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How to start a business

Tempted to start your own business but just not sure if it's a smart
move? Career consultant Maggie Mistal from Martha Stewart Radio
has great advice to help you through the decision making process.
Continue here.

Caught the Entrepreneurial Bug? Don’t Procrastinate


If you often find yourself quietly thinking “I know a better way to do this”
or “I could create something new that would make this easier for
everyone,” you are a potential entrepreneur. Don’t waste that potential.
The economy needs you more than ever. Continue here.

Global Entrepreneurship Week 2009


During the world's most innovative week, November 16-22, 2009, Global
Entrepreneurship Week 2009 will introduce millions of young people
around the world to entrepreneurship and encourage them to think of
innovation as a vehicle that can take them anywhere. Continue here.

Build Your Self Confidence Like a Leader


What can I do to build my confidence in my capabilities as a leader?
You won't get to the top without self-confidence; to build it, you have to
believe in yourself. Don't worry about being perfect — put up a brave front
and do the best you can. That's it in a nutshell. Here's a little more
background for you. Continue here.

Entrepreneurship & Education at the Kauffman Foundation


The Kauffman Foundation is often referred to as one of the largest
foundations in the United States—or as the world's largest foundation
devoted to entrepreneurship. Both are true, thanks to Ewing Kauffman's
generosity and foresight. However, these "largest" factoids may give the
false impression that we can influence society just by virtue of our size or
spending power. Continue here.

College Freshmen Show Increasing Interest in


Entrepreneurship
Interest in business as a career and entrepreneurship, more specifically,
among freshmen college students has risen over time, a recent study
reveals. Trends in Business Interest Among U.S. College Students is being
released today by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in conjunction
with Global Entrepreneurship Week, held Nov. 16-22, 2009, which
introduces millions of young people around the world to entrepreneurship.
The study bases its findings on data available through the Cooperative
Institutional Research Program, which for 40 years has conducted the CIRP
Freshman Survey, the most ubiquitous survey of college freshmen in the
United States. Continue here.

Build a Stronger America


If you are like 80 percent of Americans, you believe that the U.S. economy
has been, and will continue to be, built by entrepreneurs like you.
Accordingly, if the U.S. economy is going to have a sustained recovery, it
will be up to its entrepreneurs to lead the way. Continue here.

Chris Gardner, entrepreneur, author and the inspiration


behind the film Pursuit of Happyness, shares his story.
Continue here.

Experience, Management and Luck are Keys to


Entrepreneurial Success, Say Company Founders
In the years immediately following the 1990-1991 and 2001 recessions,
net job creation came from small, entrepreneurial companies, according to
the U.S. Small Business Administration. While fostering new business
creation could again help the United States move more swiftly toward
ending the current recession, little has been known about the factors that
cultivate and support entrepreneurialism. Continue here.

Canadian Student Wins the 2009 Global Student


Entrepreneur Awards Global Championship
KANSAS CITY, MO – Nov. 20, 2009 –For Simon Fraser University student
Milun Tesovic, it all started with a love of technology and music. When
Tesovic started Metroleap Media at age 15, he immediately recognized
that the recording industry and the consumer were equally craving a
better way to find music lyrics online. While simultaneously carrying a full
course load of classes, Vancouver-based Tesovic created MetroLyrics.com
that has become an Internet music megalopolis. Today, all of those late
nights were validated when Tesovic became champion of the 2009 Global
Student Entrepreneur Awards and the recipient of $70,000 in cash and
donated services that will help to support his company and development
as an entrepreneur. Continue here.

The Coolest College Start-ups


The Dobie Center, a dorm complex at the University of Texas at Austin, is
27 stories tall and boasts a cafeteria, a movie theater, and a pool. Twenty-
five years ago, a young resident of the tower decided to make and sell low-
cost PCs from stock components. Michael Dell scrounged up $1,000 and
turned his room into a mini assembly line, and the rest is history. In the
years since Dell launched the world's best-known college start-up, more
students have followed his lead. Below, you will meet 16 of them. As these
profiles (written by campus journalists) reveal, an enterprising kid like
Michael Dell is no longer the exception to the rule. Continue here.

