Invest in Me, Inc.
Robert Pagliarini

The greatest financial asset you have is not your house, your 401(k) or even your job. Your greatest financial asset is you -- the skills you have, the education you've received, the experience you've obtained, your network of contacts, and your individual way of looking at and interacting with the world

When Success Doesn't Come Fast Enough
Robert Pagliarini

The secret to success for anyone, or any artist, creative, job seeker or entrepreneur, is the same -- it's the commitment to shift from hoping, wishing and wanting to doing. But what happens if you've been doing the 'doing' thing for a while after hours, and you're still not successful?

The Secrets to Zappos' Success
Kimberly Palmer

The success of online shoe retailer Zappos has been well-documented: It went from a struggling start-up in 2000 to getting acquired by Amazon in a deal valued at $1.2 billion in 2009. The face of the company, chief executive Tony Hsieh, an avid Twitterer and successful entrepreneur even before leading the shoe company, shares the secrets to his success

The Right Job at the Right Time
Peg Rosen

An estimated five million women across the country have hired themselves as head honchos and launched their own home-based business. With many working moms out of a job and at-home moms eager to bring in extra income, the idea of being your own boss is becoming more attractive than ever. So how do you figure out what's right for the times? And how do you get started on a business?

Skimps and Splurges for Starting a Business
Robert Pagliarini

There are few things in life as exhilarating as starting a business in your free time. Your day job may provide you with some satisfaction and energy, but it's nothing like the shot in the arm you can get when you focus your strengths and skills on starting a business that gives you passion and purpose. Follow these tips when starting your new business

Business Schools Add New Entrepreneur Programs for MBA Students
Katy Hopkins

Entrepreneurship takes an eye for opportunity and a willingness to take risks, business school officials say. These new M.B.A. programs offer unconventional ways to help channel an entrepreneurial spirit

Launching Your Own Business After Age 50
Mark Miller

Many factors will drive a major trend toward boomer entrepreneurship in the years ahead. For some, that will mean launching full-scale businesses with partners, investors and employees, office space, and all of the accompanying headaches. But far more will start very small ventures that allow their owners to mix work, play, and other pursuits

Lessons For Success From Apple's Steve Jobs
Robert Pagliarini

Love Apple's CEO Steve Jobs or hate him, he said something at the D8 Conference recently that resonated with me. It's a lesson that can have a profound impact on how you create a better life

Five Tips to Avoid Confirmation Bias
Robert Pagliarini

The problem with confirmation bias is that you selectively filter what information you choose to pay attention to and value. So, not only will you actively look for evidence that confirm your existing beliefs, but even more perniciously, you'll discredit any information that contradicts your viewpoint. Here's five tips to minimize this cognitive distortion

Start-Up Help: How to Go From Idea to Business
Robert Pagliarini

My latest book has received endorsements from best-selling authors and thought leaders, as well as praise from readers. However, there are some who read 'The Other 8 Hours' and get angry. Yes, angry. Some have said they are 'furious.' They complain that they are too busy, and it is too hard to start a business with very little money.

The Secret to Success for Artists and Creatives
Robert Pagliarini

So you want to be an author, an actor or maybe even a rock star? It doesn't much matter what you want to do, just that you do it. Whatever your art, your only goal should be to create.

Fear of Failure? Three Tips to Guarantee Success
Robert Pagliarini

It takes guts and determination to invest time into improving yourself or starting a business. If you've taken night classes, started a blog or have participated at Toastmasters, you know you are putting yourself on the line. It's hard work and there is ample room for disappointment, rejection and failure? What is our obsession with failure? People see failure as a colossal mistake. It's not

Behind the 'Mompreneur' Myth
Kimberly Palmer

We've all heard the stories: A mom has a big idea, such as inventing a device to prevent toddlers from unrolling an entire roll of toilet paper, and overnight she becomes a millionaire. It sounds easy -- but is it? Here's myths -- and realities -- about becoming a successful mompreneur

Creative Ways to Combine Work & Family
Kimberly Palmer

Sharon Reed Abboud, author of All Moms Work: Short-Term Career Strategies for Long-Range Success, writes about 'the new mommy track,' or the trend towards mothers finding creative ways of combining work and family after their children are born. Abboud says telecommuting, freelancing, and owning your own business are all ways to make it possible

Make More Money & Live Your Passion: Become a Cre8tor
Robert Pagliarini

For most of us, the gap between where we are and where we want to be is so wide that we'll never be able to close it by following traditional financial advice. The answer is to shift from being a full-time consumer to being a part-time Cre8tor. A Cre8tor is a creative entrepreneur who has a day job but wants more.

