Archive for October, 2011
Monday, October 17th, 2011
by: Geoff Ficke
One Mans Junk Creates Another Mans Fortune
Similar Opportunities Exist Almost Everywhere for the Ambitious
In 1989 a Canadian college dropout named Brian Scudamore stopped at a McDonalds to grab a cheeseburger. While waiting for his food order he noticed a dented, beat up old pick-up truck inching though the parking lot. The bed of the vehicle was loaded with assorted junk. The doors of the battered, rusting vehicle were adorned with a hand painted sign that proclaimed that the owner hauled junk for a fee.
The food order came. But Brian Scudamore quickly lost his interest in lunch. He started to see a business opportunity in the cadaverous, misshapen lorry. Out of work, not a particularly interested student, just stumbling through life without much purpose, Mr. Scudamore was worried about his future prospects. The visit to a fast food restaurant, and the accidental visual encounter with a junk hauling service truck lit a fire in his imagination and suddenly he was full of energy and possibility.
Now here is where the story gets interesting. For here is where most people continue to dream. Brian Scudamore did something different, he acted. He thought to himself: “Who would have thought that there was money to be made in junk”. The more he considered the opportunity the more he realized that he had hit on a novel business model opportunity.
Everyone he knew had junk. Most of his family and acquaintances tried to hide the stuff away in attics, garages, storerooms. Mini-warehouses were being built everywhere and he knew that business was booming. He started asking people about their piles of old junk and found that people would get rid of the stuff if there was a way to do it conveniently, safely and affordably.
Mr. Scudamore bought an old, but clean used truck for $700. He had it neatly painted and a sign professionally designed and placed on the doors. He posted hand bills, placed business cards in businesses and supermarkets, advertised in the Yellow Pages (yes, they still had phone land lines and used phone books then) and quoted prices from a fixed list. When he made the first run to a customer he had invested less than $1,000 in the Business Start-up.
Customers were advised that each load would be separated and recyclable materials would be handled accordingly. Anything that still had value would be given to the poor. Most importantly for busy working people, his new junk hauling firm would schedule and maintain an accurate appointment schedule.
Brian Scudamore was his firm’s first junk hauler. But even in those early days, he was thinking long term. He never arrived for an appointment in jeans, sneakers and a torn tee-shirt. He always met his customers in a clean, identifiable uniform. He knew little about Branding and Marketing but he was already perfecting those essential Business practices.
The Company Brian Scudamore founded is known today as 1-800-Got Junk. This Entrepreneur has created a business model where there had been none. Yes, there were people everywhere that would pick up junk. However, no one had seen the opportunity to standardize, professionalize and fully commercialize the hauling of unwanted stuff and turn this innocuous service into a national enterprise.
1-800-Got Junk was quickly a success. More trucks were bought, crews added. Demand for the service outstripped the Company’s ability to expand. Because of his limited business and educational experience, Mr. Scudamore knew he needed professional management assistance to grow his Company. He hired Business Consultants that advised that his greatest growth opportunity was to organize the business using a Franchising Model.
Today there are hundreds of 1-800-Got Junk Franchise owners spread across almost every American and Canadian city. The service is standardized. Branding, Marketing, Service Sales, Customer Service, Advertising and Billing follows a classic Franchise model and is exactly the same for every Franchisee. Brian Scudamore has created a Business opportunity that supports each of his franchise owners, their families and employees. He not only is a successful Entrepreneur, he creates other successful Entrepreneurs. And he is very rich.
A used pickup truck, some tools, labor and hustle have earned many a man a decent living. Odd job services, painting, lawn care, hauling, pool cleaning, snow removal, tree pruning are only a few of the services that can be commercialized and generate income for those willing to Market themselves, be on time, sell a needed service for a fair price and perform as promised.
I know women who have taken their passion for baking, cooking, party planning, sewing, sketching, engraving, quilt making and pet care and turned these, and many more skills into income earning opportunities. They often start small and locally. They are willing to Market their product, service and themselves.
Very few of these Entrepreneurs will see their work evolve into large enterprises like Brian Scudamore’s 1-800-Got Junk. But they have the satisfaction of getting up every day and knowing that they control their destiny and there are no imposed limits on their ability to prosper and achieve as much success as they are willing to work for.
