I have an online business and it's going pretty well, but I've hit a wall: I want to establish and set up an 800 toll free number for customers to call, a number that goes straight to voicemail, but lets me easily call them back to answer questions or concerns, help track shipments, etc. But how do I set up a toll free number without paying a ton of money?

Yo Dave! So I'm looking 2 trademark my group's name, and once its trademarked will I get a certain certificate of trademark to show it's legit?

I've spent the last year or two updating and adding to my LinkedIn profile and it has a ton of information about me. But now the job I'm applying for wants a resume from me and I really don't want to create one from scratch. Is there a way to export my profile information from LinkedIn so I can sidestep the problem?

I contacted PayPal and got their little blue triangle card reader for use with the "PayPal Here" application, so I can process credit card transactions while at my art booth at the local street fairs. Terrific. But how do I actually use the app for these sort of transactions?

I'm trying to come up with a new name for our software product, having been informed by a customer that a really big firm that has lots of lawyers already has our current name trademarked. Ugh. We don't have money for a lawyer at this juncture, is there some way I can do a trademark or registered trademark search online?

I wanna ask you about LinkedIn. What's the best practice to fill out the CURRENT POSITION Field when you are not working and looking for a job?

I own a pretty successful bike shop in a college town, and I still handle all our books. I can never seem to make sense of how much it's really costing me to accept credit cards. I've switched three times in the past 8 years and every time a new sales rep tells me he can beat my old rate. The last guy's rate was lower than the previous one, but then it jumped up after only 3 months and now it's higher than my original rate, and on top of that it will cost me a boatload if I cancel early! How can I protect myself from the confusing and tricky credit card processing industry and, for that matter, is there any way I can get out of this slimy contract with my current card processing service?

A new client recently asked me if they could pay my invoice with a credit card. I'm not set up for credit cards, however, but remember that there's a way that I can use my Paypal account for this. I know there'll be a small transaction fee, which they're willing to add, but how do I send them a request to pay me? I don't want their credit card info...

I've had it with eBay. I list things and either get no bids or I find that the bids are from accounts that are bogus or people overseas who have no intention of closing the deal. It's a hassle and I just don't find it worth the trouble. Instead, I'd like to try selling some things on Amazon.com, which seems more legit and less plagued by scams. Can you offer up a basic tutorial on becoming an Amazon merchant and selling goods on Amazon.com?

Hey Dave. I am 17 years old and i have been working with computers since i was 6 (apple Macintosh; floppy always got stuck). I am good doing stuff to them like removing viruses, upgrading OS, etc. Anyway I want to open a small business in my home, where I can fix computers around my neighborhood. I already started some time ago, by means i have some good references here. My question is, I heard that you need to have some kind of degree to be able to fix personal computers, And without one you could be prosecuted by the law. Is this true? Should i stop fixing computers?

I'm graduating with my Bachelor's degree and am excited to finally be done with school, but I'm also really nervous about getting out into the job force. In particular, I'm scared about going on job interviews. What kind of questions do they ask and what are the best answers?

This is a guest post from Adarsh Thampy.

Not many business owners are directly involved in marketing their business. Why? Probably because they have an employee or entire department handling marketing and sales.

Most entrepreneurs and small business owners aren't entitled to such luxuries. Many are just starting out. So I get questions from them about how to market their business with minimum cost and maximum effectiveness. Here's what I suggest...

As part of reinventing myself professionally, I want to be a system administrator with networking knowledge. I thought that was the typical thing to do, most likely something windows related with their boatloads of certifications not including experience needed to get into the work field.

I talked to someone that has been in the role of system administrator, however, and he actually pointed me in a different direction: He dissed Windows...

If I really wanted to learn something that's been around for decades with little changes, and in great demand then he said I should learn the foundation of UNIX, as everyone in the world needs a UNIX Admin. The market's saturated with sys admin in windows/help desk/supports etc. and if you wanted to work in another country, I'd have no issues with language, computer wise. And that I can work in any type of industry as UNIX is the main backbone for 90% of commercial organizations.

What do you think, Dave? What's the core skillset and training needed to be a successful system administrator in the next decade?

My online business has recently started receiving unsolicited orders from clients in a couple of foreign countries, so I've decided to create translated websites for each of those countries to see what the demand is like. The problem is, I'm not sure exactly how I should optimize these sites properly so they'll rank in the foreign language search engines, especially since I don't speak either language! Any advice?

I have written a book and I want to self-publish, but I am not sure how to choose a self-publishing company. Which self-publishing company is best and what's the difference between them anyway?

I have an iPhone 4 and while I haven't seen any major problems with the reception based on how I hold the phone, what the heck, I'd like to get a free case through the program Jobs announced earlier in July. How do I score a free Apple iPhone 4 bumper or case??

On the surface, affiliate marketing one of the best start-up businesses around, as it requires very little in the way of capital investment and all you really need to get started are a computer, electricity, and an Internet connection (all of which most of us already have). Plus a lot of elbow grease and creativity, especially in the early days.

More and more, people are finding that Skype is a great alternative to picking up the phone and calling a friend or colleague, whether they're just a few miles away or halfway around the globe. I use the service to collaborate with people from around the United States and since we both run the free app (get it at skype.com) it's completely free for all parties involved. With a bit of fiddling, you can even set up three way conference calls.

Or you can do what I do: use Skype as a way to record podcasts (I'm involved with two: Boulder Open Podcast and Three In Sight) even when everyone can't sit down in the same room in front of the same microphone. But how do you record Skype calls? That's not a feature built into the application.

That's where Call Recorder for Skype from Ecamm Network came in: I downloaded a copy of this commercial application ($19.95) and installed it on my Mac.

I'm looking to rent office space for my half-dozen employees and am completely baffled by the commercial real estate listings. For example, what does "NNN" mean? Some listings refer to "CAM charges" and one even refers to the space as a "white box". What's a good rule of thumb for how much space I need per employee too?

My son and his friends are really into a iPhone program called Foursquare, and whenever they go somewhere, they "check in" so that they can find each other. Neat idea. Is there some way that I can add my own restaurant to the list of places where people can check in so that they'll see we're popular and perhaps check us out?

