Using Forums to Promote Your Business: Case of Yahoo Answers

The best way to use a forum or a discussion board to promote your business is to become an active, reliable and an outstanding member of that community. Not through mindless spamming, but by becoming a well-respected member of that community who contributes well-thought out responses. People will then naturally check you out, and yes, visit your website.

This is the principle that governs my participation in Yahoo Answers, a free question-and-answer forum that is getting quite a following. The system is that you get points for answering questions, with the maximum 10 points if your answer is adjudged as the Best Answer.

I joined in February 2006 and have answered a total of 5,467 questions. I am the top answerer in the Business and Finance category with the most number of best answers in this category. As a result, we get a lot of traffic from Yahoo Answers including those who check my profile and see the link back to PowerHomeBiz.

The system of Yahoo Answers is far from perfect -- e.g. voting for yourself can give you a lot of best answers because not too many users vote. But I'd rather vote for my answer than let someone who answered "don't know" win as best answer (and totally dufus answers sometimes win -- another flaw in the system).

To get as many best answers, here are my strategies:

1. Research as much as possible about the question. If the person is asking for information on business plans, for example, give the person 5 links instead of just 1. In my case, I always put links plus book sources

2. Always put sources for your answer, and make it as credible as possible

3. Instead of saying "go to this link" summarize what is on that link.

4. People like long expounded answers (though I have lost several points to askers who prefer one sentence responses). Long answers show you know the topic very well

5. Develop your "money points" - questions where you've written extremely well responses and search for those questions regularly and answer them. In my case, I always answer questions on availability of grants for business and my batting average for this type of question is 90% best answers.

6. Answer the question with the intent of providing the best answer. I don't answer that many questions, but when I do, I really take time to answer them well.

7. Prepare shortcuts - time is of essence sometimes when you want to be the first person to answer the question. Almost all my answers are in a Word document (now 75 pages long) - and I answer almost the same questions all the time - so when I see the question, I just copy the answer from my Word file and paste it in the box. Question about starting a business, preparing a business plan, looking for grants (I have several version of my responses), starting an online business, finding hottest products to sell on ebay -- I just scroll through my Word doc to find the response I have already made. Saves me time, and I get to respond quickly even if the response is several paragraphs long

It is far more satisfying to know that you are a useful member of an online community -- the rewards in terms of traffic we get is more than enough to make the whole activity worth it.

Trends in Interactive Marketing

ChiefMarketer.com has an interesting article on the trends in online communications. They look at various ways marketers are communicating with their customers to improve sales and develop brands. Here are some of them:

1. Email marketing - emails have gone beyond sending newsletters; as marketers are now using emails to remind customers who abandoned their shopping cart and search to remind them to complete the transactions

2. RSS (Really Simple Syndication) - marketers looking for more focused and uncluttered means for sending messages to its audience have found the perfect tool in RSS. And RSS is going to grow in use and application.

3. Mobile communication - Almost everyone has at least one cellphone; so why not use this instrument to market a product or service?

You can read the full article at ChiefMarketer.com

Thinking of Selling on eBay?

If you are thinking of selling on eBay, your first stop should be eBay's Guide to Seller Services http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/services.html

eBay's Seller Central has all the resources you need to learn about the basics of selling on eBay http://pages.ebay.com/sellercentral/index.html

The key to a successful eBay selling is simple -- Sell products that people actually want.

Selling on eBay is not as easy as some portray. In fact, go to eBay and check out the number of auctions that end without a single bid. Competition is getting tough, as more sellers go to eBay; even the big boys are joining in the eBay marketplace. Add to that the increasing listing and final value fees.

eBay has several ways for you to determine exactly what the hot items to sell on their marketplace:

Items In Demand = the most popular items currently within that particular category. To see the In Demand page, go to http://pages.ebay.com/sellercentral/sellbycategory.html

Hot Items by Category Report = a monthly report that lists the fastest growing categories on eBay for the previous month. Go to http://pages.ebay.com/sellercentral/whatshot.html and select "Hot Items by Category" from the menu on the left.

eBay Pulse = "a daily snapshot of current trends, hot picks, and cool stuff on eBay". Go to http://pulse.ebay.com/ to see eBay Pulse in action.

