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Business ideas spring from filling a need.  Successful start-up businesses start with a unique and sometimes quirky idea that addresses a need.  We could just smile and say, “I wish I had thought of that”.  Below are two such examples of startup business ideas, as reported in All Business, that visionaries had turned into million dollar businesses.

Passion and persistence are the key to entrepreneurial success. If you’ve got an outrageous business idea that everyone tells you is bound to fail, take inspiration from these true believers who flouted conventional wisdom to make their startup dreams come true.

1.  Rico Elmore is a big guy. At 6’3″ and 300 pounds, he could never find sunglasses wide enough for his head. He saw a market opportunity but others scoffed. “I knew I had an idea that would be something people would appreciate. I knew I wasn’t the only person who couldn’t find eyewear to fit,” Elmore says.

He spent his evenings tinkering with designs and materials in his living room. In 2005, after two years of work, he had his first pair of Fatheadz sunglasses ready to sell. Finding retailers willing to take a gamble and able to showcase his limited product line presented another challenge.

Fatheadz sold $2 million worth of eyewear in 2010 and, if you still think sunglasses for fat heads have limited appeal, try this on for size: Elmore just inked a deal with Walmart.

2.  In 1999, Jacob D’Aniello heard an interview with a professional pet poop remover and realized that the guy was making more money than he was. A year later, the management consultant founded DoodyCalls. “I wanted to take a step back and turn it into a real business, bringing a new level of sophistication and branding to it,” D’Aniello says.

People who are too busy to pick up after their pets can pay $15 to $20 a week, and the company recently expanded to include kitty litter services. DoodyCalls also serves commercial properties, apartment communities, and home owner associations.

“We take a whimsical approach to every marketing tactic and campaign, and it works like a charm,” D’Aniello says. DoodyCalls now comprises one company-owned unit and 48 franchises in 22 states. The company claims to scoop more than 3 million poops a year.

Pets don’t stop pooping in a recession. The company’s annual revenue for 2010 was $1.13 million, up almost 8 percent from 2009.

Photo by 3widelife