Click here to listen to the podcast.

In today's business podcast, we will talk with Boomer Expert, Beverly Mahone, about the needs of Boomer Women and the opportunities that affords entrepreneurs for new business ideas.

Beverly's main career was as a television specialty areas for Women Boomers extends through three major topics:

1. The body changes a women experiences during midlife and menopause.
   
   
   
2. Dealing with younger, less experienced women being promoted above you in your career, and
3. The Christian side of the Boomer journey.

Bev focuses on sharing with women the subjects that their others never told them about middle age and growing older.

She shares some of the top things that Boomer Women are willing to pay for:

1. Herbal supplements that help with menopause.
2. Cosmetics and things that help you look better.
   
3. Clothing that helps women look nice (and not like they're wearing a tent dress)
4. Spas
5. Internet Networking for women who are transitioning after corporate careers.
   

Beverly Mahone is a motivational speaker with more than 25 years of experience in the broadcast medias of television and radio.

She draws from professional, spiritual and life experiences to encourage individuals to strive for professional and personal excellence. Beverly Mahone is available to speak to your group.

Check out Whatever! A Baby Boomer's Journey Into Middle Age
Whatever! is an inspirational and humorous look at growing older through the eyes of a self-proclaimed diva and baby boomer. Topics include weight gain and menopause, middle age dating, raising teenagers, etc....

Check out the 40+ Seminars at the online International Podcasting Expo, October 20-22, 2006.

We are also giving away

1. Pamela Pro, the $25 program that works with Skype.
   
2. Also a $20 Podcasting Handbook multimedia ebook,
   
3. Free recording, editing and mixing programs,
4. More freebies.

I hope to meet you there!

Penny Haynes, 1st Podcast Publishing and Digital Business Books

Click here to listen to today's podcast

In today's business podcast, we will talk with Julie Kryk of Shoulder Candy, an innovative Canadian business that rents out designer handbags.

This is a very gratifying interview, since Julie's company exemplifies several previous Brain Storm! Business Podcasts. She not only pursued her passion for purses, but she also found a niche that no one else in Canada was covering and cornered that market.

Julie recognized the difference in the Canadian markets and the US Markets.

She also realized that more people live outside urban areas, and don't have a Louis Vuitton store nearby. Shipping was a logical way to conduct business. So far, the handbags are steadily being rented.

Her idea was so innovative that media coverage pushed her out into the foreground, bringing free publicity.

She has been featured on Citv TV Toronto, CTV Canada AM "Consumer Reports with Pat Foran", The Toronto Sun, The Chronicle Herald, A-Channel, Canada.com, Canoe.com, The Winnipeg Sun, The Ottawa Sun, The Windsor Star, CBC Radio, Vancouver 24 Hours, Luxist.com, CKLW Radio, The Edmonton Sun, The Vancouver Province. Add to that word-of-mouth referrals, and that creates a very popular business.

One man's shipping nightmare is another man's dream business.

Julie realized that, although there were companies doing something similar in Europe and the USA, no one was shipping to Canada, thanks to Duties and Customs, etc. The name, "Shoulder Candy", just came to her while she was brainstorming. She grabbed the domain name, registered the business and started renting out multi-thousand dollar bags.

Rent your choice of 80 handbags, including Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Chloe

The premise is simple: visit the site, http://www.ShoulderCandy.com, choose the designer handbag of your choice, and that purse is shipped to your door. Rentals are billed weekly, and round trip shipping is included in the rental fee of the handbag. Borrow the handbag for a little as one week or as long as you like. No membership fees, late fees, shipping charges or time limits.

Shoulder Candy is a woman's dream, and a man's escape route!

For special occasions, or possibly just as a treat, women who appreciate fasion designer handbags, this is a dream come true. But for the man who never knows what to get the love of his life, and dreads gift buying, this is also a dream come true. Get her a gift certificate and let her pick the purse of her dreams. She'll love you forever!

Julie is also a singer-songwriter who has been performing since her teens.

She has graciously allowed us to share one of her songs on the podcast, so take advantage of this business woman's musical talent as well. Julie now has video of her performance with U2 on VH1 / MuchMoreMusic. Click here to view it.

