ChefsLine.Com Success Story

 

What: Interactive cooking community
Who: Jennifer Beisser of ChefsLine Where: New York City
When: Started in 2006 Startup Costs: $61,000

Jennifer Beisser, who had a demanding job doing nonprofit community work, found she had little time to spend in the kitchen. Beisser, 39, started wishing she had professional help, which would motivate her to cook more often. Her big idea came on Thanksgiving Day while listening to her husband talk to his chef friend on the phone. Beisser began to wonder if getting cooking advice could always be that simple. 

In 2006, Beisser quit her job and devoted her full attention to launching ChefsLine, a subscription-based company with a mission to empower everyday people to become their own personal chefs. Through ChefsLine, members receive cooking and menu planning advice from professional chefs, either by phone or over the internet. "[Americans] are super interested in food, but that doesn't mean we can get food on our table," says Beisser. "We need to sit down together as families and enjoy that time." 

With a dietitian, a nutritionist and even a wine consultant on staff, Beisser's aim is for ChefsLine to be able to help with any cooking question or party planning need. For $15, users receive 30 minutes with a live coach online or over the phone, and for a $34.95 a month membership, they have unlimited access to the hotline and can even take a cooking class by webcam. The website also allows members to post questions for the staff.

In the future, Beisser hopes to expand internationally, adding chefs from other countries to the current staff of 25. With about 500 calls per month and a growing membership, 2008 sales projections are more than $200,000. Overall, Beisser loves that cooking no longer has to be a huge production. "I can now whip out a dinner party in a minute," she jokes. "It's 9:30 at night and I haven't cooked yet; I pick up the phone and know I'm going to have a really fun conversation."

[Via - Entrepreneur Magazine]

Pickup service for composting

Many Montrealers know that composting their organic waste could reduce the amount of garbage they send to the dump by about one-third.

And many of us are ready and willing to separate our food and garden waste from other garbage, but Montreal still does not offer an organic waste collection program. You can do it yourself, of course, but many residents don't have backyards and gardens in which to store the waste and spread the resulting compost.

That's why Stephen McLeod decided to take the organic matter into his own hands.

Last summer, McLeod started an organic waste pickup service, charging clients $5 a week to pick up and properly dispose of their table scraps and garden wastes. The service, called Compost Montreal, has almost 100 clients in St. Henri, the Plateau and Notre Dame de Grâce.

McLeod, who also runs an eco-friendly messenger service, realized there might be a demand for a composting service when he moved from Ontario to St. Henri and was looking for a way to dispose of his own organic waste. He found out there was a community compost bin at his neighbourhood Éco-quartier.

(Éco-quartiers are local environment groups commissioned by the city of Montreal to promote recycling, composting, lane cleanup operations and other embellishment campaigns. Several of them run small composting operations.)

But after making a few trips to the Louis Cyr Éco-quartier to dump his bucket of organic waste, McLeod realized it made no environmental or economic sense to have all these people driving their small quantities of waste to Éco-quartiers all around the city.

"I did that a few times before I said to myself, 'This is crazy. How many people are going to do this? I'm sure there are a lot of people who want to compost, but not very many who are willing to do this.' "

So McLeod asked around and quickly found several environmentally conscious neighbours willing to pay him $5 a week to cart off their compostable waste. McLeod bought himself a trailer for his bicycle and a big garbage can in which to collect the waste, and began his door-to-door pick-up service last July.

He got used food containers with sealable lids from the Dawson College cafeteria and distributed them to his customers, to whom he also gave compostable cornstarch bags to line the bins.

Within a few weeks, he had 18 customers, enough to fill his garbage can weekly. With winter coming and word getting out about the service, McLeod decided he had to expand his service. He got a partner and a pickup truck, and worked out an arrangement with the city's parks and horticultural department to dump organic waste at its compost facility in the Southwest borough.

Now he is looking into trading the pickup for a truck equipped to use diesel fuel, which can then be adapted to run on vegetable oil.

He's not making a lot of money with the business, but McLeod said he enjoys it and hopes he can make it work for a while, at least until the city gets a program going.

"It's a very pleasant kind of business because you are dealing with individuals who are doing this because they have an environmental conscience," he said.

"They feel responsible for disposing of the waste they create, and they're doing it happily. People are constantly saying thank you to us."

McLeod isn't doing this to embarrass the city administration, but if it puts pressure on them to get moving on the composting issue, all the better, he said.

Alan deSousa, the city of Montreal executive committee member responsible for environmental issues, applauds McLeod's initiative.

DeSousa says the city administration is chomping at the bit to get a compost collection program going, but a full-scale program costs a lot of money and takes time to plan.

The Montreal Metropolitan Community, the regional body responsible for waste management planning for Montreal, Laval, Longueuil and North and South Shore municipalities, has proposed a $170-million organic waste collection and composting program for the region. The region wants the province to cover 85 per cent of the cost, while municipalities pick up the rest.

Besides the cost, there is also the thorny question of where to build compost facilities.

"I can't launch into something for 400,000 people unless I know where (the waste) is going to go," DeSousa said.

He said the city has no problem with entrepreneurs filling the service gap in the meantime.

"When the city is ready to offer this service, it will do so, but in the meantime if this responds to people's needs and their concerns for the environment, it's fantastic," he said.

[Via - Canada.Com] 

Becoming A Millionaire Before You Turn 21

Go With The Flow

By age 16, Doherty left school (with his parents' blessing) to work on his jams full time. In early 2007, Waitrose, a high-end supermarket in the U.K., approached Doherty, hoping to sell his Superjam products in their stores. Within months there were Superjam jars on the shelves of 184 Waitrose stores, hoisting Doherty and his business to new heights.

Doherty borrowed 5,000 pounds (about $9,000) from a bank to cover general expenses and more factory time to produce three flavors: Blueberry & Blackcurrant, Rhubarb & Ginger and Cranberry & Raspberry. Tesco followed, adding Doherty's products to 300 stores across the U.K. In March, Superjam will launch at Tesco in Ireland.

Last year Superjam hit $750,000 in sales and is on track to double that in 2008 (about 50,000 jars a month). Based on a reasonable valuation multiple of one times revenue--jelly-maker J.M. Smucker trades at 1.2 times sales--Doherty's 100% stake is worth in the neighborhood of $1 million to $2 million.

Not bad for a 19-year-old. Doherty's recommendation to other young entrepreneurs: "Have an attitude of adventure, and enjoy the journey."

Double Down

Cameron Johnson truly took that perspective to heart, parlaying one hit into the next. Back in 1994, when he was just 9, Johnson launched his first business out of his home in Virginia, making invitations for his parents' holiday party. By the seasoned age of 11, Johnson had saved up several thousand dollars selling greeting cards. He called his company Cheers and Tears.

But the little guy didn't stop there. At age 12, Johnson offered his younger sister $100 for her collection of 30 Ty Beanie Babies, all the rage at that time. The young entrepreneur quickly earned 10 times that amount by selling the dolls on eBay. Smelling potential, he contacted Ty and began purchasing the dolls at wholesale wit (nasdaq: h the aim of selling them on eBay and on his Cheers and Tears Web site.

In less than a year, Johnson banked $50,000--seed money for his next venture, My EZ Mail, a service that forwarded e-mails to a particular account without revealing the recipient's personal information. He hired a programmer to flesh out his idea, and within two years My EZ Mail was generating up to $3,000 per month in advertising revenue.

Be Fearless

Johnson still wasn't done. In 1997, he joined forces with two other teen entrepreneurs, Aaron Greenspan and Tom Kho, to create an online advertising company called Surfingprizes.com, which provided scrolling advertisements across the top of users' Web browsers. Those who downloaded the software received 20 cents per hour (a tiny fraction of the value to the advertiser) for the inconvenience of having ads splay across their computer screens.

The boys employed a classic pyramid strategy to spread the service. Users who managed to refer Surfingprizes.com to a new customer would nab 10% of that new person's hourly revenue.

But Johnson and company didn't just sell software--they wanted a piece of that juicy ad revenue too. Their solution: partnering with companies such as DoubleClick, L90 and Advertising.com that could sell the ads for them. Under the agreements, the middlemen would collect 30% of any ad revenue sold, while the three boys split the remaining 70%, out of which they paid those referral fees.

"I was 15 years old and receiving checks between $300,000 and $400,000 per month," says Johnson. At 19, he sold the company name and software (but not the customer database) to an undisclosed buyer. Says Johnson, "Before my high school graduation, my combined assets were worth more than $1 million."

Now just 23, and with other ventures under his belt, Johnson spends his time giving speeches and promoting a new book. "Put yourself out there," he advises. "Don't be afraid of rejection. Don't be afraid to ask anything."

Stick To A Vision

At 15, Catherine Cook and her brother Dave, 17, were flipping through their high school yearbook and came up with the idea to develop a free interactive version online. In 2005, the two convinced their older brother Geoff, a budding Web entrepreneur himself, to invest $250,000 and his time to help them launch MyYearbook.com, a social-networking site based in Skillman, N.J.

Soon after, the Cooks merged with Zenhex.com, an ad-supported site where users post a variety of homemade quizzes, more than doubling the number of eyeballs taking in their site. But when they tried to expand even further, they hit some snags. Potential investors wanted to move the company's headquarters to New York (the Cooks wanted to stay put). They also wanted to have ads appear on users' personal profile pages (the Cooks didn't).

