Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Entrepreneur Characteristics: Personal Qualities of an Entrepreneur

What makes an entrepreneur is a complex question. It includes factors from the environment in which an individual was raised, his or her family situation, and his or her personality traits. This question has been the subject of a great deal of both study and research. The following discussion is a summary of my own observations plus some of the conclusions of others.

http://www.morebusiness.com/getting_started/primer/d943458887.brc

Saturday, June 27, 2009

More great info - WAH Scams!

Provided by Home With Kids.com

Scams are the bane of the work at home parent's existence. They abound on the Internet and in the world in general. Fortunately, there are some warning signs you should always look out for that will keep you from falling for most of them.

Some topics discussed:
Work at Home Job Scams
- Home Assembly and Crafting
- Envelope Stuffing
- Online Surveys
- Chain Letters and Randomizers

Home Business Scams
-Refund Tracers
-Internet Marketing Seminars

MLM Scams

Work at Home Scam Blog Posts:
- Google Will Pay You How Much Per Hour/Day/Week/Month???
- Work at Home Scam Bingo
- How Common Are Work at Home Scams?

Be sure to drop by this wonderful page when you can, as there is a great deal of information listed under each topic, along with a section for more resources and wonderful blogs as well on the whole issue of Scams/Fraud & WAH.

Continue reading this very informative article here
http://www.homewiththekids.com/scams

Thursday, June 25, 2009

6 Ways to Start a Business with Bad Credit

by Joseph Lizio

Times are tough - especially for those budding entrepreneurs looking to get their business off the ground. While the state of the economy should never be a deterrent in starting a small business (regardless if the economy is up or down - people and businesses still need to consume goods and services)....

Continue reading article here
http://www.businessknowhow.com/money/startbadcredit.htm

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

The 14 Commandments of Creating a 'Wealth Pulling' Niche!"

By Roy J. Primm

To out-niche your competitors you must focus on these "14 commandments" of niche creation at all times. Observe the ones you apply to your business, product, or service - and watch your sales soar.

Continue reading article here
http://www.businessknowhow.com/startup/wealthniche.htm

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Creating A Business Image That Counts

By Barbara Gabogrecan

Many things can contribute to creating the business image that you want and they should all be considered before you rush into having anything printed to promote your business. Start with the very name you call your business. When deciding on the name consider just what the image is that you are trying to convey e.g. fun, serious, sensitive, caring, knowledgeable, etc. Don't have the name too long or too difficult to pronounce or spell.

Continue reading article here
http://www.allentrepreneurinfo.com/Article/Creating-A-Business-Image-That-Counts/10639

Monday, June 22, 2009

Financing Small Business Growth: More Than a Matter of Money

By Jeff Gordon

The Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership

Financing growth is more than a matter of grabbing readily available cash from obvious sources, such as banks or venture capitalists. Sometimes, you, the entrepreneur, think you need financing, but think again: Is that what you really need? Other times, when you're convinced that yes, it's the cash, stupid, that will enable my start-up to handle the sudden deluge of orders (or my business plan to make it off the kitchen table, or my going-nowhere company to pursue the acquisition that will make it a star, or, or, or...), the questions are just as complex.

Continue reading article here
http://www.score.org/fc_4.html

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Work-at-Home Schemes

Modern Twist to Old Scams

With the rise of the Internet and e-mail, getting a phony ad or message out to a vast audience is cheap and easy. Even though the old work-at-home scams have taken on a modern twist, the typical profile of victims who are most susceptible to these scams has changed very little. Work-at-home con artists have always preyed most heavily upon senior citizens, the disabled, mothers who want to stay at home with their children, people with low income and few job skills, and people who just want to get rich quick.

Read the BBB (Better Business Bureau) new findings here

http://www.bbb.org/alerts/article.asp?id=436

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Light Your Fuse Now - Business Startup

by Rob Speigel

Have you been thinking about launching a company? Or perhaps you’re considering an expansion of your existing business. Finally, current economic conditions are conspiring to offer you the best environment for a business start-up. Current conditions are as favorable for start-ups as any time...

Continue reading article here

http://www.businessknowhow.com/startup/lightfuse.htm

Business Plan Basics

by Palo Alto Software, Inc.

Make sure that your plan is clear, focused and realistic. Then show them that you have the tools, talent and team to make it happen. Your business plan is like your calling card, it will get you in the door where you'll have to convince investors and loan officers that you can put your plan into action.

