Better Business Blogging in 2011

Download a free, 24-page ebook, Better Business Blogging in 2011, and learn the following: how to market your blog in 35 different ways; how to blog with search engines in mind; how to use social media to find new readers; and how to recruit guest blogging for your business blog.  This ebook also contains several case studies of social-media-savvy organizations, offering real life examples that you can apply to your own blog. 

The volume is edited by Jeff Ente from Who's Blogging What,  and contains contributions from marketing and social media professionals who have launched successful blogs of their own, such as Joe Pulizzi of Junta42 Content Marketing, Ann Smarty of SEO Smarty, and others.

Free Small Business Counseling at the Evanston Public Library

SCORE, Counselors to America's Small Business, will provide free counseling every Friday, from 2 to 5 p.m, in the Small Community Meeting Room at the Evanston Public Library, 1703 Orrington Avenue.  Sessions begin on December 3, 2010.  Appointments are required and can be made by visiting SCORE's website, or by calling 312-353-7724.

SCORE counselors are executives and business owners who have achieved success in their fields and now, as volunteers, want to help you do the same.  Take advantage of this great opportunity to get help devising fresh marketing ideas to adapt your business to changing circumstances; fixing cash flow problems; reviewing business plan and startup activities, and so much more.

For the YOUNG entrepreneur...

Is it true that you can be too young to start a small business of your own?  Here are some books whose authors would definitely say you're never too young!.  So whether you're a kid, a teen, or a parent of a budding entrepreneur, check these out!

Beyond the Lemonade Stand, by Bill Rancic, one of the winners of television's The Apprentice, and Karen Soenen.  This title includes 20 ideas for your own, or your kid's, kid business, a build-your-own-business worksheet to help get you started, stories and advice from Rencic and from other celebrities. 

Better than a Lemonade $tand, by fifteen-year-old Daryl Bernstein, describes fifty-one of Daryl's favorite small businesses.  He gives tips on supplies, time needed, how to advertise, and even what to charge. 

Starting a Business: Have Fun and Make Money,  by Carla Mooney.  In this book you will learn the basics of starting a small business, including writing business plans, doing market analysis, setting up a budget, and figuring out taxes. 

Be Your Own Boss: Small Businesses, by Ernestine Giesecke.  Part of the Know It: Everyday Economics series, in this book you will learn some of the reasons people start small businesses and how they choose what business to start.  You'll also learn the value of keeping good records, and writing a good business plan.

Web design for your small business

In the 2010 Small Business Technology Survey, the National Small Business Association (NSBA) found that while 86% of small businesses have a website, only 26% of those surveyed actually sell their goods or services via the internet.  If you need ideas about building or improving your website, Small Business Trends ran a great article in August about free website builders for small businesses.  Sites they mention include Doodlekit, Wix, Moonfruit and more.  The criteria Small Business Trends used in selecting their favorite website builders are whether the tool lets you build a site, for free, in less than an hour, and publish it to create at least a basic presence online.


You can also find books in the Evanston Public Library collection that will help you build an effective website for your small business.  Some titles you may want to try are Lori Culwell's Million Dollar Website, John Heartfield's Make Your Small Business Website Work, and Poor Richard's Web Site Marketing Makeover, by Marcia Yudkin.