How to: Get help starting and running your small business

Starting and running a small business is a challenge for anyone. The challenges of a small business include: Writing a business plan, cash flow, financing growth of the business, and market research. Fortunately you don't have to have the talents of Donald Trump to get your business off the ground and running smoothly. There are resources our there to help you get going. In Iowa, there are many Small Business Development Centers located throughout the state to serve entrepreneurs. Visit the Iowa Small Business Development Centers web site at: www.iowasbdc.org for more information.

Testing Google Base: Real Estate for Sale

The last few weeks I have been testing Google Base, a new service recently released from Google, which is is still in 'Beta' mode. According to Google, you can use Google Base to upload items for sale directly into Google, and those items will show up in Google Base, Froogle, Google search and other areas of Google, depending on the relevancy of the items to a given search.

So far, I would give Google Base low marks for ease of use, as it is difficult at best to upload items into the system and track them, or even find them in Google once they are uploaded and 'accepted' by their system. However, now that I have their system learned, I would say that the system has a lot of potential in helping people sell items on the Internet, and if Google can correct the flaws in the system, people will use it successfully.

I have put together my own 'beta' web site, using Google Base, to show real estate that is currently for sale in Iowa. The site is far from complete, and many more tools are on the way. But the site is actually populated by a data feed that goes directly into Google Base, so running the site is a snap. Right now, I am closely following the developments of Google Base, and bringing the site along as Base develops. Check out the site here: www.IowaRealEstateSource.com