Are you considering franchising your business but don't know where to start? Then check out the new online course offered by the SBA and FranNet, called "Franchising Basics." It's a free online seminar that will help you better understand franchising and decide if it's the best small-business option for you.

To view the course, visit the SBA website and select the "Free Online Training" icon. Look under the "Starting a Business" section, where you'll find the link to "Franchising Basics." Once you've registered, you can review the course at your own pace, and you'll receive a certificate upon completion.

Creative thinking, drive and passion often come easily to entrepreneurs. However, technological savvy and the time needed to read Syndicating Web Sites With RSS Feeds For Dummies or Wikipedia's entry on "Web 2.0," often does not. That's where Lee and Sachi LeFever and The Common Craft Show step in. Since 2007, the duo has been making short, semi-animated videos translating tech-talk, like RSS, wikis, and podcasting, into laymen's terms.

The videos not only catch you up to the dizzying speed of technological advances, but also can be used as tools for business. They can create custom videos to train employees, explain a new product or campaign, or simply provide a fun addition to your business's website. The show is free for personal viewing, but better-quality, downloadable, licensed versions are available for purchase.

Marci Alboher's "Shifting Careers" blog of The New York Times makes a case for wikis and uses a video from Common Craft as one way to simplify technology and use it for your business endeavors. --Whitney Chen