Every media outlet today beats a constant whine about the lack of jobs and opportunity. And it is true that the traditional job models have been creatively imploded by globalization, technology and rapid changes in skill requirements in order to succeed in this new emerging world order. But the pundits are wrong that opportunity is limited, or as some claim, eliminated. It is simply to be found using fresh outlook and ambition.
Unfortunately for many, ambition has been eroded from being coddled by an entitlement mindset. We do not allow children to fail, or lose a contest. Everybody is a winner. We all get a prize or a medal whether the reward is deserved or not. It starts at the youngest ages and encases too many for the rest of their lives.
The “Occupy Wall Street” protests are currently spreading around the world. Brian Scudamore was an unemployed, under-educated, scared kid in 1989. He probably fit the mold of the present day protesters. He could have sulked, complained, blamed or whined! Would the world have been a better place if he had become a professional dissident instead of creating wealth and opportunity for himself and others? We all know the answer to that question. The “Occupy Wall Street” crowd knows too. Someday most will acknowledge the truth, if they stumble onto a dose of ambition.
Posted in Business Model, Entrepreneurialism, Marketing, Marketing Consulting, Marketing New Products or Ideas
Monday, October 17th, 2011
Duquesa Marketing, Inc.
www.duquesamarketing.com
Press Release
For Immediate Release
October 17, 2011
Contact: Geoff Ficke
859-567-1609
Armenicus Life Inc. Engages Duquesa Marketing to Act As Managing Consultants for Jewelry Accessories Line
New Products to Address Vexing Problems Women Experience Protecting, Organizing Jewelry or Packing it for Travel
White Plains, NY Anna Kazanchyan M.D. founder and CEO of product design atelier Armenicus Life, Inc. announced today that her Firm has engaged Florence, KY based Duquesa Marketing to manage the Product Development, Branding, Marketing and Launch of their new line of jewelry accessory products.
“We threw a wide net before we found Duquesa Marketing”, said Dr. Kazanchyan. “The decision to partner with Geoff and Nancy Ficke was an easy one to make. We were keen to find a one-stop shop to managing the project, and were very impressed by their vast fashion experience and their broad network of associate vendors. We will announce Branding elements, launch activities and dates, sales promotions and pricing in early 2012, with a planned spring introduction. This is the first in a series of specialty products and “solutions” that we are developing and will be launching seasonally over the next few years”.
“Armenicus Life presented our consultancy a simply elegant concept that will prompt every jewelry consumer to wonder “Why didn’t I think of that?”, said Alexis Bruning, V.P. of New Product Development for Duquesa Marketing. “The combination of form, function, color and utility built into this concept will drive an excellent Sales and Marketing opportunity”.
Posted in Innovative Products, Jewelry Accessory Products, Launching new products, Marketing, Marketing New Products or Ideas, Press Releases, Product Design
Monday, October 17th, 2011
Duquesa Marketing, Inc.
www.duquesamarketing.com
Press Release
For Immediate Release
October 17, 2011
Contact: Geoff Ficke
859-567-1609
gficke@msn.com
Duquesa Marketing Appointed to Act as Managing Consultant for New Line of Pedicure Products
Award Winning International Consumer Product Development Firm to Launch Brand to retail Market in Spring-2012
Florence, KY Nancy Ficke, General Manager and co-founder of Duquesa Marketing, announced today that her Branding and Product Development firm has been appointed to act as Managing Consultants for BvonM llc, an Alexandria, VA based cosmetic accessory design atelier and the launch of their novel line of pedicure products.
“BvonM owner Dr. Barbara von Mettenhiem has created a simple, elegant answer to a problem that every woman experiences when getting Pedicures”, said Nancy Ficke. “The product she has designed is a real enhancement to the experience that millions of consumers enjoy when visiting nail salons for pedicures”.
“BvonM presented us with a wonderful product concept that we have been charged with developing, Branding, Marketing and Selling to the international salon industry”, said Geoff Ficke. “This line has immense international potential as well and we look forward to introducing the brand to our international distributors.
