Originated in 1996, due to the frustrations of squirrels destroying Richard Walsh’s bird feeder on his new deck, Ed Walsh, Richard’s brother came up with the concept of building a solar bird feeder to help Richard out. The concept of a bird feeder that allowed birds to continue to eat the bird seed, while preventing the squirrels from reaching the food and destroying the feeders, soon became an obsession for Ed. What once originated with a car battery developed over the years to a solar cell, and was successful until the squirrels discovered that they could eat early in the morning or late evenings before the battery charged. Bo Haeberle became involved in the bird feeder project after he overheard how much trouble Ed was having coming up with a feeder that worked and also didn’t harm the squirrels, while under his employment at Visual Design, Inc.
After developing the first prototype, Ed took his solar bird feeder to a Habitat for Humanity auction and received the highest bid of all the items there, and continued on to win three Best New Product Awards at various birding tradeshows. Ed applied for and was granted a patent on his first submission. After a next couple years, the Squirrel Defense Initiative (SDI, Inc.) was co-founded by Ed and Bo in October of 1998.
Developing the bird feeders (which actually look more like bird houses) into two designs, the company, now including their third partner Scott Wilson, estimated that the average cost of building one bird house was $100 to produce. All the work was done by hand and production cost was high due to the difficulty of the red cedar that was part of the design on the Country style house. The Town style house offered more of a contemporary style with a white ...
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...ncome per Month $ 5,054
1999 Retail cost of birdfeeders $300.00
2014 Retail cost of birdfeeders $159.95
Markdown Percentage 0.533
Profit margin of feeders in 1999 38
Total Equity $28,123
Production needed to break even 740
Works Cited
Feeder, S.-o. T. (2014). The Squirrel Defense Initiative (SDI). Retrieved from http://www.squirrel-off.com/warranty.html
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University, J. K. (2013). Case 2 The Solar Feeder. In Business Policies and Strategies (pp. 331-341). McGraw Hill .
Yelp. (2004-2014). Squirrel-Off / SDI, Inc. Retrieved from Greensboro Business Listings : http://www.yelp.com/biz/squirrel-off-sdi-inc-greensboro
Squirrel Defense, Inc. (SDI) was founded by Bo Haeberle, Glen Thomas and Ed Welsh in October 1998. The company manufactures and markets a high-end, squirrel resistant bird feeder called Solar Feeder. The solar feeder is a squirrel proof bird feeder that delivers a mild, non-lethal shock to a squirrel without delivering a shock to a bird using the feeder. It was a unique twist on typical bird feeders, because although it still resembled the usual bird feeder, it was used to house feed instead.
White, C. (2010). What's all the howling about? Managing wolves and elk in Idaho. Fair Chase
Squirrel hunting has long been an American tradition and a tradition that many hunters grew up with. Squirrel hunting has just the right amount of action to keep a young hunter interested and more often than not that young hunter will choose to pursue other game eventually. Squirrels are getting a break from hunters as more and more people are hunting deer and turkey or unfortunately not at all. I remember when opening day of squirrel season was almost like Christmas. I couldn't wait to walk the hardwood ridges and fencerows to hunt a few squirrels and it was as exciting to me then as any deer hunt could be. I have to admit that I do a lot more deer hunting these days but once I tag out or the deer season ends I like to grab my grandfathers old Stevens .22 rifle and hit the woods for a day of relaxation and an old school squirrel hunt.
Lof, George. “Solar Energy: An Infinite Source of Clean Energy.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. Vol 410:52
Overview SDI was founded by Bo Haeberle, Glen Thomas and Ed Welsh in October 1998. Their company manufactures and markets a high-end, squirrel resistant bird feeder call Solar Feeder. The founder’s bird feeder is designed to be a squirrel proof bird feeder by delivers a mild non-lethal shock to a squirrel without causing the same shock to a bird using the feeder. Despite having plenty of customers and winning numerous awards, SDI cannot seem to get their finances in order and turn out a profit because of this the founders are reconsider the existing strategy. Issues Identification
Palmieri, Nancy. “Off the Grid or on, Solar and Wind Power Gain.” USA Today 12 April 2006. Print.
The future of the United States solar energy industry will be shaped not only by economic growth, but also by the rate of declining oil resources and the global realization of the consequences of human induced climate change. Political responses to this realization in the United States include; new policies, legislature, and tax incentives to both businesses and private households to promote growth and investment in the solar power industry.
Specific Purpose Statement: To persuade my audience that that solar power should become the main form of alternative energy in the Unites States.
Wolfe, Michael. "Pros & Cons of Solar Thermal Energy." EHow. Demand Media, 06 July 2010. Web. 04 Mar. 2014. .
Solar is a viable alternative energy source with solar panels becoming more affordable and more efficiently designed.
"Entrepreneurship is the ability to create and build something from practically nothing" (Timmons 1). Entrepreneurs should be admired more than anything for
An entrepreneur sees an open door which others do not completely perceive to take care of an unsatisfied demand or to profoundly enhance the execution of a current business. They have a ravenous, self conviction that this open door can be made genuine through diligent work, duty and the flexibility to take in the lessons of the business sector along the way. Much has been composed concerning entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship.
It is true that most entrepreneurs typically have a flair for the creative and a lot of energy. They are born with it. But having these characteris...
Dollonger, M. J. (2002). A framework for Entreprenership. In M. J. Dollonger, Entrepreneurship strategies and Resources (pp. 5-6). New Jersey.
Majalah Niaga(2013); Super Entrepreneur Tip: Do not Ever Stop Trying- edition 26; available from [magazine] pp 30-32. Retrieved on 7 March 2014