The Profittrendcafe.com Small & Home Business Idea Blog

Got Milk?

2004-08-04T11:36:00.000-06:00

When I was a little boy growing up in a small town in Northern California, I remember getting up every Monday and Thursday and running to the front porch first thing to see what Sam left. Sam was our milkman, and there just might be some intriguing flavor of ice cream with those cold glass bottles of milk. Sam could make my day with a carton of chocolate chip ice cream. By my early teens, the supercenter trend was in full swing. Game, set, match. Sam the milkman was a dinosaur and extinct.

Indeed, Home delivery once accounted for most milk sales. By 1963 it was about a third. By 2001 it represented a paltry 0.4 percent, suggesting anyone trying to enter the milk delivery business today would struggle to say the least.

Inspite of the numbers, Ron Panneton and his wife entered the milk delivery business in 2002. Today, Panneton is indeed struggling -- to keep pace with demand.

Turns out the old fashion milkman is back in a big way.

Interest in Panneton's glass bottled milk is so strong that he is turning away customers until he and his wife add a second truck and hire their first employee later this summer. His customer list has doubled to 200 from a year ago.

It's a story repeated nationwide as dairy delivery bucks the supercenter trend and grapples with an unexpected demand that industry officials attribute to a combination of nostalgia, convenience and taste.

Most dairy delivery companies don't produce their own milk. They often tout milk from local farms, much of it produced organically or without the use of added hormones. Such products are part of a growing natural foods trend. Many also branch out offering specialty meats, breads, jams and even frozen pizza and cut flowers. Companies say most of their customers are middle-to upper-class families.

While the natural foods trend is a motivation for some delivery customers, convenience is the primary driving force behind the rise of the milkman. Though the cost of delivery and the higher price of the milk are expensive for many families, time crunched NASCAR Dads and Soccer Moms are more than ever willing to trade money for time for a variety of products and services.

Undeniably, delivery services are not just for pizza anymore. Diaper delivery services are making a strong come back after a dramatic decline in the mid 90's. Services that offer home delivery from gourmet and other sit down restaurants have also popped up all over the country. Grocery chains and some online start-ups have been experimenting with home delivery as well.

Convenience is a trend that will continue to grow as our lives continue to get busier. Home delivery is one way to capitalize on this trend as people are more willing than ever to pay to have whatever it is they want brought to them rather than getting it themselves.

Let your imagination run wild. Find a way to make the lives of residents in your community easier and less hectic and you may have a winner. How about a catch all home delivery service? "We deliver anything directly to your home." Also, don't forget to give some thought to ways to make your existing products or services more convenient for your customers.

While researching this post, I came across an interesting website for those who own diaper delivery services. The National Association of Diaper Services promotes the use of cloth diapers and among other things, has a directory of members, where the public can search for a diaper service in their area.

This got me thinking and looking. There appears to be no similar service for the milk home delivery companies. Why not create something similar to NADS for the milkmen? Provide online networking opportunities for the business owners themselves, a searchable database of members for the public, and solid dairy product information and you could be milking a cash cow. (I would do this one myself if I had the time.) Another idea might be a national directory of delivery services in general, searchable by community or zip code.

If you "borrow" one of these ideas, let me know how it goes.

For in depth features, insight, and commentary on new, unusual and creative small and home business ideas that you can copy, borrow, or steal for your own profit, visit profittrendcafe.com.

2004-08-02T19:22:00.000-06:00

Sarah Lefton's "Sacrameto Girlie Men" T-shirts

Political Entrepreneurship Revisited; "Sacarmento Girlie Men"

2004-08-02T18:40:00.000-06:00

San Francisco-based Sarah Lefton has taken a page from the political entrepreneurship of the Bush Country Ketchup (See post of July 15, 2004), not to mention she is quick to recognize an opportunity when she sees one. Just days after Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger called the state's Democratic Leadership Team "girlie men" for stonewalling on the state budget, 30 year old Lefton has begun selling T-shirts over the Internet with the slogan "Sacramento Girlie Men." (Pictured Above.)

Offered at www.sacramentogirliemen.com, the item costs $24. After well placed press releases to major media outlets, like CNN and Fox, the clever T's are reportedly selling like hotcakes. "And 20% of proceeds will benefit the California Democratic Party, which as you may have noticed, could use the help," the Web site reads.

Popularized in a Schwarzenegger-inspired Saturday Live skit about a pair of fitness gurus, the governor's use of the term "girlie men" amused many and angered state legislators, gays and women's groups.

Not to be out done, the state's College Republicans announced plans to sell T-shirts reading "Don't be a Girlie Man. Vote Republican." According to the group they will sell for less than the $24 charged by Lefton.

As I mentioned in the Bush Country Ketchup post, capitalizing on a political feelings, trends, fads, or slogans that evoke emotion in a humorous and tasteful fashion is an excellent way to make some extra short term cash (until the trend, fad, or situation fades) and support your cause at the same time.

