Monday, December 31, 2007

Making it easy to create website

Having website is an important part of life in the 21st century. Everyone has a website. Having a website is very cheap way to let the world know you exist and share you hobbies, portfolio, and more. Creating a beautiful and professional website is a challange. The founders of Weebly.com got the idea to make creating website simple with drag and drop idea. You get a selection of different elements of a website, such as page design, pictures, videos, and text elements on the page. You can make beautiful website in minutes and it is free. They are on their way to making millions.

Problem: Creating website is complicated, time consuming, requires alot of programming, and design skills.
Idea/Solution: Website + Drag and Drop + Selection of beautiful designs + Free + simple
Site: http://www.Weebly.com

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Website based on "What are you doing?"

With the busy life style in the 21st century. It's difficult for people to meet up and talk face to face. It's very convenient and free to communicate with email and instant messagers, but difficult to find the people you want to communicate and keep in touch with. Everyone is curious about what their friends are up to. The founder of Twitter.com makes it simple for people to peak into other people's lives. Twitter.com is based on the question, "What are you doing?" You can setup an account and send message using your cell phone and the people who are following you, get the messages. It's like broadcasting to people who are interested in your life. It is very simple and makes life interesting. You can use this application to follow your friends or interesting people with different life style. You can broadcast the things you are doing to others. It's a simple application and it is on its way to making millions.

Problem: People are busy. It's very difficult to hang out and have face to face conversations. Everyone is curious about what friends, family, and other people are doing.
Idea/Solution: Website + using cell phone to send message to Twitter + Broadcasting messages to people who are interested via cell phone or instant messengers.
Site: http://twitter.com/


Saturday, December 29, 2007

Recommending the best place to Eat, Drink, Stay, Play for millions

Zagat.com is a website that reviews the best place to Eat, Drink, Stay, and Play. If you need suggestion for where to have fun, this site can tell you. It has Top Lists of restaurants and hotels in the area of your choice. If you are going to be in NY for a few days, you can find the best attractions to explore. It makes it easy for you to find the best places to enjoy and explore. It's making millions.

Problem: Going to new city and trying to figure out the best place to explore is time consuming and complicated.
Idea/Solution: Website + Reviews of the best + Restaurants + Hotels + Attractions + Top Lists
Site: http://Zagat.com/

Friday, December 28, 2007

Making millions from from Cholate and Peanut

Chocolate taste great and addicting. Nobody can resist the taste of chocolate. M&M makes chocolate candies with peanut core. It's making millions.

Idea/Solution: Chocolate + Peanut + Small oval shape
Site: http://www.m-ms.com/

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Motel making millions

Americans love to travel. Traveling can be very expensive with airfare, lodging, transportation, and food. The founder of Motel6 established an inexpensive lodging. In most of the cities across USA, you can stay in Motel6 for around $45 per night. The motels are clean, safe, and comfrotable. Motel6 is making millions.

Problem: Traveling is expensive. Hotels are expensive.
Idea/Solution: Motel + Clean + Safe + Comfortable + Inexpensive stay
Site: http://www.motel6.com/

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Making safer light bulb for millions

Incandescent light bulb had been invented over a hundred years ago. Light bulb requires wire and electricity. It shutters into pieces when it drop to the ground. It uses alot of electricity and heat up easily. The inventor of Stick Up Bulb made a better light bulb. Stick Up Bulb is made up of LED lights, unbreakable plastic bulb, and it uses AA batteries. Stick Up Bulb does not break when you drop it on to the floor. It uses so much less electricity, so AA batteries can last a long time. It is portable. The inventor of Stick Up Bulb is making millions.

Problem: Light Bulb is fragile, uses alot of electricity, requires wire, heats up alot, not portable, and light filament burns up easily.
Idea/Solution: Light Bulb + LED + AA batteries + non fragile bulb + no heat + low energy consumption + Portable
Site: http://StickUpBulb.com/

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Making millions photographing Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park is one of the top 10 popular destination in USA. It is located in California. Ansel Adams loves Yosemite National Park. He did many black and white photographs of the park. Yosemite is very beautiful and always changing. Ansel Adams photos are famous and making millions.

Idea/Solution: Black and White photography + Yosemite + National Park + Seasons + Beautiful pictures
Site: http://www.AnselAdams.com/

Monday, December 24, 2007

Making millions publishing travel deals

Americans loves to travel. They travel within USA and Internationally. The founder of TravelZoo.com saw the opportunity in publishing travel deals. The website finds and publishes travel deals on Airfare, Lodging, Car Rentals, Cruises, Vacations, and Last Minutes deals. You can subscribe to the weekly Top 20 email list and you can get really great deals. There are millions of people subscribing to the Top 20 email, so the deals usually runs out in less than an hour after after they publish it. TravelZoo.com is making millions helping people save money on travel.

Problem: Travel is complex and expensive. Americans love to travel and it is difficult to find travel deals.
Idea/Solution: Website + Travel Deals + Travel experts finding Travel deals + Weekly email notification + Airfare, Lodging, Care Rental, Cruises, Vacation, and Last Minute deals + Simple navigation + Accurate information
Site: http://TravelZoo.com/

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Making millions selling erasable tiles

Ceramic tiles are beautiful and expensive. People uses it in their wedding as place cards for guest seating. Ceramic tiles are very expensive. The founder of PlaceTile.com got the idea to make erasable tile. You can write on the tile and you can erase it for reuse. It helps the environment because it is reusable and reduces trash. PlaceTile.com is making millions.