Good thing the Cooks stuck to their vision. By 2006, MyYearbook had raised $4.1 million from the likes of U.S. Venture Partners and First Round Capital. Since then, the site has attracted such advertisers as Neutrogena, Disney and ABC; has grown to 3 million members worldwide; and rakes in annual sales in the "seven figures," says Catherine.

How to compete in an industry dominated by MySpace and Facebook? Mine a niche. "[Our site is] specifically for high school students, and we really listen to the suggestions of our members," says Catherine.

While the Cooks decline to discuss the value of their stake in the business, one MyYearbook investor (who agreed to speak only if unidentified) claims the Cooks' chunk is worth "well over $1 million."

Seven figures is real money to anyone, let alone a teenager. Yet despite their heady success, all of these young world-beaters seem to remain--refreshingly--kids at heart. "I'm not driving around in fancy cars," says Doherty. "I'm in it totally for the adventure."

Profits and perspective: Sounds like a recipe for even greater success in the decades to come.

[Via - Forbes.Com]

Becoming Antipreneur

Bill Goldsmith has always been a maverick. As a radio disc jockey and program director in the 1970s and '80s, he loved creating his own mixes of modern rock and introducing listeners to cutting-edge musicians. But in the '90s, as large corporations bought up the stations he worked for, Goldsmith began to feel increasingly choked by the demands of commercial radio. Programming was becoming too formulaic; he was given less leeway. Working in radio just wasn't fun anymore.

In 2000, with the rise of the Internet and streaming media, Goldsmith had an idea: Why not start his own station, one that would buck the constraints of corporate radio with innovative programming and no ads? Today, Radioparadise.com, which broadcasts an eclectic mix of modern, classic, and alternative rock, is commercial-free. It's supported entirely by donations from its listeners, 15,000 of whom are logged onto the site at any given time. Goldsmith's company, based in Paradise, Calif., has three employees and about $1 million in annual revenues. Rebecca Goldsmith, Bill's wife, is the CFO and new music reviewer. Says Bill: "I hate advertising. There is this kind of organic sense of community that develops here that could not happen if this radio station's sole reason for existence was to increase shareholder value for a large corporation."

Meet the antipreneurs. Goldsmith is one of perhaps a few thousand business owners who have won both notice and profits by being overtly or covertly anti-big business and anti-advertising. Antipreneurs frequently choose each other as suppliers because they share similar philosophies. Their marketing strategy is targeted toward consumers who have grown cynical about buying products and services from larger companies, whose methods they deem irresponsible. "Cynical consumers perceive that most of the marketplace is bad, lacking in integrity, or not trustworthy, except for a few [often small or local] companies," says Amanda Helm, a professor of marketing at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. "But once they find a company they can trust, they are very motivated to stick with [it]."

Antipreneurs are quick to differentiate their efforts to reform capitalism from social entrepreneurs' attempts to harness business for philanthropic ends. "What appeals to people about us is that this is a positive vision of how the marketplace can and should work," says Adam Neiman, president and CEO of No Sweat Apparel, a five- employee, $1 million Boston company that sells clothes produced in union factories. Neiman says the company's mission is to improve conditions for workers in the garment industry, in part by paying them a living wage and ensuring that they have union representation.

Antipreneurs walk a fine ideological line: They are pro-business and want their companies to grow, but they're against big business. They engage in global commerce while disdaining the machinations of globalization. They profit from the free market, but they criticize it, too.

So how do they get away with it? They wear their contrarian politics on their sleeves and seek customers who do the same. Often those are the so-called dark greens and very dark greens, who marketing experts say are borderline obsessed with environmental issues and feel the need to preach about their lifestyle. In addition, some 37% of people age 18 to 30 prefer to use brands that are socially conscious, with more than three-quarters of that group citing fair labor practices and two-thirds listing environmental factors as chief concerns, according to New York youth marketing company Alloy Media & Marketing (ALOY). Alloy says the youth market has nearly $200 billion in buying power.

Antipreneurs attempt to reach their potential customers without traditional advertising. What advertising they do is likely to be ironic, in-your-face, or highly political. In all cases, it reinforces the importance of buying from small companies that produce with sustainability in mind and use ethical labor practices. One consequence of this highly charged political stance is that antipreneurs face the wrath of passionate customers if they underdeliver or merely appear to.

ANTI-BRANDS

Although some credit The New York Times media columnist Rob Walker with coining the term "antipreneur," Vancouver-based Kalle Lasn gives the movement much of its ideological weight. Lasn is co-founder of the magazine Adbusters, which analyzes the effects and pervasiveness of advertising by large corporations. He advocates "culture jamming," which he describes as the interruption of unconscious consumer behavior that favors buying over producing. One of culture jamming's techniques is the deconstruction of large companies' ad campaigns to expose what antipreneurs believe is their hypocrisy.

Lasn doesn't stop with advertising. "If you want to change the world, you have to change capitalism into a more grassroots phenomenon, and that means pulling down the megacorporations," he says, speaking with hints of his native Estonian. In the past decade, he says, "A whole new wave of small business is really strutting its stuff in a powerful way around the world, and it includes everything from ethical principles in running business to fair trade to a large and growing movement of people who just want to buy local." Lasn says this movement is gaining strength as people become exasperated with what he calls the traditional "complaint-based" politics of the left—whining lots and doing little. Antipreneurs, he says, actually make a difference by promoting products that have a low impact on the environment or are fairly produced.

Lasn is himself an antipreneur. In 2003 he took on sneaker manufacturer Nike (NKE) and its labor practices in Asia by launching Blackspot Shoes. One shoe is even called the "Unswoosher," a deliberate swipe at the Nike logo. Blackspot's logo is, naturally, a large white spot. "This is in the spirit of playful resistance that culture jamming is all about," Lasn says. "Why not befuddle a few people and force them, through cognitive dissonance, to figure out the contradiction? It's good for them."

Marketing experts see things a bit differently. "No logo is still a logo, and one your social-cultural tribe will recognize," says Michal Strahilevitz, a professor of marketing at Golden Gate University in San Francisco. "It has the same effect of the Nike Swoosh, but it is the logo of a different tribe." This also explains why apparel is such fertile territory for antipreneurs: Antipreneurs appeal to consumers who want to buy products with a kind of reverse conspicuous consumption in mind. "It works better if it is publicly consumed, as that way others know you are an ethical consumer," she says. "You get points for being seen."

To date, Lasn's 13-person company has sold about 30,000 pairs of the $100 shoes, which are made in a union factory in Portugal. Lasn advertises only in his own magazine, although he says he's planning to run an MTV (VIA) spot with the tagline "Rethink Capitalism" within the next year or so.

Lasn has certainly made an impact on other antipreneurs, such as David Wampler, founder and sole proprietor of Simple Living Network in Trout Lake, Wash. The Web company, with $200,000 in annual revenues, is an online bazaar of products and services—information on green living, T-shirts, CDs—offered by small, anticorporate businesses. "I found inspiration in [Lasn's] work and appreciate the approach he is taking and the message he is trying to deliver," Wampler says. His goal is not to get rich so much as to run a business that supports an "outwardly simple and inwardly rich" life. Wampler says he has "purposely chosen to operate as a for-profit corporation in order to model sustainable small business practices."

Antipreneurs do pay careful attention to how their products are presented. Moo Shoes, a $1.2 million New York vegan shoe store with five employees, has made its shop a community hub for information about the vegan lifestyle and about animal cruelty. This spring, Moo Shoes hosted Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, a national agency for stray and abused pets. Best Friends set up pens and cages in the store with about 20 homeless dogs and cats. Customers learned about the agency and the strays, and two cats were placed in city homes. "We care about animals, and getting animals homes is important to us, though not directly related to the shoes," says Moo Shoes co-founder Sara Kubersky.

The store sells footwear that is produced by a tiny universe of manufacturers that use vegan materials and adhere to fair labor practices. Moo Shoes also manufactures its own vegan shoes, called Novaca (Spanish for "no cow"), in Portugal. The company does do some advertising, primarily in publications such as VegNews and Vegetarian Times. One ad depicts a lone cow sitting near a barn saying "Save My Skin: Buying leather directly supports factory farms and slaughterhouses, where, every year, millions of animals are killed for their skins. Think. Before you buy."

Of course, antipreneurs aren't the only ones to have figured out that appearing not to advertise, or running nontraditional ads, can be just as effective as more conventional campaigns. Big companies have caught on, too. "The hot trend within promotions is to try to create an impression that your product is more countercultural," says the University of Wisconsin's Helm. Nissan ran billboards painted by graffiti artist JCDecaux to launch its new Qashqai mini-sport-utility vehicle last winter. Nissan (NSANY) and Blackspot, says Samantha Skey, executive vice-president of strategic marketing at Alloy, "are going after the same customer."

Here, antipreneurs have an inherent advantage. "When you have a smaller company committed to a certain type of social responsibility [from its] inception, one that is really and truly founded on building business around sustainability or fair labor, that [philosophy] is inherent in the DNA of the company," says Skey. "Consumers pick up on it."

