There's no doubt having a baby is a joyful experience, but most moms would likely agree that it would be a whole lot more joyful if one didn't have to start off so sore and tired. Aiming to transform the hospital stay into one of relaxation and rejuvenation, Go Home Gorgeous hopes to better equip new mothers for the sleepless times ahead.

Minneapolis/St. Paul-based Go Home Gorgeous offers a variety of in-room spa services for new mothers designed to help them go home from the hospital feeling better than they did when they arrived. Available services include a "foot thanking" treatment for USD 45; scalp, neck and shoulder massage for USD 60; traditional body massage for USD 85; and a postnatal body therapy package for USD 139. Gentle massage, aromatherapy and soothing music are used to transform the hospital room into what the company calls a "Spa-Spital" room, where eucalyptus-infused steam towels, for example, decrease water retention, deepen breathing and increase circulation. After mom and baby are home, meanwhile, the company's in-home "Sleep Relief " offerings include night nanny, baby nurse and postpartum doula services—night nannies even arrive fully self-sufficient with their own cot, pillow, blanket, reading light and water bottle. Hourly rates vary from USD 20 to USD 35 per hour, with a USD 45 setup fee. Sleep massage packages, pregnancy massages and errand-running services are also available. Go Home Gorgeous donates 3 percent of its profits to organizations that help women in need.

Currently serving just Minnesota, Go Home Gorgeous plans to bring its sanity-saving services to the moms of Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Boston later this year. One to get in on early...? (Related: For new moms, by a new mompreneur — Members' clubs for moms — Concierge service for busy moms.)

Website: www.gohomegorgeous.com
Contact: info@gohomegorgeous.com

Spotted by: Susannah Haynie

We've already written about several retail spots around the globe that offer shelf space to minipreneurs, and recently we learned of a like-minded effort that gives budding entrepreneurs a short-term way to try out their concepts in a traditional retail setting.

Last fall Urban Retail's Oakland Mall in Troy, Mich., began offering small startups and minipreneurs special leasing rates that make it easier for them to test the waters among shoppers at the mall without entering into a long-term contract. Specifically, 12 kiosks have been placed throughout the mall and can be leased for as little as USD 300 for a two-day weekend special. The flexible leasing terms are part of an ongoing program that aims to help entrepreneurs with seasonal offerings or who want to test out a new product or trend, according to Deborah Beattie, the mall's specialty leasing representative. "Our program will continue to offer the flexible terms to attract everyone from the local 'Mom & Pop' operations just starting out in business, to the national tenants who want to test-market a product or capture seasonal sales," she explains. Five of the mall's 72-foot kiosks—which include display cases, counters and shelves—had been leased by early February, according to a report in the Detroit News.

The Oakland Mall clearly stands to benefit from such an effort by attracting new businesses and shoppers even as the economy struggles, but it's also a sort of silver lining for startups and minipreneurs. As the big boys struggle, conditions are beginning to favour the little guys—in some ways, it's never been a better time to be an entrepreneur! ;-) (Related: Retail space helps brands collaborate.)

Website: www.oaklandmall.com
Contact: beattied@urbanretail.com

Spotted by: Judy McRae

No medicine can do its job if it's not taken on the right schedule, yet only about half of people with chronic diseases adhere faithfully to their dosing regimen, according to the World Health Organization. Aimed at improving that statistic, GlowCaps are a line of electronic pill caps that use multiple means to ensure patients take their medicine when they should.

GlowCaps, which are from Cambridge, Mass.-based Vitality, fit on standard 20 dram medication vials and feature a small computer that illuminates the pill cap and plays a melody at medication time. To set up the basic GlowCap Solo, now available through Amazon for USD 29.95, users simply insert the included watch batteries at their daily dose time (the GlowCap Solo is designed just for once-a-day medications). Then, every day thereafter at that time, the GlowCap flashes a visual reminder to attract the user's attention. If the bottle is not opened within an hour, the device periodically plays a short melody for another hour after that.