Banking Laws Leave Business Customers Vulnerable to Internet Fraud
Kathy Kristof

Many tax advisors tell their self-employed clients -- including those who are 'consulting' while looking for work -- to open separate business bank accounts to make it easier to separate business and personal expenses for tax purposes. Don't do it. This common tax advice could turn into a banking nightmare that puts every dollar in your business account at risk.

Deducting Hobby Expenses: Think Business
Robert Pagliarini

Hobbies are a great way to spend the other eight hours, but they are terrible from a tax perspective. Why? You are not allowed to deduct hobby expenses for tax purposes. This makes sense. But is there a way to legally deduct those expenses and many more? The IRS says YES. Stop thinking hobby and start thinking business.

When to Make a Personal Course Correction
Joyce Lain Kennedy

My small business is teetering, mostly down but with an occasional burst of recovery. I feel the stress of the economy closing in on me. After 15 years, I'm thinking maybe I should rethink what I'm doing with my future. You've seen recessions come and go. So, what words of wisdom do you have for me?

Kick-Starting a Business of Your Own
Kerry Hannon

In this strained economy, more and more workers are exiting the once secure realm of corporate jobs -- many because of layoffs -- and starting their own businesses. Last year, more than 600,000 small firms were started in the U.S. Trouble is, only half will survive beyond five years. Here are some steps to help you land among the winners

Turning Your Invention Into Cash
Joyce Lain Kennedy

A guide and tips as to how a person with a great commercial product idea move forward and turn an invention into cash

Entrepreneurship Is the New Retirement: 10 great places to start your own business
Emily Brandon

Entrepreneurship Is the New Retirement: 10 great places to start your own business. Entrepreneurs never really retire; they just move on to their next project. These days, it's boomers -- not techie 20-somethings -- who most embody the entrepreneurial spirit. Over the past decade, the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity was among people between the ages of 55 and 64

10 Great Places for Entrepreneurs to Retire: Jump in Start-ups Led by Baby Boomers
Emily Brandon

Entrepreneurs never really retire. Contrary to the stereotype of 20-somethings starting Web-based businesses in their basements, it's actually the baby boomers who best embody the entrepreneurial spirit.

Entrepreneur: 6 Tips for Starting a Small Business After Age 50
Emily Brandon

Starting a business is difficult at any age. Here are some tips to help baby boomer start-ups boom: Tap your network. Use your experience. Find start-up funds

Midlife Entrepreneurs: How One Entrepreneur Decided to Take the Leap
Mark Miller

Some people start businesses later in life because they want to; others do it out of necessity after a job loss. Steve Vernon is among the fortunate ones who made the leap to entrepreneurship on his own.

Entrepreneur: Why You Should Outsource Domestic Chores Now
Kimberly Palmer

Outsourcing chores by hiring a cleaning service or personal assistant might sound like the kind of splurge that a recession-era budget would quickly eliminate. But outsourcing certain household tasks can end up saving so much time and energy that the cost is well worth it -- as long as you use your newly freed-up time wisely.

It's the Right Time to be an Entrepreneur
Vincent A. D'Elia, Regional Director Bergen SBDC

A PRESIDENTIAL REPORT TO THE U.S. Congress stated that small businesses have always been the backbone of the economy and account for the most innovation and job creation. It further states that small businesses have sustained the economy in weaker times and have contributed to the continuance of long-term growth. Today 90 percent of these small businesses employ more than 52 percent of the American workforce.

The Failure Myth Revisited
Vincent A. D'Elia, Regional Director Bergen SBDC

The myth of failure that, "9 out of 10 businesses close in their first year" is far from the truth. The US Census Bureau's, Business Information Tracking Series, is used to track 5.5 million employer firms every year. It showed that 66 percent of new businesses survive two or more years, 50 percent survive four years and 40 percent survive six years or more.

Perils of Running a Business From Home
Matthew Bandyk

Millions of business owners who work from home have avoided the burdens of renting or buying office space. Telecommunications technology has made running a business out of your home easier than ever. But home-based businesses face some unique challenges. They include complicated legal topics that few people think about before they go into entrepreneurship. Here are a few ...

The Baucus Healthcare Plan: What Small-Business Owners Need to Know
Matthew Bandyk

The Senate Finance Committee put forth a new healthcare bill that removes those penalties on businesses. Instead, it offers carrots to employers that provide healthcare, while keeping a few sticks. The bill, associated with its main sponsor, Democratic Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, seeks to expand insurance coverage through the creation of nonprofit insurance exchanges at the state level. These exchanges will be open to small businesses with up to 100 employees

So You're a Consultant, Now Deduct Like One
Kathy Kristof

You may not like how your consulting career was born, but there are some benefits to being your own boss, not the least of which are federal income tax breaks. The moment you join the ranks of the self-employed, you get access to dozens of tax deductions and credits that aren't available to other working stiffs. Here are a few that can help