Business Blogs: Trends, tips, and real-life anecdotes from industry experts.

Email is a powerful marketing tool. It certainly beats the price of
print advertisements. However, one major challenge is to make sure your
messages aren't lumped in with spam. It's estimated that between 70 and
80 percent of all email traffic is unsolicited spam. Even if each of
your recipients opt into your contact list, you still can't guarantee
100% [...]

Inspirational examples of people who are MAKING IT HAPPEN are all around us. Several StartupNation community members gathered in Northern California recently to meet up, get smarter, and get inspired by each other, and it was hosted at the TechShop, the brainstorm of an active StartupNation community member nicknamed, TechShopJim here in the StartupNation discussion forums. [...]

It is rare that I get upset with eBay, but this one hits really close to home…
As Ina Steiner pointed out on her AuctionBytes Blog, eBay is now sending DVD shoppers to Netflix. When someone searches for a DVD on eBay (for example, type in “Sopranos DVD” into a search), a big banner will appear [...]

Seth Godin finds some wild stuff. In this case, a store selling day-old sushi at a discount. Seems logical on one level, but totally gross on another level. A good lesson for all of us on how we market our goods and services.

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Today I am pleased to announce that eBay Millionaire or Bust is making a run at the Amazon bestseller list and is coming close to having the highest sales rank today of any eBay book on Amazon. Every person interested in starting an eBay business from scratch or improving the eBay business they already have [...]

According to the Kauffman Foundation, Americans take the plunge and start up 465,000 new businesses every single month. Wow!
And the state with the highest rate of startups? Montana.

This has been a good week business-wise! I was recently highlighted in a trade magazine that targets country-style stores and I have been getting a lot of wholesale inquiries as a result. Yesterday, I sent out more than a dozen envelopes with samples inside to stores that had requested them. This almost turned into a [...]

Last time I talked about some ways to build a large and valuable contact list. I talked about seminars, point-of-sale sign-up forms and events. Customers who you can't meet in person should still be able to join your contact list. That's why it's important to have an effective sign-up form on your website. Here are [...]

I just read this in the May 14 issue of The New Yorker and wanted to pass it along. Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin Atlantic (and about 130 other "Virgin" brands) says about entrepreneurship:
I don't think I am different really from any entrepreneur. You have to stick you neck out on occasion. You have to [...]

A thirst for knowledge is essential for those who truly want to become successful entrepreneurs. As a small business owner, I know the fundamental challenge that every business owner faces: time.
"I don't have time to read books, I have too much going on right now", I have said over and over again to my friends [...]