Monday, April 13, 2009

Small and Home Business Blog Carnival - April 2009

Welcome to the April 2009 edition of the Small and Home Business Carnival. This month's blog carnival is quite long, but there is something for everyone. From deciding on your business to starting a home or small business and then going on to grow and market it, there are tips and advice for all stages of home and small business owners.

business


Ben presents Getting Things Done Without Doing Any of the Work posted at Money Smart Life.

Sharyce Arciaga presents How to Find Your Small Business (Or Idea) posted at 1StopMenagerie, saying, "Learn How to make money with a hobby, talent or skill!"

AJ presents Virtual Office Advantages and Disadvantages posted at VirtualOfficeSpace.

Sarah Scrafford presents Top 100 Free eBooks for Business Students and Entrepreneurs posted at Online Best Colleges.com.

debt kid presents How Much is My Small Business Worth? posted at DebtKid.

Kurt Tasche presents ACN Business Opportunity posted at Kurt Tasche - Online Business Mentor|Home-Based Business Expert, saying, "Due to the success my team is having, I have decided to focus this post on the highly profitable ACN Business Opportunity. Future posts will include information on ACN and the ACN business opportunity, so you can make an educated decision of whether or not this business is for you."

Andrew Rondeau presents 99% Of All Managers Know The Basics Of Management But posted at GreatManagement Blog, saying, "I believe 99% of Managers know the basics of Management but only a small percentage actually ‘do it’. Here's why."

Sandi Mays presents Is there a way to calculate business days in Excel? posted at Business Tools Blog, saying, "Calculate business days in Excel?"

American Entrepreneurship presents Expert Q&A: Networking for Small Business posted at American Entrepreneurship.

Tushar Mathur presents Starting A Small Business Doesn't Have To Be Overwhelming posted at Small Business Resource, saying, "Being a small business owner is no easy task. Along with the opportunities come a bevy of challenges that come at an entrepreneur from all directions. Dozens of issues, like funding, accounting, legal, tax, marketing/PR, sales, IT and customer service are all issues for small business owners every day. In summary, if you want to have success in starting your own small business, you better have some knowledge in ALL of these areas."

Leanie Belle presents 2 Proven Ways To Build Your List Fast posted at Internet Business Make Money Online With Welly Mulia.

Jimmy Adames presents Affiliate Marketing Tips - 5 Product Recommendation Mistakes Affiliate Marketers Make posted at Internet Business Building.

Winson John presents Detailed Guide On How To Make Money Online Through Blogging posted at Winson John, saying, "I have mentioned here, some of the most popular effective techniques which can be used to make money online through blogging."

John Crickett presents 11 Interesting Online Business Ideas And What You Can Learn From Them posted at Business Opportunities And Ideas, saying, "A look at eleven unique online business ideas and what you can learn from them."

alex presents Gen Y – the last generation of entrepreneurs? posted at Internet Entrepreneur Blog, saying, "The term ‘Generation Y’ refers not only to people born between 1977 and 2000, but to a cohort with its own independent mind set who believe that self-employment is more secure and rewarding than a full-time job."

Paul Gallion presents The Next Generation of Viral Marketing posted at Paul Gallion, saying, "Use these to market your business and earn at the same time"

Mike presents Great Depression Myths posted at Great Depression Version 2: Bear Market and Economic Depression, saying, "With all the comparisons between our current financial and the Great Depression, it is time to dispel some basic myths about the Great Depression"

Jimson Lee presents Don’t Lay-off Employees for SaaS - Go Open Source posted at CRM Help Desk Software.com, saying, "Don’t lay-off your employees in favour of SaaS. Keep them and go Open Source and support their training costs."

Gem-Publishing presents SQIP - Your Company, Web 2.0 and Beyond posted at Home Business Ideas, saying, "SQIP is launching soon .... BIG is an understatement !"

Liz presents What's the Best Online Business? posted at All About Web Business.

Jamie Munro presents Top 5 SEO Tips To Achieve Top 10 Rankings In Google posted at End Your If, saying, "Help your business succeed with top search engine rankings for your most competitive keywords."