Merchandising Calendar = eBay promotes specific categories on its home page each month. Savvy eBayers know that this home page exposure results in more interest in such categories. Go to http://pages.ebay.com/sellercentral/calendar.html to view the current Merchandising Calendar.

Other non-eBay sites that teaches how to sell on eBay successfully are:

• How To Be a Successful eBay Seller
• Resources for Professional Ebay Sellers
• Success with Internet Auctions

Work for Someone Else or Start a Business?

Should you work for someone else, or should you start a business? Which is better of the two options?

For me, there's no right or wrong answer, but rather, deciding on which way to go is a matter of personal choice and what your goals are in life. Some are perfectly content to work for someone else -- and that is good. While others wants to be their own boss and start their own business -- and that is also good. The key is to do what you think will make you happy.

If you are unsure whether you may be better off as an entrepreneur, I suggest you ask yourself the following 11 questions:

1. Do you have a strong desire to be independent and be your own boss, not taking orders from others and relying on your own talents. Can you move on your own without waiting for someone to push you?

2. Do you want to be master of your own financial destiny? Do you want the chance to work at something you enjoy, because of a desire for security in the form of steady income?

3. Do you have significant specialized business ability based on both your education and your experience. Do you also love the challenge of pitting your resources and skills against the environment?

4. Are you willing to take reasonable risks and handle the pressure that results from a degree of insecurity?

5. Do you have an ability to conceptualize the whole of a business; not just its individual parts, but how they relate to each other? Are you an individual who always comes up with new ideas?

6. Do you have an inherent sense of what is "right" for a business and have the courage to pursue it? Do you believe in giving priority to getting the job done?

7. Is one or both of your parents entrepreneurs; calculated risk-taking runs in the family?

8. Is your life characterized by a willingness and capacity to persevere? Do you welcome the responsibility that goes to owning a business?

9. Do you recognize that much of your success will depend on how well you deal with people?

10. Do you possess a high level of energy, sustainable over long hours to make the business successful?

11. Do you have a powerful drive to accumulate wealth, and the opportunity to earn far more than you ever could working for others?

If you answer YES to the above questions, then you may have a good fit with entrepreneurship. You definitely have the "entrepreneurial personality." If not, you may feel safer and more comfortable working for someone else and being an employee may be your calling.

You may want to read an article I wrote a few years ago yet remains relevant today "The Entrepreneurial Personality"

Business Idea: How to Start a Web Hosting Business

Here are some websites and web documents on how to start a web hosting business. These websites give you information on how to set up your own web hosting business:

• HostingResolve.com's Starting a Web Hosting Business
• Becoming a Web Host Company
• HostLibrary.com's Starting a Web Hosting Business

Another way of course is to simply become a reseller of a web hosting company, which is easier to start. Many hosting companies offer private label programs where you use their infrastructure but you can brand the business with your company name. An example of how this goes is Hostway's Private Label program http://www.hostway.com/resellers/private_label_program.html

Intellectual Property Market

If you have a new idea, an invention, a new art or craft, one of the things you ask is: "How can I profit from it especially after pouring thousands of dollars protecting it?" You can develop and market the product yourself (which of course requires tremendous amount of capital), or you can license it or sell it for millions of dollars.

The Web has made it easy to sell or license intellectual property through the so-called online intellectual property exchanges. If you have unused or underutilized inventions, you can generate new sources of revenue and get a return on all your research and development investment by tapping into this $100 billion market.

Here are some websites that link buyers and sellers of intellectual property:

NewIdeaTrade.com http://www.newideatrade.com/
Princeton WWW http://www.princetonwww.com/
TechEx http://www.techex.com/
Eureka Club http://www.eureka-club.org/

I personally have not had any experience with the above websites, but I would love to hear of your experiences in monetizing your intellectual property.

