Archive for the 'Reader Mailbag' Category
Sell Boring Stuff: People Need It
Every day my inbox is full of people with over-the-top business ideas. Someone always wants to know if I think their business will fly. Some of them will work, for sure, but here’s an idea: instead of trying to figure out what flashy, hip, and cutting edge business to create, why not just start something [...]
A reader wrote: Traveling with Entrepreneur Magazine in 2011 we’ve interviewed some of the brightest innovators all across the U.S.A. We decided to bring them all together in this short film. The Innovators from SPARKHOUSE on Vimeo. After the jump, all of the innovators featured in the video.
What It’s Really Like to Run a B&B
A reader wrote: My wife is interested in starting a Bed & Breakfast. She think’s it’ll be all roses, but I’m not sure. Do you have any information about what it’s really like? I do. In fact, in today’s Wall Street Journal, there’s an article that attempts to dissuade potential bed and breakfast owners from [...]
A reader wrote: I’m a small biz entrepreneur and I’m feeling overwhelmed by everything. Can I get a word of advice? First off, take a breath. Stay true to who you are and what you do best. Let someone else do those tasks that will take you off course because you don’t like to do [...]
Why You Don’t Want to Start A Coffee Shop
A reader wrote: What do you think about starting a coffee shop? I think that many people think that they want to start a coffee shop, but, in fact, what they really want to do is to hang out in a coffee shop all day and get paid for it. We’re very good at recognizing [...]
When to Say No Thanks to New Opportunities
A reader wrote: Hi Dane. I just posted up a new article that I thought might be of interest to you, given your site’s focus on new business opportunities. It highlights a few pitfalls that business owners commonly face when they start branching out. What kinds of opportunities should you turn down? Good question. The [...]
A reader wrote: I’m struggling in my marketing. I understand that I advertise benefits and not features, but since some of my company’s products are, shall me say, odd, I don’t really know how to do that. Ok, ok, we sell fake vomit and other novelty gags. The products seem to sell themselves when people [...]
6 Tips for Working at Home With Children
A reader wrote: Do you have any advice about working from home with kids? Here’s something I wrote about the subject from 2006. Since then, we’ve added another child to the mix, started homeschooling and I work from home entirely. During a typical week, I work from home for twenty to thirty hours. Although this [...]
Don’t Worry About People Stealing Your Ideas
A reader wrote: Am I right to be so concerned about everyone stealing my business idea? No. Don’t worry about people stealing your ideas. If it’s original, you will have to ram it down their throats. Quote via Howard Aiken, an early computer pioneer. Photo by michaelgoodin.
Bloggers: How Do You Explain What You Do?
A reader asked: I’m a professional blogger, like you. How do describe what you do? I hate this question. Not your question, mind you, but the “What do you do?” one. If I was a plumber, everyone would immediately understand what that means, even if they didn’t quite understand all of the various types of [...]
A reader wrote: What do you think about starting a house cleaning business? There’s something all-American about entrepreneurs who start from scratch. Cleaning — a person and some rags and soap — is the quintessential start-up business that doesn’t require much capital. That’s not to say it’s easy. You must deal with a range of [...]
Can You Just Build a Better Mousetrap?
A reader wrote: Who said “Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door?” Is it true? The phrase is usually attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson. The phrase is actually a misquotation of his statement that, “If a man has good corn or wood, or boards, or pigs, to sell, [...]
Loans and Grants for Small Businesses
A reader wrote: Do you know of some place online that I can see different business loans and grants that are available for small businesses? Great question! I do in fact know of one. Small Business Loans and Grants from Find the Best is a great tool that lists nearly 800 different loans and grants. [...]
Where to Find Business Plan Templates
A reader wrote: Hi Dane, can you recommend a website where I can find business plans that I can modified and use as models of my own? Sure! BusinessPlanTemplate.net is a website with more than 30 free business plan templates that you can edit, customize and print for free. There are more than 30 business [...]
Accounting Knockout: QuickBooks vs Peachtree
A reader wrote: I want to send a quick note. I recently wrote an article comparing the newest version of Quickbooks to Sage’s Peachtree accounting software, primarily aimed at small business owners. I thought it would be a good resource for the blog. Thanks for the link. I’m often asked this very question and am [...]
Help! I Have Too Many Business Ideas!
A reader asked: I have so many ideas for businesses that I don’t really know which one to start first? Everytime I start something, I get distracted by a new business idea. Help! What do I do? If your answer to the question “What kind of business are you going to start?” is something like [...]
