10 crucial questions when naming your business, product, or Web site.

1.Who are my consumers?
You can't expect to sell to everyone, so define narrowly who you want to sell to and make the name appeal to that group. You need to know how the members of that group think. You will make your best guesses with your current knowledge, but you must be willing to discard some personal favorites when later testing shows that they don't work. Unfortunately, your first inclinations are seldom your best. Trust your testing.

2.What am I naming?
The goal here is to give the product a name that has appealing associations. In all types of naming it is important that the name evokes the right emotions, associations, and images. In addition, if you are naming a product that will be on a retail shelf, the name should be short enough to fit on the retail box and be legible from several feet away.

If your business, product, or service is altogether new, you will generally want its name to communicate at a glance what it concerns. For example, business names (trade names) such as GENERAL NUTRITION, SPORTSMAN'S WAREHOUSE, BURGER WORLD, and PETSMART communicate immediately what is at issue. On the other hand, if you are naming an additional product in an established business, the product name need not necessarily communicate what it is. For example, it is not necessary for names such as Mustang, Thunderbird, Marboro, and Camel to communicate that they are cars and cigarettes, because the consumer knows what they are from the company names.

3.What type of name do I want?
Names can be categorized in various ways. Some are surnames like Anderson Lumber Company, or Covey Leadership. Others are ordinary words combinations such as New Balance Shoes, or First Security Bank. Some names are coined words like Kodak, Nu Skin, Nytol, or Intel. Others such as Taurus and Nike have been borrowed from Greek mythology. Below are some of the types of names that you may consider:
Coined names:

The trend to coin business and product names is increasing, largely because they are quite easily trademarked. Names such as Nu Skin, Computune, and Envirocare are all recent coinages that communicate the types of businesses they are. Pentium is a well-known product name for Intel's fifth-generation product. A recent trend in coining names for cars has been to select a prestige two-syllable beginning, and end the name with "a." Consider "Maxima, Accura, Altima, Integra, Lumina, and others. Observe how the names of medicines tend to end in in, possibly to evoke an association with the word medicine: aspirin, penicillin, herpecin, corracidin, pamparin, and cholestin. And, we are all familiar with two-word names written as single words as in WordPerfect, Microsoft, and WriteExpress. Thus, coining names may be done in a number of ways, and coinages often follow trends. WriteExpress PowerNaming is especially designed to help you in this creative process.
Common Words with a Twist:

New Balance Shoes, WriteExpress Easy Letters, Out'n Back, All a Dollar, Wallpaper Warehouse, and Four Seasons Flowers are all business and product names that consist of common words in short, meaningful phrases. Each name is memorable because of the associations it evokes. Such traditional names are good but sometimes difficult to trademark.
Surnames and First names:

The current trend is to avoid the use of surnames unless they are well known or you have the means to make them well known through advertising. As a general rule, they are difficult to trademark. Successful surnames include Smucker's, Fudrucker's, Albertson's, Covey Leadership, and Franklin Quest. Successful names that include first names include Oscar Meyer, Fred Meyer's Mama Maria's, and Tony Roma's. The use of first or surnames often works well when linked with another identifying word. For example, Jone's Paint and Glass, Peggy's Bridal, Crawford Electric, and Knighton Optical. Be aware that such names often work locally, but not internationally, unless they are widerly recognized.
Telescoped or Alpha-Numeric names:

Some persons refer to names that combine numbers and letters as Alpha-Numeric names. Such names have worked well for companies such as Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company that telescoped its name to be the 3M Company. Other good examples are Food 4 Less, A-1 Steak Sauce, 9-Lives Cat Food, and 7-UP. (Other examples???) Many such names are successful because the numbers carry important meanings in clever ways.
Names with deviant spellings:

Nite skool, Krazee Kids, Kandy Korn, Peteet Neet School, tuff skins, Xtreme are all examples of deviant spellings that play with sounds. The rhyming and alliteration features of WriteExpress can help you find words with the desired sound combinations, but you provide the innovative spellings. Be sure that the deviant spelling appeals to your target consumer. What appeals to one group of consumers may just be silly to another. The advantage of such names is that they are memorable, but you may find them difficult to trademark if there is a similar-sounding trademark with a more conventional spelling.
Acronyms and Abbreviations:

Acronyms and abbreviations are effective ways to shorten otherwise long names and make them unique and memorable, particularly when the name is already known. Thus NRA is recognized as National Rifle Association, aol is America on line, and KFC is Kentucky Fried Chicken. Otherwise, the acronym or abbreviation must contain other information to carry its message. For example IHC Health Care, CNN News, or M & L Rentals. In some cases a clever acronym is introduced with the product as in US West's Directory Expert called DEX.
Place names:

The key is for the place name to carry the right associations. New York Deli, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Chicago style pizza, San Francisco Sourdough, Kentucky Fried Chicker. Ficticious place names can also work if they have the right associations and are therefore memorable. Consider The Olive Garden Restaurant, The Attic, and The Terrace. If the nature of the business, service or product is not obvious from the name, you still have an advertising problem.
Alliterative or rhyming names:

Names with alliteration are those that have the same sound at the beginning of two or more successive words. Roto Rooter, Cellular Source, Peter Piper Pizza, Water World, and Bargain Basement are words that are memorable largely because they contain alliteration. The WriteExpress rhyming and alliteration features make up the world's most powerful tool for finding such names. While this is a very positive feature, don't let it lure you into being so creative that the name is counter productive.
Prestige names:

Names such as Nike, Sundance, Lady Di, and Pierre Cardin are all prestige names. Some are from foreign languages; others are the names of celebrities. One may expect that such names are rarely trademarkable. It is generally good advice to avoid them unless you have some legal control over the name.
4.

How long should the name be?
In naming businesses and services, lengthy names with three or more syllables in more than one word should probably be avoided. Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company was wisely reduced to 3M, and International Business Machines was reduced to IBM. If you are naming a product that will be on a retail shelf, the name should be short enough to fit on the retail box and be legible from several feet away. Selecting a name that tells the customer what the product is in only a few syllables is daunting but absolutely essential. After selecting possible names, test them with potential buyers to see whether they understand from the name what the product is. If they don't, find another short name until they do.
5.

Do the sounds in the name have the right appeal?
Your name should be easy to read, spell, and pronounce, and should reflect the quality of the thing named. It is best to avoid names with uncertain pronunciations. Part of the meaning of a word is colored by its sounds. Words that rhyme or have alliterative initial sounds may work well for some products but not for others. "Tiny Tots' Toys" may work well for children's products but such alliteration may not work well for medical supplies. Would you want to buy "comfy coronary catheters?" Certain sounds such as the vowels in tipsy and teenie weenie carry light, diminutive impressions, while the sounds in crunch and plop seem much heavier. Similarly, the sounds p,t,k,ch, j, a,u,o seem harder and more masculine than do l,m,n, ng, sh,s, i,e. The sounds v,f,z,s are generally associated with speed more than sounds such as p,t,b,d,l, and m. Some experts feel that the letters q,x,z,f, and u tend to evoke negative feelings. Of course Fudruckers and Compaq have used the sounds to their advantage. On the positive side, the letters a,b,s,t and m are reported to evoke very positive feelings. Being aware of such subtleties may help you narrow your choices.
6.

What associations should the name evoke?
Would "Bud Light" be as appealing if it were "Tiffany Light?" "Bud" evokes masculine associations and "Tiffany" evokes feminine ones. Notice that the difference is communicated as much by the sounds of the words as by the meanings. The sounds in "Bud" seem heavier than ones in "Tiffany." A recent fat substitute was given the name "olean," negating any notion of fat. Consider the positive associations with a name such as "Sunkist Oranges." Some names like Ajax or Mercury evoke powerful images from mythology. Others like Castmaster or Power Bait clearly appeal to the sport of fishing. The associations that your name evokes are extremely important and should appeal to the specific consumer you have in mind.
7.

