Santamail.Org = $1 Million A Year

Byron Reese “37″ Started his company, SantaMail.org, which sells fully personalized letters from Santa Claus all across North America (they’re even postmarked from North Pole, Alaska, to give them an authentic feeling). Reese sold 10,000 letters in 2001, his first year in business. Though holiday sales have increased every subsequent year, he still looked for ways to expand his offering. Now, parents can order birthday cards for their children from Santa as well. The strategy pushed 2005 sales to $1 Million .                         
See Full Article http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneur/2006/april/84112.html

Momcorps.com = $1.3 Million in 2006

 Headquartered in Atlanta, GA, Mom Corps is a matchmaker between companies looking to recruit and retain top talent and experienced professionals looking for flexibility. The company was started by Allison Karl O’Kelly .

O’Kelly, 33, can relate. A certified public accountant with an MBA from Harvard, she left the management track at Toys R Us after having her first child. She tried being a stay-at-home mom for three months but said it wasn’t for her. She started a bookkeeping business from home and got more work than she could handle.

She gave the extra work to her at-home mom friends, and Mom Corps was born. The company is too small to be profitable yet; O’Kelly expects profits next year. Mom Corps takes a cut of the paycheck when it lands work for a client.

Although Mom Corps has been active for just over a year, “word is spreading very quickly,” according to O’Kelly, and she believes the company is “opening employers’ eyes” about flexible work arrangements.

And the numbers prove the story. Her company had $1.3 million in 2006 revenue.

http://www.momcorps.com/ 

Click Here To See Video 

Vodka.com Domain Sells for $3 Million

Conglomerate Russian Standard Co., controlled by Roustam Tariko, paid $3 million to an undisclosed seller in a deal completed December 4, according to a Sedo.com spokesman. A New York-based spokeswoman for Russian Standard confirmed the $3 million price tag.

Vodka.com’s price tag is among the highest ever revealed for a generic Web domain. In May, diamond.com reportedly sold for $7.5 million to jewelry retailer Ice.com. Business.com sold for $7.5 million in 1999.

In 2006, a source told Reuters that Sex.com had sold for around $12 million to a Boston-based company called Escom LLC, although the exact figure has never been disclosed.

As Seen On http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,236721,00.html

Invest in Internet Domains . Really !!!

This time it was Sportsbook.mobi commanding the big bucks – a whopping $129,800 in a private sale that we carefully examined during our verification process.The seller, Sule Garba, originally brought the sale to our attention soon after it was completed in mid-December. He was willing to make details of the deal public but the buyer, who wishes to remain anonymous, wanted to delay an announcement while he pursued other related domains he had his eye on (it is our policy to honor non-disclosure requests that come from either party to a transaction). This week, the buyer (whose identity we know) agreed to release the information and the broker he was working with to acquire domains, SpareDomains.com, sent us the documentation we require before reporting a sale.

The exchange was handled by Escrow.com so I called the company’s president, Brandon Abbey, to verify the information I had been given was accurate and that his company had completed the transfer of both the money and the domain. Abbey had to secure permission from both the buyer and seller before he could comment on the transaction, but once he had done so, he confirmed that the money was paid and the name delivered to the new owner. 

The most amazing thing about this deal is that Garba says he registered the domain by hand in October for just over $30! The name was apparently registered during the .mobi sunrise period for trademark holders but was then released back into the general registration pool, possibly because the trademark claim was ruled to be invalid by the registry. Garba just happened to be at the right place at the right time.

As Seen On  http://www.dnjournal.com/domainsales.htm

In 2005 Local.Com sold for $700,000

Hardtofindseminars.com is a brilliant idea

I first learned about Jay Abraham from a video by Tony Robbins. Jay was speaking at one of Tony’s expensive Life Mastery seminars. I was totally blown away by Jay’s ideas. Immediately, I started looking for his seminar products.

The first item I was looking for was a set of tapes of the famous Jay Abraham $20,000 protégé mentor training seminar from 1990. You read that right: $20,000. That’s how much it cost to attend. The press called it: “The world’s most expensive seminar”. The students were there to learn how to become a master marketing wizard just like Jay Abraham.

