It all started when Netflix--the online movie rental giant--began persuading movie junkies to give up weekly Blockbuster runs to try something new.  Now Netflix is providing their service to more than seven million loyal subscribers. Entrepreneurs like Lori Pope are catching on to the popularity of the online rental trend. In October 2007, Pope launched Baby Plays, a web-based online toy rental service based in Houston. A mother of two, she got the idea after becoming frustrated with piles of toys cluttering her house as her infant twin sons lost interest in them. So Pope scoured the internet to find a similar service. When her search showed zero results, she knew she was on to something.

Baby Plays currently offers about 200 toys for newborns through preschoolers. Like Netflix, customers build a wish list of the toys they'd like to rent, and Pope's staff sends parents four or six toys in the mail every month. Pope makes an effort to stock sturdy and easy-to-clean toys with parts that are easily replaced. Rates range from $28.99 to $35.99 a month based on the length of the term. When children are done with them, the toys can be shipped back in the same box they were sent in, with a postage-paid return label provided by the company. New toys are shipped out when the old ones are received.

So far, Pope has invested $250,000 of her own money, and continues to put in $12,000 more each month. Parents have spread the word, and Pope’s concept is catching on. Though Baby Plays started with 10 customers, Pope says she now has about 200 customers nationwide. Thanks to the popularity of her idea, Pope predicts she'll turn a profit by this fall.

Yahoo! has unveiled a new service that the company says is "a first for the web-hosting industry." For the cost of $11.95 per month, small-business owners receive unlimited disk space, data transfer and e-mail storage space. The service also includes web design tools, a free domain name, 1,000 personalized e-mail accounts, round-the-clock customer support and a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. If you're looking for an inexpensive way to get your company's website up and running, you might want to give the Yahoo! Web Hosting service a try. Small-business owner, Kaitlyn Sharp, says the Yahoo! service helped kick-start her business. "Our site went live after only a few hours, leading to an appointment and then a fabulous sale--all in the first week."

Check out Yahoo! Small Business to determine if this service is right for you.

Wi-Fi hot spots are a relief to many entrepreneurs on the go. But according to this Wall Street Journal Online article, you may want to think twice before signing on. The article says that many Wi-Fi users aren't aware of just how easy it is for hackers posted at hot spots to steal personal information. And it's not just personal financial information they're after--it's also your company's network. As a rule of thumb, the deputy assistant director of the FBI's cybercrimes division, Shawn Henry, said, "You've got to assume that anything you are doing is being monitored." The FBI doesn't have any exact figures on the number of wireless-hacking incidents since many businesses that offer Wi-Fi, like hotels, don't report incidents for fear of bad publicity.

Here are some tips to help you stay safe while surfing the net, no matter where you are:

• Stay current--Make sure your laptop is up-to-date. Keep your firewall, antivirus and antispyware software current, too.
• Use a virtual pin number--VPNs can be set up for personal, as well as corporate use.
• Bank at home--Avoid conducting financial transactions at a hot spot.
• Name your home network--For your home network, don't use the generic name that came with the wireless router.
• Give Wi-Fi a rest--Turn off your laptop's Wi-Fi capabilities when you're done using the internet.
• Wire up--Use a high-speed connection that plugs into your laptop instead of Wi-Fi if at all possible.

Three young entrepreneurs recently embarked on a new business venture that fits them all just right. Size Me Up is a website designed to help online shoppers quickly determine their correct size in various brands and styles. The fashionable website was the brainchild of University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill graduates Melissa Adelman and Jessica Crowell, and University of California, San Diego student Garrett Berg. For Adelman, who is 5'10", the website was the perfect solution for people like her who became frustrated with trying to find clothes to fit unusual proportions. Not to mention the fact that one size in one brand is most likely different than the same size in another brand. That's the problem Crowell ran into, and she says she still hasn't successfully purchased a pair of pants online.

