Generally small business owners like to deal with other small business owners.  Maybe there’s a personal connection between entrepreneurial spirits, or maybe they’ll just get a better price…but whatever the reason…it works!

There are also a lot of other organizations you can join.  Here are a few:

• Entrepreneurs Only (EO) - A membership organization designed to help business owners from around the world on their path to greater business and personal fulfillment.
• International Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises Organization dedicated to promoting small businesses around the globe. Offers a free entry in their International Business Directory and a forum designed to allow the exchange of ideas between small business owners and entrepreneurs worldwide as well as many other resources.
• The Glass House - The Glasshouse was founded in 1998 to provide support, encouragement and inspiration to entrepreneurs across all sectors.
• PeerSight - An e-enabled CEO membership organization for small business.
• TEC - A worldwide network of more than 12,000 progressive and practiced executives.
• The Small Business Forum - Interactive forum and message board dedicated to small business issues.

If you want to start small, I suggest the small business forum.  It’s anonymous (mostly) because it’s completely online and while the meeting is virtual, the benefits are real.

Ten years ago, almost perfect copies of pirated Microsoft software, including their trademark Windows operating system, began popping up all over the globe. US Customs found a shipping container in 2001 in Los Angeles that held at least $100 million worth of knock-off Microsoft software. After this Los Angeles seizure in 2001, Microsoft pushed the investigation and wound up in Taiwan where another $100 million in fake software was found.

Microsoft has estimated that over the whole operation, spanning at least a decade and into no less than 22 countries, they have seized more than $900 million in pirated software. There were 35 convictions in the US and many more in countries including Taiwan, Singapore, Australia, Paraguay, Italy, Canada, Germany, Poland, and Great Britain to name a few.

For any of you entrepreneurs in the software business, you certainly know how much of a problem piracy can be. Though there are few of us online that haven’t at some point or another copied a picture, downloaded mp3s without paying royalties, and other blood-thirsty offenses, piracy certainly is a huge problem when you’re creating something at a highly inflated price like Microsoft. I’m not advocating software piracy by any means, but I do advocate corporate and personal responsibility. How much money is enough?

As somewhat of a geek myself, I’ve built several computers from scratch and once thought that a business building computers would be great for me. The only problem is that I can build a computer that will run well, be fast enough to get online with a high speed connection, store plenty of data, and do just about anything the customer wants for near $150 my cost of parts. Buying an individual licensed copy of Windows costs about $125 (for an older version) and the office pack that includes Word, Excel, and other important programs people assume come with the computer costs another $125. There’s no way to compete with Dell’s computers at $400 completely built, running, and with all the software when my cost alone would be at least $400 for just the parts and software. Add in labor, shipping, and profit, and any small business would be out of business.

Microsoft should come off the prices. I mean, we all know that Bill Gates is sickeningly rich. Where’s the limit? Everyone wants caps on medical malpractice lawsuits because it’s driving the cost of malpractice insurance through the roof and not only can put a private practice out of business, but obviously raises the cost of health care (insured and uninsured) significantly. People are quick to see the relation there, but slow to pick up on the fact the Microsoft keeps raking in the money, crushing small (and sometimes large) businesses that pose any threat to their continued reign over the personal computer world.

With middle-class America being able to afford these long distance calls with services like VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol), Skype, email, chat, and even the ease of long distance cheap communication through internet connected cell phones and PDAs, getting your menial tasks done by an overseas company has never been more affordable.

GetFriday, another company based in India that helps mostly US clients with mundane tasks such as organizing a party, finding a particular item online, locating services, and almost anything else that can be done from a distance, grew from a single desk operation to now having over 140 employees and is still growing.

It’s not likely to slow down anytime soon.  Outsourcing to India has been an issue in the national news for some time now, but this is not an outsourcing issue.  These companies are Indian owned, managed, and went through the same start up troubles as any other business would have in initial advertising, finding clients, building a client base, and customer service on a budget.  While it may be safe to say that the cost of living is significantly less in India (at least at the time this article was written), there is absolutely nothing stopping an American entrepreneur from a similar business.

