The world today is a global village. It is no longer necessary, or sometimes even possible, for all the employees of any organization to come together. Equally though people need to share ideas and information more than ever. Business associates or even family and friends may be located anywhere, but our need to stay connected grows daily. We may need to talk, share pictures and programs,work together or collaborate on many projects.

The Internet has brought the world even closer. It has taken our ability to share information to a new level with brand new abilities to work and communicate worldwide. Internet meetings are web based and accessible to anyone with high speed Internet access. Unlike email, they are real time and they allow you to get immediate feedback and communicate your ideas faster.

At an Internet meeting you can exchange all sorts of information. Internet meetings have many different features depending on the software and service provider used. Most Internet mettings today use live video and audio. They can also pass files between participants and share a common whiteboard to share ideas as well as the ability to work on Word, Excel or PowerPointdocuments together. Web meetings also provide the ability to share programs running on your PC and let the Internet meeting attendees view your desktop.

With these capabilities, the options of Internet meetings to help us keep connected are endless. Perhaps a family will stay in touch with children at school or university where they can talk and share experiences and pictures.

Small business owners can also benefit immensely from Internet meetings. A small business can present a very large and professional corporate image using Internet meetings. Internet meetings, for the small business user, are a cost effective way to grow the business. They can offer long distance sales presentations to customers or update a sole salesman living and working thousands of miles away.

Small business’s now have the ability to have global offices – in reality a virtual office residing on your desktop. It becomes easy and cost effective to invite clients from Europe, Africa, or anywhere in the world to join in a virtual meeting. Working with contractors and clients all over the world has never been easier.

Internet meetings are often hosted by Internet service providers. For a flat fee, you can log in via the web and set up a virtual meeting with participants in the USA, Europe, the Far East and Australia. Even scientists at the South Pole can join in via satellite technology. Once you have scheduled the meeting, your meeting attendees can log in via the web at no additional cost.

Internet meetings make you more productive and can reduce your travel costs and increase your productivity. Internet meetings are a way to meet with one person, ten people or a thousand people virtually. You can collaborate and work without the time and expense of travel or locating physical conference rooms.

I spotted a van on the interstate with Too Blessed to Be Stressed emblazoned across its back windshield. How appropriate that the driver divined that this mantra might be relevant for others to meditate upon while they navigate the freeways.

Stress is considered an occupational hazard for entrepreneurs. Having positive mantras as we navigate our business lives is one way of dealing with stress. But there are times when positive phrases are not enough to manage stress or anxiety. Emotional self-management techniques are helpful in these instances.

After the birth of my first son, I was diagnosed with post-partum depression and suffered from severe anxiety. My husband and I not only held full-time jobs, but were managing our business which included processing orders for our new online sites.

It took every fibre in my being to fight and work through the malaise of depression with all the means available to me. This included visits to medical doctors and cognitive therapists. One of the most successful treatments I found was an emotional self-management (EMS) technique recommended to me by a psychologist. The theory and techniques are explained in Instant Emotional Healing : Acupressure for the Emotions. It combines the principles of cognitive behavioral techniques along with those of Oriental medicine and the bodys energy system. My inelegant explanation is that there are physical and emotional blocks in ourselves that can be relieved by tapping certain parts of the body that correspond to meridian points in the bodies energy sytem, as in accupunture, while simultaneously repeating positive phrases that penetrate the sub-conscious mind.

The information in the book was easily accessible to me at a time when I the most stressed and unable to concentrate. I was relieved to find a technique that I could self-administer and utilize to take control of overwhelming and unproductive stress. All independent business people would benefit from techniques such as EMS to not only relieve unproductive emotions, but to optimize performance.

Are you hoping you’ve got your own Bill Gates in the making in your home? As a parent you can probably tell pretty easily whether or not the entrepreneurial spirit is evident in your child. Some kids make it very obvious that the regular nine-to-five will not be a part of their future. For others, you might need to investigate a bit further to see.

Ask these simple questions about your teen to see if your teen has the entrepreneurial spirit. If your answer is “yes” to one or more, you probably do.

1. Does she ask what she can do to earn more allowance? Is she willing to take on jobs around the house instead of hanging out at the mall with her pals? Does she do her chores and work with vigor and excellence?

2. Did she have the best lemonade stand on the block? Did she go the extra mile to make sure that her stand was profitable and her product and service brought back customers over and over again?

3. Does she value flexibility and independence more than the sure thing of an hourly job? Does she make comments about wanting something “more” than just flipping burgers or selling pink t-shirts?

4. Does she work well on her own? In her free time is she thinking of other ways to make money or start a business? When you give her a job or chore around the house does she jump in and do it quickly and efficiently?

