Bootstrapping Long distance costs for small business

Free2Innovate sent me an interesting link regarding the emerging use of VOIP (that means using the Internet for phone calls for those of you, like me, who are not techies) by small businesses for their long distance phone calls. Like many costs, small businesses can pay an average of much more per employee for long distance calls than larger companies so savings offered by new technologies like this can offer real savings for the bootstrapping-minded entrepreneur.

Carnival of the Capitalists will be here next week!

The Entrepreneurial Mind will be hosting the Carnival of the Capitalists next week. I have received many interesting posts already, so it should be a great installment. For those who have not experienced Carnival of the Capitalists, it is a gathering of blog sites in one location that offers a variety of entries dealing with various aspects of business, commerce and economics. It gives you an opportunity to sample many different writers in one location. I have found many new favorites by becoming a regular at this site as it roams about the Internet.
To see this week’s Carnival of the Capitalists you can check it out here.

Ethics and Entrepreneurship Conference At Belmont

The Belmont Center for Business Ethics and our Entrepreneurship Center will be jointly hosting a conference on April 1, 2004 from 7:30 – 11:00 a.m. The conference title is “Integrating Faith and Work: Building your Business on a Solid Moral Foundation”. Our keynote speaker is one of my favorite people, Dr. Michael Naughton. This address will be followed by a panel of entrepreneurs discussing how their values have influenced their business practices.
This should be an amazing event, so I hope any of you who are local can attend. Contact gannb -at- mail. belmont.edu for more details on how to register. The cost is only $30 and includes a continental breakfast.

LLC formation data supports entrepreneurial recovery assertions

Bill Hobbs has reported on more evidence of record levels of LLC formation (read about it here and here), an indicator of entrepreneurial activity. But, his report has raised some significant debate. The debate centers around two points. First, is the household survey an important piece of the puzzle in understanding true employment and the entrepreneurial economic recovery (it is and it is). Second, do LLC formations serve as a leading indicator of economic prosperity (it does).

Best small towns for entrepreneurs

Site Selection magazine has reported its top small towns for entrepreneurial start-ups or business relocation. They are:
Traverse City, MI
Plattsburgh, NY
Bowling Green, KY
Mooresville, NC
Danville, IL
Effingham, IL
Morristown, TX
?In Boomtown USA: The Seven-and-a-Half Keys to Big Success in Small Towns, author Jack Schultz cites the fundamental factors that separate Traverse City from the pack:
? Civic leaders adopt a can-do attitude that promotes change.
? Political leaders adopt and clearly articulate a vision for growth.
Infrastructure resources of the community are leveraged to encourage new and expanding industries.
? Strong leaders are grown from within.
? Leadership encourages an entrepreneurial approach to growth and development.
? Planners retain local control over industrial growth policies.
? Marketers build and leverage the community’s brand identity.?
These towns have all embraced change and not tried in vain to hang on to failing industries. When government enters into duplicitous relationships with businesses and industries and tries to prop them up when they begin to falter, not only will the companies fail anyway, but the town will suffer. Free markets and entrepreneurial wellsprings are what keep these towns vital and alive.
This report was sited in this week’s National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship.