Starting a business? If so, you'll love our small business startup news. Every day, we write useful articles on breaking small business news that can help entrepreneurs to start and grow a business.

• New study uncovers keys to entrepreneurial success - 11/20/2009 - The Kauffman Foundation released a study with insight on what contributes to SMB success.

• First time entrepreneurs fill vacant storefronts - 11/20/2009 - Young entrepreneurs take advantage of empty storefronts.
• New businesses mean new jobs, the Kauffman Foundation reports - 11/9/2009 - The Kauffman Foundation reports that new businesses generate the most job opportunities in economic hard times.
• Small Business Owners Show Increased Optimism - 11/3/2009 - Small business owners more confident in the future than the present moment.
• Small businesses getting ready to hire again - 10/27/2009 - Optimism is higher for entrepreneurs starting companies in the last three years.
• New York and LA most expensive cities for small business - 10/20/2009 - These cities are the most expensive places to live in the country.
• Free business advice for women entrepreneurs - 10/20/2009 - There's plenty of free advice out there for entrepreneurs.
• Oklahoma City tops list of best places to start a business - 10/14/2009 - Pittsburgh, Raleigh, Houston and Hartford also make top 10.
• Entrepreneurs looking to expand markets - 10/12/2009 - The largest global companies are keeping their focus primarily on the present economic challenges, but entrepreneurs are increasingly looking to get ahead while expanding to new markets, according to a new survey.
• eBay awards $25,000 grants to online entrepreneurs - 10/7/2009 - Entrepreneurs can get seed money from foundations and others to start up their businesses.
• Nonprofits receive grants to support entrepreneurship - 10/6/2009 - Grants will help nonprofits train low-income entrepreneurs.
• MIT entrepreneurship fellows to found ventures in developing countries - 10/2/2009 - The incoming class of MIT Legatum Fellows has been announced, who aim to bring entrepreneurship to low-income countries.
• Kauffman Foundation gives entrepreneurs a voice in shaping economic policies - 9/29/2009 - To give entrepreneurs a voice in shaping the country's economic future, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation has launched the "Build a Stronger America" movement.
• Low entrepreneurial activity threatens economic growth - 9/28/2009 - This recession has seen a sharper drop in entrepreneurial activity than previous recessions, possibly threatening to delay economic growth.
• What it takes to be an entrepreneur - 9/22/2009 - The decision to become an entrepreneur is an important one, and must be judged according to the person's strengths, weaknesses and characteristics, the Wall Street Journal reported.
• Social networking may help entrepreneurs connect with venture capitalists - 9/22/2009 - With personal relationships forming the key to securing venture capital funding, many entrepreneurs may find LinkedIn and other social networking sites to be a valuable resource.
• Born to be an entrepreneur - 9/21/2009 - Recent research found that genetic factors may contribute to a person's likelihood of being an entrepreneur.
• New ad structures could turn your blog into a business - 9/18/2009 - Blogs are not just places for you to read about what kind of day your friends had anymore. In fact, they could be big business.
• Many hats on single heads as small businesses cut jobs - 9/17/2009 - How many small business owners have to ship their own packages, answer their own phones, and run their own cash registers? The answer might surprise you.
• News for small business owners: buying home based business insurance may be a good idea - 9/16/2009 - If you operate a home-based business, buying homeowner's insurance could be critical to your success.
• Mint.com founder tells entrepreneurs to stick to the basics - 9/15/2009 - The founder of recently acquired Mint.com told entrepreneurs how he managed to go from "$0 to $170 million in three years flat."
• DHS and SBA help small businesses prepare for swine flu - 9/15/2009 - The Department of Homeland Security and the Small Business Administration released a guide for small businesses on how to prepare their companies for a potential swine flu outbreak.
• For IPO valuations, leave revenue to the imagination - 9/11/2009 - Paradoxically, promising startups can actually receive higher valuations before they generate any revenue.
• The keys to venture capital, in two simple questions - 9/9/2009 - To make the startup more attractive to venture capitalists, entrepreneurs should be able to identify who their customers are and how they will make revenue.
• Innovation may hold the key to startup success - 9/8/2009 - Innovation is more than just the traditional input/output measurement, and is based on business models, ability to cope with challenges, and outperformance in their markets, McKinsey & Company reported.
• Dude, you're getting free promotion - 9/5/2009 - Through the Take Your Own Path campaign, Dell is providing local, national and global exposure to a handful of entrepreneurs and small businesses.
