15 Websites To Sharpen Your Business Skills From management, to marketing, to finances — business skills of all varieties are critical to have in this economy and incredibly beneficial no matter what your situation. In this article we’ve collected 15 different websites that will help you sharpen your business skill set in a number of different ways. Each of these sites is an incredible source of information, and some of them are easily worth reading on a daily basis. Here’s the list: Category: Management, General Bnet is a new-ish website that has become a major resource for anything having to do with business. 2. A collection of Harvard’s best business bloggers, this site is a virtual goldmine of intelligent information. 3. Category: Finance Get Rich Slowly is a personal finance blog with advice that is beneficial to all types of people in many different situations. 4. Category: Online Business, Technology There’s no better site for following online business news and announcements than TechCrunch. 5. 6. Category: General Business 7.
StartupNation - Source for Small Business Advice, Help Starting a Business, Entrepreneur Forum The four agreements 95 best websites you should bookmark today Google is the internet surfer's best friend and worst enemy. If you know what you're after, just type it into the search engine's famous little box and – hey presto – you'll be given a list of related sites in order of relevance. Such is Google's dominance that its name has become a synonym for search. And rightly so. When was the last time you Yahooed something? Searching for something implies you know what you're looking for. How do you ask Google for some brilliant sites, sites which will feed your mind, soul or just let you waste time in style? Our experts have put their thinking caps on and come up with a list of their favourite sites. 20 websites that changed the world Best sites for learning Martin Cooper uncovers the best sites for discovering amazing facts and figures When you're after something to feed your mind, body or soul, you'll be sure to find something on the internet that will make you think. eHow If you're ever in doubt about how to do something, visit eHow. www.ehow.com
Top 10 Social Networks for Entrepreneurs Posted by gbravo on April 8, 2009 in Internet Marketing [ 1 Comment ] Online social networking is a great way for entrepreneurs to gain exposure, promote their ideas and meet other creative and business-minded people who can help them achieve their goals. In today’s information era, a good knowledge of online social networks is almost mandatory for anyone who wishes to successfully launch their own business. Networking sites are a good online marketing tool to help you find other entrepreneurs to partner-up with. They also allow you keep track of growing trends and business news. Here is a top 10 list of the best social networking sites geared towards business owners and entrepreneurs. 1. Entrepreneur Connect is a networking site created over a year ago by Entrepreneur Media (publishers of Entrepreneur Magazine). 2. Killer Startups is a site that allows you to look at and review new startup companies as they emerge. 3. Konnects is a good site for those looking to advertise themselves. 4.
45 Kick-Ass Resources for Online Entrepreneurs | Productive Entrepreneur Few people talk about this great productivity tip… You will reach your goals faster and easier if you’re willing to learn from others. Using brilliant, well-crafted resources created specifically for online entrepreneurs improves your online productivity. Below I have a long list of resources, most of which I’ve used myself. Enjoy the list. I’ve arranged the resources from those helpful to beginners to those suited to more advanced entrepreneurs. The links to these resources are not affiliate links. Helpful from the word go… If you’re new to online business, you’ll find value in the following resources. 1. Before you can blog, collect email addresses or sell anything, you need a little piece of real estate on a reliable web server. 2. I’m hoping that no one laughs at this resource recommendation. 3. Today web design is easy. Productive Entrepreneur is running the Genesis framework and the Prose child theme. 4. 5. Copyblogger.com is where you learn about content marketing. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
How to Become a College Planning Consultant If you can tell a Harvard student from a UC Berkeley student and know all there is to know about college, it's time to throw your mortarboard into the entrepreneurial arena by becoming a college planning consultant. Busy lifestyles have spawned them. More than 4,100 institutions of higher learning have made them possible. Nearly 16 million students have created a demand for them. Today's college planning consultants-or some call them educational consultants or college admissions/financial aid consulting professionals-offer a wide array of valuable services to students and their parents. Head of the Class According to the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA), some of the best and most capable educational consultants come from the ranks of the country's experienced academic advisors and counselors, who gain hands-on experience at both public and private universities, colleges, and secondary and elementary schools. Getting an Education Don't get us wrong.
64 Things Every Geek Should Know - LaptopLogic.com The term ‘geek’, once used to label a circus freak, has morphed in meaning over the years. What was once an unusual profession transferred into a word indicating social awkwardness. As time has gone on, the word has yet again morphed to indicate a new type of individual: someone who is obsessive over one (or more) particular subjects, whether it be science, photography, electronics, computers, media, or any other field. A geek is one who isn’t satisfied knowing only the surface facts, but instead has a visceral desire to learn everything possible about a particular subject. A techie geek is usually one who knows a little about everything, and is thus the person family and friends turn to whenever they have a question. If you’re that type of person and are looking for a few extra skills to pick up, or if you’re a newbie aiming to get a handhold on the honor that is geekhood, read on to find out what skills you need to know. 1. USB – Universal Serial Bus GPU – Graphics Processing Unit 2. 3.
