How To Guide

Example 1

Kelly

Bulimia is a disorder that somebody suffering from it begins to hate the idea of living. Kelly, a thirty-year-old woman is a long-term bulimia sufferer. She has been battling for the past seventeen years. It’s a long and arduous journey with more downs then ups. She had to resist the temptation of binge, which wasn’t easy at all.

Kelly underwent a therapy and has been taking medication for years. At one point, she had more cavities than teeth, scratchy hands, stifle reflexes and a constant stomach pain. She had to spend a fortune in recovery and nothing helped much. In order to improve the way she looked, she tanned constantly and became an easy victim to skin cancer.

Kelly is a strong individual who never gives up fighting bulimia. She’s getting endoscopy and a colonoscopy done shortly. But she always feels that her mother could have helped her initially. She feels her life was fought making some hard choices on a day-to-day basis but it had to be done.  Her advice for other sufferers is to be… Read More

Example 1

Angie

Angie continues to live with bulimia and hates life to the fullest. It all started when she was a teenager. Her experiences are unpleasant – she didn’t like the idea of settling abroad and hated being the dullest student at school. Her mother accused her of being fat and since then she developed a dislike for structured mealtimes and began to binge in secret.

When Angie was twenty her teeth hurt when she ate sweets. She was made to attend four counselling sessions with a sympathetic lady counsellor. Angie grew bored of the sessions and stopped attending. She felt there was no hope until she met her GP, who was very practical in his approach. He prescribed anti-depressants for eight weeks and that seemed to have a positive effect on her. Angie began to see a ray of sunshine finally.

Her old habits of secret eating continue to haunt when she finds herself hiding sweet biscuit wrappers. But she hopes to unlearn those habits gradually.

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Example 1

Cheo Ming Shen

Blogging can be fun, but not many people know that it can be profitable and help you earn a steady stream of income. Cheo Ming Shen, a graduate of The London School of Economics, took advantage of the region’s online market and burst into the scene with Nuffnang, a simple idea that brings bloggers and advertisers in contact with each other. How does he make money? Bloggers are paid per unique visitor and Nuffnang charges a commission.

Cheo works on creating business ideas that work online and sell them profitably. He launched four internet businesses in Singapore with his partner Timothy Tiah by identifying opportunities to put advertising in blank spaces on blogs. The concept has proved popular. Cheo attributes his success by modifying on existing models that have worked instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, which he believes take a long time and require a lot of funding.

Cheo says the key to successful entrepreneurship is preparation and researching your market thoroughly and understanding the habits of your online consumers.

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Example 1

Dr. Susan Riegg

Dr. Susan Riegg is a pathologist who has achieved success as a Botox practitioner. She plans to expand her business by buying into the Any Lab Test Now franchise that provides consumers with confidential tests for paternity and sexually transmitted diseases.

Susan mainly depends on coupons and word-of-mouth marketing to spread awareness about her services. She recently ran a Botox treatment for excessive underarm sweating quite successfully.

Susan also rents a clinic that offers laser skin care. She had to carefully consider the work environment, commuting distance and rental expenses before launching the centre.

She intends to start a website and add video of her procedures, before and after photos and consumer testimonials.  She is so busy that she spends less time with her family and friends. After feeling the pressures of long working hours, she is committed to strike a work-life balance in the coming months.

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Example 1

Joseph Semprevivo

Success tastes sweet. Joseph Semprevivo started his cookie business to help other diabetics like him to enjoy the flavours of cookies without feeling guilty. Joseph’s Lite Cookies are sugar-free and fat-free. They can also be consumed not by diabetics but also cancer patients and health enthusiasts who like to stay away from sugary products. The business has grown tremendously as it uses only natural ingredients and promotes healthy well-being of its customers.

It all started when Joseph, with a little help from his father, created a rich, sugar-free ice cream in his parents’ restaurant that he could eat without harming his health. Soon the ice cream he’d created was served to their customers and proved a mega success. His parents re-branded their restaurant and started building a brand identity around the sugar-free ice-cream.