Right now, the site is still in the building stages, asking guests to provide their data pertaining to the sizes and brands that fit them best. Eventually, as the site progresses, shoppers will be able to click on the Size Me Up button and immediately find their correct clothing size in whatever brand they're interested in.

Local.com, a local search engine, is giving small-business owners another reason to advertise on their site. Today, the company announced they're extending their reach thanks to a strategic partnership with Citysearch, an online guide. The relationship will allow Local.com to benefit from additional advertiser revenue and content on its site, including more than 1 million editorial and user reviews, business coupons and photos. Citysearch will also increase its advertiser reach on Local.com and its distribution network of more than 400 regional media sites. "This relationship allows our merchants to expand their local advertising reach and connect with more consumers, while delivering a consistent message across the local web," said Rob Angel, Citysearch's vice president of media and advertising.

We've blogged about the popularity of giving gift cards during the holiday season, but here's something we haven't seen before: Healthcare gift cards. Givewell.com is promoting healthy living with their product, a prepaid Healthcare Visa Gift Card. They say it's an ideal gift for college students, elderly parents or expectant mothers. Gift-givers can choose any amount between $25 and $5,000 to load on the card, and the card itself costs $4.95. The healthy gift can be used to pay co-pays at doctor's offices and pharmacies in addition to dental care, vision care, memberships at health clubs and even cosmetic surgery.

The card can be purchased online or by calling 877-850-3774.

A new online service is helping e-tailers spice up their websites--minus the headaches. Coupon Fusion allows business owners to create printable coupons for their website. Entrepreneurs have two choices: They can either use the free edition of the service, which can be used for as long as they like, with no obligation. However, the coupons created through this service would include banners from Coupon Fusion advertisers. The retail service, on the other hand, is available for $14.95 per month, sans banner ads. Both editions include the coupon designer software, online clip art, templates and online support. "The software also manages start and stop dates for coupon visibility and with just a few mouse clicks, a customer can 'fuse' these coupons into their website," said Jason Burgess, lead designer at eSynaptic Response Inc., the company behind Coupon Fusion.

Tis the season for online shopping--at work. According to an article on eMarketer.com, Burst Media's "Online Insights" study found that more than 50 percent of respondents admitted to shopping online for personal items during work hours. Workers' most common personal shopping activity involved making a purchase, followed by researching products and comparing retailers. Data from 2006 Nielsen/NetRatings echoed these findings, showing that daily online traffic to retail sites was heaviest on weekdays. It makes sense when you consider the fact that online shopping is a mostly solitary activity, whereas most people choose to spend weekends with family and friends. "Consumers use their weekend visits to the mall to get gift ideas, but return to their computers at the beginning of the week to search the internet for better prices," said Jeffrey Grau, senior analyst at eMarketer.

Downloadable ringtones are nothing new. But downloadable saints, now that's news. An Italian company based in Milan has decided to expand its cell phone offerings by adding downloadable "santini" for the cost of three euros (about $4.42). Many Italians carry around these small pictures of saints, called santini, in their wallets or handbags. But the company is receiving poor reviews from some members of the Catholic Church, who say it's in bad taste. "It is a distortion of sacred things … selling 'santini' for cell phones is horrifying," said Bishop Lucio Soravito De Franceschi, a member of the Italian bishops conference committee for doctrinal matters. The creator of the online santini, Barbara Labate, says she isn't trying to be disrespectful. "We are merely catching up with the times. I think this will appeal to young people as well as grandmothers," she said. So far, the online catalog features St. Christopher, St. Lucy, St. Pio of Petralcina, Jesus and the Madonna.

