Springwise: If magazines, restaurants and hotels can turn to pay-as-you-want pricing schemes to help them survive the recession, why not an ad agency? Sure enough, Agency Nil offers a variety of freelance branding, media and advertising services without any set price, leaving it instead up to clients to decide how much to pay.
Clients begin by submitting a work request form with Agency Nil. Drawing from its pool of recent grads and between-jobs business and advertising professionals, the agency gets the work done by the deadline requested. It's then up to the client to decide how much the work is worth—the only charges required to be paid are those agreed upon ahead of time for travel, proprietary research tools and production. If a client decides not to pay anything, "it's not likely that we will do work for you in the future," Agency Nil explains; then again, "we've yet to have that happen, ever." Revisions and further work are arranged once a client has valued and agreed to pay for the first assignment.
Indochino introduced 40 character suit monogramming, the worlds first and longest clothing messaging system. The 'Suitable Phrasing' monogramming is an additional personalization option available on all suits. Customers can choose from one of two fonts (Times Roman and Brush Script) in one of three colours (white, black, or navy). With room for two lines of 20 characters above and bellow the inside left breast pocket, Indochino’s simple and expansive 'Suitable Phrases' 40 character suit monogramming makes it possible for clients to express much more than the standard three letter insignia.
Coming out of beta, customers have already been experimenting with Indochino’s innovative monogramming system, some examples include resturant names like The Keg Steak House, etc.
TrendWatching.com: UK-based Spareground is a marketplace for just about any kind of unused space. Consumers with space to share simply create a listing with its description, location and price. Those seeking space search by category or keyword and then contact the owner directly to arrange the terms.
TrendCentral: With the recent announcement that Domino, one of our favorite magazines, will be folding, we were bracing ourselves for a future of uninspired interior decorating until we heard about IKEA's latest offering. IKEA's Home Planner Tools let you become your own interior designer with online software that allows you to drag and drop furniture into a room and fit them to the exact measurements of your home. The program permits you to rearrange and try different styles as much as you like, appealing to even the most fickle decorator. You can even view your decorated room in 3-D and print it out with all the measurements, just like an architect
Box-O-Box allows you to send your college student the most hip, unique and fun care packages, right to his/her door. Box-O-Box is an independently owned and operated company that was started by Mike and Justin, former students of various schools who have witnessed the effects of junky care packages for far too long. In their own words:
"We know that parents, family and friends have the hardest time finding fun yet thoughtful and healthy gifts for their college students. That's why we make it easy with over 24 different Box-O-Boxes that can be customized for your individual college student.
Box-O-Box gives you a simple way to help motivate and support your hard-working student throughout the entire school year. Our care packages are specialized for exam time, holiday time, birthday time or anytime. Whether you select a single package or choose to do a college semester plan--what we like to call "Box-O-Mester"--your student will be delighted when they receive a care package from you."
Iconoculture: 2009 style and trim trend: Go stealth? As consumers go to great lengths to stretch their dollars, home hair-cutting parties are an accessible option. Private coif parties aren’t new, but a struggling economy has caught stylists illegally accepting evening shifts, offering up lovely locks for fewer bucks.
Some stylists report an uptick in consumers asking for these “under-the-table” deals.
Consumer and hair-party regular Manoush Zomorodi says she regularly attends hair soirees in Manhattan, where she pays $60 for a high-tier salon stylist (whose name and employer she keeps anonymous), a fraction of the price she would pay at the salon she’d like to go to, but can’t afford.
Springwise: Launched just in time for the holiday season, I Am Saint Nick lets would-be gift-givers submit the phone numbers of those they're having trouble coming up with ideas for. The company's very own "Santa" will then place a discreet, anonymous call to each challenging person and ask them what they'd like for Christmas. Each such call gets recorded and posted online for access (only) by the gift-giver, who then gets insight into wishes that may not ordinarily get shared with mere mortals. Powered by Twilio phone technology, Kirkland, Wash.-based I Am Saint Nick aims to support itself through advertising and sponsorships.
Iconoculture: Finding a reliable babysitter can be tough. Sitter Soirees in Portland, Oregon, streamline the process with “speed-dating” sessions that bring parents and sitters together at informal gatherings held in family-friendly boutiques.
Soiree founder Jen Fererro recruits potential sitters from local colleges and employment websites. The dozen or so who make the cut out of 50-70 applicants boast impressive creds, from special-needs experience to bilingual fluency.
Parents pay $45 to attend the Soirees, some with toddlers in tow. Once a match is made, sitters charge the standard rate: $10-$15 an hour.
Speed-dating works for singles. Why not babysitters? The opportunity to chat casually with candidates — and compare them with one another — gives parents a better feel of whether a sitter's right for them.
Once getting a sitter was as simple — and safe — as calling a friend's teenage daughter. In today's danger-fraught world, parents demand rigorous reviews. They're also looking for sitters to stimulate the kids, not just park them in front of the screen.
Iconowatch: Rolling in the mud, jumping in a lake, riding a smelly horse: all things that brides are doing in their beautiful white gowns as part of a new wedding photo trend called Trash the Dress. After the ceremony, brides (and sometimes grooms) pose for photo shoots that leave the dress in less than perfect condition.
Pro photographers from Pennsylvania to Arizona are posting their TTD pics on TrashTheDress.com. The trend has even spread overseas. Brides say it changes the dynamic of the day from stuffy and traditional to fun and lighthearted. Plus, it provides a reason for another new tradition: selecting a second dress for the reception!
Iconoculture: This may be taking the dog days of summer a bit too literally. Pouncing off pet-sharing programs like Flexpetz, the hospitality industry is offering guests a rather unique amenity: pet leasing.
At select Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, guests can “rent” dogs for several hours. At Quebec City, Boston and Vancouver locations, dogs even have their own email addresses so their part-time parents can K.I.T. post-vacation.
Guests staying at the Ritz-Carlton in Beaver Creek, Colorado, need to make reservations up to a month in advance if they want to spend time with the hotel's yellow lab.
Like a loving aunt or part-time nanny may know, taking care of the kids is a treat — when it’s for a few hours. A trial run may be a great way for parents to experience all the fun and love of owning a pet, as long as they remember that full-time care takes much more than a walk in the park.
There’s no time like vacation to take on a fully experiential stay.
TrendBird: Everyone likes getting a thoughtful surprise, and giving them isn't so bad either. But it's not always easy to find the time to shop and send something or, for that matter, to remember to do so. A Brazilian startup has come up with a solution: prepaid plans for multiple gifts over a set period of time.
Targetting male gift-givers, Ticket to Mind offers four different plans: Basic, Plus, Advanced and Express, ranging in price from BRL 19.90 to BRL 69.90 per month (USD 12.00-42.00 / EUR 8.25-29.00). The Express plan, for example, is aimed at "conquering a new love or renewing an existing one", and TTM will send three bouquets of flowers over a four-month period, at random times. The sender receives a notification before each bouquet is shipped, and the flowers include a card with a message based on information provided by the sender.
Other plans include a wider variety of gifts: chocolate, toys, cosmetics and "spicy" items. Prices for each plan include products, shipping and notifications, with no additional costs charged
Springwise: Unless they happen to be near a bicycle shop during business hours, bicyclists who break down are typically out of luck if they don't already have the parts they need to make a repair. Aiming to make bike parts more accessible, two different vending machines we've spotted are always on hand with critical parts.
Most recently, bike manufacturer Trek set up a prototype Trek Stop Cycling Convenience Center at the end of June, just off the bike path in Madison, Wisconsin. Located outside bike shop Machinery Row, the Trek Stop is a 24/7/365 convenience center for cyclists that provides access to cycling products, information and a safe place to work on a bike. The full-service vending machine is stocked with bicycle products such as spare tubes, patches, tire levers, CO2 cartridges and more, along with food and cold drinks; it also features an information center with maps, a message board and advertising space for local announcements. A covered maintenance area, meanwhile, offers a work stand, free air and even how-to videos—available at the push of a button—for those trickier repairs.
NewLaunches.com: Those of you who have been fantasizing about a unique way to get married may want to try this new destination. Carrie Bradshaw found solace in the Registrar's Office but may want to try Space! Japanese space transportation provider Rocketplane Kistler and wedding planner First Advantage have come together in this venture that will allow couples to take their vows in space. The wedding aboard the Rocketplane XP suborbital spaceplane will cost 240 million yen ($2.2 million), this includes a wedding ceremony aboard a 1-hour space flight that reaches an altitude of more than 100 kilometers (62.1 miles), as well as a photo and video album, original dress, wedding certificate and other ceremonial items.
Iconoculture: Some Boomers are opting for final resting places that are groundbreaking, to say the least. Deep sea and deep space are two final destinations that are increasingly popular.
Eternal Reefs mixes cremains into a concrete "reef ball" which is dropped into the ocean and seeded for ecosystem development.
LifeGem reduces ashes to carbon, which are then heated and compressed into a diamond for individuals who want to be a family heirloom.
The Eternal Ascent Society sends ashes up in helium balloons, while Space Services arranges for remains to go into orbit or into deep space. Beginning in 2010, Space Services will even arrange for a burial on the moon.
As if they'd have it any other way! Boomers are reinventing as they go, and in this case, as they pass. Further deflecting "aging" stereotypes, Boomers are inventing novel ways to say goodbye.
They may act like they'll live forever, but Boomers reaching that final lifestage can be expected to do it with creative panache.
Iconoculture: English mums can experience me-time with a membership at two recently opened momsclusive clubs in London. Cupcake offers seminars, fitness training (with and without baby) and a café, as well as plenty of space to simply sit down and relax. A kids-free floor houses the spa where moms and moms-to-be enjoy specialized treatments catered to their pregnancy stage.
Moms need a third place too. Instead of holing up at home post-pregnancy, they know how much more sane they'll be if they get out, connect with other moms, and reconnect with their purely feminine side.
Springwise: Menlo Park, Calif.-based Cubes&Crayons offers flexible office space, community and child care for self-employed or freelance workers with young children between 3 months and 5 years old. A variety of work spaces are available at the site, including conference rooms and overstuffed chairs, and extra services such as printing, faxing and filing space are also available. The facility is open weekdays from 8 to 5, and parents can take advantage of its wireless-enabled office space and child care on a full-time, part-time or drop-in basis. Those who become members can make advance reservations by phone or online, as well as having priority for drop-in hours. Membership is USD 149 annually, with combined office and child-care rates starting at USD 13 per hour.
A recent Reuters wire story (picked up here in the International Herald Tribune) describes the new trend of "urban mining" - of recovering gold, silver, copper, iridium and other precious metals from discarded cell phones and other consumer electronics.
