Unusual Business Ideas That Work

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How To Turn $1000 Into A Hot Brand
2007-05-02 19:43:00
http://saintgrace.com/ Quinn Thompson launched his women's fashion label, Saint Grace (saintgrace.com), with $1,000, one type of fabric, and a vision to change the fit and feel of the T-shirt. Over the past six years his luxurious vintage-inspired knitwear company has grown each season with new styles, new customers - and new debt. Thompson, 37, who has started businesses since he was 10 years
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How To Get Real New York Pizza In Any US Town.
2007-05-01 11:05:00
http://www.iwantnypizza.com/ When some friends told native New York er Ed Powers that the first stop on their visit to New York City would be a pizzeria, his idea for IWantNYPizza .com was born. Powers, 46, knew he had many friends and family who had recently left New York and missed authentic New York-style pizza. Teaming up with his two brothers-in-law who run Italian restaurants, Powers
More About: Real , Town

Funny PPC Ads
2007-04-29 13:33:00
http://funnyppcads.com/ Have you ever seen a hilarious AdSense ad? As PPC ads become more and more creative, an increasing number of bloggers point these out. However, to this day, there hasn’t been a single central source for those. Funny PPCAds.com hopes to fill this niche, allowing site visitors to submit the funniest PPC ads they see on the internet (currently limited to Google AdSense ad

FlexPetz.com - Strange 'Rent-A-Pet' Business Idea
2007-04-28 16:42:00
http://www.flexpetz.com/ Flexpetz recently launched in Los Angeles and San Diego, and offers consumers the option of having a dog for just a few hours or days a week. Which is a good solution for people who'd love to have a dog, but are too busy, travel frequently, or live in buildings that don't allow dog ownership. The dogs come from breed rescue shelters, who take in specific breeds and help
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How To Make Money With Medical ID Jewelry
2007-04-27 12:59:00
http://www.jewelsetjim.com/Everything changed for Julia van Hees-Aidner the day Zoe Potkin was diagnosed with epilepsy. In 2003, van Hees-Aidner was working in PR for several high-end jewelry companies when she received a call from her friend, Ralph Potkin, who was concerned about his daughter's refusal to wear the medical ID tag notifying doctors that she was epileptic. Van Hees-Aidner scoured
More About: Medical , Jewelry , Money , Make Money , Make

LeaseTrader.Com - How To Turn Pain Into Profit
2007-04-25 16:58:00
LeaseTrader.com When Sergio Stiberman wanted to get out of his car lease in 1998, he did what most people would do--he went to his dealership. But he wasn't entirely satisfied with what he found out. "It was going to cost me the same amount as all my remaining payments" to get out of the lease early, Stiberman says. What Stiberman wanted was a way to end his car lease early without excessive
More About: Pain , Profit , Turn

The Hanger Millionaire Story
2007-04-24 17:09:00
Devon Rifkin Story http://www.hangers.com/ When I was 23, I went to work in my father's warehouse in Miami. It sold store fixtures - mannequins, showcases, hangers - everything in a store that a store doesn't sell. I started to pay attention to the hangers when I noticed that every retailer who came in to buy supplies would also purchase hangers for his own home. "Give me $500 worth of hangers
More About: Millionaire

The Non-Explosive Business Growth
2007-04-23 17:10:00
http://www.blastgardintl.com/ The AHA! moment arrived over breakfast in an Orlando diner. James Gordon and John Waddell were trying to develop a product designed to protect lives and property from the deadly effects of bombs and industrial explosions. Their first idea was a stiff plastic or paper honeycomb panel filled with perlite, a volcanic glass commonly used as loose-fill insulation in
More About: Business , Growth , Sine

Teddy Bear Multimillionaire Story
2007-04-20 21:23:00
http://www.buildabear.com/ Maxine Clark rode to riches on the back of a teddy bear. Clark opened her first Build-A-Bear Workshop in a St. Louis shopping mall in 1997. Now the international chain generates $360 million in sales annually and has made Clark a multimillionaire. In Clark’s stores, kids of all ages line up to create stuffed animals in what look like factories run by Dr. Seuss on
More About: Story , Teddy Bear , Teddy

Real Money From Virtual Real Estate
2007-04-20 21:22:00
www.weblo.com/ Online worlds like Second Life have made a successful business out of getting people to buy and sell 3-D virtual real estate. But can the same business model be made to work on the regular old Internet, where the "real estate" being traded is nothing more than a webpage? A Montreal startup called Weblo thinks it can--and claims that its plan will pull in $2 million in the second
More About: Estate , Money , Real Estate , Virtual , Real

Camp Bow Wow - Dog Daycare Hits It Big
2007-04-18 15:41:00
http://www.campbowwowusa.com/ Five years ago, Heidi Flammang launched Camp Bow Wow, a Denver doggie day care center, and a year later sold her first franchise. By 2005 she had 11 different locations and planned by the end of that year to expand to 75, each bringing in between $750,000 and $2 million in revenue annually, depending on size and location. "The company is doing very well, and
More About: Hits

Outsource Your Chores
2007-04-17 19:08:00
http://www.domystuff.com/ Beverly Hills-born DoMyStuff.com is an online marketplace where busy people can quickly find others to do their chores, from mowing the lawn or picking up dry cleaning to researching a cruise or planning a party. How it works? Someone posts a task, choosing a relevant category and describing the task in detail. Businesses and individuals then bid for the task. Bids
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How To Make Money Online Without Trying Hard
2007-04-16 17:12:00
http://www.scholarships-ar-us.org/ When word of a whites-only scholarship at Boston University hit the media last fall--drawing coverage from bloggers and biggies like ABC alike--Daniel Kovach smelled opportunity. His goal: to boost traffic to the website he runs, Scholarships Around the US. So he paid a writer to crank out "The White Man's Guide to Getting a Minority Scholarship," which
More About: Money , Make Money , Make Money Online , Hard , Online

1-800-Cab-Ride.com - A Taxi Company With No Cabs
2007-04-15 16:10:00
Hailing a cab works great in certain neighborhoods, but if you're off the beaten path there's not a lot of chances that a cabbie is going to randomly swing by for a pickup. One man is betting that the Digg generation would be more inclined to use taxis if there was a convenient web interface. Jason Diaz’s 1-800-cab-ride.com (800-222-7433) plans to be the one-stop online shop for scheduling taxi
More About: Company , Ride , Taxi

How To Make Money Reselling Junk Computers To Collectors
2007-04-14 14:28:00
http://www.sellam.com/ In the first purchase of his collection, Sellam Ismail loaded the trunk of his car with old computers he stumbled upon at a flea market for $5 apiece. Soon he had filled his three-car garage with what others would consider obsolete junk. Years later, his collection of early computers, printers, and related parts is piled high across shelves and in chaotic heaps in a 4,500
More About: Computers , Money , Make Money , Make , Junk

World's First Folding Guitar
2007-04-13 18:35:00
http://www.devillain.com Just launched at the Musikmesse in Frankfurt by Swedish start-up the DeVillain Guitar Company, the Centerfold guitar solves a problem that every guitarist has experienced: portability. The folding guitar is a patent-pending product developed by an airline pilot who's also a fervent guitarist. Having a hard time taking his guitar with him everywhere he went, Fredrik
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Green Movers
2007-04-13 09:02:00
http://www.earthfriendlymoving.com/ Moving supplies such as boxes, bubble wrap and other packaging materials remain piled up in landfills long after people have settled into their new abodes. EarthFriendlyMoving has set out to change that by offering eco-friendly moving supplies available at consumer-friendly prices. EarthFriendlyMoving's RecoPack—short for Recycled Ecological Packing
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Solar Trash Can Million Dollar Idea
2007-04-10 20:53:00
http://www.seahorsepower.com/ Back in 1999, during a walk along Boston's bustling Charles Street, Jim Poss decided he wanted to help his city resolve a messy problem he had encountered on almost every street corner: overflowing trash cans. At the time, Poss was working for electric-car company Selectria, so he was comfortable with solar technology and motors. He worked out a makeshift design
More About: Dollar , Solar , Idea , Million , Trash

A Person Who Sold Over A Billion Dollars Worth Of Stuff Tells How He Did It
2007-04-10 20:34:00
Ron Popeil Story http://www.ronco.com Seven years ago, entrepreneur Ron Popeil, the silver-tongued inventor of such iconic products as the Pocket Fisherman and the Food Dehydrator, introduced the Showtime Rotisserie BBQ. Marketed in the seductive TV infomercial format he pioneered, Popeil demonstrated the durability, versatility, and appeal of the oven -- a contraption equally adept at
More About: Stuff , Worth , Person , Dollars , Tells

10 Awesome Startups You’ve Never Heard About
2007-04-09 17:24:00
http://www.newyourkey.com/ New Yorkers who have a hard time keeping track of personal items now have one less thing to worry about. For a modest annual fee, NewYourKey keeps copies of keys in a secure storage facility and can deliver them right away if customers find themselves locked out. Keys lost in a nightclub at four in the morning? No problem! NewYourKey will deliver spare keys within an
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Can Three Students Become Millionaires Teaching SAT?
2007-04-09 17:17:00
Avichal Garg, Karan Goel and Joseph Jewell Story http://www.prepme.com/ Getting into a top college seems tougher than ever these days, and even the best high school students stress out about the SATs. Joseph Jewell, however, approached the test with a different mindset, treating it as a game. "It was fun to try to beat the SATs. I looked at it as a challenge to accumulate as many points as I
More About: Students , Teaching , Aires

Seven Million Dollar “Boring Business” Secret
2007-04-08 14:45:00
A. J. Wasserstein Story http://www.archivesmanagement.com/ While attending business school in New York, A. J. Wasserstein looked at various business opportunities to start his entrepreneurial venture. After graduating from the Stern School of Business at New York University in 1991, A. J. Wasserstein, then 24, returned home in Southbury, Connecticut to raise money and start Archives Management,
More About: Dollar , Secret , Million , Doll , Sine

Toll Transponders - A Clever Way To Make Profit From Them.
2007-04-08 14:44:00
http://www.highwayimage.com/ Owen Burns was fed up with unsightly spots. They were everywhere he looked: inside his minivan, on other people's minivans, in traffic, in parking lots. He even saw them on vacation. But he wasn't ready to stand by and let Americans' windshields become overrun with white spots created by ugly toll road transponders. He was going to give people the freedom to make
More About: Profit , Make , Toll , Clever , Tran

An Employee Fires His Employer, Starts A Forty Million Dollar Business.
2007-04-07 17:59:00
Patrick Martucci Story http://www.unitedasset.com/ In 1980, Patrick Martucci, just out of high school, left his hometown of Cleveland with $300, pointing his Trans Am toward Dallas. He landed a $6-an-hour job at a company that was launching an odd, new product at the time -- "voice forward mail." When he tried to explain voice mail to his grandmother, she thought he was a postal worker. Others
More About: Business , Dollar , Fires , Employee , Million

How To Turn $5000 To $25 Million In 5 Years Selling To … Babies
2007-04-05 16:43:00
Julie Aigner-Clark Storyhttp://www.babyeinstein.com/Most great ideas are born from a need. The Baby Einstein Company LLC based in Littleton, Colorado, came from Julie Aigner-Clark’s need for a learning tool for her infant daughter. In 1995, this former teacher and new mom read the latest research regarding babies’ capacity to learn. Finding nothing in stores that used the research and that was developmentally appropriate, educational and fun, Aigner-Clark (pictured with daughters Sierra, 3, and Aspen, 6) decided to create something herself. Her first video, Baby Einstein, featured intriguing pictures and mothers speaking different languages.Says Aigner-Clark, “I wanted something that was not only entertaining but stimulating and engaging that would give [my daughter] exposure to things that were lovely.”As a mom, she knew her product was good, but “nobody was returning my calls,” she says. “I knew if I could get it into the hands of a mom or an executive who had a baby...
More About: Selling , How To , Babies , Lion , Sell