Sigrid Landau presents Establishing A Brand Of Yourself posted at A1 How To, saying, "Branding yourself as an expert is all about getting other people to recognize something about you that you already know."

Meaghan Montrose presents 7 Tips for Avoiding Bad Business Opportunities posted at Colleen Palat.

John W. Furst presents Why .COM Is The Best Of All Generic Top Level Domains (gTLD) posted at E-Biz Booster Blog, saying, "A good domain name will improve your rankings, get you more traffic, and convey the right message to your visitors."

Peter OBrien presents Adsense Templates - Top 6 Features to Look for in Adsesne Templates Packages posted at Professional Adsense Templates, saying, "To help you with all of this work, look for a good adsense templates package. A good package will have some of the work all ready done and make it easier for you to complete the other tasks. Here are the top 6 features for any adsense templates package:"

Jim DeSantis presents Get Paid to Work from Home posted at On Line Tribune | Work From Home Blog, saying, "Just what are work-from-home programs? They fall into three
basic categories: get paid to read e-mail, get paid to fill out
surveys and get paid to try products. Each type has its
own pros and cons."

Willb presents When its all just too much - Be Negative posted at William Bakhos's Blog.

Helen Trump presents Too Big For Audio Only: New Facebook Pages posted at Social Marketing by Michelle MacPhearson, saying, "Read, Listen and Watch this blog as you get to explore the New Facebook Pages and its positive result to your internet marketing business"

Barbara Brabec presents How Life Leads Us posted at Handmade for Profit - Cashing in on Your Creativity!, saying, "Have you ever noticed how life leads us in new directions when we least expect it? A step in any new direction will automatically set in motion a chain of events that could change and enrich your life."

Steve C presents Starting A Business Is Like Asking Out A Girl For The First Time posted at MyWifeQuitHerJob.com.

Steve Holder presents Guide to Non-Disclosure Agreements posted at Intellectual Property Advisor, saying, "There's more to non-disclosure agreements than you might think. Learn what you should know about NDAs to protect yourself and your business."

Gemma Went presents Smart marketing is what's needed now posted at Gemma Went, saying, "Yes, we’re in a recession. It’s a tough time and some hatchet wielding finance people may think that it makes sense to cut the marketing budget. But don’t be too hasty. Hugh Davidson, author of ‘Offensive Marketing’ says ‘Studies show that brands that maintain or increase marketing spend in a recession tend to do better than their rivals in the long run’. Indeed, when there is less business available does it really make sense to become quieter? No, you need to bang your drum harder and smarter. Lowering brand awareness makes it much harder to gain when your competitors have taken your place. So here are a few tips on cost effective, ’smart’ marketing activities that could help see you through."

Helene Zemel presents Finding a Great Home Based Business posted at Work at Home Mom and Dad, saying, "Now that you have made the decision to work from home, how do you go about selecting a suitable and profitable home business?"

Terri Holley presents A Blog v. A Website posted at creative blog solutions.

Rusty Shelton presents What is Article Marketing? posted at My Internet Marketing Journey, saying, "'Article Marketing' is a good subject, and one that you will need to become very familiar with in the months and years to come as you develop and grow your Internet business."

Richard Adams presents Advice Before You Open An Online Store posted at Open An Online Store.

Mariano DiFabio presents To Blog or Not To Blog posted at The Web and You, saying, "How can you use a blog to reach out to your customers? What are some basic things to consider when starting up a new blog? Blogging isn't for everyone, as most people in this carnival will know...but blogging can be an effective means of communication to both existing customers and prospects."

mike lesaux presents Is A Work At Home Business Opportunity The Right Thing For You To Do? posted at all-free-downloads.

Kevin D. Rolle presents Recession-Busting Info (Part 1 Of 29): Visions Of Grandeur posted at IM OFFERS Blog.

Jay Green presents Remote Computer Maintenance: RCM posted at Remote Computer Maintenance, saying, "Save Money"

Locke Dauch presents How to Blog posted at Your Blog Is Money, saying, "Blogging is an effective way to work from home and make a living. Unfortunately very few people are able to do it effectively in a way that generates them enough income to quit their day job. This article is dedicated to helping people make working from home via blogging a reality."

