Virtual Copies

By COLLEEN DEBAISE
October 1, 2007; Page R8

Fast-food restaurants. Retail stores. Fitness chains. For most people, those are the images that come to mind when they think of a franchise.

It's an easy idea to grasp -- a successful business expands by granting others the right, for a fee, to open carbon-copy stores in untapped markets.

Now, a small but growing number of online companies are tailoring the concept for the Internet. Call it "virtual franchising," where Web pages substitute for physical storefronts and customers drop by using keyboards.

Though it may be less straightforward than the brick-and-mortar version, online franchising offers distinct advantages, according to some Internet-business owners who have taken the plunge. Chief among them is the elimination of frustrating, time-consuming searches for suitable commercial space. That, in turn, makes it easier to get operations off the ground.

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Hint: Try the opposite of what is taught in business school.

By Marty Nemko

October 10, 2007

Many people would like to be self-employed but fear the risk -- with good reason. Within five years, half of new businesses are out of business.

Ironically, you're particularly likely to fail if you follow such standard business school exhortations as "Innovate!" While such advice makes for interesting class discussions and may be appropriate for "intrapreneurs" inside deep-pocketed corporations, it puts the average entrepreneur at grave risk of going bust.

The key to maximizing your chances of success is to do the opposite of what is taught in business school:

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Cisco CEO doesn't hide problems with dyslexia

OTTAWA - What drives John Chambers? After serving for more than a decade as CEO of Cisco Systems, he is wealthy beyond his wildest dreams and has presided over several waves of technology transformation. Yet his enthusiasm for the job ahead remains unusually high.

During an interview Friday with CanWest News Service, Chambers, 58, said he had recently agreed to stay on as CEO for the next "three to five years."

He said Cisco's board of directors insisted on this commitment because Chambers has spent half-a-decade developing a game plan that will take years to pay dividends. Who better than Chambers to lead the fight?

There was another, more subtle clue to Chambers' motivation.

The native of West Virginia spoke for nearly an hour Friday morning before an audience of more than 500 at Ottawa's National Arts Centre. He had no notes and scarcely glanced at the slide shows that lit up the giant screen behind him.

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Craigslist, Online Shopping Attract Seniors

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