Stinky Boyz is a personal hygiene product company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Back in the mid 1990’s, the founder Marie Gelin noticed the battle her sister was having to get her son to shower and wash. As a mother of daughters, the difference was stark. Gelin decided to do something about it and created a sports based range of soaps and cleansing products. The business was a success and went from strength to strength.

There are two things to take from this I think. Firstly, successful businesses are often based on personal problems or experiences. So give some thought to yours. And secondly, contrary to what the politically correct might tell you, it’s worth giving some thought to the big differences between the sexes. Men and women…boys and girls…are not the same. They have vastly different needs, wants and pre-dispositions, and there are often successful businesses to be had within these differences.

I’ve just finished reading a fascinating and highly informative book called “Celebrity Authors’ Secrets: The World’s Greatest Living Authors Reveal How They Sell Millions of Books.” by Stephanie J Hale. The book takes the form of a series of interviews with some of the worlds best selling authors – everyone from Jeffrey Archer, Bernard Cornwall and Barbara Taylor Bradford, right through to non fiction authors like Brian Tracey and Sharon Lechter. In it, they share the secrets of their writing and book marketing success. If you have any interest in writing a best seller of your own, I can thoroughly recommend it.

I mention the book for another reason though. – what a great model to follow for someone who wants to write an interesting and useful book for the first time:

1. Choose a subject which people are eager to find out more about.
2. Interview experts in the field
3. Write up the interviews
4. Top and tail the book.

There’s a bit more to it than that of course, but provided you persuade the right interviewees to take part, ask the right questions, and record the answers, you’ll be a long way down the road of having a finished book. And it will be one that people want to read and can benefit from.

If you want to order a copy of Stephanie’s book you can get it at Amazon.

Ever felt like just smashing something? Then you need to go to the Smash Happy House Stress and Anger Relief Centre where you can do it in safety and with the owners blessing. The company offer a range of destructive options including beer bottles, bar glasses and coffee cups. You can even beat up a mannequin with a baseball bat.

Customers include war veterans, stroppy teenagers, angry parents and heartbroken lovers. Everyone is given safety equipment and then left to create havoc. The company offer birthday and party packages and expect an upturn in business on the run up to Christmas.

It’s perhaps needless to say that this is in America, but couldn’t the same thing work here? If Americans enjoy, or get relief from. smashing things up, I’m sure people would here too. There could be serious money to be made…and it sounds like fun!

There’s no doubt that ordinary folk are prepared to challenge themselves physically like never before, but not everyone want to run a marathon or complete an iron man challenge. The Great Urban Race is designed for people who want a fun physical challenge, combined with a bit of brain exercise.

The race was created by Joe Reynolds, a former cross-country athlete. Teams of racers travel somewhere between four to eight miles, solve twelve clues and complete exciting mental and physical challenges. Racers are allowed to travel only on foot or by public transit. Teams may not use any form of private transportation.

Take a look at the race website if this interests you. This is a US based company with races taking place in many cities. It looks like something which could work equally well here.

www.greaturbanrace.com