Aaronz WebWorkz Weekly Newsletter

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Aaronz WebWorkz Weekly E-Zine
A Weekly Newsletter of Hints, Ideas, and Resources for
Friends and Customers of www.AaronzWebWorkz.com
Issue #66 Feb. 21, 2003
Aaron Turpen, Editor, aaron@aaronzwebworkz.com
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By subscription only! Welcome to your next issue of the
Aaronz WebWorkz E-Zine. You are receiving this newsletter
because you requested a subscription. Unsubscribe instruct-
ions are at the end of this newsletter. Back-issues are
available online at: http://www.AaronzWebWorkz.com
------------------------------------------------------------
IN THIS ISSUE
------------------------------------------------------------

=> Feature Article:
4 Simple Steps to Reduce Your Taxes
=> From The Webmaster
=> Readers Talk Back!
=> Guest Column:
The Internet F-word
=> How to Be Featured as our Guest Columnist
=> Copyright and Reprint information
=> Subscribe/Unsubscribe information


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4 Simple Steps to Reduce Your Taxes

Wayne M. Davies is author of the new eBook, "The Tax
Reduction Toolkit: 29 Little-Known Legal Loopholes That Will
Reduce Your Taxes By Thousands (For Small Business Owners
and Self-Employed People Only!) Don't file another tax
return until you visit:
http://hop.clickbank.net/?aaronzweb/wmdctp

Editor's Comments: Another great article from Wayne, the tax
guy. We'll continue to run tax-related articles up until
the big day (April 15). There is another great resource
from Mr. Davies available as well! A free 37-page ebook in
PDF format to get you started on your returns! Go to:
http://www.aaronzwebworkz.com/ebooks/YouSaveOnTaxes.PDF
------------------------------------------------------------

With Tax Season upon us, here are 4 simple steps to lower
your tax bill this year.


STEP #1: Understand How Serious Your Tax Problem Is

Are you aware of just how much in taxes you are paying?

Here's how much the average family spends on various
consumer categories -- as a percentage of income.

You must realize that it's not how much you spend on taxes
that is important, it's how much you spend on taxes as
compared to all other major categories of spending!

Consumer Spending:
How Do You Spend Your Hard-Earned Dollars?

Taxes ---------------------- 32.0%
Housing -------------------- 16.7%
Medical Care --------------- 11.5%
Food ----------------------- 8.2%
Transportation ------------- 7.9%
Recreation ----------------- 5.7%
Clothing ------------------- 4.1%
Savings -------------------- 1.4%
Other Miscellaneous -------- 12.5%
TOTAL --------------------- 100.0%

So, if you think you are being "nailed" by the government,
you are absolutely right. You spend more on taxes than any
other category of consumer spending.

In fact, you spend more on taxes than on food, clothing, and
housing combined!

And it's not just federal income taxes we're talking about
here. There's also state and local income tax, payroll tax
(Social Security and Medicare), sales tax, excise tax and
property tax.

Maybe you already knew "intuitively" that your tax bill is
outrageously high. If not, the picture I've just painted
should thoroughly convince you that you pay too much tax,
period.


STEP #2: Get The Right Attitude About Your Taxes

What do I mean by this? Well, you simply must have a
certain "mental attitude" toward this whole idea of paying
taxes. I'll get right to the point -- you must have an
attitude about taxes that says, "Enough is enough. I'm
paying way too much tax and I don't like it! And it's about
time I did something about it -- TODAY!"

After reading those numbers above, how do you feel? Doesn't
that just make you furious? If so, great, then you are on
your way to solving this problem. (Remember the old cliche
-- "You can't solve a problem until you admit you have
one!")

If you saw those numbers above and said, "Big deal. So I
pay 32% in taxes. So what? So does everybody else in this
country" -- well, I'm sorry, but you might as well just stop
reading this article right now. You will continue to pay
too much tax because you really don't care about it.

To reduce your taxes, you must have a passion for paying
less tax. You must get angry about it.

Before today is over, go get last year's personal income tax
return (Form 1040) and look at how much tax you paid.

When you have Form 1040 in front of you, do you realize
where the most important number is on this form?

NO, it's not Line 67 -- which tells you how much of a refund
you got (if any!).

NO, it's not Line 70 -- which tells you how much you still
owed, the balance due with the return.

The most important number on Form 1040 is Line 58.

It says: This is your TOTAL TAX. That is how much federal
income tax you paid for all of last year. When it comes to
reducing your taxes, it doesn't matter whether you got a
refund or whether you had a balance due.

