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Entrepreneurs Remain Wary
Small-business owners turned slightly more pessimistic in February, as actual sales have failed to meet up to brighter expectations, new data show.
Dell Boosts Lending to Small Businesses
Dell, which sells more PCs to small companies than any other supplier, has spent the last year trying to stimulate sales with new financing arrangements. Some analysts ask if it is adding risk.
Credit Unions, Commercial Banks At Odds Over Lending Turf
A proposal to double the percentage limit that determines how much credit unions can lend to small businesses is drawing sharp criticism from commercial lenders.
Creating Etsy's Handmade Marketplace
Frustrated furniture maker Rob Kalin built a site for "hobbypreneurs" to sell their homespun wares.
More From How I Built It
Speaking Out on Health Care
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Main Street Alliance and small-business owners themselves offer conflicting views on the recently passed health bill.
Business Owners Taxed for Layoffs
Entrepreneurs who reduced their companies' work forces now face rising state unemployment insurance taxes.
Three Best Ways to Get Lean
Looking for a little extra cash flow? Here are some tips for trimming operating expenses.
More Three Best Ways
Companies Confused by Health Legislation
Small businesses, some of which had fought against the health-care reform bill, will now have to adjust to life with it.
- Vote: Will bill help or hurt?
How to Calculate Start-Up Costs
Got a pen handy? To best estimate your start-up costs, you'll need to make a list— and the more detailed the better.
- Video: Calcuating the Costs of Starting a Small Business
- Tool: WSJ Startup Calculator
Are Business Plans a Waste of Time?
Yes, 50-page plans outlining your business idea are tedious to write. But unless you're a proven success, you still need to do it.
What Health Bill Means for Small Businesses
The health legislation, signed into law Tuesday by President Obama, provides a mix of penalties and tax credits to spur employers to offer coverage.
- Vote: Will bill help or hurt?
Forming an S Corporation
Whether you're starting a business from home or opening a large-scale operation, you'll need to decide on the best legal structure for your new company. Part four of a five-week series.
Starting Career Over Solo
Roughly 7% of workers in the U.S. today are self-employed, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And many say they landed in this position due to an unexpected financial hardship such as a job loss or salary reduction.
Tool Firms Seek U.S. Aid
Cash-strapped small and midsize companies that supply critical parts to industrial giants are seeking a $30 billion U.S. loan-guarantee program and pressing General Motors to speed up payments.
Insurance Tax Breaks for Self-Employed Individuals
How to claim this otherwise hard-to-get health-care deduction.

This Week's Tip

This Week's Tip: Forming an LLC
Whether you're starting a business from home or opening a large-scale operation, you'll need to decide on the best legal structure for your new company.
- Forming a Sole Proprietorship
- Forming a Partnership
The Next Big Thing
Sizing Up Promising Young Firms
Pacific Biosciences, which makes DNA-sequencing instruments, came out No. 1 in a ranking of the 50 venture-backed companies in the U.S. with the greatest potential.
Enterprise
Family Ties Put Companies in Bind
In family-run small businesses, strained relationships between relatives can become even more tense when finances are tight.
How I Built It
A Company Fueled by Athletes' Sweat
Clif Bar co-founder Gary Erickson traveled race-to-race to hook high performers on his his healthy snack.

Venture Capital Dispatch

Vote and Discuss

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Management Headlines

Risk Managers Get Certified
As demand grows for professional risk managers, several industry organizations are vying to provide a standard certification for the field.
Amid Uncertainty, A Disciplined Approach
More Industries Require Test-Taking

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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Building Your Business

The Ultimate Start-Up Challenge?
Companies on this week's Next Big Thing list detail strategies for dealing with rapid expanision.
From Wall Street to Mancakes: A Lawyer Turns to Cupcakes
Services Combine Social Media, Marketing

