BizOp Blogs

New Business Hunter: Every four years, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) polls small business owners to detect general problems and priorities. A quick review of the trends revealed in the 2008 survey, especially by industry, can lead an agency to new opportunities. Here are a few... More

MSNBC: There’s no doubt that buying an existing small business is less risky than starting one from scratch. Why? Because, unlike a startup: * the business has equipment and inventory; * the business already has a location, and maybe there’s a few more years left on the lease; * the business... More

Wall Street Journal Blogs: 1. Tap your own experiences. Stick with industries and topics you know and preferably have worked in. You’ll be best-positioned to spot great business opportunities and take advantage of them – and have a leg up on any competitors who don’t share your expertise. 2. Solve... More

YoungEntrepreneur.com: Identify your Unique Selling Proposition Once you know your own strengths and your competitors’ weaknesses, you can figure out what makes you different from them. This is your Unique Selling Proposition, or USP. It will be the driving force behind your marketing campaign. What... More

Forbes.com: While their peers were out making trouble, these young achievers were making bank. Forever in search of the secrets to entrepreneurial success, we peeked into the inspirational lives of five whiz kids who built million-dollar enterprises before the age of 20. They partnered with friends,... More

BusinessWeek: Bill Goldsmith has always been a maverick. As a radio disc jockey and program director in the 1970s and ’80s, he loved creating his own mixes of modern rock and introducing listeners to cutting-edge musicians. But in the ’90s, as large corporations bought up the stations he... More

Entrepreneur Daily: If you’re mechanically and environmentally inclined, a $10 million prize could soon be yours. The X Prize Foundation is offering $10 million for a super-efficient car. The competition is open to established automakers and unknown engineers, and it’s meant to result in... More

New York Times: Bill Neugent, an engineer in McLean, Va., is doing his bit to ease the looming generational financial squeeze as the nation’s 75 million baby boomers begin to retire. He’s working longer. Mr. Neugent, 62, plans to work full time until he is 65 and then part time for the Mitre Corporation,... More

The Wall Street Journal: For entrepreneurs, the importance of picking the right name for a company may rank second only to naming a child. (And it’s lot more expensive to change.) Name consultants are paid millions each year to help decide what to call a company. San Francisco naming boutique Eat... More

Travel Wires: If you are planning on starting a travel agency business, then you need to realise that although some people might view it as just selling air tickets, your customers will more than likely be interested in your expertise. In an interview Marion McPherson, former CEO of the Association... More

Franchising.com: HR executives observe that the two most challenging groups of workers to retain are those at the beginning and those at the end of their careers. Each group requires a unique set of strategies to get them to stay put, according to MRINetwork, the world’s largest search and recruitment... More

North Star Think Tank: There are good reasons why over 30 million Americans have chosen the path of entrepreneurship. But some of the most important reasons are often overlooked. Entrepreneurs are responsible for starting and running the small businesses throughout our cities. These people include the... More

Emediawire: Direct sales company Abunza, a pioneer in creating a fully bilingual (English – Spanish) marketing opportunity for its entrepreneurial sales force, is adding Chinese. “Abunza allows mono-lingual entrepreneurs to do business in a language they don’t speak,” said Albert... More

American Entrepreneurship: Tips from Brett Wilder: Everything possible should be done to seek sufficient financial capital for business purposes from sources other than retirement savings. Using money from retirement plans to start a new or buy an existing business can be very costly and cause devastating... More