Problem: Ceramic tiles are beautiful and expensive. Writing on ceramic tiles allows them to be used only once, especially for wedding as place card.
Idea/Solution: Ceramic Tile + Erasable + Reusable + Beautiful shapes + Many designs
Site: http://www.placetile.com/

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Car sharing provider making millions

In big cities like New York City and San Franciso, the city's public transportation system is very good. You can get to places pretty easily. Once in a while, you need a car to get to places. It's not worthwhile for you to own a car and pay insurance without driving much. The founder of Zipcar.com created a membership club for people to get access to cars. You can rent a car for a few hours or days. You don't need to buy any insurance. You don't need to pay for gas. You don't have to worry about having a parking spot for the car. Zipcar.com is making millions.

Problem: Only need to use car occasionally, but the price of car insurance is expensive. In big cities, it is inconvenient to have to worry about keeping a car parked.
Idea/Solution: Website + Membership + Get access to car by the hour or days + No Insurance charge + No gas bill
Site: http://www.zipcar.com/



Friday, December 21, 2007

Making millions making hair cut simple

Most males have to go to get hair cut every month. The cost of hair cut can be expensive. Each time, men hair cut ranges in price from $12 to $20, and you have to add 20% tips. The total comes out to be about $15 to $24. And, we need to get hair cut 12 times a year. The annual expense for hair cut can range from $180 to $288. The price of hair cut increases with inflation. Over a 10 years period, the cost of hair cut can be $2000 to $4000. The creator of Flowbee made a hair cutter that allows you to cut your own hair. Flowbee utilizes vacuum cleaner to suck the hair, so you can cut your own hair without a mass. It's making millions.

Problem: Hair cutting a monthly expense and sometimes, it is difficult to find a good barber.
Idea/Solution: Hair clipping + Vacuum attachement + simple hair cut attachment
Site: http://flowbee.com/

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Technology products reviews makes millions

Technology is always changing. Every year, there are hundreds of new products coming out and it is overwhelming for consumers to find good products. The founder of Cnet.com saw the opportunity in helping consumers. Cnet.com has reviews of consumer electronics, like cell phone, digital camera, TV, Laptops, MP3 players, and alot more. It has technology news. It also rates softwares and makes it easy for people to find and download the software they need. It has Technology tips and tricks. You can watch Cnet TV. You can comparing price of products you are shopping for. Cnet.com is making millions educating and helping consumers.

Problem: Technology products are always changing and they are changing fast. It takes too much time to research and understand electronic products, and it is overwhelming for novice electronic users.
Idea/Solution: Website + Product Reviews + Price Comparison + Easy access to softwares + Tips + Tricks
Site: http://www.cnet.com/

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Getting rid of Late Fees for billions

American loves watching movies. It is great being able to rent movies on DVD to watch at home. DVD rental stores are notorious for charging alot for late fee when the customers do not return the DVD's on time. The founder of Netflix.com delivers DVD to home and it does not charge any late fees. The customers can keep the DVD's as long as they want. Netflix.com is worth billions.

Problem: DVD stores charges late fees and customers need to pick up the DVD's from the store.
Idea/Solution: Website + Monthly subscription + Free delivery to home + No Late fees + Save the movies customers wants to watch
Site: http://Netflix.com

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Making millions helping people lose weight

Americans have busy life style. They are always on the run and not having time. They eat unhealthy fast food and gaining alot of weight. Many Americans are overweight. The founder of Slim-fast.com designed food with healthy nutrition to help people lose weight. Slim-fast.com delivers healthy food to the customers. Slim-fast.com is making millions.

Problem: Americans do not have enough time to prepare healthy food and they eat too much unhealthy fast food.
Idea/Solution: Website + Meals + Healthy + Tasty + easy + convenient
Site: http://slim-fast.com/homepage.asp

Monday, December 17, 2007

Making millions with flowers

Flowers are beautiful. Many people use it to celebrate important occassions. The founder of 1800flowers.com built a centralized store to sell flowers. It has specific flowers for all the special occasions: Anniversary, Congratulations, Love and Romance, Thank you, Wedding, and New Baby. It has various flowers: Carnations, Daisies, Designer flowers, Lilies, Orchids, and Roses. 1800flowers.com is making millions filling customers' flower need.

Problem: everyone has various flower needs and small stores might not carry the flower or the flowers might not be available
Idea/Solution: Website + Telephone + Various Flowers + Occasion + specific needs + easy to order + quality product + reliable standards
Site: http://1800flowers.com

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Making millions from Tests

Life is filled with tests. Tests are a big part of school life. There are many kinds of tests. Tickle.com is making money from tests. It has IQ tests, Love tests, and Personality Tests. It categories tests into Entertainment, Style & Beauty, Career, Relationship, Mind & Body, Teens, Lifestyle, and Family. You can create your own tests.

Problem: There are so many different kinds of tests
Idea/Solution: Website + Tests Central + Simple + Infrastructure to create new tests
Site: http://Tickle.com/

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Making millions with Rubber pebbles

Children loves to play outdoor. They often fall and get injuries. The founder of RubberECycle.com thought of making rubber pebbles to replace the rocks. Rubber pebbles are soft and elastics. It's great for covering the floor of playgrounds. When children falls on it, they don't get injured.