Hi, my name is Viola and I'm going to be a mom, a single one but a mom and I am a photographer. I've had my own show for my photos and I was wondering if you can guide me to finding some websites that will buy my stock photos of Colorado and other places. I really need help so I am able to save money for baby stuff so if you can't I'm sorry for wasting your time, I just have a very strong passion for photography.

I've finally gotten my iPhone application published by Apple and it now appears in the iTunes App Store. Super cool. Now, however, I have a few people asking for "promo codes" rather than actually wanting to pay for the app. Since they might offer me some great visibility, I am fine with sending those codes, but don't know how. Help!

My online business has recently started receiving unsolicited orders from clients in a couple of foreign countries, so I've decided to create translated websites for each of those countries to see what the demand is like. The problem is, I'm not sure exactly how I should optimize these sites properly so they'll rank in the foreign language search engines, especially since I don't speak either language! Any advice?

I have written a book and I want to self-publish, but I am not sure how to choose a self-publishing company. Which self-publishing company is best and what's the difference between them anyway?

I have an iPhone 4 and while I haven't seen any major problems with the reception based on how I hold the phone, what the heck, I'd like to get a free case through the program Jobs announced earlier in July. How do I score a free Apple iPhone 4 bumper or case??

On the surface, affiliate marketing one of the best start-up businesses around, as it requires very little in the way of capital investment and all you really need to get started are a computer, electricity, and an Internet connection (all of which most of us already have). Plus a lot of elbow grease and creativity, especially in the early days.

More and more, people are finding that Skype is a great alternative to picking up the phone and calling a friend or colleague, whether they're just a few miles away or halfway around the globe. I use the service to collaborate with people from around the United States and since we both run the free app (get it at skype.com) it's completely free for all parties involved. With a bit of fiddling, you can even set up three way conference calls.

Or you can do what I do: use Skype as a way to record podcasts (I'm involved with two: Boulder Open Podcast and Three In Sight) even when everyone can't sit down in the same room in front of the same microphone. But how do you record Skype calls? That's not a feature built into the application.

That's where Call Recorder for Skype from Ecamm Network came in: I downloaded a copy of this commercial application ($19.95) and installed it on my Mac.

I'm looking to rent office space for my half-dozen employees and am completely baffled by the commercial real estate listings. For example, what does "NNN" mean? Some listings refer to "CAM charges" and one even refers to the space as a "white box". What's a good rule of thumb for how much space I need per employee too?

My son and his friends are really into a iPhone program called Foursquare, and whenever they go somewhere, they "check in" so that they can find each other. Neat idea. Is there some way that I can add my own restaurant to the list of places where people can check in so that they'll see we're popular and perhaps check us out?

Hi, my name is Viola and I'm going to be a mom, a single one but a mom and I am a photographer. I've had my own show for my photos and I was wondering if you can guide me to finding some websites that will buy my stock photos of Colorado and other places. I really need help so I am able to save money for baby stuff so if you can't I'm sorry for wasting your time, I just have a very strong passion for photography.

I've finally gotten my iPhone application published by Apple and it now appears in the iTunes App Store. Super cool. Now, however, I have a few people asking for "promo codes" rather than actually wanting to pay for the app. Since they might offer me some great visibility, I am fine with sending those codes, but don't know how. Help!

[This is a guest article written by entrepreneur Zack Shapiro of the University of Colorado, Boulder]

I live in Boulder, Colorado, home of TechStars, a slew of bloggers and start-ups galore. Everyone seems to have their own great idea for the next big thing. Start-ups come in all shapes and sizes; they aren't all websites either. A start-up can be anything from a new city service to a catering company to an iPhone app.

When someone has a great idea they usually need money to make their idea a reality. But how do they get the money they need to take their dream from a prototype or a piece of paper, to a product that others can use, buy or otherwise interact with?

There are three major types of funding that entrepreneurs often seek out. Those three types are available in the forms of Friends and Family (commonly called F&F), Angel Investors and Venture Capital. Each require those interested to present or pitch their ideas in hopes that the particular investor will be interested in funding a project that aims, down the road, to be a self-sustaining business. Investors exist to make dreams come true for those that would otherwise not be able to fund, say, a 20 person staff over four years as their product evolves and matures.

I've been using Keynote for presentations for a long time (Keynote's part of the iWork package from Apple and only runs on Mac OS X). Recently a friend told me about "Keynote Remote", an app that runs on the Apple iPhone and lets you control the presentation, even if you're not facing your computer. Sounds cool, and I downloaded it, but can't figure out how to get the two to talk together.

I have an accessory line that I have started and will also be putting my canvases up for sale. I need to create a way for people to contact me and also make them able to purchase my products off the Internet. People have told me to start a blog, others said a website. I know it costs money to keep a blog and a website, but I am completely clueless. How much should I be paying to have a website and a blog? Which is better for my business?

We have been pitching a large corporate client on our marketing services for a while now, and and after putting a ton of time into a killer Powerpoint deck, they suddenly want to disseminate it to their staff before signing our contract. I'm not too sure about this, and am thinking that instead of just sending them the preso we could send them a secure PDF, ideally one that would prohibit them copying any data out or printing the content. Is that doable, and if so, how do we get our iMac to do it?

I have a business idea, pitch and domain name that has been accepted by a company to take forward.

The deal they are looking for are:

1. I pay 4k upfront
2. We have a 80/20 split in my favor until I recover my 4k
3. After that we run at 50/50 split of revenue
4. We have joint ownership of the company (50/50 split)

Is this normal? Should I be willing to give up a 50% stake in the business vs having a separate arrangement on a 50/50 revenue split but no stake in the company?

The tech gossip blog TechCrunch had a hacker send them confidential business documents from Twitter, obtained by a European-based hacker who had broken into their servers. Not so good. How did he do it, though, and is there any risk of my Twitter account being compromised?

I'm thinking about buying a domain from someone else and have no idea how to figure out what it's worth. Do you have any tips on whether $1000 is ridiculously expensive or a reasonable deal for it?