• Entrepreneurs must recognize limitations, expert says - 9/1/2009 - Accepting limitations and knowing when to step aside are critical qualities of an entrepreneur, said business expert Richard Mammone.
• Product development model can be cause of death for startups - 8/31/2009 - The reasons for small business failure are many. Serial entrepreneur Steve Blank offers one more cause for small business failures: use of a product development model that is not appropriate for startup companies.
• Find your niche (market), CEO advises - 8/27/2009 - When developed and marketed successfully, niche small business can be quite successful, said one CEO.
• Four years after Katrina, New Orleans now a hub of entrepreneurship - 8/25/2009 - Four years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans has emerged as a flourishing city for entrepreneurship.
• America may not be as friendly to SMBs as it seems, report says - 8/13/2009 - Despite the "national spirit of entrepreneurship," the U.S. has among the lowest activity rates for small businesses in the world.
• Low cost strategic branding website could mean industry shakeup - 8/11/2009 - A new strategic branding website, buildabrand.com, allows entrepreneurs to select and customize their own branding strategies quickly and at a low cost.
• Credit card debt can doom startup businesses, report finds - 8/7/2009 - Acquiring high credit card debt in the first three years of a startup's operations increases the likelihood that the business will fail, said a recent report from the Kauffman Foundation.
• New York City helps to cook up an economic recovery - 8/7/2009 - The New York City Economic Development Corporation has announced plans to open a large communal kitchen for aspiring food business entrepreneurs.
• Angels focus on existing clients instead of seeking new ventures - 8/7/2009 - Faced with less funding money, angel investors are increasing their engagement with existing portfolios instead of investing in new ventures.
• Ten cities fight the recession with sustained entrepreneurial spirit - 7/29/2009 - Entrepreneurs pursuing their startup dreams should consider moving to one of the top ten "entrepreneur-friendly" cities.
• An entrepreneurs guide to the venture capital pitch - 7/28/2009 - Beating the venture capital competition involves focus, preparation and pitching, not gimmicks.
• VC backed startups more likely to be underpriced, study says - 7/24/2009 - Venture capital-backed firms are the most likely to be underpriced in the IPO, helping the VCs but hurting angel investors as well as the firm itself.
• Entrepreneur exemplifies power of Web 2.0 marketing - 7/23/2009 - Greg Wittstock, founder of Acquascape Designs, can attest to the power of social networking marketing strategies.
• Historically low venture capital investments encourage healthy competition - 7/21/2009 - Venture capital investments shrank by half this spring, as investors were discouraged by the poor exit market and low returns.
• Starting a company is difficult, but the recession doesn't make it worse - 7/17/2009 - Although less than half of startup companies survived to the age of five, the survival rate is largely independent of the economic conditions, entrepreneurial professor Scott A. Shane found.
• Investors increasingly seeking refuge from volatile market in venture capital - 7/16/2009 - Venture capital is looking like an increasingly attractive vehicle for investors, but it is a complicated endeavor for entrepreneurs.
• It's never too early to start: Programs teach youth the value of entrepreneurship - 7/14/2009 - The recent trend of young entrepreneur education programs aims to foster business skills and responsibility in the nation's youth.
• For prospective entrepreneurs, ambition and ideas may not be enough - 7/14/2009 - Prospective entrepreneurs need to evaluate their ability to handle the typical obstacles of starting a business, Inc. magazine advised.
• Amazon entrepreneur contest to finance startups that use cloud computing - 7/10/2009 - The Amazon Web Services Start-Up Challenge will award the winning entrepreneur $50,000 in cash and $50,000 in cloud computing software to finance their startup ventures.
• Entrepreneurs ambitious and independent, not out of options, survey says - 7/8/2009 - Despite the image of laid off workers turning to entrepreneurship, an inability to find traditional employment was found to be the least common reason to start a company, a recent study revealed.
• Venture capital market at the brink of serious change - 7/7/2009 - As the venture capital market sees historically bad returns and many venture capitalists are scaling back their investments, the industry is poised to undergo serious changes.
• Entrepreneurs looking to the future instead of focusing on the present, survey says - 7/7/2009 - Entrepreneurs are currently more focused on pursuing new market opportunities and broadening their customer bases than securing their present situations, according to a recent Ernst & Young survey.