According to the article, a ton of used cellular phones contains far more gold than an equal amount of ore from a gold mine. Ditto for silver and copper. Estimates vary, but there are tens (or possibly even hundreds) of millions of cell phones taken out of service every year as users upgrade to newer models. These end up in landfill, or at the bottom of the sock drawer.
And another use for used phones - Zurado Systems, from California, also wants your used cell phones. They want to reprogram them for use as portable kiosks.
There is clearly a real business opportunity in the recovery of used mobile phones and computers for smart entrepreneurs able to devise an efficient collection system. What are your ideas?
Graeme Spicer is a Canadian trendspotter, ethnographer and observer of all things retail. As Director of Retail Strategy at DW+Partners he spends his time consulting with leading retailers; presenting at conferences across North America; lecturing at OCAD, Canada's leading design school; and reading too many blogs.
Sense: Software developer Adobe are set to join the raft of online photo editing applications with the release of Photoshop Express.
Currently available in beta form Express will be completely web based so that users can use it with any type of computer, operating system or browser. Online photo editing applications have found huge popularity over the past few years and in releasing Express Adobe must compete against long established rivals such as Picnik and Photobucket. The release of Photoshop Express highlights a broader trend in which software developers are increasingly focusing on online services instead of stand-alone applications. Adobe hopes that Express will function as a marketing tool and part of a strategy to create up selling opportunities.
Trendwatching.com:DNA 11 creates personalized art from DNA and fingerprints. For DNA art, a simple method of non-invasive collection includes a mouth swab. The company then harvests a sample of the client’s DNA to capture their genetic fingerprint and transforms it into an artistic representation of a person’s life code. Prices range from EUR 299 to EUR 892. To get started, clients simply select a size and custom color. DNA 11 then sends out a FingerPrint collection kit that includes: a fingerprint collection card, easy-to-use ink strips, and step-by-step directions.
Iconoculture: Not everyone thinks a highfalutin salon is necessary for a good haircut. These consumers may be more apt to frequent Barber Stops, self-contained barber "shops" or kiosks that can be easily set up in larger retail settings.
Shaped like giant iconic barber poles, the shops have enough room inside for barber and customer. No appointments necessary, and haircuts cost $11. There are currently four Barber Stops; the owner is working with Mid-States Distributing Company (home, farm and fleet retail organization) and Home Depot to set up shops nationwide.
SmartyPig is a simple, smart, fun way to save for a specific goal. Using groundbreaking technology and the latest in security standards, SmartyPig allows you to invite family and friends to contribute to your account, gives you additional incentive boosts from top retailers who sell exactly what you’re saving for and 4.30% interest on the money you’re saving.
TMC Pet Vending Solutions has been studying the self serve dog wash market since 2005. One of its invention is the K9000 machine. This coin-operated self serve dog wash equipment is simple and easy to use. Dogs easily step up into wash area with a hair free non slip floor. It has a rotary switch/dial – easy to switch between wash cycles and similar to self serve car wash.
The K9000 offers 6 wash cycles, including conditioner and flea & tick options as well as a disinfecting option. TMC Pet Vending Solutions is touting its self serve dog wash products as an additional source of income for business owners.
Appleton Post-Crescent: With a son in medical school, Brenda Kubasta says scheduling was problematic during prime wedding season, and even if they did tie the knot in fair-weather months, waiting wasn't the couple's forte.
"It would've been in summer," noted newlywed Kubasta, who wed husband Jim in December 2006. "The question we asked each other was, 'Why wait?'"
The pair planned their nuptials during one of Wisconsin's chilliest seasons and wound up saying "I do" at a decked-out Paine Art Center and Gardens with amiable above-freezing temps and a festive holiday scene that added to the magic of the wedding.
"Oh, it was absolutely gorgeous," said Kubasta, who'd attended a friend's reception at the mansion previously and fell in love with the venue's Great Hall. When it came time to plan her own ceremony, the season afforded the bride and groom a perfect wedding backdrop.
"It's like everybody does spring and summer," she said. "With the holidays going on and everything, it's such a wonderful time to give thanks, too, and just be grateful for everything you have."
Glistening white floral arrangements, rich colors, velvety fabrics and holiday cheer are just a few reasons brides and grooms go for winter nuptials, local wedding planners say.
"I definitely think there's more you can do with (wardrobe) to enhance it — nice overcoats, the muffs," said Laurie Hughes, sales manager for LaSure's Hall Banquets & Catering in Oshkosh.
Add to it a hearty menu that may include snowflake cupcakes, a hot chocolate fountain, ice sculptures and carriage rides, and it's a wonder any pair opts for June. Hughes said winter weddings are conducive to satisfying food options, as well, whether the bride and groom are craving comfort food like ham or a gourmet buffet featuring bacon-wrapped chestnuts.
"And, I can be a little more flexible with things (in winter)," Hughes said. "We might waive hall rental fees … and we can work a little bit more with smaller groups in winter than I really can for prime wedding dates May through September."
Couples also find winter weddings are convenient for long lists of guests whose schedules are bogged down with summer vacations.
Winter receptions also make for a perfect way to celebrate a union when couples opt for a destination wedding, Hughes said.
Trendwatching.com: Continuing the tradition of using shipping containers to house all things pop-up, a spotting from the Netherlands caught our eye. At the Lowlands music festival, jeans brand Wrangler offered festival-goers a much-needed service: laundry. At 18 meters wide and 9 meters high, the Wrangler Laundromat was hard to miss. People dropped off their mud-encrusted laundry and were sent a text message the moment it was ready. No change of clothes? Wrangler came up with a generous solution to that problem, too: they handed out black overalls to anyone who used the laundromat. Like most other pop-up ventures, Wrangler Laundromat is an exercise in experiential marketing, aimed at surprising and delighting consumers in a way that magazine ads or TV spots usually can't.
Springwise: Home cooking is a basic pleasure that gets denied by busy schedules all too often, and at least part of the reason is the time that must go into shopping for and preparing ingredients before the cooking can begin.
Customers of the Singapore-based service, which just launched in October, begin by going to ilovemother.net and choosing from a wide variety of menus. Meals are presented in categories, such as "Quick & Easy," "Something Special" and "Comfort Classics," and can include side dishes, desserts and wines. Next, once their selections are made, customers are presented with a list of the ingredients required. After indicating the number of servings needed they can approve the list as is or make modifications to suit their palates and the supplies they already have at home. I Love Mother will then shop for the required ingredients at restaurant suppliers and fresh food markets on the morning before the meal is to be prepared and deliver them in the afternoon.
All items are delivered in exactly the quantities needed, so there's no waste, and for those who desire, I Love Mother will even chop and prepare them so they're ready to throw in the pan. Customers pay just the cost of the ingredients plus a SGD 5 delivery charge, along with variable fees for the optional slicing and dicing. Most recipes can be made in 30 minutes, and I Love Mother provides step-by-step instructions.
Springwise: While there are plenty of reminder services online that help people remember anniversaries and birthdays, few connect to the physical world. Which is where Boston-based Jack Cards comes in: a company that delivers pre-scheduled, ready-to-go greeting cards to the card sender, just in time for them to add a personal message and drop the card in the mailbox.
Customers register on jackcards.com, enter important dates for their family and friends and select cards for each person/date. Jack Cards offers a range of cards created by over 40 independent designers. Members schedule when they'd like the cards delivered—1, 2 or 4 weeks in advance—and select whether they would like the envelopes to be pre-stamped, pre-addressed, or both. Jack Cards takes care of the rest and even sends an email reminder to make sure customers don't forget to post the cards they've ordered and received.
Cart-Away Supply is the first franchised concrete, rental and landscape supply store. Cart-Away Supply sells construction materials that people walk on every day, like concrete, soil, rock and bark. The franchise also rents equipment and stocks merchandise that is used to install the concrete, soil and rock. Cart-Away Supply is a construction supply business that provides delivery trailers to take the materials to the job site. Customer’s cart-away their supplies to their projects. This trailer-based concrete delivery system has been proven for over 40-years in yards across the country.
Cart-Away Supply is a one-stop supplier for concrete, rental and landscape materials and is based upon the operations found in many of the most successful Cart-Away customers. Today the Cart-Away brand is a part of Cart-Away Supply for the exclusive benefit of franchise operators.
Springwise: Visitors to Sydney who want the scoop on where all of the best boutiques, cafes and galleries are need only point their browsers to Urban Walkabout to download attractive, pocket-sized walking maps in PDF form, complete with a detailed listing of shops and other attractions—for free. Maps are clean and concise and include information on buses, trains and other public transit. What's more, customers can take advantage of special offers, such as discounts at certain establishments, just by showing their guides.
The Urban Walkabout Sydney Shopping Guides are published twice a year. Versions are currently available for five areas—Bondi, Double Bay + Potts Point, Paddington + Woollahra, Surry Hills + Darlinghurst, and the Sydney Central Business District. In addition to downloading them from the web, customers can pick up copies from every retail establishment listed on the website and in hotel lobbies, tourist information booths and visitor centres. In addition to the guides, there also is a wealth of information on the Urban Walkabout website, including a listing of special offers and events.
Springwise: Hair salons on wheels aren't particularly novel anymore (to wit: Onsite HairCuts, which we covered last year), and most often they cater to office workers who spend their days in large industrial parks. Now UK-based HairPOD is picking up on that basic idea but bringing it out to the masses—wherever they happen to be—with quick, inexpensive haircuts on the go.
HairPODs are transportable, free-standing styling booths that look like futuristic space capsules. Featuring extendable floor and side panels, they can be closed up and locked for the night, then unlocked and opened up again the next day. The compact design features tucked-away storage space for supplies, and a suction unit at the base of the pod even makes hair clippings disappear. Best of all, they can be strategically placed in locations such as airports or downtown crossings—and relocated, if necessary—without the high rents most salons must pay. HairPODs take 3 to 4 hours to put together, and require just an electricity supply--no shop fitting or site alteration are necessary.
Cool Tool: This service will digitize your old slides, negatives and photographic prints at high quality and at a very cheap price. I've been using them to scan my 30-year backlog of photographs and I have been delighted with the results. I've used other services to scan my old photos; ScanCafe is by far the best deal. Their prices are fantastic. To scan a slide is just 24 cents, a color negative 19 cents.
Here is how it works: You pack up your images and mail them to ScanCafe's headquarters in Northern California. They count them up, and repackage them before shipping the pieces to India. In India they are scanned, touched up, rotated and then privately posted to your account at their website. You then go through the images online and select which ones you'd like to keep. You are allowed to dismiss (and not pay for) up to 50% of the total for that order. You can reject images because you aren't happy with how they look online, or simply because you don't want the image. In the specific case of original photo negatives, there is no reliable way to communicate which image(s) you want on the strip, so ScanCafe will scan the entire strip of negatives. You'll have to reject the particular frames you don't want (but no more than 50% of the total order. Combine them with slides to keep your percentage down.)
