A lot of southerners like to joke about Yorkshire been a land of  pigeons, flat caps and whippets. Well maybe  it’s me who will have the last laugh. In 2013, a Chinese businessman paid over a quarter of a million pounds  for a pigeon named Bolt named after Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt. Apparently the Chinese are passionate about pigeon racing.

Now I’m sure it wasn’t just any old pigeon but it goes to show that there are incredible profits to be made in the most unusual of places. I think I’m going to try and find out if the Chinese are interested in  whippets and flat caps as well!

I’m not sure this is one that would work very well in Rotherham but it’s certainly something that could find a ready market in any big cosmopolitan centre. Manicube is a service that partners with HR departments within big corporations across the United States to bring a licensed nail technician into the business on a set weekly schedule. Apparently busy female executives don’t have time to attend to their personal care needs and so companies are taking steps to help. Manicube is the result. Is there anything like this available in the UK in major commercial centres like London Manchester or Birmingham?

I don’t know but  it could be worth finding out.

Did you see all the fuss a couple weeks ago over the blue or gold dress which  became an Internet sensation? Some people saw the dress as blue although others were convinced it was gold.  To the retailer, Roman’s, it didn’t really matter though because on the day that the debate hit the Internet,  sales  soared by a massive 347%. It just goes to show that if you can create  something that goes viral online it can have a huge impact on sales and profits.

So thinking about your business, how could you cause such a stir across the Internet? Definitely something worth thinking about.

We’ve spoken here many times about how much money people will spend to try and keep their pets happy. I’ve just seen something that takes it to a whole new level   – music for cats.

The people behind it are making music specifically which they claim your cat will enjoy. I’ve no idea whether they will…or how you can tell…but at $1.29 per track downloaded, maybe the company behind it don’t  care too much!

So how about music for dogs?  If people will buy music for their cats they  should certainly pay for their canine friends as well. Perhaps something to think about.

I’ve just been reading about a Uruguayan shoe company called MAMUT who are accepting plastic bottles as payment for their summer shoes to try and assist the drive to clean up local beaches. Each bottle is valued at around four dollars against a new pair of shoes.

This seems like a win-win situation. The company get some valuable free publicity which should result in more customers, and there is also a recycling and environmental element too.

Is there some way in which your business could embrace recycling and the environmental movement to garner publicity and  additional business as well as doing some  good for the community at the same time.