BUSINESS IDEAS

Pandesal,etc.: How to Bake Pandesal?

2011-02-11T22:51:00.000-08:00

Pandesal,etc.: How to Bake Pandesal?: "Ingredients: 2 teaspoons of yeast 1 1/2 cups of warm water 2 tablespoons of sugar 1 teaspoon of salt 2 tablespoons of shortening 4 1/2 cups ..."

Soap Manufacturing, Part 1

2011-02-05T21:29:00.000-08:00

The market maybe filled with too many soap products but that does not mean you have no chance of making it big. Indeed, despite the slippery competition in the presence of cosmetic manufacturing giants, the industry abounds with small soap makers who found a profitable niche. Anyone with a few thousand pesos can start this business. The challenge, however, is to come out with a high-quality and effective product not currently available to your target consumers.

Find out more here.

Soap Manufacturing Part 2
Soap Manufacturing Part 3
Soap Manufacturing Part 4
Soap Manufacturing Part 5
Soap Manufacturing Part 6

Soap Manufacturing, Part 2

2011-02-05T04:35:00.000-08:00

Any substance that is made from a mixture of natural oils and fats with an alkali is considered as soap. Soap is a surface-active agent generally used for washing. Washing, because soap is basically ineffective without water. The use of soap (or any natural soap-cleaning agents) has always been associated with man’s inherent instinct to keep his body, his clothes, and various other washable belongings clean.

Soap making started in the 18th century by boiling a crude mixture of animal fat, lye from wood ash, and salt until it became sticky and hard. Later, manufacturers added certain chemicals and permissible additives to improve the quality of soap; some as builders, other as whitening agents. Color (water soluble dyes) and fragrance are also added to make the product, especially toilet soap, more appealing to consumers

Today, soap products are prepared in various types, shapes and sizes. Even the ordinary laundry soap is produced now in the form of bars, cakes, flakes, liquids, gels or pastes.

If you are interested in manufacturing soap products from detergent laundry soap to herbal soap, you should study the technology appropriate to each type. It is also essential that you acquaint yourself with the basic requirements to be met in soap making. For example, an ordinary soap should be made from alkali and fats and oils (fatty acids), a moderate amount of matter insoluble in alcohol, and permissible additives. The finished product should neither bear any objectionable odor nor leave objectionable odor on fabrics and dishes after washing them and rinsing thoroughly with hot water. The soap should form suds or lather in a clean moderate hard water (less than 180m ppm CaCO3) when tested.

There are also a prescribed standard size for bar soaps, i.e., basic size of 120 grams, with multiples in a single bar or four units in a single bar of 480 grams.

In addition to the requirements prescribed in existing laws and regulations, the packing material of soap should be marked with the following information:

brand name of the product
quantity of individual bars contained
net mass (marked net mass is the average net mass of individual bars at time of packing)
name and address of the manufacturer
country of origin, e.g., “Made in the Philippines”.

This guide will introduce you to the basic procedures in making various kinds of soap.

Soap Manufacturing Part 1

Soap Manufacturing Part 3

Soap Manufactur1ng Part 4

Soap Manufacturing, Part 3

2011-02-05T04:30:00.000-08:00

Qualities of a Good Soap

A good soap s biodegradable when it does not contain chemicals that cannot be reverted to their natural elements. Neither does it contain chemicals that are harmful to the environment or cause undue destruction to the environment.

A good soap dissolves easily and remove stains from clothes, human skin or any material being cleaned.
It dissolves in water and produces enough suds.
It gives a clear and sparkling kind of cleanliness.
It gives a pleasant smell.
A good soap does not leave sticky traces on the clothes or on the skin.
It has a color that is even and does not streak.
It disinfects or kills germs.
It does not damage the fibers of textiles.

Soap Manufacturing Part 1
Soap Manufacturing Part 2
Soap Manufacturing Part 4

Soap Manufacturing, Part 4

2011-02-05T04:07:00.000-08:00

Basic Ingredient of Soap

Fat or oil and alkali taken from lye are the basic ingredients of soap. Fat serves as the foundation of the soap and alkali produces the chemical reaction that makes the mixture hard and gives it cleansing ability.

