Need to boost your sales prowess? Want to make money on the iPhone or be a hit on Etsy? Over the past year, Inc.com has become the source for how-to guides on every aspect of entrepreneurship. Here are the 20 guides Inc.com readers loved best.
Whether you're looking for tips on motivating your employees, need advice on going solo for the first time, or could use some help writing a business plan, Inc.com is the source for comprehensive how-to guides for entrepreneurs. We've decided to see which of our 400-plus 2010 guides our readers loved the most (well, clicked on the most), and have compiled them here. There are some surprise hits, including the guide that topped our list, How to Sell Handmade Goods on Etsy, and some expected winners, including guides on cold-calling, negotiating, and landing your first million-dollar sale. Let us know which is your favorite, and what you'd like to learn about in 2011.
1. How to Sell Handmade Goods on Etsy
Last year Etsy helped mostly home-based start-ups sell $180 million-worth of goods. The Brooklyn-based team behind this online marketplace for handmade crafts is helping many sellers profit handsomely by offering them a platform to sell their merchandise. In 2010, more than a few aspiring entrepreneurs successfully launched their design and craft labels on Etsy, allowing them to quit day jobs to pursue their dream career. With that, maybe it's not such a surprise so many Inc. readers wanted to learn how to make it on Etsy. Read more.
2. How to Run a One-person Business
So you're sick of your corporate gig and dream of making a living as a solopreneur? Actually, you're not alone (pun intended). And that's the topic of Inc.com's second-most-popular guide of 2010. There are now more than 20 million single-person businesses in the United States, accounting for more than three-fourths of all U.S. businesses, according to recent U.S. Census data. The prospect of running your own business has some obvious appeal. Being your own boss lets you set your own schedule–at least theoretically. Still, one person can only handle so much. Here's how to make the most of your time and efforts. Read more.
3. How to Write a Great Business Plan
A great business plan is a living, breathing blueprint for your business that can help you navigate and manage your company while also helping potential investors, partners, lenders, and others understand your business strategy and your chances at success. A business plan is never quite finished because you're always revising it, reviewing it, and building upon it. In fact, more important to your business' future than having a written, 30-page, coil-bound plan to distribute is the business planning process that you undertake on a regular basis to keep your ship headed in the right direction without losing sight of your long-term destination. Read more.
4. 7 Tips for Motivating Employees
Any CEO knows that employee motivation is a key to individual performance, group productivity, and maintaining a pleasant office culture. So how do you do it exactly? For a dose of inspiration on how to motivate your workers, we've compiled the best recent pointers on the subject from articles published in Inc. magazine and on Inc.com. Read more.
5. How to Land a Million-Dollar Sale
It's the singular goal of many entrepreneurs: landing a million-dollar sale. Nailing down that major-league client or dream contract often marks the transition from a nice little business to an influential industry player. But getting that first big sale is sometimes easier said than done because winning such a contract rarely comes down to being the lowest bidder. Read more.
6. How to Improve Your Cold-Calling Skills
Let's face it: Nobody really enjoys making cold calls. But the ability to spark an almost immediate connection remains a crucial skill to have whether you are a business owner, job seeker or even a volunteer looking to raise money. Here's a guide to closing more deals with fewer dials. Read more.
7. 10 Things to Do Before You Start Your Start-up
Is your great idea good enough? Can it grow in this slow economy? Can it become profitable, and return on any investments it requires? Well, there's no way to know until you try, right? Hardly. There are some ways to prepare yourself, test your idea, and improve it before you actually build a company around it. We compiled the best examples from recent Inc. articles and Inc.com guides of tips for the very early steps of building a start-up. Read more.
8. How to Use Social Networking Sites to Drive Business
This guide, part of January's Social Media Tool Kit, has proved useful for small-business owners all year. It includes advice for small businesses on using social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn, and how to integrate these tools into your company's marketing and recruiting efforts. Read more.
9. 7 Deadly Web Design Mistakes
Flash is cool, right? And that lovely welcome screen and information-rich homepage are just perfect. Or are they? We talked to six top designers and creative directors about their Web design pet peeves. What makes these pros cringe might surprise you. This vaguely Halloween-themed guide was the year's ninth most popular how-to read on Inc.com. Read more.
10. How to Manage a One-person Sales Force
