Business Idea of the Day

Typists prone to making mistakes when using old-fashioned typewriters or word processors have Bette Nesmith Graham to thank for creating one of the most simple, yet lifesaving inventions in all of office-supply history. Born in 1924, Nesmith worked as a secretary while earning her GED in night school. While her husband was away in service during World War II, she gave birth to a son, Michael, who would later become a guitarist for the band The Monkees. After her husband returned from the war, the couple divorced, and Nesmith found herself a single mother, left to raise her son alone. At that time electric typewriters were becoming more and more popular, and in learning to use them, Nesmith and other secretaries often made mistakes they found difficult to erase, in part because of the messy carbon-film ribbons used in the devices.

More than three decades after Clemens Franek moved to Los Angeles and teamed up with aspiring actor Woody Harrelson to sell beach towels whose circular shape helped beachgoers tan evenly, a Chicago appeals court has said the invention can’t be trademarked, reports The Chicago Tribune . Millions of dollars worth of the “most radical beach fashion item since the bikini” (as one ad put it) were sold, helped by Harrelson, who went on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” “Entertainment Tonight” and “The Tonight Show” to promote the towels after becoming famous for his role on the TV series “Cheers.” No one challenged Franek’s 1988 trademark in court, an attorney involved in the case said, until Franek sued Wal-Mart and Target two years ago for selling their own round beach towels. The towels allow sunbathers to easily adjust to the position of the sun as it travels across the sky. “Franek wants to trademark the circle,” he writes, later adding, “We cannot permit him to keep the indefinite competitive advantage in producing beach towels this trademark creates.” Ezra Sutton, a New Jersey attorney who represented another company producing circular towels, said the ruling could be a landmark decision in trademark and patent law.

A friend presented Phoenix business owner Steve Kafka with polymer crystals that were used on golf-course grass to allow it to absorb nitrates. But according to The Arizona Republic , the turning point was when the friend showed Kafka how incredibly absorbent the material was when introduced to water. He said, ‘If anyone can do something with this, you can,’” Kafka said. Kafka and his wife, Pam, put their ingenuity and artistic creativity to work, sewed the polymer into high-quality fabric, fashioned it into a scarf and Kafka’s Kool Tie was born

Today, Rich Whittle interviews Jennifer Letscher about her sport bottle wash, SKWEET.

Choosing not to pursue a medical career, Alfred C. Gilbert co-founded a company manufacturing magic sets in 1909. This company would later become the A. C. Gilbert Company, according to Wikipedia .

As the recession continues to make it difficult for some people to find new jobs others are taking to the street. This summer if you look out your door to find a grown man trying to sell lemonade next door to your 8 year old’s stand now you know why.

After a career in the financial field, Korinne Seel found herself a stay-at-home mom with the itch to try something a little different. So she turned her hobby into a business. Korinne has always enjoyed entertaining people but her passion wasn’t in the cooking. No, she found her passion in the presentation of the food for a party reports WRAL.com . She noticed that in bigger cites on the West and East Coasts, businesses were popping up creating high-end dessert tables

After a career in the financial field, Korinne Seel found herself a stay-at-home mom with the itch to try something a little different. So she turned her hobby into a business. Korinne has always enjoyed entertaining people but her passion wasn’t in the cooking. No, she found her passion in the presentation of the food for a party reports WRAL.com . She noticed that in bigger cites on the West and East Coasts, businesses were popping up creating high-end dessert tables

In honor of National Inventors’ Month, UncommonGoods is issuing a wide-open design challenge to find our next Uncommon Inventor or Designer. This contest is looking for a product with a spark of inventive genius, a flash of innovation and something that makes us say, Aha! Why didn’t we think of that? Oh, and did we mention there’s a $1,500 prize and a chance to showcase your design at Makerfaire NYC? The winning design will be picked by a team of judges along with the help and input of our online community. UncommonGoods Facebook fans will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite designs, so make sure you join us on Facebook! The winner will receive $1,500 cash prize and a pass to join UncommonGoods in presenting the winning design at Makerfaire NYC on September 25-26.

Nick Frappier hopes to see a day where people will finish off their meal with the perfect chocolate dessert. That day, he feels, will come but not just yet says Deseret News . “I believe it will happen in my lifetime, but I expect I’ll be ordering the fruit tart for a long time,” Frappier said last week as he planned a presentation to a group of 25 Harmons food store department heads who are about to allocate shelf space for at least three lines of his imported, ultra-premium chocolate bars