Bad Business Ideas Are All Around Us
I asked, the other day on Google Plus: Have you seen any good business ideas in your local newspaper or in any of the sites you read today? A reader responded: No, but I was too busy at work to really do any reading. Which reminds me, I saw lots of bad business ideas when [...]
A reader asked: Where can I get funding for my business idea? The truth is, ideas don’t get funded, businesses do. Budget your savings and sell, sell, sell! Once you’re up and running, then you can think about approaching lenders and other entrepreneurs about additional expansion capital. Photo by roswellsgirl.
Your Biz Is Not Your Hobby: Why Many Small Businesses Fail
A reader wrote: What business should I start? I have lots of hobbies and am sure I can find something, but how do I narrow it down to one that I will really love to do day in and day out. Many people start businesses because they enjoy doing something a recreationally. Since we’re all [...]
A reader asked: Where can I sell my business idea? You can’t. Ideas by and of themselves are worthless. It’s the execution of the idea that has value. Do something, anything, with your idea and then we’ll talk.
Reader Mailbag: How Do I Make Money?
A reader asked: How does your newsletter and weblog earn income? You do so much work… finding these interesting articles … etc. Advertising mostly. Here’s how I accidentally fell into this. Photo by Tattooed JJ.
A reader asked: Dane — For some reason, your day in entrepreneurial history always gets to me a day late. Is it being sent out a day late or if there a glitch with the email? No, it’s not a glitch. The email newsletter goes out the day after the post goes up. So today’s [...]
Starting a Movie Streaming Site
A reader asked: Hello my name is Rolando, I want to ask you for your help. My friend and I are thinking about starting a video rental business that we are going to run it something like Netflix. We’ll charge a small fee every month to our members to see DVDs on the computer. Do [...]
Taco Truck Business Opportunities
A reader wrote: Hi Dane, thanks for your recent post about the food truck situation in El Paso. I’ve been thinking about starting a taco truck myself. Do you have any resources you can recommend? Casual sit down restaurants and fast food chains have a new competitor all across the country. According to the National [...]
A reader wrote: Dear Mr. Carlson, How would I go about submitting an idea to the television show Shark Tank? Email them at SharkTankCasting@yahoo.com. Include your name, age, contact info, a recent photo, and a brief, NON-CONFIDENTIAL description of your idea. Good luck. Do you have a question for the reader mailbag? Send it to [...]
A reader named Russ asked: Dear Mr. Carlson, I have enjoyed reading your articles, thank you for sending them. I read an article about Real Estate Photography in Australia and was very interested in this idea. The problem is that I have lost this information, and want to ask you to send it to me [...]
How To Raise Money for Your Small Business
Reader Emelia wrote: Thank you for your wonderful encouragement. I have a small graphic design company that I run out of my apartment. I would love to lease an office in town so that I can attract more customers. Can you please tell me how to raise some money to do that? Thank you. Reader [...]
How to Raise Money for a Video Game?
A reader asked: I need a tip from you. I’m working on a video game. How can I get some funds (money) to make it? Just some money to buy some programs, and hire a few programers. Read this article: How He Raised $31,000 on Kickstarter. Photo by muoi.
A reader wrote: Your emails are so fascinating and uplifting! Thank you for being a beacon of hope and creativity in the small business world. I keep wanting to recommend your email list to people I know who could use some inspiration. Problem is, I don’t see a link on your site that I can [...]
Recently, I found an email in my inbox with the subject line “FREE BEER.” I almost deleted it without opening it because what could it be other than spam? Surprisingly it was a real message from a real person and wasn’t about beer at all. The sender, Andrew Wilson, thought that by using the unique [...]
What is Property Field Inspection?
A reader asked: I have so enjoyed your website, and wait for each new emailed updated information. I have been trying to research ( I am one of those people) more about Property Field Inspection. First I am a woman, second every thing I bring up is about the Mechanical Inspection or Appraisal of property. [...]
Danil from Moscow writes, I want to share a business idea with you and learn your opinion on it. The idea is to produce sticky flash-notes for learning languages etc. You take a post-it pad and print different foreign words on pages. There will be a ready-to-use set of notes in a pack, area-oriented (house, [...]
Tina sent us an email wanting to know if drop shipping really works. So I checked in with James Maguire over at Ecommerce-Guide. Maguire says as Internet retailing was getting started in the mid ’90s, online storeowners assumed drop-shipping would be the answer to their every worry. Filling orders through drop-shipping (sometimes called “virtual inventory”) [...]