Problem: Children loves to play outdoor and they get injured alot from falling on the cement floor
Idea/Solution: Rubber Pebbles + Soft + Outdoor + Children's Playground
Site: http://www.RubberECycle.com/

Friday, December 14, 2007

Web Recipe Central

One of life pleasure is eating great food. Americans are always in a hurry and don't have much patience to create a great recipe. The founder of Epicurious.com created a website filled with delicious food recipes, articles, and guides. We can create an account on the website and share recipes and cooking techniques with others. The site makes cooking great food easier.
Problem: Cooking is complicated. Many people struggle to cook good food. Finding good recipe is difficult and time consuming.

Idea/Solution: Website + Recipes + Guides + Forum + Video instruction + Resource --> make cooking good food fun and efficient
Site: http://www.epicurious.com/

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Web Photo printing center

The digital camera are getting cheaper and affordable to alot of consumers. The quality of digital camera is increasing rapidly. Nonprofessional consumers are able to take really great pictures with their digital cameras. But, the price of printing great quality pictures is still costly due to costly ink and special paper. The founder of Shutterfly.com saw the opportunity to centralize the printing process. The economy of scale allows Shutterfly.com to print photos inexpensively. It's so much cheaper for us to print quality picture at Shutterfly.com comparing to printing ourself. Shutterfly.com is making millions.

Problem: Print photos is very expensive due to the expensive ink cartidges
Idea/Solution: Website + Great quality + Low price printing + photo products
Site: http://shutterfly.com

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Moving meeting to the web

Internet is an essential part of life in the 21st century. We communicate with each other over the web via email. The founder of Webex.com saw the opportunity in having meetings on the web. It provides the software platform for companies to have meeting and conferences on the web. The employees of companies do not need to gather in the same location for meetings. Cisco acquired Webex.com for $2.9 billions.

Problem: Employees are not in the same location for meetings and conferences
Idea/Solution: Website + software + conference and meeting capability + easy to have web conferences
Site: http://webex.com/

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

A store catering to pets

Many people all over the world loves pets. Some people say, "Pets are better than people. They don't complain and they are always royal to you." The founder of Petsmart.com saw the opportunity in helping pet owners get their pets' need met easily. Petsmart.com sells food, toys, and pet accessories. The company is making billions.

Problem: Shopping for pet is difficult and time consuming
Idea/Solution: Store + focusing on the need of pets + variety of products and services --> One stop shopping place for pets
Site: http://www.petsmart.com

Monday, December 10, 2007

Web Photo and Video storage

Digital videos and photos are getting very popular. These files are very big and it requires alot of storage space. Some large files cannot be sent via email. The founder of PhotoBucket.com saw the opportunity and created a web storage space. We can upload many photos and videos with large file size on to the website and share with friends and family. PhotoBucket.com is on its way to making millions.

Problem: Digital Photos and Videos have large file size and difficult to share with friends and family
Idea/Solution: Website + Storage space + Photos + Videos + Easy upload + Easy sharing
Site: http://photobucket.com

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Billions in Candles and Scents

The sensation of scent is an important part of being human. Scents can bring up old memories. Some scent gives us special feeling and emotions. Some scents turn on good emotions, while other scents turn on bad emotions. The founder of Yankee Candle company makes it easy for people to control our environment with our favorite scents. It produces candles with scents ranging from Potpourri, Tea, Vanilla, and alot more variety. The company is making billion dollars in sales.

Problem: Scent triggers our emotions
Idea/Solution: Candle + our favorite scent + good emotions
Site: http://www.yankeecandle.com

Saturday, December 8, 2007

Profiting from waking people up

Americans are always in a rush to get to places and they have a very busy schedule. They don't have enough sleep and they have a tough time waking up in the morning. The founders of WakeupLand.com created a website that is like a hotel wake up service. For a small fee, you can get reliable wakeup calls in the morning based on your needs. They are on their way to making millions.

Problem: American have a tough time waking up in the morning
Idea/Solution: Website + Wakeup Call + Phone
Site: http://wakeupland.com/

Friday, December 7, 2007

A Company making millions from Air

Air is abundant and every where. It is light and free. The founder of SealAir.com started the company to make profit from air. They produce BubbleWrap and plastic air bags to be used in mail as cushion. Many companies uses SealAir.com's product to package and send their product in the mail. They are making millions.

Idea/Solution: Air is Abundant, Free, Light + use Air in packaging and cushion product for mailing
Site: http://www.sealedair.com/products/protective/air/fillair.html

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Cashing Entertainment tickets

Entertainment, and concert tickets are expensive and hard to get. Some tickets to rare events are extremely valuable. Sometimes, we have the tickets, but we can't attend the event, and can't find anyone interested in attending it. Then, the tickets go to waste, even though there are people who are interested in these events. The founders of StubHub.com got the idea to setup a website that allows people to sell their tickets. Ebay.com bought StubHub.com for $310 millions.

Problem: Precious Entertainment, Concert, and Event tickets going to waste
Idea/Solution: Website + Buying + Selling + Event tickets
Site: http://www.stubhub.com/

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Educating the masses on the road

The road in US is congested, especially traffic hours. The problem is not going away any time soon. Many commuters are spending hours going to and from work. The founder of Audible.com sees the opportunity of offering books in audio format. You can buy audiobooks from audible.com and download them to your mp3 players and listen to them while commuting to work. An hour a day is equal to 240 hours a year. You can listen and learn from over 30 books with 8 hours in length. Audible.com is making millions helping educating the masses.

