Business startup is always a stressful time, as no one knows how successful a new business will be until the startup period is over. But sometimes people trying to develop new businesses even inadvertently do things that sabotage their new business' chance of success.

In The Top 10 Startup Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make When Starting a Business, Cherilyn Lester says that being a Jack of all trades, failing to plan and wasting money on brochures and business cards are the main business startup mistakes people make.

But what do you think? Add your thoughts to this page: What Are the Most Common Business Startup Mistakes People Make?

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If you have an iPhone and a need to make conference calls, what could be cooler than managing your teleconference through your iPhone?

Calliflower Mobile Conference Calls for Your iPhone lets you do just that.

With Calliflower, you can have people dial in from all over the world if you like, moderate the call like you would in a web conference through hand raising, muting and text questions, and even record the ongoing conversation.

The for-a-fee version is $50 USD per month. (You can save $100 if you sign on for a year.) A free scaled down version is also available.

I found out about Calliflower Conference Calling for the iPhone in the Financial Post. Read more about Apple/Blackberry apps in Big Apps for Small Business by Danny Bradbury.

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You could be if you're an eBay small business owner in Canada who sells full-time or part-time and you meet the eligibility requirements.

First prize is worth $3000 CAD in a combination of cash, free advertising space and professional development to help grow the winner's business.

This year there's also a Comeback of the Year Award, valued at $2000 CAD, to recognize Canadians who experienced a professional or personal setback, and then found success with eBay.ca.

And all you have to do is fill out an entry form for the 2009 eBay Canada Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. Entries must be received by midnight (ET) on August 9, 2009. Winners will be announced during Canadian Small Business Month in October.

More information on eBay's Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.

More About Selling on eBay

• Tips for Selling on eBay
• Keys to Successful eBay Selling
• Troubleshoot Your eBay Listings (About eBay)

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"Great marketing to small business isn't about figuring out how an entrepreneur might use your product, it's about figuring out the entrepreneur himself. A business owner's habits, daily routines, and information sources are all prerequisites for your marketing campaign" (Warrillow Weekly News, July 7, 2009).

The writer of Warrillow's weekly newsletter is speaking of how small business owners in the finance and insurance industry differ from other small business owners when it comes to online learning.

Brokers and advisors are nearly twice as likely as the average small business owner (SBO) to participate in a webinar or online tutorial and attend online training at nearly triple the rate of the average entrepreneur, he or she says, and therefore, need a different marketing campaign than the average small business owner.

The point, however, certainly doesn't just apply to business to business marketing. No matter what you are selling, the first thing you need to do before anything else is "figure out the consumer" of your products and/or services. This is your target market and the more detailed your profile of your potential customers, the better chance you have of developing a marketing campaign that they're going to see and pay attention to.

Defining Your Target Market

• How To Find And Sell To Your Target Market explains how to use market segmentation to zero in on the folks who are most likely to buy from you.

• Writing the Market Analysis provides a research guide for working up a customer profile.

Image (c) Sami Sarkis / Getty Images

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