After his parents retired, Joseph created a sugar-free oatmeal cookie that changed the direction of the business. As a master of recipes, Joseph has expanded his flavours of cookies. And he also handles the sales and marketing of his business, delivering presentations to… Read More

Example 1

Billy and Kari Stade

The Closet, started by two creative entrepreneurs, Billy Stade and Kari Stade sells both men’s and women’s surf wear that are designed to meet the current fashion trends.

Billy’s love for snowboarding helped him to start a retail outlet that became popular. On seeing the success of  surf and clothing shops in his area, he decided to get into the fashion arena with Kari as his partner, both in business and in life.

Billy has introduced chic international styles in his extremely successful fashion retail business , which focuses on exclusive sportswear and casual trends with brands like Lacoste, Modern Amusement, Stussy and Volcom occupying a special place in his stores.

Billy and Kari  had to cross a lot of hurdles to be in a position they are in now. The economic downturn tested their will and together they worked hard day and night  to keep the business afloat.

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Example 1

Babak Farahi

Multivision Inc. was born purely out of passion for capturing news. Babak Farahi set up his company that records and catalogues broadcast coverage for clients globally.

Babak’s interest in this media started when he was in school. Whenever there was a fire or an accident, he would rush with his friends to the scene and capture footage and then sell it to the news stations. Later, he started his own video company that worked with clients’ specifications in video editing. He saw potential to make profit by recording news shows and then selling the tapes to people who had appeared in it. This service was well received and became quite successful. He now gathers information from more than a thousand stations spread all over the world and then creates DVDs to sell to his clients.

Babak is an ambitious entrepreneur. He has plans to cover all broadcast stations worldwide and open offices in Canada. He set up an intranet to promote employee interaction and believes in organising sales meeting once a week. And the company operates… Read More

Example 1

Holly Dunlap

Holly Dunlap’s Hollywould is a more than just a shoe business. It’s a dream that Holly always wanted to live. She entered the industry working as an intern for a fashion designer who paid her with Manolo Blahnik shoes. Since then Holly love for shoes has grown. She even did a course in apparel design and then worked in the fashion industry for ten years.

She started Hollywould to cater to the needs of a particular group of girls who are independent, feminine and very fashionable.  Although her designs are similar to brands such as Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo, but the prices are affordable. The most unique feature that separates them from other brands is that they have silicon pads to prevent pain usually associated with teetering footwear.

The company later diversified its range to handbags and party dresses. Holly derives inspiration for her designs while travelling  and looking at antiques.

Holly has plans to open more stores in the country and increase her product range.

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Example 1

Cyd Szymanski

Organic products have found a place in the market. Customers have a strong preference to environmentally-friendly goods. A former farmer, Cyd Szymanski founded Nest Fresh Eggs that produces and distributes organic eggs.

Cyd was introduced to an idea to produce cage-free eggs. She liked the concept and launched her new business. It was a struggle to garner interest in her product. She approached dairy managers at supermarkets to stock her product, assuring them with a return policy for bad or broken eggs. It was a major success. The organic eggs were always in demand.

Cyd’s ingenious idea had taken away the pain from chickens and farmers. She has outsourced production and helped farmers in return. Her success story has set an example to all entrepreneurs who wish to go green and maintain a harmony between earth and its people.

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Example 1

Skip and Steve Robbins

Here’s a sparkling business idea from Skip Robbins and Steve Robbins who started their Robbins Bros. Jewellery business specialising in diamond engagement rings. They decided to re-brand their family business and re-write conventional rules.

They opened a store outside the traditional mall, in a converted bank building and employed friendly sales representatives and installed computers with information on choosing diamonds with more than 3,000 ring combinations to choose from. They also introduced a communal area in the store that offered cold drinks, coffee and a television set to provide entertainment.

Skip and Steve have been featured in the local radio, thus helping in providing free publicity to the business. They have plans to expand the business and introduced more features like wedding planners and alerts for couples regarding engagement offers.

