Sites for Visual Artists

It's Copyright Wednesdays again! Here are some handy links for visual artists.

Are you a Visual Artist?

Site dedicated to modern and contemporary artists and arts

If you're an emerging artist, check this site out.

Need a job? Explore careers here.

I'll do posts in the coming weeks for the various specialties.

Sites for Writers

Last week, I listed some handy dandy sites for musicians; let's get literal this week.

What do writers do? Writer's Write.

Other great resources:

"Writers on the Net has been offering online writing classes since 1995 -- the first private writing school on the Internet"

"Searchable directory of published writers and literary agents"

"Writing.Com is the online community for creative writing, fiction writing, story writing, poetry writing, writing contests, writing portfolios, writing help"

Writer's Associations:

Directory of Writers Associations
Directory of Associations & Organizations
Professional Associations for Writers

Articles for Writers:

Creative Writer's Block - 5 Reasons Why Writer's Block is Not a Terminal Condition by Dan Goodwin

71 Ways for a Writer to Make Money by Julia Tang

Preparing the Writer's Portfolio by Theresa Wilson

When Does an Amateur Writer Become a Real or Professional Writer? by Lance Winslow

Copyright Resources for Writers:

Register Your Literary Work
NOLO's Copyright Resource Center

Business Plans: A Quick Guide

Scenario: You've decided to start a small business. You've researched your industry, your customers and your business' message/personality. There seems to be so many 'first steps' when it comes to starting a business but one that's always way, way up there is creating a business plan.

Research, research, research – this cannot be stressed enough. Read as much as you can. Here are some book titles that are relevant:

• Writing a Convincing Business Plan by Arthur R. DeThomas Ph.D., Lin Grensing-Pophal
• The Definitive Business Plan: The Fast Track to Intelligent Business Planning for Executives and Entrepreneurs (2nd Edition) by Richard Stutely
• The Complete Book of Business Plans: Simple Steps to Writing a Powerful Business Plan (Small Business Sourcebooks) by Joseph A. Covello
• The One Page Business Plan with CD-ROM by James T., Jr. Horan

There are plenty of free informational resources out there.

* Five Crucial Components of a Business Plan by Cavyl Stewart

* Sample Business Plan Outline by Lance Winslow

* 8 Business Plan Mistakes to Avoid by Jo Ann Joy

* How to Prepare a Business Plan that Guarantees Big Profits by Julia Tang

* Writing a Business Plan and Check List by Thomas Choo

TradeMark Express Blog Schedule

A VIS (Very Important Step) for your New Business

Starting a Business: Must Visit Sites

Time is rather elusive today so I'm going to keep this short but sweet. Here is a listing of must visit sites if you're thinking of starting a business, if you're in the throes of starting a business or are going a little mad about starting a business.




• SBA, Small Business Administration
Whether you're interested in planning, starting, managing or even getting out of business, the SBA is the place to check.

• Entrepreneur's ® Starting a Business
Business plans, how-to guides, and success stories – it's all here

• AllBusiness
"The one-stop resource for growing businesses"

• The IRS Checklist for Starting a Business
The basic steps

• PowerHomeBiz
Specific to "starting, managing and growing a home business"

TradeMark Express Blog Schedule

A VIS (Very Important Step) for your New Business

starting a business * business startup * small business * home business * business links

Starting a Business:
Researching Your Industry

Using this post as inspiration, I want to dig a bit deeper into the concept of researching your intended industry.

Brad Sugars' article How to Research Your Market is a must read. Brad lists a number of ideas, including contacting business groups and universities.

One of the ideas I touched upon yesterday was researching your competition. But how does one even go about doing this? And how do you keep it all organized in such a way that you can actually analyze your results? I'm a big fan of tables – I use them constantly for TradeMark Express, be it for client bids or summarizing the week. They're easy to create, manage & alter.

I've created a template that can be viewed & printed here. I filled in the first table with TradeMark Express' information so you can get an idea of how to use this table. Here's a blank form. If you'd like me to send you this table via email, please contact me at Shannon at tmexpress dot com.

Find the holder of a domain address
Free digital library of Internet sites
Using the Web to Research Your Market – PowerHomeBiz

research your industry * research your market * research * competition * market research * industry research