Continue reading article here
http://www.businessknowhow.com/Startup/businessplanning.htm

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Plan for Success

by Dr. Robert Sullivan

Planning is mandatory for business success. Fail to plan and you plan to fail. Planning is difficult because there is no immediate feedback as to its value. But if you think of starting and operating your business in the same way you might think about climbing a mountain, the purpose and advantages of planning become clearer...The more careful the planning, the more likely problems will be anticipated and not allowed to interfere with your ultimate business objective.

Continue reading article here
http://certificate.net/wwio/biz39.shtml

Top 10 Places to Find Free Startup Help

By Geoff Williams

Looking for help getting your startup off the ground? Great advice doesn't have to cost you. Here's where to find it free. The word feels like a fantasy, or maybe a sick joke. After all, you can't make a move without spending money. Walk 10 feet, and you're 10 steps closer to buying new shoes.

Continue reading article here
http://www.ryze.com/posttopic.php?topicid=587469&confid=1022

Top 10 Problems of Working at Home

From the Work at Home Series Part 2

Working from home, whether you are salaried or employed, means more control over your schedule and your enviroment. You are the boss...The ten most common problems have been documented thru studies and surveys, including Home Office Magazine, and small business bureaus.

Continue reading article here
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/71163/top_10_problems_of_working_at_home.html?cat=31

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Choosing the right Work at Home Business

by BlondiePosts

Some would consider working from home as a dream job. After all, you can work when you want, take off when you want, work as much or little as you want, stay home with the kids, never get dressed... Before quitting your job however, there are some decisions to be made and many things to take into consideration about working from home.

Continue reading article here
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/154614/choosing_the_right_work_at_home_business.html?cat=31

Legal Entities Glossary

Presented by Career Guide 101

A listing of various titles for businesses when acquiring to become a viable business, company entity...

http://careerguide101.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=125&Itemid=97

10 Things to Be Clear About Before You Start a Company

Written by Bernard Lunn

This post is part of our ReadWriteStart channel, which is dedicated to profiling startups and entrepreneurs. This is one post/chapter in a serialized book called Startup 101. For the introduction and table of contents...

1. Is this your first venture?
2. Are you really an entrepreneur?
3. Does your venture involve something you understand really well?
4. Can your mother understand the value proposition?
5. Can you see the right wave?
6. What does your startup want to be when it grows up?
7. Starting a company is hard and uncertain.
8. Get a partner or fly solo?
9. Would you refuse a well-paying job to do this?
10. Can you raise appropriate financing?

Continue reading article here
http://www.readwriteweb.com/readwritestart/2009/05/10-things-be-clear-about-before-start-company.php

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Secrets to a Great Logo

Compiled from articles written by David Cotriss,
Kim T. Gordon and Steve Nubie

With a well-designed logo, potential clients can instantly discover how your business can serve them. Your logo is a visual representation of everything your company stands for. Think of McDonald's golden arches or the Nike swoosh--these two impressive logos embody these companies well.

Continue reading article here
http://www.ryze.com/posttopic.php?topicid=575442&confid=1022

10 Survival Strategies for Entrepreneurs

by Bill Lampton, Ph.D.

You want to unleash your creativity, which your current job stifles. You expect to double or triple your income. You are eager to implement your lifelong fantasy. You lost a previous job, and you don’t want to face being downsized again. Yet, whether you have taken that step or merely intend to, you’re afraid...

Continue reading this article here
http://www.businessknowhow.com/startup/survivalstra.htm

See Your Business With New Eyes

By Debbie Allen

Your business image is like a symphony orchestra. No single instrument determines an orchestra’s success or failure. Likewise, the image you project is not based on a single business card, brochure, or display, but on the total impression created by all these things and more.

Continue reading article here
http://www.businessknowhow.com/marketing/neweyes.htm

5 Tips for Effective Business Planning

Brought to you by SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Business."

http://www.score.org/5_tips_bp_1.html

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Building a Home-Based Business Team

by Rob Spiegel

When you first launch a home-based business, you get to wear all the hats: accountant, marketing director, ad agency, administrative assistant and office custodian. But as your business succeeds and you grow, you will start to divvy up tasks, hiring employees or outsourcing jobs to service companies.

Continue reading article here
http://www.businessknowhow.com/homeoffice/hbteam.htm

How to Place, Organize and Manage a Home Business Office

By Alison Curtiss

The joys of running a home-based business can be overshadowed by the trials that befall the entrepreneur. Like many business owners, I found that working from home can be hard to maintain. Here are several common obstacles and the basic strategies that helped me overcome them in my businesses.