Emma Rhoades22 presents Small business marketing ideas - Benefits of Joint Ventures posted at Diva Promotions, saying, "Great post about joint ventures and strategic alliances within small business."

mattgarrett presents 6 Things You Need To Be Successful Online posted at Matt Garrett, saying, "The site has only just launched and there are already 500+ people getting the answers to the questions that were holding them back, from over 100 proven online marketing experts, you can join them today"

blogtactics presents Nothing Works posted at BlogTactics.com, saying, "Find something you like doing and stick at it, don’t jump on to the next “shiny new thing” when you don’t make your first $1k in the first week!"

imtesting presents Building Your List For Free with AdSwaps posted at IM & Affiliate Marketing Product Testing, saying, "It’s time for a quick update on how well using AdSwaps is working for me in building my newsletter or subscriber “list”, and I’ve got a couple of screen shots which I hope will make it clear just how good a method this is."

Tushar presents SEO Checklist for Creating a New Website posted at TUSHARVICKKIE, saying, "The SEO Checklist lists all the important and necessary elements to be taken care of while developing the website. It's always better to optimize the website from the very beginning. Check it out, and get higher rankings."

mdsaves presents Have You Found A Legitimate Work At Home Affiliate Opportunity? posted at MDSaves, saying, "Earning an income operating at home has never been more achievable thanks to the internet and its developing effectiveness in the advertising/selling business. One thing you want to recognize though is that not all of the opportunities will be sound. There is an easy way to find out if it is true or not. Here are numerous things that you can do to ascertain if you have found a realistic work at home affiliate opportunity."

homebusinessreport presents Home Business - What Is A Good Niche, Anyhow? posted at HomeBusinessReport, saying, "Niche marketing is the most targeted marketing there is, and can also be the most profitable. Use the principles in this article to help assess any niche you are considering going into for your home based business."

out4 presents Defining Direction For Your Blog posted at Out4, saying, "Before starting a new blog it helps to define what your goals are for it as that will guide you in every aspect of its development. Somebody who wants to build a blog to promote an existing business will do things differently to somebody who is blogging for a political cause for example."

Shawn M. Driscoll presents Making Peace With Time posted at Shawn Driscoll.

Nicholas Powiull presents Conscious Flex: How to Live Your Passion (How I Became a Fulltime Blogger) posted at Conscious Flex, saying, "Many people have emailed me about my new opportunity in becoming a fulltime blogger. It seems everyone is wanting a logical way of how I became a fulltime blogger and how they can produce the same results."

J presents Training Wheels posted at Twenty Something Dollars, saying, "how do you start generating an income using the vehicle of your own business"

adz presents Article Marketing: An Easy Way To Increase Traffic On Website posted at ADz, saying, "Today almost everyone can start an online business and there is no need to spend much on it. Opening a website with a domain name is not a difficult task but the main thing is to have increased website traffic on to your website. For this you need to take care of few things and information related to increase online website traffic so that you earn considerable amount from your website."

internetbusinesses presents Avoid These Common Web Hosting Mistakes posted at Home Based Internet Business, saying, "A mistake that many people make when starting out is to choose a host solely based on price. This is obviously an important factor, especially in the beginning, but if you choose the cheapest host you may be limited in your scalability as the website grows in popularity and traffic."

Thursday Bram presents Managing Your Skype Contacts: 5 Tips posted at Home Office, saying, "Skype is an effective tool for small businesses — especially if you know how to manage your contacts."

stevinium presents Home Based Businesses - Low Overheads, Big Profits posted at Ebay Auction and Internet Marketing Explained.

ErinatPlinkPlink presents 5 Steps to Starting a Blog Business posted at PlinkPlink: Moms Talking About Money.

Eric Su presents Use Attraction Marketing to Gain FREE Leads! posted at Internet MLM Underground.

