Though women-oriented, ivillage too has useful articles on starting up, gains of market research, handling client meetings and so on. For women who don't have a business idea, red for women is devoted to flexitime and business opportunities.

You can decide whether your venture is going to be a proprietorship, partnership or corporation at the start up bazaar. It's got lots of useful entrepreneur information, all relevant to India. If it's the franchise option you want to explore, go visit franchise bazaar. You can try lexsite for help with tax procedures and other corporate legalities. The site also lets you download drafts for requirements like the company alpha agreement, Internet usage policy, etc.

Now for the actual office set-up. The toolkit includes downloadable checklists, model business plans, sample policies or contracts and financial spreadsheet templates. Bizoffice also offers business document downloads, apart from free small business software for accounting, finance, calculations and more. And yes, the Microsoft Office programme is always helpful.

You can also design your own business cards, letterheads, labels and sender-specified envelopes. Choose a sample format, fill in your company information, kind of paper you want, and print! MnetWeb offers the same services, but also lets you save your stationery templates and update them whenever required. It will demand a small fee though.

For functions like database and project management, inventory systems or company presentations, there are a whole lot of downloads available, both free and paid. Try the ZDNet collection of office downloads, along with its tips on office essentials and e-business advice.

The minute the word 'e-business' crops up, online SOHO is the place to be. This 'step-by-step guide for the small business or home business (SOHO) owner' tells you why you need a Web site, how to plan it, where to get free design tools or content, and how to give Meta Tag tips. It also shows you how to submit your site to search engines, explains rankings, the fundamentals of online advertising and so on. Big resources and web page profits are also huge directories of site building resources.

If you do decide to set up a Web site, remember: it's easy to go unrecognised when you have a couple of billion pages vying for attention. It makes sense, therefore, to pick up some street-smart marketing tips -- like how to get ranked higher by search engines -- from Internet marketing guru Corey Rudl. While the site is essentially a brochure for Rudl's services (his clients include Coco-Cola and Microsoft), there's enough to make it worth a browse.

Other sites that can be of use include files anywhere: a paid service offering between 50 MB and 2 GB of secure space that can be accessed online anywhere in the world. You can e-link or e-send (the site's version of email) files too large to be emailed to your associates, or simply share password access. Those interested can try the free 30-day trial first.

A more advanced file sharing solution comes from groove. It creates a secure shared space for a group of people to talk, chat and share files. Changes made by any one person are reflected to everyone else in the group. When users work in the space offline, large changes are saved and synchronised when they reconnect. Yes, it will cost you, but there's a free preview version.

Lastly, irrespective of what information solution you want, cyber defenders has a few answers. It boasts quick tips for SOHO users, covers software protection, technical glitches and more.

With the basics all in place, your business is now free to grow. Have fun.

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