people.

Companies are stepping up their own efforts to communicate with employees, by e-mailing them updates on sick leave policies and referring them to sources where they can learn more about the flu, according to the survey.

About 225 million doses of the swine flu vaccine are expected to be doled out through this winter. The federal government is covering the cost of the vaccines and related supplies, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jQ30MkId2FEQZ5AU8eCeuPfQOlgwD9B1PLSG1

Yes, it may be hard to believe but the U.S. government did print $500 dollar bills for the general public at one point in history. This specific $500 dollar bill was printed in 1928 and features a portrait of the twenty- fifth President William McKinley. Today, there are very few of these $500 bills left. Nowadays they are collectors’ items and sell for thousands. The funny thing is that they still could be used in stores today, because by law they are still U.S. currency. If you are interested in buying $500 bills you can find them for sale online.

http://purpleslinky.com/offbeat/500-to-1000-to-10000-and-beyond-the-biggest-dollar-bills-in-united-states-history/

http://www.domystuff.com/

Beverly Hills-born DoMyStuff.com is an online marketplace where busy people can quickly find others to do their chores, from mowing the lawn or picking up dry cleaning to researching a cruise or planning a party.

How it works? Someone posts a task, choosing a relevant category and describing the task in detail. Businesses and individuals then bid for the task. Bids include the total cost to complete a task, when it will be completed and information on the service they will provide. The customer reviews the bids and chooses an assistant. Customers can view in-depth information on the service providers, including their names, locations and the ratings they've been awarded by past employers.

In addition to the bidding system, DoMyStuff has integrated several other features that take it beyond posting casual jobs on Craigslist or other boards. First of all, a rating system lets users share information on the quality of service providers. Which is important, considering many chores take place in or around a customer's home, making safety and reliability a key issue.

Secondly, to establish trust between buyers and providers, DoMyStuff provides an online escrow system that allows customers to forward payment for a task into an escrow account. While the task is being completed, neither customer nor assistant have access to the funds, but the assistant is able to see that the account has been funded for a specific task. Once the job has been completed to the customer's satisfaction, the funds are released to the assistant. Which protects both buyers and sellers.

DoMyStuff's charges service providers a commission if they're awarded a job. Commission rates vary according to a job's category and total cost, ranging from 7–10%. The service is free for buyers, who have the option of paying a small fee to highlight their project, bringing it to the top of a category (much like Google's sponsored links). The company is currently focused on Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York. One to start up locally before they go global?

http://strangebusiness.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2008-02-19T07%3A14%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=7

Sunday, 7 October 2007

Diane Waltman story

http://www.creativebookmarks.com/

My business is designing and laminating bookmarks for wedding favors, business promotions, nonprofit organizations, holidays and other special occasions or projects. I design them on my computer, depending on what the customer wants. Then I print and laminate them.

I came up with the idea of a bookmark business because it was a fun way to express my creativity and would require a low investment. Extensive foot surgery forced me to quit my office job a few years ago, and my doctors told me I would be out of work for more than three years. I knew I had to do something while recuperating, so I decided to look into an online business. I researched my competition and found only one Website selling handmade bookmarks.

Within a week, in March 1999, I had started a business. After I researched my idea on the Web, I went to a local business supply company and bought most of my supplies -- a laminating machine, sheets of laminate and paper, ink and special software. Then I got going on my Website. I also checked my state regulations to see what forms I needed to file to make my business legal.

I researched Web design and learned how to build my own site, found a Web host and lined up a merchant account so I could accept credit cards. Then I was ready to market my online business -- probably the most important step.

I began by targeting some likely markets. I knew that my bookmarks would make great wedding favors, so I contacted bridal Websites and had a few list my business in exchange for a free ad in my weekly newsletter or a free link on my Website. I also advertised online in the classifieds and in newsletters from other sites and registered with the search engines. Search engine placement is very important. Offline, I designed fliers to post in local bridal shops. Most of my marketing efforts were free.

http://effectivebusinessideas.blogspot.com/2007/10/single-mom-from-pennsylvania-makes.html

David Marcks Story

http://www.geesepoliceinc.com

David Marcks discovered a lucrative business opportunity when he used his dog to solve a problem that he constantly faced working at a golf course - the proliferation of geese. Geese love to inhabit open spaces that provide them with water and plenty of food (such as short, tender grasses). While adding a "natural look" to golf courses, no one would want to play in a golf course where the grass couldn't be seen under the cover of goose droppings. Imagine wading in the middle of goose droppings to hit a golf ball. Yikes!

David and other fellow golf superintendents tried several approaches. According to David, "We tried everything - sprays, pyrotechnics, flags, fences. Everything worked for a little bit and then it would stop working." Until he discovered that his dog, a Border Collie, was a natural in driving geese away. As he recalls, "It was so successful that I never looked back and we've been doing it ever since."

David started Geese Police in 1986, as the solution to driving away unwanted geese from town parks, corporate properties, golf courses, or even front lawns. Using trained border collies, they drive away the geese without harming them. Today, Geese Police has considerably grown and expanded, earning just under $2 million in 2000. David has also begun to franchise his business to a highly selected group of individuals.

About fourteen years ago, David Marcks never thought that chasing geese as a way to keep his hyperactive dog busy could become a lucrative business.

David, then 23 years old, was working as a golf course superintendent in Greenwich, Connecticut. As he recalls, "I had a problem with 600 geese residing on the golf course." They tried several options: goose-repellent chemicals that don't always work, to streamers or other "goose-frightening" props that altered the appearance of the golf course. Killing or injuring the birds was out of the question.

At the same time, he got his first Border collie. After trying various approaches unsuccessfully, he stumbled on the idea that he could perhaps train his dog to drive off the geese. "I contacted the American Border Collie Association, told them about what I want to train the dog to do and they thought I was a lunatic."

It worked! As David proudly recalls, "Once I had my dog for 6-8 weeks, I didn't have any geese on my golf course. Of course my neighboring golf courses suffered greatly because all the geese went someplace else."

With the geese gone, however, a new problem popped up. David had a new problem: what will he do with the dog?

"What nobody told me when I got my dog was that border collies make lousy pets. Now we had this highly intelligent working breed dog with nothing to do. She was driving me crazy. She was chasing squirrels, rabbits, golf balls, etc. Once I had a little irrigation break on a green, and she was being difficult, more so that particular day, so I put her in my office. I left for 20 minutes, and went down to the golf course and checked on the problem. When I came back, she ate my office - I mean literally -- my desk, the chair, the garbage can, and three sets of computer cables."
While some may have gotten rid of the dog, David thought otherwise. "I know she was a great dog; but she just needed to be kept busy."

What David did next laid the ground for Geese Police. He offered the services of his dog to herd away the geese in neighboring golf courses, with no charge for the service. After all, it was simply a way to keep his dog busy.

"I asked the neighboring golf course if they had any problems with geese. So I brought my dog and introduced her, and asked if I could possibly stop by every morning before work, during lunch and after work to herd the geese off the golf course. They agreed. So that's what I did. Everyday, I dropped by before going to work, then came back during lunch break and after work and herd the geese off another golf course."

Four to six weeks later, the neighboring golf course didn't have any geese on their property. So David was back to square one. His dog had again nothing to do. "She was being a menace and I have to look around for something for her to do."

Word about David and his dog started to spread among golf course operators in Connecticut. Another superintendent was playing in the neighboring golf course that David and his dog serviced. With the noticeable absence of geese, he asked the superintendent whatever happened to the geese. The superintendent replied, as David recalls, "Oh you've got to see it. This kid comes down and he has this dog. They come down here and drive away the geese."