Or as Erica Kubersky, co-founder of Moo Shoes, says: "Consumers know more these days than they used to. If you are not doing this from personal conviction, you will never convey the same message."

The other approach, taken by No Sweat Apparel, is to do no advertising. Like Goldsmith, Neiman, president and CEO of the eight-year-old company, depends on word of mouth to spread the gospel of his goods. Using ads to sell a product "really puts a huge amount of pressure on wages," says Neiman, estimating that advertising would add about 20% to his costs. He says his workers in the seven union factories that supply him, located in places as far-flung as Argentina, South Africa, and the West Bank, all get paid a living wage.

No Sweat makes the most of its logo, which features the World War II icon Rosie the Riveter. The brand has a following among the indie music crowd, so Neiman gives emerging bands a banner with Rosie tricked out as a punk rocker, complete with piercings, metal bracelets, and tattoos. The bands often display the banner at concerts. "We call her the dominatrix of labor," says Neiman, with a laugh. "What we are doing is a little tongue-in-cheek, trying to provoke a reaction."

UNION DUES

still, since image is crucial to their ability to sell, these companies must deliver on their message in ways other businesses may not have to. In 2006, another union was trying to take over the already-unionized factory Neiman used in Indonesia. This union eventually audited Neiman's factory, and Lasn posted some unflattering details from the audit on Adbusters' Web site this April. It didn't help that Neiman and Lasn were making similar shoes. But the audit wasn't news to Neiman, who says he posted the same details on his own company's Web site before Lasn got involved. "We got blindsided by a segment of the anti-sweatshop community that objects to market-based solutions altogether," he says. In the end, he had to sever ties with the factory he'd been using.

No matter how countercultural he might sound, Neiman still wants to grow his business, like most other entrepreneurs. "This model is scalable," he says. "We can source from as many union shops as are out there, and we can keep growing and expanding rapidly." Sara Kubersky wants to open Moo Shoes stores in San Francisco and Washington, D.C., in the next two to three years. "It would be great to have one in every city," she says. Goldsmith doesn't think his noncommercial ethos means he's sacrificing revenue—quite the contrary. "I firmly believe we are making more money with our anti-advertising stance than we would if we solicited as much advertising as possible," he says. He wouldn't mind if Radioparadise.com grew to four to five times its current size. As long as he can set the playlist, and the priorities, himself.

[Via - BusinessWeek.Com] 

Can I Have Your Attention? Barter Works Great When Economy Isn't

Let’s face it: 2007 wasn’t the best time to start a new business in Miami Beach. The real estate market had already crashed, and spiraling gas prices would soon dent the vital tourism industry.

So when Cleveland Cook, 40, found the need to hire an accountant for Can I Have Your Attention, his new advertising and branding agency, what he really wanted to know was, “Can I have a deal?”

Fortunately he found Claudia Peralta, a former corporate accountant who was just starting her own accounting practice around the same time. The two worked out an arrangement: Peralta would do all of Cook’s number-crunching in return for a logo, website, postcards and “Everything else she needed to kick-start her business.”

Now approaching $100,000 in sales, Can I Have Your Attention is establishing a reputation and a client base despite the slow economy. But the company still has to keep expenses down, so cashless trades with other professionals make sense.

“Especially in this economy, barter helps out because it keeps your overhead low,” Cook says. “At the end of the month, the money you save goes right to the bottom line.”

He’s not the only one who thinks so. As the cash economy cools, the cashless economy is heating up. These days, more entrepreneurs are experimenting with barter. Direct barter, however, requires serendipity. Both parties must be looking for just the right product or service at just the right time–and both must be willing to trade, rather than sell.

[Via - Uncommon Business Blog]

Call For Home-Based Biz Tax Break

A New York congressman has introduced a bill that would offer a standard $1,500 deduction to taxpayers who work out of an office in their homes.

The bill from Rep. John McHugh, a Republican, is backed by the National Association for the Self-Employed. It also has won the support of the U.S. Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy.

Taxpayers currently can take a deduction for home-office expenses if they use part of their home exclusively for business. But less than half of the people who would qualify for the deduction take it, according to the IRS' taxpayer advocacy office, because of the law's complexity and strict record-keeping requirements.

A standard deduction of $1,500, which would rise in future years along with inflation, could encourage more small-business owners to take the deduction, McHugh says in a release. It also would be optional, allowing business owners to continue to itemize their deductions if they want.

According to NASE's Web site, this is the third effort backed by the organization to simplify the home office deduction. The previous two attempts failed amid concerns about revenue and taxpayer abuse.

 

[Via - Business First of Buffalo]

Exchanging Biz Services Slash Startup Costs

Let's face it: 2007 wasn't the best time to start a new business in Miami Beach. The real estate market had already crashed, and spiraling gas prices would soon dent the vital tourism industry.

So when Cleveland Cook, 40, found the need to hire an accountant for Can I Have Your Attention, his new advertising and branding agency, what he really wanted to know was, "Can I have a deal?"

Fortunately he found Claudia Peralta, a former corporate accountant who was just starting her own accounting practice around the same time. The two worked out an arrangement: Peralta would do all of Cook's number-crunching in return for a logo, website, postcards and "Everything else she needed to kick-start her business."

Now approaching $100,000 in sales, Can I Have Your Attention is establishing a reputation and a client base despite the slow economy. But the company still has to keep expenses down, so cashless trades with other professionals make sense.

"Especially in this economy, barter helps out because it keeps your overhead low," Cook says. "At the end of the month, the money you save goes right to the bottom line."

He's not the only one who thinks so. As the cash economy cools, the cashless economy is heating up. These days, more entrepreneurs are experimenting with barter. Direct barter, however, requires serendipity. Both parties must be looking for just the right product or service at just the right time--and both must be willing to trade, rather than sell.

That's where barter organizations come in. They act as a kind of bank, issuing credits or scrip that can be traded among their members instead of cash. For example, a local store might reward its top salespeople with a day-long yacht charter. If they are members of the same barter group, the yacht captain can be paid in "trade credits," which are deposited into his account. When demand gets so strong he can't find the time to clean his house, he checks the membership directory to find a cleaning service that accepts credits, then the cleaning service spends its credits to print promotional fliers, and on and on it goes.

All those transactions can add up to a lot of real value, even if it's not real money. The International Reciprocal Trade Association estimates that half a million small businesses using commercial barter exchanges generate some $10 billion in "sales" each year.

Of course, that kind of sales volume doesn't come free. Commercial barter exchanges typically charge an annual membership fee plus a commission of up to 10 percent per transaction. In return, they promise not only to help conserve cash, but also to find new business.

"We bring our clients new customers that they wouldn't have if they weren't part of the network," says Wendall Stroderd, a broker with Itex Payment Systems, a large national exchange. Stroderd's Melbourne, Florida, office did $10 million in trades last year--due, he says, to the brokers' proactive role in bringing buyers and sellers together.

Even so, barter will work better for some businesses than it will for others. Jeff Browne, 50, learned that the hard way when he signed up his two central Texas Hallmark shops with a barter exchange service several years ago.

Initially everything seemed to work perfectly. Other members came into Browne's stores, chose their cards and gifts, and presented him with an exchange voucher. Browne then submitted the vouchers to the exchange service and watched the credits in his account pile up.

"I'd get all this money in my account, and then I'd have trouble finding a way to spend it," he says. "Everybody was offering labor rather than goods. The problem was, I didn't need my house painted or my driveway resurfaced. "

For Browne, the frustration with barter was similar to that voiced by timeshare owners: Despite the promise of 50,000 units to choose from, there never seems to be a vacancy for just the right week in just the right location. When he left Texas four years ago to pursue a new business venture in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Browne says he had about $8,000 still sitting in his account.

"Finally I just turned it in and said, 'Here, take it back. I'll never be able to use it,'" he says.

Now the publisher of Natural Awakenings, a health magazine with 13,000 readers in northern New Mexico, Browne is still engaged in barter, though on a much smaller scale. Every month he trades a small ad to a local massage therapist in exchange for a free treatment right after his deadline.

"It's a treat I look forward to every month," he explains. "After sitting at the computer for several days, it's something for me . . . and I probably wouldn't spend the cash on myself if that was my only choice."

 

[Via - Entrepreneur.com]

Deliveries Get BentBustedBroken.com

I work from home, so I still need to get copies of our mothership publication, PC Magazine, sent to me. I'm lucky enough to get them just before subscribers... but I wonder sometimes if I'd be better off not getting them from UPS. I think the driver uses the envelope they come in to wipe his feet.

Now, I have a place to vent about that and any other bent, busted, or broken deliveries to my house. BentBustedBroken.com is a brand new photo and video sharing site with one goal: for members to show off the condition of their most horrible, messed-up deliveries.

You can share them with others, naturally, but better yet, share them with the post office, FedEx, UPS, or other services that crushed that box. At least that's the theory. BentBustedBroken.com doesn't really have a facility in its pages to forward images/videos to the carriers directly - you'll have to do that yourself. I hope this will change but right now the site is so new that there's not enough shared to make it worthwhile - just 3 videos and 13 image from about 12 members as of this morning.

The site was built using MediaShare, a service that lets anyone build/host a photo/video sharing site of their own, so if you've got a great idea for other destroyed (or undestroyed) items to build a sharing community around, go crazy. Maybe you'll create the next LOLcats, but with video.

