Tagged business ideas

Nomads in the desert
Nomads in the desert

Using WooCommerce to Build a SaaS in 3 Days

Bryce Adams is a WooThemes ninja who—in his spare time—built a handy little SaaS (Software as a Service) business called Nomad SMS.

Nomad SMS allows you to easily create a local phone number in over 15 countries and receive SMS messages to that number in your inbox and online. Anybody who’s had the frustrating experience of being locked out of their bank account while traveling or overseas will see the benefit of this simple idea.

Bryce got some love from WooThemes and others on Twitter for Nomad SMS, but when it was featured on the hot product aggregation site Product Hunt, traffic to Bryce’s little side project really took off.

Bryce was kind enough to talk to me about the whirlwind experience of building Nomad SMS in three days—using WooCommerce and Subscriptions—and releasing it to the world.

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Causegear People Jumping 2
Causegear People Jumping 2

Fashion With a Cause: Interview With Causegear

Today we have an interview with another WooCommerce business that’s trying to make a difference in the world, this time in the field of human justice fashion.

Causegear employs crafters in India that get paid dignified wages to make high-quality bags, backpacks, purses and the like, which are then sold through Causegear’s website. The crafters’ stories are one of the most important parts of Causegear’s brand.

Brad Jeffery is the President-CEO-Servant of Causegear, and he was kind enough to sit down with me for a telephone interview to tell me more about Causegear, the crafters and human justice fashion.

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Needmore Designs' record collection 1290 x 860
Needmore Designs' record collection 1290 x 860

Selling Happiness: Interview With Kandace Brigleb of Needmore Designs

Kandace Brigleb really likes her coffee… and I mean really.

I counted 26 mentions of the word in the transcript of our interview.

That’s probably for the best, because Kandace and the rest of the seven person team at Needmore Designs are carving themselves a tasty little niche out of websites for specialty food and beverage businesses—many of which are coffee roasters.

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White Gum Wool sheep
White Gum Wool sheep

Doing Things Differently: The Story of White Gum Wool

What do small-scale, ethical sheep farming in Tasmania and WooCommerce have in common?

You might not think much, but that’s only if you haven’t yet heard of Nan Bray, founder of White Gum Wool.

Nan has kept an open mind and an inquiring eye on her farm and business. By paying attention to the behaviour of her flock, and using her scientific background to do some research of her own, Nan has discovered an ethical and sustainable way to graze sheep.

Nan’s willingness to do things differently has meant her 1,000 or so Merino sheep have flourished. And because of their superior health and nutrition, Nan’s flock produce wool so fine that it could be used in top-of-the-line Italian suits.

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The Bearded Roaster bags
The Bearded Roaster bags

The Bearded Roaster: Shipping Hacks, DIY Branding and Seizing Opportunities

Tony Cosentino might just be a small-business branding genius.

His business name—The Bearded Roaster—is fun and entirely memorable. The way Tony tells it, he came up with the name rather effortlessly.

Tony had a similar experience when naming his WordPress consulting business, The WordPress Guy. In both cases, it was what people had naturally started calling him anyway.

Along with his natural talent for simple, yet effective branding, Tony is taking advantage of some other very clever business ideas. These include an Australia Post shipping hack, and deftly taking advantage of an opportunity to get his coffee in front of customers.

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Coffee Beans and Spoon
Coffee Beans and Spoon

Selling Coffee Online with WooCommerce

Over the weekend, Brent and I were lucky enough to return to home soil to attend WordCamp Sydney.

It was a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with the Australian WordPress community and to spread the word about The Wonderful World of WooCommerce.

One of the highlights was sampling the delicious coffee offerings of The Bearded Roaster, aka Tony Cosentino, who is using WooCommerce to sell his small batch coffee.

Tony’s hairy brand is so memorable, and his coffee (even the decaf) was truly delicious.

The experience inspired us to find some other businesses that are building a brand for selling coffee online using WooCommerce.

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5 Puppies sitting on a couch
5 Puppies sitting on a couch

A Saucy Pet Business, Powered By WooCommerce

Do you wish you had something you could pour over your pet’s dry food, which would not only make it delicious, but also provide them with the nutrition they need?

After all, condiments have been used by people for years to help convince children and fussy eaters to finish their vegetables.

Bringing the power of condiments to pet nutrition is the idea behind a Colorado-based pet business Petchup, which was started by Anthony (Tony) Williams and his wife Toni.

Petchup is a fantastic idea, executed with fun and humanised branding. And we’re happy to report that the online store is powered by WooCommerce.

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