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Businesses For Sale| Franchises for Sale| Business Opportunities

Mechanics Seek Out 'Right to Repair'
Auto mechanics hope the new small-business-friendly tone in Washington will re-energize the Right to Repair Act, a bill they say levels the playing field with dealerships.

Chargebacks Create Small-Business Woes
Chargebacks, reverse credit-card transactions, can happen when a consumer disputes a charge or if there's a processing error. To recoup the loss, merchants must prove to the card company that the transaction was valid, which often is hard to do.
Tapping Customers' Egos to Build a Web Presence
There are two words that will grab a prospect's attention every time: The person's first and last name.
Improving Broadband For Small Business
President Barack Obama is expected to meet Thursday with small-businesses owners in Marquette, Mich., who are using improved broadband access to grow their companies.
Black-Owned Firms Bested National Growth Rate
The number of businesses owned by black men and women grew at more than triple the national rate in recent years, a trend that may be linked to a long-stagnating job market.
Banks Reach Out to Small Firms
Banks are hoping to ignite a rebound in small-business lending, which is lagging behind recent increases in loans to other types of companies and consumers.
So, How Do I Get a Loan?
There are some businesses that banks want to work with. And then there's everyone else.
Jobs Needing State Approval Rise
Cat groomers, tattoo artists, tree trimmers and about a dozen other specialists are clamoring for more rules governing small businesses, even as lawmakers across the country are vowing to cut regulations that crimp economic growth.
- Vote: Are too many industries licensed?
- Audio: Some Small Businesses Want More Rules
It's Snowing. Do We Get the Day Off?
Experts say companies of all sizes should have policies that explain if employees are required to come to work when heavy snowfall hits. But some small-business chiefs say they've never bothered to create employee guidelines for dealing with inclement weather.
- Vote: What your company's policy?
Super Bowl Promotion Could 'Slam' Pizza Franchisees
If the Packers-Steelers game goes into overtime this Sunday, Papa John's International Inc. may be shelling out a lot of free pizzas.
Investors Parse Small-Business Tax Proposal
Angels and venture capitalists welcome permanent capital-gains tax relief, but await details of Obama's proposal.
- Obama Proposes Tax Relief for Small Businesses
- Vote: What grade for small-business initiatives?
How to Position Yourself as an Expert
The Young Entrepreneur Council answers a reader's question on becoming a recognized specialist.
Government to Urge Small Businesses to Export
U.S. trade officials plan to spread out across the country this year to recruit small-business owners in the administration's effort to double exports by 2015.
- Vote: Is your business exporting?
More Small Businesses Become Multinationals
From brew-pub operators to manufacturers of irrigation gear, more small companies are following the trail blazed by bigger ones toward globalization.
Small-Business Groups: Obama Speech Was Skimpy
The NSBA and NFIB applauded the president's desire to correct health law's 1099 provision, but wanted more.
Is It Time to Promote an Employee?
A new study suggests employers tend to advance workers in January, June and July. Most small businesses, however, aren't held to a specific timetable.

In Charge

What's Hot in Venture Capital in 2011
If you're an entrepreneur looking to raise money from the venture community, what's the best sector to be in?
Is Lending to Small Business Really Up?
Small-Business Staffing — More of the Same in 2011
First Stop: London. Next Stop: The World.

How I Built It

Rising to Occasion With a Bakery Chain
Panera Bread Co.'s Ron Shaich, discusses his early days at the helm of Au Bon Pain to his latest entrepreneurial endeavor, Panera Cares.
Money Hunt
Audits Add Shine to Firms
Small businesses whose books are audited by a hired certified public accountant improve their chances of getting a loan than businesses with less scrutinized financial statements.
Enterprise
The Book Makes the Expert
Books are becoming popular marketing tools for self-employed professionals able to take advantage of new forms of publishing, including electronic publishing and print-on-demand.

Venture Capital Dispatch

Vote and Discuss

Do too many industries require state-level licensing? Or too few?