Advice for College Start-ups


A budding expert on college entrepreneurship—himself only four years out
of NYU—answers readers' questions. As a sophomore at New York
University, Michael Simmons co-authored The Student Manifesto with
classmate Sheena Lindahl. In the 2003 book, the authors encourage young
people to consider entrepreneurship as a cool alternative to working for
someone else. They also champion business ownership as a great and
empowering lifestyle. Three years later, Simmons and Lindahl decided to
practice what they preached, co-founding the Extreme Entrepreneurship
Tour, a for-profit business that sends speakers by bus from college to
college to teach business concepts to students. The company should reach
$500,000 in revenue this year. Since he has written about
entrepreneurship and practiced it himself, IncMagazine asked Simmons to
field questions from students who aspire to follow in his footsteps.
Continue here: part 1 and 2.

The Best Entrepreneurship Courses in America


Continue here.

A Job Creator's Visa


The idea of an entrepreneur’s or start-up visa that grants high-skilled
immigrants the right to stay if they start job-generating businesses is
gaining traction. Last Wednesday, a Wall Street Journal article laid out the
case for it and the next day it was discussed both at a meeting I attended
on how to boost innovation in the U.S and at the President’s Jobs Summit
as a way to create jobs. Continue here.

Ten easy ways to murder a business


A recent New York Times blog and a business book published last year
cover the same territory: the many ways you can kill off your business. The
former is written from the perspective of the entrepreneur; the latter takes
a corporate manager’s viewpoint. Continue here.

Do I Need a Business License or Permit?


Before launching your business, make sure you have all the necessary
paperwork. Here's a list of some of the various licenses and permits you
may be required to file. Continue here.

Despite Its Woes, California's Dream Still Lives


California, you may have heard, is an apocalyptic mess of raging wildfires,
soaring unemployment, mass foreclosures and political paralysis. It's
dysfunctional. It's ungovernable. Its bond rating is barely above junk. It's
so broke, it had to hand out IOUs while its leaders debated how many
prisoners to release and parks to close. Nevada aired ads mocking
California's business climate to lure its entrepreneurs. The media portray
California as a noir fantasyland of overcrowded schools, perpetual
droughts, celebrity breakdowns, illegal immigration, hellish congestion and
general malaise, captured in headlines like "Meltdown on the Ocean" and
"California's Wipeout Economy" and "Will California Become America's First
Failed State?" Continue here.

Uncovering Steve Jobs' Presentation Secrets


The Apple music event of Sept. 9, 2009, marked the return of the world's
greatest corporate storyteller. For more than three decades, Apple (AAPL)
co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs has raised product launches to an art form.
In my new book, The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to Be
Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience, I reveal the techniques that Jobs
uses to create and deliver mind-blowing keynote presentations. Continue
here.

Top 10 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make When Writing a


Business Plan
Writing a business plan? Here are 10 mistakes that prospective
entrepreneurs often make in trying to describe and pitch their start-ups,
from measuring the size of market too optimistically, to trying to address
too many potential questions and objections. Plus: More advice on writing
a business plan. Continue here.

The 7 Harsh Realities of Starting a Business


Every week I have coffee, lunch, or even dinner with a few entrepreneurs. I
get to hear about their so called revolutionary business idea, how great
their team is, and how much more money they need to take their business
to the next level. After doing this for a few years, you tend to get tired of
hearing all the bullshit that comes from most entrepreneurs. So for all of
you entrepreneurs out there, here are the 7 harsh realities that you need
to know if you want to be successful. Continue here.

How To Start a Small Business, Small Business Startup -


Entrepreneur.com
Startup How-To Guides. Continue here.

Startup Advice from Professor Robert Foster


Robert Foster, UCLA Adjunct Professor at Anderson School of Management,
discusses the essential elements of a business plan and the common
pitfalls that face new businesses. Continue here.