Technology

Entrepreneurs Mixed on Social Media
Services like Facebook and Twitter have become a popular marketing tool for small firms, but new evidence suggests social media may not be as effective as hoped.
Social-Media Updates Could Spell Trouble
The Tangled Web Site

Financing

When Business Credit Scores Get Murky
Credit scores are often touted as the make-it-or-break-it factor for business loans, but even entrepreneurs with high business credit scores may have trouble getting financing.
The Best Tax Breaks for Small Business
A Plea for Direct Lending

Franchising

Subscriber Content Read Preview

Coming to the Menu: Calorie Counts
The health bill President Barack Obama signed into law Tuesday requires that restaurant chains post calorie counts for all the food items they sell.
McDonald's Plans $1 Summer Drinks
Quiznos Carves Out Broader Niche

Columns

Small talk
By Colleen DeBaise
Advice on Patenting Ideas, Marketing Jewelry and the Costs of a Family Restaurant
On franchising
By Richard Gibson
Burger King Franchisees in a Pickle

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?

From Palo Alto Software, the makers of Business Plan Pro

With inspiration from the Better Business Bureau

What's Your Workout?

When Your Gym is a Glossy Rink
Small-business owner Ryan Kotula competed in seven triathlons, including a half Ironman, last year. Part of his training: playing broomball every week.
Fearing Turncoats, Owners Protect Secret Sauce
Burned by ex-staffers who started similar companies, some business owners are trying noncompete agreements.
House Approves Small-Business Aid Bill
The House voted 246-178 to approve a $14 billion bill that would provide tax relief to small businesses and extend a bond program to help fund public works projects.
Local Businesses Sue Review Site Yelp
Yelp, a popular Web service that allows users to rate local businesses, is in the hot seat to defend the way it sells online ads to local businesses.
- Digits: Yelp Goes On the Offensive About Filtering
Good Year, Bad Year: There's Tax Breaks Either Way
Was 2009 a banner year for your small business? Or did you struggle through? Whatever the case, there are ways to trim the tax bill.
Tech Start-ups Cope With Data Flood
A number of technology companies on the Next Big Thing list aim to help businesses deal with data overload.
Small Businesses Seek More Action to Curb Health-Care Costs
Some small-business advocates criticized Obama's proposed health-care overhaul as imposing stiffer requirements on employers to provide insurance for workers while not doing enough to lower costs.
Stimulus Funding for SBA Loans Runs Out—Again
The popular stimulus provisions reduced fees and offered a 90% guarantee to banks, which catalyzed SBA loan activity.

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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."
PODCAST
The Wall Street Journal on Small Business
Insights for starting and running a small business. Tuesdays
THIS WEEK: Hear how small business owners are discovering the surprising power of Facebook; how even entrepreneurs with high business credit scores are having trouble getting financing; and the good and the bad of new health-care law for small business owners. .

Top Groups In Small Business

Journal Community

Social Media for Marketers
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Sharing ideas, case studies and opinions about digital outposts as marketing tools

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I am looking for a way to make it easier for entrepreneurs and angles to get together to reduce the incredible amount of time (and cost) it takes for a start-up to get out of the first pre-money round. This new WSJ Community seems like a great place to c...

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WSJ Editor SOHO Business
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- Topics:
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This group is about all things SOHO -- single-owner, home-office businesses. We'll talk about setting up a home office and making the home-office business and lifestyle work.

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California Race Looks to Fall
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Free Tacos for the Price of a Tattoo
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A Spending Nudge, or a Fudge?
IPad to Launch With Payload of Ads
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Legendary British Spy Dies
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America's Cup Is Still S.F.'s to Lose
Pregnancy Stress Is Bad for Baby
The Microwave Wants Some Respect
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Cowboys Gone, City Calls an Audible
Why It's Easier to Buy a Car Now
Athletes Dance Better Than You
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Regions, CEO Feel the Pain in Florida
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AT&T; Prepares for iPhone Battle

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Columns

By Colleen DeBaise

By Richard Gibson

By Staff

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?

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