Economic Edge » Small Business & Entrepreneurship

Brain food for entrepreneurs (or aspiring entrepreneurs)

EconEdge — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 20:40:04 +0000

Ben Yoskovitz has compiled a great collection of articles on entrepreneurship. This week's Entrepreneurship Carnival includes advice for entrepreneurs, characteristics of successful entrepreneurs, thoughts on success and failure, marketing insights, and much more.

Immigrants Are More Likely to Become Successful Entrepreneurs & Business Owners

EconEdge — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 03:22:28 +0000

Interestingly, research shows that immigrants are more likely to become successful entrepreneurs than native-born Americans.

According to a new study released last week by Duke University and UC-Berkley, immigrant entrepreneurs founded 25.3 percent of all U.S. engineering and technology companies established in the past decade. This is very significant, since immigrants make up only 11.9 percent of the entire U.S. population.

10 Best Cities for Technology Jobs & Entrepreneurship

EconEdge — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 15:56:18 +0000

Your geographic location can affect your personal and business finances in a number of ways.

For one, your geographic location plays a role in career options. It can affect the type of jobs that are available to you (if you're an employee), or the type of talent you can hire (if you're an employer). Your geographic location can also affect your maximum salary, the cost of home ownership (can you comfortably afford to buy a home in your area?), and the amount of annual taxes you'll pay. To a smaller extent, your geographic location can affect your professional circle (local mentors, colleagues, competition).

Business Owners Pay 54.3% Percent of all Income Taxes

EconEdge — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 01:31:37 +0000

The Washington-based Tax Foundation found that nationally most people in the top 1 percent of earners are business owners and entrepreneurs, and that in 2004, business owners paid 54.3 percent of all income taxes. Or, to put it differently, the top 1% are paying more than 54% of all income taxes.

Does Walmart—the World's Largest Private Employer—Deserve Its "Bad" Reputation?

EconEdge — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 05:20:02 +0000

According to a study released by UBS/Warburg, the world's largest private employer — Wal-Mart — can boost a marginal family's spending power by 10% or more.

Very impressive.

But, that's just the beginning. According to the study…

How to Invest For High Returns & Avoid Losing Your Original Investment

EconEdge — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 00:43:51 +0000

This post is written in response to a reader's question. The reader asked…

How Can I Get the Highest Return While Minimizing Risk?

This is the $64 million dollar question—the holy grail of investing. Every investor seeks to maximize his return while minimizing risk (mainly the risk of losing his original investment, but also the risk of looking dumb by making unwise and foolish investments). Generally speaking, the higher the return, the higher the risk. "He who bears the risk reaps the reward." This is true in mortgage banking, small business, the financial markets, personal relationships, and many other areas of life.

Industries With the Greatest Number of Self-Made Millionaires & Billionaires

EconEdge — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 02:07:45 +0000

What are the industries with the greatest number of self-made millionaires? Looking at the World’s Richest People list—published by Forbes each year—the top 3 industries immediately appear. In random order, they are:

Risking Money to Make Even More Money

EconEdge — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 22:17:32 +0000

Fantastic quote from Gary North's latest newsletter…

The poor boy thinks that financial success is based on saving money. He does not understand that it is based on a different principle altogether: risking money to make even more money."

Google Acquires YouTube for $1.65 billion

EconEdge — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 03:09:18 +0000

Just in—Google bought YouTube for $1.65 billion in a stock-for-stock transaction. After the acquisition, YouTube will operate independently in order "to preserve its successful brand and passionate community." Press release was issued 5 hours ago.

Viral Marketing Challenge–$15K in 30 Days

EconEdge — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 03:57:20 +0000

Dan Raine, a very sharp internet marketer (and creator of the free "Google Slap" reports) is undergoing a 30 Day Challenge to make $15,000 online in 30 days with only a $150 budget. He's using MySpace viral marketing to generate buzz and opt-ins. Dan plans to make money on upsells and back-end offers to the list, combined with a viral "pass-it-along" component.

Bilingual Babies: Mandarin Speaking Au Pairs from China in High Demand

EconEdge — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 01:49:11 +0000

Nannies and au pairs from China are in high demand lately, according to two articles published in The New York Times and Spiegel International. Wealthy and middle-class parents—seeking to give their children an economic edge—have hired live-in au pairs from China to teach their infant children Mandarin Chinese.

Minimum Wage Set to Increase in 2007

EconEdge — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 16:44:29 +0000

According to CNN Money, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee voted to raise the minimum wage in periodic increments until it reaches $7.25 an hour by Jan. 1, 2009. The first minimum wage increase (if the legislation passes) is set for January 1, 2007.

A True Entrepreneur–Bottled Water Experiment

EconEdge — Sat, 27 May 2006 02:40:31 +0000

Just finished reading a post from Neville's Financial Blog about how a 22 year-old college student made money with less than $10 by selling bottled water on the side of the road, and hiring homeless people to work for him. This "business experiment" is one of the best blog posts I've read in a long time. Talk about a true entreprenuer…this guy is it!

Entrepreneurship, Career Choices, & Legal Tax Avoidance

EconEdge — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 16:34:09 +0000

Gary North recently began answering financial questions posed by his newsletter readers. He publishes a "Questions & Answers" section every Friday. The questions and answers below deal with career choices, entrepreneurship, budgeting (both time and money), and legal tax avoidance.

Set up an Agreement with Your Investment or Business Partner

EconEdge — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 18:46:03 +0000

I've been a subscriber to Dyches Boddiford's email newsletter for about three and a half years. Dyches writes to real estate investors about investment/business strategies and asset protection.

In his most recent newsletter, he writes about the importance of a written agreement if you're investing with a partner, or starting a business with a partner. This is especially important if you're working with someone that you don't know very well.

Marketocracy Defies Conventional Wisdom

EconEdge — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 23:14:26 +0000

Conventional wisdom says you need a finance/economics degree from a "top school" and extensive money management experience before you can run a mutual fund. But, Marketocracy.com doesn't believe in conventional wisdom. (Good for them!)

Clarity of Purpose, Selling & Confidence

EconEdge — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 21:56:50 +0000

I subscribe to Dan Kennedy's marketing newsletter, and in the most recent issue, he had some great comments about the importance of clarity. The newsletter is excerpted below…

Successful Marketing Strategies: The Awesome Power Of Clarity

An Alternate Internet?

EconEdge — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 06:44:14 +0000

Did you know…Intel, Apple, IBM and Yahoo are putting together an alternate Web?

They're convinced that the current configuration cannot withstand the onslaught of millions of Chinese logging on over the next several years. (Heard it from John Carlton, one of the best direct-response copywriters.) I googled it, and Slashdot has an article on this, as well.