Small Business Toolbox

A library of business management info


Uncommon Enterprise
  • Uncommon Enterprise: Deals on Wheels
    08/01/2008
    Real estate markets may run in cycles, but Matt Kolb runs his realty business on cycles. His Boulder, Colo.-based Pedal To Properties is a full-service real estate agency with a unique spin: Clients can check out homes and the surrounding neighborhoods on retro-looking two-wheelers.
  • Fake Bake
    06/03/2008
    Brides can have their cake and eat it, too, thanks to Fun Cakes Rental in Grandville, Mich. Established in 2007 by Kimberly Aya, the three-employee business fills an empty niche in the wedding trade: beautiful yet affordable cakes. Well, more like beautiful yet affordable cake-like structures.
  • Uncommon Enterprise: The Green-Way Packers
    04/02/2008
    After spending hundreds of dollars on disposable packing materials to move his home office, product designer Spencer Brown started thinking outside the box. The cardboard box, that is. The result? Rent A Green Box.
  • Now Serving Small Fries
    02/11/2008
    Free-range chicken nuggets with strawberry "kidchup" and "O spaghettis" with organic turkey meatballs aren't typically found at your neighborhood market. Unless the neighborhood is the Upper East Side of Manhattan and the establishment is Kidfresh, a natural-products food store that caters to the 10-and-under crowd.
  • Seeing Is Believing
    11/30/2007
    Seeing Is Believing
  • Bare-Bones Operation
    09/26/2007
    Billing itself as the world's leading supplier of osteological specimens, Skulls Unlimited cleans more than 20,000 animal and human skulls a year, some for clients but most for sale to the public.
  • Enter Sandman
    07/25/2007
    Can't sleep? Lisa Roth has the cure: Baby Rock Records, CDs that turn hard-rock riffs into soothing sleep-inducing songs for babies and parents alike.
  • Dollars and Scents
    05/30/2007
    Neal Harris and Scott Roeb would be the first to admit their business smells. But then, that's the whole idea behind Scentevents, a Los Angeles-based company launched in 2003 to develop customized aromas for special events, product promotions and private parties.
  • Uncommon Enterprise: On the Run
    04/02/2007
    Forget the double-decker tour buses. Michael Gazaleh knows a better way to see the sights of New York City. In 2005, the New York native and avid runner started NYC Run, which offers guided running tours of the Big Apple.
  • Uncommon Enterprise: Piece on Earth
    02/04/2007
    As an attorney, Nathan Sawaya used to build cases for his clients. Today, he's a builder of a different sort. As owner of BrickArtist.com, Sawaya is a professional LEGO artist whose work has been featured everywhere from NBC's "Today Show" to the Los Angeles Times.
  • Uncommon Enterprise: Game On
    11/21/2006
    Tom Taylor never expected to be a player in the business world; he just wanted to play video games. But as he got better and better, his passion for competitive gaming--and his desire to share his expertise with others--grew. Last year, Taylor, a top-five rated player in the pro-gaming circuit, started a video game coaching business to help others who wanted to improve their games.
  • Uncommon Enterprise: Pet Project
    09/20/2006
    Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? Phoenix residents and pet-industry veterans Maggie Brown and Tina Myers did just that when they launched their canine-care business, Sleepover Rover, in early 2005.
  • Uncommon Enterprise: On the Fly
    07/25/2006
    When it comes to providing advertising to customers, the sky's the limit for Jay Saber—literally. Saber, owner of Woodside, Calif.-based Roof Ads, offers companies over-the-top exposure for their businesses: For between $5,000 to $200,000, Saber paints a business' name or logo across a rooftop.
  • Uncommon Enterprise: Crowd Control
    05/25/2006
    Joe Biggins hangs out with some real dolls--though some might call them dummies. But Biggins isn't fazed. After all, these dolls are the core of his one-of-a-kind business, the Inflatable Crowd Company, which supplies plastic mannequins for crowd scenes in movies like "Million Dollar Baby," "Cinderella Man" and "The Phantom of the Opera."
  • A League of Her Own
    03/30/2006
    Paula Duffy teaches women how to score. Well, how to keep score.
  • Living Small
    01/24/2006
    Bigger isn’t always better. Just ask Jay Shafer, founder and owner of Tumbleweed Tiny House Company (http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com), who lives in a 70-square-foot freestanding home. No, that’s not a typo—his entire house has less space than most people’s bathrooms.
  • Sole Searching
    11/21/2005
    Running into burning buildings is hard on the sole. That’s where Mike Flood comes in. Though not a physician, Flood is a healer of sorts. As owner of Shoe Tech Inc., Flood heals ailing footwear for firefighters across the country. Wilmington, Del.-based Shoe Tech is one of just a handful of shops that specialize in warrantied fire boot repairs.