BusinessWeek: France is famous for its relaxed attitude to affairs of the heart (and loins). Unlike in the Anglo-Saxon world, the existence of extra-marital affairs -- from the fictional Madame Bovary to former President Francois Mitterrand -- is taken for granted there. French men even have a term for their mistresses: Le cinq á sept (the 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.). Now French adulterers are being offered a discreet and tailor-made service to help them indulge in their dalliances without getting caught.
The Alibila Web site offers a service for people "suffocating" in their family situation who need some air, or for those in the throes of a "passing adventure" who don't want to jeopardize their marriage. It offers would-be philanderers a range of services, costing €19 ($27) upwards, including diversionary phone calls, merchandise from fake conferences, and invitations to non-existent weddings.
Springwise: Baby-oriented websites provide a unique marketing opportunity, since they’re aimed at a highly motivated readership—new parents—who have a strong desire to learn and share their experiences. For advertisers, the value stems from bonding with new customers at a moment when they’re experiencing a major and (mostly) positive life transition. When a new baby arrives, families must make new purchase decisions on everything from diapers to cleaning products and foods. British website Babyfy is hoping to tap into that marketing potential by publishing expert reviews on baby products, giving the complete lowdown on every brand of stroller/pram/pushchair and dozens of other product categories.
Babyfy’s real user value could lay with its reviews of hospitals and the services they provide expectant mothers. Besides offering statistics on aspects such as the ratio of Caesarean vs. natural births, the chart-like reviews focus on occasionally overlooked areas such as parking and visiting hours. Visitors can also rate various aspects of their experience at a hospital and provide their own written comments. The site is currently still in beta: some product categories have yet to be reviewed, and advertising isn’t yet up to the site’s potential. Entrepreneurs bent on setting up a new website for parents-to-by in other countries might also want to review services like childbirth classes, paediatric clinics and day care centers.
3LUXE: has launched a new editorially-driven review site designed to simplify the online research/purchase process by giving consumers a means to "Simply find the best of everything." Instead of returning an overwhelming number of choices as search engines do, 3LUXE only provides the three best products or services.
"We started 3LUXE to help people save time, and possibly their sanity, when researching a product purchase online," said Doug Worple, CEO of 3LUXE. "People want to do research to avoid making poor purchase decisions, but time constraints and the overwhelming amount of information available online work against you unless you know exactly what you want. Comparison Shopping Engines currently help consumers with 'where to buy'; 3LUXE intends to be the destination of choice that helps you determine 'what to buy."
3LUXE updates reviews as new products are released, and also based on user feedback. Developed on Ruby on Rails, 3LUXE utilizes technology to enable visitor feedback on "Best Of" selections through a voting mechanism: "Luxe It" or "Leave It". Visitors are also encouraged to leave comments or ask questions on any given product or category.
In essence, 3LUXE does the research consumers would do if they had more time. These "Best Of" reviews cover a wide range of categories from appliances to airplanes, from sports products to spa resorts, and trucks to travel.
TrendWatching.com: Oh, and let's not forget about automotive insurance: UK-based Sheilas' Wheels, a division of esure, launched in October 2005 to provide competitive quotes for women. Sheilas' Wheels designed a policy for women, with features such as additional coverage for handbags and their contents up to GBP 300 if stolen or damaged while in the car, a 24-hour confidential counselling line for policyholders and the option to add other important services such as legal protection. Sheilas' Wheels is currently taking on new customers at a rate of over 2,000 a week, beating its own growth targets for this stage by 60%. Like most of the other ideas in this briefing, the global market for services like this remains wide-open.
Deliverthat.com provides a venue for buyers and sellers of goods not available within ones country to have another user deliver that product to them. Ah, that Yorkshire Pudding I loved while I was in England. Wait! thats only sold in Europe!! Our concept aids buyers in other countries that do not hold this product to purchase this product either by Mail or through another community member that recently visited the country which hosts the product. The members contract with each other to DeliverThat! item back. DeliverThat! will allow our users to earn an additional income while helping others get the products and items they are unable to within their own country.
Iconoculture: Tired of sifting through the bargain bins for a great deal? Try Slifting instead. Slifter is a free mobile phone application that enables users to search for products at both online and brick-and-mortar retailers.
Simply key in your zip code and Slifter does the searching part of shopping for you.
The program has a database of more than 85 million products, and the company recently added Best Buy and CompUSA to its system. The chief complaint? Relevance. Slifter inventory data isn't always updated and its long lists of products can overwhelm many users, especially on their small cellphone screens.
Most tech-savvy consumers love the idea of searching brick-and-mortar stores electronically. Almost-instant gratification was never so enticing.
TrendCentral: Already a hit in L.A. among the kind of crowd that populates the The Cobra Snake's website, Heartschallenger is kind of a gourmet hipster Good Humor truck. Often making appearances (for hire) at parties and festivals, Heartschallenger is stocked with a global buffet of frozen treats ranging from Japanese mochi and Italian spumoni to peace sign-shaped ice pops by artist Gary Garay, as well as assorted t-shirts and mix-tapes. There’s no schedule listed on their site, but you can email them to find out where they’ll be next or to book them for an event.
Thriving Office: Want a successful and thriving business environment? Here's the creative and innovative CD to enhance your working environment.
Thriving Office is a CD, filled with office sounds, that home businesses play it in the background while they’re on the phone to sound more established. In addition to eliminating uncomfortable silence, it also masks domestic noises, such as kids and dogs. Many people also play it when they’re off the phone, reporting that it increases their productivity. And big companies have started embracing it, too. One 39-minute track is “Busy” and the other is “Very Busy”. Was recently featured in Business Week, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today.
Providing a Thriving Office [Thriving Office]
Iconoculture: The city that never sleeps has another reason to stay up late: after-hours beauty salons. New Yorkers who want a glass of wine with their color treatment head to meccas like Frédéric Fekkai/Soho and Red Market Salon, which are open for business — and socializing — until at least 11 p.m. Two fleets of ships pass in the night: execs and Wall Streeters winding down from their busy days and trendy 20somethings warming up for club-hopping with a fab new look.
Communal hairstyling stations where clients chat over drinks, along with live DJs and special events like art openings, make after-hours salons a hot player on the night-life scene.
Webware: How many times have you been IMing with a friend or co-worker across the country, placed a bet ("If that Sanjaya guy gets the boot tonight, you owe me a beer!"), completed said bet, but had no immediate way to fulfill it because the other person involved was miles away? Well, now there's a brand-new solution--but just for New Yorkers, for the time being.
BuyYourFriendADrink.com was launched today and announced on the New York edition of e-mail events service Thrillist. BuyYourFriendADrink, or BYFAD, is a way to purchase libations for your friends online, which they can then redeem at participating establishments with the help of a text message. If you owe a friend a drink, or just want to be nice, head on over to the BYFAD Web site and fill out the form--you'll need to have that friend's cell phone number on hand. You can opt to give them a dollar amount between $5 and $250, and there's a 99-cent processing fee. Then, your friend receives an e-mail and a text message alerting them of the yummy drinkable gift, along with a promotional code.
Trendwatching.com: From 20 November 2006 to 1 January 2007, Procter and Gamble's bathroom tissue brand operated a 20-stall restroom in the heart of Times Square at 1540 Broadway, between 45th and 46th Streets, calling the service 'Charmin's holiday gift to New York'. The facilities offered clean, deluxe bathrooms, baby changing stations, stroller parking, seating areas, and of course lots of luxury toilet paper. Cleanliness was guaranteed by the presence of one bathroom attendant for every two stalls, cleaning after each use. Close to 430,000 people made use of the service.
Trendwatching: Nike Trial Vans are currently touring the UK/Ireland, France, Italy and Spain, stocking 1,000 pairs of shoes. It’s a free trial, no strings attached. To deliver on the crucial element of TRYVERTISING, total relevance of placement, the vans will pop up in places where people actually run. From athletic events to well-known running spots.
Cool Tools: Vanity postage. This pretty-easy-to-use website will generate official US postage stamps featuring a photo or illustration of your choosing (works well with iPhoto for instance). When the service was first introduced two years ago it was abused by clever pranksters -- my favorite hack was a Unabomber postage stamp. The Post Office shut the program down. The service is available again but I don't know what the actual image limits are (vs. their stated policy). We made some silly faces and they made stamps from them. I've seen them used for wedding/party invitations. You can also put business logos on them, or other non-political messages. The cost is more than twice that of regular stamps (less if you buy them in bulk). A 20-stamp sheet of these makes a nice personal, utilitarian gift.
Springwise: As Babyplanners state on their website: “your dedicated babyplanner takes care of all aspects of life concerned with the upcoming arrival: we help you decide what you need and when you need it.” Think sourcing the best baby carrier, create the baby’s bedroom, or pre-selecting and arranging birth prep or parent confidence classes.
Babyplanners offer two programs: the ‘Good’ plan, which contains all the details of the service new parents will want and need, where to secure them, and a timeline of when they need them, and the ‘Great’ plan, which filters products and services based on individual needs, and which then goes on to organize them.
With the number of time-starved, well-earning new parents only increasing, this is a great opportunity for any service-minded entrepreneur who’s been through pregnancy, cashing in on hard-earned skills and diaper-stained experience. Tokyo, Paris, New York and Singapore to follow?
Springwise: New at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol: weddings to go. Whether a couple met on a flight to Bangkok or just wants to be able to go straight from ceremony to runway for their honeymoon, Schiphol offers travellers the opportunity to get married at the airport.
Brides and grooms to be can pick from several packages, from the all-out 'Ticket to Paradise': get hitched and leave for a tropical destination together with your wedding guests; to 'Say Yes & Go', the budget alternative for couples who want a quick and simple ceremony before flying off together.
As a travel hub, Schiphol gets the TRANSUMER trend that trendwatching.com wrote about earlier this week. Increasing numbers of consumers are mirroring travel behavior in daily life, valuing transient experiences over fixed possessions.
Springwise: Zubka, which launched recently, is hoping to shake up the British and European recruiting markets by creating a platform for hirers to tap into the social networks of active referrers.
A referrer's reward depends on the starting salary of the person referred, but is normally between 6 and 8 per cent, according to Zubka. Successfully placing someone in a job with a basic salary of GBP 60,000 would therefore reap the referrer a tidy sum of around GBP 4,000. Joining Zubka is free for both referrers and hirers. Organisations with vacancies to fill can advertise jobs for referrers to browse through for as little as GBP 10 for a four week posting.
Recruiters are always looking for new channels that will help them find the right person for a job, so rewarding people for rooting through their valuable networks makes complete sense. More local versions to follow?