What matters is -- what was your total tax liability for the
year. That's the "magic number" that should just make your
blood boil and your heart beat so fast that you can hardly
stand it.

Now that I've got you all "riled up" about paying so much
tax, let's move on to Step #3.


STEP #3: Realize That Reducing Taxes Is The Easiest Path
Possible To Creating Wealth

Consider this simple fact: Reducing your taxes by just
$4,000 per year is the easiest way possible to becoming a
millionaire.

Let me elaborate.

Let's say you implement some new tax-saving strategies that
reduce your taxes by $4,000 each year. Now, if you take
that $4,000 per year in tax savings and invest it over the
next 30 years, assuming you earn 11.5% on your investment,
you end up with $1,048,745.98 at the end of the 30 years!

And here's the best part about this scenario: Where did you
get the $4,000/year to invest? Well, you got it from money
that would have gone to Uncle Sam! It's money that you used
to spend on taxes, part of the 32% of your income that goes
to taxes each year.

In effect, it's free money! It's money that was always
there -- you just didn't realize it.

Is this a good deal or what? By simply reducing your taxes,
the government will finance your million-dollar retirement.

And let's say your tax situation is such that you save
$2,000/year instead of $4,000/year. Same assumptions: you
invest the $2,000 each year at 11.5% for 30 years. End
result: $524,372.99. Not too shabby, eh?

So all you have to do is come up with the tax-saving
strategies that will put $2,000 or $4,000 in your pocket
each and every year. Which brings us to Step #4.


STEP #4: Get Hold Of The Tax-Saving Strategies That Will
Make You A Millionaire!

You know, it doesn't really take much information to save a
bundle in taxes. It is true: Just A Little Bit Of Tax
Knowledge Can Save You Thousands Of Dollars Every Year!

Useful tax information is freely available. On the Internet,
at your local library, and through your local tax
professional.

The question is: Are you willing to spend some time this
year learning about effective tax strategies that can save
you literally thousands of dollars?

Here's a simple goal to set for yourself: Over the next 10
weeks, set aside just an hour a week to read up on tax-
reduction strategies. That's all, just 10 hours.

Chances are you'll find 2 or 3 strategies that reduce your
tax bill by $1,000 this year.

So you spend 10 hours and, in effect, pay yourself an extra
$1,000 for your time. Not a bad hourly rate, eh?

Many times, that's all it takes to pay less tax.

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From The Webmaster
by Aaron Turpen, Editor
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Hello, everyone! Another week has flown by! I've been
really beefing up the retail sales lately on eBay as I've
found it to be a great way to bring in extra cash. Plus I
get to "legitimately" buy stuff I'd otherwise have to beg my
wife to let me have like swords, daggers, etc., etc. :)

If you want to have a look-see, go to my eBay store and
check things out:
http://www.stores.ebay.com/aaronzwebworkz

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Readers Talk Back!
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"We have learned that a company called "Domain Support
Group" is calling certain of our customers on the telephone
and asking for domain-name related information, such as fax
numbers, user names and passwords. If you receive such a
call, please: Simply hang up. Do NOT provide this
information.

Domain Support Group hopes to trick our customers into
purchasing or renewing domain names through them, at
significantly higher prices than they would pay by
purchasing directly from Go Daddy.

Customers who fall prey to this scheme could have their
domain name(s) transferred to another registrar at a price
much higher than would be the case if they purchased
directly from Go Daddy. For example, a ten year .US
registration would cost $210.00 from Domain Support Group,
whereas with Go Daddy it would only cost $57.50.

Their telephone representatives also claim to have
contracted with Go Daddy to provide certain support
services. This is not true. Go Daddy has no relationship
with Domain Support Group. We provide our own 24/7 customer
support, so we do not contract with outside companies.

Further, we do not provide information concerning our
customers to anyone for any reason (except of course the
registry, which we are required to do by law). As best as we
can determine, the Domain Support Group is getting telephone
numbers through the public, "Whois" database.

If you believe, like we do, that this practice of Domain
Support Group is misleading and improper, we invite you to
make your feelings known by writing to the Federal Trade
Commission
(https://rn.ftc.gov/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01),
your local State's Consumer Protection Office, and/or ICANN
(http://reports.internic.net/cgi/registrars/
problem-report.cgi)
[Cut & Paste as necessary.]

Sincerely,

Bob Parsons, President
Go Daddy Software, Inc.