What are the foreign language implications of the name?
Without checking foreign language associations of the word, someone at GM chose "Nova," for a Chevrolet model, probably hoping to evoke a star-like association. Only later did they realize that In Spanish, "no- va" means "it doesn't go." The incident has been a lesson for all who would name products for global consumption. Successful names with good foreign language meanings include "Nike," referring to the Greek goddess of victory, and "Taurus," meaning "bull," the second sign of the zodiac. Before settling on a name, be sure to check its possible meanings and associations in foreign languages. Foreign language dictionaries will help but will not suffice. Generally they will not contain profanity. Be safe by checking with native speakers.

8.How will I test the name?
As you narrow your name choices, involve only persons from the group who will be the consumers. Ask them what they think of when they hear the word you have chosen. You may also tell them what you think the name of your product or service, but don't dwell on it. Contact them on the following day and ask them what the name was. If several remember it, you probably have a good name. If virtually no one does, it's back to the drawing board. Other techniques include surveying consumers with a list of possible names for them to rank, interviewing consumers in the market place, and placing lists on bulletin boards and requesting responses. Also test your names for political incorrectness, negative associations, questionable meanings in foreign languages, and other connotations or associations that may render a name unwise. Remember, the name must be unique, distinctive, and memorable. And, before you use it be sure that the name will be free from legal problems.

9.How will the name appear in directories?
If you anticipate that much of your business will come from listings in the Yellow Pages, the Internet, or other directories, it will be to your advantage to have a business name that will be listed close to the start of the alphabet, because these lists appear in alphabetical order. Of course, highlighting, adding pictures, and using other attention-getting devices can help, but their effectiveness seems to be less when placed near the end of a list.

10. Can I trademark the name?
You will probably experience some frustration when you find that your favorite name is not legally available. Be sure you have three or four alternatives when you start your search from trademark availability. Initially, you may want to check trade journals, and directories such as the Yellow Pages to be sure your name is not being used. Most university libraries offer searching services so you can determine whether your name is already listed as a trademark. This initial search may save you time and money before you engage legal counsel. Be sure to check various similar or optional spellings for your name, because it can be denied if it is too similar to another established trademark. Large libraries will generally have books that deal with state and federal trademark laws. Trademark law can be complicated so you must get good advice on how to proceed.

Read More...

Summary only...

10 crucial questions when naming your business, product, or Web site.

1.

Who are my consumers?
You can't expect to sell to everyone, so define narrowly who you want to sell to and make the name appeal to that group. You need to know how the members of that group think. You will make your best guesses with your current knowledge, but you must be willing to discard some personal favorites when later testing shows that they don't work. Unfortunately, your first inclinations are seldom your best. Trust your testing.
2.

What am I naming?
The goal here is to give the product a name that has appealing associations. In all types of naming it is important that the name evokes the right emotions, associations, and images. In addition, if you are naming a product that will be on a retail shelf, the name should be short enough to fit on the retail box and be legible from several feet away.

If your business, product, or service is altogether new, you will generally want its name to communicate at a glance what it concerns. For example, business names (trade names) such as GENERAL NUTRITION, SPORTSMAN'S WAREHOUSE, BURGER WORLD, and PETSMART communicate immediately what is at issue. On the other hand, if you are naming an additional product in an established business, the product name need not necessarily communicate what it is. For example, it is not necessary for names such as Mustang, Thunderbird, Marboro, and Camel to communicate that they are cars and cigarettes, because the consumer knows what they are from the company names.
3.