Iconoculture: Place your bags in an overhead bin, fasten your seat belts and hand your kids over. Gulf Air’s Sky Nanny program is a complimentary service that gives parents and kids a more enjoyable in-flight experience.
Trained nannies help on the ground with boarding and seat assignment; in the air with babysitting, meal service, games, activities and landing procedures.
Every aspect of Sky Nanny promises parents and kids a comfortable, hassle-free experience. So all parents have to do is sit back, relax and enjoy the flight.
Giving coach passengers – tall or short – first-class service that meets needs for comfort, convenience and experience could potentially inspire a long-term customer loyalty program.
Iconoculture: When the choice between babysitters is a 16-year-old with text-message OCD or the Next Big Thing on the New York art scene, parents are keeping Sitters in the City on speed dial. The on-call babysitting service is staffed entirely by working actors, musicians and visual artists. Artist/sitters arrive (on time) toting toys and supplies, guaranteeing hours of creative play. As one might expect, Sitters in the City conducts rigorous criminal and personal background checks on all would-be sitters.
There's an undeniable cool factor when kids can point to a movie poster and say, "Hey Mom, wasn't that my babysitter?"
StartupJournal: This week, thousands of kids will be returning home from summer camp -- without suitcases, duffel bags, tennis rackets, or even their dirty clothes.
Much of the baggage will be delivered back to their homes by small firms that have made a business of transporting campers' bags to and from the camps.
Typical is Camp Trucking, based in Denver. Employing an army of college students on summer break, the firm picks up baggage at the homes of campers and delivers it to camp just before a session begins. It charges a flat rate, with no restrictions on size or for bulky athletic equipment and duffel bags that sometimes weigh more than 100 pounds. At the end of the session, bags are returned -- with some parents even arranging drop-offs at laundries and dry cleaners along the way.
"We really are service companies that happen to be trucking companies," says Camp Trucking's 39-year-old owner, Stuart Seller.
The service is useful to the camps, too. They receive bags for a session all at once, a few days before the kids arrive, allowing the camp staff to focus on getting kids settled in, rather then keeping track of arriving luggage. The services often deliver the bags directly to a bunkhouse and the bunk assigned each camper.
Springwise: A novel twist added by Habitaz is the pre-paid office card. While most of Habitaz' lease plans are per month, their pre-paid GreenCard allows customers to rent space and facilities by the hour, minute or megabyte. A card costs ZAR 1,000 (USD 145 / EUR 115), and gives holders access to all of the facilities at Habitaz, each of which are charged by use. Facilities include open plan workspace that's open 24/7, with free parking and 'bottomless Ethiopian coffee' (ZAR 22/hour), admin support and secretarial services (ZAR 19.74/15 minutes), phone calls, delivery services, etc.
Habitaz is developing a network of furnished business centres, shared work spaces and meeting rooms in South Africa and all major business hubs in the rest of Africa. Perfect solution for travelling business people, virtual offices, and start-ups -- a group that's growing explosively in South Africa.
Springwise: Springwise loves forward-looking ventures that manage to stick around until their time has truly come. Like webcastmywedding.net, which broadcasts weddings to a couple's friends and family unable to come over from (or to) far flung places. Customers need a video camera, laptop, and high speed online access. The company then charges USD 395 for setting up a live stream of the event, support for up to 25 simultaneous viewers (who are sent a url and password), and an on-demand archive of the wedding for 10 days. More streams and an annual archive account can be had for an extra fee.
Business is thriving, thanks to a powerful mix of tech and social developments: everyone is online; the infrastructure is in place (the web is finally about broadband and video: thank you, youtube!); more and more couples choose to get married in exotic locations far from most of their friends and family; globe-spanning immigration means family members literally live everywhere; while jet setting couples have friends in every major city in the world. Not to mention Generation MySpace, who, when they eventually choose to get married, will have virtual friends in every country with an online connection.
Springwise: Launched yesterday at Schiphol Airport, Fuel for Travel lets consumers download travel guides, music, audio books, tv shows and movies to their MP3 players and other digital devices.
The Fuel for Travel features listening and viewing stations for travellers to browse digital content. Once they've found what they want, they can dock their device, pay by credit or debit card, and download the material. Pricing is similar to that of online music and video downloads.
Members of test groups were especially interested in destination travel guides. Schiphol, which is managing the project, hopes that offering digital content will add to a more enjoyable travel experience for passengers.
Letting customers create their own in-flight entertainment package makes perfect sense for travel hubs. One to partner with and set up at an airport or train station near you? Just try and get Apple on board.
The Cool Hunter: In a world that is obsessed with mobile phones, PDAs, iPods and the like, we are perpetually draining and recharging our batteries. In-home refuelling is a cinch, but the same cannot be said for public places where electrical outlets are typically guarded against unauthorized recharging.
The ChargeBox offers a solution, which consists of 6 small lockers, each with 4 unique chargers that can power 90% of our mobile devices. Users simply plug in to the charger that corresponds to their device, make payment with a coin or via SMS, lock their box and return when charging is complete. The ChargeBox will top up your battery for 40 minutes at a cost of £1.
The Franchise Magazine: When Terry Mullins was searching for someone to clean his windows, he discovered that the traditional domestic window cleaner has all but disappeared. So, after two years of research and planning he has launched The Local Window Cleaner Ltd.
"The market has always been there," explains Terry. "What was required was someone to devise a system that could deliver the service reliably and profitably, and that's just what we've done."
The Local Window Cleaner customers are 'recruited' rather than sold, using a system that is more of a signing-up process than a form of marketing. Window cleaning is what we do, but it's not what we sell," says Terry. We sell reliability and peace of mind and our customers are very happy to pay our prices for it."
The Local Window Cleaner is committed to supporting franchisees with comprehensive management and staff training. Franchisees are empowered to grow their business to a size that matches their own personal ambitions.
Springwise: Proving that every industry can benefit from innovation, Eye Candy Caddies' mission is to make golf sexy. Similar to Models At Work, the temp agency that we wrote about last year, Eye Candy only works with models and other very pretty people.
Caddies can be hired for GBP 150 and travel expenses, which covers 18 holes and an after-links drink at the club house. Not just eye candy, every caddy completes a special training program to learn the finer points of golf etiquette, including essential rules such as "Never laugh at a bad shot", and "Encourage and applaud where necessary."
Appealing to a desire for glamour, prestige and a bit of fun, the service is a hit with corporate golf events. Considering the continued popularity of golf around the world, and the sport's strong ties with business, whether for wooing clients or informally closing deals, glamour caddy services should take off in many markets.
Entrepreneur: Relying on sales tactics that he learned as a sales rep in college, La Vine, 49, set out to acquire clients for his new software consulting business. But people were more interested in hearing how he managed to get clients on the line than hearing about what he had to sell. So he set up a home office and began offering tutorials on how to make cold calls. Now, 95 percent of La Vine's business comes from referrals, and he averages over $250,000 a year in sales.
Springwise: "Prosper gives people the opportunity to take back the marketplace for consumer credit. By providing the platform and tools for an efficient marketplace created by and for people, Prosper aims to make consumer lending more financially and socially rewarding for everyone."
How it works? People who need money request it, with a listing of why they need the money, and some numbers describing their credit rating. Other people then bid for the privilege of lending money to them. The lower the interest rate offered by the lender, the more likely he is to win the bid. Prosper facilitates, in return for a one-time 1% fee on funded loans from borrowers, and a 0.5% annual loan servicing fee from lenders.
Iconoculture: Ask any canine or kitty: It’s doggone traumatic when owners go away. But Mazzu’s Dog and Cat Hotel in Philadelphia aims to ease things with tony boarding options that include dinners of filet mignon or fresh salmon. A standard “personal suite” gives furry family members a TV, toys, unlimited spring water, daily maid service and “unlimited personal affection,” with add-ons like a fresh salmon dinner ($22) or filet mignon ($22). Going for highbrow clients, Mazzu’s rejects any and all “fleabag” hotel jokes, requiring pets to be on active external parasite meds before check-in.
Pet owners who blow out of town and leave the critters behind have some serious guilt to assuage – and a compelling desire to keep their loved ones comforted while they’re gone. Pets-as-people consciousness says animals get stressed upon a change of scenery and the departure of their clan.
TechCrunch: The concept of Ether is straightforward, but it has a massive back end infrastructure (thankfully Ingenio already had it built). They call it an “ebay for services”, allowing people to charge for advice over the phone (and by email - more on that below).
Service providers set up an account by providing some personal information and a phone number that they would like to be called at. Any service that can be provided over the phone is a perfect match for Ether. “Sellers” set their price, from free to anything (on a per minute or per hour basis). They can tell Ether the hours they are willing to take calls. Every seller is issued a toll free phone number (with a dedicated extension), which forwards to their phone.
Buyers can search through providers, see prices, feedback, etc. Once they agree to terms, they can place the call. Sellers only get calls once a Buyer has paid the fee and agreed to the terms.
Ether takes a flat 15% of fees for its trouble. They cover long distance charges and credit card processing fees out of this 15%.
And the fun doesn’t stop there. Sellers can also sell any type of digital content through Ether as well. The buyer is able to access the content only after paying the agreed upon fee. This content can be emailed out to people, or accessed via a link/badge that can be placed on a website.
Iconoculture: Pet hair out of control when owners don’t want to be? That’s the calling card for Aussie Pet Mobile, a franchise that home-delivers pet grooming services in a specially equipped van. With a grooming station at their door, owners can watch as their beloved furballs receive an in-van shampoo, conditioning, blow-dry and brush-out. Or Aussie Pet can solve pets’ hairy problems while owners are at work. Featured for four years in Entrepreneur Magazine’s “Franchise 500,” Aussie Pet Mobile makes a fetching solution for dog and cat owners who want cleanliness with convenience.
Springwise: Kozmo! Urbanfetch! Food.com! Ordering a pint of Ben & Jerry's and a video from your East Village studio in your underwear. Ah, those were the days! But as predicted, beautiful flowers now grow on the graves of many a failed dotcom. In Istanbul, After 9 started delivering stuff to demanding Istanbulites in need of urban necessities like condoms, beverages, cigarettes, diapers and sandwiches. Orders are placed online or over the phone, and are delivered by motorbike or car in 45 minutes or less. Opening hours are 9pm–6am. For this urban luxury, customers pay a 25-30% premium compared to regular supermarket prices. The minimum order size is USD 7 (EUR 6/GBP 4), but the average order is closer to USD 20 (EUR 17/GBP 11.50).