I wanted to reach out to a local movie theater to see if they woud pay me a small fee to keep a banner ad for their films/theaters on my movie reviews site. Even if it's a few pennies I'd be ok with it ... better than nada. I have their pr contact for the ad divsion ... any tips on proceeding?

Finally, finally, I got my degree and am now starting to think about going on job interviews and getting my first non-college job. I've had some jobs while here at Uni, but I'm just wondering what to expect. What are the most common questions I can expect to be asked on an interview?

Dave, we're trying to figure out, should we set up our business as an LLC or S-Corp? In particular, an LLC Corporation instead of an LLC partnership, though we have heard from a few people that a partnership LLC is best. What's the difference and what works best with three -- unequal ownership -- founders?

I got a so called business opportunity a few weeks ago on a company that is supposed to give 1000-2000 times returns. I did not go overboard and I did like the company the PR person was selling. Since I bought the stock (there was about 3 million sold in 3 days) the stock has had limited liquidity. In fact 0 buying most days. My question is is this a good or bad sign?

I have been honing my computer skills to try and make some money and start a business. The only problem is i seem to be having troubles finding jobs. Pretty much I'm doing free computer diagnostic. I pick up the computer, diagnose every aspect of how its working all for free. After that I contact the customer and discuss the problem(s) they may be having and discuss were to go with it.

This is a really good calling for me and I'm really good at it, not to mention I love doing it. So pretty much what I'm wondering is if you have any insight on how to promote my business and get some new clients. Keep in mind I'm only 22 and don't have money for advertising and such.

I need some advice. My wepage is more or less being held ransom by my webmaster because of her knowledge of html. If I need to make a change of any kind I need to wait a week plus for anything to get done. Now, she wants to charge me an up-front fee for any changes before they are done. I can't even put on any links because I have to check with her first. How tuff is it to use html and if I was able to learn it how can I get my web page away from her?

[This is a contributed article...]

We all know that almost all the countries have been hit by the economic slowdown. Actually recession has not been set into action as yet while I write this article. When you read this it may have but it is predicted that recession will set in my mid June or July 2009. Most people confuse recession and economic slowdown. Job cuts have been on the rise. People are seeing lesser incentives and the whole world is experiencing a financial crisis. Anyway I will use the word recession throughout this article to avoid confusion. Is it so bad that we cannot recover from it in any way? I don't think so. The main reason I believe that grows this recession is that most of us just sit and think about it alone.

I say think different!!!

Think about what you want always. Here are 28 tips to recover from recession and cut down on your costs, improve your conversions and more. What I am going to say now maybe just opposite to what you may have believed to be true or what your business consultant may have told you. Trust me on this, this is the truth.

I am an HR person but right now I have given a task about marketing one of our websites for business. I am kinda new to it, I need to know what is pay per click and how website advertising works? Simply said, how do I market a website and make it sponsored link on Google, Yahoo and other search engines?

Earlier you talked about the online aspects of how to host a social or business meetup, talking about how to pick a venue, coming up with a group theme, scheduling, and how to actually invite people or spread the word about your event. (see how to organize a meetup or meeting). All very helpful, but please do share, how do you have a meetup of people who probably have never met each other run smoothly?

I have been inspired by some of the evening meetings I've attended, both those that are 'meetups' and those that are more informal. I want to host one of my own but don't know how to start. Can you give me some tips to get started, Dave?

Trying to start a business that I know will dominate the fitness industry.
Stuck in a rut, try to write the business plan and raise funds. Any
advise?

Hi Dave this is my first time writing to you. I am going to be letting one of my employee's go and I'm not sure how long I can wait to give him his last check. I want to let him go tomorrow the 2nd. Paychecks won't come until Monday the 5th. Is that too long?

"The Great Depression." "The Worst Recession in our Lifetime!" It's hopeless - what can you do?

As a business owner or manager, it really depends on where you place your focus, because it turns out there is a lot you can do. Here are five things you can do right now to start to change things for your company.

#1 - "Give better Service - and remember the 'little things'."

The little things aren't so little - especially when customers are looking for reasons to cut back on doing business with you. What can you do to distinguish your business from your competition? Start with the easiest ones - get creative!

One restaurant owner changed how she presented receipts to her customers. Instead of those old, dirty black plastic folders or trays, she gave presented the bill in an ornamental box, or sometimes in a music box. This set her apart in her customers' eyes and made them feel special.

I just launched a new company with two of my pals and we're already arguing about job titles. I want to be "CEO" but they're saying that makes no sense because we should be peers and our titles should reflect the equality of our positions in the firm. It's kind of a goofy thing to argue about, but we're rather stuck.

Times are getting tight, the economy's in a nose dive and I'm one of the many who find myself laid off and without steady employment prospects (aka a job). Rather than freak out, however, I'm trying to make sure that I'm doing the very best I can to try and get a new job. I'm using LinkedIn, Craigslist, and all my personal networks, but I'm unsure in this day of job sites and database searches whether I should still be using traditional application strategies. Specifically, do I need to both with a cover letter when I apply for a job via email?

I'm looking into renting a commercial space in a local office building in town but before I call up the lease agent want to understand some of the basics so I can understand if I can afford it. What's baffling me is that some listings are "Net Net" (NN) and others are "Net Net Net". What the heck do those mean?

Q: Dave, with the economy going wacko, the market down and my personal life in a shambles, I've no place to turn and am scared about the future. I realize this is a bit far from your usual tech questions, but where do I go, what can I do? I can't even be productive any more, I don't even want to get out of bed. I sleep, I let dishes pile up, the house is a disaster AND I know that it feeds on itself too. Ugh!

My wife and I have a series of ideas for Apple iPhone Apps, but are not even close to programmers... What would you recommend for us? I am trying to start with writing a document that outlines the Apps...games. From there, do we just turn it over to a programmer? Do we need to worry about property rights, etc.?