Ian Richardson presents Just what IS the best way to get traffic? posted at Make Everything EzyAs123, saying, "What is the easiest, most reliable, and cheapest way to get traffic to your website?Want the quick answer?"

iamuncovered presents Online Business Coaching posted at iamUncovered.com, saying, "It can be real difficult to make real progress online. We’re all constantly bombarded with new offers and ideas! So getting some intensive, step by step coaching can be the perfect way to cut out all the “noise” and get up and running."

anab presents Search engines and internet marketing posted at anab, saying, "The very idea of Internet online marketing advertising business sounds complex and impressive, but it is just a matter of appearance resulting from the combination of two crucial elements to Internet businesses: advertising and marketing. These two make in fact the pillars that make a business run online: when you fail with the marketing, the advertising won’t go too well either. Any Internet online marketing advertising business depends on the competence of advertising and marketing specialists."

Aditi Walsh presents Do You Want The Secret Behind All Secrets? posted at Web Marketing Rebel, saying, "Mere knowledge of the secrets cannot create success. Tulshi Sen, author of Ancient Secrets of Success for Today's World shows us in this video how to gain ability to think the thoughts you want to think."

Kathleen Gaga presents Top Internet Marketers Share How to Build a Six and Seven Figure Businesses posted at Street Smarts Marketing & Promotions, saying, "Recently I had the opportunity to share time with some of the most amazing people in the world of Internet Marketing. Although some I have known for quite some time, there is nothing to compare to meeting face to face. Throughout the three day event we shared insights that had many similarities. Here are just a few tips we shared…."

madstuff presents 10 Must Know Tips to Make FaceBook Marketing Easier posted at MadStuff, saying, "Facebook has been the best of the lot and that has been because it meets your personal and professional needs. Here are few tips for building a great brand and a great network of friends while at the same time promoting your products and services and having fun doing it. Use these tips wisely and with a little patience they will surely reward you."

Stefan Töpfer presents WinWeb and infoUK Announce Exclusive Strategic Partnership to Benefit Small Businesses posted at Winweb.

CA presents Secrets revealed: Rank high in SERPs using SEO posted at Atlantic Canada's Small Business Blog, saying, "Ranking high on search engine results page requires patience and bit of smart work"

Matt Thomas presents 10 Great Ways to Motivate Your Staff posted at Entre-Propel.

Kathleen Gaga presents To decide or not decide - This is the Law of Attraction posted at Daily Awareness, saying, "Lately I have been reading and hearing a great deal on the power of decision and the power of indecision. Some people would argue that indecision carries no power with it. Actually, indecision carries a lot of power. The power to immobilize. The power to diminish confidence. The power enhance the "what if" fear so many subscribe to. The power of letting our life pass before our very eyes."

Burak Bilgin presents The Big Picture posted at Distiller's Corner, saying, "Draw the big picture of your life and occupation and don’t get lost in details."

Tbarr presents The Biggest Dangers Of Starting An Online Business? posted at Online-Biz-Now, saying, "Helpful tips to help anyone who is thinking of starting a home business avoid all the 'dangers' associated with an online business. Very good information for newbies."

Wally Bock presents The Planning Fairy posted at Three Star Leadership Blog, saying, "With homage to Jeff Foxworthy, Wally Bock offers five ways to tell if you believe in the Planning Fairy."

The Smarter Wallet presents Blue Ocean Strategy: Start A New Business In An Uncontested Market posted at The Smarter Wallet.

Derek Pryde presents Could your Domain Name Be Bad for Business ? posted at Making money on the internet ADVICE.

Leslie, The Freebie Guy presents Articles you must read as a Freebie Forum Trader posted at The Freebie Guy.

Get800today presents Designate a Toll Free Number For Different Departments posted at Get800today.com.

Debbie Dragon presents Managed Services Success in any Economic Climate posted at MSP University Managed Services Blog.

Stephen Dean presents Optimize Your Blog For Maximum Profit, My Interview With Robert Plank posted at Copywriting Dean, saying, "Robert Plank interviews Stephen Dean on how to grow, advertise and make money with a blog."

Sean Kelly presents Home Business Opportunity, You Can Trade for a Living posted at Become a Day Trader, saying, "There are some important things to look at when looking at a home business opportunity."


money & finance


Debbie Dragon presents How to Improve Cash Flow When You Are Self Employed posted at Freelance Sprout.