Fat taken from plants like coconut, palm and cottonseed are called soft oils. Animal fat from pigs and cows are called hard fats. Hard fats do not produce many suds, but this type of fat solidifies and hardens easily. The soft and hard oils can be mixed to make the soap produce more suds and solidify with the right hardness. Additives can also be mixed with the soap ingredients. Some of these additives are coco diethanol amide (CDEA), sodium carbonate, naptha, kerosene and rosin. Fragrances or essential oils from lemon, patchouli, lemon grass, citronella and rose are also usually added.

Soap Manufacturing Part 1
Soap Manufacturing Part 2
Soap Manufacturing Part 3

Questions To Determine If Your New Idea Is A Real Business

2009-08-11T15:59:00.000-07:00

Do You Have A Compelling Value Proposition?

It's forever worth repeating: Great ideas are only great business ideas if you can convince people to pay for your product or service at a price above what it costs you to deliver it. Just because you think your idea is great doesn't mean anyone else does--or if they do, it doesn't mean they would be willing to pay enough to cover your electric bill.

Is There A Viable Market For Your Product Or Service?

It's not enough to find a few people who are willing to pay for your new product or service--you have to find more than enough of them to support a vibrant commercial enterprise. Professional investors (like venture capitalists) are especially interested in this question. They don't want to write checks to launch companies with limited growth potential, even if they'll likely be profitable. On the flip side, beware the lure of big numbers--just because there are 50 million U.S. dog owners who spend some $43 billion on their pooches annually doesn't mean enough would be interested in your new canine cologne. Finally, never count on creating markets from scratch--there may well be a reason they don't exist.

Can You Cover Your (Honest-To-Goodness) Development Costs?

"Most companies that fail do so because they are lacking capital." We didn't say it; venture capital maven John De Puy, chief executive of Oaktree Ventures, did. While investors won't wave blank checks at you, they don't want you to fail either. The key here is honesty: However much you think you need to bring your product to market, tack on a healthy cushion; add more for tech-heavy products that may (read: will) need extra months of tweaking. Can't scare up enough scratch to get out of the garage? The market may be telling you something. "You won't really know whether you have a business opportunity until you try to get funding," says Charles Holloway, director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Framed Movie Posters

2009-08-11T15:17:00.000-07:00

A business surrounding movies!

Business Overview: Movie posters can often be purchased for less than $1 each from video stores and movie theaters. Once framed, these valuable pieces of art can be resold at flea markets, mall kiosks and to interior designers for terrific profits. Older movie posters are also in high demand as collector items and this side of the business is best suited for internet sales. You can develop your own website for a small investment and start marketing collectible movie posters.

Source: alibaba.com

Wine Shop

2009-08-11T15:13:00.000-07:00

Drink to your health and to your business.

Start up Costs: $10,000 - $50,000

Business Overview: Retailing wine can be extremely profitable, and this type of business can even be operated from a well-positioned kiosk located in a mall or market. In the right location, walk-in customers will keep you busy selling lots of wine. But as a method to bolster sales and profits, also be sure to establish alliances with event and wedding planners, catering companies, and business clubs and associations as they can become a great source of repeat business. Like any retail business, seek a competitive advantage, meaning offer your customers something the competition does not. Perhaps phone-in orders with free delivery or maybe a weekly wine tasting night. The ability to separate your business from the competitions often is the difference between business success or business failure.

Source: alibaba.com

Need Business Ideas?

2009-08-10T15:34:00.000-07:00

Today, tens of thousands of people are considering starting a home based business, and for good reasons. On average, people can expect to have two and three careers during their work life. Those leaving one career often think about their second or third career move being to their own home. People who have been part of the traditional nine-to-five work force and are on the verge of retiring from that life are thinking of what to do next. The good news: Starting a homebased business is within the reach of almost anyone who wants to take a risk and work hard.