Offline Niches
Ray The Popcorn Inventor
http://www.raythehandyman.com/
Ideas can come from the strangest places.
Consider the case of Ray Comeau and his wife, Wanda. The avid moviegoers were growing ever more frustrated with popcorn. They’d order their popcorn at the movies, then go over to the condiment counter to salt and butter the popped kernels. That’s when frustration would set in.
The popcorn was seasoned properly near the top. But the seasonings and butter never reached the popcorn in the bottom half of the box.
Pic Nic Stic Invention
There are many guilty pleasures in life. Should wine really be one of them? After all, it's a featured drink in the Bible and heart healthy to boot.
Penzeys Spices Success Story
Jelly Belly Company History And Trivia
TheSushiGirl.Com Success Story
Throwing a party isn’t what it used to be and, in the process, it’s even been spiced up, thanks to Nikki Gilbert. She throws sushi-making parties and provides catering for corporate and private functions.
The Homies Success Story
HERCULES, CALIF. -- Ten years ago, David Gonzales created a hit with "The Homies," 2-inch plastic figurines depicting characters from the barrio, complete with bandannas and baggy pants. Inspired by the homeboys he grew up with, they were sold, quarter by quarter, in gum ball machines in mostly Latino neighborhoods.
Gonzales was lambasted by police and prosecutors, who said the impish images exploited gang life for profit. Naturally, they then sold better than ever: more than 120 million to date.
Pickled Profits
The Entrepreneur: Rick Field, 44
Background: In 2003, Field, a director and producer for veteran journalist Bill Moyers, left TV to turn his pickle-making hobby into a full-time business he named Rick's Picks
Hauling Is Not A Sexy Business, But This Story May Change Your Mind.
Jerry Toste of Scotts Valley is only 21 and seems to have a perpetual smile on his face. He should — his low-tech startup, Cheap Hauling, is on everyone’s lips: Those trucks are everywhere.
Toste is grossing $800,000 per year after 1½ years in business, not bad for a guy who decided that “college and I just don’t mix.” Toste started hauling, instead.
What’s next? More Cheap Hauling trucks and a new business, Cheap Tree Service.
In a couple of years, he expects to launch Cheap Concrete, and later, Cheap Construction.
For TreeGivers.Com, Money Does Grow On Trees
With 100 Million Dollars In Annual Sales, Life Really Is Good
Even though he broke his foot dancing at his brother’s wedding one recent weekend, life is still good for Bert Jacobs.
Mr. Jacobs is the 42-year-old co-founder of Life is good, a popular apparel brand based in Boston that is on track to break $100 million in sales this year. This is rarefied air for Mr. Jacobs, who a dozen years ago was selling T-shirts out of a battered van on the streets of Boston with his brother John, now 39.
