This article is contributed by Michelle Ulrich.

1. Website
a. http://smallbusiness.officelive.com/ - FREE
Microsoft Office Live Basics is the easy way to get started on the Web. If you have always wanted your own Web site, Microsoft Office Live has just made it easier — much easier.
- Free domain name and Web hosting
- Easy-to-use Web site design tools
- 500 MB of Web site storage space
- 25 company-branded e-mail accounts
- Web site reports
- Search advertising tool with $50 credit* - (I do not recommended to start)

b. Go Daddy’s Website Tonight for as little as $4.00/month

Go Daddy has THREE plans (or so) to choose from!

Blog instead of a website
c. Blogger.com – Free
d. WordPress.com – Free
e. TypePad.com – Basic Level is Free
i. With TypePad Basic you’ll be blogging in minutes. Choose your design from dozens of professional templates. TypePad makes it easy to include pictures and links, manage comments, and categorize your posts. Includes 100MB of storage and 2GB of bandwidth per month.
ii. $4.95 per month for higher level of service (more storage space, etc.)

Benefits of a blog versus a website
- No web designer needed
- Pick a template and start adding content
- Useful for selling one product (i.e. a book, ebook, info product, etc.)
- Useful for selling a relationship with potential clients
- Useful for opinion writing – be careful what you put out there; people read blogs!
- Hone writing skills
- Post at a minimum of 3x/wk for higher Google rankings
- Can also be a link from a website, which also increases traffic to your website

2. List capture form on your website and ezine delivery
a. iContact.com $9.95/month for up to 500 subscribers; 15-day free trial
i. Non-profits receive 20% discount and may pay by check monthly, quarterly, or annually
ii. Templates or design and paste HTML code
iii. Surveys
iv. Auto Responders
b. ConstantContact.com $15/month for up to 500 subscribers; 60-day free trial
c. CampaignMonitor.com
i. For each campaign you send with more than 5 recipients, you pay a flat delivery fee of $5 plus 1 cent/recipient. Any campaigns you send to 5 or less people are free of charge.
ii. Let's say you're sending an email newsletter for a client to their database of 4,500 subscribers. To send this newsletter, you will be charged $5 plus a cent for each recipient, $45 in this case, making a total of $50. All prices are in US dollars.

3. Shopping Carts and eCommerce
a. Mals-e.com
i. Shopping cart, digital downloads and affiliate program ONLY
ii. FREE for up to 1000 digital deliveries per month; you can purchase more as you increase your sales.
iii. $8/mo option for unlimited orders per month
iv. $95 flat one-time fee for their mOrders plus version for a desktop application for downloading and ‘databasing’ orders properly and permanently. www.mals-e.com/morders.php
v. Reporting
vi. Numerous third-party add-ons

b. E-Junkie.com
i. FREE 1-week trial
ii. $5/mo for 10 products/50 MB storage space; rates go up to $125 incrementally based on the number of products
iii. Product storage and delivery
iv. Easy to use, pop-up free, installation free
v. Shipping and postage calculations
vi. Sales tax and VAT calculations
vii. Inventory management
viii. Product promotion
ix. Discount codes
x. Affiliate management
xi. Customization (even works with an existing cart for digital downloads)
xii. Tracking, logging and notifications
xiii. Global acceptance
1. download page and email in language of your choice
xiv. Extras
1. send out free expirable download links
2. Works with eBay and MySpace, too!

c. Payloadz.com
i. Digital downloads ONLY
ii. FREE for up to $100 transaction limit / 50MB of storage
iii. $15/mo for $500 transaction limit / 100 MB of storage

d. WAHMcart.com
i. Full shopping cart very similar to Professional Cart Solutions (see below for full list of options, but you get EVERYTHING for $29.99/mo – no tiers

e. Professional Cart Solutions (aka – 1shoppingcart.com and many other private labels)
i. FREE 30-day trial or $3.95 for 30-days depending upon private label partner
ii. Four tiers of service
1. Starter $29
2. Auto Responder $29
3. Basic $49
4. Pro $79
iii. Shopping cart
iv. Broadcast (ezine, email announcements, etc.) delivery
v. Auto Responders
vi. Digital downloads
vii. Affiliate program
viii. Ad tracking
ix. Reporting
x. Payment processing with PayPal as well as a large list of merchants such as Authorize.net; QuickBooks/Intuit will be on the list soon (poss. Fall 2007)
xi. Templates for ezine delivery to come out soon (poss. Fall 2007)

4. Online Publishing Centers
a. CaféPress.com
b. LightningSource.com – Most recommended by traditional publishers if you must do Print On Demand (POD).
c. Lulu.com

5. Miscellaneous online services
a. CentralDesktop.com – Free online collaboration tool for up to 3 users; $25/mo for up to 10 users and other various packages. Use this tool to work with a virtual team to delegate the projects or pieces of larger projects.
b. EventBrite.com – Event management program. First event is free, then up to $9.95 each event. For paid events, your PayPal, Google Cart or merchant fees shall apply. You can specify donations or payments, number of ‘seats’ available, reporting, and lots of extras.
c. Evite.com – Free event management tool where you can pick a template, customize one on your own, add your Outlook contacts, track responses, and it even integrates with PayPal for paid events.
d. Foldershare.com – Free folder sharing application from Microsoft (a bit clunky to set up between two parties, but is an awesome program for sharing documents with clients, subcontractors, etc.)
e. Google.com – Google offers email, word processor, spreadsheet, calendar, classifieds (Google Base), groups, Blogger, Desktop and lots of other programs for FREE.
f. OpenOffice.org – Free office suite similar to and compatible with Microsoft office. Includes a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation manager, and drawing program. Interface similar to other office suites.
g. SurveyMonkey.com – Free up to 10 survey questions with 100 responses allowed; $19.95/mo for unlimited questions per survey and 1000 responses allowed, $200/yr to have unlimited questions and responses.
h. TheBasementVentures.com – Host teleclasses, teleseminars, etc. with this free tool. You can even record your own audio and then copy and paste the html code on your website, download the mp3 file and burn it to a CD for info product sales.
i. Thumbstacks.com – Free webinar presentation tool. This is for PowerPoints or various incarnations of PowerPoint only.
j. YouSendit.com – Free file sending program; $4.99/mo for 2 GB file sending, send multiple files, and no ads on your ‘send’ invitation.
k. Zoho.com – Office suite with free and $5 on up for other options. Word processing, spreadsheet, presentation tool, Wiki, notebook, Meeting (desktop sharing, web conferencing, online meetings, etc.), projects, CRM, database creator, planner (online organizer), chat, mail, and more.

About the Author
Michelle Ulrich is the Chief Villager and founder of The Virtual Nation, an educational destination for Virtual Professionals around the globe. Michelle is an avid believer in giving back to her industry and she does this by offering coaching, teleclasses, resources, and tools, in addition to providing a community of learning, a nation of culture, and a virtual village for her members. Education is the foundation of her organization as well as for her own personal and professional development. Michelle has been a community college instructor teaching a Virtual Assistant certificate program online. Aside from coaching and teaching, she is also a speaker and soon-to-be author on the subject of Virtual Assistance. She maintains her private practice where she specializes in working with authors, coaches and speakers who struggle to keep up with e-commerce and new technologies. Clients can check out her services at www.virtualbusinessmarketing.com, while Virtual Assistants can find her over at www.thevirtualnation.com. She can be reached by telephone at (916) 536-9799 in the Pacific Time zone.

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This guest post is contributed by Constantinos Tassigiannis.

Want to start your own business but don’t know how? Read on and get the knowledge to live the dream.

First, let’s look at the positives and negatives of starting your own business. The upside is that you are in charge of your own career and pay and if your business really takes off, you can end up with a massive salary which is much more than you can earn at the regular job. The downside is that many businesses fail in their first year and it’s not for people who prefer working to a nine till five schedule as most of the time, in order to succeed, you have to work round the clock. A seventy hour working week is not unusual.

The key to starting a successful business is recognising a gap in the market and taking advantage of it. Others however choose to come up with ways of improving an existing product. Whatever road you decide, research is essential as it can make or break you.

Do you have an idea that no one has thought of yet? How about an improved design that costs less to make than the original, or makes it work more efficient? How dedicated you are to your idea will reflect on the outcome. There are different approaches, such as a tried a tested business model, a specific business opportunity, taking control and changing your life or working part time, depending on what road you want to take.

Once you have come up with a product or service, you need to refine it. We do this by developing it by using research. Does it satisfy a need? Once you have done that, you need to brainstorm your idea with friends and colleagues. Everyone brings forth their own perspective on the idea and can inform if there is someone doing the same thing. Think about how you will run your business e.g. will it be sorely run online or will it have stores? What makes it unique and better than the competition? Make sure your product complies with any legislations and safety regulations.

Once you have come up with a product or service, you need to protect it. We do this by having a record of ownership over it, known as Intellectual Property, IP for short.

There are four types of IP and the type of product you have determines the type of IP you should use.

* Patents for inventions

New or improved products that are capable for industrial application.

* Trademarks

Used to protect brand and corporate identity of goods and services, allowing distinctions between different traders

* Designs

Protect product appearance such as lines, colours, contours, shape, and texture, materials of the product itself or its ornaments.

* Copyright

Literacy, music, films, audio, broadcasts, software and media can be protected under this category.

It should be noted that it often is not possible to protect IP and gain IP rights without being applied for and granted. Copyright IP’s however arise automatically without registration, as long as proof of creation exists.

Importantly, you need to create a business plan, because without one, you aren’t going to get anywhere as an entrepreneur. A high quality business plan can help attract the right type of funding to keep your capital high.

You need to have an executive summary, stating exactly what you’re business is and why it exists. Basically, it is an overview of what your business is all about and this is vital as investors will make a judgement based on this section alone. Its purpose is to draw attention and make the reader want to find out more, possibly making them want to invest in your idea. If it has caught their attention, it has done its job. Make sure you do not use hype as an experienced investor will see right through this.

Then, you need a short description of the business opportunity, detailing who you are, what service or goods you will provide and who is your target market. Detail when your business will start, or when it did if it already has. The industry and sector it is a part of and its key features should be written. Any relevant history should also be noted, such as past owners et cetera. You also have to detail your current legal structure and what your vision of the future will be. Define your products differences to competition and what benefits it brings forth. Also noting what development you have in mind and if you own any patents or IP's.

Once you have finished that, it's time to put your strategy to the test. Write down what marketing and sales ideas you have. How will you get people to buy your product and where will they be able to buy from? What are the markets key current issues and how big is it? It is also important to know your competition. Note how you will go about positioning your product in the market place. Also detail pricing policies and how you will go about promoting your business. Maybe you'll use advertising, PR campaigns, direct marketing, email or e-sales. You need to conduct market research and see if you idea truly fills a gap in the market effectively.

An effective way of researching a need is to convey surveys of the public, whether they would use the product. Ask customers of competing products for what improvements they would like to see. Monitor the competitions activities as this keeps you in the know whether they start a new service or release a new product that may compete with yours to a greater extent. Another utility that you should put to use is using focus groups to test out your product, using feedback from them to evolve your business. It is very important that you cover everything you can and conduct as much market research as possible as mistakes made later on due to poor information can be costly. Hire a market research agent to help out and make sure you haven’t missed anything as the more information you have, the better you can satisfy your customers.

Now that you have your point of sale ideas down, you need to work out who makes up your marketing team. List your credentials and the people you plan to recruit to work with you. Give details of the number of people you have in your workforce in total and by departments. How much time each employ spends working and how much they earn should be given here and any other numbers that affect the total amount of profit brought in by the company. You should also note down a timescale, noting costs and any training that will be given.

Onto operations and time to note down the premises you'll be operating from, production facilities, your management information systems and your networking and IT. Do you have a business property or do you rent it? What are your long term commitments to the property and what facilities does it provide or will there be investments put in this field? Noting down all of this as well as how you go about using the facilities effectively really show that you know what you're doing and you won't be wasting time, as time is money. Any established procedures for stock control, management accounts and quality control should be put in this category as well as any IT experience you have because as technology evolves, so will everything else and you can't risk falling behind.

Make sure your business plan reflects your personal vision, keep it simple and realistic and your business plan should work well.

Once that's out the way, research is next, especially financial. Make sure you have Unique Selling Proposition and a business model at hand, showing how the revenue will come in. Also note forecasts for profit and loss, sales and cash flow statements. To help your business survive its first year, you’re going to need to cover your financial needs. Many businesses don’t make a profit in the first year, making only enough to cover their outgoings. So it is important to have funding if you want to survive. Plan out a budget using a personal budget spreadsheet detailing your domestic financial needs for the year. Keep a record of your spending and try and cut back on unnecessary buys. Appling for funding can really help and make things easier. You can do this in a number of ways. Sources of help include local business links, start-up schemes and financial advisors and accountants.

The Prince’s Trust (eligible age 18-30), that can provide a low interest loan of up to £4,000 for a sole trader and up to £5,000 for a partnership. They also provide up to £250 on test marketing, as well as access to a wide range of products and services to help your business stay in business.

Business Link: a company that provides a service in business planning, borrowing shares and equity, grants and government support banking, financial and debt recovery. It also has a wide range of information for entrepreneurs.

Chamber Of Commerce: “The National Voice for Local Business” employs more than 5 million people and also the widest business community to help fund you and give you the skills and information to succeed.

But you can also do things yourself to help fund your ideas, such as releasing equity from an existing asset, such as trading in your car for a cheaper one. Sell things you do not use or really need, get a loan from family members and friends. Get an overdraft with your bank account

Besides help with funding, there is also the choice of incubation. There are a good amount of incubators to choose from In the UK. They are designed to nurture your company, help guide your business, supply you with workspace and also provide you with the right information and advice with a combination of business development processes and infrastructure. Research has shown an 87 % and upwards survival rate for incubated companies compared to only a 40 % survival rate for non-incubated.

Incubators include Digital Inc in Liverpool ICDC, who currently house 12 small businesses and brought in a profit of over two million pound in the 2004 - 2005 year and is the UK's first business incubator to be focused on the digital industries. Its current funding ends after 2008 but its manager Mr Peter Leather is putting together a sustainability model is confident that Digital Inc will become a centre of excellence.

