In August 2005, Jonathan Coulton quit his job as a software developer, with the goal of conducting an experiment: over the next year, could he figure out a way to earn a living as a full-time musician, leveraging the Web and his small-but-passionate fan base?

In this video segment, Ken Yancey, the CEO of SCORE, and investment advisor Phil Town answer questions from MSNBC viewers on funding for their small businesses. The two debunk the myth of federal grants, caution viewers on accepting investment dollars from friends, and clarify the full credit risks of bank loans.

December 1987 was no time to be raising money for a startup. Computer engineer Len Bosack was trying to attract funding for a young enterprise called Cisco Systems (CSCO). But the stock market had just crashed and the Dow Jones industrial average had plummeted 40% since October. Gun-shy venture capitalists either didn’t get the newfangled technology or deemed it too risky…

Veterans-turned-entrepreneurs offer advice
After 13 years in the Marine Corps, Brian Iglesias was ready to embark on a dream career in filmmaking. Prepared to pay his dues, he worked the phones, sent e-mails, and paid visits. But all he ran into were dead ends. “Not too long ago I was leading over 225 Marines in landslide relief operations in the Philippines,” he says. But “I had to beg people to let me intern. Only my friends were willing to give me work.”
Frustrated, Iglesias decided to start his own company and turned …

These low-cost options can supplement your income or become a full-time gig.
If anything’s hot in today’s economy, it’s saving money, including a broad range of green businesses helping people save energy, water and other resources. For those seeking flexible hours and low startup costs, these five green businesses to start at home may be the best way to join the green business wave… more at 5 Green Businesses You Can Start at Home – Home Green Businesses – Entrepreneur.com, published 6 Feb 2009.
Flickr photo credit: Paul Chenoweth

For many of us, it’s that moment we’ve been longing for. It’s what we’ve worked towards for months or years. It’s the reason we’ve been coming home from a busy day and freelancing in the evenings, or at the weekends.
Quitting the day job. Going full-time. Striking out on our own. You’re not going to miss the office for a moment … right?
Chances are, you’ll find yourself looking back wistfully on certain occasions. Here are a few things you might be missing, and how you could replace them as a freelancer…Going …

Web media startup TurnHere churns out 1,000 corporate videos every month. That might just be the future of Web advertising.
EMERYVILLE, CALIF. (Fortune Small Business) — Antoine’s Restaurant in New Orleans had never been the subject of a TV commercial, let alone an Internet ad. The 168-year-old business, where third-generation waiters serve gumbo and other Creole delicacies to third-generation customers, had only ever advertised in print and on radio. So last June, the owners decided to drag the restaurant into the 21st century with an ad on YellowPages.com, complete with a …

The tens of thousands of votes from our readers have been counted, and here’s our impressive group of Europe’s best young entrepreneurs
Winning an entrepreneurship contest is a feather in the cap, but it takes a lot more than that to make a business grow. As the nominees in this year’s BusinessWeek Best Young European Entrepreneurs competition can attest, building a successful startup requires passion, focus, constant work, and sometimes a bit of luck. ..more from BusinessWeek. Photo credit: theresealbrechtson.se

The vast majority of freelance designers and developers have chosen to embark upon a career as a freelancer because of their interests and abilities that are related to the work that they’re doing. Running a business is just a necessary evil for most of us, rather than being the ultimate focus of an occupational decision. In many cases, the most dreaded duties for a freelancer are those that only deal with the business aspects, such as invoicing, tracking finances and working on taxes.
Regardless of how much we like or dislike …