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Venture Capitalist Allan Leinwand provides a very no non-sense explanation, with case studies, of why it is absolutely essential to have someone who understands the infrastructure that supports your online business in house or within shouting distance.  Failing to do so will inevitably cost your company users, performance and money.

Comments section below the article is just as useful and provides further context and clarification.

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Are you ready — and qualified — to launch your own business? Before you quit your day job, check in with Mitch York, an executive coach who helps corporate employees become successful business owners. York offers some practical tips and some reality checks to would-be entrepreneurs.

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Mitch Joel brings up a fundamental but often overlooked point about marketing. Rather than focusing on the ways in which you can bring in customers, it is important to first look in the mirror. Why do people want to do business with you? Why do your customers love you? Ask the right why questions and you’ll be able to create the right marketing strategy. The what flows from the why.

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Ever wonder what the difference is between marketing, branding, public relations and advertising? This great little set of illustrations puts one man’s bravado (and sexual performance) into context in order to explain how the different forms of promotion work and how they are related. It’s a two second read that cleared up a lot of confusion.

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“Hello there young entrepreneur, I’m your investor. Remember me?”

Social Entrepreneur and GoBigNetwork.com founder Will Schroter every now and again puts out a post speaking very bluntly from the perspective of someone involved with starting and growing a business. This one is yet another relevant and honest take on the perspective of the angel investor who just put down a few thousand, or hundred thousand dollars into a company.

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As Seth Godin points out, you can’t always hire empathetic, customer-oriented employees. In my worst moments, I may not be particularly empathetic, either. But the key here is to remember that even pretending to care can be helpful. It promotes a positive feedback loop and keeps the social friction to a minimum. If you have to do something your customer doesn’t like, at least saying you’re sorry (even if you aren’t) may help.

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Entrepreneurship professor and author, Scott Shane, shares some eye-opening data from his book Illusions of Entrepreneurship: The Costly Myths that Entrepreneurs, Investors, and Policy Makers Live By

He shares the data in graph-form that reveals real rates of small-biz failure and success over a ten year period, from 1992 to 2002, and focuses on single-establishment businesses.  It would be interesting to see it broken down by industry and see how the trends have changed over the last 6-years with a strong move online for many small-business start-ups

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I do not know how accurate the data Bill displays is, but it is quite fascinating. Short version, the rich may pay a lower % than the upper middle class, but 20% of 10 million is a grip load more money that 30% of 200k. According to this article, the large bulk of all American tax revenue comes from the top 25% of income earners. Bill then shares a parable which illustrates how the tax system works in the USA.

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 Aside from tax benefits, an additional stream of income can be vital in a downturn and a business can provide that. So what kind of business might do well in a sluggish economy? Heleigh Bostwick at legal zoom suggests:

1.  Debt Collection
2. Healthcare Products
3. Job Search Agency
4. Mediator
5. Security Firm
6. Computer Repair
7. Internet Marketing
8. Web Entrepreneur
9. Pawn Broker
10. Cosmetic Sales

Article submitted by Reid Peifer

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