When does this man sleep? Social media entrepreneur and author Chris Brogan is by far the most productive and prolific commentator and business launcher in the small business/entrepreneurial space.  Chris, along with Milwaukee restaurant owner and Twitter expert Joe Sorge, have launched Kitchen Table Companies, an education community for small business owners. I spoke to Joe the other day and we talked about KTC. It's a fee-based service with a charter membership price of $27 a month. I asked Joe about the pay model vs. starting off with a free service to build community, and he stuck to his guns about offering value and getting paid for it -- no apologies. Given his level of knowledge and Chris's involvement, no doubt it's worth the money and you should check it out.

The White House this week launched the Startup America Partnership to bring together top entrepreneurs, start-up firm funders, CEOs, university presidents, foundations, and other leaders to help entrepreneurial companies start or grow. Partners (including corporations, foundations, startup funders, CEOs and others) will contribute funds to existing proven models or develop new programs and efforts to help entrepreneurs.

Chaired by AOL founder Steve Case, the Partnership will receive launch funding from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Case Foundation, and act as an independent private-sector alliance intended to increase the development, prevalence and success of innovative, high-growth U.S. firms. Read more...

When I speak to three people in one day who are all improving their business success using the same strategy, it merits a mention. I coach professionals from different industries -- primarily media and financial services. All of them have in common the desire to increase their business. Yesterday, three clients told me about how they were doing that very successfully by combining their client acquisition activities with their passions.

• One client was recently elected to a national organization of wine connoisseurs. He is now undertaking a strategy to reach out to members of the organization in other regions so he can expand the reach of his relationships. His approach is not one of soliciting business just because someone belongs to the same club, but rather getting to know people with a similar interest in other markets, for the joy of it as well as for the business benefit.
• Another client is a baseball fanatic and memorobilia collector. He's redecorating his office to bring in aspects of his personal life -- when prospective clients visit, he wants them to experience not just what he does, but who he is. His assistant gave him a gift of a baseball signed by Tony Conigliaro, the Boston Red Sox legend, which now sits on his desk. The gift brought up a creative spurt as he thought sharing the story of Conigliaro and how it relates to his clients' need to prepare for unforeseen circumstances.
• The third client I spoke with is a Crossfit enthusiast. Rather than targeting new client prospects by income demographics, he's getting more involved in his Crossfit gym and is  reaching out to members who he believes will be as interested in protecting their financial health (he's a wealth advisor) as their physical well-being.

Are you using your passion to develop business? Leave a comment and share how you're doing it.

Want to start a business but have limited -- very limited -- funds to get things going? Like $100? Here are some easy ideas.

1. Coaching, Training, Web Design and More

Sandra Baptist, founder and president of the International Association of Women Accountants in Business, says the best professions to go into right now are coaching, consulting, web design, training, human resources consulting, financial strategist, even reviewing sites or blogging for a fee, if you have writing skills. Read more...