 

[Via - AppScout.com ]

7 Things You Must Do To Innovate In Downturn

Gates recently said, “We are in an economic downturn but an innovation upturn.” Most people are focusing on the downturn and the dangers it poses rather than on the opportunity for innovation. Most businesses are restructuring and streamlining their operations. How can you maximize your chances in the change maelstrom? One way is to take a positive approach to change and to be seen as an innovative go-getter who will help make the re-organization a success. Here’s how:

1. Adopt a positive attitude.

Like Bill Gates — see the opportunity. Don’t be cynical about change. Don’t assume the worst. Don’t believe and repeat rumors about management’s conspiracies to do down the workforce. Change is inevitable for every organization so it is time to start liking it. Change means new opportunities, new responsibilities, and new things to learn and do. People who are positive about new challenges are more likely to be given them. People who are resistant to change and reluctant to adapt are the first to be culled.

2. Become a change agent.

Make suggestions. Introduce ideas and recommendations. Look for ways in which your department could bring in new products, business processes or partnerships. Ask yourself — is there a better way to meet the needs of our customers? Anticipate trends and suggest ways of changing the department to exploit new opportunities and new technologies.

3. Listen to customers.

Where can you find the ideas for change? One source is customers. In your dealings with clients you should make a point of asking how your product or service could be improved. What do they like and dislike about your offering? How are their business needs changing? What will they need in the future? Even better than asking them is to study how they use your product or service. What difficulties do they encounter? How could you alleviate the problems and make their life easier? Do they use your product or service in conjunction with others? Could you co-operate with another company or combine your product with others to bring an innovation to market?

4. Watch the competition.

Keep an eye on what they are doing and any innovations they introduce. Ask customers what other suppliers are doing that is smart and new. Study their initiatives and see what works. Suggest ways in which you cannot just match the competition but leapfrog them.

5. Be sensitive to office politics.

For most ideas it is best to talk them through with colleagues in your department and in other areas to test their workability before you speak to your manager. That way you have checked out the concept, cleared some obvious objections and gained feedback before you propose it. It will sound better thought out. However, there are some ideas that are so sensitive that it would be silly to bat them around the office before proposing them. You have to choose your moments carefully. Often you can prepare the ground by describing the size of the problem and agreeing how pressing it is before you introduce your idea. Catch the boss when he or she is most receptive. Sometimes it is best to introduce your big idea outside the hurly burly of the office. If you can buttonhole the director in the pub or the car park you may have a better chance of a good hearing.

6. Don’t insist on the glory.

If you spark an idea and then other people adapt and improve it then that is fine. By letting go you have a better chance of it being adopted than if you insist on driving every aspect of the initiative because it “was your idea in the first place.” Sometimes the cleverest tactic is to let your boss take it over as his or her idea. People will still know that you were the one who planted the seed.

7. Be prepared for rejection.

Most managers are analytical and critical. They are good at finding fault with other people’s ideas. The more radical your proposal the more likely it is that people will feel uncomfortable with it. Propose it carefully. Lay it out in a logical way and explain the benefits. But if your boss disagrees then don’t fall out over it and don’t bypass him. Let it lie fallow for a while. I once worked for a CEO who would tear new ideas to shreds and ridicule them. But the next day he would often say, “I was thinking about that idea of yours and I can see a way to make it work.” His initial reaction was to oppose an idea just to test it. But once the germ of the idea was in his head he could find ways to develop it. Above all don’t stop bringing forward ideas because the first few are rejected.

Change means winners and losers. If you can be known as someone who is creative, innovative and a driver of change then the chances are that you will emerge a winner. Not only will you survive the change but you will be given the responsibility of making part of it a reality.

[Via - Lifehack.org]

Problematic Franchising

Earlier in this decade, Cold Stone Creamery was one of the hottest franchises around. The super-premium ice-cream stores attracted scores of franchisees hungry for a piece of the "Ultimate Ice Cream Experience."

Now many franchisees are selling their stores, overwhelmed by soaring bills and shrinking profits. Some have lost their homes, broken their retirement nest eggs or filed for bankruptcy.

What happened?

Even as they rave about the quality of the ice cream, numerous franchisees say the numbers in Cold Stone's business model didn't add up. The cost of running one of the shops was so steep that making a profit was daunting, especially in an economy where a $4 scoop was a pricey indulgence, they argue. They also contend the company cut their margins even further by offering two-for-one coupons and making them buy costly ingredients from a single supplier. Some argue that the company's rapid expansion crowded stores too close together -- and brought in too many inexperienced franchisees.

A number of franchisees also contend the company misled them, giving them promises of profit potential that proved unrealistic or inaccurate revenue numbers from existing stores. And some say that they got little help from the company as their stores went under.

"They have a defective business model, there's no question about it," says Ken Gornall, a former franchisee who closed his Glendale, Ariz., store last October. He adds that the average revenue numbers he received before signing up "were quite misleading," exaggerating likely annual sales.

Cold Stone says more than 100 of its stores closed last year. That's up from 60 in 2006. One list on a Cold Stone Web site recently had 303 stores for sale -- more than 20% of the company's 1,384 as of last December.

This "combination of numbers is very, very high," says franchise attorney Eric Karp of Boston law firm Witmer, Karp, Warner & Ryan LLP. "I think it's a symptom of bad news and not good news." (Mr. Karp, who specializes in representing franchisee associations and individual franchisees, hasn't represented Cold Stone store owners.)

Ken Gornall

Cold Stone has been franchising only since 1995, and Mr. Karp concludes that 12 years or so would be an unusually short time for first-generation franchisees to be cashing out and retiring.

Chris Prasifka, Cold Stone's president, acknowledges that the "inventory of stores for sale now is higher than it has been." But a company spokeswoman terms the for-sale number "at par with industry expectations," given "the economically challenging times." She adds that about 230 of those listed for sale are stores in operation; the rest are "awards" to develop future stores.

The company also contests the franchisees' charges. Cold Stone insists it doesn't provide profit potential to prospective franchisees. It also says the revenue figures it gave for existing stores were based on franchisee reports.

Costs, meanwhile, "will depend on how well a store is operated," Mr. Prasifka says. Cold Stone says it uses a one-stop distributor to ensure efficiency, quality and economies of scale. It adds that franchisees can buy ingredients elsewhere at lower prices if the product is identical. Cold Stone says it won't distribute national two-for-one coupons this year, after franchisee complaints.

And the company says that it's selective about adding franchisees, typically approving about 2% of applicants. As for their chances of succeeding, Mr. Prasifka asserts that "it's no different from any other business. You've got to work it." He adds, "It does take a year or two to understand the business."

Overall, Mr. Prasifka says, "We want all franchisees to succeed. However, minimal restaurant experience, a lack of desire to do local-store marketing or the inability to be operationally excellent can all contribute to a franchisee's inability to succeed."

Cold Stone was a stand-alone brand for 19 years before being acquired by fast-food franchiser Kahala Corp. last year. Other Kahala brands include Blimpie sandwiches and TacoTime Mexican food. Kahala's plans call for slowing Cold Stone's expansion, reducing new-store construction costs and finding ways to grow average annual store sales to about $500,000 from about $360,000 now.

For many franchisees, the new ownership comes too late. Formerly an independent real-estate agent, Mr. Gornall signed up for a Cold Stone franchise in June 2004. "The stores seemed busy all the time. You assume that 'busy' equates to profitability," he says.

Before buying, Mr. Gornall called half a dozen franchisees. "No one said, 'This is a bad deal,' " he remembers. But it soon became clear that something was amiss. Mr. Gornall already faced high overhead such as a $3,700-a-month lease, he says. Then, he says, the company squeezed his margins further by mandating that he buy what he considered expensive ingredients, in larger quantities than he needed. Mr. Gornall adds that the company's promotional couponing shrank his profits.

Along the way, he says, he didn't get much help, either from Cold Stone or the area developer -- a company representative assigned to sell franchises in the area and monitor the franchisees. The area developer, Sean Brown, visited his store only once, Mr. Gornall recalls, and didn't have any good ideas for boosting sales.

Mr. Gornall and his wife borrowed on their personal credit cards to pay the store's bills. But after their losses exceeded $100,000 last fall, they gave up and closed their store. They lost their house and are filing for bankruptcy. "It's been pretty devastating," he says.

Still, "I share some responsibilities" for failing, Mr. Gornall adds. "Maybe I should have closed sooner, but I kept on thinking things would be better."

The company wouldn't comment directly on the Gornalls' case. But Mr. Prasifka says, "When a franchisee asks for support, we make it a priority to get someone from our team to visit them, discuss their situation and get to the root cause."

He says if franchisees aren't satisfied with the support they receive from their area developer, there are "multiple resources," including an ombudsman, available. But he acknowledges that "during tough times, we will have some franchisees who will struggle."

The company didn't comment on Mr. Gornall's complaints about Mr. Brown, which were echoed by several other ex-franchisees. Cold Stone terminated Mr. Brown in January 2007 after he "habitually failed to pay royalties, rent, advertising and other amounts" on Cold Stone stores he owned, according to a company document in a tax-levy dispute with the government in U.S. District Court in Houston. The dispute arose over who should pay income and employment taxes owed on Mr. Brown's stores. The government looked to Cold Stone, but the company argued that Cold Stone didn't have an interest in Mr. Brown's properties at the time the lien arose. Mr. Brown declined to comment.

