So you’ve decided to leave the work force and go out on your own. This is a transition that can be difficult, especially if we’ve never tried to take the self-employed route before now. However, that does not mean it is impossible.

FeedFront recently took a look at some of the difficulties that comes with making this transition, and what can help you make it a smooth one.

Don’t Burn Bridges
Being unhappy with your job can be a great catalyst for change; and more than one entrepreneur has started their business for this very reason. But it’s always best to give your soon-to-be former employer the respect they deserve, and depart on the best possible terms.

I'm often asked by first time entrepreneurs what's involved with setting up a business. Do I need to incorporate? What do I need to know about hiring? Payroll? Do I need a CPA? How do I register my business? Why do I need to bother with any of this at all?

The fact of the matter is that for most entrepreneurs non-core activities like filing DE-1 forms and negotiating insurance rates are at best a necessary distraction to the value added tasks of creating product, finding customers, and building a team. At worst, they can be a confusing labyrinth of rules, regulations, and risks which if ignored or mismanaged can hurt your business. Unfortunately, business does involve some non-core, administrative overhead that cannot be ignored. And what you don’t know can bite you.

U.S. Economic Development Administration Applauds President Obama for Making Tough Choices & Smart Investments in FY 2012 Budget Proposal

Budget Invests $40 Million in EDA to Strengthen Economic 'Growth Zones' in America's Regions

WASHINGTON, DC (MMD Newswire) February 14, 2011 -- The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) today applauds President Obama's fiscal year (FY) 2012 Budget proposal for investing in what makes America stronger and cutting what we cannot afford. The President's proposal invests $40 million in EDA to develop a new Regional Innovation Program targeting 'Growth Zones' to foster collaboration across the federal government to build regional innovation clusters based upon the inherent strengths of local communities. EDA is the only agency in the federal government with the exclusive mission to help create and retain jobs and leverage private investment in the nation's regions.

Corkfashion, Ltd, the company that owns the brand Pelcor® joined the Portuguese Association COTEC - Network of Innovative SME COTEC on the 9th of December 2009, for being an innovative company. Its founder, Mrs. Sandra Correia, received the award from the President of the Portuguese Republic, Dr. Cavaco Silva.

COTEC Portugal – the Business Association for Innovation was established in April 2003, following an initiative of the then President of the Republic, Dr. Jorge Sampaio. With the mission to "promote increased competitiveness of firms located in Portugal, through the development and dissemination of a culture and practice of innovation and knowledge resident in the country" to Portugal is a non-profit organization that has the support of its associated companies and institutions of the National Innovation System (NIS) to achieve their objectives through the implementation of initiatives in several areas.

Are we only at the beginning of an era of IT-driven productivity gains? Erik Brynjolfsson, director of the MIT Center for Digital Business, says there’s still enormous potential for businesses to use information technology to test new processes and improve operations rapidly—and very cheaply.

People with a victim mentality should never be entrepreneurs. We all know the role of starting and running a business is unpredictable, and has a high risk of failure. For people with a victim mentality, this fear of failure alone will almost certainly make it a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I’m sure you all know someone who is the perennial victim. The problem is that most of these people aren’t likely to accept your assessment, so it’s hard to help them. They don’t see themselves as others see them, and many simply refuse to accept the reality of the world in general.

Calgary, Canada and Barcelona, Spain (PRWEB) February 14, 2011

The App marketplace has become a competitive stage for developers, content producers and App store market place operators. Closing the gap on the App ecosystem are three Canadian companies who are leading the way in building sustainable business models in pursuit of creating a “Best in Breed” App experiences for a growing customer base. Poynt, Mob4hire and Momentem all based in Calgary, Canada are a driving force in Canada's Emerging Technology landscape.

Entrepreneurs come in all shapes and sizes. There is no single formula for determining what type of entrepeneur will succeed. But one of my favorite stories about entrepreneurs comes from Don Valentine, the founder of Sequoia, which is one of the best venture capital firms in the business.

When one of the younger partners in the firm started, Don took him aside and drew a four square quadrant. Along one axis, he put "easy to get along with" on one end and "hard to get along with" on the other end. One the other axis, he put "normal" on one end and "brilliant" on the other end.

Plenty of entrepreneurs toil over finding a business name that aptly describes what they do. For Novotny, however, it was all about name recognition. CSI, which stands for Consulting Services Inc., is not a forensics unit like the ones on TV, but Novotny, a member of Choctaw nation, says, "It's an easy conversation starter. There's CSI New York. There's CSI Miami. So we're CSI Oklahoma. Anything to differentiate yourself and make you stand out helps."

Laid-off workers who want to launch a business may be able to get a cash infusion from an unexpected source: their unemployment checks.