7 Tips to Score VC Cash


In the past year, the venture capital funding pipeline has gone from a
gusher to more of a trickle. In the first half of 2009, just over 1,200 venture
investment deals were made nationwide, involving about $6.8 billion,
according to the quarterly PricewaterhouseCoopers/National Venture
Capital Association MoneyTree report. That’s compared to more than 2,000
deals in the first half of 2008, worth $15.2 billion. Continue here.

How to tell a $1 billion story


Software-as-a-service pioneer and salesforce.com (CRM) co-founder and
CEO Marc Benioff credits storytelling as one of the primary reasons for his
company's rapid success. "Communication is probably the most essential
part of my job," Benioff told me in a recent interview about his new book,
Behind the Cloud. The book describes how salesforce went from idea to $1
billion company in less than a decade. Whether you own a small business,
run a large company, or have a great idea for The Next Big Thing, consider
these seven tips from Benioff about how to shape and articulate your
vision. Continue here.

10 Common Mistakes That’s Startup and Small Companies


Make
Young companies have small margins for error. Mistakes made early on
can sink a company before its gets off the ground. Below is a list of 10
common mistakes made by young, small companies. In the list below, I use
the generic term “product” to refer to either a product or a service.
Continue here.

7 deadly sins of advertising


The vast majority of ads don't register with consumers. Here are seven
straight-up reasons why your message probably isn't getting through
Continue here.

5 trends that could rock your industry


○ Savvy marketers are recognizing the impact of mass collaboration
and constant connectivity
○ The broader trends of globalization and corporate distrust are
reshaping how consumers interact with brands
○ The global sense of urgency to fix the world's problems goes well
beyond the green movement
Continue here.

Advice from the richest entrepreneurs


Business tips are a penny a dozen. A billionaire's playbook for success:
priceless. Continue here.

5 ways to grow without going broke


That is what the corporate honchos told me in my previous startup, which
was an intrapreneurial startup inside a large corporation. That was in the
midst of the Dotcom era, when everything online was about getting
eyeballs. We had equity partners and a well-funded corporate parent,
bringing 7 figures of investment to the table. The emphasis was on growth
… fast growth. Continue here.

8 weird ways to make a million bucks


Best friends Adrian Salamunovic and Nazim Ahmed weren't looking for the
next million-dollar idea. They were just two guys hanging out on a Friday
night, enjoying a good bottle of wine, when the light bulb went on.
Continue here.

10 lessons every new entrepreneur should learn


I write Entrepreneur.com ‘s Young Entrepreneur column because I believe
there are far too few resources directly addressing the nonacademic trials
and tribulations young entrepreneurs face along their journey. Whenever
possible, I encourage up-and-comers and established entrepreneurs to
mentor the next generation of dream-seekers; for it is this insight and
insider education that will provide the foundation for the entrepreneurs of
tomorrow. With that, here are 10 pieces of advice that I wish someone had
given to me before I launched my first venture. Continue here.

20 of the Best Resources to Get Your Startup Off the Ground


Let’s face it: as an entrepreneur, the odds are stacked against you. Most
businesses fail after the first few years, and even if you do manage to
survive, that doesn’t mean your business will redefine an industry, become
profitable, or change the world. Getting off on the right foot is essential to
navigating a startup from its infancy to profitability. Continue here.
Business tools, free for the clicking
“Tools” is not quite as an attractive as “free.” But if you run a small
business, you are always looking for things to help you do your job better.
Continue here.

The Top Entrepreneurs of the Decade


They have changed the way we buy things, find information, and
communicate. A look at the most influential and inspiring entrepreneurs of
the past 10 years. Plus: Meet Inc.'s Entrepreneur of the Year for 2009,
Kevin Surace of Serious Materials. Continue here.

