Your Billion-Dollar Business Idea

How many times has that light bulb flickered above your head? You have come up with a brilliant idea sure to make you wealthy. Alas, most folks do not act on their stroke of genius.

Some folks actually follow through on their moment of business brilliance. Check out some of these clever examples:

• Liquidation.com has generated quite the return on investment simply by focusing on returns -- holiday gift returns, to be precise. The National Retail Federation estimates holiday gift returns approach $50 billion each year. What happens to these items? Many retailers avoid the onerous task of determining which returns are defective versus unwanted. Liquidation.com became an attractive alternative for these stores. It takes returned items from major retailers and re-sells them at considerable discounts. A large percentage of Liquidation.com buyers then turn their purchase around and sell them for a profit through sites such as eBay.
• Bed Rest Concierge is devoted to pregnant women. The company provides pre- and post-delivery services, such as baby registries, birth announcements, nursery designs, diaper/laundry services and hospital prep. Bed Rest Concierge also provides expecting moms with "pampering services" such as manicures, pedicures and facials.
• Become a "mom-trepreneur." Mother blogging has become very popular. The more well read blogs often gain commercial endorsements, which can generate significant income. For example, former child star Soleil Moon Frye ("Punky Brewster") launched a website called "The Little Seed," along with a web series called "Her Say." Frye writes about products that have helped in her role as a parent. Her following has blossomed to more than 1.4 million Twitter.
• Brian Scudamore -- a self-proclaimed high school dropout -- turned himself into the "king of junk." Scudamore's stroke of genius -- 1-800-GOT-JUNK -- generates approximately $100 million a year in revenue. Founded in 1999 in Vancouver, 1-800-GOT-JUNK simply picks up unwanted items and then donates, recycles or disposes of household items, electronic/computer equipment and general garbage items. The company now operates in the U.S. and Australia and has a fleet of 1,000 trucks.
• Do you have a bunch of stuff taking up space in your garage? A couple websites may help you to make some money off all those unused gadgets -- Loanables.com and Snapgoods.com. These sites give consumers the ability to rent -- or rent out -- just about anything, including barbecues, power tools or even their parking space.
• Family game night could get a whole lot more interesting, thanks to a creative company called the Game Crafter -- a web-to-print game publishing company. Customers may create their own board or card games. Game Crafter provides templates, instructions, videos and proofing tools. Users may purchase as many copies of the game as they would like.
• Brothers Bryan and Jordan Silverman were flush with business ideas, so they created Star Toilet Paper. The firm creates toilet paper with advertisements and coupons, and distributes the rolls to various public venues, at no cost.

If you have any brilliant money making ideas spinning around your head, do not let them fizzle away. You certainly do not want to see some other creative wizard develop your idea into a multi-million-dollar goldmine.

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