What type of name do I want?
Names can be categorized in various ways. Some are surnames like Anderson Lumber Company, or Covey Leadership. Others are ordinary words combinations such as New Balance Shoes, or First Security Bank. Some names are coined words like Kodak, Nu Skin, Nytol, or Intel. Others such as Taurus and Nike have been borrowed from Greek mythology. Below are some of the types of names that you may consider:
Coined names:

The trend to coin business and product names is increasing, largely because they are quite easily trademarked. Names such as Nu Skin, Computune, and Envirocare are all recent coinages that communicate the types of businesses they are. Pentium is a well-known product name for Intel's fifth-generation product. A recent trend in coining names for cars has been to select a prestige two-syllable beginning, and end the name with "a." Consider "Maxima, Accura, Altima, Integra, Lumina, and others. Observe how the names of medicines tend to end in in, possibly to evoke an association with the word medicine: aspirin, penicillin, herpecin, corracidin, pamparin, and cholestin. And, we are all familiar with two-word names written as single words as in WordPerfect, Microsoft, and WriteExpress. Thus, coining names may be done in a number of ways, and coinages often follow trends. WriteExpress PowerNaming is especially designed to help you in this creative process.
Common Words with a Twist:

New Balance Shoes, WriteExpress Easy Letters, Out'n Back, All a Dollar, Wallpaper Warehouse, and Four Seasons Flowers are all business and product names that consist of common words in short, meaningful phrases. Each name is memorable because of the associations it evokes. Such traditional names are good but sometimes difficult to trademark.
Surnames and First names:

The current trend is to avoid the use of surnames unless they are well known or you have the means to make them well known through advertising. As a general rule, they are difficult to trademark. Successful surnames include Smucker's, Fudrucker's, Albertson's, Covey Leadership, and Franklin Quest. Successful names that include first names include Oscar Meyer, Fred Meyer's Mama Maria's, and Tony Roma's. The use of first or surnames often works well when linked with another identifying word. For example, Jone's Paint and Glass, Peggy's Bridal, Crawford Electric, and Knighton Optical. Be aware that such names often work locally, but not internationally, unless they are widerly recognized.
Telescoped or Alpha-Numeric names:

Some persons refer to names that combine numbers and letters as Alpha-Numeric names. Such names have worked well for companies such as Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company that telescoped its name to be the 3M Company. Other good examples are Food 4 Less, A-1 Steak Sauce, 9-Lives Cat Food, and 7-UP. (Other examples???) Many such names are successful because the numbers carry important meanings in clever ways.
Names with deviant spellings:

Nite skool, Krazee Kids, Kandy Korn, Peteet Neet School, tuff skins, Xtreme are all examples of deviant spellings that play with sounds. The rhyming and alliteration features of WriteExpress can help you find words with the desired sound combinations, but you provide the innovative spellings. Be sure that the deviant spelling appeals to your target consumer. What appeals to one group of consumers may just be silly to another. The advantage of such names is that they are memorable, but you may find them difficult to trademark if there is a similar-sounding trademark with a more conventional spelling.
Acronyms and Abbreviations:

Acronyms and abbreviations are effective ways to shorten otherwise long names and make them unique and memorable, particularly when the name is already known. Thus NRA is recognized as National Rifle Association, aol is America on line, and KFC is Kentucky Fried Chicken. Otherwise, the acronym or abbreviation must contain other information to carry its message. For example IHC Health Care, CNN News, or M & L Rentals. In some cases a clever acronym is introduced with the product as in US West's Directory Expert called DEX.
Place names:

The key is for the place name to carry the right associations. New York Deli, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Chicago style pizza, San Francisco Sourdough, Kentucky Fried Chicker. Ficticious place names can also work if they have the right associations and are therefore memorable. Consider The Olive Garden Restaurant, The Attic, and The Terrace. If the nature of the business, service or product is not obvious from the name, you still have an advertising problem.
Alliterative or rhyming names:

Names with alliteration are those that have the same sound at the beginning of two or more successive words. Roto Rooter, Cellular Source, Peter Piper Pizza, Water World, and Bargain Basement are words that are memorable largely because they contain alliteration. The WriteExpress rhyming and alliteration features make up the world's most powerful tool for finding such names. While this is a very positive feature, don't let it lure you into being so creative that the name is counter productive.
Prestige names:

Names such as Nike, Sundance, Lady Di, and Pierre Cardin are all prestige names. Some are from foreign languages; others are the names of celebrities. One may expect that such names are rarely trademarkable. It is generally good advice to avoid them unless you have some legal control over the name.
4.

