60 Second Ideas

60 Second Ideas - Be A Bag

Links
http://beabag.com 

What do you get when you combine the sizzling trend of personalization with vanity, exclusivity and style?....one very profitable venture indeed.

Be a Bag was born in 2001 as a 3 month charitable promotion by well known British Handbag Designer, Anya Hindmarch with a portion of profits going to Breast Cancer Research.Links
http://beabag.com

The 'Be a Bag' campaign offered customers the opportunity to have their own photographs transposed onto one of Hindmarch's stylish and rather pricey handbags for the first time. For the launch of the campaign, 100 celebrities were invited to provide a favorite photograph, each of which was then turned into a personalized bag.

The idea was an immediate and sensational success with customers and the media worldwide. Hindmarch extended the concept to be a permanent part of her business. Be a Bag now offers 12 unique styles and is bagging a ton of cash.

In her own words, Anya says "whatever cherished image you wish to Be a Bag, you can expect a gorgeous, memorable and above all, fun accessory. Be a Bag is offered in Hindmarch's stores and of course on the Internet.

 

Be a Bag should provide crafty entrepreneurs and fashion designers with plenty of inspiration.

As Andy Warhol predicted with "15 minutes of fame", hundreds of millions of individuals are craving having a character in a novel named after them, or adorning their car with personalized license plates, consumers want their names and images out there, not to mention that of their family members.

Just think of all the moms out there who love to put their child's photos and names in all sorts of things. All you have to do to validate this trend is go into any mall and observe all the kiosks selling items such as personalized children's books, mug, t-shirts and the like. This is where customization meets vanity to form a highly personal one of a kind product - catering to the obsession of ordinary citizens wanting ‘something’ lasting about them or their loved ones in print, audio or imagery. As Be a Bag demonstrates their is plenty of room for new ideas from creative entrepreneurs to capitalize on the personalization trend.

Here's an idea - how about personalized lunch boxes? Have mom's send in photos of their children with Shamu, Mickey Mouse or whatever and transfer the images to lunch boxes. Not only will little Johnny never bring home the wrong lunch box again, but years later, mom can embarrass him by showing the old personalized lunch box to his new wife.

60 Second Ideas - Give Away Your Products to Make More Money

Today's Show Links
http://cloudstar.com

In 1999, newlyweds Jennifer Melton and Brennan Johnson could not find food for their newly adopted allergy-prone pound puppy, Samantha. After unsuccessfully trying many commercially available treats, Melton began making Samantha's treats at home. She called them Buddy Biscuits. Melton then began baking more treats for animal shelter bake sales. The response from consumers led to San Luis Obispo, CA based Cloud Star (http://cloudstar.com) which now makes and markets all sorts of natural pet products.

Shortly after the company's launch, the couple began donating some of their products to the 20 neediest animal shelters in their area. The phone began ringing off the hook with people wondering why they saw Cloud Star products in shelters and not stores. Then retailers started calling too. That is when Melton and Johnson decided their policy was also good marketing strategy. They added 30 more shelters to their donation list. After the increase in donations, pet shops and health food stores began devoting more shelf space to the home-grown brand and Cloud Star's annual sales increased 50% to $4.5 million in 2003 and the increased shelf space is providing the company with an opportunity for product expansion.

CloudStar's success shows that giving some of your products or services to a worthy cause or charity where they can be seen or sampled by consumers or clients simply makes good sense in more ways than one.

In another approach take the new Dutch fashion label, 50/50, which highlights the plight of the homeless with a great new small business idea by designing ready-to-wear pieces from cast-offs from The Salvation Army. We wrote about this innovative company in the Third Mind USA's September 1, 2004 Issue of MarketSpark Small Business Idea Newsletter.

The label's designer shares the profits with The Salvation Army 50/50 - hence the name. The Salvation Army provides 50/50 with the blankets, curtains and dungarees and 50/50 turns them into skirts, pants and belts that eventually show up on store racks.

Indeed, 50/50 is now sold alongside well-known international brands in Amsterdam's most popular department store, with prices ranging from $40 for a pair of gloves to over $100 for a coat. Each item comes with a flyer outlining the Salvation Army's message: people need each other and nobody should be excluded from society. The hip vintage look appeals to young people with a healthy social awareness.

The concept is working so well, The Salvation Army is considering expanding its collection into other areas, like furniture.

Also from Holand, Dakloos.nl raises funds to eradicate homelessness in The Netherlands and around the world. The website is a full fledged accommodation booking site, with 5500 hotels world-wide. Customers get low Internet rates, while Dakloos, the Dutch word for homeless, donates 3% of revenues to the homeless in Amsterdam. In the company's own words: "You will spend your night in a good hotel, while helping a homeless person to spend a night off the street, without any extra costs or trouble."