Springwise: Paragraph ("providing an affordable and tranquil working environment for writers of all genres") occupies a 2,500 square foot loft space near Union Square, divided into a writing room and a lounge area. The writing room has 38 partitioned desks, while the lounge area contains a kitchenette, a large round table and smaller café tables. There's a refrigerator and cabinets to store members' food and beverages, as well as a microwave, toaster oven and coffee maker. The space has a laser printer and wifi throughout, and is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
Members are assigned a pin code to access the space, and don't need to be published authors: a strong drive to write is enough. Monthly access fees range from USD 80 to 132 (EUR 67-110/GBP 45-75). So far, Paragraph has signed up 120 members.
TrendBlog: Banks of the Future create a stylish and user-friendly atmosphere. Target group are people of any income level who want to associate their finances with fun rather than with a strict official approach. Free seminars and events make it easy for first-timers to start dealing with their finances and get involved with the money market. The banks of the Future make banking simple, easy and offer a variety of services which allow the customer to deal with his money independently and flexibly. And it is about more than just money: Banks of the Future present themselves as meeting-places; open spaces for art, culture and discussion.
Springwise:Slate is an all-inclusive laundry service for NYC residents available through the web. Customers sign up for a weekly flat fee of USD 50-60 (GBP 29-35/EUR 42-50), receive a Slate hamper, then choose a pick-up time. Which means no standing in line, no counting and itemizing, no financial surprises: Slate does the sorting, and determines which garment needs to be cleaned by which process (anything from hydro-carbon, wet-cleaning, hand washing, to regular laundering). Cleaned clothes come back wrapped, tagged, and good as new. The environment also gets a gentler treatment, as the company uses a combination of bio-degradable and organic agents.
In Slate's own words: "You are dealing with someone who speaks your language. You bought USD 250 dollar jeans and you are taking them to be cleaned where? To the run-of-the mill cleaner in his dreary shop down the block, who doesn't care as much for the clothes as you do? We speak the same language: fashion. When your clothes come back, they as new as the day you bought them at Barneys. On the surface we are a clothes cleaner, but underneath we are a fashion label."
The Wave Magazine: Do you find your weekends being eaten up by errands? Thanks to an ingenious local entrepreneur, you can now eliminate a trip to the hair stylist from your To Do list. Dena Kaufer, a 20-year veteran of the hair biz, has retrofitted three Winnebagos into full-feature salons on wheels. Her team of stylists drive their mobile barber shops onto the campuses of Silicon Valley’s biggest tech firms so employees can get a quick snip-and-trim without leaving the company office park. Some of OnSite’s stops are open to the public, while some stops are designed for campus employees only.
CScout: Playful training engages your employees or customers in new and innovative ways. Who would dare to just stand in front of an audience and do nothing but talk? In our day it takes a little more to catch the short attention span of most listeners. People do not only grow up watching fast-cut shows, they start going to music classes before they even celebrated their first birthday, are on stage in elementary school and study in multi-media classrooms. By adding elements of interactivity and playfullness training sessions are revitalizing the rusty routines.
Billions are spent to establish a new product on the market, to win new target groups or just keep the market-share. But what about in-depth information, information your staff should know off-hand. The secret of having successful employees is to keep them interested. Companies might start to look for new ways to playfully train and educate their employees and even customers without the usual spiel.
Iconoculture: The Welcome Home program trains bilingual veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces to become mortgage brokers so they can help Latinos buy homes. The free online program awards a Mortgage Banking Achievement Certificate that certifies veterans to broker, service, and process mortgages. Because veterans leave the military with a host of skills, including the ability to work with people from various cultures, the program is seen as benefiting an industry that requires effective personal interactions. Latino veterans can take advantage of a career option that rewards both their personal and the community’s economic wellbeing.
Entrepreneur: Bob Martin and his employee-turned-partner, Larry Jones, couldn't help but notice the attention they were receiving as they put up their first client's Christmas display. "We had 25-foot toy soldiers, a 40-foot arch going across the driveway, a 36-foot-long Santa's Express in the front yard, and about 400,000 lights going throughout the property," says Martin, 45. The extravagant display even attracted the attention of the local media in New Lenox, Illinois.
That was in the winter of 1996. Martin got the creative spark for his company, BrightIdea sInc.com,when he realized most people dread the yearly task of hanging holiday lights. Confident that people would pay for the convenience, Martin launched the business from his garage. He spent just $2,500 at startup, purchasing supplies such as advertising signs, ladders, lights, timers and other equipment. Thanks to free consulting help from his local Small Business Development Center, Martin developed a solid business plan and even got help with marketing and financing. By sponsoring the local TV station's toy drive and giving away free lighting displays through radio shows, he was able to score much-needed exposure in his community for next to nothing.
Entrepreneur: When Christopher Hughes heard his clients singing ?La Bamba? in anticipation of their Cinco de Mayo party, he knew he was onto something. Hughes, 34, had recently co-founded Day Perks with business partner and friend Leanne Mumm Pardo, 40.
As co-workers at a branding and design firm, Hughes and Mumm Pardo saw a need for a service to take care of office events and parties. Armed with just $500 and plenty of corporate contacts from past jobs, the two left the firm, incorporated the company and set about creating a pilot program to test the party-planning waters.
Today, Day Perks offers one-hour parties (think parties-in-a-box that include snacks, beverages, plates, napkins and so on) and basic food services (taco bars, pizza, breakfasts and desserts) for everything from simple ice cream socials to office holiday parties. Clients can mix and match as they see fit, or they can consult with Hughes and Mumm Pardo to create their own theme parties. Prices range from $2.95 to $3.95 per person.
Entrepreneur: Trudi McCullough happened to learn about decorative painting and wall finishes while searching the net for fun activities for her children. Inspired, McCullough--once an art major and a former art gallery owner--did more research, took an art class at a local college and began to practice painting and finishing around her own home. “Our house transformed a lot,” laughs McCullough, 40.
Before long, McCullough was starting to do work for friends. As requests grew, she used the money she made to buy supplies and take more classes. Her hobby turned into a business when she began to set up booths at local trade shows, but it wasn’t until she started giving demonstrations at the biannual California State Home and Garden show in Sacramento that business really took off. After cutting a deal with the show owners--she agreed to give free demonstrations in exchange for a mention in their TV ads--McCullough was able to market her business for next to nothing. She also saved money by using professional contacts from class to score deals on liability insurance and website design.
Springwise: MyFoodPhone and Nutrax are LIFE CACHING based diet services: with their cameraphones, users take pictures of everything they eat, and send them to their own Registered Dietician. Once a week, on a personalized web page where customers keep track of their weight and other biometric information, they'll get video feedback from their dietician, who analyzes their nutritional intake and advises them on how to modify their eating habits. MyFoodPhone charges customers about USD 99 (EUR 79/GBP 53.70) a month for the service, while Nutrax offers a few cheaper options. In their own words: "Much more fun - and motivating - than pen and paper food journaling!"
Ubercool: In the 1920s, the automobile completely changed the dating scene, ushering in such meaningful concepts as the back seat and the drive-in. The free love mantra of the 60s provided yet another outlet for the sexual revolution.
As Time Compression engulfs society, it’s evident that the experience of meeting potential partners is once again being uprooted, propelling the phenomena of online dating and speed-dating.
Online dating is driven by more than hormones. Like the rest of the world, the U.S. is slowly becoming a nation of singles. The number of singles 18+ has surged to 110 million. The U.S. online dating industry is expected to climb 9% in 2005 with revenues reaching $516 million based on consumer subscriptions alone, according to Jupiter Research. Jupiter predicts online dating will top $640 million in 2008.
A bevy of dating sites, currently numbering more than 1,000, cater to every conceivable consumer interest, thereby fueling growth. There are dating sites for tall people, pet owners, vegetarians, interracial dating and Jewish people. Other specialized categories include: “date rating” sites, like LemonDate, or background-checking sites, like True.com.
Entrepreneur: A former engineer for Volvo, Curtis Jacobson, 38, made toys as a hobby in his spare time--frequently using his eight nieces and nephews to test-market his innovations. But he knew he was onto something when he got the idea for ArtHouses. "You could have the kids designing their own wallpaper or siding, and that got me to the idea of building a dollhouse with walls that display 8.5-by-11-[inch] paper artwork," says Jacobson, who launched the business with personal savings. Made of furniture-grade plywood and plastic, the dollhouses are collapsible and can be assembled by a child in just two minutes.
Though Jacobson originally believed toy stores and museum gift shops would be the top markets for his product, he's seen the most interest from elementary school teachers, who use ArtHouses as creative teaching tools. Conducive to group projects and the imagination, ArtHouses have been used to teach poetry, explain color theory and more. Currently, primary schools in Brevard County, Florida, have incorporated ArtHouses into after-school programs and the summer school curriculum.
PSFK: Genuardi's.com launched their home-delivery service today in some of regions of Philadelphia. Customers get to specify how ripe they want their fruits and how thick they want their steaks. Customers get free delivery on their first order. -Via Philadelphia InquirerAcme started home-delivery last year. And now grocers like Genuardi's are offering such services.
The deliveries are done in a 2-4 hour timeframe. The minimum order is $50 at Genuardi's and the delivery charge is $9.95---so the home-delivery option is useful only for ordering huge bulk orders as they charge only $4.95 for orders over $150.
Will this be the future of grocery stores? This makes life a lot easier for customers who want to save time by ordering a months worth of groceries by a click-- and right to their doorstep. This model would work best in big cities and at universites where a large number of customers don't own cars. Maybe grocers should start thinking in this direction.
Entrepreneur: As an African-American, Dr. Rick Kittles wanted to know who his ancestors were and their countries of origin. So the geneticist decided to create a database of African lineages.
After working on this database for several years, Kittles, 38, who holds a Ph.D. in molecular biology, joined forces with businesswoman Gina Paige, 38, to start a company that allows African-Americans to confidentially obtain information about their genealogy.
By using DNA technology, the company aids individuals in determining maternal or paternal ancestry. Customers go online (www.africanancestry.com) to order a $349 kit, use swabs to collect their cheek cells and then send their samples to the company via Express Mail. After the DNA is extracted from the swabs and sequenced, Kittles matches the sequence to his database of more than 25,000 African lineages and 389 ethnic groups.
African Ancestry has more than 3,000 clients, including celebrities such as actor LeVar Burton, director Spike Lee and Congresswoman Diane Watson. The company earned $300,000 in 2004, and they expect to increase sales by 50 percent in 2005.
Entrepreneur: At a speed-dating event last summer, Melissa English walked away with more business contacts for her sister Sonia's web design company than she did phone numbers for herself. At the same time, Sonia attended a business-networking event hosted by the local chamber of commerce and walked away with nothing. Sensing a perfect match between speed dating and networking mixers, the two sisters launched 5 Minute Networking. Their events give individuals from all industries the chance to meet 20 different professionals, one-on-one, in five-minute increments.