Citing surveys of franchisees, Mr. Prasifka says that overall "they're very satisfied with their area developers," whom he calls "world class." He says three of the two dozen or so have left the system in the past two years.

Some franchisees argue that the chain expanded too rapidly in its early years. "They did overbuild across the country, no question about it," says Michael Goldman, a Northern California franchisee with seven stores and a seat on Cold Stone's National Advisory Board, a group of franchisees who meet to discuss the business and give franchisee feedback to management.

The rapid growth meant new stores were frequently close to old ones, cannibalizing sales, Mr. Goldman argues. "I'm sure there are sites that should never have been picked and franchisees that should never have been picked" because of their lack of experience, he says.

Deborah Lickteig

But while many failed Cold Stone franchisees were new to franchising, experienced franchisees also have lost money. "This was not our first rodeo," says Deborah Lickteig, whose family had operated KFC chicken outlets in Arizona and New Mexico.

"We worked it real hard for a year," she says. But she and her husband sold their store in June 2006 after weekly sales at the San Antonio outlet fell several thousand dollars short of what she calls "skewed" pro-forma figures from the company. A glut of Cold Stone stores in the area, high food costs and the buy-one, get-one-free coupons made things worse, she says. Cold Stone wouldn't comment directly on the Lickteigs.

Former Florida franchisee Cecil Rolle has become more nettlesome to Cold Stone than most. After the company terminated him last year, it alleged in a Florida circuit court action that he had been caught removing equipment from one of his three Florida stores in the middle of the night. The company also filed suit in federal district court in Tallahassee to recover what it said are substantial sums he owes.

Cecil Rolle

Mr. Rolle acknowledges seeking to remove equipment and withholding payments. But he and his wife have countersued, contending among other things that they were misled when told they would make "right around a 20% profit" on a mall store they bought. Cold Stone wouldn't comment on Mr. Rolle's allegations, but in a recent email to franchisees, a Cold Stone attorney sought to counter what he termed "Mr. Rolle's inaccurate and misleading attacks against us."

Mr. Rolle is trying to organize other franchisees for a possible class-action suit seeking some remedy from Cold Stone and Kahala. He spends much of his days at his Gainesville, Fla., home emailing with disillusioned former and current franchisees. "I feel like I'm doing something good," he says. And last month, Mr. Rolle opened an ice-cream shop in Tallahassee -- on the site of a former Cold Stone store.

[Via - The WallSteet Journal]

The 30-Second Entrepreneur

More people than ever want to start their own company. That's great. About six months ago, I wrote down about 100 things I learned over about 25 years of starting companies. Here are two of them.

23. To sell many, sell one.
To build your company, you have to sell multiples. You can't just sell one. Anyone can sell one. Your family will buy, and maybe even a college buddy will give you money for your new widget. The trick is to sell the second one, and get paid for it. But before you can sell many, you have to sell that one single customer. When you talk to venture capitalists, they are obnoxiously insistent on waiting until someone buys. Everything else is "classroom."

84. Worry less about the big competitors and more about the guy in the garage.
The typical new entrepreneur is overly concerned about the "Big Company." Their idea is so good that the big company may steal it, they think. Once, a friend of mine had developed a molded mini-trashcan that would attach cleverly to the back seat of a Lexus. His question: How could he protect his idea from Toyota, the parent company of Lexus? Companies, especially large ones, are not sitting around hoping to get their next product or enhancement from some underfunded entrepreneur. In fact, most of the time, the large company will completely discount and disregard your offering. When Scott Drill and I started Varitronics, the company that owned the existing market for the product even ridiculed us and our new product. This is more common than you would think. So don't worry about the big guys; worry more about the guy just like you, with a slightly bigger garage.

 

[Via - USNews]

Entrepreneurship At Any Age

LA Times:

 

When she was 8 years old, Evelyn Espinoza sold bubble gum and other candy door-to-door in her Los Angeles neighborhood to earn money.

By sixth grade, her mom was buying the enterprising 12-year-old toys at a wholesale mart to resell at school.

Now 17, Espinoza is still hard at work. Her latest business venture, Hippie's Candles, was named the winner last week of the Los Angeles regional business-plan competition, and a $1,750 prize, at the event sponsored by the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship and the Merrill Lynch Foundation.

"Entrepreneurship is excellent," said Espinoza, who is in the NFTE entrepreneur-training class at Soledad Enrichment Action Girls Academy, a charter school in downtown Los Angeles.

"Money rules the society," she said. "Everyone wants money, and it's only right to learn how to make it in a legit way and to be your own boss."

Second place and $1,250 went to Crenshaw High School students Autumn Taylor and Ariana Drummond, both 18, for their Groovy Smoothie business -- a revival of a concept created by a former student.

Taylor and Drummond, who sell smoothies at special events, recently whipped up 300 at a multicultural bazaar at the school, bringing $800 in revenue and a profit of $600. They've trained other students to take over the enterprise next school year when the two head to college.

"Going through this program has taught me a lot of things that I won't have to mess up on when I go through this in the future," said Taylor, who will major in business economics at UCLA and would like to work in the music industry before starting her own music company.

Drummond, who will major in public relations and business management at Hampton University in Virginia, values the networking she learned through the program, which included job shadowing at Cushman & Wakefield Inc. and a field trip last week to Comcast Corp.

"My networking with the different mentors and people at Merrill Lynch and NFTE has taught me a basic understanding of getting to know individuals and learning how important relationships are in the business world," she said.

Monique Verduzco, 15, won third place and $750 for her business plan for an automotive care company called Magic Detailing Service. The student at Soledad Enrichment Action charter school in North Hills wants to study graphic arts in college.

The first- and second-place winners will head to New York in the fall to compete for a $10,000 prize with other young entrepreneurs from NFTE programs around the country. A pool of 20,000 young people participated in the regional competitions this year.

Last year, Torrance student Daniel Uribe won third place in the national competition after placing first in the Los Angeles regional match for his Lazer Bearings business plan. The venture sells high-performance, low-cost ceramic bearings for skateboards.

New York-based NFTE, which was started by an entrepreneur as a dropout prevention program, targets young people from low-income areas. The nonprofit provides curriculum and training to schools, after-school programs and organizations to teach business management, financial literacy, critical analysis and public speaking skills.

Merrill Lynch helped launch NFTE Greater Los Angeles in 2006 with a three-year grant.

"We're trying to help teach young people about investing in entrepreneurship, to help promote the importance of business knowledge and that sort of thing -- it's core to who we are as a company," said Garrett Gin, a Costa Mesa-based spokesman for Merrill Lynch & Co.'s western region and a regional NFTE judge.

Company employees volunteered to mentor Espinoza and other students in the Los Angeles program. The mentors served as financial advisors, helping the students run the numbers for their business plans, and worked with them to hone their presentations.

Locally, about 500 students competed in the high-school level business plan competition. Overall, there are 17 schools and one community organization using the NFTE curriculum in the Los Angeles area. About 2,000 local young people have participated since the program began.

Espinoza said she makes candles in the kitchen of her family's home using organic wax and various dyes and fragrances. The 11th-grader has learned to wait until she has an order "so I can make sure people pay for the supplies I use," she said.

Sounding like a seasoned business pro, she talked about "her basic unit," a six-inch pillar that sells for $17. Star shapes made of colored layers of wax and heart-shaped candles cost more.

Espinoza said she jotted down several ideas for her business, including making bird treats, before settling on candles. A friend helped teach her how to make them.

Espinoza would like to expand by making a catalog, adding to her candle selection and getting stores to buy her candles on consignment.

"I really see big things for this business," she said. " I'm just getting going."



Insurance enforcement

The first batch of 500 California employers' names has been sent to be checked against the state's workers' compensation insurance rolls under a pilot program meant to ferret out businesses that duck the state-mandated coverage.

As part of the new enforcement effort, every three months 500 business names will be pulled from sources that include the payroll database at the Employment Development Department and handed over to the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau.

The program was created last year by the passage of a bill aimed at reducing the number of California businesses illegally operating without insurance to cover the cost of medical care and disability benefits for job-related injuries.

"The underground economy is ranked up there as what [small-business] employees feel is the biggest threat competitively in California," said John Duncan, director of the Department of Industrial Relations, which launched the program two weeks ago.

If a small business looks like it doesn't carry insurance, it will get a letter asking for proof of coverage. Those without it will be subject to a penalty.

California employers -- even those with a single employee -- must carry workers' compensation insurance unless they employ only family members. Qualified firms can self-insure.

For more information, see the state website at www.dir.ca .gov/dwc/employer.htm.



Equipment

For small businesses that need to acquire equipment but aren't sure how to best leverage their cash and credit to do so, a new website offers a solid overview of the options.

Business owners can read up on subjects such as whether to lease equipment or get a loan to buy it and what types of leases and financing are available.

About 80% of all businesses finance equipment to invest in capital assets while managing cash flow and their balance sheets, according to industry trade group Equipment Leasing and Finance Assn., which created the guide at www.equipmentfinance101.org.

For a small business, financed equipment can include computers, telephone systems, office equipment and related services and software.



