My Favorite Free Tools/Resources

Starting a business can consume both your time and your financial resources. Thankfully, there is a wealth of resources now readily available to small business owners for free or very little cost.

The following are some favorite free tools and resources that can help your small start-up grow into a booming business.

SCORE

SCORE is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to assisting small business owners. Through the organization, start-ups like you can be matched to retired professionals who serve as your mentor. You are able to ask them questions and get advice about the best practices for your new business.

SCORE also provides other free resources including an online tool where you can ask your specific question and receive a live answer from a business professional within a 48 hour time frame. When visiting their website, you will also find free webinars covering a wide-range of business related topics.

Community Business Center

Many communities have business centers that small business owners can utilize. These centers often have an office space where you can utilize computers and other technology that you may be in the process of purchasing. They also offer workshops. Often, these workshops are free or offered a very minimal cost and cover a variety of topics and industries.

You can locate a business center near you by conducting a quick search online. Your local Chamber of Commerce may also be able to provide you with a contact.

Social Media

In the past, marketing a new business was costly. Nowadays, small business owners are able to cut some of those costs by taking advantage of the social media networks that have become so popular. There are numerous social media outlets to choose from, with some of the most popular being Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Small businesses are also utilizing YouTube to post videos about their products and services, as well as offering advice to potential customers.

With Facebook and Twitter, you are able to connect to your current and potential customers. It is free to create these accounts and they require a very minimal time investment to keep current.

LinkedIn enables business owners to network with others within their industry, as well as potential employees, contractors and professional customers.

Business Credit

According to the SBA, “the availability of credit is one of the most fundamental issues facing a small business”. Start-ups often turn to credit cards to bootstrap their dream or to cover temporary short falls. Using a website like CreditDonkey.com, entrepreneurs can find and compare options available best suited for their unique circumstances. When starting a business, a separate card helps define expenditures, maintain tax records, smooth cash flow and allows business owners to earn rewards on their business expense.

Computer Applications

Many small business start-ups are also taking advantage of the “freeware” (free computer software) that is now available online. These free computer applications are legal and easy to use. With a quick search online, you can find programs that have the following capabilities: calendaring, project management, time management, invoicing and accounting.

Before downloading and installing software, be sure to do some quick research to ensure that it is a legitimate program. People who have experienced problems with freeware will often post about their negative experience on Internet forums, so it should be relatively easy to determine whether or not it is a trusted program.

For a small business under 50 employees10 employees, Google Apps is a great free option.

Templates

Many people have started sharing templates online as well. These templates will assist you with creating letterhead, fax cover sheets, invoices and other business documents that will help sharpen your start-up’s image. Once again, these are easy to find by conducting a search online. You may also find templates and graphics that meet your needs through the word processing and spreadsheet applications that you currently utilize on your computer. By simply utilizing these templates, you can save yourself quite a bit of time and headache.