The February issue of Family Circle has a good article about starting your own business.
The startup successes in the piece were all created as a result of the entrepreneur's own needs or experiences. In fact, most of them weren't even looking for a business to start.
There was also a mention of IdeaCafe. In the section relating to financing, several websites were mentioned for loans with IdeaCafe being the only one offering grants.
#3. "RE: interesting article on starting a business" In response to Reply # 2
I checked on their website and didn't find anything online. Most libraries should have it.
Some of it was common sense advice/reminders such as to build a support network, "obsessively" study your market, look for niches, write a business plan, crunch numbers, invest in high-quality marketing materials, etc.
For me, the most interesting aspect of these articles is the real-life examples. In this article, there was a small write-up about a new business called Lunchology. (The website is lunchology.com) It was started by a mother who had decorated her child's paper lunch bag with sayings, trivia, etc. Others started asking where she got the bags, and that was the genesis of her business. I think it's interesting when a business basically finds the person instead of vice versa.
For loans, count-me-in.org was one source they mentioned. It's a non-profit group for women in business. If you qualify, they will lend up to $5000. Accionusa.com is another source that lends to small businesses owned by women and minorities. Those loans go up to $25,000.
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