Creating a Board of Directors - 10/12/2006

How to recruit and get the most out of a great board for your company

Getting the Most Out of Work.com - 10/01/2007

What you need is on the Web or around the corner. Work.com will get you there fast.

Monetizing your Web site - 10/26/2006

Tessa, Great guide. I'm curious about how much money a moderately successful site can make from advertising. Do you know what kind of CPM's a site can generate from the display ads from Tribal Fusion or the effective CPM from Adsense? Also, have you checked out Adbrite. They are also a good provider for both display and text ads for specialty sites.

Email Marketing 101 - 10/19/2006

Your guide is a great starting point for email marketing. I like the resources and links you identified.

A Greener Office - 10/19/2006

Ian, Very useful guide. Got me thinking about what we should be doing to make Business.com/Work.com a greener company. I would love to see a couple tips in your guide that we could enact immediately. For example, having everybody shut off their computers at night instead of leaving them on. Jake

Successful Data Recovery - 10/16/2006

Sergey, I'd like to hear more about how to recover data if your disk has failed mechanically. Are there service providers that you can send the disk to that are reasonable and generally successful? Jake

Writing a Successful Corporate Blog - 5 Steps - 10/16/2006

The link to the article in the first step seems to be broken. Eager to read the article but can't get to it. Thanks Jake

Finding Email Marketing Lists - 10/16/2006

Jennifer, Is there a rule of thumb about how often you can mail your inhouse list? Is there a fatigue factor if you go to it too often? How often is too often? Jake

Direct Mail Marketing - 10/16/2006

Maggie, I'd be interested in getting your thoughts about how direct mail can complement email or vice versa. I know that if I talk to someone on the phone or get an email, and then get a follow up note or card, it has a more lasting impact. Jake

Creating a Board of Directors - 10/12/2006

I'm not against close friends as directors provided that they qualify first based on their relevant experience and industry connections, and that they understand that their role as a director and a friend is to help you steer the company in the right direction. CEO's from similar but non-competitive markets are probably your best bet. They can offer you invaluable operational experience which you might not get from directors who are solely investors, and you certainly won't get from close relatives.

Learning Search Engine Optimization - 10/10/2006

Aaron, Nice guide. Provides entrepreneurs with a good overview of the problem and the steps they need to begin to solve it.

Squidoo - 10/04/2006

Is Squidoo the only way to create a personalized "lens" or directory. How does it compare to Digg, Rollyo, del.icio.us? How should small businesses utilize those services to promote themselves.

Using Customer Focus Groups - 09/26/2006

I'd like to get a better sense of how much it costs to conduct a focus group. Are there ways you can suggest to do it on the cheap?

Creating a Great Business Plan - 09/26/2006

The best business plan I ever read was the original 3 page business plan Henry Luce wrote for Fortune Magazine. Luce founded Time Magazine as well. I found it in the Time Inc. library. The reason it was so good is that it distilled the idea, the audience and the business of the magazine into a short, well-written document that any interested party could appreciate - an investor, an editor, an advertiser. I used the same format to prepare the business plan for my first magazine - FamilyFun.

Inventory Control Software - 09/20/2006

This guide is useful, but I'd love to learn more about Intuit's solution

Getting Publicity for Your Business - 09/20/2006

Nice overview of the subject. Great for getting started on PR.

Word-of-Mouth Marketing - 09/19/2006

I like the "Ultimate Question" suggestion. We implemented a simple survey on our site asking our visitors if they would recommend the site to their colleagues. We track this number as we make changes and additions to the site. Great measure of user satisfaction

Cutting Your Energy Costs - 09/19/2006

Link on NextEdge leads you back to Energy guide page.

SBA Loan Pre-Qualification - 09/19/2006

Very useful guide. The Bizmart blog on SBA loans no longer appears to be active.

Doing Business in Latin America - 09/19/2006

Great guide! I was able to quickly find important information on Costa Rican economy and trade policies, an area that I have interest in.

Finding a Payroll Processing Service - 09/19/2006

The Paychexs link to restaurant payroll is redirecting to a new URL.

Angel Investors - 09/18/2006

I'd like to know a bit more about the type of companies that angel groups invest in - is it strictly technology companies or do they back retail and restaurant concepts?

Starting a Pool Hall - 09/22/2006

Squidoo - 10/03/2006

Building a Web Site That Sells - 09/15/2006

Online Business Networking - 09/21/2006

Using Customer Focus Groups - 09/15/2006

Surveying Your Customers - 09/15/2006

Cutting Your Energy Costs - 09/15/2006

Preventing Employee Theft - 09/15/2006

Spam Prevention - 09/15/2006

Cross-Selling and Up-Selling Your Products and Services - 09/15/2006

SBA Loan Pre-Qualification - 09/15/2006

Marketing with Promotional Products - 09/15/2006

Best Web Sites for Business Travel - 09/15/2006

Doing Business in Latin America - 09/15/2006

Keeping Up with Business Technology - 09/15/2006

Finding a Payroll Processing Service - 09/15/2006

NAFTA for Small Business - 09/15/2006