Nov
16
Unusual New Ideas For Start Ups
Springwise has been one of our favorite stops for business ideas (along with our all time favorite, Dane Carlsen’s Business Opportunities, a blog you must sign up for updates from!) and we have cited ideas from Springwise here several times before as a great place to fuel your entrepreneurial dreams. Actually, it’s probably more like food for thought, because many of the ideas are often so ‘out there’ that the homeschooler in us would shudder to think of trying to launch them.
For instance, the business idea for marketing ‘Living Grass’ or live bacteria as (!) a marketing medium (see: http://www.curbmedia.com/). Interesting, maybe-natural, of course. Do-able? Questionable, at least for an average entrepreneur that wants to work at home as a family.
This week Springwise has presented a few ideas that I thought were ‘do-able’ that you might like…some with a little added twist:
Re-Jigged – Taking the old and making it new again
Re-jigged is a UK company that “reclaims unwanted clothing and upgrades them with some signature stitchery for sale to new owners, so UK-based Re-jigged turns unwearable castoffs into bespoke, one-of-a-kind children’s clothing.” I saw this business as one that is perfect for the homeschool family – that is, if you have at least one member that is talented in sewing, mending and creating.
Re-jigged is run from a farm in rural Herefordshire (UK), and in partnership with EnviroAbility, helps the firm source, wash, sort and arrange the clothing and process it as needed to accomplish their goals. EnviroAbility is a non-profit in the UK that appears to be somewhat similar to our Salvation Army or Goodwill here in the US.
In the US there are Goodwill Stores in almost every state and usually the central store in any area will sell you bags of clothing for pennies on the pound the clothes that aren’t sellable in their other stores within one month. Of course, there are many other sources of clothing discards that would be easy to find for practically nothing here in America, also. If you could efficiently re-purpose these discards into something worthwhile, you could do quite well selling what will be primarily your investment of time. Time is what it would take, along with a little ingenuity, but it was an idea I thought worth considering and IMHO, a business fitting for a homeschool family. Another Springwise discovered business that is similar is http://www.dothegreenthing.com/saved.
We Go Look – at things needing looked at!
WeGoLook is a concept that could catch on, while I’m still wondering how they find enough people to accomplish their goals. In case you’re wondering what they look at, it’s items on Ebay and Craigslist that are too far away for you to make a trip for-yet know it would be wise to SEE the item.
You could apply to be a ‘looker’, or consider a service of your own! See it in action at : http://www.wegolook.com/
Vision Walks - Giving tours for a living
Do you live somewhere interesting that you could offer a tour of? Maybe not one tour, but maybe group a series of interesting tours in your area? Be creative! Vision Walks utilize night vision goggles. What new technology could you use? An i-Phone maybe? Visit or take a look at Vision Walks for some possible ideas.
Ebay goes green – and maybe another GREEN opportunity?
Ebay’s Instant Sale, a new offering for used electronics, could be a way to recycle your old electronics…and maybe other electronics that you are able to round up. I haven’t read all the details, but thought it was worth looking into. Many people that I know have no idea what to do with their old electronic devices..maybe you can help others, the environment, and make some cash from home in the process.
go to: http://green.ebay.com/instantsale/
Are you a Foodie looking for an entrepreneurial outlet?
UpBox, “Gourmet Food in a Box”, is another UK company that is offering prepared food to go. A niche that may be a big UK hit. In the US, there are always opportunities to satisfy America’s take-out urges. UpBox is smart in targeting the upscale market, knowing that they have a little more pocket change to spare in this economy.
However, one niche in America that almost any non-poverty budget will spend a little extra on is healthy or organic food. I’ve often thought how valuable a delivery service would be for those that are too sick to go out to buy food, or to prepare their own. That’s when they need healthy food the most, but often resort to unhealthy alternatives out of the inability to manage anything else. We can’t forget that there is a big world out there that may not have family, friends or a church to help when sickness strikes. Many would pay a premium price for healthy food, prepared AND delivered. (a service that could also be a ministry!) This is also a needed service in our growing elderly community.
That’s not all!
You can read more about these new start-ups and more ideas that will boggle your entrepreneurial mind at Springwise.com. What are some unique business ideas that you have ‘spotted’ recently?
