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10 Free Resources to Start or Grow a Business
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Sparkplugging | DivineCaroline
July 08, 2008
Thinking about starting a home business or side business? My tongue-in-cheek checklist might let you know if you are ready for it—or go through a “real” assessment to determine whether or not you are ready to start a business” (warning—it’s pretty conservative, so don’t let it discourage you from continuing to prepare yourself for entrepreneurship).
So let’s say you’ve made the decision to start a business, or maybe you have even been in business for a while. I have found that the majority of home-based entrepreneurs I know and have met online have no idea how many free resources are out there to help you start or grow your business.
While I have nothing against paid help—and have paid for help in the past (and was glad I did!), the following resources are greatly under-used, in my humble opinion. So whether you’re just dreaming of business plans or have years of experience under your belt, the following links can help you run a better business:
1. Free Web-Based Business Courses from the SBA
2. Small Business Association Podcast also from the SBA
3. Interactive Business Planner from the Government of Canada
4. More Free Web-Based Business Courses from BusinessWeek
5. Free Business Advice from SCORE: Online Q&A or find a location near you to ask in person
6. Get access to leading entrepreneurs with Entrepreneur.com’s new Ask Entrepreneur feature
7. Get Free Business Forms (be careful, sometimes you need state-specific forms in certain circumstances)
8. Quicken has a free small business software version of QuickBooks available for PC users, or check out these free money management alternatives
9. Microsoft has a free startup help center with both learning resources and hints on how to use their products for small businesses
10. And there’s nothing more appealing about “free” than when it’s free money. IdeaCafe regularly gives away small business grants to deserving entrepreneurs.
Bluelily
15 days ago
80 comments
Thank you for sharing. Off to check sites out.
KatS
2 months ago
584 comments
Great information. Thank you. I will certainly be using some of these resources here in the near future!
AJaneChambers
3 months ago
176 comments
Thank you for sharing these resources. Neither starting nor growing one's own business is easy without the help of others.
flowergirlmt
3 months ago
4 comments
Can't wait to check out these sites!
mzbrown
3 months ago
416 comments
Free is always good!!! I knew about a few of these, but had no clue about others...thanks for the information.
Dana_B
3 months ago
92 comments
Wow! What wonderful resources, thanks for sharing!
CarissaAhlstrom
3 months ago
14 comments
Wow, what helpful information! Thank you! I have just begun to add these links into my favorites so I can look into them further, they seem great already!
~Carissa Ahlstrom
with Motivated Mom's