Entrepreneur – Keep Up With The Web

5 Essential Apps for Entrepreneurs

Keep Your Business Nimble and Innovative with these Tools

More than almost anyone else, entrepreneurs have to be quick; you have to be able to seize opportunities while they last, adopt innovative practices, and stay aware of the competition in a way that long-established businesses don’t. With that in mind, your smartphone can be one of the most effective productivity tools at your disposal, keeping you connected to the needs of your business wherever you go. Here are some of the essentials.

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As a Sole Proprietor or Entrepreneur Where Do You Turn for Support?

Not too long ago, I wrote a post about low-cost resources that small business owners and entrepreneurs can access. I mentioned the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) and universities. My article started an interesting conversation in the comment section and lots of readers had their own suggestions. These are all great resources but what if you run into an issue and need help today? Do you have a built-in support system? Do you have a go-to person that you can shoot a quick email to and ask for suggestions?

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How Did Kathy Ireland Build a Brand Worth Over 1 Billion Dollars?

Kathy Ireland, the former super model (who graced the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition for a total of four times) recently appeared on the CBS show ‘The Talk’ to share her tale of how she went from a model to a successful businesswoman with a design empire worth over a billion dollars. What made her tale so interesting is that (in spite of her beauty and reputation), she came across as a regular person – someone I’d like to chat with over a cup of coffee. So, how did this woman achieve this kind of success? How did she go from a 4-year old child going door-to-door (pulling a wagon loaded with rocks) to the CEO of a billion dollar business that she started by selling socks?

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Low Cost Resources Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs Can Access

Feeling stressed out? Overwhelmed with everything you have to do? As a small business owner or entrepreneur, you may reach a point where you need help juggling all those balls. Sometimes the decision is easy – simply outsource the task to a professional. However, if you find yourself strapped for cash, an option that you may want to consider is researching to see if there are any government funded resources available to you. Here in the United States, the government has resources available to businesses including free consulting and other services to assist small businesses. (I always refer to them as my tax dollars at work.)

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The “2011 Internet Business Ideas Book” – a Collaborative Effort of 12 Bloggers

Are you looking for more ways to generate income online? Do you know someone who either wants or needs to make their living with a home-based Internet business? These were among the questions Ian and Amy Anderson presented to 107 bloggers from all over the world.

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How Not to Behave When You’re in Business

Whether you’re doing business online, in-person or both, what you do both professionally and personally is a reflection on your business. I remember growing up, that there were certain kids in the neighborhood that my parents would not let us play with. We always thought it was totally unfair and that our parents were prejudiced (not sure if we were old enough to even understand what that meant). I remember my grandmother saying something about “guilt by association”. Being the rules-person that I am, I listened but it wasn’t until I was an adult with children of my own that I started to truly understand. Then I became a business owner and other small business owners and entrepreneurs were telling me that everything you do is either a relationship builder or a relationship destroyer. That’s when it started hitting home and I started paying attention.

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Tips to Organize & Manage Your Documents and Email

In my last post “Will Documenting Something Now Save You Time Later?, I confessed to being a documentation junkie. Since I received more than a few comments that made me believe it was helpful, I started thinking about other ways this obsession with process, procedure and documenting might be of benefit to others. One of my blog readers asked about tips on organizing their computer files and someone that I often exchange emails with mentioned being overwhelmed by emails generated from a LinkedIn group. Both of these conversations prompted me to share a couple of ideas that work for me.

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Will Documenting Something Now Save You Time Later?

What adds extra time while you’re doing it but saves you even more time when you need it? For me, it’s documenting and organizing. Like most entrepreneurs and small business owners, I dabble in a variety of things. Often, I encounter topics that I have to research. Sometimes I undertake an unusually complex task with multiple steps that I need to figure out. Even though I often tell myself, “I’ll never need to know (or do) this again”, I document it. Even if it’s just the link to the website where I found the solution, I document it. Sometimes, I actually wonder if I should be keeping track of how much time I spend documenting and tracking things. – And then, comes the time when I need that documentation.

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How Do Entrepreneurs and Sole Proprietors Juggle All Those Balls?

Are you the sole proprietor of a business? Are you a 1-person shop? Whether you’re trying to make a living online, supplement your income or build a nest egg, more and more people these days are looking to the Internet as a way to make money. Every day hundreds (maybe hundreds-of-thousands) of websites and blogs are being launched in this country alone. So how do you stand out? Even after identifying your niche, doing your keyword research, understanding your target customer and carefully mapping a business plan … what’s the secret to success? How is it that some people are sitting back and boasting that they’re making 6-figure incomes while some of us are struggling to pay the mortgage? How does the “little guy” (or “gal”) compete with companies (and individuals) when you’re faced with limited resources?

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