Keep an eye on:

Paid sick days will be required for all employees who work seven or more days a year under a bill approved last week by the state Assembly. Small businesses would be able to limit paid sick days, which can be used to care for family members, to five per year.

The bill, AB 2716, now heads to the state Senate for consideration. It is opposed by the California Chamber of Commerce and, if passed, may face a veto by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

MyCampFriends.com Success Story

In Seinfeld parlance, T.J. Shanoff and Brad Spirrison were winter friends. While attending Chicago’s Latin School, the two hung out together. But every summer they split up to go to separate camps in Wisconsin to be with their summer friends.

Now they’ve teamed up to create a Web site, MyCampFriends.com, where everyone can be year-round friends.

Since its start last September, 2,500 camp alums have registered, most to find old pals, though some have used it to organize reunions. Shanoff, 34, a music director at Second City, and Spirrison, 33, president of Midwest Business, a Chicago Internet service, expect ad revenues to hit $250,000 in 2009. They spent $35,000 to get the venture started.

Are the entrepreneurs happy campers? “We’re ecstatic campers,” says Shanoff.

[Via -BusinessWeek]

Life After Entrepreneurship

Q: My husband and I are closing our business after many years, and we will be looking for jobs after the closure. Are we entitled to unemployment benefits, having been self-employed?

—M.P., Long Island, N.Y.

Business owners typically cannot file for unemployment benefits when they close their companies. This is because unemployment benefits are a form of insurance paid for by employers on behalf of their employees. The employers pay unemployment premiums to the state, not to a private insurance company.

"The business owner pays the premium and claims can be filed by employees when they lose their employment due to circumstances beyond their control," says Mark Deo, a small business consultant and blogger. You can get more information from the unemployment insurance page at the New York State Labor Dept.'s Web site.

Work Your Network of Professional Contacts

For business owners who have been self-employed for many years, the transition into the job market can be quite difficult, says Nancy Fox, president of Fox Coaching Associates in Mamaroneck, N.Y. "Depending on your track record and relationships in the marketplace, your value as employees may be lower because people who are hiring worry about you making this transition to working for someone other than yourselves," she notes. Of course, if you know someone who is a decision-maker at the company in question, and that person values your knowledge and expertise, your having been entrepreneurs could work to your advantage, Fox says.

Generally, however, you may do best if you position yourselves as advisers or consultants to companies in the same industry you're leaving. The people you approach may have been your competitors, suppliers, or subcontractors in the past. "Throughout your careers as entrepreneurs, you typically create many valuable business relationships. These should be leveraged in pursuit of another opportunity," Deo says. Work your network of professional contacts as you shut down your company. Let people know you're closing your company, but you and your spouse still possess valuable information and experience.

Leverage Your Particular Skills

"Think about the knowledge, resources, and network that you have gained over the years. Think about what you've learned from the school of hard knocks. Then think about how can you use this to build another business, or to help others in your industry avoid the typical pitfalls that new business owners fall into," Deo says.

If your industry is in a slump, you might market the specific expertise you've gained as entrepreneurs. For instance, if you've acted as chief financial officer in your own business, think about becoming a "rent-a-CFO" consultant for other small businesses needing financial expertise. If you've learned how to create a small business Web site or do IT development, leverage those skills and consult with other entrepreneurs who don't have that knowledge.

"The key is to position yourselves very strategically, come up with a strong value proposition that speaks to the needs of your potential clients, and offer the right bundle of services, packaged attractively," Fox says. "Have some informal meetings with people in your industry and ask what challenges they are experiencing. You can then position yourselves to solve those challenges."

[Via - BusinessWeek]

Bakery niche: Divorce Cakes

Texas baker Suzanne Maxwell built her "Lovin' Oven Bakery" on wedding cakes, but in the past few years she's been delving into divorce cakes.

Maxwell developed the concept with the help of a customer. "She said 'I really want a wedding cake, but I'm getting a divorce,' " Maxwell explained.

And so it began...tiered flour and sugar monuments to celebrate matrimonial meltdown.

While the happily married Maxwell has made thousands of wedding cakes over the years, she's happy to report she's only done a few dozen divorce cakes.

She likes to think of it as a small slice of heaven for customers who say they've been through hell.

Maxwell says she's only had one man order a divorce cake. All the other requests have been from women.

[Via - 9News.com]

What's the WindWing? Better than a wind farm, says inventor

 

AMESBURY — It's called the next step in wind power and alternate energy sources, and it could come to Greater Newburyport.

Tonight, there is a chance to meet the new device — the "WindWing."

During a public forum at 7:30 p.m. at Amesbury Town Hall, Gene Kelley, founder and CEO of Santa Barbara, Cailf.-based W2 Energy Development Corp. and InnovaTech LLC., will explain his product — an alternative to the traditional wind turbine.

"I looked at propeller-driven wind turbines and said, 'Isn't there a better way to do this?'" Kelley said.

The WindWing improves on the wind turbine by using airplane technology and running more efficiently, cheaply and quietly than traditional turbines, he said.

A large parallelogram that resembles a set of oversized venetian blinds on a metal rod, WindWing has six wing panels that can tilt up and down in order to create energy. Sensors located behind the panels are able to detect wind direction and strength and adjust the panels accordingly.

The energy is pulled into the stem on the machine and pulled into a box at its base, where it can be converted by an electrical pump into electricity, compressed air or put through a water pump.

Global wind power capacity has been increasing throughout the world. Locally, three wind turbines have been installed at Cider Hill Farm, and a turbine is planned at Mark Richey Woodworking in Newburyport.

"We want to raise the level of technology and create something better," Kelley said. "This will bring us closer to reaching the political goals set to make more energy available."

Kelley is already an experienced inventor. He created the rumble strips used on the sides of highways, the safety lights attached to floatation devices under airplane seats, and astronaut John Glenn's helmet.

"Have you ever stuck your hand out a car window?" Kelley asked. "Then you know how the WindWing works. Your hand tilts up as it is pushed up by the wind and down as the wind pushes it down; all you have to do is direct it."

While traditional turbines rely on spinning propellers, Kelley says they are inefficient, capturing only a fraction of the energy from the already minimal amount of wind they touch.

"The more area the turbine touches, the more energy it collects," Kelley explained.

Because of WindWing's ability to run efficiently in the lightest and harshest of winds, it costs only a tenth of the cost of a traditional wind turbine. Up to 12 panels can be stacked on the WindWing.

Based on the needs and surface area of each site, WindWing can replace 12 propeller turbines.

"The propellers break and wear out. People complain of the grinding of the gears," Kelley said. "WindWing is nearly silent and adjusts based on conditions."

Kelley speaks passionately about the moment he realized his invention worked. A small prototype, with only two panels, was pulled out of a warehouse at a Santa Barbara airport. While Kelley went to get a fan to generate wind, WindWing began its choreographed dance up and down in the then 6 mph wind.

"That was a big day," Kelley said with a grin. "It really works."

[ Via - The Daily News]

 

5 Perfect 'Spare-Time' Online Businesses

With all the doom and gloom news about the economy, there's never been a better time to make an extra paycheck online with a minimal amount of time and effort.

If you have an internet connection, you can get started on the road to having the internet pay for your mortgage, car payment, kids' college tuition, or even that special vacation you've wanted. Now, don't worry that you have to be a tech whiz to start a business online--I'm a complete techno-dunce.

A perfect part-time business would have to be very easy to start, require little time and money and no technical expertise, be easy to maintain with just a few hours a week and have a proven track record with a high probability of success.

There's actually one other important criteria--it has to be perfect for you! Experience has taught me that it's different strokes for different folks, and there is no "one size fits all" perfect business. You're much more likely to be successful if you do something you find fun and interesting.

With that in mind, here are five of the best ways to make extra cash moonlighting on the internet:

1.  Information marketing: We're in the information age, and the internet provides you with the ideal medium to exchange know-how for money. Do you know the best fishing holes?  How to play guitar? The secrets to a successful marriage? A recipe for moist and delicious brownies? A trick for saving gas?

Think about your career, your hobbies and your interests. Virtually anything you know can be turned into extra cash. And don't worry if you think you're not an expert--as long as you know more than the average person on the topic, that information is valuable.

However, if you don't believe you know anything that others would pay for (highly unlikely), you can take someone else's know-how and make money that way! It could be as easy as interviewing a veterinarian to help you create a dog-training product.

Ninety-two percent of people go online looking for information, and you could be one of the many people cashing in on selling it.

2. eBay: One of the largest online marketplaces makes it a piece of cake to get your own business going. You can open an account and start making money within hours on eBay!

While I dislike that whole "sell your garbage on eBay" thing, there is some validity to it as many people get their start on eBay by selling items from their garage or attic that pre-eBay would have been thrown out. This approach is fine, but where is the business once you run out of those items? If you want to create an eBay business that doesn't require tons of time and effort, you need to leverage products that can be sold over and over again.

This is one of the reasons I'm not a fan of the "eBay seller for hire" kinds of opportunities, where you sell things on eBay for other people. You get access to stuff people want to sell, but because each item is unique you have to work to list each and every one. There's no leverage there!

Take a look at some of the largest eBay PowerSellers and notice how they specialize in very specific products (iPods, cell phones, dog grooming kits, etc.). This allows them to leverage their efforts. A listing is created once, and money is collected over and over again.

