Business Idea of the Day

St. Petersburg Times: Zingo has a simple plan: turn a profit by keeping people from getting arrested for drunken driving. So far it’s working, despite the trying economy. The Atlanta company is a designated-driver business chain that gives tipsy customers a drive home in their own cars. It has grown from six franchises a year ago to 20, including ones in Hills­borough, Pinellas, Pasco and Polk counties.

Entrepreneur: Here are 10 New Year’s resolutions and discussion topics–suggestions you can offer your staff to guide them toward a higher level of productivity: 1. I will work smarter. 2. I will increase my working network in and out of my immediate area and inside and outside my company

USA TODAY: No one likes to encourage people to start their own business more than me, but retirees — actual and would-be alike — need to take more precautions when making this determination. Entrepreneurship is generally thought of as a younger person’s game for many reasons, but a main one is that it typically takes a lot of time and energy to start a successful business, and those are things someone over, say, 55 might not want to give to a business. Assuming that you really do want to start a business, here are five things I think you need to keep in mind: 1

Loveland Connection: Author and entrepreneur Joel Comm has added a hint of hilarity to this holiday season and likely ensured many iPhone owners will no longer endure Silent Nights, thanks to his newest iPhone application. Comm announced via Twitter that his iPhone application — iFart Mobile — is the No. 1 paid application at the iPhone store. It sells for 99 cents. “Yep.

Trendwatching.com: Yup, it’s that time of the year again: time for endless predictions, most of which are rather dark and gloomy with economies around the world going downhill. Fortunately, there are still plenty of trends out there that are begging to be applied profitably, both now and long-term.

Many individuals have been able to earn, at minimum, a part-time income by selling their handmade creations through websites like Etsy. It has given both men and women the opportunity to take something they enjoy and turn it into a small business. It also gives some parents the opportunity to stay home with their children. That would include Diana Gonzalez, the owner of Sweet Buddha Designs . Diana’s talents are not limited to her business, she also blogs at Confessions Of A Craftaholic and regularly hosts classes, as well as craft workshops, through the NYC Craft Circle

Athens Banner-Herald: When former Jefferson resident Vivian Hoard was working “24/7″ as a tax litigator for a large Atlanta law firm, she often came home at night to a sleeping family, but she always could rely on the family cat, Ludwig, to sit in her lap and purr contentedly. “When I’d come home at all hours of the night, the cat would snuggle in my lap and purr very, very softly,” says Hoard. “He would help me unwind after a long day.” Unfortunately, Ludwig is gone now, but Hoard’s memories of how her favorite feline helped her to relax never went away. Realizing that many people who could benefit from a cat’s soothing influence can’t be pet owners due to allergies or other issues, Hoard launched a four-year journey to create the next best thing to the real kitty

Wired: The economy may be tanking, but innovation is alive and well. When it came to products, incremental improvements were the name of the game this year. Phones got faster (iPhone 3G anyone?), notebooks turned into netbooks and pocket cameras went from recording standard-definition video to HD. Here’s our countdown of what rocked our world in 2008 — and what will change yours in 2009 and beyond. 10

USA TODAY: Would you make a good franchisee? To help you decide, take the following quiz. As you answer, please be totally honest with yourself. Some answers may seem like the right one, but it really does you no good to answer the question correctly if it does not really help you understand your franchisee aptitude. Answer yes or no: 1

Search Engine Watch: Motley Fool has reported that holiday spending at eBay this year is lower than last year, despite the fact that one would expect them to be a good source of lower priced gifts in these hard economic times. Meanwhile Amazon has reported higher sales numbers over last year. Are people forgoing secondhand for discounted new items? Or is there another reason eBay is being bypassed