If you run a small business, you know that social media marketing and online services are all the rage, but do you really know how to get started? Well, we're here to help! This month, we've launched a series of informal events in 20 cities across the United States and Canada called "Hands-On Small Business." These are gatherings of small-business owners who really want to get down...

Now you can share the excitement. We’ve just posted free, on-demand webcasts from our recent Vision to Venture tour, and I’ve got to tell you, the content is awesome. In case you didn’t hear about it, earlier this spring Microsoft Office Live Small Business hosted an entrepreneurial road show that visited five cities around the country. Women business owners and those dreaming about taking the entrepreneurial...

We wrapped up our Vision to Venture tour with a sold-out event in Redmond on May 9, and I feel blessed to have been part of this amazing entrepreneurial road show. We met some incredible women (and men!) during our cross-country tour – and each one of their inspirational stories touched me. In Redmond, for example, there was the woman who has had 20 businesses fail – and never gives up! There was the...

After back-to-back Vision to Venture events in Miami and Austin this week, I got home Thursday night. I took a peek into my 11 month old daughter’s room as she was sleeping, and I thought about the amazing women entrepreneurs I was meeting at these events and what inspirational role models they are. I smiled as I thought how women are changing the world, one by one, and how my daughter would one day...

I just returned from the San Diego Microsoft Office Live Vision to Venture event. We had more than 200 women attend, and the energy level and excitement was through the roof. I was really struck by the long lines at the microphones. Women were eager to hear the advice from our experienced speakers—Susan Wilson Solovic from SBTV.com , Rich Sloan from StartupNation , and John Jantsch from Duct Tape Marketing...

Clck here to check the Video Highlights from St Louis Event ! And check the pictures below:

We’ve been talking a lot about women-owned businesses around here, what with the Vision to Venture tour we’re hosting and the launch of our new Resources for Women Entrepreneurs page. The reason is pretty simple: Statistics suggest women are starting businesses at an amazing rate these days –so we want to make sure we’re meeting their needs. Having a mentor is one way women entrepreneurs are finding...

Energy was in the air as I kicked off the first of five Microsoft Office Live Small Business Vision to Venture events for women entrepreneurs earlier this week in St. Louis. From the registrations, we knew that approximately three-fourths of the women who packed the room already own their own businesses while the remaining are dreaming about starting one. Like I said, you could really feel the excitement...