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Example 1

George Lichter and Rob Wrubel

Yoga empowers the body, mind and soul. Two entrepreneurs George Lichter and Rob Wrubel benefited from yoga and decided to spread their knowledge of yoga by re-launching Yoga Works.

George and Rob see their business as something that keeps them stress-free. They have built upon the reputation of Yoga Works, that trained some amazing network of high-quality instructors in the past. They have acquired more than ten studios and have plans to expand too.

Yoga Works is a fun place to be. On top of offering classes, they conduct workshops, retreats and provide advanced courses to train teachers. George is keen to spread their services into corporate sector and make it available at some of the leading health and fitness centres in his city. They are also planning to conduct yoga tours for travellers and promote its benefits..

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Example 1

David Barton

David Barton is a proactive personal trainer, who has great passion for health and fitness. Equipped with a degree in  human development and family studies, David left his studies to start a personal training venture. It was a tough start. He worked for more than 20 hours a day continuously for four years to raise the capital investment plus some  borrowings from family and supportive friends. His hard work was rewarded – he made a fantastic profit in his first year.

David identified extra features that would go down well in the suburban commercial health sector. He tailor-made his classes and focussed on strength training, cardio, yoga and even Israeli martial arts to give something more to his customers. He teaches all his trainers what he’s learnt over the years and emphasises the value of well-being as the mantra for his gym .

David has four gyms running successfully and has plans to start many more. He is in the process of churning out a lifestyle programme for flight travellers and hosts events that actively promote… Read More

Example 1

Shawn Nelson

Shawn Nelson is one of the rare breed of entrepreneurs who doesn’t stop trying out creative things until he succeeds. As a  teenager, he found new ways of making his couch more comfortable. He created a beanbag from yards of vinyl and filled it soft materials. He called the product LoveSac and it became an instant hit. Friends and neighbours started piling orders.

He soon started selling them at trade shows, and public events . Then he got a phone call from a giant retailer, who placed a million-dollar worth of orders. The deal changed Shawn’s business ambition.

He got credit easily from banks and built a factory that nearly drained his energies, emotionally and physically. He then went on to open a high-end chain of stores with about half of them franchised. LoveSac had made a mark and profits rained.

Shawm’s future plans include publishing a big, fat catalogue, selling everything that’s over-the-top. Shawn clearly loves to aim high.

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Example 1

Scott Vincent and Joey Shamah

People love being glamorous and beautiful. Scott Vincent Borba and Joey Shamah worked on this basic principle and aspired to raise awareness of their dollar store that specialises in cosmetics that enhance both the body and the mind.

Joey, a business graduate from New York University met Scott, a Los Angeles beauty-industry guru, at a party and soon launched Hard Candy cosmetics along with a handful of re-launches for high-end hair-care and cosmetics lines. Joey’s business acumen and Scott’s extensive contacts in the industry helped them to rule the beauty market. They became popular after they set up cosmetic dollar stores that matched the quality of high-end retailers, but at affordable prices.

Their philanthropic attitude has also helped them grow in the community. They donate 20 percent of the proceeds for Breast Cancer research and services and also provide make-up in Colour Therapy Care Packages to breast cancer patients in hospitals.

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Example 1

Kathy Lindberg

A former music therapist Kathy Lindberg wanted to spend more time at home with her young children. She looked into various opportunities to start a home-based business. She fell in love with the gift basket business and soon launched her venture.

As a creative person, she thoroughly enjoys her business and puts in a lot of effort into making it a success. As the sole employee of her business, she is involved in marketing, creating, shipping, and invoicing and customer service.

Her marketing strategy is varied. She receives orders through sales calls, networking events, word of mouth, direct mail and from her adverts in the Yellow Pages. Her website is also quite popular, reaching customers from not only around the country, but from other countries as well.

This business has not been an easy ride – long hours and little sacrifices have helped it grow from strength to strength.

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Example 1

Lillian Vernon

Lillian Vernon successful direct mail catalogue business was started from her kitchen table and she continues to employ latest trends of the modern world to promote her online retail business that specialises in gift, house wares, gardening, seasonal and children’s products.