5 Smart Ways to Use Twitter for Business


Turn followers into creators. Sell products. Find leads. Develop new apps.
And find customers anywhere. Here is a look at how five companies have
boosted their bottom lines by using Twitter. Plus: Tips on attracting more
followers, and advice on how to avoid making a fool of yourself on Twitter.
Continue here.
10 ways to win over venture capitalists
Persuading potential investors to part with their cash requires careful planning,
writes Mayfield Fund investor Raj Kapoor. A sound market strategy, plausible
financial projections and a strong sense of who you are and what you're aiming
for are essential to win over the money men, he adds. "Don't be afraid to dream a
bit," he writes. "You won't be penalized for having audacious goals." Continue
here.

The Best Books for Business Owners


Best Business Books. Looking for gifts for clientsInc. compiled a list of
our favorite entrepreneurial tomes for 2009. The New York Times also has
some helpful suggestions on its You're the Boss blog, including, The Knack:
How Street-Smart Entrepreneurs Learn to Handle Whatever Comes Up, by
Inc.'s own Norm Brodsky and Bo Burlingham.

Make the Most of Your Advertising Dollars


These days, most U.S. markets are buyer's markets, meaning that
consumers have great leverage to get a lot of value for their dollars. Right
now, this is especially true in the advertising world. Which is good news if
you're just starting your company or revamping your existing marketing
strategies. In fact, this is in stark contrast to a few years ago, when
advertisers in some markets were being bumped in favor of higher-paying
advertisers for the same TV or radio spot, or were stuck on waiting lists for
outdoor billboards in high-traffic areas. Continue here.

With Jobs Scant, MBAs Consider Startups


Landing a banking or consulting job used to be the main reason for going
to B-school. These days, it's just as likely to be launching a business.
Continue here.

Why You Should Be An Entrepreneur In College


If your profession could be given a risk factor, ‘entrepreneurs‘ would
probably fall on the high end of the chart. Because of the ‘risk’ involved in
starting your own business with little guarantee of success, entrepreneurs
risk all to gain all. With that said, college is one of the best times to start
pursuing your dreams of being an entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, you
invest your time and money into an idea that you hope will become the
next Facebook or YouTube. The big advantage that a college entrepreneur
has, is that most have little money and have extra time to invest. Continue
here.
Following Passion Across the Atlantic
When I finally realized that passion is the most important thing in life, I
took action. Like my great grandfather before, I left my Swiss home, took a
ship and arrived at the New York harbor in April 2009 with two bags and a
dream in my head. Continue here.

59 Ways to Grow Business Credibility and Experience


One of the most challenging parts of being a young entrepreneur is
branding yourself as someone with experience and expertise in your field.
This list is a compilation of ways to grow that credibility and experience so
you can look like a rockstar. Remember, each of these tips are building
blocks to get to the highest level of expertise. Work your way up the
rungs, establishing greater authority with each new experience you take
on. Continue here.

Starting Your Own Custom Shirt Business


Want to start your own business early and take advantage of the
down economy? Your head’s in the right place. But how can you do
it? Continue here.

7 Steps to Create a Name for Yourself as a Young


Entrepreneur
This is a guest post from Matt Wilson co-founder of Under30CEO.com. His
workshops and keynote speeches have taught young people how to build
huge brands online through the Rock Star Business Series. Get backstage
access to his Online DVD for free and learn how to attract a celebrity
following for your business with little to no budget. Continue here.

How to Choose a Business to Start


You tinker with a product invention in the garage. Then imagine your
successful consulting career. Then consider leading action adventure
vacations in exotic locations around the world. Or perhaps opening a bed
and breakfast in Vermont. It's paralyzing to have multiple business ideas in
your head, all vying for attention and energy. Continue here.

Seven Investors To Avoid


In a tough economy, all capital is created equal, right? Wrong. Even in a
credit-starved environment like this one, the source of your money
matters. A lot. Continue here.

Plenty of money, no business plan


This past summer, HubSpot Inc. received several offers from venture firms
to invest in the marketing software start-up. The company wasn’t looking
to raise funding yet - it still had about $5 million left from a $12 million
Series B round in May 2008 - but rather than wait HubSpot decided in
October to accept $16 million while it was still on the table. Continue here.