Problem: Commuting to and from work is time consuming. Most people spend 2 hours on commuting.
Idea/Solution: Website + Audiobooks + mp3 format + make commute enjoyable and enlightening
Site: http://www.audible.com

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Searching the web with questions

Most of the the search engines are designed for us to search with keywords. After we enter the keywords, the search engines look for web pages with the keywords. Alot of the time, we get irrelevant results and we waste alot of time going through useless web pages. The founder of Ask.com created a search engine that based on questions. We enter the question and it gives us suggestions on a list of questions that are similar to our question. We get better search results with Ask.com. Ask.com is making millions from advertising on it.

Problem: Most of the search engines are based on keywords. They produce alot of useless and irrelevant search results.
Idea/Solution: Website + Search engine based on Questions + Answers are search results
Site: http://www.ask.com/

Monday, December 3, 2007

Transporting people from city to city

Driving long distance can be very tiring, dangerous, and costly. With the current high oil price, driving long distance is expensive. The founder of Grey Hound bus line started the company to drive people from city to city. Grey Hound is available in most major cities across US. The buses are driven by professional drivers and they drive the big tourist style buses. The buses are comfortable to ride in and passengers get to enjoy the scenary and rest. The price is reasonable and alot cheaper than a person driving long distance.

Problem: Driving is tiring, dangerous, and costly
Idea/Solution: Professional Drivers + Big Tour buses + Reasonable price + Comfort
Site: http://www.greyhound.com

Sunday, December 2, 2007

Travel guide making millions

The founder of Fodor's travel guide loves traveling and has written many travel guides. You can find Fodor's travel guide to many countries and cities. They created Fodors.com and it is filled with alot of travel content.

Problem: Vacation travel is short and not enough time to explore the great things the travel destination has to offer. Traveling to a new unfamiliar place can be distressing and frustrating.
Idea/Solution: Travel Guide + Best places to visit, stay, and do + Smart travelers' tips + choose travel experience
Site: http://fodors.com/

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Infrastructure for Phones communicating over the internet

Once we are able to connect to the internet, all the communication is free. The founder of Jajah.com got the idea to create an infrastructure to utilize internet to send the data. The users are able to use their cell phones or landline phone, and Jajah.com connect them. Users goes to Jajah.com and put the phone number of the calling party and receiving party. Then, Jajah.com calls both parties, and connect them. International calls made through Jajah.com are alot cheaper than paying for cell phone and home phone charges.

Problem: Expensive to made long distance phone call nationally and internationally
Idea/Solution: Website + Internet + connect users by calling both parties
Site: http://jajah.com/

Friday, November 30, 2007

Allowing people to share video for billions

Digital video camera are getting very cheap. It is very easy for people to make and share videos. Youtube.com makes it easy for people to upload, share videos, and watch other people's videos. It's a website filled with videos. People create funny videos, instructional videos, music videos, and alot more. Youtube.com was acquired by Google for $1.65 billions.

Problem: Video files are big and takes alot of bandwidth
Idea/Solution: Website + Upload videos + share videos + watch other people's videos + collection of videos + Search capability
Site: http://youtube.com/

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Make it easy to plan events

Planning party and events is time consuming and takes alot of work. It's very helpful to invite people and get a response on how many people to plan the event for. Evite.com makes it easy to let people know about events and get a count of how many people are coming via email. With evite.com taking care of invitation and responses, you have more time to prepare the place, food, and activities. Evite.com is making millions.

Problem: Event planning is complicated and time consuming, it takes time to gather who can come
Idea/Solution: Website + email + invitation + response + free + easy tracking of people coming
Site: http://www.evite.com/

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Create the Smart Shoppers' Gathering Place

Money is hard to earn. Everyone wants to get products cheaply. The founder of Fatwallet.com got a website that help shoppers share ideas, coupons, and sales. The retail stores have various sales and it is difficult for one person to find these deals and keep track of them, but when you have alot people with similar interest, it's alot easier to find these deals. People post deals on products and services that are on sale, and everyone can get these for cheap. Many pairs of eyes is better than one. The website is making millions.

Problem: Finding good deals on products and services is time consuming. Often it is difficult to find good deals.
Idea/Solution: Website + Users Posting deals + Users Taking advantage of deals
Site: http://fatwallet.com/

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

T-shirt with news

The founder of TheShirtProject.org got the idea to have the design of t-shirt based on the news. The t-shirt has the country shape and a diagram or a picture of the news event. Recently, the country of Myanmar has monks protesting due to a large increase in oil price, and the t-shirts with the map of Myanmar and Oil price with up arrow picture are printed.

Idea/Solution: News (country + problem) + t-Shirt
Site: http://www.theshirtproject.org/

Monday, November 26, 2007

Let people know how beautiful or handsome they are

Every young adult likes to know how beautiful or handsome they are. The founders of HOTorNOT.com got the idea to let people rate each other. HOTorNot.com allows users to post their picture and other users rate how beautiful or handsome they are. It also allow users to meet the user being rated. The website makes money from advertisement.
Problem: Every young adult likes to know how beautiful or handsome they are, but there is no reliable souce of feedback

Idea/Solution: Website + User posting photo + Thousands of other users rating the people in photos + Dating
Site: http://www.hotornot.com/

Sunday, November 25, 2007

An encyclopedia of business ideas

The web is very big and expanding rapidly. Every day more websites and blogs are created about Entrepreneur ideas. The founder of EntreWiki.com got the idea to create a website that has a large collection of business ideas and allows small business to make a page and advertise their business for $100 per page. It helps the small business by making it cheap to advertise and get words out about their business. It helps other entrepreneurs by having a big collection of business ideas in a central location. The website connect Entrepreneurs who are exploring new business ideas with Small businesses with products and services to sell. The site makes value addition to the customers (entrepreneurs and small businesses). As time goes on, this site will become more popular and small businesses will be buying pages to get the exposure they need.