Another incubator that has just recently opened is the Liverpool Science Park, which is run by Peter Leather, ex-manger of Digital Inc. This is a new modern building with office space and lecture rooms that can be utilised by small and corporate businesses. As with every incubator, an affordable fee is paid for the space needed, which is worth it considering the knowledge they’ll be passing on to you, as well as support given by staff and help lines.

Once you have enough information, you need to decide how you will trade. Will your business be a Limited Company or a Sole Trader?

A Sole Trader is a business which legally has no separate existence from its owner. All debts of the business are debts of the owner. The advantage in being a Sole Trader is control and business administration, due to their only being one owner.

A Limited Company has liability limited by the law. Funds can be raised by selling shares of the business. The drawback is that you risk losing control if shareholders join and equal a greater amount of ownership than yourself.

One final bit of advice is to make sure you hire the right type of people. Often, businesses can be hurt due to lack or determination or commitment put in by others besides the owner. You need to explore the options available to you, such as freelancers, fixed term contract employees, temporary staff, consultants and contractors. Whoever you hire, make sure they work to a high caliber, with the right mix of skills. It's not an easy process but one that will pay dividends.

Article contributed by Constantinos Tassigiannis, BA Hons MBCS.
Freelance iMedian, artistic entrepreneur and disabled weight lifter.
www.DinoT.co.uk

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There are some businesses that don't do well. Why is it that over 90% of businesses fail? What's the rationale behind it?

The first major reason why most businesses fail is because most businesses are not started by entrepreneurs but by technicians thinking they are entrepreneurs. And this is quoted by this person called Michael Gerber who wrote this book called The E Myth.

And what he says is really true. He says that the fatal assumption people have is if you know how to make the technical product of a business, then you know how to run a business that makes the technical product. That's a fatal assumption. What does that mean?

A lot of people assume that if I can cook, I can run a restaurant. If I can train, I can run a training company. If I can style hair, I can run a hair salon. I am sorry, you can't. It's totally different.

The hair stylist who goes to start a hair salon, she was good at what she was doing, she was cutting hair. But when she starts a hair salon, she sucks. She's a hair stylist. She can't market, she can't sell, she doesn't know accounting, she doesn't know how to set up business system, she can't lead a team and that's why the business collapse.

So that's the first reason why they fail. So if you are a technician right now, or if you are a hairstylist, what do you do?

What these groups of people should do is to learn how to run a business, learn marketing, and learn finance. Or find a partner or partners that can add on to the skill sets you need.

Second reason why people fail is because of, product sameness, a lack of a Unique Selling Point or USP. Most people, when they start a company, you ask them. So what makes you different? And they can't answer that question.

And even if they do answer that question, there's a lot of fluff, oh we are different because we can do it better but how, they can't tell you. And sameness kills.

For example, let's say you are in the food business and you start a chicken rice stall, there are hundreds of them around. You know what happens at the end of the day? You have to compete on price. And when you compete on price, your margins get slashed and you end up making no money.

You start a hair salon. There's another hair salon down the street, what makes you different? You start a tuition center? There are hundreds around, what makes you different?

So never start a business unless you got a USP, you are sure that it's different from the rest of the people.

These are the two reasons why businesses fail. Now that you are aware of these two reasons, you will be able to plan, steer and manage your business in a manner that would increase your chances of your business being more successful and profitable.

Adam Khoo is an entrepreneur, a best-selling author and a peak performance trainer. A self-made millionaire by the age of 26, he owns and runs several businesses in education, training, event management and advertising, all with a combined annual turnover of $20 million. His best-selling "Patterns of Excellence" is a complete step-by-step system that will literally program you for success in life.

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Blogtrepreneur: When it comes to blogging for money you’ll get a wide range of opinions on the subject of whether a blog is a business in itself. Personally, I feel that a blog can be a business on its own (without any other services or products being sold) because I see plenty of them every day that are making money. Of course, a blog can also be used very effectively to promote and improve an already existing business. Either way, running a blog with the intent to make money either directly or indirectly will help you to learn a number of valuable business lessons.

Blogging is an excellent proactive learning experience for anyone interested in business and entrepreneurship, and I’d like to take a look at 7 lessons that you’ll learn from blogging. While you may or may not have already had a textbook knowledge of these lessons, blogging will give you a first-hand, real-world knowledge that is always superior to anything you can read in a book.

1 - Networking is Critical

Building a popular and profitable blog without a network is just about impossible. Likewise, in the business world a network can be the difference between an average career and finding exciting and challenging opportunities. For any entrepreneur, regardless of what type of business you are building, a strong network will be one of your most valuable assets.

2 - Businesses Need a Plan

When starting a new blog it can be tempting to jump into things and just start blogging. Modern blogging platforms make it extremely easy to get started quickly, but the need for planning still exists. If you hope to run a successful blog you’ll need to have a plan to get there. Most likely this plan will evolve somewhat over a period of time, but you should always have some direction in mind to keep yourself on track.

3 - Making Money Online is Realistic, but Not Easy

Many people start new blogs every day with the hope of quitting their day job in a month. After all, people like John Chow and Darren Rowse make a significant amount of money with their blogs, so why can’t you? Well, I believe that anyone can earn a substantial income blogging, realistically only a very small percentage will earn that type of income. The biggest thing holding most online entrepreneurs back, in my opinion, is effort. Yes, it is realistic, but it won’t come easy.

4 - A Great Idea without Consistent Effort will Only Go So Far

Regardless of what type of business you are running, the necessary action is critical. If you have a great idea don’t wait around while someone else beats you to it.

5 - Integrity Counts

In the business world there are always going to be temptations to take short cuts, but in the end integrity does count. In most cases those short cuts might help you temporarily, but they’ll usually come back to haunt you. Whatever type of business you are working in, make it a priority to be seen as reputable and trusted.

6 - Not All Expenses Are Bad

If you’re a blogger you may learn the value of quality hosting when one of your posts gets to the front page of Digg. Or you may learn that paying freelance bloggers is a cost-effective way to build quality content for your blog that generates even more money in advertising revenue. There are plenty of expenses that can make your business more profitable, the key is minimizing the unnecessary expenses and being willing to spend on those that will help you grow the business.

7 - Building a Business is a Long-Term Experience, Not a Get-Rich-Quick Scheme

Most bloggers tend to give up very quickly when they find that they are not making money as early as they had hoped. Blogging is like any other business in that it can take some time to be successful. Sure, there are a few examples of blogs that are profitable very quickly, but they are the exception, not the rule. If more bloggers took a long-term approach to making money there would be a lot less that give up along the way.

7 Business Lessons You’ll Learn from Blogging [Blogtrepreneur]

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Article contributed by Leah Nevada Page of MicroMentor.org, an organization that helps emerging entrepreneurs grow their businesses through mentoring and advising relationships with experienced peers and business professionals.

Sturdy McKee’s journey to small business success started with a pink slip. The hospital where he had been working as a physical therapist downsized and after a frustrating job search, Sturdy sat down with his wife and had a conversation about what it would take to open his own physical therapy practice.

