Lynne Beverly Strang's Blog, page 10

A Retired Engineer’s Cool Inventions

Seth Goldstein was a biomedical engineer at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland for 37 years. When he retired thirteen years ago, he needed something new to do.

So Goldstein, who has four degrees in mechanical and electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, started making kinetic sculptures. Basically, these are machines that move.

One of Goldsteins inventions is the “Ro-Bow,” a device that plays a violin. Its repertoire consists of Hello Dolly a...

A Late Bloomer Gets Fit – And Finds a New Cause

For 25 years, Len Leshem worked in an auto manufacturing plant near Wilmington, Delaware and spent most of his free time smoking and drinking beer. As reported in this CapeGazette.com article, his physical state deteriorated to a point where he couldn’t do two pushups – a realization that struck him as “ridiculous,” he said.

Leshem decided to do something about it during a drive back to Wilmington from a vacation in Lewes. It was a decision that changed his life.

At age 50, he ran his first 5...

A Late Bloomer Gets Fit ��� And Finds a New Cause

For 25 years, Len Leshem worked in an auto manufacturing plant near Wilmington, Delaware and spent most of his free time smoking and drinking beer. As reported in this CapeGazette.com article, his physical state deteriorated to a point where he couldn���t do two pushups ��� a realization that struck him as ���ridiculous,��� he said.

Leshem decided to do something about it during a drive back to Wilmington from a vacation in Lewes. It was a decision that changed his life.

At age 50, he ran his f...

Good News for Onion Lovers

It took more than 20 years for Alastair Findlay to��develop an onion that doesn’t cause tears or bad breath.��But he finally did it.

Findlay, a��British farmer affiliated with the agricultural co-operative Bedfordshire Growers,��says he tasted��400 to 500��bulbs per season to develop the��onion.��Asda,��a UK supermarket chain, just introduced��Findlay’s creation, called the Asda Sweet Red.�� Asda���s website says the onion was selectively bred to have ���lower pungency levels��� than regular o...

Former Ad Executive Starts Kids’ Haircare Business – and Finds More Life Balance

For almost 20 years, Megan Sanders held executive positions with advertising agencies in New Zealand, Singapore, Britain and Australia. When her son, Jimmy, was born three years ago, the Auckland woman began developing a different perspective on life.

“Being in a creative industry, it’s quite natural that one comes up with harebrained ideas. And I have come up with a few in my time. I started looking at this amazing world of ours with a different lens,” the 43-year-old said in this New Zealan...

Former Ad Executive Starts Kids��� Haircare Business ��� and Finds More Life Balance

For almost 20 years, Megan Sanders held executive positions with advertising agencies in New Zealand, Singapore, Britain and Australia. When her son, Jimmy, was born three years ago, the Auckland woman began developing a different perspective on life.

���Being in a creative industry, it���s quite natural that one comes up with harebrained ideas.�� And I have come up with a few in my time. I started looking at this amazing world of ours with a different lens,��� the 43-year-old said in this New...

Ten Memorable Quotes from 2014

Hereare ten quotes fromposts that appeared onLate Blooming Entrepreneursthroughout the year. I hope you enjoy these sayings– and perhaps find some inspiration, wisdomor food for thought as you set goals for 2015.

1. “Once you’ve lived a little, it becomes harder to go about your work without paying closer attention to colleagues and empathizing with those around you.”– Sydney Finkelstein, management professor, author andleadership guru

2. “I sort of reinvent myself every seven to ten years. My...

Five Customer Service Lessons from a Fish Entrepreneur

Technology and social media developments mayhave changed the way businesses communicate but certain “old-fashioned” customer service fundamentalswill never go out of style.

Many 40-and-older entrepreneurs understand this because they’ve been customers themselves for a long time. Take Paul Wheston of Reading, England. For years, he worked as an agent selling other people’s fish. Now, the 47-year-old owns Fish Glorious Fish, a fishmonger service that he opened earlier this year.

GetReading wrote...

Seeing in Others What They Can’t See in Themselves

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you might remember thispostabout entrepreneur Len Forkas’experience as a solo competitor in the 2012 Race Across America– a grueling, 3,000-mile bicycle race that starts in California and ends in Maryland.At age 52, Len finishedin less than12 days, placing first in his age group and tenth overall.Best of all, he raised over $300,000 for Hopecam, his nonprofit that uses technology to connect young cancer patients with their friends at school.

Earlie...

How One Dad Teaches His Kids About Entrepreneurship

By Lynne Strang, Late Blooming Entrepreneurs

Malia and Owen Shafer with their taco wagon.

Paul Shafer knows the exuberance that comesfrom being a young aspiring entrepreneur.

In college, he invented the “Gum Chum” for storing bubble gum during a meal.The small, capsule-like device had a clip that attached to a plate or glass, keeping the gum nearby until it could be popped back into its owner’s mouth.

While the Gum Chum didn’t turn out to be the next Big Idea, it wasn’t a wasted effort. “It was a...