Problem: Business ideas are spread out everywhere on the web, No central collection of business ideas, Expensive for small businesses to advertise online in popular Entrepreneur sites
Idea and Solution: Website + Small Business Ideas + Wiki + Entrepeneurs ==> EntreWiki.com
Site: http://entrewiki.com/

Educating, guiding, and selling customers fine jewelry for billions

Many people need fine jewelry for important events in their lives. Buying a special ring for engagement and marriage requires alot of work. It is very stressful trying to buy a good quality fine jewelry at reasonable price. The founder of BlueNile.com started the website to make the process easier. It has alot of information on fine jewelry selection and it sells at a reasonable price. The website is worth billions.

Problem: Buying fine jewelry is tedious and stressful due to lack of information and trust
Idea/Solution: Website + Education + Guidance + sell jewelry ==> easy process
Site: http://www.bluenile.com/

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Help people understand our surrounding for millions

Our world is changing rapidly due to technology and social tools. The scientific research is producing hundreds and thousands of new understanding and discovery every day. People are producing new tools and services every day. There are many tools and services that are very popular, but most people do not understand how they work. The founder of HowStuffWorks.com created the website to explain how things works. It has topics under Auto, Communication, Computer, Electronics, Entertainment, Food and Recipe, Health, Home and Garden, Money, People, Science, and Travel. HowStuffWorks.com was sold for $250 millions to Discovery Network in 2007.

Problem: Technology and social tools are changing the world rapidly
Idea/Solution: Website + explaining how things works + Knowledgable people
Site: http://www.howstuffworks.com/

Friday, November 23, 2007

Adding value by selling products under $1

Due to inflation, $1 USD is worth less every year. The founder of 99 Cents Only stores thought to themselves, Wouldn't it be great to have stores that sell everyone thing under $1. They get everyday household items from companies that want to get rid of their old inventory, or companies that want to test out new product lines. 99 Cents only stores sold over $1.1 billions of goods this year. The founders are worth millions.

Problem: $1 USD is worth less every year
Idea/Solution: Closeout items + New product testing ==> 99 cents only
Site: http://www.99only.com

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Create a fun way of making Ice Cream

Making ice cream is a boring and tedious job. You have to keep on turning the ice cream container in ice. The inventor of Ice Cream Ball thought of a fun way to make ice cream. You put the ice and salt in the ball, and put the ice cream mixture in the inner container of the ball. Then, you play around with the ball for 10 minutes. You have fun and get the ice cream.

Problem: making ice cream is dull and boring
Idea/Solution: Fun + make ice cream
Site: http://icecreamrevolution.com/

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Make Self publishing books easy

It have been very difficult for new authors to get big publishing house to publish their books. The big publishing houses are extremely selective and they only publish books they think will be making millions. They are not willing to take on new authors. New authors fear no more because Lulu.com makes it simple and inexpensive for new authors to publish books, artwork, and CD's. Their moto is "Turn your ideas into cash." Over one million authors are using their service.

Problem: Publishing books with big publishers is very difficult
Idea/Solution: Self publish + Sell on the website
Site: http://www.lulu.com/

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Helping American get more sleep

New reports keep on saying, Americans are not getting enough sleep. The lack of sleep is taking away alot of worker productivity and increasing motor vehicle accidents. Researchers have shown that staying awake for over 24 hours and driving is similar to driving under the intoxicating with alcohol. Metronaps.com will be making millions with it's Energy Pod. Energy Pod is a chair that allows anyone to sleep quietly and comfortably. Metronaps.com is allows people to rent the Energy Pod. Energy Pods can be found in some high rise office building. Workers can take a short nap and feel more energize and be more productive at work.

Problem: Americans are not getting enough sleep, many people find it hard to stay awake
Idea/Solution: Comfortable chair + Quiet environment + nap ==> Energy Pod
Site: http://www.metronaps.com

Monday, November 19, 2007

Personalize Stamps for millions

Digital camera and quality digital photo is every where. We can get quality digital camera for about $150. Everyone has digital camera. Stamps.com is allowing customers to turn their photos into real US postage stamps. Stamps.com is making millions from photo stamps.

Problem: stamps are dull and impersonal
Idea/Solution: personalize stamps
Site: http://photostamp.com/

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Web Poster superstore making millions

Even though digital camera are very popular, posters are still selling very well on the web. Allposters.com is the website that sells posters from diverse categories. It has over 500,000 different kinds of posters. You can get posters related entertainment, art, sports, movies, music stars, and comics. It's making millions selling posters.

