Why should you be excited? Because starting next week, we're going to give you more frequent updates of our At Work page, with lots of links to lots of information that will help you run your small business. We have stories on everything from business plan software to wikis (know what they are?) to smart phone security and file serving.

We tell you about not only the hardware and the how-to, but also about why it does or doesn't make sense for your business, when and how to use the technologies, and most importantly, the solutions that go well beyond technology.

And we'll continue to have all the other small-business features you rely on or should check out, including the Ultimate Office, Bandwidth Meter, discussion boards, and more.

Also, starting next week, there will be new contributors to this space. I'm honored to hand the reins over to CNET small-business editor Rafe Needleman and editors Allen Fear and Elsa Wenzel, all of whom have forgotten more about small-business technology than I'm ever likely to know. It's been a great ride, and I've been grateful for the chance to help enhance CNET's small-business coverage and work with such a phenomenal team. If you want the best small-business technology coverage in the world, keep coming back.

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Suppose you're in a market where there's a gorilla of a competitor. You're a small manufacturer competing with a Fortune 500 company that makes essentially the same product. "What is the one thing you can do that they can't?" asks financial consultant and finance professor Edward Fields. His answer: sell in small quantities. You can approach customers, perhaps other businesses, that the Fortune 500 company wouldn't even approach, figure out a way to add value, and--most importantly--make a profit on the small sale that the large company can't.

The reason? The large company has big fixed costs that you don't, so their break-even point requires a much higher level of production than yours, and it is not cost-effective for them to hold and manage a small client. You may be able to make a profit selling 5,000 units (or "units" of service) while the big company has to sell 100,000.

A lot of the time our mentality is that we have to, even as a small business, land large clients who'll buy lots from us and pay our way. But the above is a reason we might want to do business with other small businesses like us.

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Homeshoring. That's a new term for the way telecommunication is helping jobs be distributed not to India or the Philippines, but rather to a neighbor next door or someone sitting in their bedroom 2,000 miles away in the United States.

It refers to people setting up home-based businesses, perhaps as small corporations, who use a phone line and a broadband Internet connection to be a customer service agent. And because of the trend, says research company IDC, the number of U.S. home-based businesses will nearly triple by 2010 to 300,000.

While we're on the topic of home-based businesses, here are some networking tips from AllBusiness.com--ways to get out of your pajamas and get the word out about what you're up to.

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This one's a little experimental, but it's so intriguing--and the potential applications so "wow"--that I have to share it. An experimental application, called Cellphedia, developed by a New York University student, lets users type a question into a cell phone, post it for all registered users to see, then lets others compete to answer it.

OK, so what, you say? Well, this is just the first, embryonic version. Ultimately, it could become a mobile wiki, or collaborative journal or encyclopedia that harnesses the knowledge of all who go there. So instead of "mob-logging" (people joining forces when prompted via cell) you have "mob-wiki," people sharing their intelligence from the palm (or Palm) of their hand. The inventor, in fact, notes that Wikipedia was his main inspiration.

Imagine the applications: Your mobile sales force learns something of relevance to others on the team and sends it around for all those on the road to see on their mobile devices. Or they have a question and can get an immediate answer in a meeting, without using a computer or calling anyone. In fact they may not even know who else has the knowledge but can just tap the entire group, around the world. You offer your expertise and can give it, from anywhere, for a fee that could ultimately be linked automatically to some sort of payment system. A cell phone service provider (your business?) becomes the intermediary, letting people pay a minute amount to connect and share valuable information (the Skype model, kind of).

I've done a little imagining out loud here, but I wanted to let you have a peek and consider the possibilities.

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Our in-boxes at CNET have been getting hit with companies jumping on the hosted solution bandwagon--applications you and your coworkers or employees can access over the Internet rather than have as installed (and expensive) software hosted on your computers.

Google, of course, which keeps galloping out of the gates with hosted applications, is aggregating a bunch of them, along with some third-party material, into Google Pack, which experts predict will soon have word processing, spreadsheets, and other utilities. Microsoft says it'll start offering versions of its Office software online.

There are also a bunch of other solutions, just a few of which I'll mention here. JotSpot, the folks who are bringing the world free wikis--the ultimate collaborative tool--has announced that it's adding spreadsheet functionality so that a bunch of users can manipulate Excel together. There's MioNet, "virtual work place software that allows small-business users to remotely access, share, and back up data and applications to local and remote computers anywhere, anytime" for $6.95 per user per month. There's HyperOffice, a "Web-based software for document sharing and collaboration for small-business owners, employees, clients, business partners, and suppliers." There are hosted phone solutions such as GotVMail, and there are, of course, old standbys such as CRM solution Salesforce.com and HR helpers such as Gevity and ADPTotal Source.

The waves are cresting, and you'll probably want to catch some of them. There are start-ups, some of which will fail, others that will consolidate, and some that will explode into success. Regardless, hosted solutions are an elegant way to use the latest technology to outsource, which is a cost-effective way to concentrate on what you do best and leave the fixed costs for a time when you've grown to the point where you need to bring the systems in-house--even systems that aren't your core business.

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We've talked here about smart phones and other solutions for working remotely, but perhaps the most useful kind of remote access you can have is to get the access to the computer that's nearest and dearest to your heart from any other device and have it emulate the features you most love on that PC.