The guy called up David and said, "I'd pay you to chase the geese off my golf course." That started Geese Police.

While Geese Police started in the golf course sector, David says that, "Golf courses are now just about 5% of my business. The majority of my business now, about 90%, are corporate parks and playgrounds - corporate and township properties."

David continued working as a golf course superintendent, while squeezing in his business on the side. Word soon spread about his services, "Next thing you know, word got out; I never advertised." He was soon doing 3 or 4 golf courses. However, he was faced with the difficulty in balancing his work with the responsibility to his customers.

"What was happening was that I couldn't get to all of them during my lunch break. Sometimes in the morning, it was taking me too long to get through them and I didn't want to be late for my job. So what I started to do was I hired a retired old guy who used to come in the middle of the day and come take my dog for my jobs - going before work and after work."

Dave then moved down to New Jersey, working in the county park system for the next three years while doing Geese Police on the side. He then had three employees. During this time, the business has been operating without a formal legal structure.
Until someone asked him for insurance.

"I was doing a job at that time for Bell Telephones and someone asked me for an insurance certificate. I said, "Why do I need insurance? I've got a dog; I run around your yard."

David realized that he needed to establish the legal entity of his business and all the attendant requirements including insurance, if he wants to continue tapping big companies as his clientele.

"That's when it all became a little bit more serious and it became The Geese Police, the company. After several years, I just went from Geese Police the company to Geese Police Incorporated on the advice of lawyers and accountants. Things started picking up, and they advised me that I should really incorporate. So it changed into a corporation."

Fourteen years after, Geese Police has remained at the forefront of the industry that it pioneered. David proudly announces, "Right now, we have 27 trucks on the road. We own 32 dogs. We service throughout the state of New Jersey and parts of New York -- and that's just for my main office here. We also have franchise offices now in Chicago, Virginia and Maryland, and an affiliated office in Seattle, Washington."

http://effectivebusinessideas.blogspot.com/2007/10/how-man-makes-over-2-million-dollars.html

1/10/2008

http://tricycleinc.com/

In a time of global warming and PCB-filled streams, fabric carpet samples might not seem like a pressing environmental issue, but consider the numbers. An average order of 30 carpet samples, each 18 inches on a side, uses more than seven gallons of oil to create 45 pounds of carpet, most of which architects and interior designers throw away after a single use. Cost: $500 to $1,200, which the big carpet mills pay; samples take up about 8 percent of their revenue.

Outside Dalton, Ga., where giant mills manufacture about 80 percent of the U.S. carpet supply, a 32-person startup is out to replace fabric samples with versions made of recycled paper. Tricycle (tricycleinc.com), based in Chattanooga, sells high-end optical technology that creates paper samples so life-like that designers have a hard time distinguishing them from fabric versions.

"The carpet industry has been the antithesis of environmentally friendly for the past ten years," says Bo Barber, founder of carpet maker Nood Floorcovering, a Tricycle client based in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. "Tricycle's influencing everybody - not only is it alleviating the time and money associated with custom-made carpet, but it's alleviating the environmental impact."

Tricycle's software generates computer printouts that replicate the colors and texture of carpeting using computer-animated design and sophisticated models of a mill's tufting machines.

To use the technology, manufacturers create a database by entering hundreds of variables - colors, types of fiber, different treads and pile heights - into a software program. Tricycle charges $250,000 to $1 million to set up the database. When a client wants to see what a particular carpet looks like, the mill can create and order samples online and send him stacks of precisely colored paper.

Jonathan Bragdon and Michael Hendrix, ex-Web developers, founded Tricycle in 2002 after landing a job with a carpet maker a year earlier. "We saw an opportunity to make a big impact," says Hendrix, 34. He estimates that Tricycle's technology saves manufacturers 70 percent of the costs associated with samples, about $5 million a year.

In 2005 manufacturers shipped about 34,000 paper samples, saving 8,611 gallons of oil and 51,665 pounds of carpet from being sent to landfills. That's a small footprint - samples take up less than 10 percent of U.S. landfills - but Tricycle has bigger plans. The company, with revenues of nearly $10 million last year, plans to expand into other design markets, replicating textiles, wallpaper, and wood. Says Bragdon, 37: "Our future is being able to show every available surface."

http://strangebusiness.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2008-02-19T07%3A14%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=7

Shawn Nelson Story

http://www.lovesac.com

At age 18, Shawn Nelson was watching TV on the couch when he decided "a huge beanbag thing" might be more comfortable. He bought 14 yards of vinyl, cut it into a baseball shape, and spent three weeks filling it with anything soft he could find. The finished LoveSac was 7 feet wide, and everyone who saw it tried it out—and loved it.
When neighbors started placing orders, Nelson decided to start his company almost as a joke. With free help from his friends, he made the LoveSacs in his parents' basement and sold them at trade shows, events and even the drive-in.
Business was moderate at best, until he got a call on his cell phone that changed his life: a quarter-million-dollar order from Too Inc., which was looking for a back-to-school offering for its Limited Too stores. "I answered the phone and said, 'Twelve thousand LoveSacs? Sure, no problem. That's what we do; we're the best in the world at it,'" remembers Nelson.

Undaunted, Nelson amassed $50,000 in credit card debt building a factory. He worked 19-hour days and slept at the factory. "It nearly broke me emotionally, physically, mentally," Nelson says. "My hands were cracked and bleeding. We finished the order [for Too Inc.] but ate up all our profits." Just when things seemed darkest, a deceptively simple idea presented itself: Open a mall store. Not just any store, but one designed from the beginning to look like an upscale chain—even before it was a chain. It paid off: With some 55 stores, about half of them franchised, LoveSac is looking at sales topping $30 million this year.

"We're headed toward owning [the market for] oversized living," says Nelson, who dispenses with all modesty where his business is concerned. "We're going to have a catalog that'll be three inches thick, selling everything that's over-the-top, bling-bling, LoveSac-get-out-of-our-freaking-way."

No one fully expected LoveSac's success—not even Nelson himself. He says being committed to solving any problem is vital to his—and any entrepreneur's—success. "Decide that there is always a way," he says, "and you'll find that there is.”

http://effectivebusinessideas.blogspot.com/2007/10/how-18-year-old-kid-makes-sell-bean.html

2/19/2008

http://www.modumobile.com/

The lure of Apple's iPhone notwithstanding, most cell phones today are essentially variations on the same theme. Not so modu, a tiny, modular phone that is designed to be snapped into other devices.

Resembling a black and white domino, the modu is smaller than a credit card and weighs just 1.3 ounces. It can be used on its own as a fully functional mobile phone, or it can be snapped into a variety of interchangeable ‘sleeves’ that enhance the phone with other capabilities. By slipping a modu into the modu media mate, for example, users can download and share movie clips with their friends. Inserting it in the modu music slider, on the other hand, transforms it into a high-end music phone equipped with dedicated music functionality keys, high-quality loudspeaker and hidden camera. modu night mate lets users dock their phone next to their bed while it quietly displays their incoming SMS messages and calls. Through a partnership with Universal Music Group, a series of music jackets will include artist-specific attributes and access to preloaded content and music subscriptions. modu features 1GB of built-in memory and Bluetooth connectivity, and can also be used as a mass storage device. The first modu products are due in the fourth quarter of this year; prices, reportedly, will be USD 200 for the phone module bundled with two jackets, with additional jackets priced from USD 20 to USD 60 each.

