For most, water scarcity spells potential disaster. For Trevor Hill, 43, and Leo Commandeur, 47, it simply spelled potential. In 2003, they founded Global Water Resources, a water and wastewater utility that makes good with the old by reusing residential wastewater. They strategically established roots in Phoenix--an area where water was lacking, regulations were high and growth was booming.
Offline Niches
Looking for a profitable offline niche? We've got dozens of profiles of profitable offline businesses and the marketing stories behind their incredible success. Free information about the best niches for a homebusiness, part time niches and weekend businesses you can start right now.
Craig (of the List) Looks Beyond the Web
Submitted by Dmitri Davydov on Mon, 2008-05-12 10:59.
Posted in: Offline Niches
Imagine what it might have been like to be Dr. Kleenex. You invent a modern miracle, the cheap paper handkerchief, and suddenly you become the person blamed for America’s disposable culture, praised for a more convenient life, or both.
There never was a Dr. Kleenex, though — the product was created by a team of researchers at Kimberly-Clark laboratories in the 1920s. But there is a real Craig in Craigslist, and lately he is looking at life beyond his little list that happens to be the seventh-most-popular Web site in the United States.
How a Minneapolis scrapyard got wired and sent sales through the roof.
Submitted by Dmitri Davydov on Sat, 2008-05-03 11:16.
Posted in: Offline Niches
http://www.alliancesteelco.com/
When Michael Zweigbaum took over as CEO of Alliance Steel Services in Minneapolis three years ago, the 40-year-old scrap-metal company had grown rusty.
Who says entrepreneurial success and environmental conservation can't go hand in hand?
Submitted by Dmitri Davydov on Mon, 2008-04-28 09:45.
Posted in: Offline Niches
Making Real Money With Fake Clouds
Submitted by Dmitri Davydov on Fri, 2008-04-25 18:10.
Posted in: Offline Niches
Making Millions With Eco-Pizza
Submitted by Dmitri Davydov on Thu, 2008-04-24 11:10.
Posted in: Offline Niches
Company: Eco-friendly, organic pizza company
Projected 2008 sales: Approximately $15 million
When Vaughan Lazar and Michael Gordon opened their organic pizza joint in 2006, it seemed like a gutsy attempt to snatch a piece of the pie from the top dogs. But the fraternity buddies were just catering to a different set of taste buds. Says Lazar, "We found a huge void in the restaurant industry for people eating organically."
Detroit School Of Rock Success Story
Submitted by Dmitri Davydov on Mon, 2008-04-14 09:21.
Posted in: Offline Niches
http://www.detroitschoolofrock.com/
(FORTUNE Small Business) -- If you think you can't launch a business in these tough times, think again. I recently met an entrepreneur who confirmed my belief that anything is possible if you have the right idea and sufficient passion.
Gyms For Kids
Submitted by Dmitri Davydov on Mon, 2008-04-07 10:15.
Posted in: Offline Niches
Linda Hom takes her kids to the gym when she works out -- and they get a workout of their own.
Ms. Hom, a free-lance fashion designer from South Orange, N.J., signed up Matthew, 7 years old, and Sydnie, 9, for Tae Kwon Do classes at Motion Fitness Club, the health club where she has been a member since 2004.
The kids take a 45-minute class three times a week. And, says Sydnie, "the adults don't really bother us because we're doing our own thing and they're doing theirs."
Cheese To The Rescue
Submitted by Dmitri Davydov on Sun, 2008-04-06 10:36.
Posted in: Offline Niches
WESTPORT, Mass. (FORTUNE Small Business) -- As owner of the real estate appraisal company Golf & Land Economics, Barbara Hanley is usually immersed in deals that will turn open space and woods into putting greens and fairways. But today she is in Westport, Mass., a town 30 miles east of Providence, scrutinizing the roof on a decaying barn that sits in a quiet pasture.
This is cow country, and if Hanley has her way, it will continue to be for generations to come.
A Bad Trade
Submitted by Dmitri Davydov on Fri, 2008-04-04 20:48.
Posted in: Offline Niches
A BAD TRADE
by Bill Bonner
The present period in financial history favors ducks and undertakers. On the banks of the Thames and the Hudson, every day they fish a couple more cadavers out of the water. And then the medical examiner opens them up so we get to see what caused them to go under. What a sight! It is amazing that any sane investor ever had anything to do with them in the first place.
Starting a business wasn't in the cards for Jason Osborn -- until he lost his job at an ad agency.
Submitted by Dmitri Davydov on Wed, 2008-03-26 19:51.
Posted in: Offline Niches
Even though he grew up baking brownies with his mother, French toast with his father and pizza with his grandfather, the last thing Jason Osborn expected to do was launch a food company. After September 11, when Mr. Osborn lost his job at an advertising agency, he found work as a model. It was during that time that he started baking healthy granola snacks for himself at night. He and his roommate started handing out samples. Soon, he had a partner, a business plan and a growing -- and increasingly competitive -- natural food company. Amy Palanjian spoke with Mr.