Habits When Working from Home

I missed this when it was released in March, but Insigh Express and SonicWALL got very interesting results on a survey they did on those working from home. The study focused on out-of-office workers, not home business entrepreneurs, but it gives a sneak peak of how home based entrepreneurs are working at home.

Here are some interesting results from the study

• 39% of respondents of both sexes said they wear sweats while working from home, 12% of males and 7% of females wear nothing at all (!!!!)
• 44% of women surveyed said they showered on work-at-home days, as opposed to men, who were slightly more likely to shave (33%) than wash (30%).
• 18% of men regularly break off to do household tasks such as laundry, dishwashing or dusting whereas many more women -- over 38% -- found their attention claimed by chores.
• 35% took the opportunity to eat and drink outside standard times; listen to music (45%) or watch TV (28%); and 21% of all respondents admitted to sneaking in an afternoon nap.

You can read the press release issued on the study here

How to Earn More from Adsense

Google's Adsense program has allowed many websites to monetize their websites, including PowerHomeBiz.com. Some sites are earning greatly from the program, while others are earning only a few dollars. You will see webmasters praising it to highest heavens, while some say that it is a waste of time.

Not all websites fit well with Adsense -- some are better than the others. Hence, some are earning significantly more compared to sites that are attracting bigger traffic. Adsense income will depend on how well the following factors are tweaked:

1. Responsiveness of audience to the ads = A travel website that provides information on travel to Spain will attract visitors looking for ways to arrange their travel and spend money on their vacation to Spain. Your site provides the info, but the ads will provide hotels, travel agencies, tourist destinations, car rentals -- ads that are likely to get the attention of the users of your site. This is a site that will most likely do well with Adsense.

However, if you are a gaming website where the main purpose of the user is to play games on your site, then Adsense will not perform as well.

2. Ad format = some types of ads do better than others depending on your content and layout. In our case, large rectangles in the middle of the content is the best, while leaderboards do not generate as much as income. Skys are the worst for us. Experiment and measure the results via channels and see which formats work best for you.

3. Ad placement - check Google's heat map as they have tested where the best placements

4. Ad colors - sometimes ads blended into the content works wonders, but sometimes ads that contrast your site colors work best. With our Adlinks, for example, using the gray color yielded the poorest CTR results, and red provided a much better CTR rate.

5. Number of ad units on a page = we are allowed maximum of 3 ads + 1 ad links + 1 search box on a page. Maximize the allowed number based on the resulting look of your page (you don't want an overkill of ads). Users going to your page and reading your content may ignore the banner or rectangle at the top of the page, but may click on the ad at the bottom of the article

6. Smart Pricing - the big unknown in Adsense. No one knows how this actually works, though that has not stopped webmasters from second guessing and debatings its mechanics on forums such as Webmaster World.

Smart pricing affects the pricing of the ads on your site. If the advertiser paid for $0.50/click - but your site is smartpriced - then the cost may be discounted lower (e.g. $0.25). So you may try to develop a site based on high paying keywords but if smartpricing gets to you, then you may not get as much per click as what you are expecting from your keywords. Here is Google's explanation of smart pricing

Google's smart pricing feature automatically adjusts the cost of a keyword-targeted content click based on its effectiveness compared to a search click. So if our data shows that a click from a content page is less likely to turn into actionable business results -- such as online sales, registrations, phone calls, or newsletter signups -- we reduce the price you pay for that click.

Experiment with the factors above (except smartpricing, which you can't control), and see which combination works best. Remember though that not all sites do well with Adsense - even if you get gazillions of traffic but your visitors are not interested in looking for ways to spend their money, they won't be interested in your ads and won't click.

I suggest you read the following articles:

Google Adsense: How Small Business Entrepreneurs can Earn from Online Advertising http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol123/adsense.htm
Earning Revenues from Contextual Advertising http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol139/contextual.htm
8 Tips for Maximizing Contextual Advertising Revenues http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol146/contextual.htm
Contextual Advertising: Why Are You Earning Only Pennies? http://www.powerhomebiz.com/022006/adsense.htm

Free Sample Business Plans

If you are thinking of doing a business plan, oftentimes seeing an existing business plan (preferably the same one as your business) can be a great help. You can see how a business plan is put together, what needs to be in each section, and more importantly, what information needs to be in the plan.