Israeli modu was founded in 2007 by Dov Moran, founder and CEO of USB flash drive maker msystems, and the modu device was unveiled earlier this month. Strategic partners include leading mobile network operators including Telecom Italia’s mobile division TIM, BeeLine (VimpelCom) of Russia and Israel's Cellcom along with mainstream consumer electronics manufacturers including Blaupunkt, the company says. Opportunities include degrees of customization that were previously unthinkable. For anyone in wireless or consumer electronics, this is one to watch closely!

http://strangebusiness.blogspot.com/

2/19/2008

www.randomhouse.com/madetostick

When Charles Dickens was writing his serialized novels, crowds used to gather at the docks in New York whenever a new chapter was due to arrive by boat. Today, Random House, the world’s largest publisher, has brought the practice back in electronic form, starting with the business communications bestseller ‘Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die.’ Each chapter of the book, which had a hardcover print run of more than 200,000 copies, costs USD 2.99 and can be downloaded as an Adobe Digital Editions file, a format that is itself readable via a free download from Adobe.

Random House, a US subsidiary of German media giant Bertelsmann, explained that the chapter-by-chapter sale was intended for those who only need to glean one or two lessons from a book. The Wall Street Journal noted that the experiment follows the music industry’s success selling songs individually, and that it’s an attempt by the company to discover how modern consumers might want to receive publishing information, particularly at a time when cell phones, PDAs and other digital devices such as Amazon’s Kindle make it easier for them to read electronic documents anywhere and everywhere.

Other publishers have launched similar experiments with downloadable chapters. In January, for example, Springwise looked at DailyLit, which makes classic texts available free via email and RSS, and modern texts at prices roughly in line with those of paperbacks. Indeed, that relatively low-tech approach could be easily emulated by book-publishing entrepreneurs. Choosing the right content will be key, of course. And while the chapter-by-chapter niche might seem best suited to business books, irresistible fictional stories or tales or real-life scandal and intrigue might also become piecemeal best sellers of the future, bringing together crowds of readers, just as Dickens once did on those New York City docks.

2/19/2008

http://www.petbutler.com

The most noted pioneer in the poop-scooping business is Matthew Osborn, who runs Pooper-Scooper.com. He never knew that this business would one day make him a millionaire. Osborn got started back in 1987 when he opened Pet Butler in Columbus, Ohio. "I had been interested in small-business ideas since I was a kid," he says. "My friends thought it was an interesting but far-out idea, and many of them just couldn't grasp the concept. They all said, 'People aren't going to pay you for that.'"

At the time, Osborn was working two full-time jobs and making less than $6 per hour at each. He had a wife, a daughter and a son on the way, and was desperate to make some extra money. Osborn began doing research at the local library, studying the area's demographics and census data. He eventually contacted the county auditor and learned that there were about 100,000 dogs within 15 miles of his home."I just happened to be in the right place at the right time and got started with very little money," he says.

The business slowly took off, and despite the dirty work, Osborn says he enjoyed satisfying the customers and working outdoors in some of the nicest backyards in Ohio. However, it wasn't all fun and games. "I didn't enjoy driving around in my little Honda Civic with hundreds of pounds of dog poop in the back," he says. "It sort of gave me nightmares until I was able to buy pickup trucks for the business."

Eventually Osborn employed seven people and owned a fleet of six trucks serving about 700 regular customers. "I was making more money than ever before and spending most of my time with my family doing the things I enjoyed," he says. After a nearly 10-year run, Osborn sold his business in 1998 and started Pooper-Scooper.com, which contains an international directory of pet waste removal businesses. His newest business venture is that of writer. He recently released a book, "The Professional Pooper-Scooper: How to Start Your Own Low-Cost, High-Profit Dog Waste Removal Service."

While Osborn may have put poop scooping on the map, Matt "Red" Boswell is taking it into the future. Boswell owns the Texas-based Pet Butler. He recently moved the business out of his house and into a 1,200-square-foot office just north of Dallas. Today, Pet Butler is the largest pet waste removal service in the country, and serves about 3,000 clients.

"Most of our customers are middle and upper-middle income," says Boswell. "But can you think of anyone who wants to clean up dog poop or cat poop?"

Boswell explains that at an average of just $10 per visit, nearly anyone can afford Pet Butler's services. "Rarely is Pet Butler considered a luxury service by those who use us," he says. "Most consider Pet Butler a mandatory and highly valued staple for their yard maintenance needs."

Boswell, 35, hasn't always been the poop-scoop king he is today. Back in 1997 he was near bankruptcy after his Internet start-up venture crashed and burned. After months of false starts and dead ends, his girlfriend suggested starting a poop-scooping business. "I was quite offended she thought I would even do it," Boswell says. But figuring he had nothing to lose, he launched Pet Butler in 1998. "It failed miserably," he says. "But I was done quitting. I didn't care if everybody on the planet thought I was an idiot. I dropped all pride. I was determined to make it happen."

Two years later Pet Butler was still struggling, but through relentless marketing, a little press, and word-of-mouth referrals, he finally started making some headway.

Boswell, who refers to himself as Pet Butler's "chief excrement officer," is quick to point out that he's not just some executive in a suit, but that he's paid his dues and gotten his hands dirty -- literally. "I have personally scooped over a million piles of poop," he says proudly. "I have had more than a few make me literally gag. Even the dogs wouldn't go near them."

The company has seven employees working in the field scooping poop, and six in the office who help run the day-to-day business operations. Boswell admits it's not what'd you call a glamorous job, and there are some occupational hazards.

"This job has caused some guys to lose more than their share of girlfriends," Boswell says.

And Boswell says that most of his "Fecal Matter Removal Technicians" have to occasionally deal with temperamental "clients." "Most technicians will normally get bitten sometime in their first six months because they get lazy and too trusting," he says. "Fortunately that is all it takes for the tech to never let it happen again."

Boswell is in the midst of launching Pet Butler Franchise Services Corp., and foresees Pet Butler franchises popping up all over the country. And despite his unorthodox and some would say unsavory career choice, Boswell says he has long gotten over any embarrassment he had over his job, and actually relishes the attention. "I love when people ask what I do for a living," he says. "People just can't get enough of the idea that we actually scoop poop for a living."

Of course, when your company is projected to gross over a million dollars and you have nearly 20 franchises sprouting up all over the country, including 10 in the Dallas/Forth Worth area, it helps ease the embarrassment. In fact it was Boswell's success story that landed him a gig as guest speaker at last year's Pooper Scooper Round-Up in Houston. Boswell was also awarded the Golden Shovel for winning the Turd Herding contest. However, there was some controversy over his technique. "He decided to forgo tools, and just grabbed the turds and stuffed them inside his slacks," says aPaws president Ewing, who came in second. "This is not a technique that is used in the field, so I protested his win, but the board voted against me."

Boswell says he's put the controversy behind him and is focusing on the future goals of Pet Butler. In fact they're posted on a big bulletin board in the new office above the printer: "By June 2010 Pet Butler will support at least 100 franchises across North America. We will serve more than 50,000 clients each week, and offer service to over 50 million people in North America and collect in excess of $500,000 each week and donate $100,000 to pet-friendly organizations each year."

"We've got some huge goals," Boswell says. "It's an industry that's untapped. We plan on becoming the Microsoft of dog poop."

http://strangebusiness.blogspot.com/

http://www.digitalinnovations.com/

As an engineering graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin in 1992, Joe Born loved the Clint Black album Killin' Time--but the CD had become scratched, causing it to skip during the song "A Better Man." Born says, "It was like having a stone in my shoe."

While pursuing his master's degree, Born worked part-time at an auto body shop. One day, while trying out an industrial paint buffer, he wondered if the same machine could be used to smooth out the scratches that had ruined the Clint Black CD.