CloudStar, 50/50 and Dakloos should get any entrepreneurs mind's buzzing. Why not find a way to donate some of your products to a worthy cause to gain exposure from potential customers and potentially a ton of positive publicity to boot, like CloudStar. Or partner with a charitable organization and split the profits like 50/50. Or you can simply donate a portion of your profits to a good cause as does Dakloos. There's enough here to inspire any small or home based business to creatively generate some intriguing ideas. Something similar to 50/50 would be excellent as a small business idea for women with an interest in fashion.

So are you passionate about a particular cause? Spend some time thinking about how you can use the examples above to make things better for others with your own products or services. You'll make a world of difference and make more money too.

Links
http://cloudstar.com
http://5050-fashion.com
http://dakloos.nl

60 Second Ideas - 21st Century Technology Meets Old Fashion Convenience

Today’s Show Links
http://www.after-9.com  

The Winter Olympics are about to close and no country is displaying the Olympic Spirit more than Turkey, a country with only two ice skating rinks, showcased their first ever Olympic Figure Skater, Tugba Karademir.

Apparently, Turkey’s Entrepreneurial spirit is as strong as it’s Olympic pride. In Istanbul, “After 9” delivers stuff like beverages, cigarettes, diapers and sandwiches from 8pm to  5am with the catchy slogan “Bring Something Good to Me. It’s an Emergency.” Orders are placed online or over the phone, and are delivered by motorbike or car in 45 minutes or less. Customers pay a 25 to 30 % premium over retail prices for the service. The minimum order price is $7, but the average is closer to $20. Additional services include Nite-Porter (a chauffeur service which takes customers wherever they like in their own car) and Pill-Porter, an all-night pharmacy delivery service.

This idea can be easily duplicated by anywhere to make some decent money, not to mention the tips.

There were plenty of high-profile online delivery services before the Internet crash of 2000. These companies failed because of grandiose business models, high overhead, and even higher prices, not because the ideas themselves were flawed.

Start small in a limited delivery area in your own city or town with several products you think people would want the most with a service of this type or find niche products or services. “After 9’s” Pill Porter is a brilliant niche idea, but before jumping into delivering prescription medications in the United States, check with an attorney and/or law enforcement in your jurisdiction. There could be some local restrictions or licensing requirements for a service of this type.

Links
http://www.after-9.com

60 Second Ideas - Hi Tech Consignment

Today's Show Links:
http://cutxpaste.com

Micro fashion brings together some of the hippist and chic fashion businesses to be found. Dominated by creative, crafty and fashion obsessed young women, Whether it's Reconstructed or vintage clothes, hand crocheted purses, cute beaded hula girl earrings, these young entrepreneurs are capitalizing on one of the hottest trends around. But what if you don't sew, crotchet, craft or otherwise simply don't have the aptitude to design and produce to die for one of kind products?

Can you still capitalize on the micro fashion trend? The good news is Yes!

Meet Jenny Kwok. A twenty something California native turned New Yorker who runs a site called cutxpaste at http://cutxpaste.com - A small e-commerce Web site selling clothes and accessories. But what makes Jenny's site different is that she focuses on unique handcrafted goods and offers a consignment program for other crafters and designers. Note that Jenny does not make products to sell on her site herself. Launched in in the summer of 2002, Jenny didn't expect a huge response. She simply put the site up to sell some cool stuff from a designer or two but then started meeting other young women who made amazing things and didn't have a Web site or a venue to sell what they made. So a few months after her launch, she started offering consignment. The site gradually picked up steam as more and more people heard about it and today Jenny has now offered unique handcrafted products from some 70 consignment partners. Most of which have sold at least one item with many selling out and adding additional products.

Why would micro fashion and accessory designers go to cutxpaste rather than eBay if they wanted to sell something on the web?

The short answer is price and convenience.

According to Jenny, Most people who go to eBay are looking for bargains. People who go to cut + paste are willing to pay extra when they realize that extra work went into the construction of a garment and it's different from anything else they've seen in stores.

Another reason is that cutxpaste is highly specialized and smaller, making shopping for that one of a kind handcrafted fashion item or accessory easier and less time consuming. Jenny reports ultra dedicated customers who continually visit her site, driving up traffic and sales. Regular site visitors check out new the new stuff and many give feedback on items that are currently on sale. All of Jenny's consignors are female and most of the customers are female. And most consignors and customers themselves are Generation Xers in the 18 to 30 set.