We have put together what we hope to be a comprehensive listing of free business plans out there on the Web. We included free sample plans from business planning softwares, business plan competitions as well as other business references.

These pages are still a work in progress as we will continue to add more listings in the next few days, but you can check out our Free Sample Business Plans pages.

Business Idea: Starting a Medical Transcription Business

Here are some resources on how to start a medical transcription business

• Starting a Medical Transcription Business
• Medical Transcription Sample Business Plan
• The American Association for Medical Transcription
• Transcription Test
• Comprehensive Skills Assessment
• MT Daily

For in-depth information, I suggest you read the following books

• How to Become a Medical Transcriptionist by Gordon Morton
• Medical Transcription Career Handbook, The by Keith A. Drake
• The Independent Medical Transcriptionist: The Comprehensive Guidebook for Career Success in a Medical Transcription Business by Donna Avila-Weil
• Start Your Own Medical Claims & Transcription Business (Start Your Own Business) by Prentice Hall
• Medical Transcriptionist's Desk Reference (Medical Transcriptionist's Desk Reference) by Carolyn Collins-Gates
• Hillcrest Medical Center: Beginning Medical Transcription Course by Mary Ann Novak

Tips on Using Online Service Marketplaces

If you are a service provider -- whether a writer, software developer or web designer -- one of ways you can get clientele for your business is to use online service marketplaces. Examples of these are guru.com, elance.com, rentacoder.com and other similar services.

To improve your chances of winning the project, here are some tips you can use:

1. Research the client and see the types of jobs they posted previously. Are they the type to choose those who price their services too low? If so, you may consider whether you really want this gig and price yourself lower than you normally do before bidding.

2. If you're on elance.com for example, feedbacks are given to provide guidance on the quality of the work done. Verify how the customer provides feedback by checking on their previous contractors. If the client is someone who typically gives poor feedback (yet the contractor generally has great feedback), you may want to consider the impact on your future gigs if you work with this client and they also give you poor feedback.

3. Read, read and read the project description. Your proposal should cover all the points that the client want. Learn more about the client. If they have a website, check it out so you can submit a more informed proposal

4. Remember that this is only a job - sound sharp, professional and confident and never act as if your life depends on this job (even if it does!)

Business Idea: How to Start a Magazine

Starting a magazine is more than the look. There is a concept to consider, how you are going to make money from it, who will want to read it and how to get those people to read it

Here are some steps to starting a magazine:

1. Conceptualize your magazine - what is its editorial voice, what types of information should it have, who should it be for
2. Determine how large (or small) your target audience - this can help you determine the viability of your idea. You don't want to start a magazine where only you and 2 friends would be interested in
3. Decide your revenue model - should it be by subscription or should it be by advertising, or both
4. Write your business plan to help you think through your idea
5. Gather a team to help you create your magazine (ad sales, layout, editorial team, printing, etc.) and decide whether to outsource or do in-house some of the processes involved.
6. Raise financing
7. Start production

I suggest you go through the following resources:

• Magazine Publishers of America http://www.magazine.org
• MagazineLaunch.com http://www.magazinelaunch.com
• 10 Tips on How to Launch a Magazine http://www.mediaweek.co.uk/articles/2004/11/16/10tips
• The Surviving Small Press http://www.laughingbear.com/magazine.htm

Some books you need to read:

• Launch Your Own Magazine: A Guide For Succeeding in Today's Marketplace by Samir Husni
• The Magazine: Everything You Need to Know to Make It in the Magazine Business, by Leonard Mogel
• The Magazine: From Cover to Cover, by Johnson, Sammye; Prijatel, Patricia
• Career Opportunities in Magazine Publishing by Monti, Ralph
• Starting and Running a Successful Newsletter or Magazine by Woodard, Cheryl

