The best way to keep employees from leaving. For Google, it’s by telling them you love them – with cold, hard cash. Henry Blodget of Silicon Alley Insider reported this morning that Google CEO Eric Schmidt announced in an email that his company is giving all of its 20,000+ employees at least a 10 percent raise in 2011 as well as a $1,000 holiday bonus. While a Google spokesman declined to comment specifically on the raise, he told The Wall Street Journal that “we do believe that competitive compensation plans are important to the future of the company.” The Journal points out that the raise marks another maneuver in Google’s battle to retain talent that has been poached recently by Facebook and younger tech upstarts.

In other news of Google wins… In 2005 media mogul Barry Diller of InterActivCorp bet big ($1.85 billion, in fact) that Ask.com could compete with search engines Google and Yahoo. This week that bet went belly up. Bloomberg reports that Ask.com will lay off 130 engineering jobs and concede much of its search business to competitors like Google and Microsoft, already reaching agreements with both. “We’ve realized in the last few years you can’t compete head on with Google,” Diller said, which now controls 65 percent of all U.S. searches. Instead, Ask.com will re-focus its efforts on delivering its question-and-answer service while parent company IAC continues to develop toolbars, accounting for much of the company’s sustained revenue gains over the past year.

The entrepreneur’s dilemma. Do you want venture capital funding or control? Today’s New York Times DealBook column tackles the thorny issue of an entrepreneur’s need to raise money versus the unpopular necessity of ceding some control of their company to VCs. As Steven Davidoff, the so-called “Deal Professor” explains, “The key for entrepreneurs in negotiations is to make sure that when they do raise VC money, they have options.” Ideally, those options will come in the form of multiple term sheets that will allow the entrepreneur to negotiate the most lenient terms for the smallest part of their company. Davidoff goes on to explain some of the common pitfalls and legal wranglings entrepreneurs should keep in mind when beginning a relationship with VCs.

A lead-generation secret. If you’re like most entrepreneurs, writes Mike Michalowicz in the Wall Street Journal, you ask clients for referrals. But that rarely works: Your client doesn’t want you to be snapped up by its competitors. Michalowicz offers a smart tip: Ask your client to introduce you to its other vendors, so you can collaborate to serve them better. “You might get a raised eyebrow, but your clients will almost always say yes. It’s a no-brainer for your client because you’re not asking them to hook you up with new leads; you’re simply asking them to help you, help them.”

Pay as you go…literally. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s new company, Square, which allows people to swipe credit cards on their iPhones, is now open to the public. To apply for the Square setup, companies go through not only a credit check, but a Yelp, Twitter, and Facebook check too, to ensure the businesses are reputable. Square now has more than 50,000 users, but Dorsey tells TechCrunch the company has plenty of room to grow, presenting Square as a cost-effective and convenient option for the 24 million merchants in the United States that don’t currently process credit cards.

Big retail in little spaces. Bigger is not always better, says a recent article in The New York Times. As retailers struggle to save money in a sluggish economy, they’re starting to downsize – literally. After all, a smaller space will have a lower rent, fewer costs for storing inventory, and a need for fewer employees. The Times notes that the “change reflects two trends in the retail world: Chains looking for new ways to cut costs in the sour economy, and consumers demanding a less sprawling shopping experience as they spend with greater purpose.” It’s also giving the stores an opportunity to flex their creative muscles as smaller spaces demand flexible design. One Bloomingdales in California, for example, has dressing room walls that retract into the ceiling, which, we can only hope, only occurs only when no one is inside them.

The open-data boon for entrepreneurs. San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order last year asking city departments to publish data under their control. Since then, hundreds of sets of data have been released. And the bounty is feeding creativity among app designers. Fast Company reports that at least 50 new apps have been built using the open data, including “EcoFinder, a recycling-center locator, SpotCrime, which sends local crime alerts to users, and Routesy, which plans public-transportation trips. Yesterday, (coincidentally in the midst of a Google-Facebook openness smack-down ) San Francisco became the first city to push that order into law. The city’s CIO, Chris Vein, said entrepreneurs are the beneficiaries of the openness: “It’s a platform for small business growth,” he told Fast Company.

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Create Squidoo Lenses for Free
Looking for a free way to easily generate some extra income online? Squidoo.com is a free website that allows free members to build their own webpages on various topics, simple informational pages related to anything you want to share. You simply use the tools to build great looking webpages, and then those pages are used to earn advertising revenue for Squidoo, which in turn shares it with you. Creating Squidoo pages is as simple as doing routine functions online. If you can use a word processor you can use Squidoo. Point and click, add information and pictures, and voila, you have an great money making webpage. You can make as many pages as you want, which many have done to earn great passive income simply by sharing information. It doesn’t get much easier than this.

