Author, entrepreneur, and nationally-syndicated columnist, Rhonda Abrams is passionate about small business and widely recognized as one of the nation’s foremost experts on small business & entrepreneurship.

Each week, Rhonda writes the nation’s most widely-distributed column on small business and entrepreneurship, which appears in USA Today, as well as in 100 local Gannett newspapers, and regularly in the Costco Connection.

Rhonda is the leading author of books on small business and entrepreneurship in the US. Her clear, practical, and authoritative guides have sold more than a million copies and have been translated into over 30 languages.

In January, 2010, Rhonda’s newest book will be released: Start Your Business Free: First Ever Complete Guide to No-Cost Start-Up Solutions.

Rhonda’s books include the best-selling business plan guide in the United States: Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies. Her other best-selling books include Six-Week Start-Up, Business Plan In A Day, What Business Should I Start? and Successful Marketing: Secrets & Strategies.

Rhonda’s books have been adopted by more than 600 business schools throughout the US and the world. Her books have been acclaimed by publications such as Forbes and Inc. magazines as among the handful of best books for entrepreneurs.

An experienced entrepreneur, Rhonda has started three successful companies. Currently, she is President and Chief Entrepreneur of The Planning Shop, a publishing company creating content for small businesses. The Planning Shop is the nation’s leading academic publisher specializing solely in entrepreneurship and also publishes books from The Better Business Bureau.

A popular public speaker, Rhonda appears before small business and entrepreneurship groups throughout the US and internationally. Regularly consulted by large corporations serving the small business market, Rhonda’s clients have included Intuit, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, American Express, AT&T, and many others.

Rhonda’s real-life experience as well as her broad view of entrepreneurship gives her a unique understanding of the challenges and rewards of being an entrepreneur. Rhonda was educated at Harvard University and UCLA. She lives in Palo Alto, CA.

Influential Women,