What's Online: July/August 2009

Contest: The Search for America's Best Lemonade Stand

Calling all business-savvy kids, ages 5 to 12: Summer's here, and that means Inc.com's annual Best Lemonade Stand in America contest is in full swing. To read the official contest rules, submit an entry, and browse profiles of our featured lemonade stand of the week, go to

New Blog!: Money-Saving Tips for Small-Business Owners

By Brad Wilson, founder and CEO of BradsDeals.com

Looking for accounting software? Wilson suggests you check out the free consumer site Mint.com: "The site's budgeting, bill reminders, and e-mail alerts are as handy for small businesses as they are for consumers...and the automation is a huge time-saver," he writes.

Great Leaders

Mary Kay Ash of Mary Kay Cosmetics Her instincts as a leader were in retrospect progressive. She was, for example, an early proponent of work-life balance who encouraged sales reps to take control of their lives. "They are presidents, literally, of their own little companies, and they can make them as big as they want," she told Inc. in 1985. To read more profiles of leaders and to vote for your favorite, go to www.inc.com/30years/php/vote.php.

Slide Show: Six Ways to Be a Better CEO

Entrepreneurs tend to demand as much of themselves as they demand of their employees. So when we asked a group of CEOs which managerial skill they would most like to improve, we knew we would get some interesting answers. Here, six CEOs, including Twitter's Evan Williams and Enterprise Rent-A-Car's Andy Taylor, identify the skill they would like to strengthen.

Most Popular

1. The Best Industries for Starting a Business

2. Joel Spolsky: Why Circuit City Failed, and Why B&H Thrives

3. 7 Businesses to Watch Out For

4. 10 Free (or Cheap) Tools for Start-ups

5. Nolan Bushnell: How to Acquire a Company for Free

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The Ultimate Business Tune-up for Times Like These

In a tough economy with credit extremely tight, big investments are not an option for most companies. Yet no business can afford to stand still. We asked our favorite entrepreneurs for the tips and tricks they have used to pilot their businesses through difficult times. The result: 23 things you can do right now to energize your employees, wow your customers, and get your business back on track

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