I was reading this article from Fortune on CNN.com and I thought of some things that weren’t addressed… what should you be asking your webmaster?  Sure, price and quality is very important, but what do you need to ask?
From my personal experience with working with clients and from working with my own sites, there are a few things that always get brought up:

How easy is it to update the website?
Can I update the website?
How fast could you update it?
Do you charge for editing separate from the monthly cost?
What are some examples of other sites?
Are you trained to maximize SEO?
What …read more

 
Freaking out because you want to get an idea to some investors, but afraid they will steal your bait?  Fear not!  I have your solution!
NDA -  Non-Disclosure Agreement… according to Wikipedia:
is a legal contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential materials or knowledge the parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes, but wish to restrict from generalized use. In other words, it is a contract through which the parties agree not to disclose information covered by the agreement. An NDA creates a confidential relationship between the parties to protect any type of trade secret. As …read more

Networking is important. It is not just used for effective communication (in a conversational sense) – it also sells. So what are some companies doing? According to BBC News, companies are pumping money into online networking. How much, you ask? Well, by 2013, it is projected that $10 Million $50 Million $500 Million $1 Billion $2.5 Billion … $5 Billion will be invested on social networking tools.
This money has to go to somewhere… or someone!
The world of business will get to see what is on offer in the Web 2.0 world as vendors take the …read more

You’re about to get out of college and you have no idea what to do.  Well, art majors, have no fear!  You may actually be able to use a shred of what you learned in school.
So you worked hard to finish that last oil painting and all you got was some degree thing.  How can you turn your knowledge into a business?
Let’s assume you are a painter – I know art is a very vague term, but we will just use painting for the sake of the example.   How are you going to get your work to potential buyers?   We’ll …read more

Image Source from portalgyn
The benefit of being young is that you grow up with new technology. I recently attended a seminar and it mostly explained personal finances. This got me thinking… what are experienced entrepreneurs thinking when they get their hands on new technology? Of course, they utilize it; but when do they say Damn, I wish I had THIS 10 years ago!
The image above shows Texas Instrument’s TI-89 calculator. There are far more advanced calculators now, but 5 or 6 years ago, it was amazing (I still don’t know how to use half of the …read more

Thanks to Miki at Leadership Turn for finding this link from the Harvard Business School.  The article is called Sharpening Your Skills: Starting a Business.  She sent the link for me to use as a reference to answer questions about entrepreneurship, but I thought it would also be beneficial to share this with everyone else.
For instance, there is an article that discusses the process of turning potential into profit.
The key lesson is you need to have enough awareness of product alternatives that come from the technology, and of customer needs that come from pressures in the marketplace, to see where …read more

ATTENTION ENTREPRENEURS
eBay pissed people off.  Buyers and sellers are now boycotting eBay because of the following major points:

Increased rates for casual sellers
No more negative/neutral feedback rating
Limited search algorithm

You can find out more in this article posted by Fortune.  This is a business opportunity.  eBay wants to “test the elasticity” of their buyers and sellers – but how far can you push the envelope when you have a fading audience?  Anyone see where I am going with this?

 Over the past few years, eBay has lost its audience in a pretty big way, according to Alexa.  I think these new changes will …read more

Image ruthlessly stolen from here.
After another great year, fashion week ends with many young entrepreneurs with new contracts. Having showcased new designs and models, fashion week is THE place for any young entrepreneurs looking to get ahead in the fashion industry. For more information about fashion week, go here.

I’m going to be a bit slow with posting for the next few days, as I pack and unpack for school and finish up for work. Anyways, on with the show…
Springwise has posted the top 10 business ideas for every imaginable category. Check out 100+ business ideas posted on this site. Here are some of my favorites:
Beach barbecue on call: Appealing to a ‘not leaving the beach yet’ kind of spontaneity, Danish Sommergrill offers seaside barbecue on speed dial. Consumers can call or SMS Sommergrill from the beach, and the service will deliver a ready-to-go bbq …read more

I have a mission for you aspiring entrepreneurs. This mission is critical and I want everyone to participate.
You are all going to be shopping this holiday season – don’t lie. While you are out, find one item in each store you visit and critique its design. Come up with a better way of accomplishing its task. Difficult? Yes. Mind-bending? Yes. Insane? Maybe. It could even be an item on a website. I don’t care – as long as you come up with an improvement. I guess I’ll …read more