Once started, Sturdy rapidly built a successful business, and was soon operating at the full capacity of his staff and building space. But when Sturdy began looking for a loan to help him open additional offices, banks were refusing to finance his planned expansion. Then Sturdy found MicroMentor. MicroMentor is a pioneering web-based community and social network that helps aspiring entrepreneurs build successful businesses by matching them with volunteer business mentors from around the country.

After signing up online at www.MicroMentor.org, where he described his business and mentoring goals, Sturdy was matched with a mentor, Jayshree Miller, who had worked as an accountant in the U.K. and was now looking for an opportunity for skills-based volunteering.

As Sturdy’s mentor, Jayshree worked with Sturdy through a series of phone calls and emails to help him make sense of his balance sheets, cash flow statements, and profit & loss statements. She also helped him identify areas in need of expansion. “She reinforced our opinions that we were a healthy company and that we were viable, even though we were unable to secure funding from a bank. [It] gave us the confidence to fund our own growth from our own profits.”

Now, just six years after opening its doors, Study’s physical therapy company has 5 branches and over 20 employees. And just two years after he first sought help on MicroMentor, Sturdy has returned to MicroMentor as a volunteer mentor. “Moving the business to profitability changed a lot of things in my business and my life and I hope to help other people to do that. I want to help people figure out how to plan and make their businesses viable.”

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Business Know How, by Stacey Mayo: Here are 10 of 26 proven strategies gleaned from interviews with highly successful people who have overcome obstacles to accomplish such feats at climbing Mt. Everest, winning a Grammy, becoming a multi-millionaire, becoming an established author and humorist, a professional pitcher in the Major Leagues, an internet entrepreneur who earns millions and more. Regardless of your career or industry, when applied, these success principles can shorten your learning curve and be a catalyst for your success.

1) Create Wealth in Alignment With Your Passions

It is important to focus on what you are passionate about first and then find a way to make money at it. Get in touch with your heart first, otherwise, the left side of your brain will rule out perfectly good ideas without having explored them.

2) Honor Numero Uno: Design Your Life Around Your Priorities

Many people try to fit their dreams into their life and complain there are not enough hours in the day to make it happen. If you want your dream to become a reality, make it a priority. Otherwise, it will never be more than a pipedream.

3) Visualize Every Step of Your Dream and Watch the Magic Unfold

The muscle movement that helps us physically take action in our lives begins in the mind. That is why all great golfers, tennis players, basketball players, etc. visualize themselves making a shot beforehand. An experiment conducted by Alan Richardson, an Australian psychologist, found 23% performance improvement among subjects who visualized every day for 20 days. In his paper published in Research Quarterly, Richardson wrote that the most effective visualization occurs when the visualizer feels and sees what he is doing.

4) Easy Does It: Inspired Action Always Trumps Forced Action

Inspired action is joyful action that is in alignment with your dream. It is action you want to take and the idea of it brings a smile to your face. When you take inspired action, you are aligned with what you are doing and things flow naturally.

5) Laser in On One Idea, Business or Income Stream at a Time

One of the mistakes people make is diversifying too quickly. This is true whether you are trying to build multiple streams of income or are just working on several different ideas at one time. The key is getting the first stream or idea up and running, producing good revenue, and having systems in place so it will keep running without you before going on to the next unrelated stream.

6) Strengthen Your Relationships: Your Financial Independence is Dependent on Your Connections With Others

Many people think of the day when they will be financially independent as “freedom day.” And, while financial independence is a worthwhile goal, it does not mean that you are free of your dependence on other people. As a matter of fact, in order to create financial independence, you just might need a lot more people in your life than you have right now.

7) Develop Your Resilience Muscle: Bounce Back From Setbacks

The truth is that you will have setbacks along the way. This is just inevitable. The sooner you accept that, the better. Many of these setbacks will take the form of circumstances that come up and block your way. If you look closely, you may find these setbacks are directly correlated with your innermost thoughts, fears, and limiting beliefs. This is because we create what we focus on including those things we don’t want.

8) Streamline Your Efforts; Align Your Natural Talents With Your Goal

Success comes easier and more quickly when you enhance your strengths and delegate in areas where you are weak. Your natural talents are those things you do so easily and naturally that you think they are no big deal. Many of my clients were overlooking their natural talents when they first came to me. They thought if it is this easy for them, it must be this easy for everyone. This is rarely the case.

9) Disarm That Sneaky Inner Saboteur

Even when we know what we need to do, we often don’t do it out of fear of experiencing the emotions and other things that may come up as a result. Fear of failure and fear of success are the two biggest internal fears that people often face. Most other fears such as fear of rejection fall underneath one of these major categories.

10) Shorten Your Learning Curve by Learning From The Best

You can learn from the people who are barely getting by, from those who are doing fairly well or from those at the top of the heap. Talk to people who are already successful and find out how they did it. That’s what the book, “I Can’t Believe I Get Paid To Do This!” is about. Its purpose is to provide success principles and philosophies from those who have excelled. They’ve already been down the road and you can learn from their experience. Why reinvent the wheel when someone else already did a great job of creating it?

Top Ten Strategies For Becoming Uncommonly Successful [Business Know How]

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You'll pay too much in taxes if you don't understand that cash in minus cash out does not equal profit.

This is the most important thing you need to know before you start keeping records for your business...cash in minus cash out does not equal profit. It simply equals cash left over. Or, in many cases, it's a negative number, so it equals cash you owe somebody.

What this means is that you'll need to understand the IRS rules and keep your records according to those rules so you report your profit correctly and take (and be able to prove) all the deductions you're allowed to take. Because you want to pay the least amount of tax possible, right?

The way you'll need to keep your books will be different depending on whether your business is a sole proprietorship, a partnership or a corporation. The rules for calculating income and deductions (and therefore profit) and the forms used for reporting to the IRS are different for the different business types.

What counts as income? Most or all of the money you take into your business will count as income. This includes fees for services and/or product sales.

But not all the cash that comes into your business counts as income.

If you get a rebate for a purchase you made at your local office supply store, that's cash in, but it's not income. It's a reduction in your supplies expense.

If you get a refund of part of your insurance premium at the end of the year, that's cash in, but it's not income. It's a reduction in insurance expense.

If you borrow money (and it doesn't matter if it's from your brother or the bank), that's cash in, but it doesn't count as income.

What counts as expenses? Most of the money you spend for your business will probably count as expenses. This includes advertising, postage, office supplies, and similar items.

But not all the cash that goes out of your business counts as expenses.

When you buy business property like cars, computers, and furniture that will last longer than a year, you're not allowed to deduct their entire cost as an expense in the year of purchase (except in special circumstances).

These items are called capital assets. Sometimes they're referred to as fixed assets.

You have to depreciate them over several years. Basically, depreciation is a process of spreading the cost of an item over its useful life.

You might have cash of several hundred or thousands of dollars go out the door when you purchase fixed assets, but you can't deduct the entire amount of the purchase price as an expense when you buy them.

Some things that your business pays for might only count as partial expenses. An example of that is business meals and entertainment where you can only deduct half of the cost.