Business Idea: Starting an Inflatable Rental Business

You can learn more about the inflatable business from the following websites

• Association of Inflatable Rental Operators http://www.a-irco.org/ - they have a huge list of articles on this business
• International Inflatable Products and Games Association http://www.iipga.com/
• State Requirements for Inflatable Rental http://www.a-irco.org/content/category/17/42/48/- just a few states but can give you an indication on what you may need to comply with state regulatory requirements for this business

Business Idea: Starting an Interior Decoration/Design Business

More than just the love for designing interior spaces, here are some things you need to consider if you are planning on starting an interior design or decoration business:

• "How can I support my family while I build up by business?"
• "What are my abilities?"
• "Is there a market for the product or service I have chosen?"
• "How long will it take this business to reach the financial goal I have?"

Here are some articles on how to start an interior decoration business:

• How to Start an Interior Decorating/Design Business
• Starting a Business as a Interior Designer or Decorator
• How to be An Interior Decorator
• Become an Interior Decorator
• Starting an Interior Design Business
• Interior Designers

For in-depth information, I suggest you check out the following books:

• How to Start a Home-Based Interior Design Business
• Start Your Own Interior Design Business and Keep It Growing!
• Secrets of Success for Today's Interior Designers and Decorators
• How to Prosper As an Interior Designer : A Business and Legal Guide
• The Interior Design Business Handbook
• Marketing Basics for Designers: A Sourcebook of Strategies and Ideas

It is also highly recommended that you check out the resources of professional associations in your field, if not join them as a member:

• Council for Interior Design Accreditation http://www.accredit-id.org/
• Certified Interior Decorators International http://www.cidinternational.org/
• National Council for Interior Design Qualification http://www.ncidq.org/
• The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) http://www.asid.org/
• The International Interior Design Association (IIDA) http://www.iida.org
• The Interior Design Educators Council, Inc http://www.idec.org/

Improve Effectiveness of Your Email Campaigns

Email marketing company eROI has released their Q2 Email Statistics study that looked at the email behaviors and trends.

The study is concise and data-intensive with answers to questions such as "What day of the week should I send my email?" and "What time should I send my email?" It provides statistics on time of day people are opening and clicking on emails -- information that every marketer who uses email should know.

Here are some findings of the study:

• Sending marketing emails on Saturday yield the best open (38.3%) and click through rates (5.4%). During weekdays, Mondays have the best open rate at 35.7% while Thursdays have the best click through rate at 5.2%
• Highest percentage of click through rates occur at around lunch time, which is about 6.2%
• Microsoft Outlook is the email client of choice for the business population with about 60% usage, while Gmail has the largest share among personal email users with about 17%.
• With regards to the email address used to receive the emails, 79% of B2B users use their business email, while majority of B2C clients or 57% use personal emails. However, B2C email subscribers tend to create an email specifically for their email subscriptions, with 24% compared to only 6% for B2B subscribers.

You can read the full study at eROI (you will be asked to provide contact information)

Do You REALLY Need to Prepare a Business Plan?

One of the most repeated advice you will hear when you are planning to start a business is to prepare a business plan. Business plans are supposed to be the roadmap of your business that can guide you to success.

But do you really need to prepare a business plan? According to the article "Do I Need a Business Plan?" you need to write a business plan if you are going to do any of the following:

• Support a loan application
• Raise equity funding
• Define objectives and describe programs to achieve those objectives
• Create a regular business review and course correction process
• Define a new business
• Define agreements between partners
• Set a value on a business for sale or legal purposes
• Evaluate a new product line, promotion, or expansion

Looking at the above list, it feels like every business must have a business plan, if only to define what that business is supposed to do. Many home-based entrepreneurs don't typically think of finding venture capitalists or angel investors to finance the business. Or they don't need to be so formal about their partnerships that they have to present a business plan.