Unlike information marketing, this business requires the handling of physical goods, but even that can be automated, so it shouldn't prevent you from considering this idea.

3. Affiliate marketing:  This may possibly be the absolute laziest way to make money because it doesn't require you to have a product, make a sale or ever have any interaction with customers.

This is essentially a "referral" business, or as one of my book contributors likes to call it, "passionate recommendations." Basically, you can get paid a referral commission just for sending people to sites (or vendors) that are set up to pay affiliate fees once a sale is made. The vendor does all the selling, fulfills the purchase and handles any customer service issues--and you just collect your check….not bad!

Some people choose affiliates based on who or what is paying the highest commissions, and that certainly is a viable option. Most people opt to choose products or goods they are passionate about so that the process is much more fun and engaging.

Insurance and credit card companies pay high commissions for referrals that convert to customers ($40 to $150 and up), but the competition is fierce. It may pay well, but is this something you'll enjoy doing for the long haul?

Alternatively, you could take a look at your hobbies and other things you enjoy and see which affiliate programs are a good match. As always, do your research to verify the viability of your market. A good place to look for ideas (and downloadable products just waiting for an affiliate) is ClickBank.com.

4. Blogging: This business is best suited for folks who enjoy communicating about a particular subject. Think of blogs as journals of sorts. Although you can have a personal blog, writing about a particular topic will have a higher chance for financial success. 

The range of topics is virtually endless--photography, sports cars, parenting, dieting, star gazing, the latest gadgets, Hollywood gossip--you name it, as there are blogs on just about everything you can imagine. Don't worry about competition. Folks who read one blog are apt to read others on a topic they're passionate about, as long as you have something interesting to say.

Once your blog starts getting traffic, you can make money passively with things like AdSense (Google's ad revenue sharing plan) or actively by doing a little bit of affiliate marketing. You can see both types of moneymaking strategies at SparkleCat.com, which is a blog about a person's cat. What makes it interesting is that it's written from the cat's perspective and often refers to her "human." At the top of the page are Google AdSense ads, and sprinkled throughout are suggestions for things like cat furniture and premium cat food, which are tied to an affiliate program. Pretty cool, no?

5. Yahoo! Store: This business is very similar to eBay in the sense that it's a monster-sized marketplace but more similar to a store in the true sense of the word. Think having your own retail outlet but without the hassles of rent, employees, utilities and all the other expenses of a traditional brick-and-mortar store.

The neat thing is that it can be as hands-on or as hands-off as you want it to be because of companies called drop-shippers, which can do most of the work for you. In fact, you don't even pay for the inventory until you make a sale. How cool is that?

Most people think the hard part of this business is creating your virtual store, but nothing could be further from the truth. Yahoo! has made the templates and wizards so easy that, dare I say, even a caveman can do it! 

The best way to ensure your success is to do your homework and research what products people most want to buy. You need to find a niche. Once again, start with things you enjoy. Let's say you love fishing. What products do fishing folks want to buy most? (Or get even more specific, like, what are bass fishermen looking to buy?)

Then the task is to find the right source of those products so you can carry them in your Yahoo! Store. In most cases, you'll be able to pull pictures and product descriptions directly from your sources and plug them right into your store.

As you can see, this business requires a little bit more upfront work, but once it's done it can be maintained with very little regular input on your part.

There you have it--five perfect part-time businesses. Are you ready to start moonlighting on the internet now?

 

[Via - Entrepreneur]

How to Make Bigger Better

For four years after he started DrinkWorks, a company that makes custom drinking cups, Richard Humphrey was routinely logging 100-hour weeks. "I was concerned that if I wasn't there every minute, the company would fall apart," he says. Humphrey's Newport Beach (Calif.) company thrived, winning Sea World and Circle K convenience stores as customers, but he deteriorated. "I lost a lot of weight, I got sick, I had an engagement break off," Humphrey says. "I lost touch with people."

Doing it all may be encoded in entrepreneurial DNA, but it's hardly the best way to manage a growing company. Entrepreneurs risk burning out and taking down their businesses and their personal lives with them.

Even when an entrepreneur can physically withstand such a grueling lifestyle, it's hardly ever necessary. After a close relative fell ill in 2002, Humphrey was forced to leave the business in the hands of his five employees. He was stunned by how well they handled things. "They stepped up to the plate, and it worked out," he says. "After that, the whole company balanced out."

DECISIVE ACTION.

Managing growth successfully comes down to getting the right help at the right time. At the outset, it's important for entrepreneurs to develop relationships with professionals such as accountants and lawyers, then make sure the right hires come on when they're most needed. As the company grows, it may be wise to explore partnering or outsourcing -- or even stepping back from the helm of your company.

The trick is to make sure you act decisively before your clients feel neglected, your checks are bouncing, and your personal relationships are crumbling. As Dale Carman, the founder of a 100-person animation studio, says: "The problem with success is that it can kill you unless you put the right people in place and give them the authority and responsibility and power to do their job."

It's important to keep an eye on the future, even if you're working out of a spare bedroom. "Start out acting like a big company from the beginning," advises Marty Schmidt, president of Solution Metrix, a small business consultancy in Boston. At a minimum, create professional accounting procedures and hire an accountant who specializes in small businesses. Even after DrinkWorks had contracts with big-name clients, Humphrey was using a bookkeeper at tax time and winging it the rest of the year. Drafts of contracts got sent to a friend who was an attorney for an informal overview. "I lost a lot of time and money trying to do things myself," says Humphrey.

LEGGO YOUR EGO.

The next step is to bring financial expertise on staff -- the sooner the better. "Even as they grow into big companies, many small companies don't put in place the disciplines and structures you would see in a company that was a subsidiary of a larger corporation," says David S. Lobel, managing partner of Sentinel Capital Partners, a private- equity firm in New York. "An outside accountant may come in once a quarter to close the books, and the CFO is more like a bookkeeper. So the forecasting suffers and the understanding of how much profit the company makes on each item is underdeveloped." An experienced CFO can regularly generate projections and detailed financial statements, giving you the building blocks to manage growth.

As head count rises, try to put aside your ego long enough to figure out which tasks can be done by someone else. "The fundamental thing entrepreneurs don't get is to stop taking pride in their own accomplishments and start taking pride in the accomplishments of the people they hire," says John Delmatoff, owner of PathFinder Coaching, a small business consultancy in Murietta, Calif. You may have a background in finance, but if your company depends on your working closely with clients, hire a CFO.

Getting started on the right foot extends to office space, too. Yes, cost can be an issue. But Humphrey found that several would-be employees who sounded promising on the phone failed to show up for interviews. "I realized later that candidates had been driving up, seeing this ugly building, and driving off," says Humphrey.

PARTNERING UP.

That little epiphany prompted him to stop thinking like the founder of a struggling startup and to start acting like the CEO of the company he hoped DrinkWorks would become. In 2000 he hired a director of operations. The next year, DrinkWorks moved into a 2,000-square-foot space with room to expand. "We created a fun, amazing environment, with a large creative room for brainstorming and a surround-sound system on which we played our favorite music," says Humphrey. "Immediately we found that good people wanted to work for us and we had almost no turnover." By 2003 the $6 million company had 14 employees.

When it seems the only way you can take on a new client or launch a new product is to clone yourself and your staff, take a look beyond the four walls of your company. Merging with another company, outsourcing, or acquiring another business may be the best way to keep growing.

Outsourcing became a necessity for Morgan Roach, who started Ncompass in June, 2001, to make software that helps luxury auto dealers train their sales staff. The $2 million Orange (Calif.) company had a handful of clients its first year. Then Roach signed one of the largest Mercedes dealerships in the country. "After that, things started moving really fast," Roach says.

FLEX TIME.

Soon Roach was spending three-quarters of his time on the road visiting prospects and installing his proprietary software systems for about 80 clients. He hated being away from his wife and four young sons. But he knew that expanding his 23-employee staff would be a mistake. "Adding staff would be a huge management expense for me, and ramping up that fast could have killed my company," he says.

So in June, 2004, Roach partnered with Anaheim (Calif.)-based USnet, whose computer technicians now handle the installation, training, and implementation of Ncompass' software. Roach has slashed his travel from several days a week to three days each quarter. "My wife really needed me home to help out, " says Roach. "My not having to travel so much has been great for all of us." In the past six months, Ncompass' revenue has doubled.

Ada Shapiro faced a similar decision -- whether to expand to accommodate customer demand -- at an age when other business owners are thinking about retiring. The 70-year-old became CEO of Carolina Marking Devices in 1996 after the death of her husband, Sol, who had founded the Charlotte (N.C.) company in 1957. Shapiro brought steady growth to the $3 million, 45-employee company, securing dozens of government contracts for its custom-made rubber stamps, corporate seals, and badges.

HELPING HANDS.

Her customers began requesting vinyl banners and signs. But producing them would have required costly digital equipment and the creation of an art department. Shapiro didn't want to make the large investment that would entail, nor did she want to take on any debt at this point in her life. She didn't relish the thought of putting in longer hours, either.