If you’re single and have no children coming with you, then I’d recommend Mexico or almost anywhere in South America.  The cost of living, real estate, and other necessities is significantly cheaper than the U.S.  You can live very well on $2k a month in most of South America.  The only problem is that decent health care can be hard to find.  The vacation spots are great, cheap, and close by and if you live like the locals and resist the temptation to buy name brand products like an American, you’ll be pretty well off bringing down $500 a week from the internet.

If you are concerned with being able to bring your family with you, consider Eastern Europe.  The Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and others can provide excellent prices on real estate while keeping the cost of living low and being relatively safer in some respects to other countries.  The health care is better, safer, and more reliable, but not always top notch.  You’ll probably be able to find work easier in these countries than in most of South America, but that’s not a guarantee.  If your internet business falls through or you hit a rough spot, you can usually find work teaching advanced English with or without a college degree if you’re a native speaker.  You’ll have to take a TEFL course, but that’s no big issue if you can pass high school English classes with ease.

If you don’t want to learn a foreign language, consider Canada.  Canada’s cost of living is somewhat similar to the U.S., but not as high.  The health care system is certainly better, more affordable, and more reliable than most other foreign countries (except major European countries like France, Germany, and the U.K. which have excellent health care, but are expensive).  Real estate is more affordable than the U.S. and jobs are easier to find than in most of the previously mentioned countries.

Pick a place and pick a date.  Take a week or two for vacation and explore the possibility of living there.  Remember to shop where the locals shop and try to calculate what it would cost to live there.  If you can make enough online in a reliable way…give it some thought!   Calculate what you’d save in living expenses and seriously consider living in another country for a year or even a few years.  You might just save enough to have a significant amount of savings in the bank when you come back (if you come back).

There are other perks too.  You’ll have the opportunity to learn the local language and be able to translate which is certainly a marketable skill.   If you go to a cheap vacation destination, you’ll be able to advertise to give other American’s a guided tour or set up a vacation package for them.  You may even find something among your travels to sell on eBay and do some importing/exporting.

Do some research and follow the rules (especially on that import/export thing) and you can make a real money while laying in your hammock on the beaches of Brazil!

There are all sorts of wholesalers and sourcing services that claim to give the lowest prices.  The only problem is that everybody else can buy from these same wholesale and sourcing services.  The absolute best way to find something to sell on eBay is to find someone with a product, but no internet expertise.

The best way to do this is to leave your comfort zone and start associating yourself with people who probably struggle to create a free email account.  The types of deals you’re looking for are the ones done locally, personally, and generally over a beer and a handshake.  Go to the flea markets and try to find new booths with good deals.  Sometimes they do sell on eBay or on their own websites, but more often they are just too busy to take the time to do real online marketing.  If you have that experience and are certain that you can get some sales…make the proposition to the business owner and see where things go.  They’re always happy to do more business and move more product.

You can also try the docks (if you live in a coastal area).  There are lots of big and small businesses there and you never know who or what you’ll run into.  Talk a little to other business owners and pass out some business cards telling them that you do “internet marketing” and see what happens.  If you pass out enough cards, someone will call.  All you need to do then is ensure that it’s a good deal by checking eBay’s current prices on similar items and calculating the profit you can make and what you can split with them.

Bringing on a wholesaler as a partner is usually a better idea than trying to retail the products yourself.  If you can strike a deal with the wholesaler to split the profits on whatever sells, you’ll have relatively low risk.  If you buy a thousand widgets from your wholesaler and only four sell on eBay, you’ve got a problem.  Always try to create a partnership with them if you can.

Look for people that sell in open air markets, out of small shops, or even the trunk of their car.  These businesses often don’t have the budget to advertise and without the online expertise that you have, they wouldn’t have any business other than local business.

- John