The play's the thing in business


If you want to run a successful business, you'd do well to borrow some
principles from the theater. So says Rochelle T. Mucha, author of Aesthetic
Intelligence: Reclaim the Power of Your Senses. Mucha's book grew out of
her doctoral study of two regional theaters in Atlanta, Ga.: The Jewish
Theater of the South and Alliance Theater. What she uncovered was an
environment that epitomized good business practices. Continue here.

50 tips for approaching problems more creatively


As your organization gears up for 2010, here are 50 ways to ensure that
it's culture is conducive to innovation. Commit to a few of these today and
begin to work your magic. Continue here.

10 Do’s & Don’ts for Aspiring Entrepreneurs


Continue here.

970 businesses you can start today


Continue here.

159 Cool Tips - How To Get Ready To Be An Entrepreneur


If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. This famous saying couldn’t be any
truer then when it comes to successfully building a business. If you want
to become an entrepreneur, listen to what these “been-there done-that’s”
have to say about getting ready. Continue here.

5 Steps to Building a Successful Niche Business


From aquatic sporting goods for dogs to Michelle Obama-inspired fashion
websites, niche products and services have the potential to generate big
bucks if they capture the hearts, minds and wallets of a dedicated
consumer base. Unlike conglomerates that target the masses, niche
businesses cater to highly defined markets that are often over-looked,
underserved or disenfranchised by larger competitors. With an abundance
of available outlets, resources and online platforms, identifying and
reaching a target audience has never been easier for small business
owners. Are you ready to become the big fish in a small pond? Is your
passion unique enough to turn a profit? Here are 5 steps to make your
niche business a hit. Continue here.

Top 10 Reasons to Start a Business in a Recession


Do you have one good reason to start your business right now?
How about 10?
Regardless of what people around you (including the media) may say, right
now is the best time to get into business. Just go back and look at the
economic slowdowns throughout history. Most recessions in the post-World
War II era last an average of 10 months, followed by growth cycles that
last an average of 50 months.
What this means for the startup is there's no better time than right now to
get going and start pursuing your business dreams--in anticipation of the
next period of growth.
So with a nod to David Letterman, here are my top 10 reasons you should
start your business now--despite the current downturn. Continue here.

What Are You Afraid Of?


Admit it. You’re scared out of your mind. Whether it’s financial stress,
uncertainty about the business partners you’ve chosen or just plain fear of
failure, some aspect of starting your own business is keeping you up at
night.
You’re not alone. We queried entrepreneurs to find out what scares them
the most. Survey says: everything from speaking in public to keeping up
with technology to growing too fast.
So we brought in the authorities: Colleen Long, a psychologist who
specializes in entrepreneurship and Jim Koch, a well-known entrepreneur
with decades of business experience. They analyzed your top five fears
and offered up their best advice on how to handle them. Continue here.
What drives collegiate entrepreneurs
This year’s winner of the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards, Milun
Tesovic, started a music-lyrics Web site, MetroLyrics.com, after finding his
frequent online searches for lyrics as a teen to be disappointing. The
runner-up, Richard Littlehale, started YouRenew.com to buy and resell
electronics because of his interest in the environment. Continue here.

What you shouldn't sacrifice for your business


Entrepreneurial success should not come at the expense of having a
healthy personal life, writes Tim Berry. He shares 10 tips for maintaining a
sustainable balance, such as making time for exercise and meals with
family or friends. When work does threaten to consume you, find someone
in your life to talk to about your professional problems, and don't feel
compelled to solve all of them, he says. Continue here.

The 10 Customer Service Trends for 2010


In 2010, customer service makes a big comeback. It becomes the new
marketing. Forget about paying lip service to offering “great customer
service”. Let go all of those “the customer is always right” myths. It’s time
to offer outstanding customer service only because it makes economic
sense for your small business. It is the only truly sustainable competitive
advantage. Continue here.

