The Sole Proprietor Research Information Pack by Laurence Goss, 2007. A new study from Massachusetts makes an important point about the 21st century American economy: the self-employed are a major but underappreciated economic force. While most people recognize that self-employment is growing, they don’t know that many measures of state or local employment don’t count sole proprietors. Instead, they simply track those workers who are paid as employees. The report, by Salem State College’s Laurence Goss, details the numbers for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The report concludes that policymakers need to better understand the importance of this sector of the economy. They should also take steps to provide better support and encouragement to sole proprietors and other micro-business owners. Data and analysis on sole proprietors in Massachusetts are available from the Enterprise Center at Salem State College http://www.enterprisectr.org/soleproprietorresearchreport57.html
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E-Commerce Learning Modules
- A Beginner's Guide to e-Commerce. This module serves as a great stepping stone toward turning rural life skills into e-commerce ventures.
- e-Commerce as a Strategy for Improving Business VitalityEntrepreneurs considering using e-commerce can learn from the experience of others.
- Helping Artisans Reach Global Markets The content of the course provides artisans with sound, research-based information to make decisions on whether or not to develop a Web page, how to do it, utilize resources, and evaluate effectiveness.
- Marketing Food Specialty Products OnlineThe purpose of this learning module is to assist food retailers in making decisions on the use of online technologies in their marketing and planning strategies.
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- Online Tutorial on Farm Leasing
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- Visual Merchandising: The Silent Salesperson. View a recording of a marketing workshop conducted by Glenn Muske, Oklahoma State University. The workshop covers some key aspects of display as a sales tool. The workshop is approximately 45 minutes long.
Building Entrepreneurial Communities
- E-Commerce Module:Connecting Rural Communities
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- Mini-Course: Developing Diversified & Value-Added Agribusinesses
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