Lingerie models tend to be conventionally slim, but some recent research by New York company ‘Adore Me’, suggests this may be a mistake. The company have undertaken some testing of customer reactions to various models, and amongst the findings was that Plus Size models outsell their slimmer counterparts. They also found that brunette models outsold blonde ones, with plus sized brunettes being the most effective of all, selling four times the amount of their slimmer blonde counterparts.

Now I could hazard a guess why this is, but I don’t know and it really doesn’t matter. The key point to take away from this is that whatever you’re selling, it’s always worth testing all elements of the sales process. Conventional wisdom is often wrong, and results are frequently counterintuitive. You’ll never know for sure unless you test.

Have you ever thought it would be nice to have a business where you could make money and get fit at the same time? Well if you’re a  keen cyclist you could do a lot worse than copy the business of  US entrepreneur Troy Schleich.

Schleick has adapted one of those bike buggies you see middle class parents towing their children in, to accommodate an advertising hoarding. Every day, come rain or shine, he cycles for around forty miles around his home town of Freeport, promoting the products and services of  four sponsors via advertising signage attached to the buggy.

Money making opportunities don’t come much simpler or more healthy than that. And what’s more, this is something that could be copied in any urban area.  So get on yer bike!

We all consult the likes of Tripadvisor these days before booking a holiday. But what if you could watch a specially made video of your destination before committing. That’s the thinking behind Turkish start-up Lopeca,  which enables users to ‘see’ the world via remote video tours over smartphones.

Lopeca  recruits locals to host live walking tours online. Potential guides simply join the growing network, stating what area of their city they feel they could show off best.  Users then get in touch with Lopeca via their website, requesting the place they want to see and when they would like to see it.  At the allocated time, both users simply connect via Skype, FaceTime or any other platform on their smartphones.

This idea could surely work in any area of interest or tourist destination – couldn’t it?

Website: www.lopeca.com

One of the big changes to the urban landscape over the past 10 years has been the number of solar panels on roofs. A combination of government incentives and aggressive marketing has made them an attractive  proposition for many home owners. But now, there are opportunities for renters to get in on the act too.

CloudSolar enables anyone to support solar energy. The company sell physical panels which can be installed at a remote CloudSolar farm. The company is currently crowdfunding on Indiegogo. Those who want to sign up can purchase a physical solar panel from CloudSolar for a reduced price of $750. After the campaign, pledgers can either have the panel sent to their own home or add it to CloudSolar’s farm, where it will be installed and managed by the company for 25 years.

As the currency suggests, this is a US based company. Could something similar be done here? I see no reason why not. I’ve been saying for a few years now that the best place for solar panels is on a remote farm rather than on a domestic roof. This isn’t a quick or simple opportunity, but it’s a massive one for someone with the right skills.

Website: www.gocloudsolar.com

The global leather goods market was worth £25 Billion last year. I just read about two ladies by the name of Heidi and Adele who, spurred on by a desire to tackle both the ethical issues with leather and the waste products coming from the fishing industry, have gone into business producing bags and purses made from discarded fish skin. Their company turns the bi-products of the eel and salmon industry into attractive, strong and ethical alternatives to traditional animal skin products. Their range includes clutches, purses and shoulder bags.

I’m not sure what objections and misconceptions you need to overcome to sell  bags made from fish skin …there’s an undoubted ‘yuck factor’ I think…but they seem to be doing okay. Perhaps there are other natural waste products which could be turned into clothing or accessories. If you can come up with something, you’ll certainly have an interesting PR story to tell, and might even help to save a bit of the planet.

www.heidiandadele.com