Check out our 40+ speakers and topics on marketing via podcasting and blogging!

We are very privileged to have Elisabeth Lewin, the owner of PodcastingNews.com, as our Grand Marshall and Keynote Speaker at the International Podcasting Expo. Matt Mullenweg, creator of the world reknowned WordPress blogging software, is also a Keynote Speaker, as well as Andy Wibbels, the original blogging evangelist and author of BlogWild!

Unlimited access tickets are still only $20 until the end of September, and then are $25 in October.

This includes download recordings of every session, which turns out to be about $.50 per session! So come and join us and learn how you can market and brand your business with podcasting and blogging. I hope to meet with you there.

Penny Haynes, 1st Podcast Publishing and Digital Business Books

Click here to listen to today's podcast

In today's business podcast, we will look at another niche market business that is using free seminars with top-rated speakers to meet the needs of moms who are also business owners.

Vicky McMahon of BizMomSolutions shares how the idea for this 12-week series of business and personal teleseminars came to be. As a life coach and also a mom, she realized that her weakness came in the form of problems with time management. She wondered where she could get help with the areas that hindered her business, as well as her family life.

So Vicky decided to put together Experts in life strategies, time management, business strategies and more.

Her goal was to make these seminars easily accessible to mothers who also needed to balance their responsibilities for their husband and children. Once a week would provide a constant stream of mentoring and education that could move each woman that much closer to her business and family goals.

To find out more about the seminars, speakers and schedules, go to http://www.BizMomSolutions.com.

Click here to listen to the podcast.

In today's business podcast, we will brainstorm about animal business with Animal Nutrition Expert, Kim Bloomer, of Aspenbloom Pet Care and Animal Talk Naturally.

We have spoken about many different niche target markets in previous Brain Storm! Business Podcasts, but never the animal niche market. Kim Bloomer is an authority on animals, dogs in particular, is currently studying for a Bachelor of Science in Holistic Nutrition & Doctor of Naturopathy, and is the only person she is aware of that provides consultations on animal nutrition. She is also the Organizer for the online Virtual Dog Expo coming up September 22-24, 2006.

Kim has a "bird's eye" view of the animal business market, because she works with doctors, trainers, retailers and every other type of animal entrepreneur.

With that in mind, we talk about the different types of products and services that presently exist, and some surprising innovations that have come on the scene. I even came up with my own idea...although after further research, it may or may not be that great. <smile> But you all must know that THAT never stopped me from trying again!

People with pets, especially people without children, tend to treat their pets AS children.

As such, people are willing to spend a lot of money to take care of their animal "child", from special food and supplements, special medical care, and products designed to protect and preserve. This is a huge market, and if we think about our recent studies on Baby Boomers and their effect on the economy because of their longevity, if Boomers have pets, there's money to be found in serving their needs.

So brainstorm along with us in this business podcast as we discuss the possibilities, as well as the present opportunities.

If you have a dog, I encourage you to check out the online Virtual Dog Expo. Tickets are only $12.95, and you will have access to over 20 seminars on all sorts of dog subjects. If you go, look for me - I may just pop in on behalf of our new puppy, Champ. (You can watch a video about him at http://www.PennyHaynes.com, below my bio - look for NEW ADDITION TO THE FAMILY! <SMILE>)

Penny Haynes, 1st Podcast Publishing & International Podcasting Expo, October 20-22, 2006.

Click here to listen to the podcast.

In today's business podcast, we will discuss brainstorming possibilities that could help rebuild New Orleans after the devestation of Katrina.

I don't claim to be an expert on this subject, nor do I claim to know the answer. However, I do believe, as you will hear in this podcast, that someone has to do SOMETHING, instead of sitting in committees and arguing among councils. And that someone needs to be entrepreneurs and businesses that can revitalize an important part of our country.

After I finished business podcasting about New Orleans, I found a very interesting article about why giving money to third world nations doesn't change their economic status.

I found a strange correlation between what he wrote about these poor countries and what is being written about New Orleans. The argument seems to center around how much money should New Orleans get, and what should be done with it. However, if this article by Rob May on Businesspundit.com is accurate, throwing money into New Orleans won't change its situation.

What New Orleans needs is revitalization via business opportunities.

