From the author of the successful The Unofficial Guide to Marketing Your Small Business, this handy guide provides detailed information on low-budget, high-impact marketing techniques that produce near-immediate results. Small businesses need a quick return on their marketing investments, and this book shows the best ways to achieve it. Small business expert Marcia Layton Turner puts her wealth of business knowledge to work for business owners who need results now. The Unofficial Guide to Marketing Your Small Business provides comprehensive, straightforward coverage of everything small and large businesses need to know about the vital basics of effective marketing. Marcia Layton Turner (Rochester, NY) is the founder of her own marketing consulting firm and a small business expert who has been profiled or quoted in such publications as Money, Entrepreneur, and USA Weekend. She is also the author of The Unofficial Guide to Starting a Small Business (0-7645-7285-7), from Wiley.

The inside scoop . . .for when you want more than the official line Want to be your own boss but aren't quite sure how to make it happen? This savvy guide will show you the way. Now revised and updated to cover the latest regulations, techniques, and trends, it walks you step by step through the entire start-up process, from coming up with a business plan and lining up financing to setting up shop, marketing to your customer base, and dealing with accounting, taxes, insurance, and licenses. Packed with real-world tips and tricks that you won't find anywhere else, it delivers all the know-how you need to declare independence from the 9-to-5 world, launch your business--and watch the profits grow! * Vital Information on real-world entrepreneurship that other sources don't reveal. * Insider Secrets on how to secure financing and choose a winning location. * Money-Saving Techniques, including low-cost ways to market your business. * Time-Saving Tips for creating a business plan and handling legal and accounting basics. * The Latest Trends, including how to launch a profitable home- or Web-based business. * Handy Checklists and Charts to help you plan your start-up and succeed in the marketplace.

The author offers both traditional and online business owners an array of powerful online advertising and marketing techniques, along with how to use the Internet to enhance public relations.

Etsy is a wildly popular website where crafters and craftsmen alike have discovered a portal where they can market and sell their handmade wares - literally around the globe. According to the latest stats from Etsy, there are over 14 million registered members, over 800,000 shops, over 39 million unique visitors each month, and transactions spanning across 150 countries. Those numbers represent a global marketplace for someone interested in selling their handmade items, but they also mean a tremendous challenge when a seller is faced with the daunting task of making their Etsy storefront visible among the thousands of others. Any successful Etsy seller will tell you the difference between a successful Etsy storefront and the storefront that gets lost in the mix often boils down to the tricky details. The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Selling Your Crafts with Etsy is written by someone who has proven selling success on Etsy and knows the tricks that will get a storefront noticed - and wares shipping out the door. From having the right keywords in place for optimum searchability, to creating an attractive storefront that will create return customers and loads of traffic, The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Selling Your Crafts with Etsy will help you learn the tricks of the trade and help you build the successful Etsy business you have always wanted.

If you can dream it, you can design it Whether your goal is to design your own marketing materials, launch a visually compelling blog, or just have some fun creating your own CD covers, The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to Graphic Design is your one-stop reference. Presented in an intuitive, accessible format, here are the fundamental elements of design and design principles, as well as instruction on how to apply those elements and principles to a variety of projects. • Covers art supplies, software, concept development, reproduction needs, and much more • Sample projects include business cards, print and web ads, and graphic T-shirts • Follows the success of other titles aimed at the aspiring artist, including the Complete Idiot’s Guide® titles on digital photography, drawing, and manga

A guide for parents on the latest kid craze. Wildly popular, Webkinz® are the must-have toy for every five- to twelve-year-old. Presented in a highly intuitive, handbook-style organization, here is the first guide on this sought after stuffed animal. It enables parents to quickly and efficiently find the critters they’re looking for, learn the ins and outs of the Webkinz® website, and understand what their kids are doing online. In this Complete Idiot’s Guide®, you get: • Simple steps that will make the “adoption” process a breeze. • Expert tips on getting the most out of Webkinz® from the seven-year-old point of view. • Easy access to information on everything your child needs to know to get the most out of the online experience. • Smart strategies for keeping your child’s Webkinz® happy and healthy.

Picking the right goals can generate more passion in your life, but you need to take the right steps to ensure you achieve them. Author Onyx Jones, formerly a homeless single mother and now a successful entrepreneur, shares seven easy steps to set goals and make them a reality. Using this workbook, you can learn how to hold yourself accountable in fun ways; use positive thinking and visualization to manifest your goals; identify people, mentors, resources, and skills needed to achieve your goals; and develop a timeline and successful plan of action. This guide also recommends finding a goals partner, because you can achieve so much more when someone is sharing their love, support, and encouragement as you seek to live the life you want. Filled with assignments, charts, summaries, and inspirational quotes, this workbook is just what you need to boost the quality of your life. Get on the fast track to changing your life with The Unofficial Guide to Achieving Your Goals.

The inside scoop... for when you want more than the official line! If you have an entrepreneurial spirit and want to capitalize on the fastest growing marketplace ever, the Web, this is the book for you. From choosing the product or service you offer to designing your website to marketing and managing your online venture, this guide gives you step-by-step guidance and helps you avoid common pitfalls. You don't have to be a computer guru or programmer, and you don't have to invest big bucks, thanks to the unbiased recommendations, practical guidance, and insider savvy this book puts at your fingertips. Updated with advice from experts, current statistics, new tips and strategies, and information about hundreds of resources, this guide gets you in business online with: Vital Information on choosing a unique product or service and targeting a specific niche market Insider Secrets from entrepreneurs who have launched successful online businesses Money-Saving Techniques, including using services from Yahoo!, Microsoft, eBay, and others to create a small-business website Time-Saving Tips for obtaining prominent listing placement on search engines and in Web directories and information portals The Latest Trends in online advertising, marketing, and branding, plus the online auction phenomenon Handy Checklists to help you create and operate your online business

Dealing with event management in developing countries, specifically South Africa, this textbook confronts the specific challenges of creating well-run events in places where world-class catering and party supplies are not as readily available as in developed nations. Complete with advice about all aspects of managing an event, the second edition incorporates additional graphs, tables, and photographs, as well as new material about the legal aspects of event planning.

A new, revised edition of the classic guide forentrepreneurs For more than a decade, The Entrepreneur and SmallBusiness Problem Solver has been the go-to resource forbudding entrepreneurs and small business owners alike. Now in itsThird Edition, this classic has been revised and updated to meetthe needs of the modern reader in today's fast-paced businessenvironment. Covering everything from getting a start-up loan tointroducing a new product, this comprehensive guide shows you howto deal with the common problems every small business faces-withouthiring expensive outside help. This handy guide is packed with the kind of essential,down-to-earth advice everyone running a small businessneeds-whether you need help with your business plan or collecting asmall debt. This new Third Edition features new information on taxlaw changes, technological advances, and changes in governmentservices, and includes an entirely new chapter on Internetmarketing and e-commerce. Focused on practicality, the book alsofeatures downloadable, chapter-ending worksheets that will help youretain what you learned and implement it correctly. A truly uniquesource for sound business guidance, The Entrepreneur andSmall Business Problem Solver, Third Edition is aninvaluable reference that every business owner needs. Inside, you'll find world-class guidance on these topics andmore: How and where to find start-up capital Insuring your business Extending credit and collecting debts Financial record-keeping Carrying out marketing research Pricing products and services Marketing and advertising your business Doing business and marketing online Recruiting and managing employees Protecting your business and avoiding rip-offs