At an industry meeting in 2003, Shapiro asked the CEO of another similar business, Kinney Stamp & Engraving, to consider a merger. The companies had been friendly rivals for years, but in January, 2005, Kinney's 13 employees and sophisticated equipment moved into Carolina Marking's 23,000-square-foot production facility. Shapiro is CEO, and Fred and Ron Kinney are senior vice-president and senior manager, respectively.

"The extra management layer will really help me, not only to take time off but to do more of the creative work and planning and less day-to-day administration," says Shapiro. She's spending more time with her 3 1/2-year-old grandson. "My kids say they hadn't heard me this happy and excited in 10 years," says Shapiro.

SCHEDULE FOR CHANGE.

Often, important partnerships are less formal. Humphrey joined the Young Entrepreneurs Organization in 2000 to take advantage of its mentoring program. Later that year, he created an advisory board of entrepreneurs he had met through that group, including the president of a regional accounting firm and the former president of a military contractor.

The board met once a month and helped Humphrey draw up goals such as improving return on investment or developing a sales coaching strategy. Humphrey had to make progress on each goal by the next meeting.

"I knew I would never have their respect if I didn't deliver on those commitments," he says. "I wish I'd done it sooner. It didn't cost anything, but it was worth millions to me."

PASSING THE REINS.

Sometimes the best thing an entrepreneur can do for his or her company is to let someone else run it. In October, 2004, Humphrey recognized that he had taken DrinkWorks as far as he could without a dramatically larger sales force and new product lines. He sold the company to a competitor, Warren (Pa.)-based Whirley Industries, which had a big, established sales force. Whirley also made a midpriced product line that complemented DrinkWorks' offerings.

Humphrey is vice-president of new business development for Whirley-DrinkWorks and has moved his family from California to Pennsylvania. "I'm happy that the companies merged," says Humphrey. "DrinkWorks was such an emotional part of me, if I had had to let it go, I don't think I could have done it."

Often, as in the case of Dale Carman's ReelFX, the solution is less drastic. Carman and a friend from high school, David Needham, founded ReelFX in 1993, when Carman was 22. The company, which produces visual effects for film studios and advertising agencies, now has revenues of $25 million. In mid-2004, Carman realized he wasn't doing what he does best. "I recognized I had a passion for the work, not a passion for running a company," he says. "I'm good at pulling off animation projects. I'm not as good at finance or taking a company public or being CEO."

BRINGING UP BABY.

The answer for Carman was to hire Steve O'Brien, a serial entrepreneur, to replace him as CEO. O'Brien has already set up an employee stock-options program, which Carman had wanted to offer but didn't know much about.

Carman's new title is chief visioneer. He oversees creative, while Needham heads sales and marketing. With O'Brien, the three are members of a new six-person management team that collaborates on all key decisions.

"This way I can focus on what sets us apart and what we're special at, and Steve can apply all his skills and expertise to running the company," Carman says. Although he still considers the company to be his "baby," giving up some control wasn't as tough as he expected. "There's a point at which a wise man asks for help," he says. For the wise entrepreneur, that point is often sooner rather than later.

[Via - BusinessWeek]

Tasty And Profitable

Forget Boston Market or the prepared-foods section of Jewel or Whole Foods. In Oak Park, there’s Perfect Dinner, a kitchen that prepares “home-style” take-out and delivered meals. The startup is aimed mostly at “El” riders, who can go online to scope out the shop’s menu of 8 to 10 daily entrées and order ahead before exiting Oak Station on the Green Line.

The business was founded by Karen Gruber, 48, who formerly handled the Kraft cheese account at ad agency J. Walter Thompson, and Jill Haas, 47, a onetime food scientist at Kraft Foods.

Perfect Dinner broke even with $500,000 in revenue last year—the average check is $41—and is looking at 8%-to-10% growth this year, Gruber says.

The pair, who started the venture with $250,000 from friends, family, and their own savings, is now trying to drum up $700,000 to open two more sites this fall.

[Via - BusinessWeek]

Local entrepreneur creates own niche after leaving corporate America

When business consultant Karyn Pettigrew, 44, left corporate America in 1992, she thought she would open a holistic wellness center. But after much soul-searching and discussion with her husband, she said she discovered her calling was to teach professionals, through coaching and consulting, how to apply intuition to traditional business practices

 “I knew that I wanted to do something that helped people understand that things didn’t have to be the way that they were,” said Pettigrew. “I really wanted to revolutionize the way people work; your work is meant to be an expression of you.”

Pettigrew prides herself and her company, KPConsulting LLC, on an “Intuitive Business Strategy.” After working in several sectors of the corporate world for more than 15 years, she insisted her decision to leave the corporate side and start her business “was a conscious one and it’s allowed me to do what I really love while being present for my family.”

The 4-year-old River North business, primarily geared towards entrepreneurs, helps individuals and companies prioritize their work, by recognizing the connection between the personal and professional worlds, “intuitively.”

Julie Casserly, owner of JMC Wealth Management Inc. a financial planning firm in the West Loop, said, “Since working with Karyn, I have increased my revenues by 30 percent.”

Casserly, who met Pettigrew at a meeting with other entrepreneurs, began to consult with her on a personal basis shortly afterward because, she said, she felt there was something missing from her professional life. She admits, “I’ve used several different business coaches over the years, but Karyn taught me that running a business is a personal experience."

Pettigrew said that contrary to popular belief, people carry both personal and professional parts of their lives everywhere, so the connection should not be ignored.

President and CEO of her two-person corporation, Pettigrew said the most effective way to tackle business is to use a holistic approach, discovering what matters for the company and the individuals who make up the company “inside and out,” and using the personal-professional connection to their advantage.

Pettigrew received her bachelor of arts degree in economics from Wellesley College in Massachusetts and her master of business administration from Harvard University. At the start of her professional career, Pettigrew worked in banking, then with Quaker Oats Co., the Illinois Lottery and People’s Energy Corp. Her positions were in marketing, communications and corporate strategy, reflecting her “creative side,” she said.

While in the corporate world, Pettigrew said, she consistently held to one principle: “It was always about not just the analytical side, but the need to incorporate the creative side.”

After resigning from the Illinois Lottery, this thought pattern led her to write her first book, "I Quit." “At that time I was feeling like the cultures in organizations were deteriorating. It was often that people felt like, ‘I don’t’ have time to think,’” said Pettigrew.

Writing her book and the time off work, she said, helped put things into perspective and gave her time to explore how she could help entrepreneurs and corporate professionals.

“Karyn has assisted me in truly zoning in on my intuition, mission, vision and the most important part, actualizing it all,” said Casserly in a client testimony on Pettigrew’s Web site. “She helps me to get out of my own way.”

Michael Bolden, managing partner of South Chicago-based Chatham Consulting Group Inc. said, “She helped my company understand the nuances of business and where we wanted to go.” His company, which does marketing strategy and business intelligence consulting, recently landed two projects with Hilton Hotel. He credits Pettigrew’s intuitive and analytical business coaching “We would have never gotten it without her help.”

Pettigrew brings her combined experience to her business consulting enterprise as she markets KPConsulting’s platform and most recent programming approach, “The 360⁰ Intuitive Business Strategy.”

She said this strategy recognizes that “You can’t address just one piece. It’s important for people to look at all aspects of their lives and what it is that they’re ready to create in their lives so that that can be incorporated as opposed to excluded.”

According to Pettigrew, people are not able to fully disengage from an area of their lives to focus on another, as in “not bringing your work home” and “not bringing your personal matters to work.” She coaches people on identifying the different areas of their lives and using them to work in harmony.

“Instead of denying the areas of interconnectedness, my work is to take this philosophy, and with my team of referring practitioners, we know that the transformation begins from the inside out.”  These practitioners are in a wide range of professions including marketing, psychology, finance, Web tech, new product development and sales.

Pettigrew said her “general operating philosophy” is a key reason why her business has not been affected negatively by the lagging economy. “In my opinion, if you understand the laws of attraction, then there’s always opportunity.”
KPConsulting’s operating philosophy, Pettigrew said, includes more than generating revenues, though her company grossed $150,000 in 2007. It’s about personal attitude, the quality of one’s work experience, satisfaction that one gets out of the work, recognizing the time for growth and the journey throughout.

Cheryl Wash, who directs Pettigrew’s programs, said the company has grown significantly over the past four years, from “working with small groups to small corporations and now traveling with different organizations in different cities.”

Recently, Pettigrew presented a workshop with the Women’s Leadership Exchange conference in Schaumburg. The New York-based organization is devoted to mentoring women in leadership positions as they continue in their profession.

Wash is also the president of Highest Good Publications Inc., the company that published Pettigrew’s book, ‘I Quit.’ She said, “I originally went to her because I was torn between how to keep my passion but to grow revenue and also understand that in the world of demand, there are certain books that you would not want to publish.”

Wash said that her struggle was whether or not she would compromise her integrity to make a few more bucks in a niche market, poetry and unknown writers.

According to Wash, Pettigrew showed her how she did not have to compromise to be successful in her profession. “Karyn has the ability to help people remain balanced at full capacity.”

Pettigrew said she believes people will always need her strategy to operate successfully in life. In the next nine months, she plans to turn the 360⁰ Intuitive Business Strategy into a traveling conference. To do so, she will take her own business advice and by collaborating with corporations and her referring practitioners, teach people “how to create from the inside out, what it is just what they want in business.”

 

[Via - Medill Reports]