I am one of those who do not prepare a business plan when starting a new business. I just go for it - sometimes with good results and sometimes with disastrous results. I prepared my first business plan because the bank where I applied for a merchant account asked for it. I knew nothing about business plans so I brought books on how to write a business plan and software that I can follow.

Even after reading several books and guided by a template -- the business plan I wrote was sooooo upbeat and optimistic. That when I start the business, everything will fall into place and I would start earning profits asap. The business plan was definitely not grounded in reality. My financials were out of this world. No wonder my application for a merchant account was denied. Boo-hoo.

The process of business planning can help you figure out your own business and what you need to do. Or it can show you that you actually do not know anything about your business -- even if you don't realize it yet! Even if you are just selling on eBay, when you feel you need to take your eBay selling a notch higher from finding items in your house to sell to starting a real honest-to-goodness business, a business plan can help you think through what you need to do.

For me, if you're not going to submit your business plan to another party (bank, investors, partners, etc.), you can opt to go through the business planning without being so formal about it. You don't need to write a 75-page document about your business.

But it is important to go through the basic questions of a business plan and answer them (written answers are even better!) -- e.g. what is your business, what are your goals, who are your target market, how will you reach them, how much capital do you need to start the business, when do you think you can achieve profitability. These are all questions you need to know before you start a business, even without a written business plan.

For more information on business planning, visit our Writing Your Business Plan section

Getting a Small Business Loan with Poor Credit

If you are talking about a small business loan from financial institutions and you have low credit score, your chances are a little tight. You can read here the requirements of Small Business Administration for the small business loans that they guarantee http://www.sba.gov/financing/

1. Equity investment
2. Earnings Requirement
3. Working Capital
4. Collateral
5. Resource Management

Here is an excel spreadsheet of SBA's lending partners http://www.sba.gov/financing/lendinvest/plplend.xls

You must have collateral and equity investments poured into your business, plus a strong business plan with a management team who knows and understands the business.

Collateral can be personal and business assets such as house, receivables, stocks and bonds, furniture and fixtures, among others -- that can be sold to pay back the loan. Collateral provide banks with the assurance that they can get their money (or at least parts of it) back, even if you cannot pay. Even SBA-guaranteed loans as well as micro loan programs require some form of collateral to secure a loan. If you do not have collateral, you will need to have a co-signer who has collateral and can pledge to cover your loan in case you default on payment.

Banks, including the Small Business Administration will hardly give you 100% of the financing you need. They need to see that you are invested in your business -- which means they need to see you have money before they give you money. Otherwise, it's an extremely tough deal.

Business Idea: Starting a Bookkeeping Business

Here are some articles on how to start a bookkeeping business:

• Starting Your Own Bookkeeping Business
• Starting a Bookkeeping Business
• How to Start A Bookkeeping Business At Home
• Marketing and selling accounting services
• Bookkeeping Glossary and Other Resources

For in-depth information about this business, I suggest you check out the following books:

• Bookkeeping & Tax Preparation: Start & Build a Prosperous Bookkeeping, Tax, & Financial Services Business (Paperback)
• How to Open your own In-Home Bookkeeping Service 2nd Edition by Julie Mucha-Aydlott
• Start & Run a Bookkeeping Business by Angie Mohr

Another excellent resource when thinking of starting a bookkeeping business is the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers http://aipb.org/

Business Idea: Starting a Clothing Retail Store

A lot of people dream of owning their own clothing store. My recommendation is always to start by researching on the business and learning everything about it -- before starting (I made a mistake before in starting a business because I just wanted to, even though I knew nothing about the business). Clothing stores, especially, require lots of capital to start so you cannot afford to make a lot of mistakes

Here are some articles that provide information on how to start a clothing store:

• How to Start a Clothing Store
• Starting a Specialized Clothing Retailing Business
• Starting a Retail Clothing Store

One of the first steps is to prepare a business plan. Even though you may not apply for loans from financial institutions, the process of business planning can help you think through your business. It can help you decide on the type of store, determine the costs involved, how to get suppliers to sell to you, how to market the store, expected profitability, etc.