She started her mail order business in her apartment with money she received as wedding gift. She bought a supply of purses and belts and placed an advertisement in a local magazine personalisation of her customers’ initials free of charge. The response to her advert was overwhelming, generating $32,000 worth of orders. With more unique services her business soared.  Her business now has eight different mail order catalogues and fourteen Lillian Vernon Outlet Stores.

Her online store is also going full steam. The redesigned e-commerce site provides users with greater functionality, ease of use, and sophisticated merchandising capabilities. She has plans to exploit the world wide web and introduce unique marketing initiatives.

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Example 1

Douglas Canning and John Alves

DirtBag Clothing is the brainchild of a two young entrepreneurs in San Francisco – Douglas Canning and partner John Alves. They specialise in street wear and skateboarding apparel market. They aspire to create clothing that is fresh, innovative, authentic and different to leave a lasting impression in the minds of their consumers.

Initially, they worked with a lot of designers to create clothing designs that were new to the market and manufacturers to bring those designs to life. It took them a good five years to create a strong brand for their clothing merchandise.

With no business education or experience to run a business, Douglas used his sales experience in the mountain bike industry to create a branded product. They started selling Dirtbag Clothing on the Internet that offered them fantastic advantages over other sales and distribution media. With a low cost they made a big splash. The beautifully designed website has gone through more than five re-designs and additional features like shopping carts etc have been introduced. As a small company they… Read More

Example 1

Eileen Coale

Copywriting is currently a big market on cyberspace. As we know, all websites need content  –  e-commerce sites depend on product descriptions and online publications need articles and news stories. There is no shortage for quality content.

Freelance copywriter Eileen Coale identified the growth of online copywriting and started her business – Coale Communications that focuses on copywriting projects on Internet marketing. Eileen is successful in her trade as she understands basic marketing concepts and techniques. She targets the right kinds of clients that pa her on time.

She relies on networking, referrals from existing clients and word of mouth to increase the number of new clients. She firmly believes in developing relationships with advertising agencies and web design firms, who refer or subcontract work to her. She is a member of Chambers of Commerce and other business organisations and attends their meetings regularly in order to meet prospective clients.

Eileen currently focuses on writing traditional print marketing materials such as brochures, direct mail, advertorials, and press releases.

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Example 1

Simon Purchall

Visiting a dentist can be a horrifying experience, and most people delay seeing their dentist. And frequent visits to your dentist can also be an expensive affair.

When Simon Purchall visited his dentist to sort out his damaged teeth, it gave him an idea to start his own affordable dental service as he felt the fee charged by his dentist was exorbitant. As suggested by his Hungarian wife, Veronika, he travelled to her native Budapest and had the treatment done, saving thousands of pounds.

Simon realised that there was a viable business potential. He employed the services of his wife, who was a qualified dental nurse to provide translation in negotiations with Hungarian dentists. Soon they launched SmileSavers – a service that provided cheap dental service in Hungary for UK clients.

They researched into all the legal requirements to establish their venture. They pooled in their personal savings and approached their bank for financial advice. With the help they received, they launched a website promoting their services. They also used traditional adverts in dental magazines to… Read More

Example 1

Olga Kostrova

Olga Kostrova is woman with a mission. Her success in the fashion business has inspired woman entrepreneurs to dive confidently into the world of business.

Olga started as a photographer. When she moved to Canada, she was ready to set up her own business. After researching the market for over six months she launched her fashion house with a premium clothing range that was unique to the Canadian market.

Raising the investment was a challenge. As she had migrated to Canada, she had no credit history. Banks weren’t interested to provide financial assistance to her at all. It took her several months to finally get money as she sold her apartment. Although the money she was able to raise was not enough to start her premium clothing line that used expensive fabric, she started small initially.

She employed several people to work on a part-time basis. Her first collection consisted of pretty innovative desgins and people liked it very much. She continued with her efforts of marketing and promote her line on the internet.  She plans… Read More