Audiobooks and Podcasts: Listen to the Latest Business Topics

Between going to the bank for financing, commuting, checking into suppliers and driving around town looking for a great franchise location, you are spending a lot of time in your car and you're tired of listening to the top 40. Or maybe you just want to sit back, relax and listen to something relevant to your business startup. Consider listening to business audiobooks or podcasts.

AUDIOBOOKS

We've all heard about audiobooks: books on CD or in digital files (e.g. for use with an MP3, iPod or Windows Media Audio). You may have purchased them at your local Chapters store or downloaded them from audible.com. Did you know that you might also be able to access them for free from your local public library? What a great way to keep your business and personal costs down! Generally, all you need is a library card from a library that offers this service. For example, click on this link and then go to "Business & Careers" to download business audiobooks for free from a group of libraries in Ontario:

http://librariesonthego.library.on.ca/4A240BF2-5E33-48D3-8BB1-504668F0E2B3/10/310/en/Default.htm

PODCASTS

What's a podcast and why would anyone use one? A podcast is a digital media file which is distributed over the Internet and played on a personal computer or a portable media player. Podcasts generally range in length from 5 minutes for quick daily or weekly updates to a half or full hour "show". Here's a list of some great business podcasts:

Canadian Business Online:
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/entrepreneur/ and go to the Podcast section. Also check this site's Technology section for podcasts about social media, etc.

Financial Post's Daily Podcast:
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/podcast/index.html

Entrepreneur:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/podcast/index.html

New York Public Library's Small Biz How-To Business Seminars and Podcasts:
http://www.nypl.org/research/sibl/smallbiz/video.html

BusinessWeek:
http://www.businessweek.com/search/podcasting.htm

Wall Street Journal Online:
http://online.wsj.com/public/page/8_0018.html?mod=topnav_0_0012

Time:
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1184688,00.html

Kiplinger's Personal Finance:
http://www.kiplinger.com/podcasts/

Harvard Business Review's IdeaCast:
http://www.harvardbusinessonline.com/

Need a Place to Host a Business Meeting?

Do you find yourself searching for the perfect place to host a business meeting or hold interviews? An obvious choice for many are local hotels and coffee shops. But sometimes hotels are expensive and coffee shops do not offer enough privacy. Try your city's local public library or recreation centre. Some coffee shops also have rooms for rent for a fee (e.g. $10-$15/hour). Another alternative is a professional office facility that rents meeting rooms and offers business services like wifi, copying, printing, scanning and faxing.

Here are some typical rates that you might encounter at a library:
http://www.opl.on.ca/RoomRentals.PDF

Here are some typical types of rooms available for rent at a recreation centre:
http://www.oakville.ca/11944.htm

Places like The Coffee Office, with locations in Windsor, London, Burlington and Toronto, may offer a membership-based business club with meeting spaces, business services and onsite cafe:
http://www.thecoffeeoffice.com/index.htm