Editor: We have run articles and had several comments in the
past on forms of "domain slamming" and GoDaddy Software has
been one of the front-runners of the fight against this
deceptive form of advertising. They were one of the ring-
leaders in the court case which forced Network Solutions to
change their ways.

There is another type of scam going on that you should also
be aware of. It is covered in the latest issue of The Web
Server Times, titled "The Web Server Times vs. Scumware!"

You can read that here:
http://www.webservertimes.com

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If you would like to send a comment or letter to the editor
for inclusion in this newsletter, please address it to:
mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com?subject=TalkBack!.
All are welcome to give their opinion, criticism, or kudos!

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The Internet F-word

c. 2003 by Judy Cox
http://www.freechristianresourcecenter.com

Editor's Comments: This is a great article!
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For the last ten months I've been collecting and organizing
links for the Free Christian Resource Center.

Now that the public area is up and the members area is well
under construction, I'm running into one problem: the
Internet F-word.

One of the most popular search terms in the world.

One of the web's biggest lies in the wrong hands.

So controversial that I can't put it in the subject line of
an email. (Thanks to those self-appointed email guardians
who have done such a commendable job of protecting the
sanctity of our email inboxes by eliminating the f-word,
thus leaving more storage space for viagra ads, adult sites,
and REALLY personal growth secrets.)

And STILL one of the best magnets to draw targeted traffic.

So what if I have to advertise that my Members Area will
have links to over 25,000 Fr^e Christian Resources.

That my public area has links to over 1,000 Fr^e Christian
Resources.

That my ezine will feature fr^e Christian Resources in every
issue.

It's all part of Life on the New Frontier. Keeping up with
the changing rules. Avoiding misdirected vigilante
"justice".

No, I don't like the stupid email filters that filter out
the ezines I subscribed to while apparently laying out the
welcome mat for the scammers, spammers, smut merchants, and
gamblers.

I could gripe to my family and friends. Change my domain
name to keep my url from triggering somebody's spam filter.

But, hey, I live in the land of the Fr^e and the home of the
Br@ve. Think I'll keep my domain name and post the ezine on
the website for those who can't get it by email.

And if I can't figure out SOME way to let people know my
site is Out There, then I'm just not a good enough promoter.

And if I can piggy-back THAT onto --say,an article that (I
hope) advances the Cause of Exposing the Spam-Nazis and ISPs
for their meddling, ineffective and intrusive (non)solution
to The Problem of Spam, so much the better.

Maybe I could even come up with a title that piques the
reader's curiosity while illustrating the woeful inadequacy
of "filters".

After all, I'm fr^e to submit fr^e articles to fr^e content
sites and fr^e ezines all over the Internet to advertise my
fr^e Christian resources.

I just can't use the f-word in the subject line.

Feel Fr^e to pass this article along. It's fr^e to reprint
as long as you include the contact information and resource
box below.

(Hey, just think how keyword-rich this article will be when
the General Public starts searching for "fr^e". Note to
self: add fr^e to meta-tags on website before the Google-
bot's next visit ;-)

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If you wish to send your own articles to be reviewed for
inclusion in this publication, please send them to:
mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com.
------------------------------------------------------------
Except where noted, this publication and all of its
contents are copyright (C)2002 by Aaronz WebWorkz, all
rights are reserved. To reprint an article, send an email
to mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com for permission.
------------------------------------------------------------
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This newsletter is produced by Aaronz WebWorkz, a complete
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questions to the editor
(mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com).

------------------------------------------------------------
Aaronz WebWorkz Weekly E-Zine
A Weekly Newsletter of Hints, Ideas, and Resources for
Friends and Customers of www.AaronzWebWorkz.com
Issue #64 Feb. 7, 2003
Aaron Turpen, Editor, aaron@aaronzwebworkz.com
------------------------------------------------------------
By subscription only! Welcome to your next issue of the
Aaronz WebWorkz E-Zine. You are receiving this newsletter
because you requested a subscription. Unsubscribe instruct-
ions are at the end of this newsletter. Back-issues are
available online at: http://www.AaronzWebWorkz.com
------------------------------------------------------------
IN THIS ISSUE
------------------------------------------------------------

=> Feature Article:
Getting Involved In The Community…Online
=> From The Webmaster
=> Readers Talk Back!
=> Guest Column:
Financing Your Home Business
=> How to Be Featured as our Guest Columnist
=> Copyright and Reprint information
=> Subscribe/Unsubscribe information


------------------------------------------------------------
Getting Involved In The Community…Online
by Aaron Turpen of Aaronz WebWorkz

------------------------------------------------------------

The one big advantage that small businesses (and especially
home-based or sole-proprietorships) have over larger
enterprises is the ability to show personality and
friendliness to their customers and potential customers.
Someone who is really involved and has a direct interest in
the happiness of the customer brings something more to the
bargain than does the employee of the faceless corporation.