5. Is she a self-learner? ? Does she spend time researching and reading for her schoolwork and outside of that? Does she enjoy finding out more about how to use the computer to her advantage?

If, indeed, you do have a young entrepreneur budding in your midst, you might want to start her off now in a business of her own even now, before the college bills start piling up! It will serve her well now and in the future!

Opening your own business can be a real big gamble. If you do not do your research well, you will wind up like most small businesses, and that is out of business in less then 6 months.

The most important thing to remember when opening up new business is the location. When doing your research for your new business you want to make sure you are the only business of your time in the area. If you are opening a video store you do not want to open near another video store. Remember if you are exclusive to the area, you will automatically get the business of those living in that area.

The next most important thing about opening a small business is you supplier. Do not have just one place to get supplies from, you should have several. By having more then one you can assure yourself that you are getting the lowest prices from them. And if they know about each other they will try to outdo each other to get your business.

Make sure that the products or services that you will be offering are desired, do not just decide to open up a store with out doing any market research is like playing craps, dangerous unless you really know what you are doing.

Advertising is important. Remember just like a casino you are trying to make money and not lose it. By spending some money on advertising you will increase your sales from your opening day. It is best to have a professional help you with your advertising rather then dong it yourself, there is no point in spending money on advertising if no one in your target demographic is going to see it. An example of this would be like using facial expressions to bluff in a poker game against blind players.

When picking your stock it is sometime better to have a better selection of items and maybe not so many of each item, this way you can see which items sell best and order more of those more popular items, and less of the less desired ones.

In business you should not try to open a business unless you already have experience running a related business. You may think you know how to, but to do it correctly you really need experience, after all if you were in a casino and looking to play poker you would not want a roulette dealer who is trying to figure out the rules as he goes would you? Chances are you would want an experienced poker dealer.

Depending on the type of business you are opening try keep your staff as small as possible, and if it is possible try to get friends and family to help you out. This will allow you to keep your costs low until you can really get a good idea of if you are making money or not. Once you are making money you can go out and hire people.

If your small business is growing rapidly, you might consider incorporating the business to help it reach its full potential. To incorporate business is not difficult, but there is a process to follow. This step-by-step guide will help you get on the right track.

Prepare for Incorporation

To prepare for incorporation, first choose your primary business location. If your business operates in only one state, you will need to incorporate in that state. If your business operates in multiple states, then you have the option to choose which state to incorporate in, usually the state that’s more business friendly when it comes to taxes and laws pertaining to business.

Next, select a name for your corporation. Check with your Secretary of State to make sure the name you choose is not already taken by another company. Also, do research online to be sure the name is not taken by another business and doesn’t have a patent by another company or individual. Once you’re sure the name is free to use, you can register your company name. The name will likely need to be registered as “Doing Business As” or “DBA.”

Choose a Filing Agent

The next step is to decide who will register your corporation, receive forms for incorporation, and file your paperwork. The least expensive route is to do all paperwork yourself, but if you’re completely new to incorporation, you’ll benefit tremendously by hiring an agent. The agent must live in the state where you will incorporate the business. The agent may be an attorney who provides incorporation services or the agent can be a service that specializes in incorporation. Hiring a service is usually far less expensive than hiring an attorney.

Develop a Corporate Structure

Whether you’re the only member or shareholder of your company or you already have multiple shareholders, you should determine a corporate structure before registering the corporation. To structure the company means to determine how the stock will be spread among shareholders along with other rights such as voting rights and finances. Be sure everyone is in agreement with the structure and put everything in writing before filing your paperwork to incorporate the company.

Next, put together your corporate by-laws, or a set of rules that determine how board members will be elected, their duties, how and when board meetings are to be held, and other important details of how the corporation will be operated.

Ready to File
Now you’re ready to obtain an Employee Identification Number (EIN) and select a board of directors for your company. Once these two tasks are accomplished, check to be sure you have all necessary paperwork and check the company name availability once again to be on the safe side. Now, you’re ready to file your corporate paperwork for registration.

Forming an LLC – Know the Difference

Keep in mind that forming a corporation differs from forming an LLC (Limited-Liability Company). When you form an LLC, your business will be treated as a sole proprietorship or partnership under federal and state tax laws. You will be required to report profits and losses, income, credits, and deductions on your individual tax return.

Corporations, on the other hand, pay taxes on the company’s profits. The shareholders are treated as individual employees, and each receive their own salaries and file their personal tax returns separately. LLC formation requires less paperwork and has fewer legal issues than a corporation.

If you’re pressed for time and want to get things moving quickly with your company’s incorporation, there are websites available to help you incorporate online. These sites provide printable paperwork, state-by-state instructions, and other helpful items to make it easier than ever to incorporate your business.