Host an Information Rich Niche Website
A website is such a great tool for generating passive income. It never needs a break so it never stops earning. And because the internet connects users worldwide you can access millions of potential clients with rapid speed. You do not need to have things to sell or a business to promote. As soon as your site begins generating traffic you can monetize in a number of simple ways. You simply need to provide information on any topic of your choice, and as your website begins generating traffic, you can monetize your traffic through a variety of monetization methods that will provide a great passive income from numerous sources. A single website can pump out ongoing passive income from several sources simultaneously, including AdSense income and affiliate marketing. You can even build a blog for free, and if done properly it could become a terrific source of passive income. Choose niches that you are interested in because the more you have to share, the easier it will be for you to create enough unique content to generate a substantial following.

Create Your Own Digital Products and Market Them
You can package their information in the form of ebooks, newsletters, web-inars, and ecourses, and sell them online to earn a virtually unlimited amount of money. Create digital, downloadable products, and sell them through any method of internet marketing that you excel in. If you have a website and a mailing list, those will be two very valuable assets for you. You can bundle your products and sell them at a discounted rate, as most internet entrepreneurs report increased sales and revenues when they use this power strategy. And if you do not have a mailing list, which is a powerful income generating tool, you can create a free product and offer it in exchange for email addresses.

photo credit: Svadilfari

Starting your own landscaping business is a great way to earn money. But before you pull the trigger, there are some important things you should consider.

Obviously, you should already have some experience before starting a business in this field. This sort of activity involves your own creative ideas on what lawns should look like. Additionally, you should have some knowledge about gardening. If you don’t, you might consider working for some entrepreneur and gain some experience and ideas first, not just about landscaping and gardening, but also about running a company.

Once you start your enterprise, you will need to start finding new clients right away. Develop a detailed business plan, raise some start-up capital, and then advertise your services. The more you advertise, the more clients you will begin to attract. Setting up your own website is an inexpensive way of getting the word out.

Make sure you satisfy all the clients that you get. The more professional you are, the more popular your service will be. Low prices are also important, especially when you’re just starting out, but don’t ask too little or your company might not survive. It could take you a while to find the ideal price you can charge.

After a few months you will probably need to hire some employees so you can expand more rapidly. Some of them will handle the work while others will answer the phones and help with your marketing activities.

If you do things the right way, landscaping is an amazing and fulfilling way of earning a steady income. Good luck in your efforts!

If you need money now, like I mean in the next hour, try what I did. I am making more money now than in my old business and you can too: read the amazing, true story of Martin Thomas in the link below. When I joined I was skeptical for just ten seconds before I realized what this was. I was smiling from ear to ear and you will too.

Imagine doubling your money every week with no or little risk! To discover a verified list of Million Dollar Corporations offering you their products at 75% commission to you, click the link below to learn HOW you will begin compounding your capital towards your first Million Dollars at the Easy Corporate Money Program.

http://www.incomeforfreedom.com

photo credit: danhodgett

One of the first thing people ask me is how I’ve managed to build three million dollar companies before I turned 20. Now at 22 and building my first technology based business I feel I am better suited to answer the question in a way that will help you as well.

1. Early hands on experience- Since starting my first business at 8, I’ve been a part of 15 different business ventures since. Two of the million dollar companies were built with other people’s money, along with five business ventures that have failed and the other seven are still surviving. But more importantly, if you’re able to get involved with an entrepreneurial venture without having to invest a lot of your own money it is a great learning opportunity. Find yourself a “good” mentor and learn as much as you possibly can from them. Being in business for yourself often means that you work harder and longer than anyone else but even being an employee for an entrepreneurial venture is different from being an employee for a major corporation. I didn’t believe this myself until I tried! A good employee in a healthy and growing entrepreneurial venture will be responsible for many different key aspects that are vital to the business. This is rare in the corporate world.

2. Combine Passion, Persistence and Patience with being resourceful – Referred to as the 3 P’s, they are a crucial aspect to the success of any company. For the most part all of the business owner’s that invited me in to help grow their operation loved what they did. Having a great idea will not make you successful. Being able to execute to accomplish task and being resourceful is what will make you the ultimate success story. Every business owner reaches a point where they will have to make the decision of taking their company to the next level. This will require knowing you strengths and trusting others to fill in the areas that you are weak in. There will be times when results won’t come overnight or at all even and you have to be able to accept that, adapt and change to improve the situation.