Duquesa Marketing is a one-stop, turnkey service provider to Inventors, Entrepreneurs, small and micro-businesses and multi-nationals specializing in Consumer Products. The Company has over 40 years experience and has worked in all sales channels in the United States and Internationally.
Posted in Footwear products, Innovative Products, Launching new products, Marketing, Marketing Consulting, Marketing New Products or Ideas, Press Releases, Salon Products, Shoe Products
Wednesday, October 12th, 2011
Duquesa Marketing, Inc.
www.duquesamarketing.com
Press Release
For Immediate Release
October 12, 2011
Contact: Geoff Ficke
859-567-1609
Murphy Wear Announces Appointment of Duquesa Marketing to Manage Accessory Product Launch
Pioneering MX-P Technology Enhanced Fiber to Provide Wearer With Breakthrough Comfort and Hygiene Experience
Hattiesburg, MS Boyd Murphy, the Entrepreneur and Inventor of Murphy , Overconfident Underwear announced today his design firm has engaged the services of international award winning Consumer Product Development and Branding Consulting firm Duquesa Marketing to act as managing consultants for the production and market launch of a new concept in men’s undergarments.
“My partners at Noetic Technologies and I have searched for the maximum combination of fashion, marketing and logistics experience as we prepare to bring Murphy Wear to male fashion consumers”, said Mr. Murphy. “After interviewing the team from Duquesa Marketing we knew we had found the best fit and a turnkey team of professionals to manage all aspects of the lines rollout”.
“Boyd Murphy and Noetic Technologies have engineered a wonderful, simply elegant solution to an embarrassing problem that all men experience”, said Geoff Ficke, President of Florence, KY based Duquesa Marketing. “The MX-P Technology that they will introduce is a revolution in offering breakthrough protection, maximizing comfort and product fit in a men’s underwear product”.
Murphy Wear and Duquesa Marketing plan to introduce the new line of hygienic underwear products to the men’s fashion trade in Spring- 2012. “Pricing, sales promotion and distribution plans will be announced at that time”, said Boyd Murphy.
Posted in Launching Menswear Products, Launching new products, Marketing New Products or Ideas, Press Releases
Friday, October 7th, 2011
Duquesa Marketing, Inc.
www.duquesamarketing.com
Press Release
For Immediate Release
October 7, 2011
Contact: Geoff Ficke
859-567-1609
gficke@msn.com
Duquesa Marketing Unveils New, More Inter-Active Web-site at www.DuquesaMarketing.com
Fresh Design Includes Free Consultation Feature and Free New Consumer Product Readiness Test for Inventors and Entrepreneurs
Florence, KY Nancy Ficke, General Manager of international award winning Consumer Product Development and Branding Consulting firm Duquesa Marketing announced that her firm has unveiled its newly designed and enhanced web-site at www.DuquesaMarketing.com on October 6, 2011.
“We made the decision to add significant guidance and tutorial features to the site so that small businesses, inventors and entrepreneurs can more easily access tools that will be of importance to their project success”, said Mrs. Ficke. “The case studies, blog articles and the massive content archive are derived from projects that we have managed over the last 40 years”.
“The new site highlights the opportunity for visitors to receive a FREE, no obligation consultation in order to evaluate the various options and strategies available when launching new Consumer Products or re-marketing an old brands”, said Alexis Bruning, V.P. of New Product Development for Duquesa Marketing. “There is also a FREE 20 Question test that is very valuable in evaluating a proposed projects readiness for Product Development”.
Duquesa Marketing is unique in that it offers a one-stop, turnkey Branding, Marketing Consulting, Sales and Consumer Product Development concierge service. The Company has over 40 years experience and has worked as Managing Consultants for clients large and small, in the United States and internationally.
Posted in Entrepreneurialism, Launching new products, Licensing Products, Marketing, Marketing Consulting, Marketing New Products or Ideas, Press Releases
Friday, October 7th, 2011
Duquesa Marketing, Inc.
www.duquesamarketing.com
Press Release
For Immediate Release
October 7, 2011
Contact: Geoff Ficke
859-567-1609
gficke@msn.com
Duquesa Marketing Appointed Managing Consultants For Murphy Wear Overconfident Underwear Line
Hygienic Men’s Fashion Products to Utilize Breakthrough MX-P Fiber Technology and Will Enter the Retail Market in Spring-2012
Florence, KY Alexis Bruning, V.P. of New Product Development for award winning international Consumer Product Development and Branding Consulting firm Duquesa Marketing announced today that her group has been engaged to act as Managing Consultants for the launch of Murphy Wear Overconfident Underwear.