After all, he knew that CDs are made of the same plastic as eye-glasses--polycarbonate--and that eye-glasses can be buffed. He also knew that the data on a CD resides beneath the outer plastic layer, so the music would be safe. After polishing the damaged CD with the car buffer, he popped it into a boom box, and "A Better Man" played flawlessly. Born received a patent for the idea in 1995.

The Payoff: With investments from friends and family, Born spent almost four years perfecting his invention. (An early prototype actually scratched discs while buffing them.) Just after winning the patent, he founded Digital Innovations, in Arlington Heights, Ill., and in 1999 the company released SkipDr, a $30 disc-repair unit that is now available at retailers such as Best Buy, Radio Shack, and Wal-Mart. Today, Digital Innovations markets 50 products that repair and clean CDs, DVDs, videogames, and office equipment. According to the privately held company, 2005 sales were about $25 million.

http://strangebusiness.blogspot.com/

http://www.americanartresources.com/

In the late 1990s, Kathy Hathorn saw a new place for custom artwork. Hospitals and medical centers were starting to recognize the therapeutic value of art for their patients, as well as the ability of unique art to spiff up a brand in an increasingly competitive industry. Hathorn started American Art Resources in 1998 to commission and install artwork, from huge sculptures to photographs of historic buildings, for health-care facilities. "It's not about decorating the space," says Hathorn. "It's about the impact of the art on the patient and caregiver experience. The art becomes part of the message a hospital sends out."

Hathorn commissions pieces from her network of about 1,900 artists working in practically every possible medium, including painting, photography, fiber, ceramics, and drawing. Many of those artists owe 15% to 20% of their annual sales to American Art Resources, so they are motivated to complete projects on time and on budget.

American Art Resources, now a profitable 31-employee company, sells about 1,000 pieces each year, with revenues of about $5 million. Hathorn's staff handles every aspect of the job, including framing and installation, which she says keeps costs low and avoids third-party liability.

Hathorn sends some direct-mail pieces to potential clients, but most of her marketing is word-of-mouth. Many of her company's works generate plenty of buzz, such as a recent commission for the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, which wanted something never done before. Hathorn commissioned a sculptor in upstate New York to design and build a "tree of life," and a year later, a 30-foot, 6 1/2-ton painted steel tree was installed in the hospital's atrium.

http://strangebusiness.blogspot.com/

http://flylady.net

Here is how Marla Cilley, better known by her nom de guerre, FlyLady, runs her business. Every morning she rolls out of bed and starts nagging. She sends a first e-mail to her 400,000 subscribers at about 7 A.M., reminding them to get up and get dressed. Throughout the day she'll send about ten more e-mails from her Brevard, N.C., home, nagging them to polish their sinks or plan a healthy dinner. She'll also pen an essay or two on topics ranging from the evils of perfectionism to the importance of self-love. Her office administrator will send a few more e-mails, giving subscribers tidying tips. By the time Cilley's last e-mail - "Please go to bed!" - goes out at 10 P.M., her flock has received about 15 messages. Last year sales hit $4 million.

It may seem odd that Cilley, 51, should spin such gold from nagging, something most of us do our best to avoid. Yet her customers - almost exclusively female middle-aged homemakers, who call themselves FlyBabies - cannot get enough. They log on to flylady.net and purchase thousands of dollars' worth of FlyLady-branded products - kitchen timers, license plate holders, ostrich-feather dusters, books, calendars, mouse pads, T-shirts, tote bags, sink stoppers, water bottles, and lapel pins. They convene at occasional Flyfests around the country, where Cilley gives personal encouragement. And every day they send her about 5,000 grateful messages - so many that Cilley has had to hire a team of six offsite readers to help respond to the deluge. "You are the mother I never had," one recent e-mail read, "loving, caring, understanding, available with a big hug and a kick in the butt when needed."

Cilley is not the only entrepreneur to command a cultlike following among legions of housewives. Jeanne Bice, "head quack" at quackerfactory.com, a QVC clothing company, presides over her website's chat groups in the Quack a Smile Club, building such customer loyalty that she can easily pack a Princess Cruises ship (princess.com) for her annual Quackers Caribbean cruise. Stacy DeBroff, creator of MomCentral.com, parlayed her parenting-advice site into a career as a bestselling author, marketing consultant, corporate spokesperson, and frequent guest on the "Today" show. Her books, website, newsletter, national media tours, and appearances reach millions of women, many of whom bond over MomChat on DeBroff's site.

Yet Cilley says she didn't set out to become a guru. The FlyLady juggernaut began innocently enough, after Cilley married her third husband in 1996 and found that neither of them knew how to keep a tidy home. When the mess became unmanageable, Cilley turned to the Internet, finding clutter-busting pointers on a website called Sidetracked Home Executives (shesintouch.com).

Before long Cilley started posting her own tips on the site's message board, eventually building a grassroots following with her no-nonsense, country-girl wisdom, along with her unbridled joy over her newly uncluttered life. She began individually mentoring other slobs in the group, and in 1999, FlyLady's listserve was hatched, with just ten women as subscribers.

Even neat freaks can benefit from viral growth. The original subscribers recommended the list to friends, and before long Cilley's following was large enough to win her write-ups in "Woman's Day" and "Ladies' Home Journal." "We never set out to have a business," Cilley says. "We set out to help people. And the business grew because of their needs."

One of those needs, apparently, is to find out how great the latest FlyLady products are. Anytime one of her FlyBabies e-mails a gushing testimonial praising one of her offerings ("I first bought the FlyLady calendar last year, and I LOVE it!"), Cilley forwards it to her entire mailing list. The testimonials typically result in a sudden sales surge of several hundred of the mentioned item.

Cilley's growing enterprise presented new demands - namely, how to keep up with the crush of fan mail. Kelly Burns, a devoted subscriber, volunteered to help in 2000. Today she and her husband, Tom, work at Cilley's distribution center as two of FlyLady's 24 paid employees.

Cilley attracts new subscribers by writing a self-syndicated column that appears weekly in 225 newspapers and doing a live weekly call-in satellite radio show with Leanne Ely, a nutritionist and cookbook author, on worldtalkradio.com, where "The Fly Show" is rated No. 1 among more than 70 weekly shows, drawing about 140,000 listeners. Ely has also launched a successful Internet enterprise (savingdinner.com), with no small thanks to Cilley, who promotes it to her subscribers.

Now FlyLady is looking to expand her self-help empire. Her followers, she points out, face bigger issues than clutter. Already having penned bestsellers on controlling household and "body clutter" (weight and emotional issues), she is at work on a third book, FlyLady's take on spirituality. And now, with a full-time product-development officer (Jack Sgroi, whom she hired away from MiddleRiver Aircraft Systems), she is anticipating subscribers' needs with a spate of new products, including more efficient mops and roadside emergency kits.

As Cilley constantly tells her loyal FlyBabies about getting their houses in order, "If I can do it, you can do it." But when it comes to creating a business out of nagging, she flies alone.

http://strangebusiness.blogspot.com/

Twitter has suffered the ignominy of having hundreds of sensitive internal documents stolen and posted on tech blogs.

According to a Twitter blog, a hacker stole 310 documents from an employee's email account, before passing them on to various technology blogs. One of these was TechCrunch which has begun posting the information it received, offering a rare glimpse at the inner workings of the popular micro-blogging site.

Among the most interesting snippets is that Twitter is looking at recording its first revenue by the third quarter of this year - a mere $400,000. However, it hopes to build this up to $140 million by the end of 2010.

By the end of 2013, the document reveals that Twitter hopes to have one billion users, post $1.54 billion in revenue, employ 5,200 people and make $111 million in net earnings, according to TechCrunch.

