Dealing With Expansion, Marketing and More
I have an 11-year-old, one-location, profitable retail business that I would like expand faster than my private equity will allow. I think it is a very good franchise model. Your advice on using franchising as a growth vehicle and how to proceed?.

Raising Capital While Retaining Control
I want to raise money but I don't want to give up too much control. Have any advice on how I can have my cake and eat it, too?.

Fifteen Tips To Keep Your Company Growing
Guernsey aimed to take his Guernsey Office Products--a retail office-furniture business in Chantilly, Va., then with three locations and $5 million in annual revenues--to the next level. Rather than target other small businesses, he wanted to go after larger fish. His new strategy: store inventory in one massive location and move product via the Web..

Howbowda Bagel opening to broaden breakfast
Alumni entrepreneurs to begin 'trial by fire' with Green Street restaurant.

Make Your Competitive Analysis Stand Out in Your Business Plan
Before writing the competitive analysis, first identify both direct and indirect competitors...

An Entrepreneur's Most Important Asset
In a recession, it's called cash. How liquid are you?

Why Is Venture Capital Still A Boys' Club?
Female entrepreneurship is growing, but no thanks to VCs.

From failure to risk, four entrepreneurs weigh in on what makes them tick
Serial entrepreneurs have a reputation--ambitious, type-A personalities who work around the clock and famously cash in when they sell a company, only to find they can't sit still and enjoy their riches. So the only thing left to do is start another company.

Obama Vs. McCain On The Economy
With Americans facing gasoline prices of $4 a gallon, record home foreclosures and fears about unemployment, presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama are increasing their focus on economic policy in their campaigns for the presidency.

Scientists a hair closer to making container invisible
Cloaks to render a person invisible are still a thing of fantasy, but researchers could be closer to creating that effect than Harry Potter-philes realize.

IBM, Partner Develop Solar Technology
nternational Business Machines Corp. said it is collaborating with a Japanese semiconductor-equipment maker to commercialize a solar-energy technology developed by IBM scientists. Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Co. will work with IBM to develop processes and equipment for the production of thin-film photovoltaic solar cells that convert sunlight into electricity. Terms of the collaboration weren't disclosed, but IBM said it expects to license the technology and, eventually, ...

How to Outsource Your Manufacturing to China
When it comes to manufacturing, few regions can compete with China's labor costs. Companies that rely on outsourced products, however, have lots of new hurdles to clear - just ask the firms that wound up selling lead-laced toys made in China. So, is setting up shop in China still worth the risk? Our sources say yes: Companies can maintain product quality and safety while reducing costs. Here's what you'll need to manage the process and keep your brand - and your customers - safe.

Alumnus Ventures to Help Student Start-Ups
The Chronicle of Higher Education (June 4) -- Illinois alumnus Jawed Karim, a YouTube co-founder who now helps students start technology companies, has joined forces with two other tech entrepreneurs to start Youniversity Ventures, a venture-capital company that invests in student-run tech start-ups at Stanford University, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and in the Twin Cities area in Minnesota.

Reporter's Notebook
YouTube Founder Steven Chen Discusses Silicon Valley Move

An Electrifying Startup
A new lithium-ion battery from A123 Systems could help electric cars and hybrids come to dominate the roads.

New Breed of Business Gurus Rises
Psychologists, CEOs Climb in Influence, Draw Hits, Big Fees

Kick the oil habit and make your own ethanol
A new company hopes drivers will kick the oil habit by brewing ethanol at home that won't spike food prices.

Sanofi/Bristol-Myers Battle For Patent
Shares in Sanofi-Aventis fall after a new threat to its blood-thinning blockbuster drug.

What To Look For In A Business Partner
You don't have to enjoy playing golf with her--though that would be nice.

Money for Nothing
Web sites let you donate to charity just by doing searches or clicking on ad banners. And it doesn't cost you anything.

Technology Entrepreneurs Form Big Brother Music™ to Help Recording Artists Build Their Own Music Business
SIMI VALLEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Several local entrepreneurs with proven track records in building successful technology-driven enterprises formed Big Brother Music, whose mission is to provide aspiring recording artists a complete roadmap and a turnkey solution towards building a financially rewarding music business.

On the Internet, Everyone Can Hear You Complain
A San Francisco start-up called Get Satisfaction is the latest online ombudsman to try to mediate customer service complaints. Since September, when the site began, people have posted complaints or comments regarding 2,000 companies, and 40 percent of the companies have answered, at no charge to either side.

Start-Up TV Network Launches Fundability Web Site to Connect Entrepreneurs with $50 Billion in Investment Capital
FOLSOM, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Start-Up TV Network Inc. today announced Fundability as its new company brand and the launch of www.fundability.com, a new web-based marketplace where investors and entrepreneurs make serious investment connections.

Bronco Wine Company’s Fred Franzia “Father of Two Buck Chuck” Receives “Entrepreneur of the 2000s” Award from Wine Market Report
NAPA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fred Franzia, President of Bronco Wine Company and widely known as the “Father of Two Buck Chuck,” received the “Entrepreneur of the 2000s Award” from Richard Cartiere’s Wine Market Report in Napa this week.

Time-Tested Businesses That Rake It In
Tech titans like Microsoft, Google and Yahoo! grab headlines, but there are a slew of traditional, targeted businesses that yield big profits for small players.

How To Make A Million Before You Turn 20
Forever in search of the secrets to entrepreneurial success, we peeked into the inspirational lives of five whiz kids who built million-dollar enterprises before the age of 20.

The Smartest Unknown Indian Entrepreneur
Vembu is a low-profile guy if there ever was one. He is also cheap as hell. Yet, of course, you know that among entrepreneurs, frugality is a virtue. A tremendous virtue.
Vembu has stretched this virtue to extreme limits, and added layers and layers of creativity upon it. The result? A 100%, bootstrapped, $40-million-a-year revenue business that sends $1 million to the bank every month in profits.

They Call This Intellectual Property?
New regulations may drive up costs for patent filers. The culprit: too many goofy proposals.

What IPO Documents Don't Tell You
The legally required disclosure of risks and benefits don't offer investors much help in gauging how their investment will do.

Social Networking Strategies For Small Businesses
From finding talent to prospecting for clients, social networks can be a powerful weapon. Here's how to use them.