2012 does promise more bloom than gloom with things looking brighter for those who want to try it once again. One evening as I fumbled with my new found tablet looking for a nice watch for my daughter on watchsea I was overwhelmed by the opportunities available in the digital world .I wish I had the vision and the intelligence to tap the internet for small business ideas that could turn things around for me as well.

Look around you and you will find an idea!. I wish the same rung true for small business ideas as well. Time and again, I have been prodded by my friends to generate ideas for their entreprenual ventures. Small startups require adequate capital input and resources along with practical small business ideas. Recessionary times have made investors wary of putting in their hard saved cash in risky arenas.

I have drawn up a skeletal list of the areas which can lead to fruitful small business ideas.

1. As far as revenue and potential is concerned, web based businesses with the help of many web based tools and cloud computing is one of the most lucrative small business ideas for non-tech webpreneurs.

2. Social media continues to be one of the most important tools for enhancing business, engaging prospects and increasing the bottom line figures. Specialized social media related services which includes the management of social media profiles is included in my list of small business ideas.

3. Crowd sourcing and crowd funding which are great ways to help launch projects or get them done by including people from connected areas has a high success rate as far as small business ideas are concerned.

The list goes on and on but the bottom line is that there are numerous opportunities available for small business startups in the fast changing economic scenario of today.

Business listings in directories , Yellow Pages, Web based E-Directories, etc have helped modern business reach unprecedented heights by reaching targeted clients and making its presence felt in places that matter most.Categorizing business by nature, location, size and activity, by compiling printed or online free business listings help buyers and sellers equally by creating a common forum for commercial transactions.

When "Patch " was launched in Brookhaven almost 14 months ago, freelancers and editors had urged local businesses to contribute information for the directory's business listings. The result, which has become a popular hotspot with local businesses is "Patch Places", where users can find descriptions, accepted payment methods , descriptions and hours for spots around the town. This unique service has proved to be a great tool for businesses which do not have a website of their own. The facility allows owners and managers to search for their business listings and make editions to their information by filling up necessary details in a questionnaire form.

Having business listings in the Patch directory entitles users to claim free listings and log on to add photos, promotional material and menus to customize their listings. Positive reviews and high ratings by customers help enhance the value of the business listings immensely. You can click on this link to view the steps involved in managing your Patch business listings.

"Patching" your business is the buzzword over the Country today , with more and more organizations and start up companies listing their presence everyday.

HomeSphere, Inc., has managed to post a record first quarter profit in the housing market with the help of its new customer retention platform. 'LeadPlus', the new B2B lead generation platform by the Lakewood based company, has generated millions in potential sales for its users in the sluggish housing market.

Glenn M. Renner, President and COO of the company, has credited this growth in profit due to the new platform which focuses on customer retention and demand generation. The LeadPlus platform serves to initiate generation of leads in order to attract new customers through digital marketing.

A large number of renowned building product manufacturers have also joined the BRI program launched by the company in late 2011. LeadPlus is one of the major features of the BRI platform and has been embraced by the building product manufacturer (BPM) customers. The feature is the only B2B lead generation platform which offers sales-ready leads to BPMs. The feature helps in customer retention since it helps customers generate and track new leads throughout the sales cycle. It also enables customers to analyze conversions on the sales leads and the revenue generated through these conversions, which helps in gauging the ROI.

The new platform and its customer retention features have enabled the company to mop up more than 200 product conversion leads for its customers' brands. This represents almost $27 million in potential sales which was converted into $11 million of actual new product sales.