How long should the name be?
In naming businesses and services, lengthy names with three or more syllables in more than one word should probably be avoided. Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company was wisely reduced to 3M, and International Business Machines was reduced to IBM. If you are naming a product that will be on a retail shelf, the name should be short enough to fit on the retail box and be legible from several feet away. Selecting a name that tells the customer what the product is in only a few syllables is daunting but absolutely essential. After selecting possible names, test them with potential buyers to see whether they understand from the name what the product is. If they don't, find another short name until they do.
5.

Do the sounds in the name have the right appeal?
Your name should be easy to read, spell, and pronounce, and should reflect the quality of the thing named. It is best to avoid names with uncertain pronunciations. Part of the meaning of a word is colored by its sounds. Words that rhyme or have alliterative initial sounds may work well for some products but not for others. "Tiny Tots' Toys" may work well for children's products but such alliteration may not work well for medical supplies. Would you want to buy "comfy coronary catheters?" Certain sounds such as the vowels in tipsy and teenie weenie carry light, diminutive impressions, while the sounds in crunch and plop seem much heavier. Similarly, the sounds p,t,k,ch, j, a,u,o seem harder and more masculine than do l,m,n, ng, sh,s, i,e. The sounds v,f,z,s are generally associated with speed more than sounds such as p,t,b,d,l, and m. Some experts feel that the letters q,x,z,f, and u tend to evoke negative feelings. Of course Fudruckers and Compaq have used the sounds to their advantage. On the positive side, the letters a,b,s,t and m are reported to evoke very positive feelings. Being aware of such subtleties may help you narrow your choices.
6.

What associations should the name evoke?
Would "Bud Light" be as appealing if it were "Tiffany Light?" "Bud" evokes masculine associations and "Tiffany" evokes feminine ones. Notice that the difference is communicated as much by the sounds of the words as by the meanings. The sounds in "Bud" seem heavier than ones in "Tiffany." A recent fat substitute was given the name "olean," negating any notion of fat. Consider the positive associations with a name such as "Sunkist Oranges." Some names like Ajax or Mercury evoke powerful images from mythology. Others like Castmaster or Power Bait clearly appeal to the sport of fishing. The associations that your name evokes are extremely important and should appeal to the specific consumer you have in mind.
7.

What are the foreign language implications of the name?
Without checking foreign language associations of the word, someone at GM chose "Nova," for a Chevrolet model, probably hoping to evoke a star-like association. Only later did they realize that In Spanish, "no- va" means "it doesn't go." The incident has been a lesson for all who would name products for global consumption. Successful names with good foreign language meanings include "Nike," referring to the Greek goddess of victory, and "Taurus," meaning "bull," the second sign of the zodiac. Before settling on a name, be sure to check its possible meanings and associations in foreign languages. Foreign language dictionaries will help but will not suffice. Generally they will not contain profanity. Be safe by checking with native speakers.
8.

How will I test the name?
As you narrow your name choices, involve only persons from the group who will be the consumers. Ask them what they think of when they hear the word you have chosen. You may also tell them what you think the name of your product or service, but don't dwell on it. Contact them on the following day and ask them what the name was. If several remember it, you probably have a good name. If virtually no one does, it's back to the drawing board. Other techniques include surveying consumers with a list of possible names for them to rank, interviewing consumers in the market place, and placing lists on bulletin boards and requesting responses. Also test your names for political incorrectness, negative associations, questionable meanings in foreign languages, and other connotations or associations that may render a name unwise. Remember, the name must be unique, distinctive, and memorable. And, before you use it be sure that the name will be free from legal problems.
9.