Bigbadtoystore.com = $4 Million a Year

Description: Online toy retailer specializing in collectible action figures

Founder: Joel Boblit, 29
Location: Somerset, Wisconsin
Projected 2005 Sales: Over $4 million

Robo-Biz: Joel Boblit parlayed nostalgia for his childhood toys into big-time business when he discovered how much Transformers–robot action figures whose popularity has continued since the 1980s–were being sold for online. He launched BigBadToyStore.com in 1999 shortly after graduating college, while he was reliving fond memories of trading his favorite childhood toys–GI Joe, Masters of the Universe and Transformers. The biggest challenge in those early days? Boblit admits: “Being teased by my friends.”

See Whole Article http://www.entrepreneur.com/worklife/successstories/article81758.html

Rocketauctions.com = $500,000 A Year

When Randall Pinson took a full-time job as manager of a cell phone store during college, he expected to earn some extra money for school. He didn’t expect to learn how to start an online retail business that would ultimately support him and his family.

Pinson, 29, had only vaguely heard of eBay in the spring of 2000, when his boss asked him to try to sell some phones on the website. So he followed the step-by-step instructions on eBay.com and listed a shipment of phones for sale. Less than an hour later, a woman in New York offered to buy 15 of the phones for $125 each, making Pinson’s employer $100 in profit on each phone.

The 400 percent markup the store earned got Pinson’s attention. He started selling cell phones and accessories on eBay himself on a part-time basis, and in 2002, he quit his job at the cell phone store and started his own online business using his last paycheck and a $2,000 American Express line of credit. By his college graduation a few months later, he was earning close to $60,000 a year selling on eBay.

Always aiming for a 50 percent markup on his sales, Pinson (eBay User ID: rocket-auctions) occasionally does much better. “My most profitable eBay sale was a piece of telecom equipment I bought for $5 without really knowing what it was. I sold it for $750.”

Five years after starting, Pinson says confidently, “Anyone can make a living on eBay.” His company, Rocket Auctions, based in Farmington, Utah, generated $400,000 in sales in 2005, with 2006 projections of $500,000.

To bring in that kind of money, Pinson has one full-time employee who handles the day-to-day logistics of inventory management and shipping the 400 or so items that are sold in completed auctions from the company’s warehouse each week.

http://www.rocketauctions.com

WHAT ! This company sells 1 watch a year .

The Zenith Grande Class Traveller is one of the most complicated time pieces ever devised.  The movement consists of 744 pieces; 11 hands on the dial and at least 46 functions.  To really grasp the rarity of such a watch check this out: There is a 5 year waiting list, they only make about 1(maybe 1.5) per year, and all this for low cost of $600,000. Other great Zenith watches at www.zenith-watches.com

 

Want a new way to keep your pants on ?  Try a buckle from The House Of Eight.  Their buckles seems to be inspired by the movements of a mechanical watch.  Only 88 of this buckle created and start from $24,000. Presented in 18k solid rose gold (4N)With eight 0.19 carat diamonds. Check them out at www.thehouseofeight.com

 For More Luxuries see http://www.lifeontop.com/

Shopinprivate.com

ShopInPrivate.com allows you to shop for embarrassing products from the privacy of your own home. Don’t feel like purchasing adult diapers at Meijer? Too embarrassed to buy contraceptives at the drug store? Would you rather avoid a visit to Lover’s Lane for…ahem…sensual items? ShopInPrivate.com will ship products to you in a plain box, ensuring privacy and discretion. Take a look — lots of health, diet and hygiene items but also some other weird stuff.

Name: Tom Nardone

Company: ShopInPrivate.com

Location: Hazel Park , Michigan

Year Founded: 1998

Initial capitalization: $11,000 of personal funds

2004 Revenues: More than $2 million

Switchpod.com = Teenage Entrepreneurs

Weina Scott and Jake Fisher’s Story: Even among startups with cut-to-the-bone budgets, the creation and launch of Weina Scott’s and Jake Fisher’s podcast hosting company was a remarkable exercise in minimalism.

Weina wrote the programming code for Miami-based Switchpod.com on Microsoft Notepad. Then she and Jake, her marketing guy, built a Web site, started posting on message boards to get word out about their service, and blew through their ad budget – $50 – for online promotion.