As a freelance marketing consultant, I constantly wrestle with the question of how much I should charge for my services. I'm used to charging by the hour, but I have a sense that limits me and would like to move to a project-based fee, but how do I calculate the fee and, for that matter, I'd like to increase my prices so I earn more too. How do I do that and how do I justify my rates to new clients? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Dave. I'm working on some publicity for my little company and have just learned about the importance of search engine optimization. My Mom tells me, however, that visibility comes through press releases, but I have a sense she's hopelessly old school. What's your take on this?

I am quite frankly baffled why a huge company like Google would pay a bunch of programmers to develop yet another web browser, when we have Internet Explorer for Windows from Microsoft, Safari for Mac OS X from Apple, and the great third-party Firefox free web browser for both Mac and PC. What am I not seeing about companies that pay to develop software and then distribute it without charge?

One of the main reasons we don't yet have a blog or other presence online is because the Big Boss is paranoid that we'd be a magnet for negative comments and criticism online. I tell him that it's already out there and he pales and asks how the heck we're supposed to control it. I don't really know how to answer him, though...

I just joined a new company here in Boulder that's started to gain some national attention. That's cool, but the problem is, we don't always get positive publicity. As it's my job to manage our corporate reputation (well, that's not actually my title but it's part of my job responsibilities) I need to find some tools that will help me monitor mentions of the company and how it affects our reputation online. And did I mention that we have no budget for this task?

Like many people, I am fascinated by the idea of making money off my Web site, and have been reading up on all the different options out there. From information products to advertising, I'm pretty sure I understand most of them, except I'm still not quite clear how affiliate programs work. Can you explain?

I'm running a weblog for my company and we have some people from the business community who are adding comments after our blog entries, which is great. Other people who we don't know put in incorrect or off topic remarks and I want to just delete them, but I'm not sure whether that's okay or not. Specifically, isn't it censorship if I delete the remarks people leave on our site?

Hi Dave. I've been trying to build an online business for almost a year now and still don't seem to earn more than pocket change each month. I've tried various approaches, from a drop-shipping e-commerce store to an information-based site with advertising to a course on search engine optimization. None of 'em have worked. So, tell me honestly, how do I really make money online?

You have a custom domain, everyone seems to have a domain for themselves except me. I'm stumped. How do I find an available domain and buy it?

I'm an HR executive and I've very recently started using LinkedIn and found it very interesting and helpful but I'm having problems regarding how to use LinkedIn when it comes to searching for the right people, e.g. I'm particularly searching for managers, or asst.managers in IT industry. How do i locate them on LinkedIn?

I wonder if you can help me with a problem i am having regarding editing an excel spreadsheet, which is driving me mad: I use a Mac Powerbook that has the Microsoft Excel 2008 programme installed. My secretary has a PC upon which is stored all the work files. My Mac is networked to her computer, so I can access all the work files and edit them, print them etc. No worries.

The problem I have is this. My secretary types an excel spreadsheet with 5 columns. She can print it and all 5 columns appear on the page. I can access it and look at the page and all the 5 columns appear. However, if I go into the document and edit it, by say correcting an error, I notice that as soon as I go into the document, a dotted line appears down the right hand side of the page, between the 4th and 5th columns and then if I print it, only four columns appear on the first page and the fifth appears on its own on a separate page.
I have looked at the widths etc of the page set up and they appear the same.

Any ideas as to how I can get it to print all the text on the first page ? I am thinking it is a simple setting adjustment but for the life of me, I cannot work out what to do.

All of a sudden I'm hearing lots of people talking about "reputation management" and "online reputation management". What the heck are they talking about and how does it different from what we've all been doing, trying to put our best foot forward in the digital universe?

I am about to open a new business (hopefully) and was told that blogging can really help - not only with website rankings but for more interest. So, my question comes to this:

If you do a business blog, should you ever delete or edit a customers bad entry about the business? If so, under what circumstances? If no, what if you could tell he was from a competitor and just trashing your business?

Second question, when should you open a business blog? Immediately when your business opens or after some time? Any suggestions here?

I've been assigned to convert some of our documentation and marketing collatoral into French for entry into the European market and am thinking that we can save a lot of money by just using a computer-based translation system. They're supposed to be quite good. Before I do, can you explain exactly how machine language translation works and whether it's as good as hiring a native language translator?

I have been opening and closing Business Plan Pro 2007, I know what I need to get done, I have ideas in my head but a huge writers block. I know the financials needed but I do not know how to work them. What would you recommend for someone like me?

Dave, I heard a Statistic that Colorado has more entrepreneurs per capita then any other state. Is this true? Do you know where I can track this info down and verify it? I am writing an article for a major business magazine and need to be able to cite it.

I've just started to get involved with the world of Internet Marketing events and am a bit confused by something I hear all the time. What's a "JV", Dave, and how do they typically work?

How and what do you need to get into this business? I have two teenage sons who would love to own a dvd rental company. It would be a chance for them to learn and generate money. If you could contact me on how to invest into a machine -- I would appreciate your thoughts.

I have a problem: When I give talks, they're way too short, and I have no idea how to make them longer. I have a *lot* of experience and a *ton* of knowledge to share - but (perhaps from being a lawyer, or maybe the style and personality that begat the profession) I am *very* good at saying what I have to say briefly and to the point (and in a way people can understand) - give me an hour to speak, and I'll have 55 minutes left over. Short, succinct, and to the point. That's how I like *everything* - documents, speeches, explanations.

Sooo... what that means is that I'm *very* bad at padding talks to fill in time. Now, generally when I am speaking, my audiences appreciate short-to-the-point speeches. But sponsors and hosts do not. I typically make up for it by padding in lots of Q&A time, and taking lots of questions, and I'm very good at extemporaneously riffing off a question - and fortunately my areas of expertise make for lots of questions. So how do I make presentations that fill the available time slot, whether it be 45 minutes, 90 minutes, or even a half-day?

I am starting up a cleaning business and I have everything except the bidding estimate down. I don't where to start or how to figure out how much I need to charge my client. Can you please help me? Thanks!

I've been solicited by an organization called Hearts and Hands International, but I'm a bit skeptical that they really are a non-profit. Is there some independent way to check their status?

I keep getting offers in my email for "OEM" software at incredible discounted prices. According to the deals it's legit software from the manufacturers, just without all the usual packaging, and that's why it's so cheap. I am skeptical, though. Dave, what's the scoop?

