Actress Jessica Alba arrives at "Spy Kids: All The Time In The World 4D" Los Angeles premiere at the Regal Cinemas L.A. Live on July 31, 2011 in Los Angeles, California.
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Long list of stars have gone the entrepreneurial route
Actress Jessica Alba is the latest addition to the list of celebrity entrepreneurs, CNN Money reports.
She plans to start a subscription service to sell eco-friendly products, including items for babies, household cleaning supplies and body care, the report says.
She is launching the company along with e-commerce company ShoeDazzle founder Brian Lee, PriceGrabber.com executive Sean Kane, and environmentalist Christopher Gavigan, according to the report.
The e-commerce business will be called The Honest Co. Here's her YouTube launch.
Best known for her roles in Dark Angel and The Fantastic Four movies, Ms. Alba came up with her idea after having difficulty finding products for her own children, the report says.
She joins a long list of celebrities who have gone the entrepreneurial route, from P. Diddy to Justin Timberlake to the Kardashians.
Last year, Forbes ran this piece offering marketing tips from some of the new generation of stars who have been the startup route. Have a look, too, at this list of celebrity entrepreneurs and CNN Money's gallery of celebrities with secret businesses.
And if you want to get your product into the hands of a star, Entrepreneur has some advice.
Small business tax cheats
Small businesses in the United States are "evading taxes en masse," says this report in The Fiscal Times -- to the tune of $122-billion.
The way it arrives at that figure: The country's tax gap (the difference between what the Internal Revenue Service is owed and what it collects) grew to $385-billion in 2006, and the largest portion of that -- the $122-billion -- was from businesses that log income on individual returns, which are largely small businesses, as well as farms, the report says.
Have a read of the piece for a closer look at the "politics and logistics" that go into making collection from small businesses tricky.
Sales of U.S. small businesses rise
The number of small businesses that were sold rose last year, according to this piece in The Wall Street Journal.
Sales of businesses with about $360,00 in annual revenue were up 3.3 per cent last year, according to the piece, which cited figures from BizBuySell.com, an online marketplace for buying and selling small businesses. BizBuy credited the increase to improved business performance along with a slight decrease in valuations and slow improvement in access to capital.
BizBuy also reported an equivalent 3.3-per-cent increase in the median selling price, suggesting, says the Journal, that it's still largely a buyer's market.
EVENTS AND KEY DATES
Help at the starting line
Looking to start a business? The Centre for Entreneurship Education and Development is holding a three-day workshop, called "Blast Off," that will guide participants through the business-development process, offering insight into business plans supportive research tools and other resources, choosing a business structure and necessary sjills. It's aimed at aspiring entrepreneurs. It's being held on Jan. 23 through Jan. 25 in Halifax. For more details, clck here.
Montreal franchise show
The Franchise Show will take place this weekend, Jan. 21 and Jan. 22, in Montreal. Produced by the Canadian Franchise Association in partnership with the Conseil quebecois de la franchise, the franchise show features seminars, exhibitions and opportunities to speak with experts. For more information, click here.
EDITOR'S PICKS FROM REPORT ON SMALL BUSINESS
In Pictures: Golden Scissors winner cuts red tape
Meet the individuals identified by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business for having motivated or demonstrated leadership, achieving positive savings for small businesses.
FROM THE ROSB ARCHIVES
Beginnings of The Amazing Space
For an early look at The Amazing Space, check out DDB Canada's workspace and discover why "instigators" are so integral to this creative agency's design philosophy.
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