Now considered one of the top five podcast hosting companies in the industry, Switchpod, launched in 2005, averages 1 million downloads a month and enjoys a 20 percent monthly growth rate in listener downloads. It recently was acquired by Wizzard Software for $200,000 in stock.

Oh, yes – both entrepreneurs are high school students.

See http://www.startupnation.com/pages/keymoves/teenage-entrepreneur.asp

DONTdateHIMgirl.COM – Interesting Web Business

The flagship site of TJC Media Group, DontDateHimGirl.com is a powerful online community of women from around the world. This site has been the subject of international media attention and has been featured in publications like the Sunday Times of London, The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post; major television networks such as CNN, MSNBC, Fox News and television shows like the Today Show, Dr. Phil and Montell Williams, not to mention a hot topic in the blogosphere, You will find informative articles about dating and relationships; advice to help you make better decisions in finding a man you love; a live chat area where members can exchange experiences in real-time and of course, the postings of hundreds of thousands of women who are creating a global sisterhood on the Internet! Men can participate in the forum as well by becoming a member and posting their thoughts. Join this growing global community today!

http://www.dontdatehimgirl.com/

Platewire.com ! Interesting Concept

But now there’s revenge on the Web.

Here’s how it works. When someone cuts you off, you write down the license plate then get to a computer. Select the state, type in the plate number and spew. Platewire.com is a public database meaning anyone can make a report for everyone to see. It’s that easy to share your gripe with the world.

The site is the brainchild of two stepbrothers. They get up to 2000 hits per day with hundreds of new postings about bad drivers. The goal: reduce road rage and save the rage for your keyboard.

See More Articles http://platewire.com/press.aspx

kingsizebows.com = $1,000,000 A Year

How hard is it to make Giant Bows ? Some people are just business savvy .

Whether it be a luxury Lexus or clunker from the classifieds, the gift of a car just isn’t the same without a big bow on top of the hood. That was Lynda King’s thinking when she started King Size Bows five years ago, after she was unable to find a bow for a car she bought for her teenage daughter’s birthday.

“People always ask about it,” King said. “People always wonder about it, where they come from. It’s every wife’s fantasy to run outside and find a new car with a big bow on it.”

The idea stayed in the back of King’s mind for a while, and after consulting with some of her area car dealers, she began developing a bow that would ship and assemble easily. This year, she expects her Newport Beach, Calif.-business to sell about 15,000 to 20,000 bows, which sell for $48 each and come in a variety of designs.

Many of the bows go to car dealerships, especially Lexus dealers, which feature even larger bows in their holiday advertising.

The company also sells the bows to real estate agents, who put them on doors of homes before handing the keys over to new owners, and big screen TV stores. Individuals can also order the bows through the company’s Web site,

http://www.shoppingblog.com/cgi-bin/sblog.pl?sblog=1218062

http://www.kingsizebows.com/article1.htm

Shieldzone.com $2,000,000 A Year

It all started for Phillip Chipping with a new watch. In early 2005, after receiving the watch for Christmas, Chipping began looking for something that would keep his brand-new gift looking brand-new for years to come. “I just didn’t want it to get scratched,” says Chipping, 30. Luckily, he stumbled upon a urethane film that had originally been developed to protect military helicopter blades. He got a sample and managed to cut out a crude shape to apply over his watch’s crystal face. “It worked incredibly well,” Chipping says.
His operation quickly moved out of his backyard and took over part of his father’s electrical contracting shop. Chipping recruited friends and neighbors to help keep up. The iPod Nano’s flaw took his sales to a new level, and the InvisibleShield went from being sold online to being sold in more than 100 retail locations nationwide, as well as in stores in Canada and Europe. With online sales alone projected at more than $2 million this year, Chipping is looking to open his own ShieldZone stores later this year.

Listen to Podcast here http://podcast.streetiq.com/streetiq?ChannelID=5176&GUID=620163&Page=MediaViewer

Webcastmywedding.net

Webcastmywedding.net broadcasts weddings to a couple’s friends and family unable to come over from (or to) far flung places. Customers need a video camera, laptop, and high speed online access. The company then charges USD 395 for setting up a live stream of the event, support for up to 25 simultaneous viewers (who are sent a url and password), and an on-demand archive of the wedding for 10 days. More streams and an annual archive account can be had for an extra fee.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2006-07-17-wedding-webcasts_x.htm

82ask.com = $4,000,000 A Year

The service allows users to text absolutely any question to 82275 (82ASK). Costing just £1, an impressive 85% of questions are answered within five minutes.