I am looking to start my own business. I would like to use the name "Tree of Life Studio". I looked this up online, and someone is also using this name for their bus. I am doing a completely different type of bus., in a different state. Can I legally use this name and does a person have the right to this name exclusively? Is this name copyrighted or trademarked?

I have been using LinkedIn for a while now and am starting to get invitations from people who appear to be "networking sharks" or something: they just want to have tons of connections. But I don't know them and I don't want to be connected, but I also don't want to be rude. If I reject them, do they get any sort of notification?

I constantly get into fights with my suppliers because they'll tell me one thing on the phone when I'm placing an order and then bill me at a different rate, claiming that they have no memory of the deal they offered me. I am now thinking that if I just record those phone calls, I'll have a perfect recourse to ensure that they are true to their word, but I'm wondering, is it legal to record phone calls without telling the other party?

My piano instructor (who also happens to be a fairly well-known artist) is interested in selling small prints of one of his paintings in China. I wanted to ask you if it would be cheaper to reproduce the prints here and ship them to China, or send a sample (or several samples) to China to be reproduced there. Also, in regards to distribution, I wondered if you'd know how I could find a company in China that would be willing to buy the prints and sell them. Also, if it helps at all, the prints are about 4"X6", and are fully colored.

I'm looking to improve the close rate on my ecommerce site and have noticed that many successful online stores have various trust, security and hacker-proof seals and certifications. How do they work, which are worthwhile, and how much do they cost? Most importantly, will adding one of these actually improve my online sales?

I wish to start my own computer repair service, i don't have any certs in that field, but i know what each piece of hardware is called and where it goes etc, should i get any certifications before it think about starting my own business?

I've been putting together a store for a few months now, and finally got a source for my specific products (they're about $200-$300 per unit) so I can get started. Problem is, I'm rather aghast to realize that my wholesale source is charging me $25 more per product than my competitors are charging as their retail price. How the heck can I compete?

What happens to the price of a product when it is scarce but in demand?

Hi Dave. I am a former Respiratory Therapist trying to change career, photography is my passion. I would like to start a photo art gallery, landscape art is my calling. I would like to get a business up and running and what I need is good financial advise and help getting started. Any suggestions would be great.

At my job, I constantly hear the phrase "change is good." I don't believe that all change is good. My supervisor put on my evaluation that I did not accept change, which is untrue. How is it that change is good? The change Hitler made to Germany was not good. Productive change is good, but negative change is not. I am feeling insulted.

i am 14 and i absolutely love computers, and i'm always fixing a couple, you know, friends, family... doing stuff in school. I know a lot about computers, i've fixed this computer to a "like-new" state after being told it was impossible after being struck by a certain virus. I would love to set up a small business to bring in cash, a teenager my age needs cash! I feel i know enough about computers, to help people and fix them. The question is, what do you think the challenge would be, or how should i charge people?? Also, how could i advertise this and how would i stay organized without having computers piled up. I know, a silly little pointless question but i need cash, and this is the most fun way for me!!

Can the administrator of the business delete my emails, send emails from my account without me knowing ? This is a big company so the emailing system is professional

My wife doesn’t want to keep growing our business. She started this business three years ago and last year she brought me in to help because of my sales expertise. We have doubled in size in the last year and I thought things were going great. Now she wants to put the brakes on and I can’t figure out what to do about it. We argue constantly. I can’t get her to be rational about this. Do you have any ideas?

Dave, I sell shoes, toys and guitars on my affiliate sites. It seems that the more successful affiliates sell in pretty much one category. Will I be more successful doing this? What are the pros and cons?

I love selling things but am not that strong with numbers. Are there suggestions on ways to organize my SEO, cost per click and stuff, but is easy on my brain?

I've been doing some research on long-term stock pricing trends and need to find data on publicly traded companies. Any clues on where I can find this sort of information back for the last decade or so?

I need to have a weekly conference call with my sales team, scattered throughout the United States, and since not all of them can join us each time, I need to be able to record it and make that recording easily accessible for later download. Is this possible, and if so, how much would it cost for me to set things up for these conference calls?

I've been trying to figure out what people mean when they talk about the "market cap" of a company like Google. Can you explain it to me, please, along with any other useful or interesting tidbits about reading financial data for a publicly traded company?

Hi Dave. I'm the HR VP in a startup and I have a frustrating dilemma. Before my last retreat with our branch managers the executive committee agreed that I could keep everything that happened in the meeting confidential, and just present the finished report to them. We had a very successful retreat with a managers pinpointed several problem areas in the company. I reported the information back to the executive committee as agreed.

The executives weren't too happy with the results of the meeting, but I thought that was the end of it. Later I discovered that the two executives who were most unhappy have been pressuring the managers to tell them exactly what happened at the meeting. What the heck?

I complained at the next executive committee meeting but they just laughed at me and told me to "get over it." I feel like they've compromised my credibility with the managers as well as with the executive committee. I'm appalled by their ethics but I'm completely stymied about what to do next. Any suggestions?

What I was wondering is are their stats on what percentage of users use which search engines. Out of Google, Yahoo! Search, MSN, AOL, AltaVista, AllTheWeb, and LookSmart what percentage does of the users does Google have and so on. Just trying to guage and advise customers on which pay per click medium offers the best bang for your buck. From your book Google is obviously the leader but the others have less viewers and also less advertisers I assume.

Thanks and again I really enjoyed your Google book and am having each of my employees read it.

Do you offer your photos from Colorado Portraits for sale on sites like iStockPhoto.com? Another nice way to make some k'ching! I am working on organizing my bizillion photos to sort out the good from the mediocre so I can start uploading. I have recently been approved as a photographer that can upload photos to sell! Yay!

I'm kinda stuck, Dave. I really want to learn how to really focus my blog efforts so I can gain more business advantage, but I haven't been inspired yet. Worse, I am stuck out in the boonies and don't have any Internet folk or bloggers in the area who can help me advance. So, help, what do I do?