Continue reading article here
http://ezinearticles.com/?Free,-Easy-Tips-on-How-to-Place,-Organize-and-Manage-a-Home-Business-Office&id=2325785

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Financial Aid, Grant Resources, Gov't Benefits

Starting a business comes with a pricetag, that some feel maybe unattainable... There are plenty of organizations and agencies out there willing to help you become successful in your quest for entreprenuership - first step is to know where to look!

Before entering into any sort of agreement or contract, giving out your information, be prepared - have a business plan ready (even if a rough draft outline of potential ideas, etc) to present when formally meeting.

To help get you started, here are some sites that I have found. BE SURE to check them out thoroughly (use the links I have posted under my Scams blog) before diving into any sort of business agreement's. To your success, Patricia

RESOURCES:

First Gov -
Site index, has a listing of all sorts of benefits, grants, proposals on a variety of topics.
http://firstgov.gov/Citizen/Topics/Benefits.shtml#b


Free Government Grants -
A blog listing several places to find assistance
http://free-government-grants.blogspot.com


Free Grants For Women (March 09) -
Wemomz site, is offering a $500 grant for women in business. You can find furthe details thru link.
http://www.webmomz.com/resources-free-business-grants.shtml


Grants Gov -
Allows organizations to electronically find and apply for competitive grant opportunities from all Federal grant-making agencies. Grants.gov is THE single access point for over 900 grant programs offered by the 26 Federal grant-making agencies.
http://www.grants.gov


SBA (Small Bus Ass) -
United States Small Business Administration covers everything re to running, owning or wanting to run or own a business. This site also offers training, resources, news and much more!
http://www.sba.gov


S.C.O.R.E. (Counselors/Retired Entrepreneurs)
"Counselors to America's Small Business" is a nonprofit association dedicated to educating entrepreneurs and the formation, growth and success of small business nationwide. SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
http://www.score.org/cgi/search.cgi?keys=Grants

The Seven Roller Coaster Stages of a Start Up

By Rob Spiegel

Launching and building a business is a nerve-wracking journey that will change your personality and alter your very essence. You may succeed and you may fail, but the wild turns and gut-wrenching drops along the way are as predictable as they are frightening....

Continue reading article
http://www.businessknowhow.com/startup/rollercoaster.htm

Friday, June 5, 2009

The Many Hats of Business: Can You Wear Them All?

by Barbara Brabec

If you are like most home-business owners, you'll end up doing all the work for awhile, so you may chuckle a bit when you get to the production plan. Still, it's important for you to figure out, in advance, exactly how you are going to get everything done in the time available to you. Stop and think about all the business hats you may have to wear for awhile, and be realistic about your ability to do all the work that may be involved...

Continue reading article here
http://www.businessknowhow.com/startup/manyhats.htm

Business Startup Ideas

PERSONAL NOTE =
I have known Rhonda thru ryze and she is an awsome gal who has loads of info to share, so be sure to drop on by her sites! Enjoy, Patricia

Business Startup Ideas
by Rhonda White
http://mommyrevenue.com/index.php/home-business-training

Visit her Ryze page
http://www.ryze.com/go/okcshoppers

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Turning Startup Dreams Into Reality

by Debbie Allen

Making the transition from running the family business to owning your own business seems like it should be easy enough. But this entrepreneur found out that full-fledged business ownership had a few more lessons in store for her.

Continue reading this very informative article http://www.businessknowhow.com/startup/change.htm

Scams, Ebay, Fraud, Consumer Help, Etc

As I shared in my previous blog on Copyrights-etc, you also have to educate yourself on the vast amount of WAH scams that are truly out there! I have had some of my own experiences thru the past few years which involved a closed checking account and a credit card... it was a mess and took me 2 months to resolve. Learn from other's is all I can say and heed the advice to research, ask and know.

You will find a compiled thread post consisting of the following topics:
Scams, Ebay, Fraud, Consumer Protection, MLM's and more
http://www.ryze.com/posttopic.php?topicid=731666&confid=1022
This topic post thread houses some of the important sites I have looked at and on occassion, have actually used and contacted.

I wish you the best of success with your search to a meaningful and legitimate Work At Home company and hope that thru my trials and error I can help get you to that goal faster! Patricia

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Copyrights, Trademarks, Registrations

The most essential lesson I have learned thru my trials of trying to navigate and understand the internet is to always EDUCATE myself before embarking on a new endeavor! I learned the hard way, that no matter how much you want to believe that people are basically good intended (when offering assistance), there are a few that for their own selfishness will take away from you what they can.

