I started my virtual company – Java Social Networking – about three years ago, and since then we’ve grown to 8 employees (and 1 dog) who work from homes and coffee shops around the country.  Virtual offices pose their own set of advantages and disadvantages for both the company, employees and clients.  As a business [...]

As promised, The Hitachi Foundation has announced the 2011 Class of Yoshiyama Young Entrepreneurs! The Yoshiyama Young Entrepreneurs demonstrate business approaches that help create greater economic opportunity for low-wealth individuals in the United States. This marks the second year of the Foundation’s Young Entrepreneurs Program. To be considered, entrepreneurs must have been under the age [...]

Sometimes when you see those big checks independent consultants get, it may seem tempting to leave an office position and strike out on your own. Before considering such a move, it pays to take a look at the real money issues involved. This may also help you understand those seemingly amazing hourly rates. Switching to [...]

After struggling to create your business plan for months, every entrepreneur likes to think that their document is inspirational and will reach someone who is smart enough to see the brilliance of the idea, intuitive enough to recognize their business acumen, and enthusiastic enough to offer the money required to make it happen. Every serious [...]

Tim Sykes, Founder and CEO of Investimonials and Profit.ly, had a different college experience from most university students: skipping classes at Tulane in favor of trading penny stocks every day, he turned $12,415 in Bar Mitzvah gift money into $2 million and started a hedge fund during his senior year. He also created a scholarship [...]

Internet video and video blogging are rapidly becoming the most popular forms of media on the web. Bloggers worldwide are trading in their keyboards for webcams and enjoying a new found popularity for their sites and engaging more effectively with their audiences and subscribers than ever. With so many bloggers heading down the video blogging [...]

The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a “name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers.” Brand is lofty term that means a lot for you and your small business. Developing a brand is a challenge for any business, small [...]

Want to know the one thing that matters most in business? It’s value. Whether you’re talking about the value an employee delivers, the value of the products and services you offer, or the value you receive from your vendors, pretty much every decision that’s made involves the concept of value. When you decide to hire [...]

Ahhh, the internet. When it’s not providing us with cute pictures of cats or provoking outcry by changing the layout of our favorite social networks, it’s helping small start-ups go global. Taking that first step into foreign waters can be a scary, but lucrative one. With e-commerce steadily on the rise, particularly in emerging markets [...]

Want to be a better entrepreneur? I do. Even though my brother and I have been in the entrepreneurial arena since grade school, we each know that there’s always more to learn and always room for improvement. That’s one of the most fun parts of being an entrepreneur – it’s always changing and evolving. And [...]

For years, Costco has made an art out of the Treasure Hunt with up to 20% of its total stock being items of strictly limited quantity which may only be present in the store for a week. Some of the merchandise may be seasonal, but others may be trendy or outright surprising, such as products [...]

Modern investors love to first read a two-page summary of your business plan, formatted like a glossy marketing collateral sheet, with text well laid out in columns and sidebars, and a couple of relevant graphics. This one had better grab their attention, or they won’t look further. You may have already found several articles, web [...]