What is the reason people buy stocks from a company. I know the obvious reason is to make money, but there is more. So just "why do people buy stocks"? thank you.

I am currently reading your book Growing Your Business with Google. I am finding it very useful. While I was reading it to prepare myself for something in the future, the future suddenly entered from stage left to center focus. This question is not technical, but I am hoping you might direct me elsewhere. An existing net business of 5 yrs with a growing gross and a positive net now is up for sale. It is a good niche market, a good looking website and definitely ways to expand it. My question is this: Whom can I talk to or where can I read or is there a formula for me to determine the value of this existing net business?

I don't know if this is a physical phishing attempt, a data mining project from Paypal or what, but I just got a letter in the mail from Paypal saying that because of the PATRIOT Act, they needed to confirm the identity of people who open up Paypal Money Market Fund accounts. What the heck? Is this legit and do I really need to do what they say?

I just released a new utility application and want to set up a rudimentary affiliate program that lets me offer a commission to people and sites that promote my app. Problem is, there's a free version and a paid version so I'm not sure how that would all work. In any case, is there some sort of low-cost introductory affiliate management system I could use?

I've been doing lots of online marketing and have recently started using a/b testing to figure out whether a particular picture or headline is going to help with my conversion. it's going well, but there are so many different variables to test. A PPC expert told me that I needed to use something called the Taguchi method to test more variables simultaneously? Can you tell me a bit about this Taguchi method stuff and why it'd be useful?

I've been a long-time affiliate at Amazon.com and was pretty psyched to learn about the oddly-named Omakase program that they recently rolled out (see What is Amazon Omakase?). Last time I logged in to my Associates account, I saw that they now also have an "aStore" program? What's Amazon aStores all about, Dave?

I just sat through a meeting knowing that I'm getting screwed. On the surface I'm being told that everyone must meet new standards and bear the responsibility for carrying them out. These standards were developed in conjunction with the large suppliers to a hospital I serve. I had no input at all. The large suppliers can easily meet the new standards. I'm a very small company--a mom and pop shop. We deliver the same product, but while the large suppliers can easily manage to meet the additional requirements, I can't. I don't know if the administrators are deliberately trying to squeeze out the little guys like us or whether they have no idea about the power squeeze tactics I see. How can I get the hospital administrators to listen to me?

I own a small web design and e-commerce development company and I am reading your Growing Your Business With Google book and I am completely convinced that for our business to prosper all of our employees have to become better experts of the type of information you discuss in your book. The only issue, as you have stated in your book, this business is always changing.

My question is what can myself and my staff do to ensure we are constantly aware of changes in the marketplace and always on top of this ever changing industry? What I am looking for is sites that we could review on a monthly basis, groups that we could join, industry magazines we should subscribe to etc etc. Give me as much information as you can as I know this is the key to our business and I want to ensure we are doing everything we can to increase our knowledge and advise our customers how they can increase their findability and increase their sales from their website.

Is a verbal offer to do business with someone for a cut of profits enforceable? What if someone verbally opts out and then changes their mind and still wants the cut? If you offer are you obligated to stick with them even if the relationship goes south or they bring little value to the business? I know you're not an attorney, so your opinion please.

eBay bought several country-specific auction sites like Baazee.com of India and a similar site in Netherlans. Full list can be found here: eBay Acquisitions. While eBay is a web based company, it could have had its own version in all of the countries like india.ebay.com instead of buying its clones for whopping amounts of money. I would be very thankful to u, if u can explain me this peculiar trend.

I'm interested in watching how the online world responds to the release of the brand-new Volvo c30 coupe, and am wondering what tools are out there to make it easy to accomplish. I know that I can use something like Google, but that seems pretty inefficient. Also, I'm imagining that this is probably a more general question.

Bit offbeat, but I'm wondering if there are any tools or Web sites or services online that can help me ascertain the value of my house? I'm renting a place and the owner has asked if I'd be interested in buying it, but I have no idea what it's worth. Any suggestions?

One of our suppliers has completed a job for us and shut down his business. My boss doesn't want to pay bill for his services. My boss justifies this because if something goes wrong with the completed job, the supplier won't be there to fix the problem. I think he just wants to avoid paying just because he can get away with it, and I think we owe the money and should pay it. I can't go over my bosses head about this or I'll risk my own job though. Can you give me ideas on how else to convince my boss to do the right thing? If I can't, I may need to quit just to live with myself. This feels like a trap and whatever I do, I lose. Help!

I've been working for almost a year on building my online business and after having attended a couple of conferences and talking to a lot of different people, I'm pleased with the progress I've made. However, I'm a big believer in my Dad's adage that to be a winner you have to hang out with winners, so I'd like to ask you, Dave, what groups are you in? Where do you hang out online? Where would you recommend I connect to other successful entrepreneurs?

I don't get it, and frankly I'm a bit freaked out: I just got an email message from a company I'd never heard of that said it had matched a couple of possible jobs to my resume, but I never went to their site, never uploaded a resume, and have no idea how they get all that information about me? What's the scoop, DaveT?

I signed up for the elance.com site and submitted a job for which I sought assistance, but after getting all my responses - 17 bids! - I found out from my boss that we aren't going to be doing that project after all, due to what he calls a "strategic repositioning of the company". How do I cancel the project without getting in trouble with elance.com?

It's World Cup time and this year my mates and I want to use a spreadsheet to keep track of the games and our wagers (uh, all in fun, of course!) so I thought it'd be cool to use the new Google Spreadsheets program to do this. But I have no bloody idea how to get started. Can you help us out while we're busy rooting for our team in the games?

I'm in a pretty competitive business and I am noticing that many of my competitors have tons of great testimonials to build up their credibility. But I'm skeptical. How can they launch a site with 20 perfect testimonials and no sales? Right now I display a few authentic testimonials from satisfied customers. However, since I didn't write them myself, they aren't as punchy. Do you suggest I follow suit and make some up myself?

I'm just starting out with my own business, importing clothes and jewelry from Jamaica, and just had someone ask how I do "invoice aging". What the heck is invoice aging, Dave, and why would I want to do it?