• The small brewery that could - 7/6/2009 - The Spoetzl Brewery, home to Shiner beers, is somewhat of a living legend in the small town of Shiner, Texas, having survived the Great Depression, Prohibition and national brewery domination.
• IPOs increase but M&A, liquidity activity falls this quarter - 7/2/2009 - Although M&A activity is at its lowest since 1999 and liquidity activity is at its lowest since 2003, there has been a substantial increase in IPOs this quarter, posing both good news and bad news for venture-backed entrepreneurs.
• Job losses can turn into small business success - 7/1/2009 - A growing number of people affected by layoffs have turned to starting their own small business
• Small businesses take advantage of layoffs - 7/1/2009 - The layoffs of big business means more quality employees for SMBs.
• Tech entrepreneurs tend to be older, well educated, study finds - 6/29/2009 - A study by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation found that technology and engineering entrepreneurs do not fit the dot-com boom stereotype of young college dropouts, instead finding that they tend to be older and well-educated.
• Companies expect to recall program cuts in next year - 6/29/2009 - Many companies appear to believe the worst of the economic downturn is behind them and will remove hiring and salary freezes in the next year.
• Entrepreneurs succeed with creative management strategies - 6/24/2009 - Entrepreneurs with creative management strategies, such as exchanging services, are more likely to succeed despite underfunding or a tough economy.
• Study: Bad economy spells good news for entrepreneurs - 6/23/2009 - A study by the Kauffman Foundation found that recessions and bear markets may actually be good news for entrepreneurs.
• Weak job market has workers taking untraditional measures - 6/23/2009 - Job seekers are doing everything from sending shoes to dressing in odd costumes when looking for work.
• Layoffs have some former employees starting their own businesses - 6/23/2009 - The recession isn't getting everyone down as many are taking it as an opportunity to start their own SMB.
• High costs of benefits have SMBs cutting back - 6/12/2009 - Most small business owners say it is increasingly difficult to offer benefits to employees.
• Capital is not the most important thing for a startup - 6/3/2009 - A new study finds that underfunded startups can still survive and that a strong management team may not be more important than a good product.
• Many Americans considering starting SMB despite recession - 6/2/2009 - Although most do not follow through on the dream, almost one-quarter have started a small business during this economic climate.
• Small businesses may benefit from increased IPOs - 6/1/2009 - Many experts believe the drought of IPOs may end soon.
• Some things to consider before becoming an entrepreneur - 5/29/2009 - One freelancer says potential small business owners must consider the possibility of not taking a paycheck to up to three years.
• Layoffs increasingly mean new small businesses - 5/28/2009 - A growing number of those who have lost their jobs are becoming small business owners.
• Being the first to market is not always the best bet - 5/26/2009 - Some entrepreneurs may be better suited to let others make the first mistakes in a new venture
• Customer Satisfaction Index improves - 5/21/2009 - The quarterly measurement indicates that customers are feeling more confident.
• Small businesses can benefit from close relationships - 5/19/2009 - Family members can often help a small business survive
• Lack of capital not stopping small businesses - 5/18/2009 - Microsoft says technology improvements have made outside funding unnecessary for many startups.
• Survey: Small businesses expect financial situation to improve - 5/18/2009 - The study also found that almost one-quarter of SMBs will increases capital spending.
• For freedom to work from home, SMB employees would take pay cut - 5/14/2009 - A new report finds one in five employees would take a cut in pay to work from home
• Swine flu and the Family Leave and Medical Act - 5/14/2009 - How employees and small businesses are protecting themselves.
• Entrepreneurs kept up at night worrying about business - 5/11/2009 - Most of those who lose sleep say they're concerned about the economy
• California sees rise in small business sales - 5/7/2009 - The sale of small businesses may be a good sign for the overall economy.
• Swine flu threat can help SMBs prepare for the worst - 5/4/2009 - Most small businesses don't have an emergency plan in place, but with the H1N1 virus threat now may be a good time to prepare one.
• SMBs find success after moving locations - 5/4/2009 - Some small businesses can actually benefit from having to move their home base.
• SMBs giving away products to keep goodwill - 4/30/2009 - Giving away services and products for free is an unconventional business strategy, but many small businesses across the country are viewing free work as a way to help others get through the recession and build client loyalty for years to come.
• Some small business advice is better than others - 4/24/2009 - Business coaches can be a valuable asset to small business owners, but getting advice from a business coach doesn't guarantee success and there are a few things to watch out for when seeking business advice from others.