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Helping
Entrepreneurs
25
Tips by Entrepreneurs for Entrepreneurs
Ready to leave your job behind and become your own boss? It takes a
certain kind of person to make it through the first few years.
All
Business - Business Guides
Offers book-length how-to guides (“The Allbusiness.com
Guide to Starting a Business,” “Guide to Incorporation,” etc.)
at $75 per guide, with templates of relevant forms included. Or,
forms can be purchased a la carte from the site.
Alone
Behind the Desk
8 Tips to Overcoming the
Isolation of Working at Home. In
1987, Sue Hurlbut experienced every corporate employee's worst
nightmare when she was abruptly and traumatically fired from a
Portland, Oregon, construction firm she'd helped build into a
multistate corporation.
American
Express: Small Business Exchange
Articles and tips for
small business. There is also a section for Creating an Effective
Business Plan, which can be found using the Site Map.
Are
You an Entrepreneur?
An interesting article
published online by GreenSheet.com that provides answers to commonly
asked questions about entrepreneurs.
BizPlanIt
Has free resources which includes tips, advice, and examples.
Bplans.com
Business Planning Resource
For entrepreneurs and
small business. Includes free sample business plans, sample
marketing plans, plan outlines, tips, start-up business, financing,
and venture capital.
Business
Matchmaking
The Business Matchmaking program, a partnership between the U.S.
Small Business Administration (SBA) and HP,
"matches" small companies with federal, state, and local
government agencies and large corporations that have actual contract
opportunities for products and services. The program's goal is to
stimulate jobs and growth for small business by taking advantage of
these opportunities that are normally relegated to distinct
geographical areas such as the Washington DC Beltway or the city
where a major corporation is located.
Business
Planning Center
Provides business planning
resources, example business plans, analysis of business
strategy, and business planning products.
CCH
Business Owners' Toolkit
This site offers lots of stuff for free: basic topic guides,
an archive of their “Ask Alice” advice column (on topics that
range from startup to planning an exit strategy and dissolving a
corporation, all with numerous internal links for further
explanation of key terms) … plus, a Webopedia-type encyclopedia of
business terms, such as “accounts payable.” These appear to be
pretty extensive and useful, offering not only a basic definition of
the term but some explanation and context … and, like the other
items on the site, the entries are full of internal links for
drill-down on any topic.
Entrepreneurial
Death Traps
How to Avoid the Classic
Entrepreneurial Mistakes. While
no entrepreneur wants to consider the possibility of failure, a
head-in-the-sand approach is hardly worth pursuing. Wise
entrepreneurs protect themselves and their companies by learning
from the fatal mistakes others have made before them. The author, a
venture-fund veteran, has watched and participated in the progress
of numerous entrepreneurial ventures. In this speech, delivered
before the Venture Capital Institute, he describes 25 potentially
life-threatening business-building blunders.
Entrepreneurial
Self-Test
You need to think about why you would like to own your own business.
What makes you think you will be Successful in business?
FastTrac
FastTrac is an entrepreneurship-educational program
sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation that provides entrepreneurs
with business insights, leadership skills, and professional
networking connections. This national program (which also recently
went international) offers a variety of educational experiences,
products, and services to entrepreneurs who want to create a new
business or expand an existing enterprise. Choose the program that
is right for your business!
First,
You Dream
How to take your products from dream to reality. You've got a
great idea, but you haven't taken advantage of it yet. How come?
You've uttered the words "I thought of that!" while
thumbing through catalogs or strolling by store windows. Why didn't
you act earlier?
Is
it time to close your business?
Article from Microsoft BCentral. Five
signs to watch out for.
Office
Depot - Your Business Center
Another great site for
entrepreneurs and small business owners offered by Office Depot,
which contains many useful tools and forms.
My
Own Business
Free online business startup course. A
not-for-profit organization, My Own Business, Inc., offers a free,
online 12-session course for entrepreneurs, covering valuable and
insightful topics with an emphasis on teaching people how to avoid
the most common pitfalls encountered when starting a business. The
course incorporates educational resources such business plan
examples and templates, quizzes, and sound bytes. Within the text,
references are made to some recommended products that expand on the
information provided and can be helpful to entrepreneurs. Be sure to
check out the other free resources that this site offers, including
online business forums and a newsletter.
Small
Business Administration - Free Small Business Startup Guide
The site has basic
how-tos on just about every step of starting and managing a business
(e.g., obtaining bank loans) plus forms & templates, FAQs on SBA
and other government programs, training programs, and localized
events calendars. Find upcoming workshops on topics that range from
marketing to obtaining 8(a) assistance.
SmallBusinessPoint.com
Assists entrepreneurs and small
business in designing, developing, writing, and executing
business, marketing, and financial plans.
Start
Your Engines: Choose the Right Business
Choose the right business for you and you'll be on your way to
success. Brainstorming and selecting the type of business you
will start is key to becoming successfully self-employed. It
involves discovering the business that fits you best and finding out
whether there are enough customers willing to pay good money for
your offerings.
The
Small Business Advisor
Good source of news,
advice and tips, has a free newsletter.
The
Ten Commandments
A list of the Ten
Commandments for Managing a Young Growing Business. |