The Year's Best Books for Entrepreneurs


Another year, another blizzard of business books. Which ones should you
read? To pick the best business books of the year for the entrepreneur, we
turned to editor at large Leigh Buchanan, who writes Inc.'s monthly
"Skimmer's Guide" book review; editor at large Bo Burlingham, the author
of Small Giants; columnist Joel Spolsky, who is CEO and cofounder of Fog
Creek Software in New York City; Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh; and Jack Covert,
founder of 800CEORead.com, an influential blog that tracks new releases.
Here are their top choices for 2009. Continue here.

Start & Grow a Healthy Business in a Recession


Continue here to what the video.

Top Ten 2010 Trends for Entrepreneurs


With 2009 coming to a close, we look ahead to what we can expect and
should plan for in 2010. Here is my list of the top ten trends founders,
CEOs, and entrepreneurs of start-up, emerging, and medium-sized
businesses should consider as they prepare for the New Year. Continue
here.

The Importance of a Marketing Plan


Devon Blainem, CEO and President of The Blaine Group, talks about the
importance of PR and marketing plans for new businesses. Watch the
video here.

Dealing With a Customer Who Wants a Better Price


You are doing everything in your power to get the lowest possible price
from your suppliers. And not surprisingly, your customers are trying to get
the best possible price from you. Continue here.

10 Business Mistakes That Will Nearly Break You… Literally


Starting a business is hard! You know it, I know it, and everyone else in
this world knows it. But what you probably don’t realize is that it is really
easy to screw up your business. Entrepreneurs have to a tendency to mess
things up through stupid mistakes. So save yourself from being one of
these foolish entrepreneurs by avoiding the following mistakes. Continue
here.

With Scant Jobs, Grads Create Their Own


Continue here.

A To Do List: For Newpreneurs


New to the scene? Yeah, we can smell it. The scent that still lingers in all
entrepreneurs as they live day by day. But we like you. So, we present to
you a rule list in order to get into this powerful club. Come back, show us
all the check marks, and you’re in. No excuses. No payment plans. Just
you and your remarkable idea. Here we go. (In no apparent order)
Continue here.

Why Making Meaning is More Important Than Making Money


Ask yourself why you decided to become an entrepreneur. Really ask
yourself (that was not rhetorical). Was it a strong desire for money, riches
and fame? Was it that you had distaste for the corporate lifestyle and
their rigidly bureaucratic ways? Maybe it was that you wanted to change
the world for the better. No matter what the initial reason was that pushed
you towards your entrepreneurial leap; to be a truly successful
entrepreneur, your end goal must be to help make the world a better
place. Almost anyone could balance a marketing budget and collect a
freshly pressed check every other week. What separates authentic
entrepreneurs from the rest of pack is not their ability to solve problems or
make the big money. Authentic entrepreneurs separate themselves from
the status quo by finding innovative ways to make meaning. They are the
ones that add value to their customers, client or users by not settling for
mediocre. Guy Kawasaki, a role model of mine and a person I hope to meet
soon has been known to preach, “If you make meaning, you will probably
make money. But, if you set out to make money you probably won’t make
meaning and you won’t make money.” Powerful words from an authentic
entrepreneur who knows what it takes to make both meaning and money.
If that is not reason enough, here are a few reasons why: Continue here.

Building Your Dream Office as a Young CEO


Young entrepreneurs sometimes don’t like the idea of having an actual
office. It starts to create the feeling of why they avoided the corporate
world in the first place. But if done correctly an office can be a home away
from home for entrepreneurs. Remember there are no rules here and you
can create it however you like. The idea would be to create the exact
opposite of the classic corporate office. This is were you take charge and
let the fun, excitement and energy that a young company and its team
revolve around. Don’t be shy here and don’t adhere to the old rules of the
game. Let’s look at how you could design your dream office so it has the
style to not only let innovation flow but also give your company some
swag. Continue here.

Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs


How to be insanely great infront of any audience. Continue here.