  • Clean Sweep
    09/27/2005
    Most entrepreneurs don’t think it’s good for business to hear reports of anthrax, terrorism and rising crime. Unless, that is, you’re Ron Gospodarski, a licensed paramedic and owner of Bio-Recovery Corporation, a professional crime-scene cleaner in Woodside, N.Y.
  • A Furry Affair
    07/26/2005
    When Victoria Pettigrew brushes any one of her 10 pets, she ends up with handfuls of fur. But instead of throwing them away like the rest of us, she saves the tiny tufts so she can spin them into yarn. Sounds strange, but Pettigrew has actually built a good business with pet lovers all over the world.
  • Just Add Water
    06/01/2005
    They say blondes have more fun. Leesa Shrewsbury is living proof. Two summers ago, when the fair-haired mother of three bought The Shore Store, a convenience shop on the Potomac River, she couldn’t wait to hit the beach. Instead, she found herself bogged down by business all season. Until, that is, she started making waves to deliver pizzas made at The Shore Store.
  • Hold Please
    04/01/2005
    “Do your customers beg to be put on hold?” asks Perry Wright, aka The On-Hold Guy. His clients’ customers do, because his quirky on-hold messages—composed of one-liners, odd facts and puns—entertain customers instead of boring them.
  • Justice Served
    02/04/2005
    There was never a place where the average Joe could go and get a cup a coffee and some sound advice—until now.
  • Small Business Seeking...
    11/19/2004
    Write clear job descriptions before you hire.
  • Chew on This
    11/19/2004
    Most mornings, Everest and his crew of 30 climb into the company truck and head out to clear weeds in the Northern California foothills. Everest’s employers say he is an exemplary employee—friendly and outgoing, with strong leadership skills.
  • Selling Shut-Eye
    10/01/2004
    While working grueling hours as an investment banker in New York City three years ago, Arshad Chowdhury noticed his colleagues’ heavy eyelids and bobbing heads during meetings.
  • Vacation From the Ordinary
    08/01/2004
    As a child, you probably had an instant answer when asked about your future career.
  • Breaking up is Easy to Do
    05/28/2004
    Happily married husband and wife team Deanna and Ren Thompson are in the business of breaking hearts -- nicely.
  • Hollywood Redux
    04/01/2004
    Still waiting to be discovered by a big Hollywood film producer?
  • Feed Me
    01/29/2004
    Gardeners cringe when bugs appear, but not Peter D'Amato.
  • Rain Man
    11/26/2003
    Talking to Richard Heinichen makes you thirsty. The self-proclaimed mayor of Tank Town is a man-made drinking water expert.
  • A Tall Order
    09/29/2003
    Paul Hartmann finally sleeps well at night. But for most of his life, the 6-foot-11-inch architect crammed himself into a bed that was several inches too short.
  • Sock It To Me
    08/04/2003
    Esli Badenhorst doesn't know why socks vanish more often than other clothing. But he does have a solution to the single-sock dilemma.
  • Full Sail
    06/04/2003
    Small-business owner Mark Welch discovered opportunity and a hobby with his enterprise, Second Wind Windmill Service.
  • Sweet Dreams
    05/28/2003
    If you find it hard to sleep well while traveling consider the following.
  • Chasing Business
    04/15/2003
    Unlike groundskeepers and rural homeowners, David Marcks loves Canada geese.
  • Special Delivery
    03/03/2003
    Dana Roy sends bundles of joy to expectant mothers across the country. The stork, she's not--just an enterprising entrepreneur who saw an unfilled niche in clothing for pregnant women.
  • Sinking Ships
    01/23/2003
    Nautical Stars finds owners for abandoned antique boats.
  • Working Out the Bugs
    09/11/2002
    While wrestling with new flavors for his Hotlix handmade suckers--spiked with chili and liquor--inspiration struck company owner Larry Peterman. Tequila!
  • On the Map
    07/11/2002
    Bandanamaps are 22-square-inch, brightly-colored cotton kerchiefs that double as detailed topographical maps.
  • Spies Like Us?
    03/28/2002
    When they're not chauffeuring kids, cooking dinner or finishing a load of laundry, these two sisters go undercover.
  • A Bite of History
    03/28/2002
    Paleocuisineology
  • High Achiever
    03/27/2002
    Nash Perrine is Up in the Air About His Work. And He Loves Being There.
  • Lawn Ranger
    03/27/2002
    Lawn Ornaments of the Plastic Animal Variety Have Been Called Many Things, But Rarely Are They Thought of as a Replacement for Flower Bouquets.
  • Waxing Enthusiastic
    03/25/2002
    Nat Brown Has a SlickJob. His Customers Agree.
  • An Inn that's Down to Earth
    03/25/2002
    Stan McCone Built His Business From the Ground Up
  • Hollywood Goes Flat Out
    03/14/2002
    Some Folks Are Cut Out for Hollywood. Literally.