Twitter has played down the airing of the documents: "Obviously, these docs are not polished or ready for prime time and they're certainly not revealing some big, secret plan for taking over the world," writes co-founder Biz Stone on the company blog.

"We are in touch with our legal counsel about what this theft means for Twitter, the hacker, and anyone who accepts and subsequently shares or publishes these stolen documents," he concludes.

Responding to criticism of its handling of the information, Techcrunch claims its actions are legal and defended the publication: "We've spent most of the evening reading these documents. The vast majority of them are somewhat embarrassing to various individuals, but not otherwise interesting," writes TechCrunch Editor Michael Arrington.

"There is clearly an ethical line here that we don't want to cross, and the vast majority of these documents aren't going to be published, at least by us. But a few of the documents have so much news value that we think it's appropriate to publish them."

Stuart Turton
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/262132/twitters-secrets-exposed-by-hacker.html

by Lisa Bells

It is always enjoyable to broadcast success stories, especially the stories out of my friends. Daisy Wheelock is a friend of mine, and she sells wedding dresses on the internet. It is a typical home business, and she has been doing it very successfully.

She imports wedding dress from Suzhou, China, and sells them on ebay.com. The same quality and style wedding dresses in Suzhou are far less expensive as the ones in the USA.

She happened to find it when she was searching for a suitable wedding dress for herself.

Later on, she decided to have a try. She registered with ebay.com, and began to sell wedding dresses. In the beginning, there weren't many visitors. After a week, she got her first customer, who ordered a wedding dress made of silk. She earned 500USD out of the deal! Meanwhile, her customer was very happy to have the dress to her size, and it was far less expensive than one she could get in New York.

Amazingly, her first customer introduced her cousin to her, and she got the next two orders. Just after a month, Daisy found that it was really a good business to sell wedding dresses on ebay.com. She began to try with other B2C websites, also, she made a web site for her business. After two months, her business became steady. Up to know, she has earned over five hundred thousand bucks out of this simple home business!

I think she is both lucky and clever in handling home business, and I wish the story may give you a hint to do a successful home business if you are deciding to run a home business.

http://www.helium.com/items/586290-amazing-home-business-success-stories

by William Bond

You are the only one who can make your home business a success story, and make money, and get the experience of handling your own business. This is the best of both worlds your own business, and you can do it at home. I have a home business success story, perhaps you can use some of the ideas to use in your own home business operation. I have a friend Joe, who spent a couple of years in the military, and took a job working for a local company in his hometown, as a writer, he wanted to build a business at home, selling his writing.

He wrote a number of articles for newspapers, magazines, and other publications, and was bitten by the writing bug, he wanted to get his self help work out to the general public. Joe wrote some business manuals to start businesses, and decided to run classified advertisements, in mail order magazines, using the two step method: running small space advertisements, requesting reader to send for the free information. Then Joe would sent letters, brochure, and order card for the customer to order the information. Success took sometime, but he found that many people from all over the country - wanted to read and buy information in order to make more money. Start a business which helps people increase their salary, wealth, and standard of living. Joe found that he began to build a list of people who responded and also bought some of his publishing products.

By telling people you have products to buy helps. He made a list of people who contacted him. It started out with a list of lk,5k, l0k, and 20k and more. Joe claims the most important part of the business, was teaching himself how to reach people, sell them, and continue to sell them again. He also began to write more articles, books, manuals, and did seminars at the local college in town.

He began to become a local celebrity, but this home based business helped him to pursue something he enjoyed doing, writing and selling his writing to people who needed, and wanted it. In your home business idea, incorporate your talents, and the things you really enjoy doing, live a life of passion, and sell products and services which you feel have utility, they are worth every penny you charge for them, and just keep on doing this until you get "A tiger by the tail" and you will enjoy yourself, your business and your life.

http://www.helium.com/items/943215-amazing-home-business-success-stories

by Lisa Mazurek

My business wasn't successful at first but I didn't give up. I studied business in college and had experience. So, it was just a matter of getting my business name out there. After working for other cleaning services and seeing the work they did, I just wasn't happy working for someone else. I knew if they could keep a business going the way they cleaned. I could probably do even better because of the way I clean.

I decided to create a plan for my small business. I choose a name that would stand out and describe the way I clean. Then without even thinking, a slogan jumped into my head. Next step was advertising. So, I started by placing a small ad in the neighborhood paper because it covered a large area and if I sent in a recipe, the ad was free. Of course, this wasn't enough advertisement but I did get my first customer this way. After a few months I decided to get a listing in the yellow pages. This seemed to get the phone ringing more.

My first customer was an older lady that lived about 25 minutes away. She had a small home and wanted it cleaned every other week. Now all I needed was more customers. Little by little I started getting more calls and my business started blooming. Well, nothing last forever. Because I didn't know what I know today I wasn't prepared for life's downfalls. So, I decided to start working a full-time job and clean part-time. This worked out well. I got a job at Motorola and then I landed an account with Antioch Manor apartments. With my full-time job, I knew I had financial security and health insurance so I could be prepared for anything.

My business started in 1995, but didn't really go full-time until after I was divorced. In 2004, I was able to quit my full-time job and just work for my business. This was the greatest feeling in the world. It all started with one customer. That customer was very happy with my work and referred a friend. Her friend was happy and referred a co worker. My first referral asked me if I could give her boss an estimate for his company. Well, after some negotiating I had another business account. It didn't end there. I started doing work for a contractor who had been impressed with my cleaning. Yes, my dream came true. My passion for cleaning became a successful business and it all started with one customer. Because of that one customer I landed eight accounts.

I've always known about the importance of referrals and that was the reason why I started a referral program for my customers. Every time a customer refers someone they get a discount on their next service appointment. Who knew this referral program could be so profitable. That is why you need to take care of all your customers. Don't be afraid to do a little extra and not get paid for it. Believe me, your customers do appreciate your hard work.

http://www.helium.com/items/1467051-my-home-business-success-story

by Richard Kimura

They say if your are passionate about it, you can turn anything into a successful home business. My wife and I had our usual Friday night date night, and as we went out to eat we were wondering what would happen to our eBay auction on "Forty-Nine Brand," a 1924 California gold mining theme orange label with a muscular man in a red shirt, white flowing hair, stick in hand, a pack mule, and a beautiful snow-covered Sierra mountains in the background.

The fruit crate label auction closed in 2 hours.

Here is one very unusual home business story for you. It shows that just about any passion can result in a home business if you love it enough! Having started many home businesses over the years, this one has got to win the uniqueness award. Lots of lessons were learned here, but one thing leads to another and before you know it, it's a business. How do some people start businesses so easily? My personal secret, is to know yourself and what makes you tick. Some questions to ask myself: What am I good at? What am I truly passionate about? What stokes my passion? Is it enough to drive you to know all you can about your business, day in and day out?
It all began when we wanted some apple boxes for storing newspaper and kindling by the wood stove. Some of these old boxes that had colorful labels still on them, or so I thought, but it had been a while since I'd seen any. Each Thursday a new Giant Nickel want ads would come out, and hunting through these and local antique and collectibles stores for months did not yield any boxes. One day an ad finally appeared for apple boxes with labels! I knew from experience that apple and pear boxes with labels did not grow on trees, exactly. It was a short drive out to the small town of Burbank WA, and a nice, chubby, Santa Clause-like man met me at the door. His name was Jerry. He sold me 7 boxes, and they were all very beautiful. A few months later, the urge to see Jerry came back, and soon I purchased a bunch of labels from him.