As an example, I meet with a couple of friends about once a
week at a coffee shop. Sure, we could go to Starbucks or
another large place, but we go to Java Jim's. Why? Because
it's homier, the owner and employees know us, and the
overall atmosphere is just better. Sure, the coffee and
bagels probably aren't any better than Starbucks and Jim
doesn't have any t-shirts or signature mugs to sell us, but
it's just more comfortable there.

On the Internet, getting a "name" for yourself is even more
difficult. No one sees your face - rarely do they even know
where you live. You can't shake hands, smile, or otherwise
use human expression outside of what you can type. The
instant anonymity that the Internet offers is very appealing
for many reasons.

However, in order to promote your business and get a sense
of community online, you need to break through that inherent
anonymity and make people know YOU instead of just your
website address or eBay ID.

The best way to do this is to join the online community as a
person rather than as just another user ID. Find places
that people like yourself - and people who would buy from
people like yourself - would go online to find answers and
talk with other enthusiasts. Before you do this, let me lay
a few ground rules. When you join a new group, invariably
you have to "sign up." Make sure to do the following before
and after you've signed up for a group:

1 - Before signing up, make sure you want to be in the
group. Check the past posts (if available) and other
"archives" to ensure that what you're signing up for is what
you're interested in. Sometimes group names are deceptive
or the group is nothing more than a place for people to join
quickly and post a bunch of advertisements.

2 - Choose a username that is similar to or the same as your
business. DO NOT use your URL or full name when joining.
Using your website address (URL) is blatant advertising and
may get you kicked out of a group or message board before
you've even established yourself. Using your real name is a
bad idea as it makes you "trackable" and could open you up
to a lot of fraud. Use your first name or first name and
last initial only if your name must be involved.

3 - After joining, read through back posts and the current
posts, but DO NOT REPLY. Not everything posted is brand new
- sometimes those messages were posted months ago and the
answer to their question has already been given. Get your-
self up-to-date on the postings before writing anything.
Your first post should be a short introduction of yourself.
Pretend you're standing in front of a group at the Small
Business Association or the Chamber of Commerce. Introduce
yourself and your business, but don't overdo the marketing.
Try to introduce YOU more than your business. Remember:
you are trying to make yourself a person, not an entity.

4 - Participate as often as possible and always be polite
and informative when you answer questions.

5 - Try to call people by their first name OR use their user
ID whenever you respond to them. Sign your own messages
with your name and website URL (e.g. "-Aaron T.
www.AaronzWebWorkz.com).

If you do those five things, you'll begin to promote your-
self as a person rather than a faceless corporation.

Now…where do you do all of this?

There are forums, groups, email lists, etc. for everyone out
there. You already know what you're interested in - your
business and products - so you just need to find out where
other people who like the same thing go when they go online
for information.

A good place to start is Google. Google Groups
(http://www.google.com then click on the "groups" tab) are
really just commonly-accessible Usenet email lists. You can
join these lists (and read them) from Google or you can
probably access them through your account with your ISP - in
both cases for free.

Find a newsgroup (that's what these are called) that you're
interested in. Chances are you'll find several. Then check
it out and sign up. A good group generally has 10-50 posts
per day. More than that and it's probably too busy for you
to keep up. Less than that and it's nearly "dead" and will
most likely have only two or three members who are "active"
in the discussions. You need more than that.

Another great place to find people interested in a topic is
on message boards. These are scattered all over the Web.
You can use Google to search for them ("your topic" +
"forum" usually garners several) or you an go to a popular
spot like About.com and find your forum there. Forums
generally tell you how many members use the forum and the
criteria are about the same as for a newsgroup - not too
few, not too many.

Email lists are also popular. The best places to find these
are on Yahoo (Yahoo Groups - http://groups.yahoo.com/) or
Topica (http://www.topica.com/). In either case, once
there, just do a search for your topic and begin finding the
right group or groups to belong to!

Many informational websites - especially those with a
"niche" or a lot of visitors - host their own forums,
newsletter/newsgroup lists, etc.

Any of these (or combinations of them) are great ways to get
involved. You'll meet new friends and gain new customers by
showing that you are knowledgeable and willing to share your
knowledge with others.

I personally belong to several Web Design/Development news-
groups, forums, and newsletters to keep up-to-date on
current technology. In addition, I belong to a couple of
networking newswires, hobby forums, and auction newsletter
lists. Many of my own clients met me through one of these
venues when they ventured in to ask a question or saw my
name when trying to find an answer to a question posed in
one of these places. I've also got many friends I discuss
things in which we have mutual interest - most of whom I've
never met in "real life." But I know their names, screen
names, user IDs, etc. very well.

Getting involved in the online community for your own
interests is rewarding, fun, and puts your name out there as
someone "who knows stuff." Go try it!

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From The Webmaster
by Aaron Turpen, Editor
------------------------------------------------------------

Another great week! I received a few technical questions
about the worm attack article in last week's newsletter and
have answered as best I can. I won't discuss those here, as
that is out of the scope of this newsletter, but if you are
interested in the more technical, in-depth aspects of it, I
suggest that you check out my friend Roy Troxel's newsletter
"The Web Server Times." He deals in many of the more techy
aspects of web development, mastering, etc. His last two
issues had great articles on this worm! Go here:
http://www.webservertimes.com

In more news, there's been yet another SpamCop scam email
being sent around. I got one for each of my domains
(addressed to "admin@" and "webmaster@") and several client
domains as well. This has been happening off and on for
over a year now, so most people are aware of it. If you'd
like a little more information, you can go here:
http://spamcop.net/fom-serve/cache/124.html

See you all next week!

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Readers Talk Back!
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"I have had several of my top level domains get attacked by
someone trying to transfer them away. Can I block this?"
--Joan S.

Editor: Hi, Joan. Depending on your registrar, you can. I
generally use DirectNIC (http://www.directnic.com) for my
own registrations. It's $15/year, but worth the price in
easy self-service and their quick response to questions.

One of the options you can set is to have your domains on
"Domain Lock" which doesn't allow any transfer whatsoever.
This allows you to secure them until you want them released,
at which time you just "unlock" them and go through the
transfer normally. I am unable to find a similar service on
GoDaddy.

"I have no received the last two issues of the news letter.
have I been unsubscribed?"
--Bob L.

Editor: No, Bob, you haven't. For some reason, we are on a
blocked list at Comcast (comcast.com, .net) and emails to
the newsletter list are being returned to sender. I suspect
it is their "anti-spam" filters doing the deed. Since the
company is going out of business, I cannot get ahold of any-
one to get the problem reversed. If you have an alternate
email, please send it to me and I'll put it on the list
instead. Thanks.

"Thanks for the info on credit reports!!! I planed to get
one and you sav3d me the effort of finding the information
myself."
--Dale P.

------------------------------------------------------------
If you would like to send a comment or letter to the editor
for inclusion in this newsletter, please address it to:
mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com?subject=TalkBack!.
All are welcome to give their opinion, criticism, or kudos!

------------------------------------------------------------
Financing Your Home Business
© 2003 Elena Fawkner
Elena Fawkner is editor of A Home-Based Business Online ...
practical business ideas, opportunities and solutions for
the work-from-home entrepreneur.
http://www.ahbbo.com

Editor's Comments: Great article for those of you who may
be interested in securing financing for your business.
------------------------------------------------------------

So, you have a great idea for a business and, more
importantly, the know-how to bring it into creation. The
only thing you're missing is the cold hard cash to get
started. What are your options?

Assuming you don't have a ready line of credit, an expansive
bank manager, wealthy relatives or a substantial stash of
retirement savings you're willing to risk, you're going to
have to do some serious homework and legwork. Fortunately,
there are a number of sources of finance for the fledgling
small business entrepreneur, at least one of which may be
right for you.

SBA LOANS

Available only to U.S.-based businesses (but look for
similar programs in your own country if you're outside the
U.S.), the SBA (the U.S. Small Business Administration) has
assisted thousands of entrepreneurs start their own small
businesses. The SBA doesn't issue grants (money you don't
have to pay back) or make loans directly, rather, it
guarantees loans made by private lenders thereby reducing or
eliminating the risk inherent in new business ventures and
making lenders more willing to lend.

The primary consideration for the SBA is repayment ability
from the cashflow of the business as well as "good
character, management capability, collateral and owner's
equity". You will be expected to personally guarantee your
loan. This means your personal assets are at risk.