Here is how cutxpaste's consignment option works.

Jenny charges a 40% consignment fee on the price of the items that a partner will sell. The potential consignment partner fills out a form and sends digital photographs of their items for approval. Jenny then selects whatever she thinks will do well on the site and upon approval, the consignor ships the products to Jenny where she takes photographs and puts them up on the site for two months. The consignors sets the price of their own products and gets 60% of that price if one of their items sell. anything that does not sell in that two month period is sent back to the consignor, so nobody ever loses.

The opportunities here are exciting to say the least. If you are a designer or crafter, try applying for consignment on http://cutxpaste.com to test your wares. If you are successful you can put up your very own site. If you are not cut out to be a designer or crafter and would like to profit from the micro fashion trend, try this simple and low cost small business idea which is perfect for stay at home moms and young women.

While Jenny Kwok's cutxpaste is national in scope with consignors from all over, think local here, at least to start. Take a look at http://www.buyolympia.com. While not exactly a consignment site. Buy Olympia features all sorts of products that are either made in or related to Olympia, Washington.

Why not build a website dedicated to local products in your neck of the woods, giving designers, crafters, and artists an online venue to sell their wares through a consignment option similar to Jenny Kwok at http://cutxpaste.com. Print flyers and take them to craft fairs, supply stores, and boutiques that feature local products. Send out some local press releases, submit your site to the search engines and local directories and I am convinced you will have a winner.

The start-up costs are low, the risk minimal, and the profit potential high.

60 Second Ideas - Boomer Basics

Today's Show Links:
http://www.aginghipsters.com/
http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/other/01/28boomerbuyers.html

 

The problem and the same time, the opportunity of marketing to Boomers is to avoid addressing it head on…you need an angle…positioning a product straight-away as a Boomer product (or a Boomer site) is going to run up against the fact that as a whole, they are too large, too varied a demographic.

There are already tons of gateway pages for or about Boomers, full of rehashed articles on the predictable subjects of health, finance and nostalgia. Important areas for sure, but unless you have a particularly unique approach, you’ll be up against the wall.

 

For example, more than 75% will continue to work past 65 and according to Deloitte, 1/3 of them prefer to shop on-line.

 

Think in terms of convenience, experience has shown Boomers will not only pay for it but have come to understand convenience as necessity. By identifying convenience as one factor combined with a preference for web usage you further hone your target by understanding the power of the web as a micro-market and thus focus on a service or product that is a convenient time-saver the city in which you live.

 

Case in point:

 

My wife and I, both Boomers, are looking to down-size from our present house (a major trend among Boomers) yet there is not a single real estate agent or company that we can find that has positioned a portion of their marketing to our particular set of needs.

 

We both work and would consider paying, apart from the normal commissions, for the convenience of a site where our needs were directly addressed.

This is just one example but the thinking is applicable to practically any goods or services.

 

Boomer Out.

 

Links:
http://www.aginghipsters.com/
http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/other

60 Second Ideas - Gimme a 'T' - Online

Today's Show Links:

http://www.startupjournal.com/ecommerce/ecommerce/20050505-tam.html?refresh=on

http://www.thetshirtzone.impax-media.com/

http://cafepress.com 

http://sacramentogirliemen.com/

Note: For more information on Selling T-Shirts Online, see our Special Report:
"The Good, Bad and Ugly About Selling T-Shirts Online
How to Make “Real Money” with Your Own T-Shirt Business or Micro Fashion Label."

Text Version

A recent Wall Street Journal Article focused on Dan Mowry, who launched a family entertainment newsletter with the intent of turning it into a successful online business. As an afterthought, he designed a T-Shirt with his company's logo of a circus ringmaster holding a megaphone. Today, Dan's newsletters are not doing so good, but the t-shirts?......well, they are pulling in a tidy $3000 per month. Not bad for someone who did not think he was in the T-Shirt Business.

The article goes on to report that Mowry is among a growing number of small entrepreneurs are profiting from an improbable, but lucrative web-business model, selling t-shirts.

The point of the article is that all over the web, small and home business owners are finding that t-shirts are more likely to make money than their original business idea that brought them to the Internet in the first place. Over 1500 websites now sell T-shirts online up from just 500 2 years ago.

Easy to make and deliver, T-shirts often cost $15 or less online with an average of around $19.

