| The small business owners in the United States are | | | | the fickle nuances of their membership. If they can't |
| world class entrepreneurs. Always thinking - always on | | | | stay on top of it, competitors like Paypal, Slide and |
| their feet. While many job opportunities are being given | | | | other Web 2.0 startups will surely snag their customers |
| to foreign countries, local business owners are coming | | | | in nanosecond. 34-year-old Bob Lee ponders around |
| up with amazingly innovative concepts for saleable | | | | 200 gigabytes of data every day from more than 5 |
| products and services. CNN Money and | | | | million users. He uses the information to point out |
| BusinessWeek give some of the best samplings of | | | | trends, and determine if new features will fly or flop. |
| the stratosphere for entrepreneurs in the U.S. | | | | Digital Media Service - 23-year-old Sudhin Shahani |
| Disease Mapping - Through the use of satellite imaging | | | | founded Musicane, where artist can sell his work-audio, |
| and databases, this business provides an important | | | | video, or ringtone-online. Artists create storefronts for |
| service to the United Nations, governments, universities | | | | themselves for $20 a month, price their content, and |
| and consulting firms for determining how disease | | | | post it for anyone to buy. Shahani says he knew he |
| epidemics spread around the world. Andy Tatum is a | | | | was on to something when R&B singer John |
| 29-year-old with a Ph.D. that carefully plots out the | | | | Legend signed on to sell individual tracks on Musicane |
| data he has collected to predict for example, where | | | | for $.99 each. Shahani launched the service in beta at |
| the next malaria outbreak will happen. | | | | the beginning of this year, and it has grown by 45% |
| Online Media Publishing - The CulturalConnect is a | | | | per month, with 3,500 separate digital stores now up |
| collection of four interlocking Web sites and | | | | and running on the site. He estimates bringing in more |
| e-magazines aimed at spotlighting and connecting | | | | than $600,000 in revenues over the next year. |
| young minority professionals with each other and to | | | | Second Life Law Firm - What were we thinking - of |
| the nonprofit world. 24-year-old Sumaya Kazi is the | | | | course we need a lawyer in our virtual lives! At least |
| co-founder of the company with a staff all under 30 | | | | 25,000 of the more than 2 million Second Life |
| that work remotely. The site, which had more than | | | | members are investing in real estate and designing all |
| 560,000 page views in September and spends no | | | | sorts of virtual products and services. Over a 6 month |
| money on advertising, is profitable, relying mainly on | | | | period between 2006 and 2006, the highest income |
| banner advertising. | | | | earned through Second Life tripled and doing virtual |
| Robot Programming - We now can use industrial | | | | business requires legal support. Stevan Lieberman |
| robots for everything from analyzing blood samples to | | | | handles both the online and offline needs of his clients |
| mixing drinks for cocktail hour. Some of the largest | | | | and he's one of the proponents of the website's "law |
| technology companies and auto manufacturers, such | | | | island." |
| as Panasonic and Toyota need industrial robot | | | | Bank Card Service - Jared Isaacman, 23, put together |
| programmers. Matt Zeigler is a 35-year-old self-trained | | | | the plan for United Bank Card, a nationwide transaction |
| robot programmer that calibrates the moving parts to | | | | processing company, alone in his parents' basement. |
| work with perfect precision. Industrial robots are helping | | | | While working in IT for a credit card company he saw |
| to get people off assembly lines and into fields of | | | | that the big financial institutions ignored the processing |
| business where more technological skill is required. | | | | end of the credit-card business and focused more on |
| Healthy Food Provider - 23-year-old Sean Kelly | | | | issuing the cards to consumers. The industry was |
| founded Fit Fuel in 2002, a health food and vending | | | | using outdated hardware, and transaction processing |
| machine supply business, to tap into what he saw as | | | | and setup times for new business customers were |
| prime vending real estate. He stocks his vending | | | | slow. The company enables a variety of businesses, |
| machines with a selection of trail mixes, nutrition bars, | | | | from restaurants to multilocation retailers, to accept |
| energy drinks, and other snacks targeted at athletes. | | | | credit-card and other non cash-based payments from |
| Kelly is happy about his10 employees, projected 2006 | | | | their customers. In 2005, the company did $56 million in |
| revenues of $3.5 million, and a new Web site that | | | | business. |
| accounts for 40% of Fit Fuel's business. | | | | Vehicle Scouting - Chuck Branding, age 25, received |
| Training Video Producer - Cammon Randle, age 25, | | | | an intriguing business proposition from a family friend: |
| started creating elaborate stop-motion movies around | | | | Find him a good lease on a red limited-edition Jeep |
| his house when he was 8. In December, 2004, he | | | | Liberty and put half the amount he saved in his pocket. |
| started CopperRain Productions to make promotions, | | | | Not only did Branding deliver, he enjoyed the car hunt |
| training videos, and creative shorts for companies of | | | | so much that he made it his business. Branding |
| various sizes, including Hitachi DataSystems, Xango, | | | | founded MyCarScout and says the majority of clients |
| and The Marketing Success Institute. His revenues last | | | | are business professionals who don't want to spend |
| year were about $50K and he has already | | | | time searching for a specific car. Branding charges |
| strategized how to increase this through internet sales. | | | | customers either a flat fee of $450 or half the amount |
| Information Engineering - Data. Data. Data. There are | | | | saved from each car he tracks down. |
| plenty of businesses, especially in the internet universe | | | | These are only a few of the absolute hottest business |
| that depend on fresh new information to understand | | | | startups in the country. You go U.S. entrepreneurs! |