Springwise: When consumers celebrate special occasions, a little gravanity goes a long way and bigger tends to be better. 5starbaby‘s movie poster birth announcements, which we covered earlier this year, are one case in point, and recently one of our spotters hit upon another: poster-sized wedding... More

PowerHomeBiz.com: Daycare regulations like it or not, are necessary. Many view them as an inconvenience, designed to make our lives more difficult and a constant reminder of the increasing red tape in our day care businesses. Although our world in general appears to becoming more bureaucracy happy much... More

NicheGeek: There are plenty of schools out there with green practices among their goals, but a new school opening this fall in Bali will be entrepreneurially green from top to bottom. The Green School, which will offer preschool through year eight, aims to provide a place where students can become more... More

BusinessWeek: Can developing free software for mobile phones be a business? It can if you’re Illusion Labs, a fledgling company in the Swedish port city of Malmö. Illusion Labs was started a year ago by Carl Loodberg and Andreas Alptun, who had worked together at another Swedish company called... More

Canadian Entrepreneur: * Critical thinking: Learn to question everything, to look for alternative solutions. Find the weaknesses in other people’s ideas and plans. Learn to articulate what is wrong with them and why things should be different. * Understand strategy: Strategy is a consistent process... More

Small Business Labs: 1. Technology is reducing production costs in a number of industries, allowing part-time and hobby businesses to compete in industries that used to be limited to bigger companies. Digital photography, for example, has substantially cut the costs of taking, developing and editing... More

Associated Press: Seventeen-year-old Alexis Corocan spends about $5 a month on clothes, accessories and eyes of various shapes and shades for her online persona on IMVU, a popular Internet hangout. For 29 cents, for example, she can buy a set of deep gray eyes framed by dark lashes. Sixty cents gets... More

UKpreneur.co.uk: Jason Salim was searching for an earth-friendly way to make money last year when he discovered the power of garlic. Now the 24-year-old Norton, Mass., entrepreneur is using the legendary vampire repellant to ward off another kind of bloodsucker. His heady concoction of garlic extract... More

PR Web: Few people understand the effect of increased expenses during the summer better than stay-at-home parents. The kids are home from school and living in-house which means higher grocery and utility bills. In addition, what follows is the end-of-summer woe otherwise known as back-to-school shopping.... More

Corsavoo.com: A business plan is a necessity for obtaining business startup loans and funding for your business. Without one, most banks and investors will not even consider providing you with business startup loans or other funding for your new business. But a business plan provides more than just... More

MarketWatch: 1. Inflation There’s no doubt about it: Inflation is a big risk for would-be retirees and current retirees. From 1980 to 2007, the annual inflation in the U.S. for all goods and services ranged from 1.1% to 8.9%, but averaged 3.5%, according to SOA. That means an item that cost $1... More

Meryl.net: 1. Listen. Sounds obvious, but freelancers might not understand the client’s request and start working on the project without understanding what the client said. It’s OK to ask for clarification. Better to ask and get it right the first time than produce something off target and have... More

AllBusiness: When you can legally fire employees isn’t an easy question to answer. Laws and cases have become increasingly protective of employees. Although the “at will” doctrine is still prevalent in many states (meaning that you can freely fire an employee at any time), there are... More

SmallBusinessTrends: 1. The Nine and Zero Effect. People associate the number nine with value and zero with quality. Look at the difference between fast food and a gourmet restaurant. A burger meal can sell for about $4.99 while a gourmet entree at the best place in town may go for $30. So the psychology... More