The Essential Startup Reader: 10 Lessons in


Entrepreneurship
As a blogger, I spend most of my time writing. But it’s time spent reading
that’s most satisfying. Here’s a short (and by no means a complete) list of
10 articles that encapsulate the art of the startup. Most were published
during 2009, and I found them educational and full of practical tips that
we’ve applied to our business. They’ve also helped me think differently
about startups and entrepreneurship. Hope you enjoy reading them as
much as I did. Continue here.

The Less You Know, The More Money You’ll Make


Are you a first time entrepreneur? Are you trying to learn what you need to
do to make it in this world? If so, good! Although you are going to fumble
and make a lot of mistakes, here is why you’ll make more money than
those know-it-alls: Continue here.

An entrepreneurial FAQ
Even independent-minded entrepreneurs know that sometimes, especially when you're getting started,
you need to turn to someone with more experience than you. In his time mentoring and fielding
questions from young upstarts, Mike Michalowicz, noticed some recurring questions and collected a list
of 50 of them on his blog, The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur. The Q & A session covers topics as broadly
applicable as "how do you market with a limited budget?" to as specific as "do I really need a logo when
I'm just starting out?" Some of Michalowicz's answers may be tough for aspiring entrepreneurs to
swallow. In response to a common question about how to balance work and family life he writes, "You
don't; especially at first. And the fact that you are asking this question before you have even put in your
first five years with a new business, means that you probably are not cut out to be an entrepreneur." For
a more nuanced take on this topic, check out Meg Cadoux Hirshberg's column on work-life balance.
Continue here.

Business tips from women entrepreneurs


Fox Business shares the stories of four successful women entrepreneurs
who turned their dreams into reality. One such entrepreneur is Gina Berta,
of the Mountainside, New Jersey-based, Breathe Fitness. Berta went from
being a certified trainer and group fitness instructor in 1983, to opening
her own gym 20-some years later. She advises spending money in the
right places to help your company stand out: "We changed our marketing
from the first to the second year and our numbers jumped significantly... If
you want to achieve certain goals, you have to invest in the right tools."
Continue here.

Boosting Business With a Facebook Fan Page


Some of your business's most valuable assets are its fans--the brand
evangelists who sing the praises of your products and services--with or
without you knowing about it. On Facebook, you have access to a choir of
more than 350 million potential fans. Enlist a tiny percentage of the most
vocal members to be your loyal Facebook Fans, and you can quickly spark
a word-of-mouth wildfire. The potential is tremendous, while the startup
costs are next to nothing--only a small amount of your time to create a Fan
Page and two to three hours per week maintaining it. Continue here.

How Do We Convert Trial Clients Into Full-Paying Members?


Continue here.

Finding Investors for Your Business


Continue here.

100+ SMB Blogging Ideas to Kick Start 2010


Happy 2010, folks! With so many social media studies showing that
companies are looking to up their involvement in social activities this year,
I thought I’d help cure that age-old “what should I blog about today?”
question. Or at least give you a healthy head start for the year by
providing 100+ potential blog topics for your small business blog.
Consider it my contribution to your yearly editorial calendar. I know you’re
creating one, right? So, here are some potential topics. Grab a pen and jot
down your favorites. Continue here.

The Little Known Secret to Getting Page 1 Google Rankings


Want to land a page one Google ranking for your business's website? The
folks at the American Express OPEN Forum have a simple trick that may
help you secure prime-time search-engine result rankings. The secret?
Video. With search engines like Google increasingly using "blended" search
results that include videos and pictures in addition to websites, a well
search-engine optimized video drastically increases your odds of landing
on Google's front page. In fact, according to Forrester Research, a business
with a properly posted video stands a 53 times better chance of getting a
page one Google ranking. Of course, not just any sloppily put-together
video is going to boost your rankings. There are some tricks you need to
follow, check out the article for all the details. Continue here.

Using Wikipedia to Promote Your Business


The online encyclopedia that anyone can edit already has more than three
million articles in English alone, covering nearly every major corporation
and many small businesses as well. Should yours be among them?
Continue here.

