The BLU Network

Paws Inspire a Teacher's Business

We’re highlighting small businesses from around the country as nominated by you, our readers. If your favorite small business is using Twitter to communicate with customers, let us know about it @fbsmallbiz with the hashtag #mysbc, and it may be featured as an upcoming Small Business of the Day.

Small Businesses Weigh In: Obama's State of the Union Address

From hiring to health-care, here are issues some of the country’s small business owners say the president failed to tackle in this week's address.

How to Read Financial Statements

The financial statements your business generates provide the basis of future projections, insight into potential tax liabilities and your business’s progress over the years. Here's how to read and understand them. 

Men's underwear leaves the Stone Age

FORTUNE -- The days of over-sized jeans sagging from the derrieres of men everywhere are no more. Skinny jeans, tailored pants, and fitted oxfords are de rigeur, leaving little room for excess fabric in the undergarment department. Boxers or briefs used to be the only question men needed to ask themselves, but today, the options have grown. Five years ago, Tom Patterson was a medical-device sales rep by day and an avid-viewer of CNBC's The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch by night. "All of the featured products or services ... were created out of personal frustration," recalls Patterson. "I found myself constantly looking around, asking, 'What can I make better?'" During the financial crisis, Patterson was laid off from a sales job he held for six years. During his down time, he realized that one of the biggest fashion annoyances he faced while he was working was a fabric gut -- that baggy bump just above the belt line caused by a loose-fitting undershirt.

$34,000 in debt, wants to start a business

Michele Heyward has a big heart. When friends or family struggle financially, she is always there to help with a mortgage or car payment or clothes for the kids. Recently she has been spending more than $1,800 a month on others.

Chinese New Year makes U.S. biz uneasy

As China celebrates the New Year by ushering in the Year of the Dragon, U.S. small companies with exposure to the country are doing more hand-wringing than rejoicing.

Steps to Starting a Business

Before starting a home business, it's important to know how much money you will need to get the business established. This page addresses some of the startup costs that a small business entrepreneur might face in order to do business.

Multi Level Marketing - MLM

Multi-level marketing, network marketing, or MLM is a popular way to start and run a business, but it has its pitfalls. The definition of multi level marketing - MLM.

Set Up a Facebook Profile

A Facebook profile helps you connect with others on this vast social network. Here's how to create a log in and start setting up a Facebook profile.

Sales: Voicemail Opportunity

Voicemail is a salesperson's worst nightmare. How can you get beyond them? Learn how you can turn voice mails into a cold calling journey of discovery in this guest article by Ari Galper.

Media Buyer

Are you interested in a career in marketing? Use the Marketing Career Profiles to learn more about a career as a media buyer. Each profile will contain a job description, expected salary, education requirements and personality synopsis that will let you know if you are a good fit for that particular job.

Marketing Internships

Marketing internships and entry level jobs are not as easy to get as they once were. The ramifications of our economy are making these jobs harder to come by. College students and recent graduates are finding they are hit with fierce competition for both entry level jobs and internships. You are going to have to have a strategic plan in order to get noticed and these five tips will help you in creating that plan.

Recovering from a too risky portfolio

We spoke to five families who face challenges that could keep them from meeting their financial goals. With a few tweaks to their game plan, they can get back on course. Here, the Mitchells' story -- and the recommended financial fixes.

Putting passions ahead of planning

Scott Pankratz and Julie Osborn are phenomenal planners and money managers -- except when it comes to their own investments.

Variable annuities: Buyer beware

Chances are, you've already heard the pitch from an insurance agent or a financial adviser. And if you've been feeling anxious about the stock market (who hasn't?), it probably sounded pretty compelling: "Invest in stocks while protecting yourself from another 2008, with a guaranteed minimum return that provides income for the rest of your life!"