There comes a point in every entrepreneur’s career when you will have a project that you can’t do on your own whether it be developing  a awesome web app or setting up your new website.  Also, there simply might just be things you know how to do, but don’t want to have to do because you’ve done them 10,000 times before!  That’s where oDesk.com comes in.  oDesk is a online community and tool used to outsource work where one such as yourself can hire someone to do just about anything from designing a website to researching your next book!

Find a freelancer:

I’ve been using oDesk for several months now and can easily say without a doubt that it’s by far the best small business job site to find a freelancer when you’re looking to hire someone whether it be short or long-term.  I have personally hired 4 different people for 4 different projects now on oDesk, and it couldn’t have been any easier.  From posting the job to paying for the the completed work and every step in between, I can confidently say that I had no troubles thanks to the excellent site design and helpful community.  To really show you just how oDesk works, take a look at this enjoyable video I found, which explains the oDesk experience perfectly:

I’ve recently launched a mobile app company with two friends and currently we are working with a developer to code our mobile application since none of us have any actual iPhone coding experience.  Once again, it couldn’t be an easier process.  So whether you’re looking to find a freelancer to help you on a project or you’re looking to make some extra money as a freelancer, oDesk has you covered and doesn’t cost a penny.

Kevin Rose of Digg recently did an interview with the WSJ about the upcoming launch of the new digg.com.  Kevin Rose and his startup have become the poster child for successful internet entrepreneurship post 2004.  While Digg continues to see success, the popular user driven news service has seen a decline over the past 2 years of new improvements and user traffic to the site.  In an effort to get Digg moving forward again, Kevin and team have been working hard behind the scenes to launch a new Digg that promises to incorporate some major changes for the better.  The interview gives some good insight into Kevin’s thought process as an entrepreneur and his plans for the new Digg.com.  Check it out here:

Gary Vaynerchuk was in New York the other night where he sat down for talk not just about how he became a successful entrepreneur, but also how everyone else out there looking to make their next startup a success can do so.  It’s a great interview with a strong Q&A from the crowd in the second half of the video.  If you’re curious to where internet business is going or looking for advice on your next business, then take a little time to check out the video below:

Small businesses play an important role in the business world today generating more than 60% of all new jobs in the past 15 years!  There’s no doubt that many new entrepreneurs just starting out are going to have a good number of questions regarding small businesses such as the rate of failure, rate of success, average growth rates, and the list goes on.  For these reasons and more I decided to post this very informative infographic on the facts of starting a small business, which I think will answer many of those questions for entrepreneurs just starting out: (click image to enlarge)

Source: Grasshoper

Gowalla is a location-based social networking service where users can track friends, check-in to places, and get rewarded for exploring the locations around them.  If you’re familiar with Foursquare, then you already pretty much know what Gowalla is all about.  The increasingly popular services has surpassed 150,000 users and $8.4 million in venture capitol as of 2010 with no signs of slowing down.    For this and more we take a look at entrepreneur Josh Williams in the spotlight this week. We’ll look at just how he did it and highlight what lessons any upcoming entrepreneur can learn. More »

Entrepreneurship is the backbone to societies across the globe.  It’s through all these small business startups (both online and offline) that billions of dollars in revenue are generated and millions of jobs are created.  It might come as a surprise to many that there currently isn’t any type of official day set aside to recognize the bold hard work of this work population.  Grasshopper is a web software company who designs software with small business in mind, and they are the ones behind a growing effort to make November 19, 2010 National Entrepreneurs’ Day across the country.  Whether you’re an entrepreneur yourself or just someone who appreciates all the hard work and positive impact these folks make,  I would strongly encourage you to take a look at entrepreneursday.org and participate in signing the virtual petition get this day made official.

Kayak.com is a meta travel search engine style website that provides the user with the best possible travel deals available online at a given time.  The travel site has since gone onto become a household name similar to Google or Facebook.  It’s not surprise though at such a complex startup would require the assistance of additional fellow entrepreneurs.  For this and more we take a look at entrepreneur Paul English in the spotlight this week. We’ll look at just how he did it and highlight what lessons any upcoming entrepreneur can learn. More »

Aaron Patzer of Mint.com created a free online personal finance management system for the everyday person who wants a simple way to manage their finances.  Mint has since seen massive mainstream success, was bought recently by Quicken, and now continues to grow doubling nearly every several months with no sign of slowing down.  Aaron quit his job when he was 25 to venture into entrepreneurship full time.  The journey was long and hard, but he came out of the other end of the tunnel as a successful entrepreneur.  This past Thursday, Aaron Patzer did a Q&A session with online participants answering everything and anything with regards to how he started his business, how he promoted it, and many other great questions any budding entrepreneur could greatly benefit from hearing.  So pull up a chair and take the next hour to get the REAL answers  to all those questions you’ve had about starting your own business.  Check it out here:

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Spotify is a peer to peer music streaming service that has seen significant growth in the past few years.  Not only does Spotify offer online services, but the service can be used through your mobile phone and desktop as well.  In an age when services like Pandora and Groove Shark continue to rise in popularity, it’s no surprise to see additional competitors stepping out into this growing market filled with hopeful entrepreneurs.    For this and more we take a look at entrepreneur Daniel Ek in the spotlight this week. We’ll look at just how he did it and highlight what lessons any upcoming entrepreneur can learn. More »

I’m sure you’ve heard location is everything.  That couldn’t be more true when trying to start your own small business.  Foot traffic for any offline business can make or break your long-term success.  That being the case, selecting an optimal location for your new business to assure you get the high volume of targeted traffic you’re looking for is mission critical to say the least.  So wouldn’t be nice to know what the current list of top cities are for someone looking to start a small business?  Well, entrepreneurs you’re in luck!  Here now are the 2010 top cities for entrepreneurs looking to start a new business based on a variety of different factors:







Source: Grasshopper