How To Make Money Stitching Hoodies
2007-04-05 16:41:00
http://AliMadigan.comWhen most teen girls can’t find anything to wear they ask mom for a credit card and hit the mall. But when 18-year-old Ali Madigan had nothing to wear, she decided to make a sweatshirt out of some spare fabric. She never imagined that the sweatshirt would turn into her own line of trendy casual hoodies, dubbed “Boozey” after her childhood nickname.Her handmade hoodies feature bright colors such as yellows and details such as purple pinstripe cuffs, red zippers and a floral lining in the hood.To get her clothing line some exposure, Madigan reached out to Stunna, a member of the rap group the Wolfpack, best known for the single “Vans.” Madigan did her magic with needle and thread and graciously gave one of her treasured hoodies to Stunna. He wore it, and the rest is history. Cha-ching!Since the clothing is handmade, a sweatshirt sells for $200 and up, depending on the design. “In the next few months I’m going to focus on getting my product in a store...
More About: How To , Money , Make Money , Hoodies , Hood

20Ltd.com - Scarcity Sells
2007-04-05 04:09:00
http://www.20ltd.comOnline retailer 20ltd sells no more than 20 items at a time, each of which are highly exclusive and only available in small numbers. Goods currently on offer range from GBP 2,900 white buffalo horn sunglasses (edition of 10), to a GBP 9,000 hammock covered in cashmere and black fox fur (thankfully for black foxes, only 5 of those were made). All items are exclusive to 20ltd, and not sold anywhere else. As soon as a product is sold out, it's replaced by a new object of desire.The British retailer is backed by private investment, and will operate solely online. Calling itself an "etailer of authentic, ingenious, beautiful and unexpected things," 20ltd hopes to reach a global audience, including rapidly growing luxury markets like Russia, China and the Middle East. The website is currently available in English, Italian, Russian, Chinese and Japanese.The underlying trend and opportunities for other entrepreneurs? As regular luxury goods become available to ever more...
More About: City , Sell

Carol's Daughter - A Mom-Inspired Business
2007-04-03 17:04:00
http://www.babylovesdisco.com/When Heather Murphy had her first child she looked forward to visiting the zoo, the children’s museum and other family friendly places. But she was concerned that the junk food, gift shops and merchandising were overly commercial for children. And while the kids-only activities were fun for her son Max, she would have also enjoyed a more “adult-relevant” experience. So Murphy created Baby Disco as a way for kids and big people to have fun together. She rented a local club for a Saturday afternoon, decorated it with balloons and equipped it with a bubble machine, diaper changing station, egg shakers, healthy treats, and a professional DJ to spin disco tunes. Two hundred people attended the first Baby Disco event.Just over two years later, Baby Loves Disco has spread from Philadelphia to eighteen U.S. cities, and will soon head over to Europe to open in London, Manchester and Amsterdam. Parents can enjoy a glass of wine while their little ones nosh ...
More About: Business , Spire , Carol , Ness , Daughter

Carol's Daughter - A Mom-Inspired Business
2007-04-03 17:04:00
http://www.carolsdaughter.com/Lisa Price didn’t have any formal training in mixing fragrances or creating beauty products when she started using her kitchen as a personal laboratory, but she did have a passion for experimenting with different combinations of all-natural ingredients. In 1993, with her mother’s encouragement, Price invested $100 and set up a booth at a church flea market. Her handcrafted products nearly sold out, and she spent the rest of the summer selling at more events, thereby introducing the public to her homegrown business, Carol ’s Daughter --named after the woman who inspired her to start it.Thanks to her background in TV and film production as a writer’s assistant on The Cosby Show and other projects, Price got her products into the hands of celebrity hairstylists and makeup artists. In 1996, she quit her full-time job; in 1999, she opened her first storefront. Word-of-mouth spread, and Price was soon filling orders from the likes of Halle Berry and bei...
More About: Business , Spire , Ness

Bottle Crusher - How To Profit From Broken Glass
2007-04-03 17:03:00
http://www.bottlecycler.com/
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