I'm not talking about employees, I'm more curious about whether it'd be worth buying a few shares of tech companies to gain access to special shareholder discounts. Do companies do that sort of thing, or am I in the twilight zone?

I read your previous article about How to get quoted in the newspaper but I have to say that I really don't quite understand how this PRLEADS service works. Can you offer an example of how it all fits together?

I just got a warning from a colleague that I need to ensure that our weblog needs to be HIPAA complaint because I've ended up having a lot of ER nurses join our community and share stories about life in the emergency room. What the heck? What's HIPAA and why do I need to worry about it?

Dave, I feel like I've been pretty successful in my local market, but I really want to push my business to the next level, earn more and generate more profit. Rather than rely on word of mouth locally in my community here in Montana, I want to have clients throughout the United States and perhaps overseas. How would you recommend I proceed to grow into the future?

My Dad the lawyer just told me that to protect myself as the host of a discussion forum and popular weblog, I really need to ensure that I have a DMCA Notice on my site. What's that and how should I proceed.

My question is about in-house affiliate programs. How do you do it? What is the best, most stable software? I found AllAffilatePro software. I don't know anything about it. Do you need to bring in an ad server? Love to hear your POV on this.

I have experience with Commission Junction at a former job. I'd like to see if we can improve our ROI by bring it in-house. I most likely can hire a full time manager in this position. I work for a start-up in San Diego. We do financial loans and will hopefully be up on running soon.

I have a small ebook I'm trying to sell by using some Google AdWords adverts (and other links), but for the life of me, I can't seem to get any of the people who come to the information page for the book to convert into buyers. Are there best practices with these targeted pages?

This is a weird question, but I seem to recall that Paypal used to have a feature where I could "beam" money to someone else with a cellphone, but when I go to the site today, I can't find anything about it. Is there any way to do this?

After a meeting with my IT group a question was raised that received a split vote. Could you steer us in the right direction? The question: Should a web based company make customers register before making a purchase? If so, why?

I'm really appreciating your series of articles on the LinkedIn system, and am now ready to start inviting some of my colleagues now that I have my profile set up and such. Can you tell me how to do that, and perhaps also share some best practices for inviting others to join?

I'm still on the LinkedIn learning curve, but I do have a profile now and have invited a few of my friends and colleagues to link up with me. All of a sudden I now have a "request to forward" an introduction from someone I don't know to one of my friends. What do I do?

Alright, Dave, I see you quoted all the time in the mainstream media, from MSNBC to CNN.com, the Christian Science Monitor to wire stories for the Associated Press, the BBC, and more. I know you're an expert and all, but surely you aren't pals with every reporter in the world. How the heck do you get such great press coverage?

Partially thanks to your tutorial on getting started with linkedin I've become somewhat of a convert. What bugs me, though, is that people who aren't part of my extended network can't see my profile. Surely there's some slick way to do this?

Is there any reason aside from speculation that a person would buy stock in an established company that doesn't pay dividends?

I mean, if its a growth company, then you expect all the profits to go into growing the business and not recieve dividends yet, but its the companys out of the "growth" stage and still doesn't pay dividends, thens there no logical reason to buy the stock...

"A stocks value is entirely the value of future dividends, or the liquidation value of the company."

As a corollary, long after a company has made its IPO and has no plans for a secondary, why does a company care what its stock price is?

Dave, My question is this: If you arbitrarily raise your profit margin will you increase costs? I say yes in terms of the loss in market share for your product based on the what the market will pay for the item or service. Another individual says no. What do you think?

I'm a zealot about certain technologies and more than once I've had people accuse me of being an evangelist. I'm not entirely sure what they mean, however, and am wondering if you can help me out? I mean, are there people who are paid to pimp products or services? That'd be cooool...

I've been researching blog marketing, affiliate programs, and online sales, and it was both surprising and not surprising to read that you met many affiliate marketers who earn upwards of $10,000 per month using the affiliate marketing model. For someone who is interested in breaking into some of that potential income, do you have any advice as to where to begin?

I've found so many offers for potential affiliates out there, in many fields. There are so many programs regarding "money-making" that it's hard to weed through all of them to find the gems. Are there any programs or marketers which you would suggest I align myself with, who are providing excellent services and products right now?

I have a big problem which frequently loops me. I am in the field of IT support, and when a customer comes to me and is short tempered, I really don't know how to convince them that their request is not my part of job and someone else should attend to it.

This happens to me at least 4 - 6 times a week. Can you please tell me how I can answer nicely about the job, and give me some suggestions about handling customers over the mail, phone and face to face in tough times?

Dave, I've been working on a small app for the Mac community, and am anxious that if I write something really cool that Apple will just steal it. I have heard from lots of developers who complain that they've finally become popular, just to have the next version of Mac OS X include that exact feature or capability. I just have to wonder how many times Apple can screw over developers before they decide to go do something else entirely?

Can you please explain me the difference between a 'copyright' and 'patent' with regard to software? And also please let me know the procedure to obtain a copyright and patent in India for software. Can we also patent/copyright a unique business model? I am curious to know if eBay and Amazon have patents for their websites and also their business models. Thanks a lot for your help.

I am the project leader of TurboCASH Accounting, an Open Source solution for small business. I am based in Cape Town, South Africa. We compete against Intuit and Sage (Peachtree). In some markets we beat them. I am looking to raise money from the VC firms in SF.

I have been in business for 18 years, but in particular in the OS business for 2 years. I saw your web site and wanted to enquire if you could help me get to the right people at the best firms?

This may seem like a basic question, Dave, but I've been reading lots of weblogs and I'm pretty motivated to get started with one of my own. But I don't want a diary and don't think anyone else cares about what movies I like or what restaurants I frequent, I want to write about topics of relevance to my customers so I can grow my business. Finally, I like classes much more than just reading Web sites. Suggestions?

This is a terrible story, I'm sorry to say, but my husband and I recently had a fire in our small business and are now stuck having to rebuild the store right when we were hoping to actually sell as much as possible for the Holiday season. Fortunately our inventory survived, and we're thinking about building a Web site too. What do you recommend?