As for the types of businesses eligible for SBA loans, the
SBA imposes the following criteria: the business must be
"for-profit" (all that means is that your business have a
profit motive, not that it have actually generated a profit
yet), be engaged in business in the United States, there
must be "reasonable" owner equity (what's reasonable will
depend on the circumstances) and you are expected to use
alternative financial resources first, including your own
assets where practicable.

The SBA also imposes limitations on the use of loan
proceeds. For example, although the proceeds can be used for
most business purposes (the examples given by the SBA
include "the purchase of real estate to house the business
operations; construction, renovation or leasehold
improvements; acquisition of furniture, fixtures, machinery
and equipment; purchase of inventory; and working capital"),
you can't use the loan proceeds for financing floor plan
needs, to pay existing debt, to make payments to the
business owners or to pay delinquent taxes etc.

As a general rule, loans for working capital must be repaid
within seven years and loans for fixed assets must be paid
for by the end of the economic life of the assets (but not
to exceed 25 years).

Interest rates are negotiated between the borrower and the
lender but the SBA imposes maxima which are pegged to the
Prime Rate.

Finally, the SBA charges lenders a guaranty and servicing
fee for each loan approved, and there is nothing preventing
the lender on charging these fees to the borrower. The
guaranty fee for a loan of $150,000 or less is 2% of the
guaranteed amount; over $150,000 but below $700,000, it's 3%
and above $700,000 it's 3.5%. The annual servicing fee is
0.5% which is calculated on the then-current loan balance.

Where the borrower meets the SBA's credit and eligibility
requirements, it will guarantee up to 85% of loans $150,000
and less and up to 75% of loans above that amount (up to a
maximum of $1,000,000).

For more information about the various SBA loan programs,
visit the SBA website at http://www.sba.gov.

PRIVATE GRANTS

At present, there are no U.S. government grants offered for
small business. If you're outside the U.S. check with your
own government about the availability of small business
grants. You never know!

Various corporate grantmakers make grants available for
small business though. For more information, visit
http://www.fdncenter.org/funders/grantmaker/index.html .

ANGEL INVESTORS

Angel investors are good souls with a healthy sense of self-
interest. Figuring they can get a higher return if they're
prepared to take a bit of a risk, they're also often
successful entrepreneurs themselves and want to give their
fellow travellers a hand up.

Think of funding from an angel investor as a bridge or gap-
filler between being a start-up and qualifying for venture
capital. The kinds of dollars we're talking about here are
between about $150,000 and $1.5 million. Beyond that point
you're in low venture-capital territory.

The SBA estimates that there are around 250,000 angels in
the U.S., funding about 30,000 companies a year. So, how do
you hook up with one? Not an easy task, unfortunately. It
comes down to networking. Start by talking to professional
and business associates - they will often know someone who
knows someone etc. Also, check out ACE-net if you're
prepared to sell a security interest in your company. It's
an internet-based listing service for securities offerings
of small, growing companies. The website is at
https://ace-net.sr.unh.edu/pub/ .

VENTURE CAPITAL

You're in the big leagues now. Generally you're in the
ballpark of millions (of dollars that is) rather than
thousands. Venture capital firms look for their return on
investment from capital appreciation rather than interest
(unlike banks, for example). They're generally looking for a
return of 500-1,000% on exit.

It won't surprise you to learn that venture capitalists are
particularly leery of internet-based businesses right about
now and not surprising. It also serves them right. But if
you have a solid business plan and strong growth potential,
this could be an option for you longer term.

One of the common concerns about this form of financing,
however, is that you may have to part with an unacceptable
amount of control over your own business. In return for
their risk, venture capital firms will usually want some
control over how the business is run and a say in business
decisions. A venture capitalist will expect a seat on the
board, for example.

It's important to remember, though, that it's in the venture
capitalist's best interests for your business to succeed, so
giving up some control in exchange for outside expertise may
well be something worth thinking about.

To find venture capitalists, get a hold of "Pratt's Guide to
Venture Capital Sources" for a listing of 1,500 or so
including names, contact details and areas of interest. Of
course, you'll find no shortage of information online as
well.

For most readers of this article, your best bet would be to
start out by investigating the various loan programs offered
via the SBA (or your country's local equivalent). But don't
overlook more obvious, close to home sources first. If you
have family funds at your disposal (for example) and you're
confident that your business will succeed (and unless you're
confident about that, don't get into debt with *anyone*, let
alone family members), better to start out slow and ease
into outside sources of financing as your business (and,
more importantly, your business's cashflow) can support it.
After all, Uncle Jack is much more likely to be
understanding about the occasional cashflow crunch than
Uncle Sam.

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