Their idea was an immediate hit-- the first 50-person event, held in Newport Beach in September 2004, filled to capacity within eight days of being announced. The company went national four months later, holding 25 events in 13 cities across the U.S. Melissa and Sonia only host local events; outside event directors are hired for events in other cities. "The response we get from events is absolutely phenomenal," says Melissa, 27, adding that they expect sales to jump from $300,000 in 2005 to $2 million in 2006.
Springwise.com: Beautiful people have always had it easier, but in today's appearance-obsessed society it really pays to be one of the Beautiful Ones. As no event, party, night out, shopping spree or fancy dinner is complete without pretty people serving, tending, hosting, welcoming or just chatting, a whole new market for renting out aspiring models who can just 'be', is opening up. Witness the success of Dutch temp agency Models at Work, which has 150 aspiring/beginning models on file. Corporate clients like Martini, Bacardi, Moët & Chandon, Coca Cola, Puma, G-star, Cartier, MTV, Elle, Esquire, T-Mobile use the agency to make sure their corporate and marketing events are chockablock with easy-on-the-eyes Dutchies.
Entrepreneur.com: For people who long to party like P. Diddy, but don't have quite the celeb status needed to bypass the velvet ropes, PartyBuddys is a lifesaver and, according to co-founder James King, "like a traveling VIP party."
Founded by two longtime friends, the idea is that, for a fee (the average cost is $2,500 for four people), PartyBuddys will provide you with your own posse--a guide to take you to all the clubs you want to hit, a trained bodyguard, paparazzi-like photographers to take your picture as you exit your limo, and bottle service at your VIP table--for a fabulous night on the town. The pair also arranges luxury car rentals, spa services and even personal shopping for their clients.
King and Roefaro, both 30, got the idea after spending countless nights out on the town in their 20s. They felt that as people got older and had more money, they'd pay to bypass lines and get first-class service in the club scene.
After talking to the New York City club owners they knew well, says Roefaro, "They bought into our idea as being the next step in corporate entertaining." With set relationships in place, the pair started marketing their PartyBuddys service by handing out fliers and business cards in front of clubs, and the buzz grew.
Telegraph: Purveyors of speed-dating, the frenetic method of finding love through dozens of noisy three-minute encounters, will have you believe it is responsible for thousands of relationships, more than 50 marriages and at least six babies.
The events are thought to generate up to £5 million a year and about 4,000 people a week take part.
But for the 15 million or so single people who would prefer not to shriek for their wedding supper, 20-year-old Annabelle Baldwyn has devised a genteel alternative: "stroll-dating".
It is an altogether more civilised affair, according to participants. A happy marriage between two of life's great pleasures - dogs and country walks.
Eligible bachelors (brewery owner, 32; insurance seller, 35) meet marriageable ladies (marketing consultant, 34; shop assistant, 24) at a country pub to go a-courting in the Cotswolds, followed by hefty ham sandwiches and a laze in the summer sun.
Two stroll-dates in, the statistics are yet to match those of the speed-dates bean counters, but they are climbing.
Miss Baldwyn, 20, an artist and entrepreneur, came up with the idea after falling in love on a woodland ramble. She bills it as the sedate alternative to "brash" dating events.
USAToday: Brian Scudamore keeps proving that one man's junk is another man's treasure.
The 35-year-old businessman has gone from high school dropout to CEO of a fast-growing trash-removal empire that aims to become to the junk world what FedEx has become to package delivery. His company, 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, operates franchises in large metropolitan areas in the USA and Canada, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas and Washington, D.C.
Scudamore, the son of a Canadian liver transplant surgeon, attributes his company's success to superior customer service in markets with weak competition, usually small mom-and-pop operations with one truck.
1-800-GOT-JUNK? uses shiny Isuzu trucks with uniformed drivers who call customers to confirm a pickup. Customers book online (www.1800gotjunk.com) or by calling a toll-free number.
They can designate a two-hour period for pickup. The company strives to fill a niche between curbside garbage collectors and haulers of heavy-duty waste.
"No competitors offer the level of service that we do," says Scudamore, who was born in San Francisco and lived there until his family moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, when he was 8.
NetImperative: Tesco has announced it plans to sell houses over the Internet, claiming it will charge customers as little as £50 to sell their house online.
The supermarket giant is targeting home sellers who do not wish to pay estate agents' fees, who usually charge between one and two per cent of the selling price as commission.
According to a report in trade magazine the Grocer, Tesco is currently working with designers to create the site, which will include a virtual tour of properties.
Potential buyers will have to register their credit card details online in order to view properties.
Buyers can then contact house sellers directly using coded phone numbers, which means that vendors do not need to reveal their home numbers.
Entrepreneur.com: While typical "Mommy and Me" classes can be great fun, Molly Snyder, 30, decided to give the old format a spin when she started Metropolitan Moms. Instead of classes focusing 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.
This former investment banker got the idea when, three months into her maternity leave, she realized she didn't want to leave her daughter for a full-time position. However, she thought it would be fun to explore the city's many museums and galleries--with her daughter in tow. "When I had this idea, so many people didn't understand what I was talking about," says Snyder.
USAToday: When Dane and Nancy Bryant were married two years ago, the guests gave them silverware, wine glasses, a picnic set and a business idea that dramatically changed their lives.
Dane, a Web site developer, had decided to make CD wedding invitations for the 115 guests. The discs featured a photo montage of the couple, a two-minute video of them asking the guests to attend, and directions to the ceremony and reception.
Along with the usual replies to the RSVPs, Bryant received three offers from invitees to sell the CDs for him if he went into business.
A couple of months later, Elegant Invites Inc. was born.
"Once I started getting feedback, the bells really went off," said Bryant, 40. "I thought we had to do something with it."
Since the Bryants met on the matchmaker site Match.com, they figured it was only natural for them to launch a business linking technology and matrimony.
Global:Ideas:Bank: In an age when e-mail and text messaging are making letter writing obsolete one program is fighting to create an online permanent record for future historians and biographers. The website www.libraryoflife.org is the brainchild of Stephen Forsyth who wanted a way to preserve the memory of his late brother, James. The project aims to record the names and biographies of as many people as possible. The site offers options to those who wish to keep their details private but other can post full biographies and photos.
Anyone can registrar there name and picture for free. For a fee of £16.25 they will be able to post unlimited text, up to 200 pictures, five minutes of film, and 20 minutes of sound. "The website will ensure that all future generations can learn from our experiences," said Henry Chamberlain, the managing director of the Library of Life Trust. "We believe it will become a duty for the young to help the older generations to take part."
The sites goal is to record generations of experiences and advice they are afraid is being lost in emails, text messages, and phone calls.
FastCompany: The residents of northern California got their first taste of Umpqua Bank last July when the ice-cream trucks rolled in. Only days earlier, the little-known Oregon community bank with the weird name had made headlines when it announced the acquisition of a local 27-branch bank. Now, here came Umpqua's advance guard: trucks filled with free ice-cream sandwiches.
Corny? Maybe. But as Ray Davis, Umpqua's CEO says, "It's the corny things that make the difference" when it comes to providing great customer service. Great service is something every bank claims to offer, of course -- and almost never does. Employees helplessly sit on their hands when customers have a simple request, shunting them off to a manager, or worse, the company's 800-number.
The problem, as Davis sees it, is culture. At most banks, a cultural focus on efficiency, process, and controls often stands in the way of doing right by customers. At Umpqua, every element of the culture is focused on serving customers. It's what keeps Umpqua growing in the highly competitive retail banking sector. When Davis, a onetime CPA who spent years as a banking consultant, took the lead job at Umpqua 11 years ago, the Oregon-based bank had just six branches and $140 million in assets. Now it has 92 branches, stretching from Napa to Seattle, and $5 billion in assets.
Entrepreneur.com: After Helane Cohen lost her mother in 2000, the time she spent alone helped her identify the two things she loved most: children and cooking. It was then that this tech executive decided to leave behind a six-figure salary and launch Le Petit Cookery, a cooking school for children. Three months later, Cohen, 40, brought in good friend Steven Soto, 42, as her chief advisor--having worked with him in the past, she knew he could offer invaluable small-business skills.
Le Petit Cookery teaches children everything from how to use cutlery to healthy eating and proper etiquette. Today, the business consists of three branches: after-school programs for elementary-school children; private cooking parties, special events and classes at requested locations; and a website that sells cooking products for children. While the programs teach children how to cook, they also encourage safety, fun, teamwork and healthy nutrition. Le Petit Cookery's "Around the Globe We Go" after-school program, for example, highlights international foods and ingredients, such as Polish pirogis, dumplings filled with cheese or meat that the kids make by themselves--with some help from assistants, of course.
WorldChanging: Another great find from the Doors of Perception conference in Delhi: the Honey Bee Network, here in India. It is a network of people designed to find hackers and inventors from the countryside, the sort of people who don’t have two pennies to rub together but invent a coconut-tree-climbing machine so they can work better, or a man who had never been to formal school but heard on the news that government researchers were spending millions to built a mobile robot, and built his own to (supposedly) perform the same tasks. Another memorable example was a shock absorbing bicycle which has a gear which translates the impact of hitting a bump into turning the wheels, speeding you up instead of just inconveniencing you. (And with the roads around here, that could be quite an advantage--or send you headlong into disaster, I’m not sure which...)
The network works to connect these innovators to other people in other villages who can use their ideas, as well as companies that might license their inventions to provide them an income from their creativity.
Iconoculture: Dinner and a movie? Yawn. Prosaic daters find a creative crutch at Xperience Days, an innovative planning service that sends couples on customized superdates in New York, California, Florida, and Pennsylvania. Xperience Days’ “concierges of love” guarantee that clients and their prospective mates live the experience of a lifetime, from salsa dancing and Ferrari racing to copter rides and intimate cruises (New York Post 2.13.05). The adventures are sorted by price and category, and out-of-this-world dates range from überaffordable ($60 trapeze lessons) to super-spendy ($100,000 zero-gravity flights).
Why spend weeks brainstorming the perfect outing when you can pay a professional to do it for you? Services that let amorous affluents outsource date ideas remove the pressure of planning, letting uncreative Casanovas make dream dates come true without burning time or brain cells. An Xperience Days experience? From $60 to $100,000. A surefire way to knock a date’s socks off? Priceless.
Businessweek Online: In the sales world, one of the most common stumbling blocks is price objection. A potential deal may be moving ahead smoothly, but when numbers enter the conversation, eager customers can suddenly turn and flee. What I've found, however, is that humor can be used to move the sale along at almost every stage of the process.