Thus, this leads me to this latest post re copyrights, trademarks and registration.... Valuable tools to know and understand, before taking any steps out there in the virtual universe we call the internet! BEFORE you put anything to paper, promote, advertise, create, whatever it maybe, do your homework and research thoroughly all concepts, ideas, etc so that you will be protected from any misuse of any kind. Success to you, Patricia

Here are some links I have found useful in business and my writing:

OFFICIAL SITES -
U.S. Patent & Trademark Office
http://www.uspto.gov

U.S. Copyright Office
http://www.copyright.gov



GENERAL MISC -
Creative Commons license: Protect Your Work
http://creativecommons.org

Copyright Advice & Info
http://www.firstwriter.com/copyright

Copyright Renewal, Copyright Restoration, and the difficulty of determining copyright status
http://blog.librarylaw.com/librarylaw/2008/07/index.html

TradeMark Express
http://www.tmexpress.com/index.php



ARTICLES/TIPS -
10 Big Myths about copyright explained
http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html

Are You Original?
http://www.ryze.com/posttopic.php?topicid=715292&confid=1022

Copyright Law - What Web Businesses Need To Know
http://www.businesshighlight.org/marketing/copyright-law-what-web-businesses-need-to-know.html

The Readers Digest Legal Question & Answer Book
http://www.ryze.com/posttopic.php?topicid=361159&confid=1022

Copyright: What is fair use?
http://www.smartfast.com/enews/ea_copyright_what_is_fair_use.html

12 Ways to Start A Business - Find the real opportunities

by Janet Attard

Business ideas are all around you. They are lurking in your garage, in your basement, in your kitchen, and in your children's room. You'll find them in magazine ads, at your neighbor's house and at work....Other business owners have turned their hobbies, interests and skills into satisfying and often lucrative businesses, simply by seeing a need in the world around them and finding a way to fill it....

Continue reading article here
http://www.businessknowhow.com/startup/12ways.htm

Monday, June 1, 2009

5,000 Biz re Links - tips, tools, more

In my 7 years now being online and researching thousands upon thousands of sites, I have compiled the best and post them daily over on my ryze network
1Stop Biz Resource Board.

Here are the variety of topics covered:
Monday- Advertising Sites, Articles, Tips
Tuesday - Chats/Classes/Events/More, Ryze Help
Wednesday - Forums, Groups, Message BDs, Ryze
Thursday - General... Blog, HTML, Newsletter, Web Design
Friday - Books, Ezines, Magazines, Newsletters
Weekends - Off Topic Links, Misc

I try to keep information posted general and accessible to everyone, since I have an international membership database of 500, covering almost every area of our world. Drop on by anytime and take a browse, we are open 24/7!

Thanks, Success to you always, Patricia

Avoiding Common Work at Home Business Pitfalls

By Charles Fuchs

Not everything works for everyone, everytime, so understanding how to avoid certain work at home business pitfalls can keep you from relying too heavily on methods used by other companies that may not work for you. Know your own business needs to avoid certain work at home business pitfalls that so many other organizations fall into.

First, understand that how and where you advertise make a difference in how effective it will be for your business. One of the most common work at home business pitfalls is to assume that any advertising will work for your business. However, you need to target your advertising to bring in the right consumers. Define your market, and create advertising to target that market.

Another one of the common work at home business pitfalls is to believe if you start a business people will flock to it. Starting and maintaining a business takes a lot of work. You will need to advertise and network to build your work at home business. Making personal contact with potential clients will bring in significantly more business than advertising alone.

Customer service is key to building and maintaining your business. So you want to make sure you treat your clients well. However, another one of the most common work at home business pitfalls is believing that you need to hold onto every business relationship, no matter what. Make sure you weigh out some of your problematic clients with what they are costing you and your business. It is not all about the bottom line, either. If you have a client that is keeping you up at night, you may want to consider breaking off the relationship.

Of the common work at home business pitfalls, believing that if something works, it works for everyone or in every situation will cause your business to have slow to little growth. Yes, you may have done it that way since you started your work at home business, but the method may need to change for your growing business. It is always good to keep an open mind.

You can try, but as your business grows you won’t be able to do it all anymore. Starting your business from your home may have been a way to get away from the rat race, another of the common work at home business pitfalls is to try to do it all alone. If something is not your strength or you no longer have the time to complete common tasks, you need to see if it is within your budget to get someone to help you out.

Remember, you want your business to be successful. Avoiding these common work at home business pitfalls to help you maintain flexibility to create a successful business environment.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR -
Copyright © Charles Fuchs is an established online marketer who specializes in helping people start their very own Home Based Business. He specializes in showing people the best way to Make Money at Home . Download the Free Work at Home Manual (Free $97 Value!)Quick Start Workbook (PDF)