Eureka Moment: Kim Levine, Creator of Wuvit

Great business ideas are everywhere -- if you're willing to look closely.

Kim Levine, invented Wuvit, which are little bags that comes in various patterns and provides soothing penetrating moist heat. She describes her eureka moment in her book "Mommy Millionaire: How I Turned My Kitchen Table Idea into a Million Dollars and How You Can Too" that led to her product invention as:

"My husband was feeding deer in the backyard of our sprawling tree-lined suburban neighborhood ... I saw a fifty pound bag of corn he had left standing upright next to my sewing machine and a lightbulb went off in my head. I had heard of rice in socks, surely corn would be better: It had a bigger grain that would hold on to heat longer. I put the corn in a hastily sewn pillowcase, heated it up in the microwave for a couple of minutes, then took it out and held it against my chest. I was blown away by the wave of soothing moist heat that enveloped my body."

Kobold Toys: Home-Based Mom Launching a New Online Toy Store

A former colleague of mine who have left the workforce to be a full time mom to her kids has recently launched a unique specialty toy store. Ana Eiras, together with her partner Carmina Valdizan, are bringing to the Web a different kind of toy store called Kobold Toys.

Kobold Toys brings its customers not only exclusive toys designed in many countries around the world, but also great new services to make their customers’ shopping experience a unique one.

With the toy industry earning $22 billion in sales in 2007 in the United States alone, Ana is hopeful that there is room for Kobold Toys. This toy store has been operating in the last four years as a successful brick and mortar store in Panama with Carmina at the helm. With Ana on board, she will move Kobold Toys on the Web and eventually hope to start brick and mortar shops as well in the United States.

To learn about the strategies and Ana's experiences in launching Kobold Toys Online, read the article Kobold Toys: How a Brick and Mortar Toy Store is Moving to the Web

Banu Ozden, Starting a Business After Cancer Diagnosis

When people are diagnosed with cancer, some panic and wallow in fear; others pray; while many prepare themselves physically and emotionally for the battle ahead. Some will start doing the things they’ve always wanted to do but never did, like travel to some exotic land.

But not Banu Ozden. When she heard that she had breast cancer, she started a business.

While many will think that starting a business when one has been diagnosed with cancer is not the best time, especially if the cancer has metastasized to the bone, but Banu knew she had to do this venture.

Banu, then 35 years old, was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer in 2001. During her treatment, she became frustrated navigating the medical billing process as she received overcharges and errors in her bills. She couldn’t make sense of the medical codes and statements, which did not accurately reflect what she needed to pay.

A former director of research of computing systems at Bell Labs, she realized that she is not the only one confused and frustrated with the medical billing process. That led to the idea for a business that will help ordinary medical consumers make sense of their bills by automating the billing process and weeding out billing errors.

Computer expert Banu, who has multiple patents under her belt, then started just such a service, Web-based SmartMedicalConsumer http://www.SmartMedicalConsumer.com.

The free online service offers its users automatic error detection, alerting them as to how many potential errors it has detected and where they can be found. It’s free to consumers but she’s planning to generate revenues by selling ads on the site and selling her proprietary software to companies.

Banu is a rare breed of a woman, and we wish her well.