By Michelle Fox, CNBC.com

Chances are, just about anyone you talk with will have an idea for a business that they think can make millions. Although business pitches may be easy to come by, turning those ideas into wins is a whole new ballgame. However, many entrepreneurs with simple ideas and humble beginnings have been able to effectively turn the ideas into winning businesses.

Names like Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, and Mark Zuckerberg usually come to mind when people think about those lucky few who have cashed in on their ideas, but you don't have to live in Silicon Valley or Seattle to turn your idea into millions.

So what does it take to make $100 million? You may be surprised. Read ahead to see 10 people and the ideas that made $100 million or more!


See the full slideshow: 10 Ideas That Made $100 Million


Sara Blakely — SpanxSara Blakely - Spanx

One night, Sara Blakely cut off the bottom of her pantyhose and the idea of Spanx was born. Armed with $5,000 in savings, Blakely researched and wrote her

Read More »from 10 Ideas that Made $100 Million

Starting a business is a huge personal commitment, but it's also a commitment for your spouse and family. So, what happens when they aren't exactly thrilled about your entrepreneurial aspirations? Fran Dorf, author of the "Just Ask Me" advice column at The Daily Muse, weighs in.

Dear Fran,
I have been dreaming of having my own business for years, and in the last few years I've come up with an idea for a business in the health and wellness space that I think is a winner. Of course, due to the demands of everyday life (mortgage, student loans, a baby on the way), I've been working in a corporate job for almost eight years. But I'm finally ready to take the plunge and at least begin to explore my entrepreneurial side. I know it's not realistic to quit my day job anytime soon, but I realize that if I don't get my business underway, well, it's not going to get underway on its own.

Here's the real issue: My husband of five years is not fully supportive of this idea. He is a very

Read More »from Help! My Husband Doesn't Support My Business Idea

By Stephanie Emma Pfeffer

magnifying glass on resumeYou really want the job. But don't even think about stretching the truth on your resume to get it. "It's never appropriate to misrepresent yourself," says Kevin M. Rosenberg, managing partner of executive search firm Bridgegate in Irvine, CA. First, if you get the job, you can lose it as soon as your lie comes to light. Second, it's a huge risk: Rosenberg says most companies conduct background checks, verify degree completion and confirm past employment. Third, your reputation is on the line: "Integrity is everything to employers, so don't call yours into question," says Rosenberg. Read on for the most frequently lied-about elements on resumes-and what to do instead of altering reality. Photo credit: iStock

Title

People embellish job titles to drive up compensation or seniority, but it could backfire, says Rosenberg. If you apply for a senior manager role while claiming director as your former position, a recruiter might think you're overqualified.

Read More »from The 7 Worst Lies to Tell on Your Resume

After sending out countless resumes, you've finally landed a job interview with your dream company. You've picked the perfect outfit, tucked ample copies of your resume into your folder, and practiced your answers over and over.

And then-it happens. You realize the interview was at 11:30, not 1:30. You spot an error on your resume. Or you make some other totally avoidable mistake that you know, backwards and forwards, that you should never, ever make as an interviewee.

No matter how thoroughly you prepare, mistakes can still happen during the job application and interview process. But, they don't always mean game over-yes, even imperfect people get jobs. If you've made one of these common blunders, a few key steps can help you make the best of a bad situation.

1. Submitting the Wrong Resume

It's actually a good idea to have a different version of your resume for each position you apply for (or at least, a couple versions for different types of jobs), especially if you're applying Read More »from 4 Major Interview Mistakes (and How to Recover)

Courtesy WBTVWhile other kids were hitting their snooze buttons and pulling the covers over their heads, 18-year-old Dawn Loggins was mopping the halls and emptying the trash at Burns High School in Lawndale, North Carolina. At the end of last summer, while she was attending a prestigious summer program on scholarship, Loggins called home to discover her phone had been disconnected. According to the Shelby Star, her mother and stepfather had left the state and dropped her grandmother off at a local homeless shelter. Her older brother, Shane, was couch surfing with friends. "I realized I was getting nowhere calling my parents," she told the Star. "What was I going to do? Cry about it?"

Related: Columbia University Janitor Graduates with Honors

The teen persevered. "I just made a decision that I was not going to end up like my parents," she told WBTV. And her determination paid off. Tonight is Loggins's high school graduation, and the next stop, Harvard University.

When she was

Read More »from Dawn Loggins: Homeless, Abandoned Teen Heads to Harvard

Instead of diving headfirst into a new career, consider capitalizing on the traditional job interview's enlightening sibling, the informational interview. Informational interviews offer anyone entering a profession the chance to chat with people in their network about industries or potential employers before chasing down a career path.

Seek connections through your network.
Scheduling an informational interview relies greatly on whom you know professionally or personally, says Amy Klink, director of talent acquisition and operations at Apollo Group, the parent company of University of Phoenix. The key to preventing your efforts from falling flat, she adds, is getting a member of your network to guide you to the right contacts.

However, don't despair if connections don't yet exist - just broaden your network at local professional events.

"You just have to be really creative in terms of figuring out where professional people spend their time outside of work. You can attend networking

Read More »from Explore New Careers Through Informational Interviews

Shhh. She's working. Sleeping on the job is a requirement for the handful of writers hired by a travel website to test room amenities at China's leading hotels. Believe it or not, snooze button-hitting isn't even the easiest job out there. Imagine if your couch potato tendencies could earn you a living. How about your unique passion for luxury vacations. Most of us consider ourselves pros at napping and looking at cute pictures of kittens, but we don't expect to get paid for it. Maybe we should...

Read More »from 8 Easiest Jobs on the Planet

By Jenna Goudreau

Can where you hang your hat shape the size of your salary? In short: Absolutely. U.S. job markets vary drastically by region, state and municipality. Women, who earn between 70 and 80 cents for every dollar earned by men, may be especially impacted by the place they call home.

To uncover the U.S. cities where women earn the most, ForbesWoman analyzed data from the 2010 American Community Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau, using the average earnings for full-time, year-round female workers in the largest metro areas in the nation. Where are the best-paying cities for women?

In Pictures: The Top 20 Best-Paying Cities For Women

At No. 1, San Jose, Calif., tops the list. Women in this West Coast city earn an average of $67,052 annually for full-time work. That's more than twice as much as the worst-paying city for women-McAllen, Tex.-where women earn a mean of just $31,287 each year

The top industries in San Jose are manufacturing; professional, scientific and management services; and education and

Read More »from Best-Paying Cities for Women