What's even more interesting, however, is the next version of the line—still forthcoming—dubbed GlowCaps Connect. Designed specifically for managing chronic diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes and depression, where daily medications are critical, GlowCaps Connect goes beyond just using light and sound to include internet connectivity as well for a range of new reminder mechanisms. A reminder schedule can be set up for more than one dose or medication per day, and when patients forget to take one—after the reminder melody has been played—the caps can be set to trigger a phone call to remind them. GlowCaps Connect can also be programmed to send weekly updates to a friend, family member or caregiver, and each month the service sends a report to the patient's doctor, thereby increasing accountability and rewarding good performance with coupons and incentives. Finally, GlowCaps Connect will also coordinate with the patient's pharmacy for automatic prescription refills. No word yet on when GlowCaps Connect will be released.

Not coincidentally, Vitality is led by David Rose, who was formerly founder and CEO at Ambient Devices, the maker of internet-embedded products we mentioned in a story last year about home energy monitors. It's all about bridging the gap between the physical and digital worlds—which just so happens to be the topic of our sister site's OFF=ON briefing. Read up, plug in, and start forging some connections! (Related: Mir:ror gives physical objects digital meaning — Home security with an energy-monitoring twist.)

Website: www.rxvitality.com
Contact: info@rxvitality.com

Spotted by: Jochem Donkers

As if phones didn't already do enough, one of the latest mobile apps transforms iPhones and iPod Touches into portable charge card terminals. ProcessAway plugs into Authorize.net's payment processing platform, allowing entrepreneurs to accept credit card payments anywhere they can access the internet.

After downloading the app and (separately) setting up a merchant account with Authorize.net, clients can use ProcessAway like a traditional charge card terminal: enter the amount, input the card number, expiry date and verification code, and process. There's even a tip option for service businesses. Customers receive an email receipt for each transaction, and merchants can view transactions and process refunds on the fly. Aware that consumers might be weary of having their credit card details punched into a phone, ProcessAway stresses that's a secure application: information is never stored in the phone and the program won't connect to anything other than the terminal.

If it can gain trust and acceptance, ProcessAway could be particularly useful for those who need to process and authorise payments on-the-go, like on-site consultants or handymen. It's also useful at venues that don't have fixed terminals: antique shows, market stalls and music merchandise stands.

ProcessAway is available from Apple's App Store for USD 19.99, and Authorize.net collects its usual transaction fees. ProcessAway isn't the only one playing this field: Innerfence released its slightly more basic Credit Card Terminal app late last year. Although both programs are currently only available in the US, they could be a valuable tool for minipreneurs in other parts of the world.

Website: www.processaway.net

Spotted by: Susanna Haynie

Regular Springwise readers may remember Swiss Netgranny and Danish Mormor.nu, both of which sell knit goods handmade by real-life grandmothers. Now a similar contender has emerged in France that throws some design-your-own flexibility into the mix.

Golden Hook is a company that lets customers design their own hat and then choose the grandmother they'd like to knit it. Users begin by selecting the shape of hat they'd like—classic, long or Peruvian, with pompom or without. They can then begin either with a blank hat or one of the site's existing designs and customize it, knit row by row, by clicking on a region of the hat and then clicking on the colour they'd like that stripe to be. On Peruvian styles they can even choose the hue of the strings by the ears, and for those with simple tastes a "Colour Up" option is available to make the entire hat a single shade. Customers then select their hat size and proceed on to view Golden Hook's gallery of grandmas, which gives photos and short bios ("married since kindergarten, a former dairywoman, she’s an absolute fan of the Wheel of Fortune," for example) for each knitter in the company's employ. After choosing the one they'd like to knit their hat, customers can send her a message and can even request that she sign her name on the hat's label. Pricing begins at EUR 42.

In this era of anonymous, distant mass production, there's nothing like knowing (and being able to share) the product life story of a locally handmade good (one that's (still) made here, as our sister site would say) to make a consumer value it more—and be willing to shell out more to get it. Plenty more opportunities where this one came from, too. Get those knitting needles started! ;-) (Related: Full provenance sweaters.)

Website: www.goldenhook.fr
Contact: www.goldenhook.fr/en/contact

Spotted by: Marc Raynaud