.
More From HomeschoolEntrepreneur
Nov
15
Police Called Again On Young Entrepreneurs
Once again, (see below) the police were called on two teens that were selling cupcakes and other treats to make some extra money. This happened in Chappaqua, NY and the kids were 13 year old Andrew DeMarchis and Kevin Graff.
This story was just released today by Associated Press, and while it was reported by many sources, the story was always the same-with no additional details to help us understand why this happened. So the details you and I would want are not available yet. I just can’t help but think there was more to this apparent injustice.
It seemed the boys had a brisk business selling cupcakes, cookies, brownies and Rice Krispie treats in a local Chappaqua (CHAP’-uh-kwah) park, but New Castle Councilman Michael Wolfensohn had a different opinion and called the police last month on the boys.
Kevin’s mother, Laura Graff, says the teens are “good kids” who were scared by the police call. She said Monday
they haven’t set up shop anywhere since. The councilman is said to have conceded that calling the police might have been a half-baked decision, but also stated that “rules are rules”. It looks to me like maybe there was an ordinance that the boys and their mother may have overlooked.
Moral of the story:
Whenever you and your young entrepreneurs decide to sell anything to the general public (I think that you can trust close friends and relatives not to call the police) you need to first stop at your city hall and ask if there are any laws or ordinances regarding the sale of your wares. Be sure you mention the age of your young salesmen/women.
Also see the story on the Lemonade Stand that provoked a call to local authorities. . . .
http://homeschoolent.com/2010/08/how-not-to-encourage-young-entrepreneurs/
Oct
19
A Virtual Library of Resources For Entrepreneurs
I just signed up for Mind Tools newsletter, which offered to send me “New Career Skills” twice a month along with a personal development planning workbook they say is worth $19.99. Their tagline is “Essential skills for an excellent career“, but it looks to me like so much more.
Leadership skills, problem solving, decision making, project management, practical creativity, time management, stress management, information skills, communication skills and career skills are their main categories with a hefty list of articles under each one. Each article is a concise, but thorough, overview of important skills that every entrepreneur can use in their development of necessary business skills.
Using This Site To Teach Your Homeschool Entrepreneur
Providing an overview of skills that are needed in the workplace is a valuable part of any education. Taking this website as a base of operation, it looks like it could be a convenient way to methodically cover a multitude of subjects. Covering one article each day and discussing how that skill might be used will insure that your homeschool entrepreneur has a well rounded overview of essential business skills. If (when) a weakness in a particular area is revealed, you’ll know to pursue 
that area more thoroughly. I’m sure you’ll come away with several ideas to further explore essential skills your teen needs for the career(s) they are considering.
Naturally, you will see many products* offered for sale that relate to each category, but I did not see anywhere a requirement to make a purchase to view any of the materials. I’ve yet to completely go through all they have to offer, but I was so excited to share this potential resource with you I couldn’t wait! Isn’t the internet marvelous for homeschooling?
Anyone else have a favorite resource for homeschooling their teen entrepreneurs? Surely your mother taught you to share…:-)
Thanks!
*This is NOT a paid endorsement – in any way. Just one homeschooler’s opinion. And we know there are a lot of them!
Oct
14
List Your Business Free On Google
Have you listed your local business on Google yet? If you have a local business, you can list it free of charge. You know, the list of area businesses that displays when you search locally on Google? Your business can show up on that list and it doesn’t cost a thing!
How To Get Your Business Listed On Google:
First, go to: http://www.google.com/local/add/businessCenter. If you don’t have a Gmail account, you will need to register for one (it’s free).
After that, it only takes a few minutes to fill out the forms. Some of the things Google wants to know are:
- Your business name and address. If your business is at your home, and you don’t open your doors to the public, that’s OK. You are required to give Google your home address, but you will see a place that you can check to be sure it doesn’t show up on your listing.
- The phone number you want to see published. This is also the phone number that Google will call you at to verify you are a genuine listing. There is a postcard option, but that will take several weeks to receive, and will delay the publication of your listing.
- The categories your business will be listed under. It will give you a variety of standard categories, or you can submit a custom listing. This isn’t recommended because your name may not come up as many times as it would with a standard category.