Husni presents The Best Online Payment System posted at Online Payment System, saying, "Last night somebody introduced me to one of the best online payment system. Why do I say that it is one of the best?1. It is integrated with some of the best payment gateway like Paypal, 2CheckOut, GoogleCheckout.2. It is secured. You don't have to worry about people hacking your website and people stealing your digital product."

Brian McKay presents Schwab Bank Invest First Visa Credit Card posted at MonitorBankRates.com, saying, "Charles Schwab Bank is offering a cash back Visa credit card that gives you 2% cash back on purchases. There is no limit to the cash back you can earn."

Insurance Toolbox presents Inside Harvard Business School (CNBC Video Special) | Fine-Tuned Finances posted at Fine-Tuned Finances.

Mr. Banker presents Banking Online Safety Tips posted at Best Interest Rate Banks.

Thursday Bram presents TaxAct: You Can File Your Taxes Online posted at Working Your Way Around The World.

jim presents Best Student Credit Cards posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

Praveen presents Value of A Small Passive Income Stream posted at My Simple Trading System.

retirehappy presents You Can’t Borrow From An IRA posted at My Retirement Blog.

nickel presents The Worst 401(k) Plans posted at fivecentnickel.com.

Credit Card Addict presents Outlawing Retroactive Interest Rate Changes posted at CreditAddict.

Thursday Bram presents Quick Tip: Get A Business Credit Card posted at thursdaybram.com.

Frank Vertin presents Just Buy Index Funds Directly posted at NO LOAD INDEX FUND, saying, "Buying an S&P 500 index fund through an investment counselor can substantially increase your initial purchasing costs and and drive up your annual management expense fees. Unfortunately, the vast majority of individual investors buy mutual funds and ETFs through brokers and investment advisers. Rarely do financial advisors recommend that you buy index funds with low fees. This is because low cost, no load mutual funds do not pay them as well as loaded, high fee mutual funds."

Silicon Valley Blogger presents YNAB (You Need A Budget) Personal Budget Software Is 10% Off posted at The Digerati Life, saying, "I review a great budgeting tool for both business and home budgeting needs."

Larry Russell presents Most Individual Investors Are Poor Personal Portfolio Managers | Personal Investment Management posted at THE SKILLED INVESTOR Blog, saying, "Investors more easily understand investment costs that are directly measurable, such as fees deducted on investment statements. However, many investors ignore or are unaware of the opportunity costs of their sub-optimal investment behaviors. Opportunity costs are usually much more difficult to measure directly, but these investment costs can be even higher than more visible investment fees."

online business tips


Jerry Navarro presents 12 Month Internet Millionaire posted at 7 Dollars Ebooks, saying, "Here's How You Can Make $1 Million Online With Your Ideas... EVEN WHEN 98.4% OF YOUR PROSPECTS TELL YOU TO GET LOST!!!..."

Andrew Rondeau presents Can You Make Money On The Internet? posted at We Build Your Blog, saying, "These 4 factors determine whether you will make money online (or not)"

Diego Cervantes presents The Work-at-Home Toolbox: 50 (Legit) Web Sites to Make Money Online posted at Bankling.

robert galway presents E-Bay the Good and the Bad posted at robertgalway.com, saying, "EBay is a prime example of how successful retailing on the internet can be. The concept, of course, is great. Ebay is a for-profit business and yours should be too!"

anab presents Begin An Online Business With Wordpress Blog Setup posted at anab, saying, "If you are ready to begin an online business and you need a Wordpress blog; then why not let us set up your blog. Visit our site and you can easily find all the information about the service that we provide."

EZ Web Traffic presents Twitter Traffic Magic posted at EZ Web Traffic Carnival, saying, "Discover How to "JUMPSTART" Your Blog Traffic in 4 Easy Steps With The Help of Twitter."

Bill Urell presents 5 Critical Pieces Of Blog Master Planning posted at Blog Success Review.

Debbie Ducker presents Profitable Blogging - Grab it why the competition is low. posted at Ducker Promotion Ezine, saying, "A fairly new idea with a lot of potential for entrepreneurs who have insight, drive, and a basic understanding of today"

riswa presents Get Free Product With Joint Venture And Make More Money posted at Easy Ways To Make Money From Blog And Get Profit.

Alicia Sheering presents Startup Business Online posted at Startup Business Online by Alicia Sheering.

Debbie Foster presents How To Blog For Profit posted at Internet Income - The Journey, saying, "Individuals that dream of blogging for profit can do so with a minimal understanding of blogging software and the willingness to put in the time and hard work necessary. Yet, only a small percentage of individuals actually get the profits they expected from their blog. So why is that?"

Steve Cowall presents What Type Of MLM Business Would You Like? posted at AllXClub.

chris meagher presents Working on the Internet posted at internetemploy.com, saying, "Employment on the Internet is not as easy as it seems."

Mike Robbins presents Quick Ways to Make Money! posted at launch reporer, saying, "There are a lot of quick ways to make money especially on the Internet.Some of them you spend more money to get started than you actually make overall."

Jinger Jarrett presents How to Make Money From Free Classifieds: No Website or List Required posted at Internet Marketing for Free.

professions



Tari Conley presents Why a Greeting Card Business posted at Starting a Home Based Greeting Card Business, saying, "Why a greeting card business?"

Dan O'Connor presents How to Become a Medical Transcriptionist with Online Classes posted at beingpad, saying, "Learn the basics of working at home as a Medical Transcriptionist"

Dana presents In Search of Sustainable Careers – 5 Reasons Why I Would Not Go Back to Business School posted at Investoralist, saying, "Do business school lead to sustainable careers? Some points to consider in face of global financial chaos."

00FF00 presents The World Needs Your Passion posted at ooffoo, saying, "A member of the ooffoo community wants to help you realise your passion. She offers a clarion call for anyone trying to feel fulfilled. Based on the philosophy that we are all needed and that the world needs your passion the trick then becomes how to find out what your passion is. And it's easier than you think."

JL Scott presents Balancing your personal and your business goals posted at Strategies for Making Money Online and Your Home Business | JL Scott Revolution.

sales & marketing


Bobby Leong presents How to Select Network Marketing Companies for Residual Income posted at Global Domains International Tips, saying, "How to Select a Good Network Marketing"

Martin Russell presents Viral Video… For Small Business? posted at Word of Mouth Marketing, saying, "I’ve been paying attention to online video for quite a while now. It’s been hot for the internet - but does it have any relevance for viral word of mouth in small business?"

My Web Traffic Robot presents First Great Web Traffic Tip posted at My Web Traffic Robot's Blog, saying, "One of the easiest ways to build up traffic to your website is by marketing with articles."

Sandra Rodrigues presents 42 Ways to Prosper in This Recession posted at Motherly Marketing, saying, "If you"

Anya Portnik presents Getting the Sales Superstar Mindset, sales training video 2 of 3 posted at Gavin Ingham.

writers

Thursday Bram presents Ebook Review: Press Releases Made Easy posted at Hyper Modern Writing.

Richard Adams presents Freelance Websites Directory posted at No More Compromise.

Richard Shelmerdine presents Blogging: Writers Block And Providing Value posted at Richard Shelmerdine - life views from a student of life.

EE presents Earning Blogging Money posted at Web Career Girl, saying, "My journey to making money through blogging."

Debbie Dragon presents Writing for Money WIthout Being Published posted at Empowering Mom.

Wren Caulfield presents Netbooks: Economical Computing Option or a Waste of Money? posted at True Adventures in Money Hacking.

Sarah Johnson presents My Copywriting Checklist. (Ok, it is not really mine.) - Sarah Johnson, Copywriter posted at Sarah Johnson copy.

Rebecca Dean presents What Is Copywriting? posted at Miss Copy.

Nick Daws presents Interview with Diana Nadin of The Writers Bureau posted at Nick Daws' Writing Blog, saying, "An in-depth interview with Diana Nadin, Director of Studies at The Writers Bureau, the UK's leading distance-learning college for freelance writers."

Britannica Blog presents Business Writing Quizzes: How Well Can You Do? posted at Britannica Blog, saying, "Somebody said “Sloppy writing reflects (and advertises) sloppy thinking.” I guess the corollary would be that “Careful, clear writing reflects (and advertises) clear thinking.”"

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of
small and home business carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.