Problem: There are so many posters and images
Idea/Solution: A website that caries all the popular posters and pictures
Site: http://www.allposters.com/

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Virtual Reality enabling business, education, and imagination

In the 21st century, imagination and information are more important than knowledge. Linden Lab is a building a virtual world based on imagination. It builds the website secondlife.com that allows people to explore their imagination, business, education, and personal life. It has virtual economy where people buy Linden Dollar from Linden Lab, and Linden dollars can be used to buy virtual objects, real estate, and services in virtual world. Many big companies are buying real estate in secondlife.com to create 3D stores and exhibitions to show their new products. Educators are using secondlife.com to educate people in virtual reality. Virtual reality eliminates the needs for real estate and having to travel to a destination for meeting and communication. Linden Lab is making millions as more and more companies find the benefit of creating a virtual store front. Many researchers are doing research in the virtual world. There are millions of residents in virtual world. Some people are making, creating, and selling their services in Secondlife.com their fulltime job. CNN became the resident of Second life recently.

Problem: Building stores, offices, conferences, and research lab in real world is expensive
Idea/Solution: Virtual Objects + Virtual People + Virtual services + Virtual real estate + Information + Imagation ==> Virtual World
Site: http://secondlife.com/

Friday, November 16, 2007

Infrastructure for people to make money with their voice

People who has goods are able to make money. Can people with information and insight make money online? Yes, Ether allows people to make money with their voice. Ether is a service which connects people who needs information with people who has information. The people who need information pay money to talk to the people who has information. You can get advice about starting a business, or fixing your computer, or on cooking a delicious meal, or talk to a psychologist. Ether takes a portion of the advisor's fee as commission.

Problem: Difficult to get help or find an expert
Idea/Solution: Allow experts to post their service and fee + make it easy for people to pay for help
Site: http://ether.com

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Finding the best investors

Investment skills is very rare and critical in creating wealth. Most people are not good investors. There are a rare number people with investment insights and skills. Marketocrazy.com is a website that allow people to have $1 million dollar in virtual money and invest. The people who are able to invest and get the greatest returns over several years are selected to manage mutual fund with real money. This is a great way to filter out the best people to manage their mutual funds.

Problem: Investment is complicated, A rare number of people have the talent to be great investors
Idea/Solution: Give everyone a portfolio to manage + Find the best managers
Site: http://marketocrazy.com

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

World's Biggest shopping mall

Amazon.com's founder had the vision to create a super shopping website. Amazon sells a large number of products impossible to have in brick and motor shopping malls due to space limitation. It is an infrastructure for people with goods to display and sell their products. Amazon sells its products and sell other people's products and making billions.

Problem: Shopping malls are expensive, Products availability is very limited due to space
Idea/Solution: Web super shopping mall + Products stored in inexpensive warehouses + Infrastructure for vendors to sell their goods
Site: http://amazon.com

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Infrastructure for people to create the best video and make money

The web is evolving very fast and video are getting popular. Many websites allow people to upload and share their videos, but the website profit it by getting money from advertisement. One company is doing it differently. Metacafe.com's philosophy is to share their advertisement generated revenue with people who produce popular videos. Many people are creating useful how-to videos and entertaining videos. The more times their videos are watched, the more money video producers make. It gives video producers the motivation to create the best videos. As a result, the website becomes the place with the best videos and most popular videos.

Problem: Many websites with useless and bad videos, these websites generates advertisement revenue
Idea/Solution: Motivation + Video Production ==> Money for producers
Site: http://www.metacafe.com/

Monday, November 12, 2007

Billions in Buyers setting the price

Majority of the businesses we utilize set the price of the good and services. The founder of Priceline.com got the idea of letting the Customers set the price of the services. It allows ordinary individuals to tells the airlines, hotels, car rental companies, and cruises how much they are willing to pay for the service, and these companies compete for the business. Priceline.com is worth billions.

Problem: Businesses set the price of their products and services, the businesses are the boss
Idea/Solution: Customers are the boss + customers set prices
Site: http://www.priceline.com/

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Make Importing and Exporting easier

Global trade is an important part of today economy. Americans import alot of goods from all over the world. It's difficult for businesses in America to go to search for manufacturers in China, India, and other countries. The founder of Alibaba.com saw the opportunity and makes it easy for businesses to buy or sell goods online. The site makes it easy for anyone to import or export goods from China, India, or any country. Alibaba.com is worth billions and it's planning on going IPO next year.

Problem: Difficult and time consuming searching manufacturer in China, India, and other countries
Idea/Solution: Simple website + Buyers + Seller
Site: http://www.alibaba.com/

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Millions in "One Day, One Deal" concept

Woot.com's business model is "One Day, One Deal." It's making millions. Every day at 12:00 am mid night, it post one product to sell. Once they are sold out they are gone for the day. It sells gadgets and toys with good quality and reasonable price. It allows people to post their comments for the product. There is a cult-like enthusiasm and following of the site.

Idea/Business Concept: Every day + One deal + Gadget + Reasonable price + Good quality
Site: http://www.woot.com/

Friday, November 9, 2007

TV channel that Sells products and making billions

The founder of QVC got the idea to create a TV channel that sells products all the time. QVC sells products 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. It is selling products close to $1 billion every year. QVC is located on a big plot of land. It's like a big movie studio with many rooms. Each room has a different design and look. For example, there's a room that looks like kitchen, another room looks like living room, another room looks like garage, etc. Each product is being demonstrated live and being sold for 5 to 10 minutes. There are a number of segments related to the seasons of the year. Before Christmas holidays, QVC sells products related to holiday gift, holiday decoration, and food. There's always new products coming out.

