Blog Posts by Aaron Task

By:  Aaron Task

Across the country, Americans are trying to eat better and live a healthier lifestyle. With everything from a quick fresh juice pick-me-up to a 21-day "cleanse" program, Arden's Garden is a must-stop for the health-conscious in Atlanta.

Arden's Garden is a family-owned business, but this is no ordinary family. The company was founded by exercise pioneer Arden Zinn, who had over 2-dozen exercise studios in Atlanta in the 1970s and 1980s and was a correspondent on CNN in the network's early days. Tiny, but powerful, Zinn was also an exercise coach for the Atlanta Falcons, long before the days when NFL players were doing yoga -- or anything other than lifting weights.

[Driven Episode: Dog Training Secrets of the Military and Police:  Iraq Veteran's Amazing Job]

Unfortunately, the business hit hard times and Zinn decided to focus on what people were putting in their bodies. For years, she had coveted a high-end Norwalk juicer but could never afford it or justify the

Read More »from Arden’s Garden: Atlanta juice maker takes on national brands and wins

Nick White served his country, first as a Marine, where he saw heavy combat in Iraq, and then as a Secret Service agent, where he had to be prepared for just about anything. White's Marine unit was the first to enter Fallujah, site of some of the most intense fighting of the Iraq campaign. During his tour, White became fascinated with the keenly trained dogs the military uses to sniff out bombs, contraband and enemy combatants. During his time in the Secret Service, where he served during both the Obama and George W. Bush administrations, White worked overtime to learn everything he could about dog training.

[Driven Episode: California Cart Builder:  Food- Truck Manufacturer Fueling a Culinary Craze]

For two years, White devoured books and DVDs, and followed along with his fellow Marines and Secret Service canine handlers. Dedicated to learning and practicing the techniques, White started dreaming of opening his own obedience school. Today, he is using his military training and

Read More »from Dog Training Secrets of the Military and Police: Iraq Veteran’s Amazing Job

By: Aaron Task

At the turn of the millennium, Rodney and Elma Eaton seemed to have it made. Rodney was making six figures as a pressman for a successful printing firm. They had a beautiful house in Corona, Ca., featuring a pool and horses to keep their four kids busy and happy.

But Elma wanted something more. Specifically, she wanted vacations that did not include sleeping outdoors and cooking over a campfire. In order to get money to afford something a bit more luxurious, she decided to open a hot dog stand. Elma had worked in food services before and had a friend who'd made good money running a cart. But Elma had something her friend didn't: Rodney.

[Driven Episode: P.A.Q Gubbio:  Meet, Ian Purkayastha, 19-year-old "Truffle Dealer" ]

A super-handy guy with a flair for design, Rodney built Elma a hot dog cart that looked so sharp it drew a lot of customers and ultimately someone who wanted to buy it and the business. After repeating the same pattern a few more times, Rodney and Elma

Read More »from California Cart Builder: Food-Truck Manufacturer Fueling a Culinary Craze

In the digital age, most of today's young, hot-shot entrepreneurs are working in the world of high tech, specifically in social networking. Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter co-founders Biz Stone and Evan
Williams come to mind.

Then there's Ian Purkayastha, a 19-year old international businessman who's "networking" the old-fashioned way — face to face -- and making a big splash selling and promoting one of the world's most ancient and low-tech products: Truffles. To be sure, there aren't billions to be made in truffles, at least not yet. But truffles are by far the most-expensive ingredient in the culinary world, fetching up to $5000 per pound for the most desired varieties.

[Driven Episode: How an 'Accidental Entrepreneur' Grew Business, Helped Cancer Victims]

Truffles may be used in the world's top restaurants but there's nothing fancy about the truffle business. Truffles are subterranean fungi typically harvested in the wild or from specially planted groves
with the aid of

Read More »from P.A.Q Gubbio: Meet, Ian Purkayastha, 19-year-old “Truffle Dealer”

A major budget battle is brewing in Washington, pitting President Obama against Congressional Republicans, led by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.).

On Tuesday, Ryan is expected to release his new 2013 budget. In a preview of sorts, last week Ryan released a theatrical video that warned "the most predictable crisis we've ever had" is looming and chastised other politicians for failing to address the budget deficit.

"Let me ask you a question: What if your president, your senator and your congressman knew it was coming?" Ryan asks in the highly produced video. "But they chose to do nothing about it, because it wasn't good politics? What would you think of that person? It would be immoral."

Ryan didn't name President Obama by name but the implication seems clear.

"Paul Ryan is making the point - anyone who does not make a budget proposal that fixes these big programs is doing a disservice to Americans," says Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the American

Read More »from Budget battle: Is entitlement reform Obama’s 'Achilles’ heel'

Lee Rhodes was just 32 when she was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer, a nightmare for anyone but a particularly grim diagnosis for a mother of three small children. After a long, hard battle and many rounds of grueling chemotherapy, Rhodes not only beat cancer but came up with a dream of helping other cancer patients.

The dream began from Rhodes' sick bed, moved to the garage of her Seattle home and has since evolved into a successful business called glassybaby.

A truly unique and inspiring enterprise, glassybaby not only employs scores of artisans in Seattle -- over 50 glassblowers at last count -- but also gives a big portion of its revenue to cancer-related charities, over $850,000 and counting.

[Related: How to build a great resume and win a new job]

glassybaby is "a business that also is a charity," Rhodes says.

Like many small business owners, Rhodes describes herself as an "accidental entrepreneur". In her case, it was an accident of sorts...aided perhaps by a bit of

Read More »from Glassybaby: How an ‘Accidental Entrepreneur’ Grew Business, Helped Cancer Victims

As of Super Tuesday, so-called Super PACs have spent more than $66 million on the GOP primaries, more than the total Super PAC spending during the entire 2010 midterms, according to The Center for Public Integrity.

"You're looking at the tip of the iceberg," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) tells The Daily Ticker. "What people are seeing as a result of the Republican primary, with their own eyes, for the first time, is the unbelievable power large corporations and billionaires are having on the political process."

Like many Americans, Sen. Sanders believes the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United ruling must be overturned. The decision determined that corporations, labor unions and individuals can give unlimited money to political groups to spend on elections. The Supreme Court determined the free speech protections individuals have should apply to corporations, too.

"Honest people all over this country have different philosophical and political views: Very few believe a

Read More »from Super PACs Gone Wild: This Is “Tip of the Iceberg” If Citizens United Isn’t Overturned, Sen. Sanders Warns

Imagine you're a college student and you've just won $20,000 in an entrepreneurship contest. What would you do with the money? If you're like many college students, you might throw the mother of all keg parties, or maybe plan the most epic Spring Break trip ever. Or maybe you'd pay some bills, put some money in the bank or even dabble in the stock market.

Marc Barros had a different idea...and boy did it pay off.

Along with classmate Jason Green, Barros used the contest winnings to fund a company that builds helmet cameras. The industry was in its infancy in 2003, when Barros and Green won the prize money at the University of Washington.  Today, helmet cameras are must-have accessories for skiers, snowboarders and enthusiasts of dozens of other sports. The company Barros and Green founded, now called Contour, is riding the global wave of social networking to incredible heights.

As the son of a Brazilian immigrant, Barros says he was always driven to work a little harder than the next

Read More »from How Contour helmet cameras went from business plan to successful company