Too many
Too few

View Results »

Management Headlines

Nokia, Microsoft Talk Cellphones
Nokia is in talks with Microsoft about using the U.S. software giant's operating system on mobile phones.
Freddie's Operating Chief Resigns
Subscriber Content Read Preview

Microsoft Veteran Tapped for Key Unit

Small Business How-To Guide

How to Decide if Entrepreneurship is Right for You
Starting a business is a lot like becoming a parent. Not only do you have to prepare for your start-up emotionally and financially, but you have to be committed to its constant needs until it's mature enough to hum along on its own. And even then (much like a child) it will always need you in some capacity, no matter how old it gets.
How to Create a Disaster Plan
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RSS Feed

Building Your Business

Requirements Rise for Franchise Buying
With the economy in the dumps, an array of franchisers are raising their standards for prospective buyers.
Legal Advice…on a Budget
When Parents and Children Go Into Business

Technology

'B-to-B's Struggle on Facebook
Small 'business-to-business' companies are trying their hand at marketing on sites like Facebook, but some find social media might not be the best way to connect with their target audience.
Getting Customers to 'Check In' With Foursquare
Baidu's CEO Pursues Growth

Financing

For Family, Payback Sometimes Slow
Entrepreneurs have long tapped family for help in launching new businesses, but recent data suggest that friends and family may be less willing to take such a gamble on their loved ones.
Start-Ups on a Shoestring
Slow Gains In Credit For Small Business

Franchising

Curves Loses Stamina, Closes Clubs
Curves, whose 30-minute workout for women once made it among the world's fastest-growing franchises, seems to be running out of steam.
Sam's Club to Offer Loans Up to $25,000
Have It Whose Way?

Columns

Small talk
By Colleen DeBaise
Small Talk
On franchising
By Richard Gibson
Upgrades Price Out Some Hotel Owners

WSJ Startup Calculator

Starting a business is more expensive than you might think. Have you thought through the assets you need? How about monthly expenses?

Use this startup calculator to figure out the true costs of launching a company. How much do you think it will take to open your business?

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With inspiration from the Better Business Bureau

Offers

Small Business

Expediting Innovation Comes at a Cost
The U.S. push to spur homegrown innovation by fast-tracking the patent process might do more harm than good, some in the patent industry say, by giving money-rich companies an edge over start-ups.
Small Business 'Burden' Is Tough to Quantify
The widely repeated notion that small businesses face disproportionate regulatory costs rests on some questionable calculations and assumptions.
- The Cost of Doing Business in the U.S.
Can the Flower Industry Learn From Amazon?
Approaching an industry with fresh eyes can lead to a great business concept. After all, Amazon.com's Jeff Bezos was a hedge fund guy, not a bookseller, when he applied technology to the way books get sold.
In Race to Market, It Pays to Be Late
Being first on the scene rarely pays off, a new research paper concludes. Think Netscape, Friendster and Commodore Business Machines.
- Vote: Does being first to market help or hurt businesses?
Export-Import Bank to Increase Small-Business Loans
A U.S. financial institution plans to spur exports by providing $6 billion in loans to small businesses this year and $9 billion a year by 2015.
Small-Business Optimism Index Slips
After four consecutive gains, the National Federation of Independent Business index of small-business optimism fell back in December.
Tough Year for Business? Try Living in a Disaster Zone
While U.S. entrepreneurs continued to struggle in 2010—facing tight credit markets and weak consumer spending—those problems paled in comparison to what business owners faced in the world's more troubled regions.
Pizza Chain Seeks Slice of Bicultural Pie
Pizza Patrón, a 100-unit restaurant chain that has long catered to a Spanish-speaking clientele, is turning its charms on English speakers.
Public Relations, the Hard Way
From BP's oil spill to Apple's "antennagate," 2010 saw more than its fair share of corporate crises. Here's a look at how some companies handled the heat.

Small Business Video

How I Built It: HopStop.com
3:13
How I Built It: Liz Lange
3:15
AM Report: In Egypt, Opposing Sides Digging In
9:33

marketplace

Industry News from

Subscriber Content Read Preview

Tapping a Continent's Growth From Home
While U.S. and European firms are waking up to Africa's accelerating growth, companies based on the continent also are expanding. From an abandoned farm outside Lagos, Nigeria, a Zambian beef processor is moving into one of Africa's most promising markets.
- Photos: Expanding a Beef Business in Africa
Subscriber Content Read Preview

Coke Tests Health-Tea Waters
Sokenbicha, a bitter bottled tea popular in Japan, is one of Coca-Cola's global best sellers. Now, the company is hoping it catches on in the U.S.
Subscriber Content Read Preview

Whole Foods Boosts View as Net Rises 61%
Whole Foods boosted its full-year earnings guidance as its fiscal first-quarter earnings soared 61% on strong sales growth.
View more in Retailing

Small Business How-To Guide

Visit our How-To Guide for Small Business to get tips from The Wall Street Journal's reporters and columnists on everything from "How to Pick a Credit Card for Your Business" to "How to Attract Talent to a Small Company."
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