65 Indispensable Websites for Business Owners

Get your business going, keep it going strong or take it in a new direction with this compilation of web sites for entrepreneurs. read more

Planning a Start-Up? Help and Advice Abound

Laid off in the recession and thinking of starting a business? Or just tired of working for someone else?

It’s hard to start a business alone. Aspiring entrepreneurs must tackle an onslaught of questions like what and where to sell, how to effectively market their product or service, how to structure their business — even whether going solo is the best option for them.

There’s no shortage of advice and resources for fledgling entrepreneurs. In fact, the biggest problem is figuring out whom to trust and what resources will be most useful. That involves scouting out what’s available and judging what is worth pursuing. Yes, it’s time-consuming. But one good piece of advice or personal connection can make or break your chance at success.

Here’s a look at some possible places for new entrepreneurs to turn.

Development Centers

Partially funded by the federal government, Small Business Development Centers provide free counseling and help on a full range of issues such as business planning, financing and site location. There are about 900 SBDCs, spread across all 50 states.

The centers employ full-time business counselors, typically former entrepreneurs or M.B.A. graduates, who are well-networked and meet one-on-one with entrepreneurs or direct them to other services and professionals that can help, says Don Wilson of the Association of Small Business Development Centers in Burke, Va.

“Sometimes the most valuable service we offer is telling someone their idea isn’t going to work,” he says.

Many SBDCs host courses, such as FastTrac, an entrepreneurship exploration and planning program developed by the Kauffman Foundation, an entrepreneurship research and advocacy organization. Some SBDCs partner with local business incubators that offer free and low-cost office space and resources.

To find the nearest SBDC, go to asbdc-us.org on the Web.

Score

Need a business mentor with very specific experience or expertise? You might try Score, a nonprofit group of volunteer business executives who counsel entrepreneurs; it’s loosely affiliated with the Small Business Administration.

There are about 11,000 Score volunteers nationwide and 389 offices. The volunteers mentor entrepreneurs long-term or just help with a specific question or need. People who don’t live near a Score chapter can pose questions to a counselor via email at Score.org.

A search tool on the homepage lets users find counselors in their geographic area or with a specific area of expertise. You can read detailed descriptions of the counselors’ professional backgrounds to pick one that suits your needs.

Campus Help

Universities are eager to give students real-world experience in a host of entrepreneurial exercises, including feasibility analysis, business planning and market research. They do so by providing free and low-cost help to local entrepreneurs.

For instance, law students at the University of San Diego advise local businesses pro bono on legal matters such as business incorporation and getting licenses and permits. For $500 to $1,500, student teams at St. Louis University will conduct a feasibility analysis or help write a business plan. Local entrepreneurs also can get their product or service ideas evaluated in the school’s Idea to Product Competition.

Call your local universities’ entrepreneurship programs or business schools, or check their Web sites, to see what services they offer local businesses.

Other Entrepreneurs

An often-overlooked resource for new entrepreneurs is other successful business owners in their fields. Someone looking to start a business should compile a list of the five “smartest” minds in the industry and try to meet with those people face-to-face, says Bo Fishback, vice president of entrepreneurship for the Kauffman Foundation.

“If you think you’ve figured out a place where you can leverage some great value, go to talk to people in the space,” he says. These entrepreneurs — assuming they’re willing to meet with you — can answer questions about the industry and what it’s like running such a business. “The best things that come out of this meeting are introductions to other people who might be interested in helping you,” Mr. Fishback adds. “It’s a very self-directed kind of school.”

Networking Groups

Starting a business can be a lonely experience — if you do it alone. Meeting other entrepreneurs who are in your town, or have similar experiences and problems, can be both therapeutic and educational.

Pretty much any city or small town in the U.S. has a Chamber of Commerce or other business group that hosts networking events, seminars and other resources for entrepreneurs. You also can find groups of business owners in your area on Web sites like MeetUp.com.

More and more business networking is actually taking place online. Though you might not form as close a relationship that way, you are more likely to find people in your industry to share experiences with.

Social-networking sites for start-ups include Sta.rtup.biz, StartupNation.com and Biznik.com. Other sites, such as MicroMentor.org, IdeaCrossing.org, PartnerUp.com and GoBigNetwork.com, can help match entrepreneurs with a business mentor, or even a potential investor.

[via WSJ Small Business] by Kelly Spors

State Of The Blogosphere – Technorati

Yesterday I gave a high-level overview of Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere Report for 2008.  Today I want to underscore a few more of the findings about blogging and brands, the growing credibility of blogs, and the active role of bloggers in other online activities. read more

5 tips to building a successful user community

If you as a product manager would like to build a user community that will self sustain, here are some tips based on my experience building the foundations of a user community on 3D ContentCentral website that currently has close to 450,000 registered members. read more

Do Brands Belong on Twitter?

Behind every Twitter account is a person. But some of these people ‘hide’ behind organizational brands, obscuring their persona and therefore reducing authenticity and transparency.

While some brands do a decent job of engaging people on Twitter, many don’t, and one could further argue that brand names and logos, as opposed to full names and user images, are not in the spirit of the Twitterverse. read more

Marketing Lessons Learned From Barack Obama

I’ve been fascinated by the analysis of the Obama campaign. In many ways, Obama’s campaign and its success is a big, bright, “LCD sign” of the times. New media has come of age in a very public way.

Most people seem to agree that the campaign used a number of techniques to capture an audience and even inspire the traditionally unenthusiastic. Some of my favorite attributions are: read more

Learn to Talk To Girls With This 9-Year-Old

Alec Greven, a fourth-grader at at Soaring Hawk Elementary School in Castle Rock, Colo., began writing the book “How to Talk to Girls” — about the dos and don’ts of dating — when he was 8 years old. The book came out of a school writing assignment, and he so impressed his teacher and principal that the book was sold for $3 at the school book fair and became the fair’s top seller. The book eventually made its way into the hands of a publisher, and Alec has since been doling out advice to boys of all ages all over the country. He spoke to TODAYshow.com about what inspired him to write this book, why boys should stay away from “pretty girls” and what the future holds for him as a dating expert. read more

THE CIRCLE November 2008 Networking Event

The Circle hosted a networking event together with EMERGE, a networking group for young, hispanic entreprenuers. We had a great turnout, with out 160+ people in attendance. Check out the pictures from the event:

How To Pitch And Partner With Google

Chris Sacca is one of Google’s Principals for New Business Development. Here he blogs about how to get noticed, if you are interested in working with Google, Inc.

I am on the front line of inbound business proposals. I would gather I see 40-50 per day. The launch of Google Talk has probably added another 15-20 per day.

So, as I sit with trepidation considering how many emails I have flagged for follow-up in my inbox on this Sunday afternoon, I thought I would take a minute to type out some hints that will make it easier on both of us and increase the likelihood that your company and mine will get some business done. These are in random order and I might expand the list as time goes on. As always, your comments are welcome. Anything I missed? (Keep in mind, this is my personal blog and nothing herein is approved by my employer.) read more

How do different generations communicate: Boomers, X’s, and Y’s

Take a visual look into how Boomers, Gen-X, and Gen-Y communicate – and how.

Boomers had it pretty simple back in their youth. Want to connect with your friends? Write them a letter, give them a call or go and see them.
read more

Next Page »