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Hauling Junk (With a Touch of Class)
Source: http://www.nytimes.com
To the bafflement of industry experts, a franchise specializing in carting away discards with professionalism and style is enjoying growth.

Submitted By: Robert
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Wine Enthusiast Looks to Win Over a Wider Audience
Source: http://online.wsj.com
Moving into the mainstream market can help a niche player boost its name recognition and sales. And offering a wide array of products at different price points is especially important during this uncertain economy. Wine Enthusiast, for instance, wants to make sure that if consumers stop reaching into their wallets for $1,000 wine cellars, they can find a less-expensive model at a store where they shop regularly. Still, a company must be careful not to dilute its original message -- and the authority it brings.

Submitted By: thejenn
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Niche Web links 100s of employers and 1000s of women
Source: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com
Founder Shannon Davis sees Beyondmotherhood.com as a launching pad for women who want more than the title "mom." The new home-based business is an online site for mothers seeking part-time work as well as employers seeking the womens' talents.

Submitted By: Heidi
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Building an Online Community of Loyal and Vocal Users
Source: http://online.wsj.com
Etsy Inc., an online marketplace for handmade goods, offers a host of ways for its customers to connect with the company and each other. These include user profiles, forums, blogs and a rating-and-feedback system for the site's 800,000 registered users, including crafters and artisans who sell their wares on the site.

Submitted By: thejenn
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My Brain, Your Brawn
Source: http://online.wsj.com
With competitive pressures mounting and a need for a continual pipeline of new product ideas, some of the biggest consumer companies in the world, including Kraft, General Mills Inc. and Procter & Gamble Co., are increasingly looking outside their own corridors. Working with a behemoth like Kraft or General Mills can bring exposure and distribution that an entrepreneur never dreamed of, usually in return for handing over autonomy, naming rights and marketing control, and a good chunk of the profits.

Submitted By: Heidi
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Struggling Entrepreneurs, Do Not Give Up
Source: http://www.jimkukral.com
Are you working hard, but have not yet achieved the success you desire? It may be right around the corner. Jim Kukral reminds us even those who are hugely successful once struggled, too.

Submitted By: CathyStucker
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Your Google Local Business Listing - Look What Happens If You Don't Claim It!
Source: http://www.expand2web.com
Businesses who have legitimate websites but may not have claimed their Google profile are losing valuable web traffic and giving it away.

Submitted By: doncampbell
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MySpace launches ad network for small businesses
Source: http://www.computerworld.com
The do-it-yourself ads allow targeting of users based on information from their social profiles.

Submitted By: Darryl
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17 Alternatives to Buying and Selling on Ebay
Source: http://mashable.com
While eBay has been the champion of online auctions in the United states for years, lately there has been talk of lower sales and an exodus by sellers.

Submitted By: rainybo
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FreshBooks Releases First Quarterly Industry Benchmark Report
Source: http://www.techcrunch.com
The data allows businesses to see how they stack up against other companies in their fields on a number of criteria, including the amount of revenue generated from new versus recurring clients and overall invoice totals.

Submitted By: Robert
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14 Tools to Legally Spy On Your Competition
Source: http://www.grokdotcom.com
How are your competitors performing on the internet? These 14 tools will help you learn what makes your competitors tick online.

Submitted By: ijidak
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GoDaddy Unveils Mainstream Social Web Aggregator
Source: http://www.readwriteweb.com
Sarah Perez writes, "GoDaddy has just unveiled an amazing new service called SmartSpace which lets anyone register a domain name and then instantly turn it into a social web site which aggregates any of the following components onto one page: a blog, a photo album, a chat application, email, RSS feeds, and even components from social networking applications like MySpace, Facebook, or LinkedIn. All you have to do is register the domain name you want and all the technical work is done for you - the site builds itself automatically."

Submitted By: Rachel
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US entrepreneurs turn to microfinance
Source: http://www.businessweek.com
To be sure, microlending is a tiny, tiny piece of small business credit in the US. Microlenders tend to be small nonprofits, and all their loans combined probably wouldn't be a blip on the portfolios of one of the big banks. That said, there's some anecdotal evidence that it's a growing source of credit for some very small businesses locked out of the conventional credit market.

Submitted By: Heidi
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78 Ways for Your Small Business to Save Money in this Economy
Source: http://www.insidecrm.com
With the economy struggling, every business is trying to cut costs to make ends meet. Small businesses, which have fewer resources, especially feel the burn. Not to fear. Here's a mega-list of ways to trim the fat off your enterprise so you don't become a casualty of the latest economic downturn.

