In times of economic crisis, businesses have to be smart in re-inventing themselves either for survival or to capture more market share which has significant shrunk due to everyone tightening their budget. A salon in Massachusetts has set the bar higher by launching a new service offering 15-minute video consultations.
Prior to an appointment, customers can get styling advices and options without wasting time on a journey to the salon only to find out that it is not what they want. What is more interesting is that these consultations are set up over Skype. Customers request a date and time using a form on the website.
This is such a simple but genius way to offer added value services at relatively low cost. All you need is a Sony Vaio and internet connection and you are ready to go.
You may heard of caffeine-packed energy drink such as Red Bull or Livita. How about offering something that is a total opposite of that? Slow Cow, a new drink from Canada offers just that.
For those who are looking for a quick relaxation fix, Slow Cow can actually help people to de-stress. Due to its content which is made up off theanine, chamomile, valerian, passiflora and etc, the drink delivers a calming effect to the drinker. The beverage is meant to increase mental awareness while improving relaxation.
I must say after a long day of heavy shopping looking out for best buy, a Slow Cow will definitely be therapeutic.
There are many people out there such as students and expats who needs furniture but may not be looking to buy them but instead they are looking to rent. These means there are lots of opportunities out there.
Consider Evolving Vox. Set up by two students at Dartmouth College, their company rents out furniture to students, enabling them to go through college without having to make large purchases for their rooms. Student do not have to worry about hauling heavy furniture and appliances around. Everything is dropped off and picked up.
Evolving Vox offers everything from electrical goods, furniture, outdoor furniture covers, and etc. all at affordable prices. For students out there. Maybe this is a business you can get yourself into while getting yourself a degree.
For those who have been to a public toilet or taken a ride on a lift, it is inevitable that you will see graffiti on the walls. This graffiti can be rather annoying and a sore eye but good use of it can be a great advertising tool.
However, this street art is experiencing a change. Introducing YrWall, an interactive virtual graffiti wall. It is basically graffiti with a can that contains no paint, only a button and IR light source which is tracked using a computer vision system. A pop-out interface is provided which enables the user to work with digital paint to create their own digital graffiti art. No more swapping paint cans to change colour or having to wear a face mask and gloves, this is totally environmentally friendly and accessible by anyone without any prior computer or graffiti skills.
Whether you are selling furniture or life insurance, YrWall can be quite an eye catcher.
To really motivate people to exercise, the best way is to remove boring routines and replace it with boredom-busting creative group classes. When comes to fun exercises, Crunch Fitness is certainly a leader in the industry. Their goal is to blend exercise with entertainment and attitude.
Crunch Fitness changes their schedule quarterly, and have hundreds of classes in the rotation. They have three main categories of classes: dance, chill out and action sports. Their classes ranges from Pole Dancing to Kickboxing ballet. They even have workout routines that incorporate Hollywood stunts.
This is sure way to get people to lose weight without using too much of ephedra supplement.
A French tourism company called Bocages has created a pop-up cabin for four that features a transparent dome in the roof, a telescope and a sky observation kit. The aim is to create a portable observatory for stargazer fans. Made with recyclable wood, the cabin aims to be environmentally friendly.
Each cabin is also equipped with a double cabin bed, a sofa bed for two, a kitchenette with refrigerator and hot plates, shower, toilet, wardrobe, electric heating, a bio-ethanol fireplace and cast-iron garden furniture for outside.
Well, maybe somebody here can replicate such idea in this region. Recyclable wood is plentiful and some construction sites discard good quality wood without really putting them to good use. This pop-up cube cabins can be used for other applications e.g. advertising campaigns, pop-up gyms, weight loss programs, etc.