Colorful fruit crate labels were made between 1900 and 1956, when cardboard was introduced - and within a year the wooden box and it's paper label were obsolete. The only labels that survived unused, in mint condition, were those that were saved through the diligence of farm families, packagers, shippers, crazy collectors, and museums. A local museum was raising money for an expansion and was selling a large collection of colorful Americana - apple and pear labels.

So, a heavy investment, or contribution, was made into the museum's building expansion fund! Collectors and dealers came out of the woodwork, and annual invitations soon came in the mail for 'apple label shows.' Incredibly, there were whole shows dedicated to labels, and people bought, sold, and traded them. Soon my web site had almost 20,000 visitors and I knew most of the fruit crate label dealers across the U.S.

What an interesting bunch of folks! Rare labels were fetching $100, $200, and sometimes $500 each! These labels are only sheets of old paper about 9" x 10" in size, but very old paper. They did have a magical way of taking you back in time, to older, simpler times. Fruit growers pinned their hopes on the colorful themes, hoping buyers would remember their brand at auction.

I memorized prices and images for thousands of labels, and it wasn't long before this old eye could spot an unknown or rare label. One day there was an urge deep within me to go check out the pawn shops too. So, I got up and went to the Cable Bridge Pawn shop and asked the lady if she had any labels. She did.and brought out two beautiful rare citrus labels that I'd never seen before. My heart was racing as I bought them for $1 each. The next week I put one on eBay for $49. During the week it worked it's way up, reaching $179 a few hours before close! But, my wife and I had our usual Friday night date night, and we went out to eat, wondering what would happen to "Forty-Nine Brand," a California gold mining theme label with a muscular man in a red shirt, white flowing hair, stick in hand, a pack mule, and a beautiful snow-covered Sierra mountains in the background (To see this label, go to http://www.cirrovista.com/labe lplace.html ). When we got back from our date, the auction had closed, and I could not believe my eyes. It had been bid up to $789! This was a very strange and shocking experience, and this microbusiness continues to astound me. WIth two booths in different antique malls, and a website at it does quite well.

http://www.helium.com/items/117136-amazing-home-business-success-stories?page=2

by Kimberly Pressley

As the sun sinks low over the Blue Ridge Mountains a strange low hum is heard which sounds eerily out of place. Of the many sounds that are quite normal for the mountains of North Carolina this particular sound is almost mesmerizing. Up until about 20 years ago this humming could only be heard in the mountains of Peru, Bolivia and Chile.

This is the peaceful lullaby that could only be produced by a very special creation, the alpaca.
It all started when I was in my early forties. I am not sure if I was looking for a new business or a new hobby, and there are varying views as to why I needed either. My children call it "empty-nest syndrome," but I tend to lean more toward mid-life crisis; my husband bought a vette, and I bought alpacas.
"Why alpacas?" was my husband's key question. My first impression of these remarkable creatures was: "They have got to be the cutest things I have ever seen!" With their huge eyes, teddy bear faces, long necks and bird-like feet, who could resist? Cute factor aside, and on a more practical level, with much research I found alpacas to be a sound, long-term investment, and a hefty tax write off. I also have a keen interest in the fiber arts (spinning, weaving, knitting, crocheting and felting), and as this is the primary purpose for raising alpaca I viewed this as a wonderful opportunity. So, with much prayer, the issue was settled.
In pursuit of this new undertaking the first step for me was research. I went online and read, read, and then read some more! I also found a wonderful alpaca forum where I had a plethora of questions answered. I guess the best advice I received was "visit farms, meet other breeders, and find a mentor!" Not one to spurn sound advice that is exactly what I did.
One of the first and most surprising things I found out about alpaca people was their helpful attitude and sharing spirit. In visiting farms I met a wonderful couple, my mentors. They have helped me with healthcare, feeding program, breeding program, husbandry, and even shared their alpaca books for me to read. I do not think it would be amiss to say that without the help of these very special people my alpacas, at the very least, would not be as healthy as they are now.
I have always enjoyed livestock, as I was raised on a cattle farm for as long as I can remember. I enjoyed cattle, however due to their size I found them a little hard to control.

I am finding alpacas a lot easier for a woman in her forties to handle, as they are smaller, and in my opinion smarter.
My starter herd consisted of three Huacaya alpacas (there are two different breeds of alpaca, Suri and Huacaya). Misty, the female, was eleven years old and pregnant. The lifespan of an alpaca is about 25 years, and a female can produce babies until they are about sixteen or seventeen years old.

Misty had a cria (baby alpaca) by her side, his name was Dominick. Dominick was 5 months old so I had the chore of weaning him when he turned seven months old. Apollo was to be my herdsire. He was three years old and had never produced, so he and I would look forward to learning together. I found my herd online as a package deal. I bought them from Washington State and had them shipped across country to North Carolina.
I have only had my little herd for five short months but in that time we have come a long way. With the help of my mentors I have given a shot (vaccination and dewormer), cut toenails, cut guard teeth, weaned the little boy, and now, with much anticipation and prayer, I am awaiting the birth of my new cria.

As I sit on the step of my little barn watching these most unique creations and listening to their peaceful hum, I am truly amazed at God's handiwork! Man what a business!

http://www.helium.com/items/222974-amazing-home-business-success-stories

by Sharon Meyer

It is often said that if a person truly wants to start a home business that will be successful then they should find something they are passionate about and build their business in that area.

For many years my passion in life has been gardening but, outside of raising vegetables to sell at a farmers market how could I possibly turn gardening into a profitable business?

I learned quite by accident that what I hadn't given much thought to was niche marketing within the gardening scene. I never realized the profit was in my passion of growing rare and exotic plants from seed. To me it was just cheaper to fund my enthusiasm for rare and exotic plants by growing what I wanted from seed. The profit part came about out of necessity. Fall and Winter were quickly approaching and I had outgrown my hobby greenhouse. Not wanting to lose any of my precious tropical plants to winter I decided to auction them on Ebay.

Amazingly, my extra plants were selling for anywhere from $50.00 to $100.00 a plant ! This piqued my curiosity as I wasn't looking to start a home business but, if this was the kind of money I could make selling rare or exotic plants that I had grown from seed then I wanted a piece of the pie.

I began studying other on line plant auctions at Ebay and I quickly learned that there was a nice little niche market for rare and exotic plants. This reminded me of a story with a parable I had heard of long ago about a man who had sold everything he owned including his home and property to go out and search for gold. He soon learns about a great discovery of gold had been found in his home town so, he heads home only to find that the gold discovered had been found on the very same property he had just sold. Just like this man I had been sitting on my own gold mine of a business and never knew it.

These days, instead of purchasing a small amount of seed for my own use I will instead purchase a larger quantity. Seeds are quite inexpensive to buy when compared to the sale of the actual seedling or full grown plant. I can set my own "Buy It Now" price or if the plant is extremely hard to come by then I set a minimum opening bid and leave the rest to the plant enthusiasts to determine just how bad they want that plant and at what price.
My biggest expense to date has been the neccesity of having to build a much larger greenhouse to grow plants in. Considering I am living in the sub tropical state of Florida and can pretty much grow year round, I quickly recouped the layout costs.

http://www.helium.com/items/1313098-home-business-ideas

Stephen L. Bainton

In the annals of corporate history, the breadth and scope of missteps are amusing and (often) simply outrageous. From ridiculous products to dumb advertising campaigns, from “funny” business to a crock for your stock, I sincerely welcome you to the unbelievable (but true) world of business debacles.

The first part of our series concerns the wondrous realm of product development. As we’re sometimes led to believe, the corporate executives that come up with these new products are often hailed as geniuses. Unfortunately, in the instances that follow, something went amiss, badly.