Problem: too many products, can't see the live usage of the products
Idea/Solution: Products + Live demo + telephone to order + products related to season + TV station ==> QVC
Site: http://www.qvc.com/

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Make billions creating an online infrastructure for buying and selling goods

Ebay.com is an auction website. Ebay.com makes it possible for people to buy or sell products online. The products can be either brand new, or used. Some people use it as a place for garage sale to get rid of all their junk. While other uses it as a store to sell their products. Ebay.com makes money from the listing fees and transaction fee. It enables Sellers to sell to anyone with internet access, and Buyers to buy from anyone they want without traveling to store. Ebay.com is worth billions.

Problem: physical store is costly for sellers, and buyers needs to travel to physical store
Idea/Solution: Simple Website + Auction + Worldwide Buyers + Worldwide Sellers ==> bigger market
Site: http://ebay.com

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Make billions allowing people to transfer cash online

A few years ago, there was no way you can give your friend money online. Paypal's founder realize the opportunity and started Paypal. It's an online payment processing website. You can give and receive money from anyone with an email address. The founder sold the company to Ebay auction website for over 1 billion dollars. Paypal uses email address as a key and allow people to pay each other using credit card, and bank account.

Problem: Not able to transfer money online
Idea/Solution: Email address + Credit card + bank account ==> Paypal payment system
Site: http://paypal.com

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Make billions creating instruments for passive investments

Stock market has many indexes to gauge the economy. The most well known index is Standard and Poor's 500 index (SP500). SP500 is an index of 500 largest public companies in the USA. Over 10 years period, most of the actively managed mutual funds doing the same style of investment can not beat SP500. The found of Vangard company thought of creating index funds that matches SP500 performance. Vanguard index funds are less expensive than traditional mutual funds because they require alot less management and trading. Not to mention index funds do alot better than actively managed mutual funds.

Problem: actively managed mutual funds are expensive and do not work better than index funds
Idea/Solution: passive investment + less expensive ==> index funds
Site: http://Vanguard.com

Monday, November 5, 2007

Millions in bendable hair styler

Many ladies enjoy having long hair. They love to have many different hair style. It is very expensive to go to hair stylist to get hair style. The inventor of Hairagami thought of a bendable device to help decorate many hair styles. She made millions selling the device and instructional dvd that goes with it.

Problem: going to hair stylist to get many hair styles is expensive
Idea/Solution: Oragami + Hair ==> Hairagami
Site: http://hairagami.com/

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Passionate Blogging to Millions

Michael Arrington founded the blog TechCrunch. He loves learning and understanding about tech startups, so he started blogging about it. He has advertisement on his blog and he is making over $10,000 per month in advertisement revenue.

Idea/Solution: Blogging tech startups
Site: http://www.techcrunch.com/

Saturday, November 3, 2007

$Millions in IM without Software installation

Instant Messaging (IM) is a free form of real time communication with typing via internet. IM software are free, but they require installation. Each IM require a different software and public computers might not have the software. The inventor of Meebo solve the problem by creating a website that allows people to get into the site and use their IM. With Meebo, you can use the web browser to get into your IM and you do not need to install the software, thus it is available in the public computers and any where with internet access. Meebo is so poplar that the website is worth millions.

Problem: there are many IM, and each IM requires a different software installation
Idea/Solution: a website that allows people to use their IM without software installation
Site: http://wwwl.meebo.com/

Friday, November 2, 2007

Make millions with a simple hook

Most of us assume that we need to workhard and make very complicated product to make millions. Here's a product that's very simple. The inventor thought of a way to make it simple to hang picture and furniture on the wall. He invented Hercules Hook. It is a simple hook that insert into the wall and allows hanging of 180 pounds of weight. It is very simple and easy to use.

Problem: we hang alot of heavy furniture and pictures on the wall, and we damage the wall with alot nails and holes
Idea/Solution: A simple hook + a pin size hole + require no tool => Hercules Hook
Site: http://www.herculeshook.com/

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Make millions from other people's valuable Business Cards

Everyone knows business connections and contacts is valuable. If you know the right person, they can help you get alot of business. These contacts are hard to find and they are very valuable. How can you profit from these valuable contacts? The best way is to create an infrastructure or a way for people take advantage of these contacts. Jim Fowler cofounded Jigsaw.com, which allows people to exchange contacts, sell or buy business card. The website is worth millions.

Problem: valuable business card/contact is hard to get
Idea/Solution: make a website that makes it easy for people to exchange, buy or sell business cards
Site: http://www.jigsaw.com/

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Make history and make $1 Million on the web

Alex Tew wanted to make $1 million quickly, so he brainstormed. He asked himself, how can I make a million quickly? The answer is to sell advertisement space and sell for one million. He got the idea to charge one dollar for one pixel on the page and have 1 million pixels on the page. A pixel is the smallest unit of spot on a computer screen. Each advertiser needs a rectangular space composed of many pixels and they get to put their logo on the space they buy, and the logo links to their website. He sold some pixels to his friends and family, and his story got picked up by a newspaper, and other follows. People wanted to advertise on his page and he sold $1 million worth of pixels.

