Taken together, SBA's research points toward one big conclusion: starting your small business today, including small home-based "micro-enterprises", is a great idea!

Assuming you are in United States, SBA, and its affiliated organizations SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) and SBDCs (Small Business Development Centers), are perhaps most valuable sources of advice and education available to micro-entrepreneur.

After you've decided what your ideal small business will be, how do you find out what resources are available for you at SBA?

One of first steps is to call SBA (1-800-827-5722, 9am-7pm East Coast time) and request publication OPC-2, "Your Business and SBA". This publication is a summary of large array of services available to you from SBA.

2. Take on as many of your business' chores as you can handle; outsource what you can't. Only you can determine how your business is operated.

3. Try out new business opportunities. You could combine them with your current business. It could add an extra profit stream to your web site.

4. Create an alliance with 3 or 4 web sites. Include each of your ads or banners on other web sites. You will all share targeted traffic from each other.

5. Create a free e-zine directory. You'll attract a lot of traffic from ezine publishers and people that want to subscribe to e-zines.