Submitted By: MarketingMinefield
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Time to Review Your Company's Credit Report
Source: http://www.businessweek.com
Like personal credit reports used to evaluate consumer borrowers, business credit reports collect financial information and payment histories to help banks and vendors decide whether a company is likely to default. Some creditors may give more weight to factors such as your financial statements and trade references; but for others, the credit report is the first thing they look at.

Submitted By: Darryl
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The Good And The Bad Of Mobile Marketing
Source: http://www.socialmediaexplorer.com
Smart companies, particularly in the retail environment, are using mobile marketing to reach consumers. But what can really smart companies do? Start tying their mobile marketing offers to search.

Submitted By: Heidi
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30 Ways to Increase Sales on Your Business Website
Source: http://sazbean.com
There are three ways to increase sales on a website: 1) increase qualified traffic (number of potential customers), 2) increase the number of conversions (sales) or 3) both 1 and 2. This list focuses on ways you can increase traffic or conversions.

Submitted By: sazbean
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Help for the Holidays
Source: http://online.wsj.com
Millions of people are about to descend on the Internet, and competition for their dollars will be tough this year, with money tighter amid a weak economy. You need an online-marketing plan to help you make the most of the season. Feel overwhelmed? Don't. There are many easy, yet high-impact, things you can do in the next few weeks that will improve your results once the bustle begins. Here are some of the top tips we gathered from merchants and marketing experts.

Submitted By: MattMcGee
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Employers Rethink How They Give Feedback
Source: http://online.wsj.com
"Increased demand for feedback from younger workers is forcing some employers to rethink how they discuss employee performance. Often, the annual review just won't cut it anymore." Brittany Hite provides some interesting examples of how generation Yers are different in seeking out more feedback as compared to generation Xers and Baby Boomers.

Submitted By: Rachel
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Blog Usability - How to Reach Your Blogging Happy Place
Source: http://www.usabilityeffect.com
Priceless tips on developing a blog and better targeting it to your intended audience. Nothing can help a blog get off to a better start than understanding your target audience and creating the blog specifically to meet their needs. Whether the blog is intended to simply inform or sell a product, being attentive to details before and during the development stage is critical.

Submitted By: SEOAly
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Are You Blogging With Purpose? (If Not, 5 Ways to Fix That)
Source: http://www.copyblogger.com
When you sit down to write a blog post, what's your purpose? When you write a blog post, before you click the mouse or stroke a key you need to know why you're writing. There are at least 3 reasons why...

Submitted By: ijidak
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Want to Write Better Headlines for Your Ads and Blogs? It's Easier than You Think!
Source: http://dailybreakthrough.blogspot.com
If you're looking to write better headlines for your ad copy, blogs, brochures, direct mail pieces, etc., you can't go wrong by following these easy-to-use tips and techniques.

Submitted By: stevemccutchen
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Keeping In Touch with Remote Collaboration Tools
Source: http://freelanceswitch.com
Ever since we started our custom software development business, we've been making use of remote collaboration facilities such as VNC and Webex in order to give demonstrations to clients without having to visit their site, or have them come to us.

Submitted By: Rachel
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Starting a Business in a Downturn
Source: http://www.businessweek.com
It might go against your instincts, but starting a business in a soft economy has advantages. MyBizHomepage founder Peter Justen explains.

Submitted By: Heidi
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35+ Online Shopping Cart Solutions for Your Business
Source: http://mashable.com
With the shape of the economy and ever changing gas prices, online shopping may end up growing even faster than some have predicted. If your business hasn't added an online shopping cart yet, why not? Here are over 35 shopping cart solutions for your business.

Submitted By: DavidWallace
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It Takes a Company
Source: http://www.inc.com
If your best salesperson leaves, how do you make sure you don't lose your best customers, too?

Submitted By: Darryl
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Moo-velous Business Cards from Moo.com
Source: http://essentialkeystrokes.com
Moo allows you to pick up to 100 DIFFERENT designs for one side of the card for no additional cost. You can grab the images from your Flickr account, your own collection and a variety of other sources.

Submitted By: thejenn
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Web Site Lets Businesses Expose Deadbeat Customers
Source: http://blogs.wsj.com
It's not the nicest thing to do. But for small business owners who are having difficulty collecting receivables from their customers, especially in this tight business climate, this is an extreme option that just might work.

Submitted By: thejenn
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Description from Amazon:
People starting out in business tend to seek step-by-step formulas or specific rules, but in reality there are no magic bullets.

Rather, says veteran entrepreneur Norm Brodsky, there's a mentality that helps street-smart people solve problems and pursue opportunities as they arise.

He calls it "the knack," and it has made all the difference to the eight successful start-ups of his career.

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