Inc. Online Exclusives: February 2010

 

1. Start a Business From Home

Check out Inc.'s annual report about home-based businesses, which includes a look at successful companies run out of bedrooms and garages, ideas for businesses that you can build from home, and a guide to the best home-office technology.

2. Master Marketing via Social Media

Interested in raising your profile -- or, better yet, finding sales leads -- through sites such as Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and Twitter? Check out "The Business Owner's Social Media Toolkit" for tips on how to raise your visibility on social networks.

3. Study the Wisdom of Peter Drucker

Known widely as the father of management, Peter Drucker formulated many concepts about business that we now take for granted. To mark the 100th anniversary of his birth, we catalog some of Drucker's most fascinating ideas.

4. Find Out How to Deal With an Employee Who Becomes a Competitor

In a video created by Inc.com for American Express's OPEN Forum, Street Smarts columnist Norm Brodsky answers a reader's question on how to deal with a salesperson who has left to start a similar business. The solution, says Brodsky, isn't to go after the wayward worker. Rather, it's to reevaluate your hiring practices.

5. Learn How to Price a Business Service

Pricing a service is often more difficult than pricing a product, because it can be harder to pinpoint your costs and, therefore, calculate your gross margin. Plus, competitors in service industries have greater flexibility to undercut prices. Here's how to price a service wisely.

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