That doesn't mean that your business can't pay for 100 % of the cost, but only that you're limited in the amount of the tax deduction you can take. This is another example of cash out that doesn't translate directly to expenses.

Some things your business pays for might not be tax deductible at all.

An example of this would be a contribution to a Political Action Committee. That doesn't mean that the business can't pay for it, just that it's not a deductible expense on your tax return.

Some more examples of cash that goes out the door that doesn't count as expenses are: draws for sole proprietors and distributions for partners or S corporation shareholders.

There's also one type of expense that can be more than the amount of cash that the business actually spends. It's the home office deduction that some sole proprietors can take.

So you see why it's so important to understand that cash in minus cash out does not equal profit.

Unfortunately, the IRS rules and regulations don't always make logical sense; they might seem complicated and unfair. One thing is certain. They are the way they are, so we have to deal with them. Learn what you can. And get help when you need it.

Sheryl Schuff, CPA, is a Certified Public Accountant, author, and consultant who teaches entrepreneurs how to get their businesses organized, keep good accounting records, and maximize their business tax deductions. She is President of Schuff & Associates, PC and has been in private practice for over 30 years. She recently started an information products company www.TaxesForSmallBusiness.com to provide individual training materials for small business owners.

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Young Entrepreneur: After polling our Young Entrepreneur readers, here is our list of the top 20 mistakes that startups make when creating a new business. I’ve also included a few of the comments that were left for some of the top points.

#1: Not Having a Clear Plan or Vision

“The biggest mistake people make is not looking far enough ahead in your market. So many businesses are losing ground to new technologies as example, so think ahead on how to better utilize these new technologies. With the current recession, how many planned for it? Every business will go through cycles of growth and market demize, just as we are all now seeing, so again, think ahead, have vision beyond today is one of the keys to success.”

#2: Surrounding Yourself With People Who Don’t Believe In Your Idea

“Another mistake would be surrounding yourselves with people (whether by accident or because they’re family, etc) who don’t believe in your idea. You need to be around positive feedback all the time.”

#3: Not Having Enough Money

“I think this is big for those businesses that have the incentive to only reap the benefits and not focus on the longevity of your venture. Taking out $10k now may prevent making $100k in a few months. Mindsets should not be “Yeah I own a buiness I make this much” but rather “Yeah I own a business, we invested in XYZ and were able to afford this new service/expand here/etc” Also, too many people plan on the basic expenses of starting up, and don’t think about the increased expense that come with a more successful, growing, developing business.”

#4: Doing It All Alone

“Lots of CEO personalities think they have to be the answer to all problems, and this is not the case. Their pride and mindset of “I must live up to this role” is skewed and they may fail to tap the most important and valuable resources that surround them in their management team and affiliates.”

#5: Not Seeking Mentors

“I think having a mentor - a much more experienced entrepreneur that can give you some valuable advice is so IMPORTANT…especially when you are a young and overly ambitious… and with so many challenges to meet on the way to success.”

#6: Losing Momentum

“Being satisfied and content with functioning can lead to “big headedness” and false hope that it will always be this way. You need to constantly improve your product/service, research your around-the-clock changing market and competition, and promote innovation and forward progress amongst your management and team.”

#7: Not Marketing Your Business / Expecting People To Come To You

“A few mistakes that I personally made was the lack of focus on a targeted marketing plan, and the miscalculation on future expected growth.”

#8: Not Looking At Your Competition

“I think it is a big mistake to start a business without really understand the market.”

#9: Being Overly Enthusiastic and Not Having Realistic Goals

“A few mistakes that I personally made was the lack of focus on a targeted marketing plan, and the miscalculation on future expected growth.”

#10: Not Thinking Survival

“Too many people think that so long as everything is done “textbook” and they have the proper set up, and plans down on paper, that they will succeed. Also, many people have the idea that it is easy to keep it up after they get an initial consumer base. Not true. small businesses are small fish in a big pond, constantly competing against emerging and growing bigger competitors that have the backing, both monetarily and resourcefully, to push them out of the picture.”

The remaining 10 common startup mistakes are:

* Doing It Just For The Money
* Not hiring right away
* Getting to year 1, past year 2
* Not getting involved in the community
* Working in your business instead of on it
* Going wide instead of deep into a niche
* Not using email marketing
* Having a lack of ambition
* Failing to network with others
* Growing too quickly

The Top 20 Startup Mistakes - Entrepreneur Poll Results [Young Entrepreneur]

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BusinessPundit: With the current economic crisis, we are seeing businesses fail at a greater pace. Companies that have had past success records are downsizing at substantial rates, not to mention those that are completely closing their doors.

Large companies aren’t the only ones feeling the crunch of economic hardship. Small businesses are going out of business as well. On top of the challenge to survive the first two years of business, inflated costs of doing business are growing at rates never seen before.

The question then is, “What do you do when your business fails?” For many small businesses they started with someone’s savings, an investment fund, loans from friends and family just to get started. Now that’s gone, the reality of “shutting down shop” sinks in and the entrepreneur/small business owner is again with his idea and the thoughts of what could have been.

At some point you have to embrace the reality that it’s over and when that happens now what?

Focus on the Positive Things that Were Accomplished

It doesn’t matter how long you were in business every business has had bright days. It could have been new contacts and partnerships. Patients for products that you know can work. Systems that you developed and implemented. Perhaps, it was the day or week you reached records sales.

Ask The Hard Questions

Why did it fail? Was it poor planning? Was there lack of knowledge of the market? Did it come down to personnel? Maybe it was the wrong sales strategy. Whatever it was, as an entrepreneur asking the hard questions will help get away from the blame game and addresses the facts, both good and bad.

Learn and Move On!

Entrepreneurs can be extremely strong-willed individuals. It’s because of that they experience success and reach their goals. However, the one thing that separates them from others, is that the fail, learn and move on. Often times it’s in the same type of business and same product: just a new approach.

How to Cope When Your Business Fails [BusinessPundit]

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When most small business owners think about taxes, they think about Federal income taxes. But there are other taxes that I want to let you know about, so you’re not surprised if you have to pay them.

The first is self-employment tax. If you’ve ever worked for someone else, you know that social security and Medicare taxes get deducted from your paycheck. When you’re self-employed, you don’t actually get a paycheck.

Here’s what happens if you’re a sole proprietor. Following the IRS rules and regulations for calculating income and expense, you report your results for the year on your personal 1040 by filling out Schedule C.

Then you take the net profit and put it on Schedule SE for self-employment tax. After a small deduction, you calculate 15.3 % as your self-employment tax. This is double the rate of 7.65 % that’s deducted from employee paychecks because as a sole proprietor you’re both the employer and the employee so you have to pay both parts.

You get to take half of the amount of self employment tax as a deduction from your income on the front of your 1040. This has the effect of reducing your taxable income.

The self employment tax itself goes on the back of the 1040 in the section called Other Taxes on the line that says self employment tax. For the 2006 filing year that was line 58. This tax gets added to your Federal income tax and any other taxes you owe and is paid when you file your 1040.

If you (and/or your spouse on a joint return) have had Federal income tax withheld during the year that adds up to more than your total taxes for the year (which includes self employment tax), you’ll still qualify for a refund.

