Entrepreneur Magazine: December 2000

Future Earnings
Is 2001 your year? The year you rap on Microsoft's window. . . Put Amazon-like sales on your books? Want to hear how you'll do it?

Patent Fever
Rushing to join the patent stampede? Hold on and take a closer look at your business. Smart dotcommers put their patents on one leg at a time.

Com and Get It
Answering the new "age-old" question, How do you get surfers to visit your Web site?



Advertising Workshop
Pop The Question
Not the question—but a question mark can make you advertisement more powerful.

Be Your Own Boss Features
Secondhand Store
Destination: Buying a used franchise? Here's how to make the right moves.

Biz 101
You’ve Got Personality
Let it guide you to the right business.

BizStartUps.com
For His Own Good
Experts tell one man the truth about his Web site.

Bright Ideas
Hello, My Name Is. . .
The best way to protect your invention? Brand your name.

Franchise Focus
Do The Math
Weary taxpayers + good location: Does Jackson Hewitt add up?

Opportunities
Fortune Telling
Can you know what you'll earn before opening a franchise?

What's New
The latest happenings at American Speedy Printing Centers Inc., Interquest Detection Canines and Floor Coverings International

What a Trip!
How one couple's jaunt led to an entrepreneurial journey

Ahead of the Curve
The twisters of Wetzel's Pretzels are touching down everywhere

A World Of Difference
A microfranchise program seeks to reduce poverty in underdeveloped countries.

Smart Ideas
No Time For Lines
"Bring us our lunch!" yell workers. He obliges.

What A Gas!
It burns in your tank, but not on a flame.

What's Your Problem?
Catch A Niche
Where can moms surf to find my resume-writing business?

On The Line
How can I take calls for my part-time business when I'm working a full-time job?

Global
Stuff Your Stocking
. . . with books to help you spread good cheer and healthy profit worldwide.

Pulse
Watch And Learn
. . . or watch and feel like a slimy interloper. Dig into your ethos and discover whether employee Internet monitoring is for you.

Choice Is Yours
When customers just can't decide, that when you step in.

You Are Getting Sleepy…
What does your sleep position say about your approach to business?

My Start-Up Failed
Failure loves company; this company loves failure.

Fresh Peddlers
The skinny on selling pork rinds—the puffy white meat

Hot Employee: Chief Privacy Officer
Should you hire one of these people for your business?

Travel
The Road Ahead
A look at 2001 and beyond

Road Notes
New services from Northwest Airlines, Hertz and Europebyair.com

Wheels
You Are What You Drive
Does your car reflect your business image?

Everything But The Road Test
Save time—car shop online.

Women
Perfect Forum
Dive off Springboard into the pool of venture capital.

Books
Getting Better All The Time
Build a better business with a little help from these books.

Bulletin Board
International
In the United States and abroad, pros give small firms a helping hand.

Disabled Entrepreneurs
Self-employment pushed as option for the disabled

Texas
New high-tech bridge loan fund

Veterans
Entrepreneurial centers focus on those who've served.

Hot Seat
Tacky Never Looked So Good
They're a little offbeat. They sell weird stuff on the Web. This is their story.

Trade Shows
Trade Shows
Trade Shows

Capitol Issues
House Buries Super Fund Bill
Partisan bickering entombs exempts for small businesses.

Cutting Edge
Big Tippers
The factors that push businesses over the edge and into the type of growth there's no coming back from

Family Business
Fine Line
You need to vent--but bringing too much home from the office can spark resentment.

Insurance
Pollution Solution
Don't let pollution damage lead to financial damage.

Web Site
A glossary that helps you decipher those confusing insurance terms

Legal
…And Arbitrated Justice For All
So long court: The scales have tipped in favor of alternative dispute resolution.

Management Smarts
I See You. . .
Fight high-tech thieves with high-tech weapons

Keep It Goin'
Don't let high interest rates squelch your growth plans.

Loser Laws
It's high time Congress got rid of some old-time legislation.

Staff Smarts
Put A Lid On It
If your employees work outside the office, beware: Your competitors are watching.

Your Business
A Bad Rep?
They sell your products, but their contracts can sell you down the river.

Soft Sell
Those ever-so-nice solicitors are eating up your workers' time.

Fast Track
How one entrepreneur found a way to help others save money on their pets - and earned some money of her own doing it.

Web Site
Want to see what the big bad boys are up to? Check out this corporate muckracking e-zine

Fast Pitch
Call In the Pros
Need marketing help from the experts? Choose the best firm for your budget.

Marketing Smarts
Make Headlines
You might if you build a business profile.

Got Style?
Looks are everything when it comes to your corporate identity.

Bookshelf
Review of Twenty Ads That Shook The World

Real Deal
But I Didn’t Sign It!
Be careful—that doesn't always mean it's not a deal.

Sales Success
Juggling Time
Having difficulty balancing work and play? Make the most of each day with these time-management techniques.

Ask the Rainmaker
Unwelcome Business
Your small bank's been bought by the not-so-jolly bank giant—now what?

Release Me!
My business is a success, so why's my house still collateral?

Money Smarts
Urge To Merge
M&A services: not just for the big guys anymore

Factoring In
Consolidation in factoring may help entrepreneurs.

Fast Track
A quick look at a software company that quickly became successful

Web Site
Need financing? Check out this site that administers SBA loan programs.

Tax Talk
Hang 1040!
Surfing the Net for the newest tax info

Count It Up
. . . if you can. New and confusing IRS accounting rules may leave you puzzled.

Tell All
Gift-giving: Inform the IRS thoroughly to avoid an audit.

Buyer Zone
Choose or Lose
There are lots of ASPs out there. Here's how to select the right one for you.

Buyer's Guide
Sweaty Palms
Nervous about buying a handheld? Don't be—we'll walk you through it.

Bytes
On The Runway
Like the fashion world's avant-garde clothing, new concept PCs using Intel's latest technologies offer a sneak peak at what's to come.

Connections
Speak Easy
Has the wireless Web met its match?

Through The Window Glass
Focusing like a laser beam on broadband

Hot Disks
Browser Power?
Internet Explorer 5.5

Keep In Touch
Novell's Instantme 2.0

New Releases
Reviews of Mangosoft's Cachelink Pro, Deerfield.com's WinGate 4.0, and Sygate Technologies' Sygate Personal Firewall 2.1

Net Profits
Taking It All In
Not sure how to get e-shopper's money into your pocket? Credit cards or e-cash--find the payment method to fit your needs.

New Releases
Reviews of ReturnCentral.com's Virtual Returns Disk to control online product returns; Total Merchant Services' Total E-Commerce Solution package; and Lyris Technologies' Lyris ListManager 4.0

Web Site
Information that will help you avoid the worst "lock in" sites

Tech Smarts
Ring My Bell
When your e-customers ask for help, is anyone there to answer?

Seller’s Market
Online sales made easy

Tools
Pocket Pro
Mind @ work's Digital Wallet palm-sized storage device

Get Connected
Auctiontec's USB InternetPhone Wizard

Mighty Mouse Pad
MySmart.com's MySmart Pad

Web
A Penny Saved
Lowering your bill is as easy as point and click.

Search Me
When you're searching the Web for information, ask this genie for help.

Open Sesame!
Got a hankering for a bargain? Check out this sprawling cyber B2B flea market.

Wide World Of Exports
If you're looking for distributors, this matchmaking site may be just what you need.