3. Know your customers and your business – Everyone is unique so no two customers will ever be alike but more importantly you must know how you are capable of solving the needs of those different customers. Honestly the two million dollar companies would have probably become million dollar companies even without my assistance because they were just that good. They were run by two excellent businessmen that were very knowledgeable about what their companies did. Fortunately, they discovered my creativity and allowed me to learn what works and what doesn’t in what I feel is the best way possible: through trial and error. Some marketing schemes just don’t work but all that means is that you need to make a mental note of it and move on to try something else. But keep a variety of techniques because what worked wonders the first time you tried it may not work as well or at all the next time.

What it really all boils down to is that you should set high but achievable goals for yourself and your company, then plan for different ways you can achieve those goals. If you’re going to swing for the fences at least do yourself the favor of choosing the right pitch!

Bryan Young is a 22 year old serial entrepreneur that started his first business at the age of 8. He is the founder/ CEO of http://www.businessempiremag.com, a digital magazine/online business community that provides a plethora of resources to accommodate the needs of nearly any business owner. Find more at http://www.businessempiremag.com

photo credit: woodleywonderworks

One fact about Florida, it is one of the most populous states in the United States of America. Another fact about Florida, with its lush beaches and beautiful national parks, coupled with its mostly subtropical to tropical climate, it is a known fact that tourists, both local and foreign, flock to enjoy its beauty every year.

With these in mind, it is safe to assume one thing-it is good to set up business in Florida! And with people constantly flowing to either live permanently or just to admire the splendour of the “Sunshine State,” it is evident that one good business opportunity on the state is surely found on the Florida Commercial Real Estate market. Be not discouraged by the economic crisis, if others are hesitant to do some business during these times, then it’s your chance to take the stage! After all, the ball must be kept rolling, with crisis or not, the economy must move, and you should help move it by investing at the Florida Commercial Real Estate. So invest in the Florida Commercial Real Estate market now and help improve the economy while improving your bank accounts!

As people continuously move in and out of Florida, it is best to cater for them, and earn big bucks from it! With the Florida Commercial Real Estate, you can either be a landlord by leasing your property to a company that needs some space (that is easy money especially if you get a really good deal) or better yet, you can maximize your potential as an investor and use your own space to set up a business. Be an entrepreneur and use the high tourism potential of Florida, earn from the hungry tourists looking for a bite, from the tired tourists looking for a place to stay in, from the adventurous tourists looking for some equipments for their trip “under the sea!” Remember, especially if your property is on a very strategic location (like where people will tend to always be) and you choose a good business (like those that people will invariably need like restaurants for eating or hotels to stay in), your business may get really good even during these times when people tend to keep their wallets shut. It’s all about making the most out of your Florida Commercial Real Estate property. Moreover, In a few years time, when you decide to venture on another lucrative business venture or for any other reason, you may choose to sell your property-and the generous profit that you would surely earn from the land is definitely a good parting gift from your highly valuable (especially with the continuous boost in commercial real estate prices) Florida Commercial Real Estate property.

Where there are people, business tends to be good. There are always people in sunny Florida. So, enter a good business-invest in the Florida Commercial Real Estate market, for you can always find a way to earn from your Florida Commercial Real Estate property.

Eliza Maledevic Ayson writes for Jump2top – SEO Company

photo credit: stevendepolo

Crisis Or Opportunity?

While the financial crisis is real, what it represents is up to you. The Chinese symbol for “crisis” is said to be made up of two individual characters which mean, in broad terms, “danger” and “opportunity”.

You can decide how you will respond to the current climate. Will you adopt a poverty consciousness and cut back to survive? Or, will you see the current state of play in the global economy as an opportunity to foster your entrepreneurial skills and build more prosperity?

The transferral of wealth currently taking place means there has never been a better time to launch a business in a market you identify as growing already or is predicted to grow into the future. The current climate represents the perfect storm of opportunity. However, it is up to you to decide whether you will capitalise on the market conditions. More millionaires were made out of the Great Depression than ever before.

If you believe the conditions represent all threat and no opportunity, you are right. If you believe they can assist you in creating wealth and prosperity, you are are also correct. As Warren Buffet put it, “Be fearful when others and greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.”

Take responsibility, set down your goals, identify opportunity and take confident action.

Survival Tip 1 : Take Responsibility

Accept that you are where you are because of decisions you have made. Sure, others may have had an influence and you may see circumstance as playing a role, but now is the time to acknowledge that you need to find a way forward. While you are thinking this through, remember – if you keep doing what you’ve been doing, you will keep getting what you’ve been getting. This is a time for creative thinking and practical steps. It is not someone else’s job to ‘rescue you’. For the longest time, I didn’t understand this (and many people fail to ever grasp this concept) your financial future is in your hands. Don’t out source it – it can be great fun creating wealth and freedom, but you must take responsibility.