Take for example the soft drink that literally exploded onto the marketplace. Positioned as a flavorful alternative to Perrier, in 1983, the Adams Natural Beverage Co., launched (with an $8 million investment) the Napa Natural line of beverages, consisting of four flavors. Each beverage contained 67 percent fruit juice and no preservatives. Only one small problem, however. With such a high percentage of juice, the beverages were fermenting when they landed on the shelves; in short, many cans were bulging and some actually exploded. Needless to say, here was a product that really “took off.”

Another winner came from the folks at Gerber in the early 1970s. Executives at Gerber had correctly discerned the need for creating a line of foods for busy young adults. They named the product line, Singles, and offered such adult dishes as beef burgundy and Mediterranean vegetables. The only problem was the packaging: It was just a larger version of the baby jars.

As you can imagine, how many single adults want to sit in front of their TV sets and relive their infancy. As it turned out, not many.

Introduced in 1985 was Coca-Cola’s new and improved, wonder product, New Coke. The company had spent three years testing and retesting, and, finally, here was the sweeter (and better) replacement.

In the superlative book, The Misfortune500, authors Bruce Nash and Allan Zullo write, “New Coke was met with fury from tens of thousands of Coke lovers who reviled the suddenly sweeter taste of their favorite beverage…For three straight months, Coca-Cola headquarters received about 1,500 phone calls daily and tons of mail from angry protestors.”

And what was the response from corporate headquarters. Coca-Cola’s president (at that time) said to the press, “The passion for original Coke was something that just flat caught us by surprise.” Boy, it’s hard to imagine that people would be upset when you mess with the world’s most popular and recognizable brand…that would be a surprise!

My personal favorites, however, include Revlon’s Private, a male genitalia deodorant that never saw the light of day, and my all-time winner, Gorilla Balls, a protein snack that was literally a mouthful of bad news for the folks at MLO Products.

http://www.mrmarketing.com/Articles/true-business-stories-that-will-make-you-scream-part-1.html

Stephen L. Bainton

The above famous tabloid headline, allegedly uttered by Marla Maples in reference to her relationship with Donald Trump, illustrates something you must consider when drafting all of your marketing materials—namely, the power of the headline.

For example, did you know that most people only read the headline and not the body copy.

In fact, over 80 percent of your readership will not read the body copy. That fact means one thing: if your headline doesn’t sell then you’ve just wasted most of your marketing dollars.

In the veritable bible of copywriting, The Copywriter’s Handbook, author Robert W. Bly demystifies the tenets of great headline writing. As he writes, “Many copywriters fall into the trap of believing that clever wordplay, puns, and cute copy make for a good headline. But think for a minute. When you make a purchase, do you want to be amused by the sales clerk? Or do you want to know that you’re getting quality merchandise at a reasonable price?”

Obviously, we all want the latter, excellent quality and decent prices. To that end, regarding copywriters who know their craft, Bly states, “They know that when readers browse ad headlines, they want to know: ‘What’s in it for me?’”

Besides appealing to self-interest, Bly notes that great headlines tend to accomplish four distinct tasks.

First, you need to get your reader’s attention. As you can see, I used a classic tabloid headline to draw you into this article. As shameless as this might appear, it certainly seems to work. Just ask Madonna or take a close look at the covers of many magazines—by the look of things, we’re drowning in blatant sexual messages.

Second, you need to carefully target your audience—for example, this column is geared toward executives who wish to increase their knowledge in management, sales and marketing.

Third, given the fact that so many readers fail to delve into the body copy, it is often effective to write headlines that convey a complete thought. For instance, consider the following headline: “At Last! A remarkable breakthrough for arthritis pain: Aspercreme.” This headline is strong in that it denotes a news-oriented “breakthrough,” it identifies its audience (arthritis sufferers), and it mentions the product’s name.

Fourth, the headline should always draw the reader into the body copy. Again, in looking at the above arthritis example, the headline should lead arthritis sufferers into the body copy, to see how Aspercreme can possibly aid in pain management.

Finally, Bly lists a number of specific headlines that work. Consider the following:

* The Direct Headline: Here you state the benefit promise directly in the headline. Supermarkets and other stores use such headlines when sales are held, for example.

* The News Headline: We are news junkies, so remember to use this type of headline if you have real news to impart.

* The How-To Headline: This type of headline can be pure gold, if handled correctly. Like news, how-to connotes sage advice and peeks our interest. For example, “How To Putt Like A Pro In Only One Hour.”

* The Question Headline: Here you pose a question that relates directly to your audience’s problem.

* The Testimonial Headline: In all forms of advertising, having testimonials from customers is critical. In a headline this is especially true. Let your satisfied customers sell your product or service.

Bottom Line: In writing or evaluating headlines it’s important to remember that creativity must take a back seat to salesmanship. Avoid agencies or consultants that brag about their awards; you want real-world sales results, not puffery.

http://www.mrmarketing.com/Articles/mr-marketings-weekly-column.html

Stephen L. Bainton

I recently profiled a number of products that were decidedly conjured up in hell. This week’s subject—dumb promotional and advertising campaigns—is no less frightening; in fact, one could posit that these examples illustrate why none of us should ever feel intimidated by anyone, for stupidity and outrageous behavior have been with us for a very long time. Nonetheless, here we go.

I begin our tour with an “ingenious” promotional campaign created for the hit TV show, Miami Vice. The year was 1985. MCA Records Canada was sending the show’s soundtrack to reviewers all over the country. Along with the record was a special surprise—a little bag of white powder. Some of the recipients thought the powder was cocaine. It wasn’t. It was sugar, which probably meant that a lot of reviewers must’ve looked pretty stupid as they tried to snort the stuff. From a public relations standpoint, MCA rightfully got hammered.

In the superlative book, "The Misfortune 500," by Bruce Nash and Allan Zullo, the authors point out that a top MCA executive had a different reaction to the PR backfire when he said, “Normally our promotions staff wouldn’t have been that creative.” In fact, the same executive said that the campaign was not meant to promote drug use…okay?

One of my favorite promotions concerned United Airline’s “Fly Your Wife Free” campaign, in which businessmen were told their wives could come along for free. There was only one slight problem, however. As Nash and Zullo write, “When businessmen took advantage of the promotion, United sent letters of appreciation to their spouses. Soon the airline was inundated with angry letters from outraged wives who said they had never been off the ground and demanded to know the names of their high-flying husbands’ companions.” Now there’s a campaign that should never have left the tarmac.

In a similar vein, in 1967, Pacific Air lines, a small but up-and-coming commuter airline, decided (with the CEO’s blessing) to address the hidden fear of flying that quite a few of us have. Stan Freberg, an L.A.-based comedian, was hired to create a campaign for PAL that would make light of in-flight terror. His campaign included full-page ads in both Los Angeles and New York papers. One such ad read, “Hey there! You with the sweat in your palms. It’s about time an airline faced up to something: most people are scared witless of flying. Deep down inside, every time that big plane lifts off the runway, you wonder if this is it, right? You want to know something, fella? So does the pilot deep down inside.”

Incredibly, as the authors point out, the airline didn’t stop there. The flight attendants gave each passenger a “fortune cookie that contained the message, ‘It could be worse. The pilot could be whistling ‘The High and the Mighty.’”

Needless to say, the campaign caused an uproar in the entire industry. Airline executives from the major carriers were practically screaming for an end to the madness—people, they thought, might actually be scared away. Unbelievably, PAL’s chairman laughed off the criticism, saying, “Lots of people are terrified of flying and we thought it was time somebody cleared the air.” The result. Within two months the airline was out of business. Perhaps their message lacked directness?

