I’ve been experimenting with different types web site types and find Joomla to be a great alternative to standard website builds.  Don’t get me wrong I still use standard html driven software such as XSite Pro however if you want a really simple way to design a site than Joomla will do the trick.  There is a learning curve though, and you may want to consider it before you run off to put up a Joomla site.  It’s not what I would call a technical curve but more of “this is what you need to do to put that here” type curve, meaning that there are many,many different rules to remember as you are building a site.  What you won’t have to worry about are things like “what size should all of my headlines be?” and “will this article fit in this space?” Joomla handles all of that with aplomb.  If you want a completely custom site then Joomla is not for you as there are many Joomla templates that are not exclusi

Not every franchise opportunity needs to be a Fortune 500 company.  There are hundreds of new and affordable franchise opportunities for more modest pocketbooks. Home Business Research has just partnered up with FranchiseGM to provide online search capabilities for new and affordable small and home based business.  For example you can search for home-based franchise opportunity by state. You can also search any industry by state as well.

Our new Franchise Guide pages provide substantial background information on each of the franchise opportunities and allow you to obtain full information without any obligation on your part.

Here is a quick link to the top home based franchise opportunities.

We often get lots of inquiries about how to do specific things relative to starting a home based business.  Since we receive so many requests we have set up a Beginner’s Guide on the main site of Home Business Research. We have tackled a lot of site issues but have also added sections about promotion, monetizing such as AdSense and other Pay Per Click options, as well as site design and the mechanics of uploading and maintaining a website.

When you get a chance stop by the Beginner’s Guide, because we add new sections almost daily. By the way if you want a specific “how to” that isn’t covered please send us an email with your request to support@homebusinessresearch.com.

Google has introduced a new program called Friend Connect.  What Friend Connect does is create interactivity to your website by engaging viewers to comment on your articles or posts.  It can be used on both blogs and traditional sites enabling your viewers to join and comment freely about your content.  One of the great features about Friend Connect is that you can use sign-ons that you already have for Google, Yahoo, Open ID and others.  It’s a great tool.  You can see it on our site www.homebusinessresearch.com.  There are a whole list of widgets that you can get for your site as well.  Of course it’s for free.  Get more info at www.google.com/friendconnect

Whatever you are selling on the Internet you need to have buyers come to your site. That’s called traffic. It has been documented that lower non targeted traffic does not produce many sales, however low targeted traffic will produce sales. This seems basic and it is but how can you get targeted traffic of any volume?

A simple way is to give away ebooks that have links to your site or product page and specify that they can be freely copied and given away to others. It sounds like a great plan but lets look at it from all sides.

First, why should anyone download your free ebook? Your ebook must have value to your target market. If you sell kid’s shoes perhaps you can offer a free download ebook about the proper way to measure your child’s feet. What shoes are best at what ages, etc. This type of ebook or report has value. The other way is to write a report “ 10 Things You Must Know Before You Buy Your Child Shoes,” these types of “must know” reports do well and people will download them.

Second, and believe it or not, there are some people that will take your link out of your publication and insert their own. This type of bad business ethics happens a lot on the Internet. So how can you go viral and protect yourself at the same time?

If you have an affiliate base or you want to build one for your product, you can create ebooks that are brandable with your affiliate’s ids within them. This type of software creates a way for you to offer brandable ebooks to your affiliate base so that they can give them to their customer base with their own affiliate ids. If they tell their customer base to give the ebook away and so on down the line your giveaway becomes viral but maintains a link to you sales page or website.

One of the best of these “branding” type software is Viral PDF . They have been out the longest and offer several versions of the software. It’s worth a look to see what you can do with it.

Entrepreneurs by nature are risk takers, willing to completely submerge themselves in a business venture and work at it until it’s successful or fails completely.  Generally there isn’t any middle ground for these types of individuals.

Today’s mantra is very different.  The team approach, consensus building and becoming agents of change within an organization are the themes of the day.  Good managers build consensus with there colleagues before they run with the ball.

What does all of this have to do with finding your ideal online business?  Plenty.  Before you decide what online business you want to be in you need to decide what group you fall into.

Entrepreneurs or consensus building agents of change?  The difference is more than marginal as entrepreneurs are their own worst enemies at times, boldly going where no one dared go before and making decisions at the speed of light.  If you like to work in groups however, and thrive on feedback and consensus you may not be the best online business owner, as decisions tend to be based on your own internal consensus.  If working in groups does appeal to you then perhaps an MLM (Multi-Level Marketing) or Network Marketing business makes more sense for you.

What this means basically is that you really need to be a little of both types to succeed in today’s Internet business environment.  Running any business requires quick decision making and the Internet is no exception.  However the critical nature of the decision is not as important with online business, as  programs, sites and products can be changed within minutes.

There are multiple avenues to go down in finding the right online business.  In fact there may be more than one avenue that you’ll have to try before you become effective.  Take your time and avail yourself of first, free information, there’s a lot of it on the Internet.  Second, there is paid information such as statistical data from data research companies.  And finally just looking at what other companies are doing and what drives them is one of the best ways to research your ideal business.

New online businesses tend to be quite draining physically, mentally and financially so try to plan out how much of any of these you can stand before you begin.  The net result though, when you are successful is like no other.  A sense of pride and accomplishment can offer much solace.