“Boyd Murphy and his partners at Noetic Technologies presented us with a line of men’s underwear”, said Ms. Bruning. “We never expected such a mundane product to become so exciting by the simple addition of MX-P fiber technology. This provides a fresh breakthrough in hygienic comfort for male wearers”.
“We interviewed a large number of Marketing Consulting firms”, said Boyd Murphy, President of Hattiesburg, MS based Murphy Wear. “Duquesa Marketing was the only firm we met that had vast experience in Product Development, Consumer Product Marketing, Branding, Sales and Logistics. It was an easy choice for us to partner with Nancy and Geoff Ficke”.
For over 40 years Duquesa Marketing has worked with small and micro-businesses, multinationals, entrepreneurs and inventors to provide a vast menu of services for Consumer Product projects. The Company has extensive experience in retail distribution to all sales channels in the United States and internationally.
Posted in Launching Menswear Products, Marketing Consulting, Marketing New Products or Ideas, Press Releases
Friday, October 7th, 2011
by: Geoff Ficke
How a Simple Box Concept Changed World Trade And Fostered the Rise of a 3rd World Middle Class
For almost 4000 years the methodology used to ship finished goods, raw materials and minerals between distant points on the globe did not change. A transport ship pulled into a seaport. Shipping agents onshore organized transport and assigned cargo and bills of lading to specific crews. Stevedores and longshoremen physically hauled the full barrels and trunks containing trade goods aboard the vessels. With a ships hold completely full, the captain and crew began the long, dangerous trip to their destination port.
This process had not significantly changed since the times of the ancient seafaring Carthaginians and Phoenicians. The advent of the 20th century saw the introduction of mechanical lifts and winches which made the process a bit more efficient. However, shipping docks in ports all over the world were notorious for being ridden with corrupt customs officials and unions that made prompt haulage of goods an uncertain enterprise at best.
This dawdling movement of freight made international commerce extremely expensive and slow. A poor, remote country that possessed a necessary raw material typically could not convert that material to finished, value added goods. The materials had to be shipped to more developed, fully industrialized nations where raw materials could be utilized in the manufacturing of desirable consumer goods and industrial products. Poor nations stayed poor. Rich nations got richer.
Today, in the early years of the 21st century, there is a global explosion in trade between countries on every continent. New shipping ports are being built to accept huge mega-shipping vessels in newly affluent Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, Viet Nam and China. Materials, foodstuffs, finished goods and fuels are being transported in massive quantities. The Panama Canal is being widened to allow passage of ever-larger massive freight hauling ships.
None of this could have occurred without the genius of an unsung American inventor. The redesign of a simple rectangular box that he engineered and pioneered changed the international movement of goods and accelerated the development of consumerism and the growth of a middle class in countries around the world.
Keith Tantlinger died recently at the age of 92. Mr. Tantlinger was an industrial engineer and Inventor and was working in the shipping industry in the early 1950’s. He was frustrated with the bottlenecks that were a constant at west coast shipping terminals. He set out to do something about the problem.
Keith Tantlinger designed the first intermodal shipping container. His invention of the corner casting system, Twist-lock system, spreader bar lift and the ship shore transfer apparatus laid the groundwork for the development of the modern universal shipping container. This simple enhancement of a steel shipping box enabled fully loaded containers to be stacked and handled mechanically with almost no manual labor.
The ability to catalog and move goods on such a massive scale enabled Product Marketers to provide consumers everywhere with the benefits of large scale production. For the first time one ship could safely haul a massive assortment of goods, everything from raw materials to Toys, to Sporting Goods, to Hardware Products, to Small Electric Appliances and so much more.
Today container shipments are ubiquitous. An empty container can be found at a factory in Chicago or Lousiville. The container when loaded is placed on a rail car and shipped to a port for an international destination. At final destination the container is unloaded and the re-loaded with a new consignment of Mattresses or Sofas destined for Germany. Upon arrival in Hamburg, the Mattress or Furniture container is loaded onto a trailer and hauled by truck to a retail warehouse.