Humor is not just for selling products and services -- most successful politicians and CEOs use it to sell their ideas, too. It's refreshing to meet someone these days who doesn't take themselves too seriously. Now it needs to be noted that you shouldn't go overboard and act like a goofball, but adding some levity can certainly increase your likability. It helps makes the connection. As a result, customers will listen more closely, and if trouble erupts they are more likely to cut you some slack.
Thankfully, for the joke-telling impaired among us, humor doesn't just mean delivering one-liners. It also includes funny quotations, cartoons, lists, analogies, definitions, stories -- in short, all sorts of things. Remember, in a business setting, your goal is to simply lighten the mood, not have them rolling in the aisles.
Entrepreneur.com: Bored by the idea of giving her husband a traditional gift basket to celebrate his promotion, Kate Dyer-Seeley made her own by filling a sleek, plastic box with treats including brainteaser games, mints and other cool, fun items. When her husband took it to work, the box was such a hit that Dyer-Seeley, 29, and two friends, Karen O'Hollaren, 30, and Erin Cox, decided to make a business out of it together. (Cox left the company a year later.)
Initially, they worked out of Dyer-Seeley's garage, and each invested $1,000. The three friends also attended gift shows to discover other amusing products-such as scented candles, games, gourmet food products and CDs-to include in the Urbanaboxes. For example, two current box styles are the Swank box, which offers a stainless steel shaker, martini olives and a jazz CD set, and the Baby box, which includes a lullaby CD, a baby massage book, a cotton blanket and calming tea.
Engadget: We were seriously wondering why Google hadn’t already rolled this out (especially with their movement towards the geographical with maps.google.com and their purchase of Keyhole), but Yahoo’s definitely beaten them (and everyone else, it seems) on the driving directions via SMS tip. Hit the “Send to Phone” link on their Yahoo! maps page and you’ll get the data via SMS, with images also available with your data connection (you do have a mobile data plan, don’t you?).
Springwise: With a name like Sparschwein, it has to be good! Indeed, Munich-based Sparschwein (German for piggy bank), is a new direct seller venture encouraging Germans to go on a domestic treasure hunt, exploring their basements, attics, cabinets, and garages for valuable items, especially fashion accessories, antiques, baby products, computers, electronics, cameras, domestic and garden appliances, design furniture, and certain financial contracts. Unearthed items will then be sold by one of 1,000 Sparschwein agents who will later this year go door to door in German cities and villages to collect the items, and sell them on eBay and other auction sites on behalf of the owner.
San Francisco Chronicle: "The Brainwash Cafe is cool," my friend tells me on the phone after I announce my plans for the evening. "I read my poetry there."
I never knew she wrote poetry, much less went anywhere to read it. "And the washers have names. It's really cool.''
I'd looked up the cafe on the Web: bright pictures of the laundry area, a detailed calendar of performances.
Although I don't regard visits to the Laundromat as drudgery, I was looking forward to something different. My gentleman caller was a good sport about our date. "We going where, now, baby? How do I have to dress? Tell me again why I'm bringing the laundry?" he asked.
It takes a moment to spot the Brainwash in the Folsom Street gloom. The neon sign is on but the lights are low in the cafe, which faces the street; the side entrance for the Laundromat is bright.
Entrepreneur.com: Parents weary of the bustle of day care, baby-sitters and carpools for their young children need only to look to the TeacherCare child-care and teaching program for some relief. Founded by Terri Brax, this service provides qualified teachers to work in people's homes and serve as both teachers and caregivers.
Brax is familiar with the needs of working parents--she left her job as an account manager in the computer field because of her lack of child-care choices. With child care on the brain, Brax heard her best friend's story of a difficult experience with a nanny. Her friend, in need of one-on-one child care for her son, eventually found a teacher who could care for him during the day while engaging his mind in learning activities. "When I'd visit her, both of our sets of children would light up," recalls Brax, 42. "That was when the light-bulb moment happened. I realized that this is just wonderful for the children and for us as parents, and other parents and children would really benefit from this, too."
After setting out to recruit teachers who were passionate about the concept, Brax found many eager for the one-on-one teaching atmosphere a home setting provided. And parents loved the concept right away--so much so that they became TeacherCare's spokespeople, spreading the company's message via word-of-mouth.
BusinessWeek Online: Kathy Walsh was just 16 years old when her hair began falling out. She'd then fashion her own beehive wigs and decorate them with strings of pearls. In black and white photographs from back then, her hair looks a foot tall. After years of struggling with the problem herself, she finally decided to open up her own wig shop to help others suffering from hair loss.
Her niche business has bloomed. Continually outgrowing its locations, PK Walsh been forced to move into a bigger space several times, most recently in April. The salon has continued to expand its services, now including laser treatment, which helped make 2004 a record year. Although Walsh declines to provide specific figures, she says revenue has increased every year since the company's founding more than two decades ago.
Turning Hair Loss into Gain [BusinessWeek Online]
The New York Times: It sounds like a line from a spam e-mail: Work from home! Low risk! Flexible schedule! Earn hundreds of dollars each gig!
But an emerging group of resourceful entrepreneurs says there is no catch. The rising popularity of Apple's sleek iPod has created a new niche service: the professional iPod loader. There are housekeepers to tend homes and gardeners to tend landscaping. Why not iPod loaders to take care of music collections?
For $1 to $1.49 a CD, the professional loaders will embark on the time-consuming process of copying a music collection onto an iPod, often providing a digital backup copy as well.
"It's a booming aftermarket of the iPod economy," said Bill Palmer, a 27-year-old entrepreneur who has created a nationwide network of iPod loaders called Loadpod. Each loader picks up the iPod and CD's at the client's home, then returns a fully loaded iPod in a few days.
The loaders say they are finding growing demand, especially after the holiday season, which increased the number of iPods sold to 10 million. Consumers are realizing that the digital wonder that was supposed to unify and simplify their musical existence actually eats up time, lots of it. Converting enough CD's to fill a 40-gigabyte iPod can take 60 to 100 hours, depending on the computer's speed. "The prospect of spending all this time was daunting," said Nell Eckersley, a 35-year-old educator in Brooklyn, who was excited when she received an iPod for Christmas. Then she began converting her collection of 400 CD's. "I spent all day Sunday doing it, and said, `This is crazy,' " she said.
Hearing such frustration has inspired many would-be businessmen. College graduates, computer technicians and D.J.'s are setting up shop. The business is even attracting medical doctors.
NYTimes.com: Dressed in a sober business suit, Jorge Lima, 30, a salesman for a pharmaceuticals company, looked out of place among the gyrating house music mavens at Cielo, a lounge with a futuristic theme in the meatpacking district known for a rotating cast of celebrity D.J.'s.
But Mr. Lima didn't mind. On a recent Saturday night, sitting at a private table with a bottle of overpriced vodka, he was having the time of his life watching his pal Sam Oro awkwardly navigate the sunken dance floor and listening to Veronica Vega, a trim and attractive 28-year-old, urging him to dance with her as she poured him a drink.
By day Ms. Vega is a makeup artist, but on Saturdays she works for a company called PartyBuddys and is paid to accompany people like Mr. Lima and his friend from club to club, making sure the velvet ropes always part and that they are shown the best tables.
Ms. Vega, who was dressed this evening in Seven jeans and a Phat Farm top, was to earn $200 plus tips for her night's work from PartyBuddys, a six-month-old service that is basically a nightlife tour company.
Entrepreneur.com: Spending an uncomfortable afternoon in an airport inspired Mark Eberhardt, 51, to come up with a relaxing way to wait for a flight—he imagined how nice it would be to sit in one of those fancy massage chairs he'd seen before in high-end stores.
With a background as a stockbroker, however, it was a challenge for him to modify the chair to accept cash—not to mention the hurdle of getting it into malls and airports. Many people, without really understanding the concept of the chair, recoiled at the word massage, thinking it was something illicit. And getting a foothold in airport concourses is not generally an easy prospect for any company—let alone a new business. Eberhardt had to meet with people face to face and actually show them the chair to get them to appreciate his idea.
In 1996, Eberhardt got the chair into Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee. To date, First Class Seats are in 125 shopping malls, and Eberhardt has plans to expand into more airports and malls around the country. With 2004 sales expected to hit $4 million, it seems like relaxing is the way of the future.
Iconoculture: With a wing woman, aspiring players get by with some help from their lady friends – even if they don’t have any. Wing women put a fresh spin on escort services by giving guys nights out with foxy fairy godmothers. The catch? WW don’t date clients – they help them find dates. A feminine take on the “Wing Man,” these pickup chicks go out with guys masquerading as friends or coworkers. When Romeo spots prospects, his WW divebombs, striking up girl-girl chats peppered with anecdotes about how her “love-him-like-a-brother” pal “rescued my kitten” or “just got promoted.” Then Prince Charming swoops in and scores easy digits.
Since WW’s 2003 NYC launch, Wing Women has racked up 100 clients and 25 wing women (New York-WABC 7.3.04). And while it may seem a service to help the inept connect (like Geek Boy Services), founder Shane Forbes also sees efficiency as a draw. Established professional men just don’t have as much time to cruise and want a performance edge. Wing women are $50 an hour, but most men agree: Foolproof pickup artists are priceless.
StartupJournal: When life feels overwhelming, many women grab their purse and head for the mall. But while Maggie McQuown also views shopping as entertainment, she gets paid for it.
"It's just something I've always been good at -- color, shopping, putting things together and knowing what someone else will like, what they can wear and what will make them look good and feel good," she says. She applies her shopping skills as part of her image-consultant business, VisibleEDGE Resources in Addison, Texas. Her services range from assessing clients' psychological profiles to giving lessons in etiquette. "But the shopping part is the fun part," she says.
A typical personal-shopper gig begins with an interview to determine a client's needs, sometimes amplified by a written personality test, as well as his or her personal preferences when it comes to style and color. Next, the image consultant may simply advise the client about brands, colors and other wardrobe issues. The consultant also may take the client on a shopping expedition, or do the shopping sans client, delivering suggested garments to the client's home or office for a private fitting.
Popular and experienced wedding coordinator Valerie Lehman gives bold but constructive wedding advice daily via her website. She has recently launched a major expansion to offer a free live wedding advice chat room.
As a major expansion of her current free wedding advice website, Valerie Lehman will now provide free wedding advice live in her new wedding advice chat room. Valerie will be available for free wedding consultation every Sunday evening at 5:00pm (pacific standard time) starting November 7th, 2004. Visitors can ask questions of Valerie or simply view the lively conversation.
This is a good business idea simply because Valerie can establish her authority as a "wedding expert" very efficiently and cheaply online - and hence gain more clients!
Deposit, withdraw, sip, relax, lounge, learn, shop … wait, is this a bank? Patrons at Umpqua's Oregon flagship "bank store," savor Umpqua's own coffee blend, lounge in leather chairs, buy financial self-help books, and, yeah, open a savings account or two. Umpqua even throws in free Friday night movies, yoga classes, and home-improvement workshops!
