Why You Should Freelance First
Test the waters before you sink your capital and time into a new venture you may not enjoy running. Read more
Research and Development
Recent Research and Development Articles
5 Apps I Wish Existed
Contributing editor John Brandon could use a few good mobile apps to make his life easier. Any takers on these ideas? Read more
Advice From the 23-Year-Old Who Said No to Mark Cuban
Want to scale quickly? Meet the young entrepreneur who did it after he turned down a $200,000 check on "Shark Tank." Read more
5 Reasons to Get Your Hands Dirty
This exec spent nine months doing every job at his company before becoming CEO. What he learned helped him triple revenue in five years. Read more
How to Ride Another Company's Coattails
Lots of start-ups make their money by identifying other companies' biggest hits and developing complementary products. You can, too. Read more
Write a Business Plan or Not? 2 Experts Debate
Writing a business plan could be a really great idea or a really bad one, depending who you ask. Two start-up experts make their cases. Read more
How to Automate Your Business for Fast Growth
Automation isn't just for corporate giants. Use these eight tips to get your business running more efficiently and effectively. Read more
7 Iconic Bands that Changed the Business of Music
These trailblazers all sparked major changes in the music business. Use their examples as inspiration to shake up your industry. Read more
The Power of Not Solving Problems
The next time an employee tells you about a problem, stop, listen--but whatever you do, don't propose a solution. Read more
Trendy Start-ups Are Hot--Until They're Not
Follow consumer fads, and you may get a serious case of whiplash. One investor explains why he only has eyes for enterprise companies. Read more
What Your Customers Would Love to Tell You
Customers are your best insight into launching a new product if only you're willing to listen. Read more
3 Tactics to Breed Innovation
Great ideas need adequate space to develop. Follow these three rules to make sure you stay out of the way. Read more
How to Think Big: 3 Ways
Do all your ideas seem small and boring? Here's a different approach plus three tips that will get you to the BIG idea. Read more
Outsourcing Is Overrated
Labor costs aren't everything. Just ask this Taiwanese entrepreneur--she built a thriving manufacturing business right here in the U.S. Read more
One Practical Way to Upgrade Company Culture
For one day out of every month, don't focus on planning or executing anything. Focus on this instead. Read more
Coming Soon: The Earth, Live From Space
Meet the scrappy young start-up aiming to be the first to offer streaming video of Earth from the International Space Station. Read more
Surprising Way to Get Employees to Stay
How's this for counterintuitive? Maybe the best way to get employees to stick around is to encourage them to leave. Read more
Why an IPO Can Kill Your Innovation
A Stanford study finds that tech companies undergo a major innovation slowdown after going public. Read more
Train Yourself to Be an Optimist: 4 Steps
Optimistic people are happier, healthier, more successful, and have longer lives. You can be one of them. Read more
Go From Employee to Entrepreneur: 4 Tips
Use the skills, industry knowledge, and contacts you have today to set your business up for success. Read more
So You Want to Write a Business Book...
Inc.com columnist and five-time author Phil Simon reflects on five hard-won lessons every aspiring writer needs to know. Read more
6 Steps to Productive Brainstorming
Think big and follow these tips to make the most of your next brainstorming session. Read more
Groovy: New Communes Cater to Entrepreneurs
Forget peace and love. These communes aim to see what happens when smart entrepreneurs spend every minute together. Read more
One Test Every Entrepreneur Must Take
Why you decide to start a business of your own matters almost as much as what kind of business you start. Read more
Hardware Wants to Be Free
Technology is getting cheap--so cheap, in fact, that gadgets alone may cease to be the moneymakers. Tech start-ups, take note. Read more
Easiest Way to Win Friends and Influence People
Charm is good and cleverness never hurts. But there's one very simple thing you can do to create instant rapport with someone else. Read more
Where to Invest Your Tech Budget
Before you decide how to spend your tech dollars, check out where other companies are investing. Read more
3D Printing Has a Bright Future With Dark Problems
DIY gunsmithing is just one potential issue 3D printer companies must decide how to handle. But there are many more risks on the horizon. Read more
Cars: The Next Big Advertising Platform?
Connected cars are taking mobile marketing to a whole new level. Here's what to expect. Read more
3 Steps to Turn Around a Failing Company
"Turnaround King" Grant Cardone says you may think you know what's ailing your company--but you're almost certainly wrong. Read more
7 Easily Avoidable Reasons Why Entrepreneurs Fail
You have no excuse not to see these potential hurdles coming--so don't let them trip you up. Read more
4 Tips to Expand Your Niche Business
The potential opportunities might be much bigger and broader than you think. Think outside your niche with these tips. Read more
Rise of the Microserver
Go ahead and keep your data in-house. Thanks to some of the macro names in computing, servers are going micro and getting more efficient. Read more
Biggest Tech Trends of 2012
After a year's worth of hardware and software news, these six developments are the ones to remember. Read more
Why Didn't Fred Wilson (& Other VCs) Invest in 2012?
A handful of prominent tech VCs didn't make any early-stage start-up investments in 2012. Is it time for founders to worry? Read more