- A description of your business. This is what will display along with your name, so give it some thought. I recommend that you pull up a few searches of businesses like yourself and see what they have written and note what catches your eye.
- Your hours of operation-again, if you are a home business, you can opt out of this.
- Types of payments accepted. Yes, Paypal is one of the choices.
- Photos and videos. I can’t recall seeing any videos…or even photos for that fact, but I’m sure it would enhance your listing if well done.
- Additional details. This is where you can get creative and possibly give your listing an edge. Google’s examples are: Parking : Yes; Brands carried : Sony, Panasonic and Toshiba You could try something like: Friendly service : Yes; Always on time : Yes; Service guaranteed : Yes; Available online 24/7 : US only. You get the idea.
That’s about it. Once you are finished, it will ask you if you want to verify by phone or postcard. If you check ‘by phone’, you will instantly receive an automated call that will give you a PIN number to enter in a field in the next page it takes you to.
From there, Google says it takes about one day until it shows up. This is as good as, if not better than, a listing in the Yellow Pages. More and more people turn to their computers or phones to search for phone numbers anymore, so you will appear in any Google search with your specs.
Yahoo Local Search is free, too
Very similar to Google’s directory, Yahoo offers the same service free. You will also be given the option to upgrade to an ‘enhanced’ listing…for a small fee, of course. Go to:
http://listings.local.yahoo.com/basic.php
Oct
05
40 Free Lessons On Faith Based Principles
I mentioned in our last post (the Mountain Movers Conference for Christian Entrepreneurs) that I had more to share on one of the speakers mentioned there. Dr. Jerry Anderson, President of LaRed Business Network, has a website you will want to check out very soon. I believe the original intent of LaRed was to serve the business community help develop leadership with values-based educational resources . It looks like LaRed has accomplished this as well as become a positive influence in the government sector and develop resources for the youth of America. You will like this website for the many free resources they offer that you can use in your entrepreneurial training at home.
In their Business Case Studies videos, you will “see and hear firsthand accounts their international trainers are experiencing growth and impact in the mountains that they have been called to influence. They believe that becoming an influence is the greatest power there is and creating personal power will last much longer than positional power.”
In Change Yourself and Change Your Organization, you will find 40 principles placed in a specific order to help you get to know yourself, measure your actions and your reactions. Recommending that you set aside one hour to study one principle per week, you will be planting a seed that will begin your transformation. There are 10 principles in 4 areas - Character, Vision, Courage and Leadership. Each lesson has questions for review and reflections and steps to take action to put what you have learned into practice.
These are all available in HTML for online viewing, PDF for easy printing, and MP3 format so you can listen online or put it on your player for later. All this has been made available completely free of charge. You read that right. Free. This is one instance that you get far more than you paid for!
Online training courses are also available through their Global Entrepreneurs Institute (GEI). GEI is a certified, faith-driven leadership training course through La Red Business Network. GEI is a specialized one year course using the 40 La Red principles and La Red Kingdom Concept booklets. The intent of these courses are to take you deep into the meaning of what it means to live a principled life for God and how to directly impact others around you. (not sure if these are free or not)
Anti-Virus – A One Semester Course For High School Students
LaRed has developed a program specifically for the youth in America called “Anti-Virus” to impress the value of principles and values in the marketplace. This course is designed to be used as a one semester junior high or high school course for life character and attitudes.
Written with the help of the youth of America as well as educators, they have helped refine the message so that this is not just another initiative, but a life changing, life modeling development course for students so that when they get into the public sector and marketplace they have the life skills and attitudes necessary to succeed. We highly recommend this course as part of your high school training, entrepreneur or not! The book, Anti Virus is very reasonably priced at just $10.
Find these 40 Values Based principles to download and print free (available in HTML and PDF) at:
http://www.lared.org/principles/values-based/
Welcome to Homeschool Entrepreneur!
Our mission is to help homeschool families create a home business for several reasons; Running a business in the home creates a natural learning environment for all ages, one that will benefit your child in so many ways* . . and the extra money comes in handy, too!
Look at this Homeschool Entrepreneur’s Business:
Let us know if you find a better price than this on ink:
Sale of the Month
Distance Business Training