How to Write a Winning Business Plan | The Labor Academy Like this article? Please share it! If you’ve ever written a business plan you know that it can be one of the most difficult documents you’ll ever create. I’ve written numerous plans both for myself and others and it was an arduous task – but also a necessary one – especially if it was to be used to secure formal outside funding. The Traditional Business Plan The typical plan I produced usually included the following - - Executive summary – Mission statement – Success factors – Objectives – Company summary – Start- up Summary (funding & requirements) – Locations – Ownership – Services – Competitive comparison – Market Analysis (Trends, Growth, Needs) – Strategy and Implementation – Sales summary (Strategy, Forecast, Milestones) – Management summary (Executive profiles) – Financial Plan – Projected P/L Those are the sections of the typical business plan. The Problem with Traditional Business Plans Why? A Better Business Plan Vision – this is the “big idea” of your company. Like this:
Tools For Marketing Your Content (That Aren’t Twitter or Facebook) 122 Flares Twitter 91 Facebook 6 Google+ 7 Pin It Share 18 18 122 Flares × Facebook and Twitter are both valuable tools for marketing your content, yadda yadda yadda… we have all heard this song and dance before. It isn’t untrue, as they are the two biggest social networks that have become stalwarts in the promotion of both content and brands. But we already know what they are, and we know how to use them. Because they are so popular, these two networks have a tendency to overshadow other tools that can be just as important, if not more so, in content marketing. Quora This unique social network has become a powerhouse for influencers in various industries. Webtrends Optimize digital campaigns of all kinds with this marketing service that provides tools for measuring, analyzing, translation and finally converting information on your target demographic. Genius Get your entire staff in both sales and marketing on board with the same program. Percolate Constant Contact Pinterest Contently
The Top 10 Audio Books That Every Entrepreneur Must Listen To With a million and one things on an entrepreneur’s agenda, it is almost next to impossible to find the time to read a book from front to back. Well what if we told you that you don’t have to push hours aside and that you can even soak in all the knowledge of a wonderful read while you walk the dog, go for a jog or drive to work? Well now you can with these downloadable audio books that come highly recommend for any entrepreneur looking at expanding their knowledge and taking their life and business to that next level. The Lean Startup Eric Ries explains the best practices of how to discover customers for your ideas, how to plan/test/release your products to market and when to pivot. A must read for every startup organization. Click here to hear a preview or order this audio book The Willpower Instinct One of the best Audio books to cover the topic of willpower. This book is a must for any and everyone. Click here to hear a preview or order this audio book Rich Dad Poor Dad The 4-Hour Work Week
10 YouTube Videos Every Entrepreneur Should Watch You're automatically signed up for the Inc. Wire, so you never miss a single day's most important news, tips, or ideas. Roll over the name of the other Inc. newsletters to see how you can get great Inc. articles on the topics that matter most to you. The news-from all over the web-entrepreneurs need to know now. Brand, market, and sell your product or service, and how to use the latest apps, social media, and mobile devices to do it. News, trends, and tactics to help you launch your business idea today. Keep up with (and make sense of) business technology trends and tools available today and tomorrow. Grow fast, beat the competition, and take off with actionable advice and personal stories from serial entrepreneurs, experts, and others who have done it before. We vet new gadgets and offerings to make it easier for you to run your business better. How to raise capital, set budgets, price products, account properly, and map out an exit strategy.
10 Stupid Mistakes Made by the Newly Self-Employed Having been a non-employee for about 14 years now, I’ve made my share of stupid business mistakes. I’ve also coached a number of people to start their own businesses, and I’ve seen many of them make similar mistakes. This advice is geared towards small business owners, particularly people who are just starting (or about to start) their own business. 1. While sales are important to the survival of any business, you don’t need to push your business on everyone you meet, including friends and family. Selling to the wrong people includes trying to sell to everyone. Just because someone is interested in doing business with you doesn’t mean you should accept. 2. Until you have a steady cashflow coming in, don’t spend your precious start-up cash unless it’s absolutely necessary. In 2004 I started this personal development business with only $9 cash even though I could have spent much more on it. 3. It’s also a mistake to be too stingy with your cash. 4. 5. 6. 7. I’ll say it again. 8. 9. 10.