Every entrepreneur believes that his idea is so inspired that no one else could have thought of it. It’s an extension of our desire to make ourselves unique- have an individual style or character- to appear different than the crowd. Not to dismiss your idea; but 30 minutes of effective googling can usually find several versions of almost any idea.

Finding competitors is not a negative thing- often it means you found an opportunity others are exploiting; and now you can put an interesting spin on their model. But ‘doing your homework’ means more than just discovering competitors who beat you to the punch. It means figuring out how they sell their products; how their pitch differs, their pricing and marketing strategies, their next developments and their basic industry vision. Even their size, their success; their geography- their staff’s intelligence- all of this research helps you understand your competitor and find an advantage.

Why research your competitors? Here are a few reasons.

1. If you make it big- they are likely to buy you.

2. If you make it really big- you can buy them.

3. They may be the first people to sue you for doing something illegal.

4. You can learn from their strengths and weaknesses- and copy strategies you like.

5. Make them sell you their software; and then improve their pitch.

6. Your customers will probably have heard about several of them. Knowing your competition gives you an advantage when customers ask about what makes you better.

I have a friend who manages tenutasancarlo.com- a horse ranch in Tuscany. In order to attract USA customers she has sponsored an artist meet-up each spring. I keep telling her she should make it a Tech-and-Art meet-up, where tech and art people spend a week living on her ranch painting, programming, and working on projects.

I think she thinks tech people won’t fly half-way around the world to live for a week on a horse ranch. Which is largely true. But I think I can name a dozen people who are mobile enough that they can build their tech companies from anywhere in the world. People whose office is their laptop and a wireless internet connection.

When I think Italy, tech entrepreneurship is not the first thought that comes to mind. In fact; Italy is probably one of the least hospitable environments for a tech community; due to the business bureaucracy and the absence of available funding. But I definitely foresee a culture of entrepreneurial tourism- groups of people who tour as they work. That’s the joy of the laptop office, right?

This past spring I spent 3 months in Chandigarh, India; developing a web-based property management platform enproperty.com. Chandigarh is 3 hours west of Delhi by train; and the city is recognized as one of the cleanest, most beautiful cities in India.

Something I noticed in India; more people are involved in entrepreneurship. Sometimes it is out of necessity; such as the local storekeeper. But interestingly; there are more tech start-ups in India than in the USA. In major cities, every street has a web development firm working on an innovative web project.

For example, the firm I happened to work with- ClassicInformatics.com, is developing an instant messaging platform that integrates with MSN, AOL, GCHAT, and other major instant messaging tools. They are also working on a proprietary ajax-driven Invoicing system they want to resell.

I flipped through the chandigarh online yellow pages; and met with the head of GreyCellTech.com; a web development firm that is building an employee time log system driven by a thumb scanner. The head of NetGains, also in Chandigarh, told me about his plans to develop a craigslist for Chandigarh; since web services in Indian cities were not up to par with the western counterparts.

Most impressively; a call center 2 blocks from Classic Informatics had just finished 6 months of development on http://www.ezypoint.in/. Their goal is to connect the tourist offices, taxi drivers, restaurants, and franchises around major Indian cities; and provide a trusted brand superimposed on the small decentralized Indian shops. I was impressed with their ambition.

For all you USA entrepreneurs; do not be worried about your developers abroad stealing your ideas and launching your start-up themselves. You have access to the USA market; and therefore you have a thousand advantages to launching your business. If anything- you should chat more with your firm abroad- and recognize any opportunities to help them sell their products to the USA. We’re all entrepreneurs here.

It is often said that ideas are a dime a dozen, and after many attempts to turn seemingly marketable ideas into fluid businesses, many entrepreneurs realize that their brilliant business idea was only good on paper, or maybe was never attractive in the first place.

However, even good ideas are a dime a dozen: if you, or someone you know, runs a successful venture, more likely than not the idea that started the venture was not the only one to come out of their entrepreneurial mind. Anybody can come up with a great idea, and most people come up with several good ideas in their lifetime. What makes a good business is more than an idea. It is working through the idea’s flaws, pursuing the idea’s strengths and seeing the concept through to the end.