If your business is operated as a corporation AND you’re active in your business, you should receive W-2 wages and you won’t be subject to self employment tax on your earnings. Distributions from S corporations are generally not subject to self employment taxes.

If your business is operated as a partnership, you might have some items of income that are subject to self employment tax and some that are not. These items will be reported to you on a schedule K-1 that is part of the business tax return.

Sales tax

Many States have sales taxes. If you sell products to customers, you’ll have to charge them sales tax and pay it to the State. In some cases, digital downloads are considered products as far as the sales tax rules are concerned and certain services might also subject to sales tax. In Indiana, where I live, the rules are put out by the Indiana Department of Revenue. There will be a similar agency in your state who you can contact to find out the rules.

Local Taxes

Some cities and school districts have local taxes that you might have to pay. Some of these depend on your type of business. There might be additional sales taxes, property taxes, innkeeper’s taxes, or food and beverage taxes. Check with the authorities in your area for details.

And then there’s the often dreaded Estimated Taxes

This is a subject that confuses many people.

First, let’s try to understand the reason that the estimated payment system exists. Our system of Federal taxes is a “pay as you go” system. When you think about it, that makes sense. The government needs money all year long to pay for various things.

When you work for someone else, taxes are withheld from your paycheck each pay period, so the government gets its money over the course of the year. If you’re a sole proprietor, this doesn’t happen, so you’re expected to make estimated payments.

As with many IRS rules, there are some exceptions, and some penalties if you don’t pay enough or pay on time. There are some cases where you might not be required to make estimated payments (and you won’t have a penalty if you don’t), but it would still make sense to make them anyway, to avoid having to pay a large amount on April 15th.

If you have another job in addition to your self-employment, you can increase your Federal withholding on that job to cover the amount of the estimated taxes that you would otherwise have to pay. And if you’re married and file a joint return and your spouse has wages from another job, he/she can have additional Federal withholding taken out to cover the estimated payments.

Or, you can make quarterly payments using Form 1040-ES. You can also sign up to make the payments on-line. You might also need to make estimated payments towards your State taxes.

Payroll

If you have employees, you’ll need to pay various Federal, State, and local payroll taxes. But we’ll have to save that conversation for another time.

The most important thing you need to understand is that it’s your responsibility to find out what taxes your business has to pay. And that the laws vary from place to place and by type of business.

A good source of information is an accountant who specializes in consulting with small businesses.

Sheryl Schuff, CPA, is a Certified Public Accountant, author, and consultant who teaches entrepreneurs how to get their businesses organized, keep good accounting records, and maximize their business tax deductions. She is President of Schuff & Associates, PC and has been in private practice for over 30 years. She recently started an information products company www.TaxesForSmallBusiness.com to provide individual training materials for small business owners.

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This article is submitted by Matt Landau, a writer for The Panama Report.

If you're reading this and you're older than 40, you must leave now! I'll be using phrases like "sup B" and "OMG" and "mo-fo" that you're destined to not understand. "You see, when I was your age, the closest I ever got to Central America was a crummy Spanish textbook" I imagined my mother nagging in my ear as I reclined on a balcony in Casco Viejo overlooking a beautiful plaza and drinking a glass of Chilean wine.

I became fascinated with the idea of working for myself soon after I moved Costa Rica and my belief became cemented soon thereafter by fellow alumnus who complained at length about a life in NYC of ironing shirts and corporate lunches just to sit in a cubicle and report to some retarded boss named Stan who said corny thinks like "Seeya later alligator!"

I am part of a new generation: one of tech-savvy travelers and risk-taking diplomats. We, as a group, only vaguely remember the days without internet, thinking painstakingly back to the evenings of Netscape browser which took forever to load and the family computer base which was roughly the size of a small fridge. We are a curious, well-culture bunch attracted to exotic cuisines and international films. Many of us consider the iPod to be an officially-recognized appendage. We don't mind paying extra for imported beer, we tend to think outside the box, and because we have creativity up the wazoo, we are a generation that's primed to break serious entrepreneurial ground in Panama, Central America's hottest bed for success.

Because the country has long been dependant on trade and banking, many industries in Panama which might otherwise emerge with the evolution of a nation, have lay dormant here. Weighed against a slowing economy in the USA and increased competition in the workplace, young entrepreneurs are moving down to Panama to find comfort in an open-canvas-like myriad of business opportunities. Embrace the unknown. For the young entrepreneur, testing these new waters is replacing grad school in delivering not only an education, but in many cases, a hefty payout to those crafty enough to get in at ground level.

The 8 rules below may serve as a manual to youngsters who seek to move to paradise and start their own business like I did. I have been inspired by the amount of opportunities witnessed in Panama and humbly, the accomplishments I've achieved before my 25th birthday. These rules are not terribly different from elsewhere in the world, but thanks to various factors at play in Panama, finding success, adventure, and self-worth may be easier than you think.

1. Be the first in the game:

Finding your niche in the market is the imperative. Take equally into account your skill set and your field experience, but perhaps mostly your passion. Going with the grain on this one is ill-advised as you'll fall right back into the rat-race you tried to escape at home. Be revolutionary and uncompromising: don't let anyone at home or in Panama tell you your idea won't work. Chances are they're simply jealous of your ingenuity. Identifying a successful endeavor in the States can work, but be sure to research heavily upon arriving in Panama to confirm you'll be an expert as the first kid on the block.

2. Master the art of mobility:

Build your business model around the goal of never being there. As cited by Tim Ferris in The 4-Hour Work Week, the easiest and lowest-maintenance businesses are the ones that work while you're sleeping and this especially holds true in Panama where secluded beaches and teeming rainforests are regularly calling you out to play. Choosing an internet business can be ideal as high-speed services are offered throughout Panama, while similarly effective is the process of outsourcing, seeing as though labor here is cheap and English is fairly widely spoken. Focus not only on coming up with a good idea (as good ideas are commonplace) but on implementing your good idea. You're a big fish in a small pond down here.

3. Seek out the perfect match:

Network your ass off and meet as many potential business partners as possible. This is not unlike finding a personal mate. Search for a trustworthy person of a strong work ethic with whom you might share a common vision. Going with your gut instinct here, as you will frequently see elsewhere in Panama, is crucial. Joining forces with another entrepreneur will allow you to accomplish twice as much and play off each others' strengths. There's increasingly a large pool of young entrepreneurs coming to Panama and meeting prospects will be a direct result of your ability to make friends: settle only for the perfect business partner and someone you admire. Participating in expat banter and creating enemies will hold you back drastically.

4. Head of the class, my ass:

Almost every successful entrepreneur I know in Panama left the States with a less-than-flawless academic record. While that's not to say that paper whiz kids won't do well here, it is meant to show that sub-par GPAs and unremarkable CVs are common characteristics of successful entrepreneurs in Panama. Legitimizing yourself has never been this easy; find any lawyer in Panama and have them build you a custom corporation (should cost no more than $1,000). Award yourself 100 shares of the corporation (or split evenly between co-founders), then have business cards printed ($30) with the name of your corporation followed your name as Founder or President. This subliminal confidence boost of being your own (retarded) boss will be a huge stepping stone. Seeing your name on paper is instant proof and will get the ball rolling.