Usually, unemployed people face a tough choice when it comes to entrepreneurship. If they start a business, they lose their benefits—right when they desperately need cash to fund their new enterprise as well as cover their household bills.

The signal your cell phone receives typically comes from a large microwave transceiver a few miles away. Now it can be supplied—over a short range, at least—by a device the size of a USB memory stick.

Two U.K. firms—PicoChip and Ubiquisys—have developed such pocket-sized, USB-powered devices, which connect to nearby cell phones using the same frequencies of a conventional tower. The gadgets use the Internet connection of a computer or other device to link back to the wider cell network and relay calls or data. PicoChip's is the size of a USB stick, while Ubiquisys' design is the size of a small cell phone.

If your startup is looking for an angel investor, it makes sense to present your plan to flocks of angels, and assume that at least one will swoop down and scoop you up. Or does it? Actually numbers and locations are just the beginning. The challenge is to find the right angel for your, and for your situation. Here are some basic principles:

• Angels invest in people, more often than they invest in ideas. That means they need to know you, or someone they trust who does know you (warm introduction). For credibility, they need to know you BEFORE you are asking for money.
• Angel investors are people too. Investors expect you to understand their motivation, respect their time, and show your integrity in all actions. They probably won’t respond well to high pressure sales tactics, information overload, or bribes.

Raymond J. Mooney will be rooting for IBM’s Watson computer as it takes on two former Jeopardy! champions next week.

“As a tech person, you’re always rooting for the machine,” says Mr. Mooney, a computer-science professor at the University of Texas at Austin. But this time his allegiance is more pointed: His research is behind Watson’s ability to understand Alex Trebek’s questions (or answers, in the classic Jeopardy! format). In fact, Austin and seven other universities contributed many of the concepts that IBM developers drew on to make Watson work.

Writer’s block is miserable. What situations cause writer’s block?

1. When you don’t care about a topic.

2. When you don’t think anybody else cares about the topic either.

3. When writing feels too much like solving a math formula.

4. When you’ve had too much to drink.

5. When you haven’t had enough to drink.

PHILADELPHIA, PA (www.sep.benfranklin.org) – Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania (BFTP/SEP) recently approved investments totaling $1,975,000 for seven early-stage Pennsylvania companies with promising technology innovations.

“This latest round of investments is a restatement of the region’s ability to produce enterprises across a wide range of diverse technologies,” said RoseAnn B. Rosenthal, President & CEO of Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Growing numbers of Americans are striking out on their own as solo entrepreneurs. And a whole industrial complex has sprung up to support them.

Need a cubicle to put together a presentation or a conference room for a meeting? There are companies in most big cities that will rent you as much work space as you need. If you need someone to take your calls and arrange your appointments, a host of services will connect you with receptionists who work off site. There's also help available online. Digital marketplaces make it easier to land clients and projects, while new software lets you access files on the road and track your finances.

Feb 14 (Reuters) - The growth outlook for major industrialised economies is picking up, although big differences in momentum remain between countries, the OECD's leading indicator for December showed on Monday.

The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Development and Co-operation said its December composite leading indicator for 29 of its member countries rose to 102.8 from a revised 102.5 in November, pointing to stronger growth momentum.

Japan, the United States and Germany were leading the charge, it said, with a more moderate outlook for Canada, France and Britain, and signs emerging of a downturn in Italy. It had previously given its OECD-area indicator for November as 102.8.

President visits Parkville Middle and Center of Technology Monday to champion math, science training.

"While it’s absolutely essential to live within our means, while we are absolutely committed to working with Democrats and Republicans to find further savings and to look at the whole range of budget issues, we can’t sacrifice our future in the process. Even as we cut out things that we can afford to do without, we have a responsibility to invest in those areas that will have the biggest impact in our future -– and that’s especially true when it comes to education."

Update: Looking at another report, it seems that Nokia CEO Stephen Elop was talking about "billions" of value the deal would create, not money paid by Microsoft.

It's not very clear from the quotes we have, but it seems they're sayings there's various components worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and the "billions" will be in value created by the deal, not conditions of the deal.

On Feb. 15, 1965, a diffident but self-possessed high school student named Raymond Kurzweil appeared as a guest on a game show called I've Got a Secret. He was introduced by the host, Steve Allen, then he played a short musical composition on a piano. The idea was that Kurzweil was hiding an unusual fact and the panelists — they included a comedian and a former Miss America — had to guess what it was.

On the show (see the clip on YouTube), the beauty queen did a good job of grilling Kurzweil, but the comedian got the win: the music was composed by a computer. Kurzweil got $200. (See TIME's photo-essay "Cyberdyne's Real Robot.")