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About the 2008 StartupNation Home-Based 100

Welcome to the one and only ranking focused on you – the outstanding unsung heroes of our economy – home-based entrepreneurs.

The second annual 2008 StartupNation Home-Based 100 will once again rank the best performing home-based businesses across America in ten distinct categories.

This year’s categories are:

• Best Financial Performers
• Most Innovative
• Boomers Back in Business
• Greenest
• Yummiest
• Wackiest
• Grungiest
• Recession Busters
• Most Slacker Friendly
• Most Glamorous

We've also added Honorary Rankings, including Highest Vote-Getters, Top Women, and Honorable Mentions under many of the Top Ten categories.

Building on the fanfare surrounding last year’s winners, the 2008 competition has the makings of an even bigger celebration of contestants, and ultimately, finalists who will claim their place among the 100 winners.

What Winners Win

First off, the publicity is priceless. We know that awareness and driving traffic to your business is one of the biggest challenges for any business owner. Winners of the Home-Based 100 find themselves at the center of a media storm that includes recognition on national and local TV, radio, in newspapers and magazines, and on some of the largest, most influential websites on the web, MSN and StartupNation among them.

In addition, contestants can use the competition as a way to engage their website visitors, email database and business contacts with exciting updates and activity about your progress as a contestant. By encouraging them to vote for you and support your quest to be a winner, you provide them with an engaging and fun way to participate in your success. This can help you create deeper loyalty and affinity, which ultimately can lead to business opportunities and increased revenue.

Lastly, being named a winner and displaying the digital winner’s emblem on their website and in their emails will not only be a source of pride for them, but also will add immense credibility to their site, brand and business. It’s a huge achievement to be selected from among the millions of home-based businesses, and contestants’ customers will recognize and respect this immediately.

Meet the Judges

In addition to the StartupNation staff judges, we've invited the help and discerning opinions of a group of incredibly capable judges for the 2008 Home-Based 100.

Howard Behar
Former president of Starbucks North America and Starbucks International

Howard Behar, the former president of Starbucks North America and Starbucks International, helped StartupNation select the Top Ten Yummiest among the StartupNation Home-Based 100 winners in 2008. He joined Starbucks in 1989 as vice president of sales and operations, and grew the retail business from 28 stores to more than 400, by the time he was named president of Starbucks Coffee International in 1995.

Under Behar’s leadership, Starbucks opened its first location in Tokyo in 1996, then introduced the Starbucks brand across the Middle East, Asia and the United Kingdom. He retired as president of Starbucks North America in January 2003 and continues to serve in an advisory capacity and to coach leaders at all levels. He is a retired member of the Board of Directors serving from 1996 to 2008. Since his retirement he has written a book "It's Not About the Coffee" that describe his leadership principles.

Behar serves on several boards, including Anna’s Linens, The Gap Inc., Washington State Budget and Policy Center, Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership and Board of Advisors at Rosewood Capital. He lives in Seattle with his wife, Lynn.

Adam Lowry
Co-Founder & Chief Greenskeeper, Method Products, Inc.

Adam Lowry contributed especially to the judging of the 2008 StartupNation Home-Based 100 Top Ten Greenest businesses. Adam believes that business is our greatest vehicle for positive social and environmental change. First and foremost an entrepreneur and change agent, Adam has a proven track record of innovation across multiple categories and consumer segments.

Prior to founding Method, Adam worked as a climate scientist at the Carnegie Institution, developing software products for the study of global climate change.  That experience, combined with his earlier experience designing automotive products made from biodegradable materials and recycled content, formed the nucleus of his unique approach to commercial environmentalism that forms the foundation of Method’s approach today.
As Chief Greenskeeper, Adam’s focus is bringing sustainable innovations to the method business.  He also directs the sustainability aspects of product design, sourcing, and production, and provides strategic input for consumer marketing and the press. 

Adam holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University, and resides in San Francisco with his wife, Mara and daughter, Kenning.

John Jantsch
Author, "Duct Tape Marketing"

John Jantsch is a marketing and digital technology coach, award winning social media publisher and author of Duct Tape Marketing: The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide.

He is the creator of the Duct Tape Marketing small business marketing system. His Duct Tape Marketing Blog was chosen as a Forbes favorite for small business and marketing and is a Harvard Business School featured marketing site.

He is a popular presenter of marketing workshops and columnist for Entrepreneur magazine.

Tory Johnson
Founder and CEO of Women For Hire

Career-savvy expert Tory Johnson is the founder and CEO of Women For Hire, which is the only producer of high caliber recruiting events for women. She was instrumental in helping to select the Top Women from among the 2008 StartupNation Home-Based 100.

She is a frequent speaker to audiences nationwide, ranging from college campuses and Fortune 500 companies to prestigious conferences, where she shares strategies and solutions for finding success and satisfaction at work.

Glamour magazine dubbed Johnson the "raise fairy godmother" because of her expertise in advising a panel of women on how to successfully ask for—and secure—salary increases.

Johnson's fourth career book, Will Work From Home: Earn Cash Without the Commute was published in 2008 and became an instant New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller.

Johnson serves on the Alumni Associaton Board of Directors for Emerson College. She is a member of the Women Presidents’ Organization. She was inducted into the YWCA's prestigious Class of 2002 Academy of Women Achievers, which recognizes the outstanding achievements of women in business.

Johnson founded Women For Hire after serving in corporate communications positions at ABC News, NBC News and Nickelodeon. She lives in New York City with her husband and children.

Mel Robbins
Host of Make It Happen With Mel Robbins, Life Coach

Mel Robbins is the host of the hit syndicated radio show Make It Happen With Mel Robbins and one of the top life coaches in the country.

She also hosts a filmed celebrity interview series for Borders. Recent guests on the show include – Barbara Walters, Dr. Oz + Dr. Roizen, Donald Trump, Mandy Moore, Robin Roberts and Bill Cosby. The show is filmed before a live audience and airs on Bordersmedia.com and on Borders in-store television network.

A widely quoted expert on issues related to relationships, conflict resolution, career and life change, Mel’s been a guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show, appears in publications nationwide and makes regular appearances on Fox Business and GMA Now.

Before all this, Mel was a lawyer and successful coach running a private business - coaching entrepreneurs and executives at major companies, such as: Johnson & Johnson, Bank of America, Boston Scientific, Fidelity, and working with individuals on more personal issues. Mel was featured on the cover of INC Magazine for her work coaching executives – and a media career ensued. While Mel often jokes on air that she is part cheerleader, part pain-in-the-ass, part business advisor, part best friend – one thing is for sure – she is a total lifesaver and her clients and listeners have the results to prove it.

With degrees from Dartmouth College and Boston College Law School, under her belt – Mel comes at problem solving from a very no-nonsense approach. Mel’s early career included being a criminal defense attorney for Legal Aid in Manhattan and an executive in two technology companies. She has also bought, run and sold a successful franchise business with her husband. She has been studying coaching since 1995 and has received extensive training, instruction and certifications on coaching methodologies, productivity techniques and public/motivational speaking. Including certification in Performance Catalyst™ corporate leadership methodology and the Handel Method™; currently taught at MIT.

An avid fly-fisherman, telemark skier and yoga addict, Mel lives outside Boston with her husband and three young kids.