"Sacramento Girlie Men" is just the latest clever idea from Lefton. See profittrendcafe.com's feature article on Sarah Lefton and her Jewish Fashion Conspiracy home business; Hot Small Business Idea; Celebrating Identity with Fun Fashion.

For in depth features, insight, and commentary on unusual and creative small and home business ideas that you can copy, borrow, or tweak to profit from, visit profittrendcafe.com.

2004-07-23T12:50:00.000-06:00

One of Dog Pilot's Designs

What would you design to wear if you were a teenager?

2004-07-23T12:37:00.000-06:00

Here's the idea: Get teenagers to design clothes for teenagers. While doodling one day in school, a 15 year old young woman from Connecticut thought her doodles would look cute on T-shirts. Taking the idea to her father, they formed a company called Dog Pilot. This remarkable teen sells loads of the T-shirts, Jersey's and other styles with 18 different drawings. My favorite is "Chic Magnet" pictured above. Her father handles the business end of things, while the creative teen is responsible for picking the styles and the doodles or drawings that end up on the shirts. Prices start around $20.00 and are sold through their website, dogpilot.net, catalogs, and tradeshows. View a video on the venture here.

Tapping into the booming teen market is a never a bad idea and who better to know what teens want than other teens? If you have a teen in your house or even close by, try tapping into their creative energy and intimate knowledge of the teen market. You could partner your way to a fortune and create a young entrepreneur.

Thinking Way Out Of The Box

2004-07-16T21:41:00.000-06:00

Utah's One World Cafe Owner Denise Cerreta gets the award of the month for out of the box thinking. By thinking way out of the box, cash is flowing into a money box that sits on a serving table at this Salt Lake City Cafe. Cerreta depends on the kindness and honesty of her customers. There are no fixed prices at One World Cafe. It’s between you and the box,” Cerreta said of a money chest that sits next to a water jug and mugs on a serving table. “We continue to grow. We continue to make money.” The full AP story, "Restaurant depends on kindness of strangers; Utah eatery on verge of showing profit" is worth reading. It definitely shows how out of the box thinking can pay off.

2004-07-15T13:33:00.000-06:00

Bush Country Ketchup Logo

Political Entrepreneurship

2004-07-15T13:23:00.000-06:00

As a former Republican political staffer, I am amused and impressed by a couple of politically-minded, entrepreneurial young men with a very novel idea. Recent graduates of James Madison University and college roommates, Chris Cylke and Patrick Spero founded Conservative Condiments with a $5,000 loan in February 2004 to market Bush Country Ketchup.

The label on the 13-ounce bottles of Bush Country Ketchup depict the Republican Party symbol, an elephant, stomping Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., the Democratic Party presidential nominee.

"While dunking our freedom fries in ketchup a few months ago, we came to a sudden realization. With each drop of ketchup we ingested, bottled by a company whose single largest individual shareholder is the wife of the Democratic Presidential Candidate John Kerry, we were indirectly making his wallet fatter. Bush Country Ketchup was created so "right-thinking" Americans could once again enjoy this condiment on our burgers and fries without the guilt associated with enriching an individual whose aspirations and goals are so clearly wrong for our country."

As of mid-June, Conservative Condiments has sold 1,000 bottles at $5.99 over the Internet and to restaurants in and around the founder's home towns of East Sandwich, MA and Washington, DC Local Republican Party Organizations are using the product as a fund-raiser as well. Another 1000 bottles are ready to ship. The company also sells Bush Country Gear including T-shirts, BBQ aprons, mugs, and other items.

The bottles cost the pair about $3.75 apiece, including overhead. After paying their loan, they plan to donate 10 percent of profits to a local charity.

One of the biggest challenges Spero and Cylke faced was finding someone to produce their ketchup. It turns out few companies make the stuff, other than, well, Heinz. Eventually, they found a gourmet food producer in San Francisco. "Before getting into this I didn't know there was gourmet ketchup," said Spero. "But it tastes pretty good."

No word on future products after the election. Spero, a Ph.D. candidate in American History at University of Pennsylvania, and Cylke, a political staffer in Washington, DC are running Conservative Condiments as a sideline business. My guess is that before it is all said and done, the enterprising duo will sell 5000 bottles or so, making some nice pocket change and having a little fun too. No word yet on future products after the election. Stay tuned.

In this politically charged climate we live in today, developing an innovative product by exploiting strong political feelings could be a fun way to make some extra cash. Consider the widespread resentment of the French for example. The Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly is selling thousands of "Boycott France" bumper stickers, T-shirts, and other items on his website. Watch current political trends closely and with the right idea, and you could be cashing in.

Start brainstorming and let me know how you do.

(Material from The Associated Press and Cape Cod Times was used in this report)