Top 10 How-to Business Articles of 2009


Here are the most popular business resources articles on NFIB.com in 2009
based on readership. It's been a tough economy, but the list shows many
of you were looking to start a new business or to find new funding options.
Continue here.

Why you need to be a little nuts to make it in business


Many great business ideas sound crazy at first, says Andy Nulman, a serial
entrepreneur with enterprises such as a comedy festival and a mobile-
phone company. "The mind of an entrepreneur is the mind of madness,"
he says, because entrepreneurs must believe in their projects in the face
of constant doubt, with no guarantee of success. Continue here.

Are you sober enough to be an entrepreneur?


Entrepreneurs have to believe they can succeed against all odds, "but
passion is an emotion that blinds you," writes Babson College professor
Daniel Isenberg. It takes "cold-shower-self-honesty" to know when to fold a
losing venture, so entrepreneurs should beware of praise, stop lying to
themselves and surround themselves with honest critics, he writes.
Continue here.

America's failures are a model to the worldmerica's failures


are a model to the
If there's one thing the U.S. is good at, it's bankruptcy, declares The Economist.
America's ability to fast-track failed businesses through bankruptcy and get them
back on their feet is sometimes abused, the column notes, but it's also highly
successful at encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation. "Bankruptcy is an
occupational hazard for entrepreneurs," The Economist adds. "The best way to get
more people to start businesses is to make it easier to wind them up." Continue
here.

The mistake most CEOs can't help but make


Most executives are awful at strategic planning, asserts Roger Martin.
Making strategic decisions requires simultaneously figuring out where to
attack and what tactics to use, Martin argues -- but unfortunately, most
CEOs are far better at solving one problem at a time than at managing
multiple variables in parallel. "The way to produce good strategy is go
beyond basic analysis to creatively integrate your choices," Martin writes.
Continue here.

5 Web Apps To Keep Your Startup Organized


In a world where emails, phone calls, texts, and Tweets constantly
bombard us, it is getting harder and harder to manage the firehose of data
and information being thrust our way. For young companies to succeed
this environment, it is imparitive they become organized and efficient lest
they fall behind and quickly become overwhelmed. While there is no
shortage of online solutions, it can be hard to know which one is the right
tool for the job, so here's a list of five web applications to help kick-start
your company and keep it organized without breaking the bank. Continue
here.

Top 6 Colleges with Entrepreneurial Programs


For young budding entrepreneurs approaching graduation this spring, or
for those looking to go back for a post-graduate degree, finding the right
program for your needs is very important. In their seventh annual joint
effort last fall, Entrepreneur Magazine and The Princeton Review teamed
up to rank the top 25 undergraduate and graduate entrepreneurship
programs in the United States. Only six programs managed to make the
top 10 in both lists, securing their spots at the top of the best overall
entrepreneurship programs. Continue here.

Why you should start a business?


There are a lot of great reasons to become an entrepreneur, but don't do it
just for the money, writes author and entrepreneur Eric Ries on GigaOM
Continue here.

For Many Entrepreneurs, Running the Show is Stressful


Running a business isn't easy. Work-related pressure can lead to a host of
stress-induced problems: headaches, sleepless nights, irritability, weight
gain and lost productivity, among others. Continue here.

10 Tips for Becoming a Smarter, Social Business Person


The web is filled with social networks: We have Twitter for meeting new
people, Facebook for old college buddies, and Bebo for those of us who
don’t want to hang out with the mainstream. Those social networks are
rarely viewed as corporate services — they’re relaxing at the end of a long
workday, not playgrounds for more business activity. But I would argue
that social networks provide value to a business person on several levels,
whether it be for those furiously working each day in a cubicle or for others
closing big deals on the golf course. Social networks can help make you a
smarter business person, and there’s a lot of corporate value to be found
in them. (Did you know that Dell has made over $6 million from Twitter
alone?) It’s time to exploit them for your business, and here’s how:
Continue here.

New Year’s Resolution… Oh Yea I Made One of Those

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