Here are sample business plans for a clothing store that you can check out:

• Retail Clothing
• Men's Clothing Retailer
• Special Needs Clothing Store

Clothing retailing is a broad area; so the first step is to determine what type of clothing store you want to establish. According to the market research firm NPD Fashionworld the growth in the apparel industry was ushered by:

• Men’s apparel led the industry’s growth with an increase of five percent, reaching nearly $53 billion in 2005. Another big category winner, men’s tops - accounted for 38 percent of the men’s apparel market
• Sales in women’s apparel also grew, reaching $101 billion
• Children’s apparel sales grew two percent, to $27 billion.
• Women spent $2.6 billion on hats and scarves, driving an 11 percent increase in the category.
• Cozy pajamas and fluffy robes were all the rage last year as women’s sleepwear sales generated nearly $4 billion in 2005, a 10 percent increase in dollars from 2004.
• It was also a strong year for women’s intimate apparel, the $9.6 billion industry expanded by nearly 4 percent in 2005.

For detailed information, I suggest you check out the following books:

• Start Your Own Clothing Store (Entrepreneur Magazine's Start Up) (Paperback) by Entrepreneur Press
• Retail Business Kit for Dummies by Rick Segel
• Specialty Shop Retailing: How to Run Your Own Store Revised by Carol L. Schroeder

You may also want to check out the resources of the following associations:

• Professional Apparel Association http://www.proapparel.com/
• American Apparel Producer’s Network http://www.usawear.org/
• Worldwide Responsible Apparel Manufacture http://www.wrapapparel.org/
• American Apparel and Footwear Association http://www.americanapparel.org/
• National Association of Fashion and Accessory Designers http://www.nafad.com/
• Fashion Group International http://www.fgi.org/
• Apparel News http://www.apparelnews.net/

I recommend that you read Kathleen Fasanella's blog at http://fashion-incubator.com/ . She is the author of the book "The Entrepreneur's Guide to Sewn Product Manufacturing" and her blog is full of answers to questions on how to start a clothing line

Business Idea: Starting a Virtual Assistant Business

Virtual assistant is one of the best home-based businesses right now, and many businesses and individuals alike are warming up to the idea and need for virtual assistants.

Here are some resources I suggest to help you learn more about becoming a virtual assistant

• Starting a Virtual Assistant Business
• How to Start Your Own Virtual Assistant Business
• Tips on Winning a Virtual Assistant Position
• Start your own virtual assistant business

However, the market is relatively new. As virtual assistant, a key part of your marketing strategy will be educating potential clients how your service can help them.

As such, networking and word of mouth are extremely effective strategies in marketing a VA business. I interviewed a VA and she said that one of the best ways for her to get clients is by attending local networking events. She is very active in the organizations that she participates in, and that has helped her raise her profile in the community and for potential clients to know what she is doing. She also networks online in forums and other online communities. You can read her story here http://www.womenhomebusiness.com/startup/kmann2.htm

You can also hook up with other VAs; they may be able to give you some contracts and assignments. Here are some associations and networking groups that you may consider joining

International Virtual Assistants Association http://www.ivaa.org/
International Association of Virtual Office Assistants http://www.iavoa.com/
Alliance for Virtual Businesses http://www.allianceforvirtualbiz.com/
International Association of Administrative Professionals http://www.iaap-hq.org/
Virtual Assistant Networking Forum (VANF) http://www.vanetworking.com/
Virtual Business Group http://www.virtualbizgroup.com/
Virtual-Professionals.com http://www.virtual-professionals.com/

For in-depth information about becoming a VA, I suggest you read any of the following books http://www.powerhomebiz.com/bookstore/va.htm:

- Virtual Assistant, The Series: Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA (Author: Diana Ennen)
- The 2-Second Commute: Join the Exploding Ranks of Freelance Virtual Assistants (Author: Christine Durst)
- Up Close & Virtual: A Practical Guide to Starting Your Own Virtual Assistant Business, Second Edition (Author: Diana Ennen, Kelly Poelker)
- The Virtual Assistant's Guide to Marketing (Author: Michelle Jamison)

Accepting Start-Up Capital from a Family Member: Good or Bad?