The problem is, of course, how can you have a business, if you don't have anyone living in the city to become employees or consumers? Its a cart and horse issue; the population can't survive without businesses returning, but businesses can't return until there's a population to run and be served by these businesses.

I think Donald Trump offers a solution...

I mention something that Donald Trump (of "Apprentice" fame) did in his autobiography that has always stuck in my mind. The City of New York had a project it just could never finish. It lingered on and on, until Trump said, "Just give it to me and I'll do it myself."

And he did it - on time, under budget.

Maybe returning New Orleans into an economically thriving center shouldn't be left to the politicians or the government. Maybe it should be left to the brainstorming entrepreneurs and the risk-taking businesses. We discuss many business ideas that could be utilized to revitalize New Orleans and benefit your business at the same time.

I am posting another streaming version of this audio podcasts here in this post, with the ability for you to add your comments and ideas at any point within the audio.

You can post a text, audio or video commentary, and everyone will be able to review it. This is something new from my friends at innerTOOB, partners with us in the International Podcasting Expo, October 20-22, 2006.

The podcasting seminar schedule is filling up, and Elisabeth Lewin of Podcasting News will be our "Grand Marshall", opening up with the 8pm Public Keynote Address. Its open to everyone, so come and join us. Go to http://www.InternationalPodcastingExpo.com to find out more.

Until next week, this is Penny Haynes, of 1st Podcast Publishing and Digital Business Books (DigBizBooks.com).

You can read the article by Rob May here...
[Read More!]

In today's business podcast, Delores Hagan, a coach and author about Boomer Beauty (for the 60+ female) joins us.

We discuss being a Baby Boomer and marketing to Boomers. She starts by discussing the invisibility that older Boomers experience in our culture. Younger people are noticed and waited on, while the Boomers seem to melt into the background.

This reminded me of a quote from actress Gwyneth Paltrow when she was in the movie "Shallow Hal" with Jack Black.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, it's a story about a very shallow guy who starts seeing women for who they are in the inside, instead of what they look like on the outside. Gwyneth Paltrow had to wear a huge suit to make her look like she was 300 pounds. She decided to try an experiment and put on the costume and went down to the hotel bar to see what the reaction would be...

Gwyneth Paltrow had the shocking experience of being invisible!

No one even looked at her. It was if she was invisible. Quite a shocker for the young and beautiful, head-turning actress. She said she never knew that there was such an attitude toward fat people before that time.

Baby Boomers seem to deal with this issue as well, and that's where Delores' niche market comes into play.

Sometimes Boomers don't feel good about themselves, and move into the background never to return. Delores shares her background in teaching in modeling, and how she developed this business concept based on the desire that Baby Boomers have to make themselves feel better. We then move into a discussion on the differences in Boomer fashion.

How does Delores reach Boomers? Good question...

That's what she's working on right now. She should probably check out Boomer Cafe, an 8 year old site featuring articles by and for Baby Boomers, and Baby Boomer Headquarters, both high ranking Google sites for Boomers. She should surround herself with Boomer resources and become the "go to" person for Boomers.

Baby Boomer Model Calendar?

Delores stated that my suggestion about creating a calendar of stunning older woman reminded her of the movie Calendar Girls. But I assured her that I didn't think these Boomers taking off their clothes would be a good and profitable thing. <smile>

Listen to the brainstorming ideas we throw around - you may find something that fits YOUR business.

Create fashions for Boomer women. Team up with companies already working on niche marketing for Boomers. How about a Model Search for Boomer Women? So many options - so little time!

As always, just a reminder about the online International Podcasting Expo, October 20-22, 2006.

Andy Wibbels, author of Blogwild! will be one of our Keynote Speakers, so I'm VERY psyched. We have our 6 Minute Video Tour available in English and now in French thanks to Podemus, the French Podcasting Directory. We also have our first commercial in Danish thanks to Karin Hoegh of PodBlog.dk!

Tickets are only $20 for unlimited access to all of the Podcasting Seminars PLUS all of the downloadable recordings from the Expo.

Seats are limited and on a first-come, first-served basis. I hope to meet you all there!

Penny Haynes, 1st Podcast Publishing & DigBizBooks.com