Top 4 Small Business Ideas

(Deborah Sweeney)-If you’re not making as much as you would like in your current job or you’re worried about the potential of being jobless, starting your own small business may be a good idea for you.  Some of the best businesses have started out of as a part-time job while the entrepreneur continued to work somewhere else.  The benefits of a small business are numerous.  You are your own boss so you can work your own hours, around your own schedule, and manage your business the way you think is best.  If this sounds like something you’re interested in, then here are some up and coming industries for you to consider!

1. Internet Services.  These days many tasks can be performed over the internet: online tutoring, website development and search engine optimization, even marketing work.  There are a multitude of tasks that can be performed solely online, and if you have a computer, an internet connection, and a desire to do something on the computer, you can probably have your own internet business.  To get started, the first step would be to identify a skill you have that you think will benefit other people. Read more here…  

Small Business Realities

(Small Business News)- Small business and entrepreneurship continues to be a driving force behind our economy, but sometimes we fail to see the importance of the contributions small business and entrepreneurship bring. This roundup is meant to bring forth some of the realities of where small business stands today together with tips and techniques that will help small business move forward and continue to thrive and innovate no matter the challenges. Please share this with a small business owner you know.

Survival Skills

Support for the self-employed. We’ll be careful not to call it help. (They wouldn’t hear of it!) but here in the U.S. more than 40 million people, 31 percent of the work force, are self-employed and continue to be treated unfairly by a system built to favor huge workforces and huge corporate employers. But now, a push may be underway to change all that. Read more here…

7 people, 1 question: What’s your latest game-changer?

(Globe and Mail)- Innovation is key to staying ahead in business, but how innovative are Canadians really? British-born Eric Gales, president of Microsoft Canada, says he sees a gap between the ideas we generate and our willingness to do something about them – and he blames our country’s conservative approach for this.

So how are Canadian business leaders faring when it comes to turning innovative ideas into reality?

We canvassed top people from a cross section of sectors and asked them to tell us about the last innovative thing they did or idea they implemented in their company. Their answers ranged from the practical (a way to manage customer feedback) to the whimsical (transforming an old ferry boat into a floating Scandinavian spa). Read more here…

7 Ways To Promote Your Business Online For Free

(Kim Bhasin)- You may not have wads of cash to spend on marketing in the early stages of your startup, but that doesn't mean that there aren't effective ways to get your brand out there.

Before the Internet, small businesses only had a few ways to market their products cheaply, through methods like printing out fliers or sponsoring little local events. Now there are all kinds of opportunities out there on the Web—you just need to know where to look.

Here are seven ways to promote your business online that won't cost you a dime: (Read more here…)

Retailers not sold on taking business online

(Tim Lohman)- Australia’s retail sector must overcome myriad of challenges before its is able to address the growing loss of sales to overseas online outlets, according to the Productivity Commission’s Economic Structure and Performance of the Australian Retail Industry draft report.

Citing Access Economics research, the report claimed a lack of understanding of how e-commerce works along with its potential benefits and negative perceptions about the cost involved in setting up and maintaining Web-based facilities were causes of the apparent slowness of Australian retailers investing in online facilities. Read more here…

More Common Small Business Marketing Mistakes

(Francine Hardaway)- Marketing a small business is one of the most difficult, subtle undertakings on the planet. That’s because each one is different, and it’s not the tools that make the difference, but the strategy. Before you choose your tools and tactics, make sure you have a firm strategy. That’s what California Auto Glass is missing. It’s as though they had a branded t-shirt, but it was full of holes and stains. Or a billboard covered in graffiti. Read more here…

Does Your Small Business Compute?

(Small Business News)- It’s a fact of life in small business today. Where would we be without our computers? If there was once a time when a PC, laptop or notebook was a luxury to the small business owner, well, it’s long passed. So what are the burning issues in small business computing today? We thought we’d put together a roundup to get you started…(Read more here)

Business Guide to Facebook Launches

(Brent Rangen)- Facebook has launched Facebook for Business, a new resource hub dedicated to helping businesses get started and optimize their brand on Facebook. The new resource center presents preexisting features in a way that will make businesses understand what Facebook features and properties are available and relevant to utilize.

Launched Tuesday, Facebook for Business attempts to lay out a clear, concise, and easy-to-follow guide for businesses, making the problem of over-optimizing a thing of the past. The resource center brings value to business owners, employees tasked to handle social media, and marketers looking for science and statistics to sell and educate regarding Facebook services. Read more here…

Prairie residents most optimistic about business

(Edmonton Journal)- Western Canadians are the most optimistic in the country that businesses in their communities will experience growth this year, says a national study released Wednesday by the Bank of Montreal.

Across Canada, meanwhile, 44 per cent of Canadians surveyed expressed optimism while eight per cent see local business activity shrinking. Read more here…

13 Entrepreneurs’ Business Tips to Follow – or Not

(Gerri)- Those trying to start their own business love looking to other successful  entrepreneurs for advice and guidance. It’s only natural to expect that someone with infinitely more success than you would have something intelligent to say, but emulating that knowledge may not always be the best idea. Here are the pros and cons of 13 business tips provided by famously successful entrepreneurs. Read more here…

Getting to Work in Small Business

(Small Business News)- Getting to work in your small business is the key to success. Small businesses don’t run themselves. This much we know! But how do you know if you’re on the right track, doing what you should to get your business to that great place. Here are some tips we hope will help. Enjoy!

Customer Relations

Why you need more than search marketing. If you’re like many small business today, a substantial part or perhaps all of your marketing may be done online.  Read more here…

3 Questions To Ask Yourself Prior To Opening A Business

(Ken Sundheim)- A common mistake that young entrepreneurs make is unwittingly starting highly cyclical and highly risky businesses, when it hasn’t been all that long since the Great Recession in the U.S. was declared over by the National Bureau of Economic Research in June 2009.

These cyclical, risky businesses operate on the premise that we are going to experience an economic boom or that we are in the midst of one. Instead, the younger entrepreneur must be more traditional with his or her start-up plans. Read more here…