In the history of advertising, however, one of the most offensive (and sexist) campaigns that ever ran was the 1969 TV spot for Lever Brother’s Hero laundry detergent. Picture this: A horde of moaning and writhing housewives are gathered around a twenty-five-foot-tall box of soap. As the women get more excited, the deep male voice says, “I, Hero, am here. I am the strong detergent with the yet-unheard-of power…I clean with strength…Your hands will feel the soft.” At this point, the women are in a frenzied state, jumping up and down, their hands clawing the mountainous box. They respond, saying, “I wanna Hero kind of clean. I wanna strong yet softer clean. I wanna see it. I wanna feel it. Want my eyes to see the clean. Want my hands to feel the soft.”

What more can I say, folks…I couldn’t make this up even if I wanted to.

http://www.mrmarketing.com/Articles/true-business-stories-that-will-make-you-scream-part-2.html

Cliff Saran
15 Apr 2009
http://www.computerweekly.com

The annual energy used to transmit, process and filter spam totals 33 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), according to security software company McAfee.

This is equivalent to the electricity used in 2.4 million homes, and represents the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions as 3.1 million cars using two billion gallons of petrol.

Jeff Green, senior vice-president of product development and McAfee Avert Labs, said, "Spam has an immense financial, personal and environmental impact on businesses and individuals. Stopping spam at its source, as well investing in filtering technology, will save time and money, and will pay dividends to the planet by reducing carbon emissions as well."

The Carbon Footprint of Spam study from McAfee looked at global energy expended to create, store, view and filter spam across 11 countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, India, Mexico, Spain, the United States and the United Kingdom. The study calculated the average greenhousee gas emission associated with a single spam message at 0.3 grams of CO2. McAfee said this was equivalent to driving three feet; but when multiplied by the yearly volume of spam, it is equivalent to driving around the earth 1.6 million times.

The study also found that nearly 80% of the energy used by spam comes from end-users deleting spam and searching for legitimate e-mail (false positives). McAfee, which produces its own spam filtering technology said that spam filtering would save 135TWh of electricity per year, which is equivalent to taking 13 million cars off the road.

From The Times
June 24, 2009
Roger Boyes in Berlin

A group of well-to-do pensioners who lost their savings in the credit crunch staged an arthritic revenge attack and held their terrified financial adviser to ransom, prosecutors said yesterday.

The alleged kidnapping is the latest example of what is being dubbed “silver crime” — the violent backlash of pensioners who feel cheated by the world.

“As I was letting myself into my front door I was assaulted from behind and hit hard,” the financial adviser James Amburn, a 56-year-old German-American, said. “Then they bound me with masking tape until I looked like a mummy. I thought I was a dead man.”

He was freed by 40 heavily armed policemen from the counter-terrorist unit last Saturday. The frightened consultant was in his underwear, his body lacerated by wounds allegedly inflicted by angry pensioners.
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It appears that two couples had entrusted Mr Amburn’s investment company with €2.4 million (£2 million), which he ploughed into Florida’s boom-and-bust property market. The properties became forfeit during the sub-prime mortgage crisis but the couples wanted their money back.

After being bundled into the boot of an Audi in the west German town of Speyer, Mr Amburn was driven southwards to Chieming, close to the Austrian border, where one of the couples Roland K, and his wife, Sieglinde, 79, had a holiday home.

The financial adviser claims he was held there in a cellar for four days almost naked, fed soup twice a day and beaten. Another couple, Gerhard F, 63, and his wife, Iris, 66, both retired doctors, allegedly helped to torture the prisoner.

“I was beaten. They threatened again and again to kill me,” Mr Amburn said. At least two of his ribs were fractured.

Mr Amburn says he tried to escape once when he was permitted to smoke in the garden. He scaled the wall and ran though the rain in his underpants calling for help.

The pensioners pursued him in their car, shouting: “Stop that man! He’s a burglar!” Two locals pinned him to the pavement and he was taken back to the cellar, where he claims he received another beating.

The investment consultant’s break came when he was allowed to send a fax to a Swiss bank asking for the transfer of the funds demanded by the gang.

On the fax he pretended to refer to call options and to insurance policies (the German word for a financial policy is police). This came out as “call.pol-ice.”

“They didn’t notice it but someone at the bank was bright enough to spot it,” Mr Amburn said.

The pensioners are under arrest on suspicion of deprivation of liberty, torture and inflicting grievous bodily harm. These charges carry a maximum of 15 years in prison.

“They were angry because they invested money in propertites in Florida and he lost it all,” Volker Ziegler, chief public prosecutor in Traunstein, said.

The numbers of attacks by elderly people had been rising fast even before the financial crisis hit savings. A three-man gang of pensioners is serving long jail terms for mounting 14 bank robberies across Germany to boost their retirement funds.

Rudolf Richter and brothers Wilfried and Lothar Ackermann were entitled only to modest state pensions of between €100 and €400 a month.

They became enraged by the size of bankers’ bonuses and over nine years — ending in their arrest in 2005 — netted more than €1.3 million. Police recovered only half that sum.

“It is unbelievable how easy it is to rob a bank,” Wilfried Ackermann, 73, boasted during the trial. The men held carrots in their pockets pretending that they had pistols.

On one of the raids Richter, 74, slipped on an icy pavement, dropped the loot and had to be carried to the getaway car.

(http://www.timesonline.co.uk)

Last month, we posted the 45-second Air New Zealand spot that shows the carrier's employees naked, with painted-on uniforms, to emphasize that they have "Nothing to hide" (at least in terms of hidden fares). Today, The New York Times points out that the campaign also includes the three-and-a-half-minute on-board safety video above, which likely gets more attention than most presentations of its kind. It's still not clear that being nude improves the flying experience, but Air New Zealand is at least filling the void left by Naked-Air, whose first flight in 2003 was also its last.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

I began working for a software company in 2003 and absolutely hated the monotony. I would sit at a dark desk for eight to nine hours a day whether rain or shine, sick or healthy, and go through a gazillion lines of homogenous computer code trying to debug small errors in a piece of software designed to scan metal parts for defects. Despite my distain for the job, I kept going to work day in and day out, keeping my mouth shut.
After about two years, I finally discovered that my hard work had not been paying off, meaning I was seeing absolutely no rewards. I saw no chance for advancement, and it seemed like I was a faceless entity in a sea of laborers. Spending all of my time working meant that I had no time to go out and play. As a result I had saved up a great deal of money. Since the company was so large, I thought I could probably just NOT show up and nobody would ever notice me gone. My managers were so wrapped up in their own tasks that they had little interest in what I was doing and my job was not very important to these people as they had more important business to take care of. One morning I woke up and had enough.
I simply stopped showing up. No calls, no letters, no layoff. It went on like this for almost a month. I went in the office once a week and picked up my check with no hassle, until it was time to decide whether or not I could continue deceiving them like this. In the envelope along with my second check, I found a letter informing me that the company would be conducting a review of all their employees in order to evaluate their value to their department. I figured what the hell, I’m showing up for that one.
I was somewhat nervous heading in that day but nevertheless sat down with a specialist which my company had brought in to do the meetings. It was like visiting a work psychiatrist, he asked me how I liked working there, about my co-workers, my job responsibilities, family, and everything. The craziest part about this story is that I told him the truth, that is without mentioning my recent hiatus. In a humorous manner, I related my current job with the life of an Alaskan slow dog which they use for mushing. When it was all said and done, I received a raise the following week! I never went back to that wretched office building in New Yuck City, though. I quit and have not looked back since!