I am planning to launch a web company, which would be an e-commerce company, something like amazon.com or eBay but radically different from both. Suppose I develop the enter website and launch it and run all on my own for a few days and then seek venture capital what percentage of ownership do you think VCs will take in my company? It would be very kind of you if you can also give me a brief information about how much percentage a particular funding company has taken in a particular start up, if that information is publicly available.

Dave, I'm about to hire a few people to help me with my new Web site project (can't tell you about it yet, but I will in a few months!) and need some legal paperwork. Non-disclosures, ownership of intellectual property, engagement letters, and so on. I don't want to pay a lawyer for these standard documents, however. Any suggestions?

I've been reading all this excited buzz about something called Google Base, supposedly a new category killer from Google that'll let them compete with eBay, Craigslist, and everyone else. But I don't see anything at all from Google itself. What's the scoop?

I am in the process of reading your book Growing Your Business with Google and was wondering what is an acceptable amount of time for a response to a customer's email request. I know it varies widely within the e-business world but what is acceptable?

Dave, I've been reading a lot of buzz back and forth about the sale of contractor-built companies like Weblogs Inc., and am wondering what you think about how far down the corporate ladder the benefit of a change in ownership should travel. I'm of the opinion that full-time salaried employees should see a percentage of the sale based on their percentage of ownership, but that's as far as I go.

I'm just getting started on a research project on alternative forms of pay per performance advertising such as pay per click or pay per call. I'm trying to identify companies or business models that have successfully built (or are trying to build) on pay per click/call/acquisition, etc. and would like to ask for your advice and opinion on this business segment.

I need some help: I've joined LinkedIn and now want to find other people in Colorado who can help me find work. I've a background in computer networking and am a civilian employee of the Air Force, but I'm pretty new to LinkedIn. Do you have some advice for me?

Dave, I'm a book author and am baffled. I frequently get asked by journalists for my thoughts on specific matters, but while I respond within a week or so with long essays on what I think is the subject of the interview, very, very rarely am I quoted. What's up with that?

I don't know whether you remember me but I emailed you regarding your website and you gave me permission to reference your work. It is coming along well. I was wondering if you had any statistics on relative success comparing people who created business plans with those who hadn't created plans for their business. I'm just trying to find out how much it helps. By the way I am currently writing my business plan and your site has helped me immensely!

This is weird. I was searching on Google for used textbooks and was quite surprised to see the following at the end of the Google page: "In response to a complaint we received under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, we have removed 1 result(s) from this page. If you wish, you may read the DMCA complaint for these removed results."

What does it mean? What is the DMCA anyway?

Dave, I'm stuck. I have an online business and I'm using a search engine optimization consultant, a design person, a webmaster, and more, but my business seems to be trapped at a certain level and I can't grow beyond it. What suggestions and ideas do you have?

I had thought that Sarbanes-Oxley only applied to publicly traded corporations, but your previous writing and personal communication seems to imply that it also applies to closely-held ones. Is that right? Can you point me to a URL or other easy to find reference that explains just what SOx requires of small companies?

Hi Dave, I am looking to get started with my own business, and was wondering what steps would be best for getting our name copyrighted with the U.S. Copyright Office. What advice do you have?

Dave, I'm involved with a software startup that's ready to raise some money so they can grow more quickly. I don't know anything about venture capital, so I thought I'd ask you. How do we find a relatively small amount of VC money ($250K)? The company in question makes software for investors. Can you give me advice on how to proceed?

Dave, I keep getting messages about companies that have "filed their 8-K" but the email doesn't explain what an 8-K is, it just assumes I know. But I don't. What's an 8-K and what does it have to do with me as an investor?

I just had someone tell me I'm a "micromanager", but I have no idea what this really means. Yeah, I have a high attention to detail and I like to have things done right the first time, but why is this a negative?

Dave, I've just started attending professional networking events and don't really know how best to present myself and my company to the people who attend. Are there some tips or tricks you can share regarding how to talk about myself and how to make a good impression? I have the usual interests in partnering with others, gaining new customers and clients, etc.

Dave, can I ask a real basic question? What is ERP and why would a company of any size want it?

Dave, I received the following message. Should I bother following up with this firm?

Dave, I think I understand the value of networking as well as the next businessman, but for the life of me, I don't really see what sites like LinkedIn, Ryze and Ecademy can do for me. What's the point of these sites other than just as some sort of digital popularity contest?

Dave, I'm not sure where to turn so I'm going to ask you: how much do I have to worry about what people who are part of my far-flung "virtual" corporation do when they're not working directly for me? I can't share too many details because the situation is touchy, as you might expect, but basically I have someone working for me as a writer, contributing material for my blog, and I have been hearing that he's writing some pretty far out, offensive material on other sites. Do I need to worry about it?

Dave, this is a simple question, but profound: how come almost every new tool that Google releases stays in "beta" forever?

Dave, I am the guy in our little town that everyone calls when their computer won't work. I don't know anything about the hardware end of it except I can usually tell when a piece of hardware isn't functioning. It is usually always a matter of not tended to updates or spyware & virus problems.

Here's the question: Sometimes I spend hours or even days getting these machines back to good working condition and the people want to pay me for the service. I don't have any what you would call qualifications for the kind of service I'm performing except a love of computers since my first Timex 2k machine (do you remember that one) and mostly common sense. I don't feel I have a right to charge with this kind of background. Do you have an idea what program I could take that would give me some kind of certification in this area of computers? Or am I alright charging a reasonable fee for services rendered as I am now? Thanx for your kind input.

Dave, I'm interested in proposing a partnership arrangement with a Japanese firm but don't really know how to go about it. What kind of things should I make sure are included in my letter? Is a letter the best way to contact the firm? Etc., etc. I feel a bit like I'm up a creek without a paddle. Can you help me out?

Dave, I've been reading all this controversy about the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and how it costs companies tons of money to come into compliance, and how it gives too much control to the government, etc etc. At the same time, not a day goes by without some company delaying or restating financial reports. As an investor, this is driving me bonkers! Can you tell me a bit about Sarbanes-Oxley so I can get a handle on it? Thanks.