How will the name appear in directories?
If you anticipate that much of your business will come from listings in the Yellow Pages, the Internet, or other directories, it will be to your advantage to have a business name that will be listed close to the start of the alphabet, because these lists appear in alphabetical order. Of course, highlighting, adding pictures, and using other attention-getting devices can help, but their effectiveness seems to be less when placed near the end of a list.
10.

Can I trademark the name?
You will probably experience some frustration when you find that your favorite name is not legally available. Be sure you have three or four alternatives when you start your search from trademark availability. Initially, you may want to check trade journals, and directories such as the Yellow Pages to be sure your name is not being used. Most university libraries offer searching services so you can determine whether your name is already listed as a trademark. This initial search may save you time and money before you engage legal counsel. Be sure to check various similar or optional spellings for your name, because it can be denied if it is too similar to another established trademark. Large libraries will generally have books that deal with state and federal trademark laws. Trademark law can be complicated so you must get good advice on how to proceed.

Read More...

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10 Easy Steps for Increasing Visibility Online.

Here's a 10-step plan to improve site visibility and increase search-friendliness. The first five steps address parts of your website's HTML code, while the final five are more abstract. Together, they add up to a "must do" SEO list.

1. Title tag ()

* This is most important of all. If you have the title tag set up right, and it's a unique enough phrase, you could rank on page one for this alone.
* Write your keywords early in the title, and place your company name last--unless you are Coca-Cola, or have a huge brand.

2. Meta tags

* Description--. Place your page content description between the blank quotes with a call to action statement like, "Sign up here," or "Call us at 800 XXX-XXXX."
* Keywords--. Place keywords between the quotation marks after "content," separated by commas. Google ignores this, but it appears that other search engines still review it.

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3. Header tags

* H1--This HTML tag should contain your core keywords, one per page.
* H2--This HTML tag should contain derivatives of the keywords.

4. Body

* Content--Use content that matches the keywords on your site. You should ideally have 400 to 800 words on a page.
* Bolding--Include bolded keywords that match your topic/theme on the page.
* Create a blog--Wordpressis an amazing blog that is free and can easily be optimized via plug-ins. Then, write entries twice a week.

5. Linking

* Use links and anchor text to create popularity and reputation around keywords (example: don't link to just "click here," but create a better link like, "download the digital camera white paper").
* Internal links (link to other pages on your site)
* Outbound links (you link to another authority site on your topic)
* Reciprocal links (join link exchanges and contact partners to exchange links)
* One-way links (when other sites link to your blog, press releases or articles) are typically more effective than outbound and reciprocal ones.
* For some internal links, use "rel=nofollow" in the code to avoid losing PageRank to less important pages like "about us," "contact us" and "privacy policy."

6. Domains

* If starting a new site, try to get an established URL (purchase it if you have to).
* Use keywords in an easy-to-remember domain. Google recognizes domains that have been around and establishes credibility; you can avoid the Google Sandbox (where you don't show up in the index for months, potentially).

7. Users first, then search engine

* Make sure your sites have valuable and readable content. If you've optimized for search engines only and no users stick around your website, you haven't been successful.
* Navigation, directory structures and file names should be well defined. An easy way to solve this is to use breadcrumb navigation and linked navigation, not flash or JavaScript or image-based links. Develop a flat directory structure (no more than three levels deep) and name your keywords in the file name (ex: content-management-system.htm)

8. Keyword research

* Keyword development is one of the first places to start. Two to three keywords per page is possible. Combined with the items listed in the first five steps above, you will have a high success score.
* Use tools like Yahoo! Search Marketing/Overture, Google's Keyword Tool and SEOBook keywords tool.
* Try to shoot for keywords that have higher search counts; over 20,000 searches for your keyword are good, but it all depends on your industry.

