Last week we asked what you consider to be reliable hosting and 50% said that feel no downtime makes a host reliable.

This week we have a question that relates to what would be a good impulse purchase for web hosting customers. This weeks question is…

Ready for the next evolution? We continue to evolve based on our users needs, wants and requests.

We are still tweaking our article and customer blog portion of our site but it is online and about 90% done. You can preview this new section of our site and provide us with feedback on what you like or don’t like about. The article and customer blog area will let you post your own articles or blog posts for our community to share in your knowledge.

I can tell you I already don’t like the name article area for it. Anyone have a better suggestion?

Are we missing any topics?

Starting your own business can be a very exciting time in your life, but it’s also a very stressful time and an incredibly daunting task. There are so many factors that you have to consider, from finding the right niche to securing enough start-up capital. It can be richly rewarding, but before you get started, it’s probably a good idea to speak to someone who has been there and done that.

I know that it was pretty exciting when I started my freelance writing business, but it took some time before I picked up traction and it’s not like I was without growing pains either. Thankfully, there are very few expenses involved in starting a business like freelance writing or freelance web design. What if you want to open a brick-and-mortar store? What if you want to open an online store that sells physical goods? There’s so much to learn and it can be terribly overwhelming.

RBC recently issued a survey out to existing entrepreneurs, asking them what are the most valuable pieces of advice that they can give to people just starting out. Here are the top ten results. The top three pieces of advice were recommended by over 49% of those surveyed.

1. Know your competition
2. Develop a business plan
3. Research the market
4. Network, develop alliances
5. Take time for marketing
6. Seek out mentors
7. Spend time defining the needs your business will meet
8. Survey potential customers
9. Do homework about where to locate your business
10. Join clubs/associations

Speaking for myself, I found that #4 has been the most influential. In a sense, it was through my affiliation with John Chow that I ended up blogging here, for example.

Any experienced entrepreneurs want to chime in with their own advice? Is this top ten list reasonably accurate?

This last week I was asked several times on how to get your site into Google. I know a lot of people think that as soon as you buy a domain and set up a site that Google will just find you and start sending you traffic. This could be no further then the truth. There is a vast amount of the web that is not listed in Google. One of the reasons sites are never indexed by Google is because Google doesn’t know it exists.

This video on YouTube provides a great tutorial on how to get your site indexed by Google in 48 hours.

Do you have a question would make a good video? If so post a comment.

Getting lost is not fun. If your job calls for you to drive to many different locations around the city (or even into neighboring provinces and countries), getting lost is probably pretty common. In this technological age, you don’t need to restrict yourself to fold-out maps and mapbooks, because those can be awfully cumbersome to use while driving. Portable GPS navigation devices have considerably come down in price in recent years, making them more affordable than ever.

You could invest in a more expensive unit to gain access to things like Bluetooth wireless connectivity and MP3 playback, but for basic GPS navigation, you’d probably be happy with something basic like the Pharos Drive GPS 150. Unlike other units that may cost you $400 or more, the Pharos Drive GPS 150 costs a mere $199. That’s got to make it one of the cheapest standalone GPS devices on the market today.

It’s not like they skimped out on the features either. The 3.94-inch display is a touchscreen, it’s got automatic night view, and it’s loaded with the latest NAVTEQ maps of Canada and the United States. You can feel confident about its accuracy as well, because the Pharos Drive GPS 150 is equipped with a SiRFStar III GPS receiver, the same receiver used in most leading devices. Battery life is rated at between 5 and 7 hours.

The Pharos Drive GPS 250 is one step up with its 4.3-inch display. It sells for $299. More information on either unit can be found at pharosgps.com.

Congratulations to this weeks geek Matt. This weeks questions are Seth Godin related:

1.  What University did Seth graduate from?

2.  What software company did Seth work at prior to being an author?

3.  What Web 2.0 site does Seth own?

4.  What was the first book that Seth wrote on Marketing?

5.  What is Seth’s Fathers name?