5. Avoid all shortcuts:

No one said it would be easy so don't expect to arrive here and have a successful business handed to you on a silver platter. While the atmosphere in Panama is ultra-conducive to success at a young age, it also requires a lot of bitch work. Read as much about your chosen industry as possible; sign up for RSS feeds and bloglines to be delivered directly to your email and stay up-to-date and informed. Write as much about your industry as possible. Exhibit foresight and be prepared to start the company from the ground up using your vision as the final objective and avoiding (tempting as they can be) all shortcuts. Set goals and reward yourself when you reach those goals. Luckily, if you've chosen the right business, it won't feel like work but rather an exiting sense of momentum.

6. Minimize costs:

Focus on low overhead. Not many new, young entrepreneurs realize the list of costs associated with a start-up in Panama. Splitting electricity, internet, and rent costs with another group of young entrepreneurs will free up much-needed cash and compensation for common positions (like secretary) should be divided as well. Sharing an office is an act that will simultaneously function as a breeding ground for competition and a carving station for the perfectly-honed business plan. Try to stay away from business ideas that require large capital investment as they're unfortunately no more difficult to dig yourself out of south of the border than they are at home.

7. Plan to fail: Making mistakes in your Panama industry of choice should be expected, but if prepared correctly, you won't have a) any competitor up your ass ready to take your spot or b) any law suits to deal with. The result of failure as a whole is comparatively friendlier in Panama than in the US, generating an atmosphere where you can learn from your slip-ups. There's no better way to become the best in an industry than by recognizing what everyone else is doing wrong. Try to bounce your idea of people who are not involved in your project and accept criticism with open arms.

8. Be a student of the game:

Finding a mentor in Panama will greatly accelerate your learning curve. The properly chosen mentor will steer you around costly mistakes and catapult you over traditional timeline milestones, especially because of Panama's closely-interwoven social network. Contact them on the internet and take them out for drinks: they may prove more influential than a paid education. Solicit advice from anyone who will give it and synthesize all this information in a balanced manner.

Hopefully the wave of young entrepreneurship in Panama will begin and my generation will go after new markets in Panama for all the right reasons: not only to live a great lifestyle and enjoy the tropics, but also to be challenged in the pursuit of a passion.

Hopefully we'll utilize our creativity, energy, and viewpoints as young people to create a nurturing environment for each other in Panama, perhaps different from the standard which has set by older expats prior. Hopefully we won't start a business just for the sake of starting a business, but rather to bring a truly good idea to the table; one that can make Panama a better place.

Matt Landau writes for The Panama Report (www.thepanamareport.com), a travel and investment portal in Panama City, Panama, Central America

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Not long ago I took a trip to Tuscany and spent a week in a cooking class. Before the trip I spent time researching my options. I wanted to know who would be teaching the class, what courses and dishes would be covered, how hand-on the class was, if wine-pairings with the dishes would be addressed and if the class included trips to the local farmer’s markets to select fresh produce. Finding just the right cooking school was important to me because I would be spending a significant amount of money traveling to Italy and I wanted my experience to be well worth my time and effort.

For a woman interested in buying a franchise, evaluating the training a franchise business offers should involve even greater research – after all, this is about your future – not a vacation.

As part of your due diligence when researching a franchise opportunity, find out everything about the training a franchise system provides. A good training program should cover not only the product or service but also setting up the business, marketing, employee management, business procedures, reporting, etc.

The best way to find out about the scope of the training program is to ask existing franchisees. Find out what stood out about the training they received and what they feel could have been covered more completely. Ask them how prepared they felt when they opened their business and what ongoing training they have been provided.

Keep in mind that the franchisees you talk with may have been through various versions of the training program. Problems that existed at one time may have been fixed. Or, you may find that a training program that was fine in a company’s early days is now out-of-date. Be sure to include in your research franchisees who have had the same training you will receive to get an accurate assessment of its value.

Ask current franchisee if they received a training manual and if the information is updated periodically. Also ask if the franchisor offers other training resources such as conference calls, webinars or intranet sites. Ongoing training is important for many companies who adjust their business with changes in the marketplace. If this applies to the business you are reviewing, find out what they do to keep each franchisee up to speed.

An addition source of training may come from periodic conferences held by the franchisor. Besides providing additional education about the product or service, conferences offer franchisees an excellent opportunity to connect and network with other franchisees in the system. A network of peers is one of franchising’s invaluable resources so be sure to ask if this is an opportunity the franchisor provides.

Although this is less of a problem today than in the past, some industries may have an “old boy’s club” mentality among franchisees. You will be able to tell by reading the UFOC if there are other woman franchisees. Include some women in your due diligence calls so you can get an idea of the business culture and the prevailing attitude towards woman franchisees.

Many franchisors will have field support personnel who are available to be at your site during your grand opening and at periodic intervals during your first year in business or longer. Having someone right there to answer your questions may help calm your first-day jitters so find out if this a serviced provided by the franchisor.

If, after your franchise investigation process is completed, you don’t feel the offered training will adequately prepare you to run your new business, it’s time to step back and look at other opportunities. As reported in the August 2006 Franchising World magazine, a recent study by FRANdata found nearly 2500 franchise concepts in 18 different industries and almost 900 of these concepts were started over the past three years. You don’t have to compromise – if one company does not have the training you are looking for, there are sure to be many other companies who can meet your needs.

I’m happy to report that the cooking school in Tuscany exceeded my expectations and I left there able to prepare a number of authentic and delicious Italian dishes. Had I not researched the available schools so thoroughly, I might have been very disappointed with my choice.

To get full value for your investment in a franchise business, the training should answer all your questions and set you up as a confident and successful owner.

Franchisee training should include:

• Everything you need to know about the product or service
• Everything about using/protecting the brand
• How to find your business location
• How to negotiate a lease
• How you complete the permits and buildout
• How to find, hire and manage employees
• How to market your product or service
• How to keep books and records for the business
• The reporting requirements and processes
• Where to get the equipment needed for the business
• How or where to buy supplies and inventory
• How to get help when you have a problem

Kimberley Ellis is the President of Bison.com, a leading online resource for franchise and business opportunities. She has been quoted as an industry expert in USA Today, Wall Street Journal and a variety of local and regional publications regarding trends in business and franchising. Kim combines her entrepreneurial spirit with a diverse background in marketing and operation to help others succeed in franchising.

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It's not just Mark Zuckerberg; the kid down the hall from you is probably making hundreds of dollars a week writing a blog about deep sea fishing. The girl outside your dorm, who sits and knits during anything, is probably selling those pieces through her ebay store and paying for her shoe fetish.

Everyone is an entrepreneur. This is the message behind Global Entrepreneurship Week- with enough creativity and innovation we can solve any challenge. It is important to us that you get involved because we offer unparalleled opportunities: connections to major entrepreneurs, speed networking activities, competitions, etc. The initiative takes place in over fifty countries, involves more than 70% of the world’s population and involves heads of state, university leaders and world famous entrepreneurs.

