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In This Edition:
- New Features
We're overhauling!
- Tip of the Week
- Useful Links for Small Businesses
- Blobbing Buzz
We're on Comcast Newsmakers!
- Out on the Town
The ideablob team traveled to Hanover - with $20k!
- A Word of Advice
Give the customer what they need
- Guest Advisor Spotlight
Adam Toren and Ridgely Evers light it up
New Features!
Roll out the red carpet for ideablob.com's new look and easier accessibility.
Now you can navigate through the site and find other ideablob users with similar interests by using the new "Related Ideas" section of idea pages and using tags (which are now displayed on the "View Ideas" page).
You also have the option to give us your idea pitch in a short abstract, in addition to providing a long description. This means more space to tell us about your idea!
So what does this all mean? In a nutshell, ideablob.com ideas can now get more exposure and users are more likely to find an idea they'd like to comment, vote or advise on.
Expect even more upgrades to ideablob.com within the next few months!
Tip of the Week:
To differentiate yourself from existing providers who sell products or services similar to what you offer - try to use their product or service, explore what they offer and how they do it, identify the needs they do not cater to, and succeed by catering to those needs!
Useful Links for Small Businesses:
http://www.youngentrepreneur.com/
http://netimpact.com/
http://www.sba.gov/
Blobbing Buzz:
Ami Kassar, Advanta's Chief Innovation Officer, has been getting around. Around news stations, that is. Find him on ABC's Money Matters and CN8's Comcast Newsmakers.
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Out on the Town:
The ideablob.com team recently traveled to Hanover, MA to visit May's winner for the best small business idea, Alex Eaves of STAY VOCAL, and presented him with a check for $20,000!
"Since I won it's been kind of a whirlwind, but the prize money and all of the advice [gained from ideablob.com] is going to provide some great headway for stayvocal.com and the products we offer," said Eaves.
"I was looking for advice on how to reach a more general audience," said Eaves, whose previous consumer base was primarily musicians. "I wanted to find ways to broaden that horizon, and I got some great advice from different people."
Because Eaves is an Advanta BusinessCard customer, he was eligible to receive 1,000,000 rewards points on his Advanta BusinessCard (or the $10,000 cash alternative) in addition to the $10,000 monthly contest prize.
Don't forget to submit an idea or cast your vote today for July's best business idea!
A Word of Advice:
This issue's Word of Advice comes from CoolBusinessIdeas.com, a website dedicated to the gathering of promising new business ideas and opportunities from around the world. We asked company founder Marcel Sim to give us his take on creating a new business idea.
"Some new business innovations and concepts are radical, while others are so surprisingly simple that you wish you'd been the one to come up with it," said Sim.
"Since the point of a business is to provide a good or service, we can start by thinking about what other people need. This is easily done by thinking about the things that could be improved," explains Sim. "Do you wish you could get from point A to B without driving, or that it was easier to clean your bathroom? At CBI we often see business startups gain a large customer base by simply offering a new service or solution that is easier and more effective than what is currently available."
Sim's last Word of Advice: "Take a look at your surroundings and think of ways to improve the things you shouldn't be spending so much time on!"
Guest Advisor Spotlight:
Our newest Guest Advisors rock. Adam Toren and Ridgely Evers are bringing heaps of expertise to the promising ideas on ideablob.com!
Adam Toren, Co-Founder of www.YoungEntrepreneur.com, specializes in improving the profitability of under-performing businesses with a unique and 'bottom line' program. Adam, along with his brother, have started, bought and sold several companies over the past years. They currently own and operate a successful publishing company and several online companies.
"Being a Guest Advisor on ideablob has enabled me to take the time to read through so many wonderful, creative and socially minded ideas," said Toren. "I've realized that social entrepreneurs are very similar to regular entrepreneurs with one main difference - their gains aren't measured in financial profit, but by the impact they have on society."
Ridgely Evers, creator of QuickBooks, has been the CEO of several technology startups, and is a pioneer in supply-chain automation for small business. In 2003, Ridgely began development of NetBooks. He earned a BA, with distinction, in International Relations from Stanford University, and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
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