High-end e-tailers like Blue Nile, Shoebuy and Zales are offering alternative payment options like PayPal, Google Checkout and Bill Me Later in place of a traditional credit card payment. By implementing these programs--and finding consumers who will use them--companies can lower their credit card processing costs. To help customers become more comfortable with these alternate methods, Blue Nile and other sites are offering special savings when customers choose to use them. PayPal, a subsidiary of eBay, says about 150 million people and hundreds of thousands of merchants use its service. One reason sites like eBay have the ability to charge less for processing fees than credit card companies is they spend less on marketing. "So we're a big supporter of these other payment methods," said Michael J. Wagner, chief executive of online toy retailer eToys, which offers PayPal. "Somebody has to keep the MasterCards and Visas honest."

As we mentioned  in a blog last week, online retailers are prepping for the beginning of the holiday shopping season in full force. A  USA Today  article  says Black Friday isn’t the only day websites are gearing up for. For some, it's all about Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, when many shoppers start perusing websites for online holiday deals.

This Cyber Monday, the National Retail Federation predict that one-third of internet shops will offer e-mail campaigns and about 30 percent will have special one-day sales. Many online retailers are also planning to launch free shipping for the remainder of the season on that day. One reason shops are so anxious to promote deals is a fear the weak economy could hurt seasonal sales. "Retailers are so worried about people being very thrifty this Christmas and spending less than last year," said Daniel de Grandpre, editor of dealnews.com.

Gearing up for the holiday season, Yahoo! Small Business has announced two new additions to its e-commerce platform, Merchant Solutions. Keyword Finder helps online vendors identify what keywords, search marketing campaigns and shopping directories have led shoppers to their online stores. Merchants can download a list of keywords, products and URLs and make appropriate adjustments to their SEO and other online marketing campaign efforts based on what works for them.

The second addition, Cross-Sell 2.0, is for businesses using the higher level Merchant Solutions packages. The feature suggests related companion products to consumers while they're browsing and when they add items to their online shopping carts. Cross-Sell 2.0 incorporates past purchases and browsing history to offer recommendations. It also allows merchants to choose specific product combinations to suggest to their customers. 

"Yahoo!'s goal is to help level the playing field for small businesses in competing with larger retailers," said Jimmy Duvall of Yahoo! Small Business of the new features.--Emily Weisburg

Many retailers, both e-commerce and brick-and-mortar, have taken advantage of the internet and its growing popularity as a crucial sales channel. But it wasn't until recently that high-end retailers and luxury designers decided to go virtual. Names like Emporio Armani, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Zagliani are expanding their collections to the internet.

Now that more and more consumers have computers and high-speed internet, the luxury brands are no longer worried that a web retail channel will devalue their status. And the move to web sales also opens the brand to consumers who don't have, say, a Rodeo Drive or Fifth Avenue. According to consulting firm Forrester Research, e-commerce is expected to grow by 21 percent compared with last year, and growth in luxury apparel sales is expected to exceed that, making it a $1 billion market.--Lindsay Holloway

When it comes to business finances, 84 percent of small-business owners surveyed by SunTrust Banks and the National Small Business Association report growing concern involving fraud and their businesses. According to the "Foil Fraud" survey, seven out of 10 small-business owners are more concerned about fraud this year than they were last year. "The reality is that a good number of entrepreneurs are being targeted by criminals trying to defraud them," said Todd McCracken, president of the National Small Business Association. Business owners cite online identity theft as their top concern, followed by check fraud and credit card fraud.

To read more results from the survey or to find out how to prevent your business from being the next victim, visit SunTrust's website.

If there's one item retailers shouldn't miss out on this holiday season, it's the gift card. According to this eMarketer.com article, gift card sales have continuously risen since 2003. This year, the average consumer will spend about $203 on gift cards, up from $186 last year. And for retailers, they're the gift that keeps on giving. Card recipients typically redeem their cards over two visits, increasing their chances for more store traffic and more sales. Also growing in popularity is consumers purchasing gift cards online--now the second most popular spot to purchase a gift card, after retailer locations.

One way to set your gift cards apart from the rest is to wrap it in a box or tin. One-half of gift card purchasers said they were more likely to purchase a gift card presented in special wrapping.