And don't forget the customer service. Umpqua employees train under Ritz-Carlton's elite customer service program. One business reviewer describes the whole shebang as "more like the love child of a W Hotel and a Sephora boutique than a financial institution". Umpqua is striving to be the friendly neighborhood financial institution.
Let's Get Down To Business... Although Umpqua is not the only bank with a boutique-style and cushy service, the idea is a cool one. It emphasizes the importance of customers' welfare and gives a better aesthetic appeal. Comfort and style is also incorporated to enhance their customers' banking experience/process. This will definitely appeal to customers and help draw more customers with the appeal and also to maintain your current pool of customers. Also, by combining community access, it is also reaching out to a broader base of customers. Umpqua goes a step further beyond selling. It knows how to deliver on that - and that's no small change.
Born to an African-American father and a Japanese mother, sisters Titi and Miko had a head full of hair that was neither straight nor kinky with a combination of different textures. Many salons they had been to were not capable of handling their varied textured hair. So, they had to do their hair themselves since childhood. Today, they are doing the same for many others who face the same predicament with their "multicultural" hair - curly, wavy, kinky hair inherited from parents of different nationalities. Their Curve Salon caters exclusively to multicultural women, and the sisters even have a line of hair products for kinky, curly, and wavy hair. That's a great idea when every hair salon you go to seem to only cater to the rest of us with normal hair!
Doesn't this sound familiar? "Most of us have experienced one of those sluggish work days where all you want to do is crawl under your desk for a power nap. With so many people feeling over-scheduled and stressed out these days, consumers tell us there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day for sleep." (Source: Metronaps.com)
Well, do not underestimate this seemingly insignificant fact that has been taken for granted as a necessary sacrifice for career success; the all-new concept of making money by allowing busy business professionals to take a POWER nap in the afternoon is based on it! USA-based MetroNaps provides mid-day rest facilities: a clean, comfortable place to take a nap. MetroNaps was born from the realization that many employees spend significant amounts of their day dozing at their desk or catching powernaps in odd places.
Founded in 2003 and researched and tested at Carnegie Mellon University, MetroNaps has developed a process and facilities to help maximize the rejuvenating effects of a brief rest. Combined, the MetroNaps Method and the MetroNaps Pod (no, not the Apple iPod) provide customers with the quick recharge needed so they can do more with their day, both professionally and personally. MetroNaps opened its first location in the Empire State Building in May 2004 (Source: TrendCentral.com).
Let's Get Down To Business...
Indeed, the concept of "sleep for sale" is an interesting one. It really is a novelty and the idea might just become a booming success. Besides the aesthetic appeal of the product (with its sleek cool design), the concept of allowing people to have a good powernap in the afternoon will also appeal to many. This is especially so for executives who are always on the go. The MetroNaps Method is designed to let you recharge in just 20 minutes. You'll feel refreshed without feeling groggy. The amazing thing of this whole concept is that it takes less than 25 minutes. It is not time-consuming but is able to make you feel recharged, refreshed and energized - exactly what worn-out execs need!
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Business opportunity from the US Market Leader in Disc Protection. Recently we told you about the unique Disc protection product D-Skin. The product is great and in fact our only gripe was where to buy it outside America. Well the guys from D-Skin have listened - and are now looking for Distributors worldwide. So what are you waiting for? Contact them and be part of the D-Skin success worldwide! Visit www.D-Skin.com now.
NewLaunches.com: Those of you who have been fantasizing about a unique way to get married may want to try this new destination. Carrie Bradshaw found solace in the Registrar's Office but may want to try Space! Japanese space transportation provider Rocketplane Kistler and wedding planner First Advantage have come together in 
Iconoculture: Not everyone thinks a highfalutin salon is necessary for a good haircut. These consumers may be more apt to frequent 
Appleton Post-Crescent: With a son in medical school, Brenda Kubasta says scheduling was problematic during prime wedding season, and even if they did tie the knot in fair-weather months, waiting wasn't the couple's forte. 
Springwise: Home cooking is a basic pleasure that gets denied by busy schedules all too often, and at least part of the reason is the time that must go into shopping for and preparing ingredients before the cooking can begin. 
Cart-Away Supply is the first franchised concrete, rental and landscape supply store. Cart-Away Supply sells construction materials that people walk on every day, like concrete, soil, rock and bark. The franchise also rents equipment and stocks merchandise that is used to install the concrete, soil and rock. Cart-Away Supply is a construction supply business that provides delivery trailers to take the materials to the job site. Customer’s cart-away their supplies to their projects. This trailer-based concrete delivery system has been proven for over 40-years in yards across the country.
BusinessWeek: France is famous for its relaxed attitude to affairs of the heart (and loins). Unlike in the Anglo-Saxon world, the existence of extra-marital affairs -- from the fictional Madame Bovary to former President Francois Mitterrand -- is taken for granted there. French men even have a term for their mistresses: Le cinq á sept (the 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.). Now French adulterers are being offered a discreet and tailor-made service to help them indulge in their dalliances without getting caught.
TrendCentral: Already a hit in L.A. among the kind of crowd that populates the The Cobra Snake's website, Heartschallenger is kind of a gourmet hipster Good Humor truck. Often making appearances (for hire) at parties and festivals, Heartschallenger is stocked with a global buffet of frozen treats ranging from Japanese mochi and Italian spumoni to peace sign-shaped ice pops by artist Gary Garay, as well as assorted t-shirts and mix-tapes. There’s no schedule listed on their site, but you can email them to find out where they’ll be next or to book them for an event.
Iconoculture: The city that never sleeps has another reason to stay up late: after-hours beauty salons. New Yorkers who want a glass of wine with their color treatment head to meccas like Frédéric Fekkai/Soho and Red Market Salon, which are open for business — and socializing — until at least 11 p.m. Two fleets of ships pass in the night: execs and Wall Streeters winding down from their busy days and trendy 20somethings warming up for club-hopping with a fab new look. 
Springwise: A novel twist added by Habitaz is the pre-paid office card. While most of Habitaz' lease plans are per month, their pre-paid GreenCard allows customers to rent space and facilities by the hour, minute or megabyte. A card costs ZAR 1,000 (USD 145 / EUR 115), and gives holders access to all of the facilities at Habitaz, each of which are charged by use. Facilities include open plan workspace that's open 24/7, with free parking and 'bottomless Ethiopian coffee' (ZAR 22/hour), admin support and secretarial services (ZAR 19.74/15 minutes), phone calls, delivery services, etc.
Springwise: Springwise loves forward-looking ventures that manage to stick around until their time has truly come. Like 
Iconoculture: Ask any canine or kitty: It’s doggone traumatic when owners go away. But Mazzu’s Dog and Cat Hotel in Philadelphia aims to ease things with tony boarding options that include dinners of filet mignon or fresh salmon. A standard “personal suite” gives furry family members a TV, toys, unlimited spring water, daily maid service and “unlimited personal affection,” with add-ons like a fresh salmon dinner ($22) or filet mignon ($22). Going for highbrow clients, Mazzu’s rejects any and all “fleabag” hotel jokes, requiring pets to be on active external parasite meds before check-in. 
Iconoculture: Pet hair out of control when owners don’t want to be? That’s the calling card for Aussie Pet Mobile, a franchise that home-delivers pet grooming services in a specially equipped van. With a grooming station at their door, owners can watch as their beloved furballs receive an in-van shampoo, conditioning, blow-dry and brush-out. Or Aussie Pet can solve pets’ hairy problems while owners are at work. Featured for four years in Entrepreneur Magazine’s “Franchise 500,” Aussie Pet Mobile makes a fetching solution for dog and cat owners who want cleanliness with convenience.
Springwise: Kozmo! Urbanfetch! Food.com! Ordering a pint of Ben & Jerry's and a video from your East Village studio in your underwear. Ah, those were the days! But as predicted, beautiful flowers now grow on the graves of many a failed dotcom. In Istanbul, After 9 started delivering stuff to demanding Istanbulites in need of urban necessities like condoms, beverages, cigarettes, diapers and sandwiches. Orders are placed online or over the phone, and are delivered by motorbike or car in 45 minutes or less. Opening hours are 9pm–6am. For this urban luxury, customers pay a 25-30% premium compared to regular supermarket prices. The minimum order size is USD 7 (EUR 6/GBP 4), but the average order is closer to USD 20 (EUR 17/GBP 11.50).
The Wave Magazine: Do you find your weekends being eaten up by errands? Thanks to an ingenious local entrepreneur, you can now eliminate a trip to the hair stylist from your To Do list. Dena Kaufer, a 20-year veteran of the hair biz, has retrofitted three Winnebagos into full-feature salons on wheels. Her team of stylists drive their mobile barber shops onto the campuses of Silicon Valley’s biggest tech firms so employees can get a quick snip-and-trim without leaving the company office park. Some of OnSite’s stops are open to the public, while some stops are designed for campus employees only.
CScout: Playful training engages your employees or customers in new and innovative ways. Who would dare to just stand in front of an audience and do nothing but talk? In our day it takes a little more to catch the short attention span of most listeners. People do not only grow up watching fast-cut shows, they start going to music classes before they even celebrated their first birthday, are on stage in elementary school and study in multi-media classrooms. By adding elements of interactivity and playfullness training sessions are revitalizing the rusty routines.
Iconoculture: The Welcome Home program trains bilingual veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces to become mortgage brokers so they can help Latinos buy homes. The free online program awards a Mortgage Banking Achievement Certificate that certifies veterans to broker, service, and process mortgages. Because veterans leave the military with a host of skills, including the ability to work with people from various cultures, the program is seen as benefiting an industry that requires effective personal interactions. Latino veterans can take advantage of a career option that rewards both their personal and the community’s economic wellbeing. 
USAToday: When Dane and Nancy Bryant were married two years ago, the guests gave them silverware, wine glasses, a picnic set and a business idea that dramatically changed their lives.
And don't forget the customer service. Umpqua employees train under Ritz-Carlton's elite customer service program. One business reviewer describes the whole shebang as "more like the love child of a W Hotel and a Sephora boutique than a financial institution". Umpqua is striving to be the friendly neighborhood financial institution.
Although Umpqua is not the only bank with a boutique-style and cushy service, the idea is a cool one. It emphasizes the importance of customers' welfare and gives a better aesthetic appeal. Comfort and style is also incorporated to enhance their customers' banking experience/process. This will definitely appeal to customers and help draw more customers with the appeal and also to maintain your current pool of customers. Also, by combining community access, it is also reaching out to a broader base of customers. Umpqua goes a step further beyond selling. It knows how to deliver on that - and that's no small change.
