Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Recycled Products exported from the US Turn Tiedemann into a wealthy dude
Passing on Skills to Family members to grow their company
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
When one door closes another opens
Immigrant forms thriving candy business in Chicago
In my previous life I was a computer software consultant for a product called SAP. I got to work at a bunch of neat companies. One of the accounts at the company I worked for was Ferrara Pan. They make Red Hots and Lemonheads, Boston Baked Beans and Atomic Fireballs out of their facility in Chicago. The company was started by Salvatore Ferrara, who came to the US from Italy without speaking much English. However, he worked at becoming fluent in the language, and because he could also speak Italian, he became an interpreter between crews working on the Santa Fe Railroad. He worked there for four years before he decided to open a confection and pastry shop. Salvatore grew the business for the next eleven years, growing significantly throughout the Midwest. At that time Sal and his brothers-in-law formed a partnership and built the manufacturing facility that is on the site currently. These same families continue to run the business today, almost ninety years later.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Mother Daughter Daughter Team starts Successful Business
Business Startup on a Shoestring Budget
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Fresh Idea in Packaging
Exposed!
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Quick Timeline for Success
Filming Talents
Friday, April 25, 2008
Not your average van
The Daddy of Domain names
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Got Quotes?
Companies Roll out the Red Carpet
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Attention to Detail
Best Salads in St. Paul
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Keeping Good Stuff out of Landfills
Coming soon to a city near you
I’m not really an environmentalist, but since it’s Earth Day today, I thought I’d honor the occasion with some “green” business startup stories.
When I moved into our house I received a blue trashcan from the city of Scottsdale for recyclable waste. As a resident of the city and the planet Earth, I’m supposed to recycle (and do), but I’ve wondered how much money the city makes by recycling my waste. Today I heard about a company called Recycle Bank with a win win win proposition. They have rolled out a program that offers incentives up to $400 per year to people who recycle. The recycle bins given to consumers have a barcode on them, and the loaded bins are weighed before the “waste” is thrown into a truck. Recyclers are given coupons for shopping based on how much they recycle in a year. As a result of this program, recyclers are happy, the Earth is happy, and the company last year had $5 million in revenue. Hopefully this program will be rolled out my way soon.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Wine and Weddings
Need to shop please donate!
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Hard work and a nice cup of Joe
A Truck and a lot of Bucks
Saturday, April 19, 2008
What were those women thinking?
Set Sail then explore
Friday, April 18, 2008
Blooming buck$
It's Showtime!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Green is the new Black
Trash or treasure
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Where to get your 80s t-shirts
Time to be a kid
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
What do bees make?

My sister used to love Burt’s Bees, she’s the one who introduced me to their products. The company was founded in 1984 by Roxanne Quimby and Burt Shavitz. Burt had a honey business and provided the beeswax for Roxanne to make candles. Here’s the timeline: They made $200 initially, selling their candles at a high school craft fair. By the end of their first year they had made $20,000. Five years later, they were up to 40 employees after a NY shop ordered hundreds of their products. Roxanne began to research how to make homemade personal care products after she found a 19th century book of recipes. They didn’t become incorporated until 1991. In 1993, Roxanne bought out Burt and she changed the focus of the company to mainly personal care products, including their most popular item lip balm. By 1998, sales were at $8 million. In 2004, Roxanne sold 80% of the company to a private equity firm, and by 2007 sales were over $250 million. Clorox is said to have bought Burt’s Bees at the end of 2007 for $925 million. Not too shabby.
No investors? No Problem
Monday, April 14, 2008
Cool shoes made in her basement
Pet spa on wheels
Amazing mail sends amazing mail!
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Feed the pigs pay me money
26.2 miles and counting
Saturday, April 12, 2008
amo il loro gelato
Friday, April 11, 2008
Doing Good part 2
Thursday, April 10, 2008
To be continued...
Eat your vegetables
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Clean paws clean yard
Time's tickin'
Worked out of the garage

At one point in my life I thought it would be fun to design chair covers for parties. I still have the Chiavari chair in the garage to prove it. The idea was squelched when I discovered Wildflower Linens. You gotta check out their website to see how amazing these chairs look. Youngsong Martin used to be a fashi








































