Once upon a time, a long time ago (like the 1980's) it was almost impossible for an entrepreneur to get the info needed to start and run a business. Just finding what government agencies you'd have to sign up with, report to, and pay taxes to was a Sisyphean task. Today, the opposite problem confounds entrepreneurs -- there's so much info you can't even begin to digest it -- especially now with the Web. (And if you took the time to try, you wouldn't have time to run your business.)

Idea Cafe to the Rescue
Being seasoned entrepreneurs, we knew what people who run small businesses need and want. So in Summer 1995, we started dishing up flavorful business fare at www.ideacafe.com. Entrepreneurs need critical info fast, so they can take action now. They hate textbooks, they hate people who don't know what it's like trying to tell them what to do. So at Idea Cafe, we serve info fast, fresh, friendly and for real.

"A Fun Approach to Serious Business"
Yes, we firmly believe there's a clear need for some whipped cream topped with a cherry in every entrepreneur's diet! Small business owners work harder than anyone else, they seldom get any credit, so at Idea Cafe, we give them a perfectly legitimate excuse to take a well-deserved break. Here, you can solve your problems and have some fun too! And you get the chance to network with others who know exactly what you're going through.

To hear what others have to say about Idea Cafe, check out World News and kudos from site visitors.

Want to help us help Entrepreneurs? Be a Sponsor!
If your company wants to reach our robust (but tough customer) audience of small business entrepreneurs, we invite you to get on board. Join our other fine sponsors and help us bring entrepreneurs what they want with Idea Cafe's characteristic flair. Only a limited number of sponsorships are available, so contact us now.

Who's Cooking at Idea Cafe:

Francie Marks Ward

CEO/Founder

Francie Ward is a veteran business owner who has started and run a heaping mixed salad of small businesses after graduating from Stanford.
Here's the brief scoop on Francie's entrepreneurial past lives:

As co-owner of Oasis Press/PSI Research, Francie (below, 2nd from left) published many of the most successful, highly-rated (and popular) titles for entrepreneurs, like: Starting and Operating a Business (the 51-state series), The Successful Business Plan: Secrets and Strategies, Start Your Business, Power Marketing, Business Owner's guide to Accounting and Bookkeeping, The Essential Corporation Handbook, and many more. At PSI, Francie also created EXECARDS® -- pioneering the concept of greeting cards for business.

Francie (at right) built her internationally recognized graphic design firm in San Francisco from scratch, and helped transform the South of Market area from industrial wasteland to hot design center.
Also, Francie launched two marketing communications firms, a fabric company, and has consulted to Fortune 500 Corporations and start-up businesses.
And she has hired over 100 employees, eight attorneys, seven accountants, numerous consultants -- and fired quite a few!

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Copyright 1995-2008, Idea Cafe Inc. Downloads are for personal use only, not for resale to others, and may not be reprinted in any form without written permission from Idea Cafe Inc.

DISCLAIMER: We hope whatever you find on this site is helpful, but be cautioned that it may not apply to your own situation, or be totally current at any given time. Idea Cafe Inc. and all of its current and past experts, sponsors, advertisers, agents, contractors and advisors disclaim all warranties with regard to anything found anywhere on this family of websites, quoted from, or sent from Idea Cafe, Inc. and its related sites, publications and companies. We also take no responsibility for comments published by others on these pages.

TRADEMARKS: The following are Registered Trademarks or Servicemarks of Idea Cafe, Inc. or M.F. Ward: Idea Cafe®, Online Coffee Break®, The Small Business Gathering Place®, Take out Info®, Biz Bar & Grill®, Complaint-O-Meter®, A Fun Approach to Serious Business™, CyberSchmooz™, and BizCafe™.