Kids who start lemonade stands aren’t all that different than the guy who started Zynga or Google, although one could argue that a lemonade stand is a deliberate attempt to make a margin and starting something that’s useful for people before you even have a revenue model is deeper.

I do a lot of freelance work that I run through a separate business entity, and I’ve been a lot more sensitive to how start-ups and small businesses portray themselves to the public and on the Internet.

We’ve all heard of coworking (shared office environments) and early stage seed venture funds like Y Combinator.

Often times, those who have gone before, done and experienced that which is worth admiration are the ones worth listening to.  William Schawbel, founder and CEO of The Schawbel Corporation, during an interview lead by his nephew Dan Schawbel, said the following:

When it comes to business books, I’m like the anorexic girl at the five star restaurant. Always order, never eat. Push the food around on my plate.

When it comes to business books, I’m like the anorexic girl at the five star restaurant. Always order, never eat. Push the food around on my plate.

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Cath Duncan from Agile Living and The Bottom-line Bookclub.

Yesterday, we talked about the fact that everyone is an expert at something.  You have an area that you either know a ton about or that you’re passionate about, or (better yet) both.  If you’re still not convinced you’re an expert at something, it might help to drop the word “expert.”  For some, that word has a specific meaning that they just can’t seem to equate with who they are.  So if that’s the case for you, don’t get hung up on the word.

You might call Jennifer Bourgoyne the fairy godmother of panties for new cesarean moms.

You are an expert.  Don’t think so?  I’m here to tell you, there is something you know more about than most people, and that makes you an expert.  People tend to have this view of “experts” that puts them on a pedestal and sets them apart from us mere mortals.  The truth is, they’re no different from you and me.  They simply have knowledge about a particular subject, and they have decided to share that knowledge with the world.  Really, what m

There are books out there (a lot of books) about raising capital for your business, and there are infinitely more books on the subject of entrepreneurship. Some even endeavor to address both subjects. However, few, if any, are written by someone who can truthfully claim to fully understand the world of venture capital (VC) from both sides of the table.

The latest bit of hubbub in free culture world is a project called Diaspora, started by a couple NYU kids. They’re trying to make the StatusNet of social networks, replacing Facebook with an open-source, decentralized web app that you can run on your own server and which ties into existing services like Twitter and Flickr.

Think you need deep pockets, VC funding or an angel investor to start a business?  No way!  Anyone can start a business – even if you have less than $100 to start.  While you’ll be able to grow your business faster with money spent on marketing tools, you can get going with next to nothing.  The businesses on the list below are low-cost startups that you can start right away, and you won’t even have to ask your rich uncle Charlie to become an

Today, I

I built the original version of MailFinch, an on-demand direct mail platform, in a few hours about six months ago. Today we’re sending a couple thousand letters a month and growing at a nice clip. Rather than give you hand-wavy advice about how you should do it, I’ll simply tell you how I did it.

There are a number of reasons to bring a partner into your business.  You might need a certain expertise, you might need funding, or maybe you just don’t want to go it alone.  Whatever your reasons, bringing in a partner can be a good idea, but there are a lot of potential pitfalls to partnering with someone too.  Stories abound about great business ideas that never got off the ground or businesses that folded because of partnership issues.  I

I've been populating content into a separate blogging project for a while, and it's high time to release it into the wild: Dear Dr.

For this month’s 11th edition of the Digital Nomad Blog Carnival, I’m bringing it back home for once. It’s a traveling online carnival that’s hosted at a new blog each month to round up the month’s best posts for readers interested in the live-anywhere, work-anywhere digital nomad lifestyle.