With all the bad news about the economy it sounds like this is a terrible time to start a business, but if you keep track of current trends and understand how to leverage them, this may turn out to be a good time to start certain businesses. Continued - click here >>

The new Palm Pre smartphone is Palm’s attempt to launch a smartphone that can seriously compete with the iPhone - they even tapped some talent from Apple to help design it.  Unlike the iPhone, the Pre has a slide-out keyboard for those of us who like touch screens but must have a real keyboard. The best feature of the Pre is that your data gets backed up over the air and if it gets lost or corrupted, you can have it restored to your Pre over the air.  Here is a video demonstration and review of the Pre, used with permission from our friends at Cnet: Continued - click here >>

Yields on 2-year US Treasury notes are down despite the enormous ($40 billion) size of today’s issue and, as of this afternoon, were at about 1.1%.  Initial demand was triple the supply of the available notes, with heavy demand from central banks.  Continued - click here >>

The challenging economy and recession can make starting a business a daunting challenge. Among the hurdles facing many businesses today are tighter lending standards, higher prices of energy and food, and weak consumer spending. However, even with these economic obstacles there are a number of reasons why this may be a great opportunity for a new entrepreneur.
This Might be the Perfect Time.

Depending on the kind of business and location, a new business owner may find that the actual cost of starting is less than it would have been in the recent past. For example, suppliers looking to diversify and explore new business opportunities may cut better deals. Real estate owners who have lost their tenants may agree to rent for less money in order to have an income and a space filled. Additionally, workers may be more willing to sign on for less especially if they or their spouse have been laid off.
Develop the Right Plan.
While there is  the possibility that someone starting-up could actually do it for less now than they could when things were booming, it’s also important for people seeking business ownership to balance all the factors and evaluate whether the current business environment will work in their favor. Time must be taken to make shape the concept in a way that will do well now and can continue to be profitable as the economy improves.  A strong business model that assesses cost and what price the market is willing to bear, and a solid value proposition that is completely customer-centric is going to be vital in the next few months.
An exercise, for the would-be entrepreneur is to brain storm the businesses that customer are seeking out in difficult times and why that’s true. For example, car repair shops tend to do well because people hold on to their cars for a longer time. The key then is to create a business plan that reinvents the traditional repair shop with a focus on customers, technology, and the changing market place.
Focus on what Small Business can do Better.
During a challenging market, it’s not necessarily safer to be with the big companies, despite the perception. Instead, being small, agile, and responsive in some respects is safer. While the big companies are avoiding risks and bunkering down to ride out the economic storm, small start-ups can be out reinventing the business world.
With the right idea and vision, there may not be a reason to wait for improved conditions. The best time to start a business may be right now. Continued - click here >>

In our last article on Help a Reporter out (HARO) we talked about leveraging expertise to create a brand for yourself via expert requests.
This article focuses on leveraging the expertise of others to create an expert platform for yourself. Continued - click here >>

One of the great gifts from history is the true life lessons that can be learned and avoided if we are paying attention. For small business owners’ research provides a telling resource for planning and ensuring success. If you’re on the path to starting a business, then it’s worth taking a look at what can be learned. Continued - click here >>

Help a Reporter Out, or HARO, is a phenomenon that sprung up from one entrepreneurs mailing list of contacts between reporters and experts, and has grown into a global phenomenon.
You can leverage HARO – as an expert fulfilling source needs, or as an expert looking for anecdotal or contrasting information. Continued - click here >>

Yesterday, we speculated on the new Kindle - and this morning at the press release, there’s been a lot of confirmations of the rumors we shared, and more on the actual features.Before we dive into our opinion of the new Kindle, and what it means to YOUR business, we thought we’d share the confirmed features. Continued - click here >>

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