A Grandma Turns to Kickstarter to Help Fund her Startup

When 89-year-old Pearl Malkin became bored with her plain black cane, she decided to glue on a few flowers. From there, the grandmother from San Rafael, California began creating different canes to match different outfits.

Enter Adam London, a family friend who suggested that Malkin turn the canes into a small business. As reported by this CNN Money article, she took his advice. The result: Happy Canes, a line of walking sticks that Malkin decorates by hand.

Last month, London – an aspiring entrepreneur himself – helped Malkin launch a Kickstarter campaign to raise $3,500 in startup capital for Happy Canes. He also set her up on Etsy, an online marketplace for crafted items where her canes sell for $60.

In the CNN Money article, Malkin said she decided to start a business because she “can’t sit idle and watch boring TV all day long.” Happy Canes also represents her latest creative effort to add to her retirement fund. Five years ago, she took on a gig as a standup comic at a local restaurant.

“The older crowd wanted dirty jokes. I don’t tell dirty jokes so I stopped,” she told CNN Money. Now, she added, “I want to make people happy, spread a little cheer around and maybe buy some nice shoes again.”

Here’s a video about “Grandma Pearl” and her happy canes.

Videogame Sites Cater to “Geezer Gamers”

Communities of ”mature gamers” have sprouted up all over the world, reports The Wall Street Journal. Among these sites: Geezergamers.com, whose founders include 43-year-old Thomas Abel.

For Abel, an airplane mechanic and a father of two, videogames provide a way to let off steam after a stressful day at work. Geezergamers.com–which allows players to meet on forums with names like “Get off my lawn”–offers a safe haven for Abel to find “suitably mature joystick companions,” writes the Journal’s Miguel Bustillo.

Another site is 2old2play.com, whose minimum age is 25. In the WSJ piece, 20ld2play says it “carefully screens applicants for ‘squeaky voices’ and other telltale signs of adolescence.”

For the generations raised on Pong and Pac-Man, the sites provide opportunities to play against other mature gamers in virtual senior leagues. Some players, like 77-year-old Ralph Atkinson from Melbourne, Australia, are part of The Older Gamers, which has  some 57,000 members worldwide (Atkinson shreds his competitors in Battlefield 3).

In the U.S., the average age of game players is now 30, according to the Entertainment Software Association, while the average age of frequent game buyers is 35.

Stefaan de Keersmaeker, a 41-year-an information-technology expert from Melbourne, founded The Older Gamers. “There is still a stigma associated with this pastime,” de Keersmaeker tells The Wall Street Journal. ”It is very hard to explain to some people, but it’s not all kid’s play anymore.”

Using Business Success to Give Back

When she was in her mid-40s, Maxine Clark founded Build-A-Bear-Workshop, a store where children can make their own teddy bears.

Build-A-Bear, which opened its first store in 1997 at the St. Louis Galleria, went public in 2004. Today, there are more than 400 Build-A-Bear Workshop stores worldwide, including company-owned stores in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland, and franchise stores in Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, Mexico and the Middle East.

Clark, now 63, announced recently that she will retire as “chief executive bear” of the Missouri-based company. She doesn’t plan to slow down, however. As she explains in this St. Louis Post-Dispatch article, she’s found inspiration from people like Bill Gates who have used their success in business to serve bigger purposes.

Once Build-A-Bear names a successor, Clark will remain on the board. She also wants to dedicate her money, creativity and energy to help improve public education in the St. Louis area. She’s already involved with a local charter school and Teach for America.

“All along, I’ve known there are other things for me to do,” Clark told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “No timing is ever perfect. But this is as close to perfect as I’m going to get. I still have 20 years left to change the world.”

World’s Oldest Marathon Runner Knows About Perseverance

Late bloomers aren’t found just in the business world, of course. For 40-and-older aspiring entrepreneurs, the accomplishments of older artists, authors, scientists and athletes can provide inspiration and a reminder of what’s possible (for great stories about non-business achievers, check out Debra Eve’s blog, Late Bloomer).

One example is 101-year-old Fauja Singh, who started running marathons at age 89. In late January, after nearly 13 years, Singh announced that the Hong Kong Marathon on Feb. 24 will be his final race.

As reported by this ABC News story, Singh earned the nickname the “Turban Tornado” for his distinctive yellow turban and (relatively) fast speed. He set race records for his age group when he was in his nineties and in 2004 carried the torch for the Athens Olympics. In 2011, the Guinness Book of World Records listed him as the oldest marathon runner when he competed in the Toronto Marathon at age 100.

