Business Startup

With Google, Newspapers Move to Widen Ad Base
When 50 daily newspapers begin selling their ads through Google’s site this week, they’ll be confronting the Achilles’ heel of their industry: It is too hard for small advertisers to buy ads.
Chocolatier Grows From a Small Start
Attention to detail helped this chef get his business “discovered” by famous grocer Giorgio DeLuca and now he is one of the stars at this week’s chocolate show.
Hear the Latest Reports On Small Business
Joe Connolly offers tips on helping small businesses grow, and Kelly Spors sorts out some reasons why start-ups fail.
A Look at Why So Many Small Businesses Fail
Kelly Spors helps a would-be entrepreneur to identify the reasons behind the failure rate of start-up businesses.
What Costs Are Worth It For Customer Service?
Companies should approach customer service as a balancing of costs and benefits, spending where it will be most effective.
Change in Washington May Affect Small Business
Small-business briefs from the inbox of Kelly Spors. This week, a look at what the victory by Democrats could mean for entrepreneurs, tools for companies looking to go public, and Microsoft gives away more services.
Big Rivals Can Open Up Markets
Tiny energy-gel maker Gu Sports finds itself in a sticky entrepreneurial predicament: It needs bigger sports-nutrition rivals to grow the market, but doesn’t want to give up its dominance.
Free-lance Dreams Give Way to Reality
A dwindling bank account, a lack of health coverage and loneliness jolt a writer from her free-lance dreams and into the corporate world.

Hear the Latest Reports On Small Business
Joe Connolly on fine tuning your business’s Web page to get more hits. Plus, asking your employees about their retirement plans to prevent a staffing crisis.
Just Like Bill Gates: The Benefits of Trusts
More families — with assets big and small — are using trusts for a number of reasons. Here’s how these tools can help you.
Learn How to Delegate To Lower Stress Levels
Being successful doesn’t mean always being perfect. A new column answers questions on managing workplace stress and anxiety.
Vintner Pours His Passion Into a Dynastic Dream
Bill Harlan wanted to build an enterprise he could bequeath to his loved ones. So he developed his “200-year plan” to build a California wine dynasty. But before he can communicate his wishes to future heirs, he must win over his own children.
Midprice Restaurants Are Getting Pinched
The falloff in guest traffic at midpriced dining chains has turned up the heat on some operators and given their shareholders agita. Widespread sales declines at such establishments also have ignited fears that discounting might reappear.
Gym Franchisee Says Program Is a Good Fit
The administrative work has been the biggest challenge for a former real-estate agent turned franchisee.
Social-Networking Site Gives Retailer a Start
A young entrepreneur has attracted an initial customer base without spending a dime by using a social-networking site.
Small Firms Try Out New Advertising Avenues
As old media give way to new, small firms are finding more-productive ways to get their messages out.
Older Entrepreneurs Rewrite Retirement Rules
For some people, turning 60 means it’s time to start a new business. Now a new award, the Purpose Prize, aims to recognize older Americans who start innovative projects aimed at helping others.

Big Tech Companies Shop for Tiny Ventures
IBM, Microsoft and other industry leaders scour Silicon Valley for start-ups to work with and possibly acquire.
Five Tips for Succeeding As a Young Entrepreneur
Make your business dreams a reality. Here’s advice for getting started now.
Lenders, Borrowers Hook Up Over the Web
Welcome to the world of peer-to-peer lending. Prosper.com provides an eBay-like forum where lenders can evaluate hundreds of prospective borrowers, each seeking loans of between $1,000 and $25,000, repayable over three years.
Hear the Latest Reports On Small Business
Insights from The Wall Street Journal, including Joe Connolly on some of the best small-business Web sites.
A Home Office Built for Two
For work-at-home parents, the home office is our sanctuary. Until, that is, the kids invade.
Finding Space to Work In Her Parents’ Home
Editor Allison Rae finds she has to make lists to stay focused as she works out of her parents’ living room.
When the Biz You Want To Buy Is Hard to Find
Kelly Spors on tracking down an uncommon business for sale.
Smaller Player Spends Big to Remain on Top
How an independent radio station in Philadelphia defies an industry consolidation push.

Big Tech Companies Shop for Tiny Ventures
IBM, Microsoft and other industry leaders scour Silicon Valley for start-ups to work with and possibly acquire.
A Home Office Built for Two
For work-at-home parents, the home office is our sanctuary. Until, that is, the kids invade.
The Hard Part Follows After Wal-Mart Says Yes
Two entrepreneurs hit the Holy Grail of manufacturing when they persuaded Wal-Mart to carry their novel pen. Now they must make the retailer happy in just 30 days.
Five Tips for Succeeding As a Young Entrepreneur
Make your business dreams a reality. Here’s advice for getting started now.
Using Your Nest Egg To Buy a Franchise
The pros and cons of tapping into retirement savings to launch a business.
Flat Fee Leads Broker To Convert Business
Broker Donna Chance talks about how she transformed her real-estate business into an Assist-to-Sell franchise.
Hear the Latest Reports On Small Business
This week The Wall Street Journal’s Kelly Spors gives advice on finding the value for a business you plan to purchase. Plus, Joe Connolly discusses small business Web sites, and more.
Valuing a Business Is a Tricky Calculation
When purchasing a small business there’s no magic formula to use for determining its value, but the most helpful financial figures to consider are generally future cash flow and earnings estimates.