All small business want that added advantage that sets them apart from the competition.

Whether it is the best products and customer service, years of experience that no one else can offer or using social media to promote their brand better than everyone else, some small business owners stand out above the crowd.

So you want to start a high tech company?  We would strongly suggest moving to California.  The Wall Street Journal recently published it’s choices as the top 50 venture capital backed startups in America.  Thirty seven of them are in California.  Most of those are in Northern California, in or around Silicon Valley.

According to several sources, Facebook will pass the one-billion user mark in the near future. Does that mean, however, that one billion people know how to use it to its full potential? Absolutely not – that would be too easy!

The majority of Facebook’s users are only there for the social experience. The benefit for us, as advertisers, is that the vast majority of Facebook users have little or no inhibition when it comes to providing the website with an extensive amount of personal information. (And, hey, this lack of inhibition gives us some interesting photos to look at!)

Anyone who's been in the SEO business long enough knows the importance of capitalizing on posting and pushing content during key times. Of course there's the obvious advertising strategy of marketing certain products and services during seasonally appropriate times of the year (e.g. swimming wear and pool cleaning during the summer), but every now and then there's a seminal event that holds as much public interest as it does ad potential. For 2012, no singular occurrence will reach the level of attention being grabbed by this year's presidential election.

In the years I've invested myself in dedication to the business of Internet Marketing, I've observed that though technologies and different fields of expertise appear and recede overtime like any other ever-changing business outlook, only timeless, universal principles remain.

Do you attend local networking events? Being part of formal referral and networking groups has been a big part of my success in growing two successful businesses in the past 6 years. Keep in mind that your networking doesn't have to be limited to official events. I've used a terrific technique lately that is low-stress, low-pressure and very effective for connecting with new prospects.

It was only a matter of time before businesses incorporated social media tactics into their internet marketing plan after social platforms such as Facebook and Twitter took the world by storm. Pessimists contended before that the results of social marketing were not measurable. That was before. Now, any social media marketing agency can outline metrics that are tangible, concrete and quantitatively and qualitatively measurable.

Ever since just after February, every voice in the SEO community has been shouting out the same message loud and clear: If you're not doing online marketing legitimately, then you're in for a rude awakening. After the Google Penguin algorithm dealt a significant blow to the SERP standing of many sites the web over, most online marketing agencies that were using spam and black hat SEO tactics began turning to more ethical methods for their clients' campaigns. Those that still remained content to buy links, stuff keywords, and do all other manner of questionable content creation ended up falling by the wayside.

Starting a business is a dream many people have. The ability to work your own hours, take a day off when you want to, and increase your income substantially is alluring. Owning a business is not all that difficult, and there are many business startup ideas that only require a very small investment. However, just as with a job, a business does take a lot of work (contrary to what you might think), at least during the initial stages, until it starts to make money. The following are just a few business startup ideas: