The Home and Small Business Network is now adding a monthly book club to its community.

The first official book choice of the Home and Small Business Network Book Club, is

The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuck.

Visit our community for all the details.

In this video Miriam Buhr shares a resource used by bloggers to research websites, news sites, for content ideas to spark or generate blog posts, forum discussions, and article topics.

Check out this free topic generator resource at Topix.

So many times we feel like we need the newest tool, the latest launch thingie, or yet another ebook to succeed.

But more often if we just ‘Use What We Have,’ and start doing what we already know how to do, things would improve.

Watch Jacqueline Gates as she examines the effects of embracing the “What You Have” marketing strategy.

Basically all you really need is a powerful, versatile tool that’s easy to learn and simple to use, and the kind of training that shows you how to use it well.

Cheryl Jordan shares an important fact about Twitter that may affect your ability to add followers to your account.

To find out more about this guideline and a KOOL Twitter resource to address it, join Cheryl Jordan in this video.

This Twitter tool will allow you to remove all the people you follow who are not following you back.

by Miriam Buhr

Are you interested in finding money to fund your business? I came across The Amber Foundation Grants that WomensNet.Net started in 1998.

WomensNet.Net is a community of entrepreneurial women who seek to help other women who are attempting to start their small, home, or online business. This group of women felt it honorable to set up a grant to remember a 19-year-old young woman who died in 1981.

According to their site, “the purpose of the Amber Grants is to help other women achieve the dreams that Amber could not in her short time with us.”

The small $500 grants are awarded quarterly and require a $5 application processing fee along with the completion of an online application. The monies given are encouraged to be used for the upgrade of equipment, pay for a web site, etc. They consider that often these “small but essential expenses can make the difference between getting started or being forever stalled.

No repayment is required or expected, although it is hoped that you will pass on the kindness by mentoring & helping others along the way.

Although the grant program is run as a foundation to the extent that [they] accept applications and award grants, all grants come from private not government or solicited donations or funds.”

Take a look at this funding source and this resource and community of women. According to the WomenNet.net site, they boast that award-winning and nationally-renowned business author Marcia Layton-Turner has joined this group of entrepreneurs. So there is lots to explore on this site.

by Miriam Buhr

If you are an entrepreneur, you know that you can never have enough resources. The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) happens to be another resource that offers a myriad of benefits for women entrepreneurs. It is an application based and paid membership organization where certification may be granted if your organization meets their requirement.

This organization offers Women Business Enterprises (WBE), who have obtained their certification, a series of national training sessions, which include graduate level Executive Education programs, and resources to assist entrepreneurs better operate their businesses, to engage at a corporate level and better understand how to position their enterprise to compete in diverse settings.

According to their website, “The WBENC, founded in 1997, is the largest third-party certifier of businesses owned controlled, and operated by women in the United States. The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, a national 501(c)(3) non-profit, partners with 14 Regional Partner Organizations to provide its national standard of certification to women-owned businesses throughout the country. WBENC is also the nation’s leading advocate of women-owned businesses as suppliers to America’s corporations.”

The mission over at WBENC is dedicated to advancing the success of Corporate Members, certified women’s business enterprises, and government entities in partnership with its Regional Partner Organizations (RPOs). It also offers a range of training and tools to advance business and provide professional development.”

As always comment and share this information with other entrepreneurs, both women and men.

Check out what this free social media tool that Shelly Allen found is likely to do for your social media marketing!

Visit http://www.NameCHK.com

To find out if and where your desired username is available before you set up your social media accounts!

by Miriam Buhr

The Power of a Network of Women is evident in the Hispanic Business Women’s Alliance which was founded wiith the expressed purpose to HELP each other Be, Do, & Have more.

The alliance was borne out of a need observed in the industry. Observations pointed to the fact that few women had all the resources to make things happen in their businesses whether it was starting, maintaining or plain expanding a business.

By connecting with other women it was believed that the disparity could be reduced and success would likely be experienced by more women entrepreneurs.

“The Hispanic Business Women’s Alliance is an online community of Hispanic women entrepreneurs, professionals, consultants, executives, inventors, and investors located throughout North America, Latin America, and Spain [that] is interested in doing business and collaborating with each other.”

Their Mission is:

“To help Hispanic women entrepreneurs, professionals, consultants, executives, inventors, and investors–throughout North America, Latin America, the Caribbean and Spain–utilize our international portal to do business directly, communicate effectively, and collaborate with each other for their mutual benefit.”

In addition to their network the HBWA also has a US Directory of Latina Owned Businesses where you can register your business or organization, search other Latina owned business by city or state, or subscribe to their no cost Newsletter for Latina Business Owners.

Check out this community and see whether it is a resource that can help you soar in your business.

Be sure to comment, rate and especially share with all entrepreneurs.

by: Miriam Buhr

As business owners, the idea of knowing your target market is quite important for the ultimate survival of a business. If you know who they are then it is easier to meet their needs by way of your service or product. Using research is a great way to identify issues, characteristics, behavior, beliefs, and of course lots more about the people that you serve as customers or clients. If the main population that you serve is women then The Center for Women’s Business Research has research publications that you can acquire and use as a resource.

“For nearly 20 years, the Center for Women’s Business Research has produced cutting edge, research-based intelligence showcasing the achievements and documenting the challenges, characteristics, and trends of women business owners and their firms on topics such as: Access to Capital, Access to Markets, Financing and Risk-taking, Nontraditional Industries, Growth of Firms Owned by Women of Color, Leadership and Decision-Making Styles, and Trends in Women’s Entrepreneurship.”

For example below are current statistics from the Center for Women’s Business Research’s website about women business owners:
• 10.1 million firms are owned by women (50% or more), employing more than 13 million people, and generating $1.9 trillion in sales as of 2008.
• One in five firms with revenue of $1 million or more is woman-owned.
• 3% of all women-owned firms have revenues of $1 million or more compared with 6% of men-owned firms.

“The Center for Women’s Business Research is a 510(c)(3) nonprofit, tax-exempt organization established in 1989 to validate and accelerate the economic power of women’s entrepreneurship by conducting groundbreaking research, sharing myth-busting information, and creating new knowledge.”

When attempting to identify your target market, it helps to have resources that can reveal aspects of this population of people that will help you serve them in the best possible way. The available resources from this organization are by no means inexpensive. I would venture to say that you may be able to find this type of information in other places if you have the time and desire to search the internet for it.  One thing is certain and that is that the Center for Women’s Business Research has survived for about 20 years offering quality service and products by way of their rigorous research. They have definitely exposed the state of affairs of women-owned business all the while bringing focus and integrity to this sector of the population.

by Miriam Buhr

According to Ladies Who Launch, women are launching businesses at twice the rate of men, and the primary lifestyle reasons given are more freedom, flexibility, and creativity.

Does that sound like you?

This media company shares success stories of women entrepreneurs as part of their weekly newsletter.

They also provide online resources and tools.

The Ladies Who Launch mission is to make entrepreneurship accessible to any woman with a project, dream or aspiration to start her own business and be successful.

A great benefit of this online community is that it also makes available to women entrepreneurs many in-person local communities around the world with live workshops.

Go check out their resources and if you like become a member...
for now it’s free.