A reader asked: Why is the pizza the only food you can get delivered? What’s the history of pizza delivery? According to PizzaDelivery.com, in 1889, King Umberto and Queen Margherita had the privilege of getting the first known pizza delivered by Raffaele Esposito, the most famous Pizzaaiolo (pizza chef) in Naples, Italy. In honor of [...]
What Is The Internet Time Machine?
A reader asked: Have you ever heard of something called the Internet Time Machine? I think it has something to do with affiliate marketing, but what is it? I’ve heard it said that in 2004, nine in ten affiliate marketing campaigns were profitable. In 2009, that number is down to one in ten. What happened [...]
Where’d Your Business Idea Come From?
Here’s a question for you: Where did your business idea come from? What was the spark of inspiration that sent you on your way?
A reader wrote: What exactly is a franchise? In its most simple definition, a franchise is a business opportunity that allows the franchisee (possibly you) to start your business by legally using someone else’s (the franchisor’s) expertise, ideas, and processes. In some cases, this means also having the right to use the franchisor’s established name [...]
Can Your Business Be Successful Without a Website?
A reader wrote: Dear Dane, Does my small business need a website, or can I just a Facebook Fan Page to promote my services? If recent big television commercials are any indication, some very large companies think that they can do business online without a website. During Super Bowl 44, for example, many of the [...]
Small Business or Potential Business?
A reader wrote: Dear Dane: A proposal: let’s change the name from “Small Business” to “Potential Business”. Let’s redefine it as the seed of an enterprise that will become a business no matter its size. By business understanding a unit which produces profits by delivering a product. An enterprise could be or not a business, [...]
1. How can I get franchise for business with McDonalds? Go to http://aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/franchising.html 2. Do you know of any incubator kitchens in Miami? I don’t, but perhaps one of our readers does. Any one? Leave a comment, or shoot me an email. 3. I have opening an online clothing company and I was wondering how [...]
Harry writes, “Can you suggest websites where I might contact people already in a dog walking/dog sitting business? I’m looking for hints & tips as to how to get started, upfront costs such as liability insurance, what to charge, how to advertise-any info I can get. My target market is Loudoun County, Va., about an [...]
Reader Mailbag: Home or Brick & Mortar?
Pam writes, “I just would like to have some idea about the start up cost of a scrapbooking business that is not home based.” Well, you’ll need to rent a building, hopefully with a lot of foot traffic. You’ll also need to pay for local business licenses and permits. And I’m guessing you want to [...]
Bankruptcy and Business Idea Loan
photo credit: mescon A reader asked: I have researched a business idea and have got an outlined plan for a totally new business with no competition at all and with a tons of potential. However, to go forward I need full financial backing up to $200,000. I filed for bankruptcy last year. What do you [...]
A reader wrote: Good afternoon, Are you able to tell if these two websites below are online home business scams? It sounds too good to be true. I am skeptical about these three websites. www.dailyjobstribune.com/jobs/?t202id=12539&t202kw=work%20at%20home dailytribunes.com/finance/?c1=12&c2=72&c3=132&c4=0 rs971.speedypaycheck.com/?pubid=23829 Thank you in advance! Right now I don’t have a job. Currently, I am looking for an online [...]
photo credit: simiant A reader wrote: I want to start a website and sell something online. What should I sell? Any advice? If you want to start an online business and sell something, you should sell a digital product, because physical products have two real problems: Unless you manufacture the product yourself, someone else will [...]
Reader Mailbag: Start A Retail Biz?
Joan writes: How much money (do I need) to start a small retail business? What are the pros and cons I should be looking out for? You could start a retail business for as little as $10 or as much as $1.5 million for a national fast food franchise. Other questions to consider are do [...]
Reader’s Mailbag: Protecting Assets
Susan writes: How to protect sole proprietor business assets from personal assets? Garrett Sutton at Resource Nation tackles this question. If you operate your business in the form of a sole proprietorship or as a general partnership, these businesses are not registered entities, which means that your personal assets are not insulated from those of [...]
Lacey writes: What to do to reduce business tax? Would you consider giving me a hand or at least some advice based on your experience?” Editor’s note: This information is based on the tax system for the United States of America. Business owners should seek professional advice regarding their tax liability. Tiare Rath over at [...]
Tony writes: “What do I do about protecting my assets when I am being sued? What are the pros and cons I should be looking out for? Please point me in the right direction.” When starting a business in the United States, you must decide what form of business entity to establish. The most common [...]
Madhu from India writes: I have ideas about products. I am looking for companies who are willing to listen to my ideas and make the products and pay me in return. I cannot afford to pay for Patenting. Is there any way I can find companies and make them listen to my ideas. I need [...]