If you need money to start a business, one of the easiest ways is through your family member. But is it good? Is it even advisable to ask for money to start a business from a family member?

I've listed the pros and cons. Feel free to email me if you have anything else to add

PROS

• very accessible
• fast and easiest way to get start up capital
• you don't need to prepare a comprehensive business plan (e.g. you don't have a buy a business plan software or writer)
• no voluminous paperwork required such as banks or SBA loans
• no collateral required
• no credit checking; even if your credit history is poor, you can still get startup capital
• will not care if you put in equity investment or not
• it feels good to know that your family is behind your decision to start a business and supportive of your endeavors
• they are investing in YOU, not necessarily your business idea
• interest, if any, can be lower (sometimes, there's no interest!)
• unlike banks that typically shy away from companies without a proven track record or assets to guarantee the loan, family members can give you loan even if you know nothing about the business
• will give you money even if they think return on investment is not sizeable (venture capitalists will not give money if expected ROI is too miniscule)

CONS

• family will feel that they can make decisions on how your business is run or handled;
• family members will not be silent partners and you will often hear "suggestions" on how to do this and do that
• if things go bad, you won't hear the end of it in family affairs, reunions and such
• relationships can be put at risk, or worse, severed, especially if you lose all the money
  

RECOMMENDATIONS:

• Explain the risk to them - that by loaning you funds for your startup capital, there is the possibility that the money can be lost. Make sure they understand the risk
• Accept the funds only if you know that this is extra money or this money can be earned again by the family member; don't accept it if you know this is the last money of your 80-year old grandma that if you lose this money she will have no money for the rest of her life
• Make borrowing from family members more formal -present to them how the business will be done, your estimates. Do some sort of a less formal business plan
• Draft a loan agreement that specifies an interest rate and payment plan and have your family member sign it before accepting their money
• Keep it to a minimum - if you still want to have a family

Business Idea: Starting a Restaurant

It is always best to start your business by putting together all your questions and finding answers to them. You can do that with a business plan (and if you plan to look for investors or apply for a loan, you need to present your business plan). Here are some sample business plans that you can use

• Sample Restaurant Business Plan (steakhouse)
• Sample Restaurant Business Plan (organic restaurant)

Below are free information and resources that I've found on how to start a restaurant business:

• National Restaurant Association
• Entrepreneur.com Marketing and Promotions of a Restaurant
• Starting a Restaurant Business
• RestaurantOwner.com
• AllFoodBusiness.com How to Start a Restaurant
• 6 Ways to Attract New Customers to Your Restaurant
• Canada Business Starting a restaurant

You may consider the following resources (not free):

Palo Alto's Restaurant Business Plans http://www.bplans.com/st/restaurant.cfm
FabJob.com's Starting a Restaurant Business http://www.fabjob.com/restaurantowner.asp
Entrepreneur.com http://www.smallbizbooks.com/cgi-bin/SmallBizBooks/00047.html

Associations are great resources as well

• National Restaurant Association http://www.restaurant.org/
• National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (they have excellent training courses for restaurant owners) http://www.nraef.org/
• Your state restaurant association (e.g. http://www.ohiorestaurant.org/ , http://www.azrestaurant.org/ , http://www.parestaurant.org/ , http://www.nmrestaurants.org/

If you want in-depth information, I suggest you check out the following books:

• The Restaurant Business Start-up Guide (Real-World Business) by Paul Daniels
• Opening a Restaurant or Other Food Business Starter Kit: How to Prepare a Restaurant Business Plan and Feasibility Study by Sharon Fullen
• Start Your Own Restaurant (and Five Other Food Businesses) (Entrepreneur Magazine's Start Ups) by Entrepreneur Press and Jacquelyn Lynn
• Start Your own Restaurant and Five Other Food Businesses (Startup) by Jacquelyn Lynn