Survival Tip 2: Set Your Goals

What needs to change? Where will you be in a month, six months, a year? When was the last time you thought about what you used to want for your life? Is that the life your are living? Or, is there something better out there for you? Do you need to pay off your debt? Or are you brave enough to think beyond this? Do you aspire to financial security? What are your goals? Think about this carefully, you get what you focus on.

Survival Tip 3: Identify Opportunity

There are a number of courses of action available to you.

* Start Saving : Cut down on every luxury you can and make it a game. There are loads of suggestions available on the internet about how to save and live well. In the early stages, this might work. But, remember, having a ‘poverty consciousness’ will keep you poor. The best approach is to couple some sensible spending with investment in opportunities that will provide further income.
* Work Harder : Think this through, will longer hours generate more wealth or just longer hours? While you are at it, ask yourself whether you have an ‘employee’ mentality or an ‘entrepreneur’s’ mindset. There is a big difference. If you believe that your only course is to work for someone else, then that’s the path you will choose. If, however, you can shift your beliefs just a little, you might find an entrepreneur buried in there just dying to get out. Will working harder enable you to achieve the goals you have set down above?
* Work Smarter : There are hundreds of big and small opportunities out there to start creating wealth. Start seeking out and exploring opportunities. You should be aiming to create three to four income streams. Some, preferably all, of these will be passive or residual income opportunities. This might include anything from marketing someone else’s product on line through to share trading and property investment. Be judicious and do your homework. Starting as a click bank marketer can quickly lead to beginning your own business in a field that is growing. Follow not just your passion but growth patterns and strong evidence of market size and predicted growth. Again, will these opportunities (or a collection of them) provide sufficient wealth to realise your goals?

Survival Tip 4 : Take Action

Hemingway tells us, ‘Never mistake motion for action’. Things will not change for you unless you change your choices. This is not an exercise in positive thinking – although your beliefs will most certainly drive your actions – this is an exercise in behavioural change. You need to be ‘being’ different by making different choices, then you need to be ‘doing’ things differently to have different results. One of the most powerful methods for this is developing a daily practice. Assess your daily activities against your short, medium and long term goals. If your activities aren’t supporting the direction in which you have decided you want to go, then why are you spending time on them? If your activities aren’t generating health, wealth or happiness, reassess and recalibrate.

Elizabeth Siebert is a Master of Economics, international policy adviser, writer and entrepreneur. She is Director of Extraordinary Life Enterprises, a company that assists people all over the world to change their behaviour to create wealth and freedom.

photo credit: rayced

Government grant search is not that hard compared to the days back then. If you are searching for grants, you have came to the right place. In this article, you will be shown all the various sources which you can get hold of a list of government grants that are available for various purposes. Without further ado, let’s get started with all the resources for government grants.

Government Grant Search Resource #1 Government Sites

Government sites such as grant.gov and those related to business and women rights will normally have a list of grants related to users visiting the sites. You can safely assume that all the grants listed there are complete. However, there might be grants that are not declared on these sites due to delays in updating.

Most of the time, you can even apply, register and update your information with regards to grants that you are interested in on the site itself. Spend a few hours on these government sites and you will learn a lot about government grants and what are the requirements that you need to fulfill in order to get your application approved.

Government Grant Search Resource #2 Business Associations

If you are getting started in the world of business, you must join a business society or a business association. This is because these organizations provide a huge amount of information in terms of where to get capital funding and one of them will be from government grants.

Apart from milking directly from these parties, you can always try to network with fellow members so that they will update you whenever there is a new grant available for entrepreneurs. They might even share some tricks that you can use to boost the chances of having your government grant application approved.

Government Grant Search Resource #3 Government Grants Guide

There are a lot of government grants guide on the Internet alone. If you search around a little using various search engines, you will find that a lot of sites are offering these guides for educational purposes. However, you need to be aware that there are guides that you need to pay for. Although they are not really expensive, you shouldn’t be spending your money on them because there are a handful of good government guides that are available free of charge.

Getting yourself one of these guides will not only show you the list of government grants that you can apply for. You will even learn about what are exact methods to use for your application in order to guarantee your government grant application approval.

If you are interested in getting a FREE complete government grants guide where you can do all your government grant search, click on US free government grants now. Yes, you will only need to pay for the shipping of the materials to your house and you will be getting government grants information that are customized to your needs.

Don’t second doubt. Tricks of application change with the change in government policies. Get it for free now at http://www.supergreatoffer.com/apply-for-free-government-grant/