I learned today, from a company with about 20 employees, of a solution for people who have Microsoft's XP Professional operating system on their PCs: Remote Desktop. The nice thing is that you can connect to the computer--and apparently a host--from not only a laptop or a desktop, but also from a Pocket PC (a handheld device with Microsoft's made-for-handheld operating system) or a smart phone. The downside is that you, apparently, must have XP.

CNET's Robert Vamosi did a nice job of reviewing some of the other solutions, as well.

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Just found out there's a small-business technology conference planned for next month in New York, and at $99, it's not as break-the-bank expensive as some of these things. It's being run in part by Ramon Ray, master of SmallBizTechnology.com, which we like to pluck from, and will have speakers from some innovative companies such as Skype, which ultimately is a competitor to another company there, Verizon, and will also have a few small-biz bloggers and entrepreneurs.

It also plans to address the use of technology, how to set up a small-business Web site, and other bits. (Of course, after reading all of our Best Practices, you'll be able to be on a panel at the conference, but what the heck: doesn't hurt to tell you where you can meet a few people in the flesh who are as interested in small business as you. You can also meet them online in the CNET forums area.)

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A lot of what we talk about in this space is how a small business can pay someone to do things that aren't part of the core business so that it can concentrate on what is core.

We'll soon be posting Best Practice stories on handling human resources and payroll through online vendors such as PayCycle or SurePayroll, which can be excellent, cost-effective solutions for managing benefits, sick days, vacation, and the like for as few as 5 employees or as many as 50. Another solution is something called a Professional Employer Organization. PEOs say they'll help you recruit, hire, do background checks, handle some HR functions such as benefits and legal compliance, and even assume some of the liabilities. They also can get you better rates on benefits and worker's comp because they aggregate a bunch of businesses and buy in bulk.

There are a few challenges, though, so you'll want to be careful before you use one. First, it's hard to know who's good. There are hundreds of PEOs in the United States, and while there are professional organizations that set standards, you'll probably want to check up on ones you're considering and ask some hard questions, as well as get references. Second, as with much outsourcing, you're giving up control and the chance to learn and develop expertise; while you're not an expert in human resources, by handling some of the functions, even with an online vendor, you'll develop some expertise that could help inform your business and assist in hiring later. And while PEOs can save you time and keep you focused, they may not really save you money: generally, they charge a percentage of your payroll, as much as 3 percent (as noted lower down in this story).

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Now we have another reason to like Internet phone service provider Skype. We've already noted how the VoIP company is big for many small businesses by providing free (!) calls between Skype-enabled users anywhere in the world.

Now, one of Skype's technology providers and enhancers, a company called Jyve, has teamed up with micropayment company Click&Buy to let you charge the people who call you by the minute.

Let's say you run a business that sells expertise or bills hourly, and you want to collect money for time you spend on the phone with clients or customers. Maybe you're a health care provider, and someone just needs a five-minute consultation. Perhaps you're a tech service company, and someone has a quick question or problem. Maybe you're a lawyer. Perhaps you're a translator who would love to be conferenced in to help each party understand what the other is saying. (Thanks to Jyve CEO Charles Carleton for some of these ideas.)

The customer just clicks to make the call and accept the payment. No worries for the customer about being billed fairly or knowing how long they'll be billed for (since the counter ticks away as they talk, just like a taxi meter) or about messy billing procedures. It gives incentives on both sides to be time-efficient. You just set up an account, and the customer sets up to have their credit card billed through Click&Buy.

Note, though, that this is very much a sneak peek. You can click a Jyve site to try out the service and see if it works for you, and become a de facto beta tester. And there are, of course, some limitations: The customer and you must have Skype and the ability to use it. The customer has to be registered with Click&Buy. You have to be available when the customer calls. You can't (yet) charge different amounts for different time spans ($10 for the first minute, $2 for every minute after that), and we don't even know if all of this works. Jyve and Click&Buy plan to take 15 percent off whatever you bill, with some to-be-determined minimum charge.

Despite the reservations (no pun), there could be big potential and a big chance to think of all kinds of business uses for this.

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Welcome back. Over the break, we were introduced to a few things that may make life a little easier for the small business. I'll spend at least the next couple of days writing about them here. (My CNET colleagues are gorging themselves silly at the Consumer Electronics Show. And they're helping you share in the fun.)

One of the things I saw is a new version of a project management tool from Mindjet. We've talked before about the difficulties of managing multiple small projects, especially since it often seems project management software is made to help tackle one big project, such as a major public works initiative.

The latest version of Mindjet's software, MindManager 6, is flexible enough to let you map things out visually, kind of like a free-floating organizational chart that also lets you expand or contract each node or tree. It also lets you access a calendar or attach documents.

I'm not saying it's better than Visio or Microsoft Project--or a spreadsheet, or Post-it Notes, or even a bulletin board, for that matter. But it's a tool that may be worth checking out if you've been struggling with collaboration and keeping it all organized. Unfortunately, it doesn't currently allow different levels of access--anyone who's in can see it all. There's not a Web-based version. Nor is it cheap, at a price of at least $229 per user, though a free trial is available. But it's different enough from other things we've seen that I thought it worth a mention.

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