Once he stops competing, Singh plans to follow a lighter running schedule of “just” eight to nine miles per day.

“I will keep running to inspire the masses,” he told the Times of India. “Running is my life and I really would not have stopped competing if I had not crossed the age of 100.”

How One Entrepreneur Found Inspiration from a Manhole Cover

When Hurricane Sandy raged up the East Coast last October, Hoboken, New Jersey was among the hardest hit areas. Yet many of the city’s residents demonstrated remarkable resilience in the aftermath of the storm.

One local business owner even found inspiration for a new product line.

Karen Nason is the owner of Hoboken HotHouse, a home and garden store/cafe she opened in 2011 at age 46. After the superstorm struck, Nason tried to wade through the hurricane-flooded streets to check on her store. As reported by this nj.com article, she couldn’t see the manhole covers beneath the churning, murky water. Understandably, she was terrified about what might happen if one of the covers became dislodged.

When Nason finally made it to her boutique two days after the storm, the intricate pattern on a nearby manhole cover caught her eye. And then, an idea took hold.

Nason now has a line of handmade, silk-screened pillows, T-shirts, candles, mugs and other items featuring the design from the ornate manhole cover near her shop. The co-designer for the new product line – Hoboken Works – is artist David Heffernan.

Here’s a video that further explains the story behind Hoboken Works.

An Entrepreneur’s Cool Business Idea for Digital Photos

Warren Struhl has helped start 30 companies. Among his products: Popcorn, Indiana, a brand of prepopped kettle corn, and Sheets Brand (launched with basketball’s LeBron James), a line of energy strips that dissolve on the tongue.

Now, the 49-year-old serial entrepreneur has another startup: Polaroid Fotobar, a retail store where people can upload photos from digital devices (smartphones and tablets) and popular social platforms (including Facebook, Instagram and Picasa). Using one of the store’s bar-top workstations, customers can edit their images, then choose from a variety of printing and framing options to create wall art. The finished products can be shipped worldwide to a customer within 72 hours.

“These cool, hip, experimental stores will make the process of turning people’s best pictures into cherished pieces of art both rewarding and fun,” said Polaroid in a news release. As reported in this Inc. article, Struhl – who serves as the new company’s CEO — pays Polaroid a licensing fee for the use of its iconic name.

So what inspired this business idea? “There are currently about 1.5 billion pictures taken every single day, and that number continues to grow in tandem with the popularity and quality of camera photos,” said Struhl in the Polaroid statement.

“Unfortunately, even the very best of those pictures rarely ever escape the camera phone with which they were taken to be put on display around our homes and offices,” Struhl continued. “Why?  Because turning those pictures into something tangible, creative and permanent is neither easy nor fun. Polaroid Fotobar stores are going to change all of that.”

Polaroid Fotobar has plans for at least ten stores. The first one, set to open next month in Delray Beach, Florida, will feature a multi-purpose room for photo classes, private parties and studio portraits. A staff of experienced “Phototenders” will help guide customers through the product making process from start to finish.

Other locations will include New York, Las Vegas and Boston.

Goal Setting Tips for Entrepreneurs

One of the best things about a new year is the prospect of a fresh start. Traditionally, the most popular resolutions are health-related ones, such as “start exercising” and “stop smoking.” And “lose weight,” of course.

Just as sticking to a diet can be tough, so can sticking to business goals. If you’re an entrepreneur (or want to become one), you may be looking at January as an opportunity to make changes or take other action. How can you stay just as motivated in six months – or maybe even in six days — as you are now?

Over the years, I’ve found that it helps to be selective about New Year’s goals and to think about how to implement them. If you’d like to try this approach, here are a few tips:

•   Go for quality, not for quantity. Better to have three or four solid goals than a long wish list you’ll never get through.

•   Push yourself without being ridiculous. Choose goals that excite you and make you stretch — but also are within reach.

•   Be specific. Example: Rather than “Have a stronger social media presence,” go for something like “Tweet once a day” or “Outreach three new LinkedIn contacts every week.”

•   Set dates. A timeline for completing steps towards a goal gives you an action plan.

•   Share your goals with others. These “witnesses” can help hold you accountable.

•   Tape your goals to your bathroom mirror (or some place else where they will be highly visible). They won’t do you any good if you stick them in a drawer and forget about them.

•   Stay flexible. The unexpected may force you to revise, recalibrate or scale back. That’s okay as long as you’re still moving forward.

•   Check off completed goals. Each mark will be a visual indicator of your progress – and make you feel good about yourself.

Wishing you all the best for 2013 –

Lynne