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| Adventures
in Entrepreneurship
"I've
been in a space ship, but I've never read a blog."
That could have been the headline for Sir Richard
Branson, the billionaire entrepreneur -- but it wasn't.
Just before Hurricane Wilma roared into Florida, I
had the chance to meet Branson for my 15 seconds of
pseudo-fame (yep, it lasted just about that long).
It was all part of an event sponsored by American
Express OPEN. Read Part
One and Part
Two. |
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Most
Popular Articles
Check
out the articles readers found most popular on Small
Business Trends last month:
Working
On, Not In, The Business - Guest expert John Wyckoff
offers another of his popular articles. This time
he explains a phrase we've all heard so often it has
become a cliche. Yet few business owners seem to know
exactly what it means.
Rise
of the Entrepreneurial Class - John
Koten, Editor in Chief of Inc magazine, gave
a talk recently defining the new mercantile class
of the 21st century. What is this new mercantile class?
It is characterized by individuals with an entrepreneurial spirit and a creative side.
Are Small Businesses Avoiding or Embracing Online
Banking? - Start with two seemingly inconsistent
studies about online banking. Then add the views of
small business owners. Together it adds up to some
interesting discussion about banking features and
security. Then read the follow-on article: Most
Bank Fraud Occurs Offline.
Over
Half Do Not Have Accounting Software - Over half
of small businesses, that is. Read which half doesn't
use accounting software.
TrendTracking
- Check out our new feature called TrendTracking,
"a place for small business to see and be seen."
We highlight useful resources for small businesses,
new products by and for small businesses, interesting
websites, and more. In this latest edition we look
at the James J. Hill Reference Library's new small
biz offering, and the blog of Wilson Ng, who is the
Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in the
Philippines. |
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Small
Business Trends Radio
Our
new Internet radio show starts on November 1, 2005
on the VoiceAmerica network. Many thanks to our main
show sponsor, Six
Disciplines Inc., for making it all possible.
Our
first show on November 1st features Torsten Jacobi,
CEO of Creative-Weblogging, who updates us about the
trends in online media, including blogging networks
such as Weblogs Inc. which was sold to AOL for over
$20 Million.
Listen
every Tuesday, starting November 1, 2005, at 1:00
PM Eastern U.S. time, at www.business.voiceamerica.com.
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A
Message from the Editor
You
may have noticed that this edition of the newsletter
has come out a week later than usual. That's because
we have been working on several special projects behind
the scenes to better serve you. In addition to kicking
off our new radio program, we also have been working
on:
Upgrading
the website. This coming weekend (November
5 - 6, 2005), the Small Business Trends website may
be offline for a short while as we transition to the
WordPress software platform. WordPress offers many
more features than Blogger, the software currently
used for the site. You will be able to email posts
to a friend, translate into 8 languages on the fly,
and navigate more easily around the site.
Free
book giveaway. We are giving away 3 copies
of the book "Selling is Dead," courtesy
of the authors Marc Miller and Jason Sinkovitz. The
book is getting very good reviews over at Amazon.com.
Take
our 3-minute survey about selling to small businesses,
and throw your hat in the ring to try to get this
book. |
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Letters to the Editor
Is a Pet Grooming Business a Good Bet?
A
reader emails -- " Dear Anita -- Wanted to
gain your insight or additional resources about starting
my own Pet Grooming Business. Have you heard about
any start ups in your area that have been successful?
Or know anything about those that were not successful
and why?"
Our
answer -- "While I have not had direct
experience with the pet grooming industry, I can tell
you this:
Americans
love their pets, and pet-related services are definitely
a robust trend. I expect this trend to continue for
at least several years. And I would suggest trying
to locate in an upscale town or neighborhood near
services frequented by women, such as hair and nail
salons, boutiques, etc. Because this is an “upscale”
trend, and one in which women tend to hold the purse
strings.
In
my area, some of the veterinarian offices have started
pet grooming businesses on the side, or they have
partnered in some way with independents who run grooming
businesses. It’s a natural combination, with
cross-referrals a certainty. You may want to investigate
that route -- partnering with vets' offices -- as
it will make marketing and sales so much easier."
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