82ASK is the offspring of Oxbridge graduates Sarah McVittie and Thomas Roberts. Both were working as financial analysts for investment bank UBS Warlberg when they struck on the idea.
82ASK is now based in Cambridge, has six full-time employees and 150 trained ‘texperts’. With contracts from Guinness World Records and the Association of Football Statisticians on board, a book of the most interest questions, which sold 5,000 copies in its week, and a £2m turnover forecast for 2007, the future looks bright.

http://www.smstextnews.com/2006/07/15_questions_fo.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/07/02/nask02.xml&secureRefresh=true&_requestid=11925

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5317982.stm

Bookkeeping In A Box

Pat Dutched had been a bookkeeper more than 25 years when she got a bright idea. Everything important to a small business should be in one place, easily reachable, and organized alphabetically and by dates. She started with her own 25 clients, filling for each a banker’s box with receipts, invoices, payments, payroll, and insurance and lease documents. In recent months, Ms. Dutched has expanded her idea into a business, Bookkeeping In A Box, and has an Internet site and displays in two Sylvania bank branches. She said she has put nearly $60,000 of her own money into the start-up, but it’s starting to pay off. It’s getting rave reviews from some of her initial customers.

See Full Story

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/articleAID=/20070112/BUSINESS08/701120357

Porn Affilliate earns $1.8 Miilion a year

CAPS Internet Inc. offers a clue. CAPS, a small business housed in a Toronto office building, doesn’t create or sell any adult content. But it serves up millions of pornographic photos and video clips each day on its dozens of Web sites, which have names like HardHut.com and GalleryHeaven.com and are often stumbled upon by Web surfers prowling for free porn.

After visitors click on the free images, they’re directed to sites that charge for porn. If they become paying customers, CAPS receives a commission, often $40 per subscriber. The seven-employee company took in about $1.4 million in revenue last year, and is on track to top $1.8 million this year, according to Matthew Gamble, a senior executive.

Sometimes, keeping affiliates happy means offering them gifts and bonuses, said Clark Chambers, who manages affiliate programs for pay sites OlderWomen.com and AuntJudys.com, among others. Mr. Chambers, based in Los Angeles, said he recently sent a $3,000 TAG Heuer watch to an 18-year-old in Moscow who runs a handful of affiliate Web sites. That was a bonus on top of the $5,000 to $8,000 a month in commissions he has been paying the teen. Mr. Chambers offers affiliates the option of either collecting 50% of referred sales, or receiving a flat $30 finder’s fee per customer. Getting good affiliates to pitch your wares “is super competitive,” Mr. Chambers said.

Read Article  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115281067232405904.html?emailf=yes

Mobissimo.com brings in a few million dollars a year

How did Tarka do it? Simple: She studied Google.

Instead of selling tickets, Mobissimo focused on helping people find cheap ones – not just from big names like United (Charts) and American (Charts), but also from the burgeoning ranks of low-fare carriers here and abroad.

The big idea: Crawl the Web, find the best deals, and make money from advertising. The upstart airlines, especially those that have shied away from the expensive reservation systems used as the back end for sites such as Orbitz and Expedia (Charts), loved the idea. After all, they wouldn’t have to spend a dime to land new customers.

Full Article http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2006/12/01/8394989/index.htm?postversion=2007011206

Gpsreview.net = A Blog = $45,000 Per Year Revenue

Like many bloggers, Tim Flight started a Web log two years ago just to share his passion about something — in his case, global positioning devices.

Over time, traffic to his site, http://gpsreview.net, started to grow, and by placing Google’s text ads on his blog, he started to earn some extra cash, usually about $10 a month. But as traffic soared, he began to discover that there were ways to earn bigger dollars from his blog.

Today, those earnings amount to about $45,000 a year, he said.

See Full Article http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/10/AR2007011002405.html