If you are sure that your idea is good, then there is no reason not to pursue it. But if you are going to try to turn your business idea into an actual business, it is important that you stay excited about your idea. It is very easy, after working for a couple months, running up credit card debt and sinking to your knees under the weight of a budding enterprise that you can lose the big picture. When your dream job becomes a day-to-day grind, it is more important than ever to stay on top of your game, so your idea can come through to fruition. After all, working for a business that you start is the same as working for any other business. You need discipline, hard work and motivation. Hopefully, the fact that you are working for your own venture will provide some motivation. The rest should come from your confidence in your business plan and grander vision for your company.

Here are some suggestions for keeping yourself motivated and excited about your idea, when the hard work you are putting in doesn’t seem to be worth it:

1. Step back and look at the original notes, plan or picture in which you sketched out your concept. You have it somewhere, maybe on the back of a napkin or in a Word document. Looking at the document which your inspiration created should be an inspiration now, too. It will remind you of the excitement you felt when you first came up with the idea. You can compare the current reality of the company to the vision you first sketched out, and feel confident in your ability to make your idea come as far as it has.

2. Think about how successful your company will be in a couple years from now, rather than how it is doing right now. Sometimes it is hard to look past the next bill payment, but looking at the big picture is very important to keep confidence.

3. Make a chart of major benchmarks and achievements your company has made in the time it has existed. You can mark when you thought up the idea, when it was incorporated, when you posted your first profit, when you gained clients or customers, and when each member of your team joined in. Looking at your company’s growth will help you look forward to growth in the future.

4. Ask your friends if they think your idea is still a good one. This is something that you should be doing consistently throughout the process; if your idea wasn’t good in the beginning, you shouldn’t have started a business. But it’s good to check base with your friends, family, or other advisers as your company grows, to make sure that your goals are still realistic. Don’t look for yes-men on this one; you should be seeking constructive criticism and ways to make your business better.

5. Make a list of your company’s assets. List your computers, your printers, your desks, your kitchen cabinets and most of all your income. Sometimes, listing out the valuable components of your company will help you realize you how valuable your company is.

6. Have confidence! You are the hip manager of a hot new start-up! You have hard work to do but you know it will be worth it in the end.

Hopefully, with these tips in mind, you will feel a bit better about the long, tedious, boring months. We all want that corner office on the 30th floor, but no one gets there without those months. After all, if it was easy, everybody would do it.

Surfing the web is a visual experience- clearly. When we judge a website we make a judgment of taste before ever reading the text or clicking through to the registration- we judge the website aesthetically. Based on appearances.

How do you know if your website is unattractive? This is somewhat like asking if your child is unattractive; which is blasphemy- because ‘its your child’. Something so close to you could not be unattractive. Well, actually- your website probably needs a facelift. It pays to be pretty.

Four years ago many of my friends thought the design and layout of a website was one of the least important aspects for its success- regardless of what product or service it sold. After all, John Q Consultant who networks for all of his clients barely even needs a website. Midwest Van Rentals, the company that occasionally buys spots in the newspaper- do they even need a website?

But now your business card is expected to have a website. When I google your company, I expect your website to be the first result. And I expect your website to be attractive.

What makes a website attractive? A consistent and appealing color scheme, a sharp and defined layout, simplicity without dullness, a balance of images, icons, or action links on the landing page. It depends on who you are- a photographer’s website should have an elaborate flash introduction building his theme and style. A financial services company should wear its clean-cut professionalism on its sleeve.

Why does attractiveness matter to your website? Whether visitors find your site via email, on a google search, in a newspaper or magazine, on your business card or marketing material- your website is a blank slate where you create your brand and identity for your customer. With bad design- you can equally ruin your brand and identity- losing customer trust and boring visitors to sleep. Or perhaps confusing them into retreat. That means less sales and less business.

Think of your website as a movie about your product or service. Are people actually going to watch the entire movie? Even if the content is interesting- if the editing and video quality leave much to be desired, you will lose eyes. And success on the internet is a matter of eyes on you.