Apparently It's not hard to make money on T-shirts. Mr. Mowry, the accidental T-shirt merchant, often gets his shirts from CafePress.com, a San Leandro, Calif., company that prints designs on shirts and other products and even ships them directly to a Web site's customers. CafePress charges a vendor like Mowry a base price of $8.99 for a T-shirt with a customized logo printed on it. That leaves him $10 per shirt. Sometimes he uses a local apparel printer, which charges him only $5 for a basic T-shirt with printing, leaving a profit margin as high as $14 a shirt. Not to shabby.

Not surprisingly, Mowry sold off his newsletter business and is focusing on T-Shirts altogether with a website called thetshirtzone.com

The thought here is obvious, I think most existing small and home businesses that could design a cool t-shirt or two to add an additional profit center to their business and perhaps build brand ID for their existing business as well.

This article brought to mind, Sarah Lefton, a 30 something very funny young woman from San Francisco. Sarah owns jewishfashionconspiracy.com, a humorous t-shirt and apparel business in and of itself, but when Govenator Arnold Swartznager called some California legislators "girlie men", Sarah immediately designed a simple t-shirt with "Sacramento Girlie Men" printed on it and slapped up a quick website. Sarah sold hundreds of "Sacramento Girlie Men" t-shirts and got a ton of publicity from one simple press release because of the topical humor behind the shirt.

If you are design or creatively challenged in that way as I am and you have teenagers at home or close by, give them a shot of designing a cool t-shirt or two for you. What they come up with might just the cool, hip t-shirt that makes you some extra cash. Here's an example of teen creative energy...a 15 year old girl from Connecticut, doodling in school one day, thought her designs would look cute on t-shirts. Taking the idea to Dad, they formed a company called Dogpilot (dogpilot.net) They now sell loads of t-shirts, jersey's and other styles with 18 different drawings. Her father handles the business end, while the teen is responsible for the styles and doodles. Now there is an idea all it;s own......partner with your teen and tap into the booming teen market. Who knows better what teens want, than other teens?

Links:
http://www.startupjournal.com/ecommerce/ecommerce/20050505-tam.html?refresh=on

http://www.thetshirtzone.impax-media.com/

http://cafepress.com 

http://sacramentogirliemen.com/

60 Second Ideas - Cycling for Dollars

Today's Show Links
http://www.ikfietsgratis.nl/  ('I kfiets gratis" translates to "I Bike for Free"..the page is in Dutch but you'll get the idea.)

Advertising is a $150 billion dollar market in the

US

. And you don't have to open an office on

Madison Ave.

or think in terms of buying minutes on the Super Bowl.

Advertising, like politics, is local and offers an excellent opportunity to stretch your creative muscles without breaking the bank.

And while there is certainly a lot of competition, don't for a moment think that there isn't room for you??all it requires is some careful planning and a little imagination.

For instance, the idea I mentioned in the audio re "bike-vertising" could easily be tested in any community with a university. "Bike-vertising" is simply a play on those cars you've seen wrapped in the vinyl logo of advertisers. But instead of cars, think bicycles with an advertisement placard between the frame bars and on the fenders.

You loan the bike to students who in turn ride the bikes in and around the university.

Good sturdy bikes like cruisers are both plentiful used and appeal to the youth market.

Local advertisers and their intended market would love the eco-friendly approach and you could even approach the marketing department at the university for help getting your business going.

You could start off with a few bikes, even one that did nothing more than advertise the service you were offering.

Link:
http://www.ikfietsgratis.nl/  ('I kfiets gratis" translates to "I Bike for Free"..the page is in Dutch but you'll get the idea.)

60 Second Ideas - I'M Single

Today's Show Links
http://www.singelringen.com/

Stay tuned at the end of the video
for a special Valentines Day Treat

Text Version

The single lifestyle has been backdrop of the entertainment scene fro awhile now.
Three of the most successful shows on Television; Seinfeld, Sex in the City and Friends were all about single life, yet the overriding theme in each of them, was a never-ending search for "the one." Joe Millionaire and The Bachelor proved extremely popular and romantic comedies remain big money makers for Hollywood. And of course Internet Dating has now gone mainstream. It is not at all unusual to talk to someone that has met their mate online anymore. So just how do you know someone is single when you are out and about? I know for me, when I was single, if I saw someone in say a grocery store, I would check to see if they were wearing a wedding ring, but that is not always fool proof...the woman could be living with someone, gay, etc..who knows. Combine that with my fear of rejection and that person slips away for ever.

Well two clever individuals from Sweden think they have the answer to that dilemma, Johan Wahlback and Asa Revland have launched Singelringen  - a finger ring for singles. The ring is for the swelling number of singles who want to identify one another as romantically unattached. Says Revland, "Whether you want to attract romance or friendship, it's much easier if we know someone is open to meeting new people."

