Staffing a Startup Without Hiring - 11/08/2006

How to get the work done with mimimal paroll by virtual staffing

Creating Your Own Good Fortune - 11/26/2006

Setting Standards for Startup Success

Creating Virtual Seed Money - 12/04/2006

Use the Bootsrapper's Cash Box

Startup Marketing Plans - 12/21/2006

How to get your marketing off the ground as soon as you start

Free Web-based and Open Source Business Tools - 01/02/2007

How to get loads of up-to-the-minute business tools for absolutely nothing.

Clearing Your Head Before Starting Your Business - 02/12/2007

How to set a effective framework for doing business before day one.

Selling While Planning the Business - 07/02/2007

How to build revenue to finance your startup

Building Relationship Equity - 08/13/2007

How to add value to your startup, even before opening for business

Person-to-Person Business Finance - 10/17/2007

How to get funding for your startup or early-stage business, avoiding the banks.

Person-to-Person Business Finance - 12/16/2007

No, they are not regulated like the banks are. The idea is that they are regulated by the direct connection between people and the build up of trust. You can see that it works from the very low rate of default on loans. However if you do want a regulated loan then you can use Zopa, also a P2P loan business. They have just opened in the US after having been in operation in the UK for some time. Zopa has partnered with leading credit unions. That means your Zopa CD will be guaranteed, and insured by the National Credit Union Administration, a government agency. Their site is : https://us.zopa.com/.

Person-to-Person Business Finance - 10/18/2007

Hi Anita Thanks for the comment. One of the outfits I mentioned in the Guide is, or should I say was, Circle Lending. Readers should know that as of this Monday (Oct 15, 2007), the company is called Virgin Money (http://www.virginmoneyus.com). Given the fact that loans from friends and family are so significant as a source of funds for startups, the services offered by Virgin Money are not only useful, but important. They facilitate the process by providing third party administration between lender and borrower. Any entrepreneur contemplating a P2P loan should visit the site and download the Business Builder Guide, whether or not they use Virgin's service. The founder of the business, Asheesh Advani wrote a book called Investors in Your Backyard - it is a 'must have' book, in my opinion.

Person-to-Person Business Finance - 09/24/2007

Thank you Susan. I am a 'loaner' at Kiva - and with no defaults, I carry on recycling repaid loans to new borrowers. There are other places you can participate in microfinance, such as Unitus (www.unitus.com), whose Acceleration Model combines best practices from the venture capital, investment banking and strategy consulting industries to help create large-scale, poverty-focused and commercially sustainable microfinance institutions (MFIs). The difference is that you make donations to them and they distribute the money, unlike Kiva where you know who the individual borrower is and you can follow progress. That is why I like Kiva, It gives you a connection and sense of direct involvement. It is true that they do not have a large portfolio of potential borrowers right now, but they are working on it. Kiva also needs funding with direct donations to their own organization so that they can operate successfully.

Person-to-Person Business Finance - 09/18/2007

Yes, Shara, that why I mention it in the Guide! I have been a 'loaner' for some time at Kiva and recommend it heartily on my website, www.worksavvy.biz.

Person-to-Person Business Finance - 09/06/2007

The lenders are individuals. That is the point - it's person-to-person. There are some rumblings about regulation, but what is interesting is that in general terms P2P lending has much lower default rates than in regular commercial banking. For instance, Zopa has achieved an incredibly low bad debt rate of <0.05% of money lent in comparison to the market average of 3.45%, making it a much more secure option for personal lenders. In the microfinance field (see my new edited version of the Guide), it is often the case than lending is done through groups of individuals and the peer pressure and sharing of experience is one of the reasons for low default rates. I have been lending through Kiva, cited above, and have had ZERO bad loans. Your question raises the very interesting issue of self-regulation or, put another way, personal responsibility versus public regulation. The present rate of failure in the US sub-prime mortgage market is worth considering in this context. Is it borrower irresponsibility or lender irresponsibility? The high degree of regulation in the marketplace did not prevent the problems.

Building Relationship Equity - 08/10/2007

Thanks very much, Anita. Yes community investment is important for one's soul as well as the business. With books like 'Marketing that Matters' and 'Growing Local Values' in the Social Venture Network Series, initiatives like the 'B Corporation' and scores more, it is a subject that resonates. I feel that I will write more... Will

Free Web-based and Open Source Business Tools - 04/27/2007

Well, Ken, I'm delighted with the comment as it may help some folks, but it's not my view. Why? Because using WordPress for that purpose, presupposes more computing knowledge than many people seeking a CMS actually have. If a person has sufficient knowledge to use WP in the way you suggest, then they may not actually need it. As you'll have guessed, I'm a businessman, not a geek and I like to keep things simple. When I had a blog housed at my website hosting company, I did actually use WP, but the hosting company supported it and was able to dig me out of computing holes. Your comment is helpful in another way: I should add WP to the list - for bloggng. Thanks.

Transferring a Domain Name - 03/22/2007

Helpful, Eric, especially for the newcomer. I had some very bad registration experiences and am now happily with Total Registrations (www.totalregistrations.com), mainly because I get such excellent human help from Laurie Walker. One of the things I learned from him was the importance of listing yourself as the technical contact, to retain control of your domain.

Free Web-based and Open Source Business Tools - 03/22/2007

This is a very helpful link; thank-you Eric.

Clearing Your Head Before Starting Your Business - 02/22/2007

Of course I agree with you Anita! I have so often heard people who say, "well, I could have started a business...", but the truth is that such people never will. Act like it now, I say. Feel what it is like to receive payment for your product/service - NOW - sense how your customer is benefiting - NOW - know what you next product is - NOW. If someone is really going to start a business, you can tell from the way they talk in the present, rather than the future, tense.

Clearing Your Head Before Starting Your Business - 02/21/2007

Thanks,Melissa. Why not do gardens in VT - there's plenty of kayak opportunities! About starting now: it is so easy to give oneself excuses, but there are always ways to start today. Even in full-time employment, there are evenings and weekends. Planning can be done on the backs of envelopes, building mailing lists need not wait, offering services in one's skill area can be done via Internet... the list is endless. I bullied my own son on this score only yesterday. He is on tour with a rock group, but wants a more sedentary life as a composer and is waiting for his wife to get a job first. I offered several ways to use his Blackberry from all over the globe, building his music contact list... we'll see. Will

Free Web-based and Open Source Business Tools - 01/04/2007

Thanks, Anita Best wishes for 2007. The Guide that you can click on at the beginning of this Guide will take you to info on many other tools. It is a pdf that I will keep updating as I find additional tools, or people direct me to them. Take a look from time to time. All indications are that Web-based and Open Source are very swift growing areas.

Free Web-based and Open Source Business Tools - 12/31/2006

Thanks for the question; no I don't. I use a Web Editor (Namo - that I originally had free with a magazine) to create my own websites and have tried Nvu which is good too. I suggest creating a full site oneself (it's not that hard), but I do understand that some people would rather have the design done by a professional - that's why I mentioned the two CMS programs. For Plone, though I suggest you go here: http://plone.org/about/sites, and contact one of the many users that suits you and ask them, because people who use Open Source programs are generally very helpful. For Mambo, go here: http://forum.mamboserver.com/, and post a question on the forum. When I first started with Open Office, I received huge (and personal) support and help from people through its forum.