The intermodal flexibility that Keith Tantlinger pioneered accelerated the growth of international trade. It has made the world a smaller and necessarily more co-operative place. Trade partners typically do not have significant reason to shoot at each other. Millions of formerly poverty stricken third world residents have found economic opportunity and benefitted greatly from global trade.
Keith Tantlinger worked in an area where he saw a problem. In typically 1950’s American style he rolled up his sleeves and committed to finding solutions. The development of the intermodal shipping container, capable of being utilized by rail, ship and truck anywhere on the planet was his contribution to the advance of enterprise and improving the human condition. Mr. Tantlinger will be remembered.
Posted in Business Operations, Innovation
Thursday, October 6th, 2011
Duquesa Marketing, Inc.
www.duquesamarketing.com
Press Release
For Immediate Release
October 6, 2011
Contact: Geoff Ficke
859-567-1609
Duquesa Marketing to Offer Free Product Readiness Test for Prospective Entrepreneurs and Inventors
20 Question Quiz Enables Innovators to Easily Gauge Prospects for Commercial Success for New Consumer Products and Services
Florence, KY Alexis Bruning, V.P. of New Product Development for Branding and Marketing Consultant firm Duquesa Marketing announced today that the Company will provide prospective Entrepreneurs, Inventors, Small and Micro-Businesses a simple quiz that will measure project readiness before commencing the development of their Consumer Product or Service.
“Duquesa Marketing has created the Product Readiness Quiz to provide a checklist and guidepost for entrepreneurs before they start the challenging task of launching a new project”, said Ms. Bruning. “Our many years of working on Product Development campaigns enabled us to utilize a treasury of traits and essential elements that we evaluate before we start each project”.
“There are 20 questions on the quiz, only YES and NO answers and it is completely FREE”, said Nancy Ficke, General Manager of award winning Duquesa Marketing. “Many entrepreneurs do not know where to start the process and what their realistic chances of success are. The quiz is a simple tool they can use to discover where they need help and where they have strengths”.
The 20 Question, Free Product Readiness Quiz can be accessed at www.DuquesaMarketing.com. For over 40 years Duquesa Marketing has created and expanded business opportunities for Consumer Product innovators in the United States and Internationally.
Posted in Entrepreneurialism, Launching new products, Marketing New Products or Ideas, Press Releases
Thursday, October 6th, 2011
Duquesa Marketing, Inc.
www.duquesamarketing.com
Press Release
For Immediate Release
October 6, 2011
Contact: Geoff Ficke
859-567-1609
gficke@msn.com
Murphy Wear Announces Appointment of Duquesa Marketing to Manage Accessory Product Launch
Pioneering MX-P Technology Enhanced Fiber to Provide Wearer With Breakthrough Comfort and Hygiene Experience
Hattiesburg, MS Boyd Murphy, the Entrepreneur and Inventor of Murphy Wear, Overconfident Underwear announced today his design firm has engaged the services of international award winning Consumer Product Development and Branding Consulting firm Duquesa Marketing to act as managing consultants for the production and market launch of a new concept in men’s undergarments.
“My partners at Noetic Technologies and I have searched for the maximum combination of fashion, marketing and logistics experience as we prepare to bring Murphy Wear to male fashion consumers”, said Mr. Murphy. “After interviewing the team from Duquesa Marketing we knew we had found the best fit and a turnkey team of professionals to manage all aspects of the lines rollout”.
“Boyd Murphy and Noetic Technologies have engineered a wonderful, simply elegant solution to an embarrassing problem that all men experience”, said Geoff Ficke, President of Florence, KY based Duquesa Marketing. “The MX-P Technology that they will introduce is a revolution in offering breakthrough hygiene protection, maximizing comfort and product fit in a men’s underwear product”.
Murphy Wear and Duquesa Marketing plan to introduce the new line of hygienic underwear products to the men’s fashion trade in Spring- 2012. “Pricing, sales promotion and distribution plans will be announced at that time”, said Boyd Murphy.
Posted in Launching Menswear Products, Press Releases
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