Problem: Make $1 million quickly on one page.
Idea/Solution: $1 per pixel x 1 Million pixels = $1 millions
Site: http://milliondollarhomepage.com/

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Show people how to do cool stuff and make Money

Kipkay is talented at making cool gadget from old electronics. He has video on making Super laser pointer that burns, and very powerful flashlight for less than $10. He made videos and every time people watch it on the web, he makes money. He just needs to produce the video once and the popular video are watched over and over. He made $72,000 in a year and his earning continues.

Idea: Cool gadget + Video instruction + free for consumer => money stream
Site: http://www.metacafe.co.il/channels/kipkay

Monday, October 29, 2007

Utilizing Other People's Commercial Budget

On TV, there are so much infomercials. Infomercials are commercials that sells all kinds of products. The cost of these commercials are expensive, but they are very effective, no wonder they keep broadcasting. Don't you wish you are able to utilize all of these commercial dollars. One company is doing it? It's is As Seen On TV website and stores. They sell all the products on TV commercials. They are making millions.

Problem: TV commercials are expensive
Idea/Solution: take advantage of other people's commercial by selling their products
Site: http://www.asseenontv.com/

Space Bag

Space Bag are bags that compressess cloths and things with alot of air. One type allow you to press on it and the air goes out of one way valve. The other type allows you to use vacuum cleaner to suck out the air. It's very simple and ingenious idea. I'm not sure who invented this product. It was invented in 1996. They sell millions.

Problem: Limited storage space
Idea/Solution: Suck the air out and make the items compress/compact for storage, use one way valve
Site: https://www.spacebag.com/spacebag

Sunday, October 28, 2007

A More Comfortable Seat

Shawn Nelson wanted to have a more comfortable chair and he thought it'll be really cool to have a chair filled with beans (the soft material you put in mailing packages. He made the first one and many people likes it, so he started to sell it.

Problem: chairs are not comfortable
Idea/Solution: chairs make out of soft beans
Site: http://www.lovesac.com

Super Soaker Water Gun

Lonnie Johnson is an engineer. While doing an experiment, alot of water spay out due to high pressure and messed up his home. He saw the power of the water spray due to the high pressure and he uses the idea to made a water gun. The Super Soaker was born.

Problem: Water blast all over his room
Idea: water + high pressure = water spraying very far
Site: http://www.hasbro.com/supersoaker/

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Innovative Baking Pan

Aneela was baked a spagghati cake for her husband and the baking went well. But, when she tried to take the cake to place on the plate, the beautiful cake felt apart. She was very frustrated and she started to figure out way to make a baking pan that can be taken apart. That's how she invented Lock 'N Bake pan.

Problem: removing cake from a pan makes the cake falls apart
Idea/Solution: Make the pan disassemblable and the bottom plate of the plate function as a dish
Site: http://tinyurl.com/2cvvaj

Free 411 Calls

411 is information service. You dial 411 and it connects to your phone service provider and you can get information on businesses. People use it mainly to get the phone number and address of restaurants or stores. Do you know how much American spent on calling 411 last year? $8 billion. That's a big market. Home phone cost about $0.75 for 411 call, while some cell phone 411 costs between $1.25 to $1.85 depending on the cell phone company. It is very expensive. A number of company saw the opportunity and they have 411 service for free if you listen to a brief advertisement messages.

Idea: Expensive 411 service + Advertisement = Free for consumer
site: http://tinyurl.com/2tqenb

Friday, October 26, 2007

Fragrance Emitter

I have been seeing alot of stores selling devices that you can plug into the electrical plug and it emits fragrances and make the room filled with wonderful scent. It's a great device to allow people to control the scent in their home easily.
Idea: Device that emit scent + a container with essential oil
Site: http://www.airwick.us/

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Hot Rice without cooking

Some people developed a way of having hot rice without having to cook it. The idea is simple how do you make hot rice without having to cook it before consumption? The developers thought of ways to warm the rice before eating. They cooked the rice and put it under 4000 times atmospheric pressure, and package it. Then, they deveoped a package of material that release heat (exotheric package). Then, they put these two things together in a ready made product. The consumer just need to pour cold water on the exothermic package to trigger the release of heat, and the rice absorb the heat, and the cold water turn into steam.

Idea: Cooked Cold Rice (under 4000 atmospheric pressure) + Exothermic package + cold water ==> Hot Rice
Site: http://tinyurl.com/2672c5

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

A better Blanket

Recently, I saw a new kind of blanket, called Slanket. Every day we use our blanket, but we have not thought of any way to improve it. The guy who invented Slanket got the idea in improved version of blanket with sleeves while he was using his blanket in the cold winter night. How many times have we used blanket while using the computer at night in the winter night? What do most of us do? We just tolerate the discomfort and the awkwardness. The next time we feel awkward or uncomfortable, we can try to think of a way to improve it and we will be on our way to millions.

Condition/Scenario: Cold winter night, Using computer, Discomfort with blanket
Idea: Blanket + Sleeves = Slanket
Prototype: make Blanket with sleeves
Site: http://www.theslanket.com/

The goal of this blog: Exploring Simple Business

Welcome to Simple Big Idea Business Blog!

Up to recently, I have always assumed that all the simple businesses does not exist any more because we are in 21th century and technology is so developed. I was proven wrong again and again when I see people making millions with simple ideas.

Some questions came to mind and I will use this blog to answer these questions and explore ideas. Here's are some of the questions:
Is it possible to make millions with simple ideas?
What kind of simple ideas have people made millions with?
How do people get these idea, develop the idea, and develop the products?
What steps can I take to move toward having a simple idea that can generated millions?