9. Competition

* Find out what the competition is doing. Type in your search term into a search engine and locate three to five of the top results. Look at these sites and see what they are doing in the HTML (on-page) and linking (off-page) areas. I'll discuss this more in a future article.
* To find out how many sites are linking to your competition, type "link:http://www.competitorname.com" into Google. Do the same in Yahoo!, and you'll see a higher count because Yahoo! is more all-inclusive.

10. Be cool.

* Don't let this business get to you; it's frustrating at times. SEO is a long-term commitment. Some weeks are great, others are not.
* It's a serious investment of time, sweat and staying the course. The best success factors I've seen: Approach content and website design in a natural way; be ethical (don't spam); and keep it real--it's a business, and nothing comes for free.

Don't forget that search/internet marketing is multi-faceted. Traditional Marketing 101 teachers would say to build a comprehensive plan for marketing. Don't just work the online factors, but create a sound strategy around offline marketing, using ideas like postcards, trade magazines ads, phone/sales work, word of mouth and additional tactics that can help create a "buzz" around your products and services. Search engine optimization applied correctly will create better visibility online, but it's just one part of your overall marketing strategy.

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How to Angel Investors to fund your startup.

Angel Investors.

These individual VC investors seem like they're from heaven, but be prepared to give up a chunk of your company for funding.

Definition or Explanation: Working with angel investors means acquiring venture capital from individual investors. These individuals look for companies that exhibit high-growth prospects, have a synergy with their own business or compete in an industry in which they have succeeded.

Appropriate For: Early-stage companies with no revenues or established companies with sales and earnings. Companies seeking equity capital from angel investors must welcome the outside ownership and perhaps be willing to relinquish some control. To successfully accommodate angel investors, a company must also be able to provide an "exit" to these investors in the form of an eventual public offering or buyout from a larger firm.

Supply: The supply of angel investors is large within a 150-mile radius of metropolitan areas. The more technology driven an area's economy, the more abundant these investors are.

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Best Use: Runs the gamut, from companies developing a product to those with an established product or service for which they need additional funding to execute a marketing program. Also, angel investors are appropriate for companies that have increasing product or service sales and need additional capital to bridge the gap between the sale and the receipt of funds from the customer.

Cost: Expensive. Capital from angel investors is likely to cost no less than 10 percent of a company's equity and, for early-stage companies, perhaps more than 50 percent. In addition, many angel investors charge a management fee in the form of a monthly retainer.

Ease of Acquisition: Angels are easy to find but sometimes difficult to negotiate with because they usually do not invest in concert and may demand different terms.

Range of Funds Typically Available: $300,000 to $5 million.

First Steps
Angel investors are at once difficult and easy to find. The situation is analogous to searching for gold. Generally, it's difficult to find, but once you hit a vein...all your hard work pays off in a big way. Here are the places angels might be hiding:

* Universities: According to Bob Tosterud, Freeman Chair for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of South Dakota, angel investors tend to hover near university programs because of the high level of new business activity they generate. He advises that if you are looking for money, call the nearest university that has an entrepreneurship program, and make an appointment to speak with the person who runs it. Generally, he says, such people can point you in the direction of angels.
* Business incubators: According to the National Business Incubation Association (NBIA), there are about 1,000 business incubators in North America. At first blush, incubators appear to be the mere bricks and mortar facilities that offer entrepreneurs reasonable rents, access to shared services, exposure to professional assistance and an atmosphere of entrepreneurial energy. But according to NBIA president and CEO Dinah Adkins, many business incubators offer formal or informal access to angel investors.
* Venture capital clubs: The tremendous wealth created through the commercialization of technology, as well as the robust stock market of the 1990s, have resulted in a large number of angel investors who have begun to formalize their activities into groups or clubs. These clubs actively look for deals to invest in and their members want to hear from entrepreneurs looking for capital.
* Angel confederacies: Some angels, shunning the formality of a venture capital club, band together in informal groups that share information and deals. Members of the group often invest independently or join together to fund a company. So-called confederacies are not easy to find, but once you locate one member, you gain access to them all, a number that could top 50 investors.

Here are 10 action steps you can take to find angel investors in your area:
1. Call your chamber of commerce and ask if it hosts a venture capital group. Many such groups have a chamber affiliation.

2. Call a Small Business Development Centernear you and ask the executive director if he or she knows of any angel investor groups. Ask the SBA if you don't know where an SBDC is.

3. Ask your accountant. If your accountant doesn't know, call a Big Four Accounting Firm and ask for the partner who handles entrepreneurial services. Ask him or her to point you in the right direction.

4. Ask your attorney. Lawyers always know who has money.

5. Call a professional venture capitalist and ask if he or she is aware of an angel investor group.

6. Contact a regional or state economic development agency and ask if anyone there knows of an angel investor group.

7. Call the editor of a local business publication and ask if he or she knows of any groups. These professionals often write about such activity.

8. Look at the "Principle Shareholders" section of initial public offerings (IPO) prospectuses for companies in your area. This will tell you who has cashed out big.

9. Call the executive director of a trade association you belong to. Ask if there are any investors who specialize in your industry.

10. Ask your banker. If you do business at a small bank, ask the president of the institution. If yours is a larger commercial bank, ask your lender. If you do not have a lender, ask for a lender who works with loans of $1 million or less. A good small-business banker knows of such groups because companies that have received an equity investment are good candidates for a loan.

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10 Lies VCs Know You're Telling

10 Lies VCs Know You're Telling.

1. “Our projections are conservative.” An entrepreneur’s projections are never conservative. If they were, they would be $0. I have never seen an entrepreneur achieve even their most conservative projections. As a rule of thumb, when I see a projection, I add one year to delivery time and multiply by 0.1.

2. “(Big-name research firm) says our market will be $50 billion in 2010.” Even if the product is bar mitzvah planning software, every entrepreneur claims the market potential is tens of billions. Do yourself a favor: Remove any reference to market size estimates.

3. “(Big-name company) is going to sign our purchase order next week.” Only play this card after the purchase order is signed, because no investor will fall for this one.

4. “Key employees are set to join us as soon as we get funded.” When a venture capitalist calls these key employees, he usually gets the following response: “I recall meeting him, but I certainly didn’t say I would leave my $250,000-a-year job to join his company.” If key employees are ready to rock ’n’ roll, have them call the venture capitalist and confirm it.

5. “No one else is doing what we’re doing.” Well, either there’s no market for it, or you’re so clueless that you can’t use Google to figure out you have competition. Neither a lack of a market nor cluelessness is conducive to securing an investment.

6. “No one else can do what we’re doing.” The only thing worse than cluelessness and the lack of a market is arrogance.

7. “Hurry, because several other vc firms are interested.” There are maybe 100 entrepreneurs in the world who can make this claim. The fact that you’re reading this article means you’re not one of them.

8. “Oracle is too big/dumb/slow to be a threat to us.” There’s a reason Larry Ellison is where he is, and it’s not that he’s big, dumb and slow. Entrepreneurs who utter this lie look naive at best, stupid at worst.

9. “We have a proven management team.” If you were that proven, you wouldn’t be asking for money. A better strategy: State that you have relevant experience, you’ll do whatever it takes to succeed, you’ll surround yourself with proven advisors and you’ll step aside whenever it becomes necessary.

10. “All we have to do is get 1 percent of the market.” First, no venture capitalist is interested in a company that wants just 1 percent of a market. Second, it’s not easy to get even 1 percent, so you look silly pretending it is. Instead, show an appreciation of the difficulty of building a successful company.

“Empower entrepreneurs” is Guy Kawasaki’s mantra. He is former chief evangelist for Apple Inc., co-founder of VC firm Garage Technology Ventures and author of eight books--most recently,The Art of the Start. Visit his blog athttp://blog.guykawasaki.com.

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