This philosophy applies both from the consumer’s and from the business owner’s point of view. It’s understandable that most people want to shop around for the best price on whatever product (or service), but at the same time, you have to realize that you often get what you pay for. In this way, while you may find a cheaper price at a different location, a store that sells something for a little more may actually be the better bargain.

Gary wrote last month that any given business should never compete on price, because you will inevitably cut into the quality of your product (or service) and possibly cut significantly into your bottom line. Following the same line of thought from a customer’s point of view, there’s got to be a reason why a particular company has the cheapest price. They necessarily had to cut corners somewhere.

Take web hosting, for example. There are other hosts that may sell plans for less than BlueFur, but they also come with more restrictions. Part of the reason why I decided to migrate Beyond the Rhetoric to BlueFur is because they offered better value than my old host. For about the same price, I am offered better reliability (uptime), easier admin access, and the ability to have as many mySQL databases and domains as I’d like. The cheapest plans with most web hosts limit you to a single domain.

If you host multiple websites, it actually works out much cheaper to go with a single hosting plan (that allows multiple domain) than to opt for several cheap plans (one for each domain). This concept can apply to just about any industry and business, from freelance writing to web design. For example, if one designer charges $100 for a design but does not give you any edits, whereas another designer charges $150 for a design but is willing to adjust the design a certain number of times, the second designer sounds like a better value to me.

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?

While many of us spend a fair bit of time in front of the computer, the television is still a central hub of entertainment for a lot of families. Speaking for myself, I grew up on a lot of really cheesy sitcoms, ranging from Saved by the Bell and Full House to I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners. In those thirty minutes or less, we’d see solutions to some of life’s most common problems, presented an ensemble that would get us to laugh and cry along with them.

Anyways, it may surprise some of you that some of the longest running situation comedies on television aren’t live action. Instead, we look to graphic artists, animators, and voice actors for the production of cartoons. Most people think that cartoons are for children. There are shows like Pokemon and Ninja Turtles that occupy early Saturday mornings, but prime-time animated sitcoms have also played a huge role in our culture and in our society. In fact, the longest running sitcom of all-time is animated: The Simpsons.

The Simpsons as its own television show is now in its 19th season. When you trace its history back to the Tracey Ullman Show, 2007 actually marks its 20th anniversary. We’ve been bombarded with quotes about having a cow and eating shorts for a long time. But The Simpsons aren’t the only animated success.

While the second longest running sitcom is The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (14 seasons), another major animated sitcom is tied for third place. Now in its 12th season, King of the Hill was created by Mike Judge of Beavis and Butthead fame. The other show with 12 seasons is My Three Sons. What this means is that half of the top four longest running sitcoms of all-time are animated! Who knew cartoons had this much longevity… I guess it helps when your characters don’t age a day.

Tied for fifth place are eight sitcoms (11 seasons), including M*A*S*H, Cheers, and Married with Children. Among these fifth place shows is yet another animated show and it’s one that very few people realize has been on TV for as long as it has. Turn to Matt Stone and Trey Parker and you find the foul-mouthed kids of South Park.

Interestingly, The Simpsons, King of the Hill, and South Park are all still on TV. Give them a few more years and they could be the top three longest running sitcoms!

When people start to talk about the world’s fastest growing economies, most eyes turn to China. Yes, Chinese manufacturers have made huge strides in the right direction and they’re making a lot of money producing our computer components, Apple devices, and all sorts of other things, including toys for our children. There’s no denying that China is quickly becoming a major player in the international world of business and commerce, but their neighboring country should not be ignored either.

The South Korean economy is definitely on the rise and they’ve managed to grab our attention on several fronts. Well, South Korea hasn’t grabbed our attention as much as the companies within them. It used to be that when you looked at a Hyundai, you’d automatically have reactions that the car would be of poor quality and it would be unreliable. The cheap Hyundai Pony is perhaps the best example. Today, Hyundai and Kia boast some of the best warranties in the business and the build quality on many of their vehicles rival their Japanese counterparts. I’ve seen several respected sources place cars like the Hyundai Elantra above mainstays like the Honda Civic and the Toyota Corolla. They still compete on price, but they compete on quality too.

Moving over to electronics, you’ll find that Samsung and LG Electronics have made huge strides in the marketplace. Many of us are using Samsung or LG cell phones (LG Chocolate, for example), as well as televisions and computer monitors from these companies. A large proportion of the population doesn’t even realize that Samsung is Korean; they just think that they’re Japanese. This may be a factor in the company’s rising success, which may explain why they aren’t so quick to point out their Korean heritage. Walk down the streets of Seoul, however, and you’ll find that everyone is using a mobile phone from Samsung, LG, or Pantech. National pride is definitely there.

Definitely keep an eye on South Korea. Both in the automotive and electronics worlds, Korean companies are making huge strides and gobbling up all sorts of market share.

It sounds obvious enough, doesn’t it? I wrote back in June about finding a healthy life-work balance and then I followed up early this month asking whether we really need to separate work and play. It’s a concern that plagues just about everyone, but it doesn’t hit any harder than with people who own their own businesses.

In a recent report produced by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, 55% of entrepreneurs choose self-employment “for reasons such as independence and balancing work and family.” From the outside looking in, most 9-to-5 workers see their entrepreneurial colleagues enjoying a fair bit more freedom and flexibility in their schedules. They assume that because they may not necessarily have a set work schedule, these entrepreneurs can get up from their jobs on a moment’s notice to take care of a family concern. This simply is not the case. Independence, yes. Balance… that’s a different issue.

I’d argue that working for yourself — especially from a home office — only blurs the lines between what is considered work life and what is considered home life. Managed properly, a healthy work-life balance can be achieved, but it does not come automatically with the territory. This is a common misconception that conventional employees may have and it is one that they have to better understand before taking the plunge into self-employment. This hasn’t stopped the exodus from the office, however, as the number of self-employed Canadians increased a solid 30% from 1990 to 2004. More and more, we’re working for ourselves.

Speaking for myself, the greater value of entrepreneurship is in knowing that every success that you enjoy is wholly yours. If you land a huge contract and put in some fantastic work, the reward is wholly yours because it is your business; you’re not working for someone else, making money for someone else. Bear in mind that entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone. To see how you stack up, check out the self-assessment tool at BDC.ca.

Early last month, I talked about the value of a college education and how people who graduated from university are much more likely, on average, to earn more than their non-graduate counterparts. That’s a general trend, but there are certain exceptions to that rule. Perhaps the two best known exceptions are none other than Bill Gates of Microsoft and Steve Jobs of Apple Computer.

Bill Gates always did well in school with a particular knack for mathematics. Fortunately or unfortunately, he had very little interest in formal schooling, instead finding himself in front of a computer for hours on end, working on his hobby and other interests. He got accepted into the very elite Harvard University, starting out with a pursuit as a pre-law student. Again, he found himself disinterested in classes and eventually dropped out of Harvard, founding Microsoft with Paul Allen in 1975.

Steve Jobs had a more modest route to fame, but the path was much the same. Instead of attending an Ivy League school, Jobs enrolled in Reed College in Portland, Oregon. Whereas Gates managed to stay in school for a period of time, Steve Jobs dropped out of Reed College after just one semester! He continued to audit courses there, but he was not formally enrolled. He went on to form Apple Computer with Steve Wozniak in 1976, just one year after Microsoft was created.

In some ways, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates can both be thought of as quitters. They dropped out of school when they realized that there were greener (in many senses of the word) pastures elsewhere. There’s a saying that winners never quit and quitters never win. I think that we can all agree that Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are pretty big winners, even though they may have “quit” school.