Tapping into the Singles Market is never a bad idea for any small or home business. 86 Million+ Americans Are Single, spending $1.6 TRILLION annually. Large companies are starting to see dollar signs in singles too.

v Coldwell Banker has rolled out commercials that specifically target single home buyers. With the tagline "Your perfect partner since 1906," one 30-second TV spot called Love Thy Neighbor is a touching story of a single young woman who finds the perfect home, next to his single neighbor, a single professor, whom she falls in love with.

v DeBeers, the Diamond Trading Company, has created a right-hand ring for professional women to buy their own jewelry without waiting for till marriage. The message of the ad; "Your left hand says 'we,' Your right hand says 'me'. ..Another ad reads "Your left hand is your heart; your right hand is your voice."

v Hardware giant Lowes offers classes for single women on Do-It-Yourself home improvements.

v Some restaurants are providing European style communal tables, which allow single dinners to meet and interact with other single patrons.

As for Singelringen, notwithstanding some significant marketing challenges like how to get people to know what the ring represents, and exactly what finger you are supposed to wear it on, Wahback and Revland are on the right track in trying to carve a niche in the lucrative singles market.

Links
http://www.singelringen.com/

60 Second Ideas - Hook 'em Profits

Today's Show Links:
http://www.clc.com/clcweb/publishing.nsf/Content/Home.html
http://steakbrands.com/college-steak-brands-branding-irons.htm

Text Version

Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC) is the nation's leading collegiate licensing and marketing representative. Formed in 1981, CLC assists collegiate licensors in protecting and controlling the use of their logos through trademark licensing.

The CLC Consortium consists of more than 180 universities, bowl games, conferences, the NCAA and the Heisman Trophy. Based in Atlanta, CLC provides its member institutions the expertise, resources and experience necessary to maximize licensing revenue potential through the power of consolidation.

On the CLC site, you can also find rankings by university as to the most popular programs as well as the best-selling licensees.

Use your imagination. While there are a ton of licensed properties already out there, there also appears to be no end to what devoted fans will buy. One company, SteakBrands, has done very well selling college logoed branding irons for steaks and other grillable items.

Links:
http://www.clc.com/clcweb/publishing.nsf/Content/Home.html
http://steakbrands.com/college-steak-brands-branding-irons.htm

60 Second Ideas - A New Twist on Mommy and Me

Today's Show Links
http://www.metropolitanmoms.com/
http://www.metropolitanmoms.com/

Text Version of Today's Show

Mompreneurs have gotten a ton of press over the past several months, and it never ceases to surprise me with some of the creative ventures they come up with like former investment banker Molly Snyder.  Snyder gives Mommy and Me a whole new spin.

After the birth of her first child, Molly Snyder could not bear to go back to work, so last year, she started Metropolitan Moms. Unlike most Mommy and Me type classes which focus solely on the children, Snyder's idea was to organize classes for moms who wanted to explore local New York City culture while taking their children along for the ride. Synder thought it would be fun to explore the city's many museums and galleries--with her daughter in tow.

In an article from the May 2005 issue Entrepreneur Magazine titled "Fun With Service" Synder points out something many small and home business owners have had to deal with, she says that when she told people of her idea, most thought she was out of her mind and were not at all encouraging. As a new mom, though she knew there was a need and believed in her and the concept.

Snyder's faith proved to be well placed. She found moms in her area who craved just that kind of cultural stimulation and adult inter-action while caring for their babies. Molly organized her first class series (classes are once a week for seven weeks) in May 2004, and the response was awesome. A mention in the Urban Baby daily e-newsletter got her serious buzz, and more than 300 people signed up for her e-mail list.  Snyder says she's done very little outside marketing--it's spread mostly by word-of-mouth.  Molly is projecting 2005 sales of $115,000, this mompreneur has hit on a winning formula.

The beauty of this idea, is that it can be duplicated and tweaked for almost any area by stay at home moms everywhere with very little start up cash needed. For example, here is Boise, Idaho, we may not be plush with museums and galleries, but there is plenty else a creative young mother could do to - for example, outings to state and national parks and forests just a few miles away from the city, or stroller compatible hiking in the Northern Rockies surrounding Boise. I think almost anywhere someone lives they can find things to do in an organized and fun fashion for young moms and their children. All's it would take is a little imagination. It also seems to me that starting something like this can co-exist quite easily with whatever small or home business you are operating now.

Be Great, Have A Prosperous Day and Remember to Think Beyond The Box


Fun With Service [Entrepreneur.com]
http://www.metropolitanmoms.com/