To get involved check out www.unleashingideas.org - you can sign up to run an activity, join an activity, see what’s going on at your school or community and in a couple of weeks sign up to volunteer. Learn what is going on, how to pitch your ideas and address major social challenges. Maybe your collection of comic books can actually translate into a global business and alleviate poverty. Entrepreneurship is not just for business majors anymore.

Global Entrepreneurship Week

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If you are considering a franchise as your next career move, you probably already understand a number of the benefits to being a part of a franchise system. However, as each franchisor will offer different levels of assistance, it can be confusing to someone trying to evaluate a potential franchise purchase.

Since the value of a franchise is that the system has been developed to have replicable results, you will want any system you evaluate to score high in those areas that are important to the success of your unit.

Location – Location – Location
If your franchise is going to be site-dependent, the franchisor should, at a minimum, provide guidelines for selection of a site and the general terms of a lease agreement applicable to this type of location. Some franchisors will provide company personnel who will help you search for and select a site while some even work with national real estate brokers to find the best properties. If your franchisor provides help in site selection and lease negotiation, you are working with a good company.

Build-out Assistance
A typical franchise will provide each franchisee with instructions for the design and lay-out of the store along with details of where to purchase the components. As group buying power an important benefit of being part of a franchise company, you should expect to pay less for these components as a franchisee than if you purchased them as a sole proprietor.

At the high end of franchisor build-out assistance are those companies with design groups who help the franchise design the store, sometimes with such high-tech devices as CAD (computer-aided design) systems. Also, some franchisors will even hire a construction team to do the build-out and then deliver the components right to the new business.

Initial Training
The majority of franchised businesses do not require a new franchisee to have previous industry experience, primarily because they believe they can train a person with good business acuity to run the business successfully. A good training program is therefore essential. Most franchise companies will bring the franchisee to corporate headquarters for classroom training and some will allow time for hands-on training at a nearby franchise unit or corporate store.

This initial training should cover all aspects of the operations of the business, including book-keeping, record-keeping, operations, recruiting and retaining employees, and finding customers. The franchisee should receive an operations manual and get answers to any remaining questions she may have so that she feels confident she will be able to get her business up and running.

Some franchisors will provide corporate or field personnel to work side-by-side with the franchisee during grand opening and during the first week of operations, ensuring the franchisee has mastered the training and achieves a comfort level with the business. Franchisors that are willing to train a franchisee’s manager along with a franchisee are providing a value-added service.

On-going Training and Assistance
A good franchise business will continue to improve and evolve with time and the addition of new units and on-going training is often a necessity. Similarly, a good franchisor will offer continuing educational opportunities to franchisees as well as providing on-going assistance as needed. Many franchisors provide a help-line for issues that come up in the field and some will make regular visits to the franchisee’s location. A company that provides conferences or other opportunities for a franchisee to connect with fellow owners has the best interests of their franchisees in mind as these opportunities allow for creative problem-solving, the sharing of best practices and can reenergize the business focus.

Marketing Expertise
Your franchisor should provide you with a complete marketing plan for your new business that covers grand opening through at least the first 3-6 months. Since the franchisor has every reason to want you to succeed, a savvy franchisor will do much more. Many will provide you with the actual marketing materials, professionally produced. These may include pieces such as posters, banners, direct mail postcards, newspaper ads, and maybe TV and radio spots, all of which can be customized for your location.

Permits, Compliances and Other Legal Issues
Depending on the type of business, you may also need assistance in dealing with local governmental agencies for various permits. If your franchise involves food or beverage, there are numerous health-code compliance issues you will need to handle. Your franchisor should provide help in these areas so that your opening is not held up waiting for permits to come through.

There are several ways to find out how the franchisor handles these support items. The first, of course, is that you will want to ask questions about each as part of your investigation into the business. The second step is to talk to existing franchisees about the support they received and how well prepared they were to open and run the business.

Be sure to ask these franchisees if they felt there was anything missing from the training and support they received and if there is anything they wish had been more complete or done differently. If the company you are investigating scores well with these franchisees, you can be confident you will be happy with the support they will provide to you.

Kimberley Ellis is the President of Bison.com, a leading online resource for franchise and business opportunities. She has been quoted as an industry expert in USA Today, Wall Street Journal and a variety of local and regional publications regarding trends in business and franchising. Kim combines her entrepreneurial spirit with a diverse background in marketing and operation to help others succeed in franchising.

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OK, so this blogging thing is truly like therapy! I can tell you my thoughts and if they resonate, you give me feedback. Its the perfect relationship!

So i find as i get further into my career, i become more and more unwilling to deal with other's version of value when it comes to my core business which is selling talent. As an agent whether its for athletes or Hollywood A-listers, I am always amazed at how off base some so called "professionals" are at evaluating the market price for some.

I will give you an example, one of the hottest areas in my business right now is booking Celebrity Chefs. Both some that I represent exclusively such as former Supermodel turned author and chef, Maria Liberati or uber famous chef Mario Batali who i don't represent but have booked for several corporate events.

My company handles leads from many different sources such as www.chef2chef.net or www.allamericanspeakers.com as an example. It amazes me firstly how much money celebrity chefs get theses days but also how little the market understands about booking them. Just because someone is on TV and your local charity group is having a fundraiser that would be perfect for a celebrity chef, doesn't necessarily mean that is a possibility.

On a regular basis my staff has the unenviable job of calling back well meaning people who don't have a clue on costs and valuations of talent on the open market. I recently received a request for Emeril for $5,000. Might seem like a lot to some, but here is the reality, Emeril gets close to $200,000 an appearance plus the cost of his G-4. No that is not a video game, that is one of the swankest private jets on the market. Probably cost another $10-30,000 just for the plane.

So my challenge every day is teach my staff to either a. upsell a potential client on the reality of the costs and the benefits of those who charge more or b. take a lead for a celebrity that have no chance of getting done and find them someone who will reasonable meet with their approval for their program within their budget.

This highwire act we do hundreds of times a week. We do it for TV commercials, infomercials, speaking engagements, Satelitte Media Tours, endorsements, personal appearances, licensing opportunities and so much more.

You have to learn the skills of communication usually on the phone to keep someone's enthusiasm while you essentially convey to them that there is a better chance that Reindeer will be attending their next Christmas party with a jolly ole fat man in a red robe and matching shoes... Anotherwards, NOT! Oh, and still get a deal done with them! Now that takes skill.

My point is this, you may be insulted, disappointed, truly aggravated that you did everything you could to generate a fair offer for your product or services and sometimes no matter what, the market just doesn't see the same value. The question is, what are you going to do then? That is my point, good sales and marketing people always find a way. Don't give up, at that point of feeling complete and utter frustration, suck it up because that is when you need to be at your best. If not, start working that resume' because you clearly are not going to last long in this game!

Evan Morgenstein: Entrepreneur, Consultant, Sports Agent, Motivational Speaker. Morgenstein started in the tech industry after graduating in 1987 from Syracuse University. Working for several partially owned IBM partnerships, Morgenstein learned from some of the best. He has parlayed that into a dominant company Premier Management Group in the celebrity talent and sports marketing industry.

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