On the Internet, small business owners can find information on virtually any topic pertinent to their business. They can access the latest business news, join forums to see how other businesspersons solve various problems, or read articles from business experts across the country.
Let's begin at a top-notch site, BizProWeb, which features resources for small business owners, professionals, and home office entrepreneurs. Each weekday, the site spotlights three business resources: a website, a newsgroup, and a shareware software program. Under Web Sites, you'll find major categories such as Accounting & Finance, Employment Policies, General Business Resources, and Small Office/Home Office. One helpful feature is that the website rates exceptional sites with four stars. At BizProWeb, you'll also find a listing of over 1,000 business or professional newsgroups, business shareware programs, essays from experts in the field, and discussion forums.
What about a site that offers the "total know-how for small business"? At CCH Business Owner's Toolkit, you'll find information on starting, planning, financing and marketing your small business. The site offers help in marketing your product, controlling your taxes, and building your personal wealth. The site's search engine provides access to business and credit reports, industry news, and market research. Under Business Tools, you'll find sample letters, contracts, forms, and policies that you can customize to suit your own business. You'll also find financial spreadsheet templates and checklists to help you manage your business. View the "Ask Alice" advice columns where you'll find topics of interest to small business owners, such as Cash vs. Accrual, Letters of Credit, or Getting Some Free Press.
Are you interested in getting a free business education on the Web? At The American Success Institute, you can take a 30-lesson course on Winning With Small Business. Access the Small Business Advisor for information on starting, succeeding, and retiring your business. Other categories include Real Estate, Motivation, and the Stock Market. The site also offers helpful articles, such as, "Ten Things I Wish I Knew When I Started My Business."
At the Business Know-How site, you'll find helpful interactive guides, such as Calculate Your Startup Costs or Calculate the Cost of Your Time. Read tips on what to do if your customers won't pay you, or how to get started with classified ads. The site offers tips and hints in a variety of topics, and questions and answers in categories such as Collecting Past Due Accounts or Paying for Travel Time. Read the latest news, such as New Facts about Business Startups, or the White House Conference on Small Business.
If you're considering starting your own business, be sure to visit How to Start a Business, which offers prospective small business owners a step-by-step approach to this often overwhelming process. Take the Entrepreneurial Test to see if you're suited to being a business owner. Then, learn how to lay the groundwork by developing a business plan, learning about licensing, and developing a system of recordkeeping. Each article features links to additional resources and a listing of sites of interest in that particular category.
Most business people have had the extreme displeasure of sitting through meetings that were a complete waste of time. The 3M Meeting Network solves the problem by providing resources to help you effectively plan your meetings so that you'll get the most out of them. Under Meeting Guides, you'll find articles such as Blasting Barriers with Brainstorming, Building Great Agendas, and Making Meetings Work. If you need advice for organizing productive meetings, visit the Meeting Advisor, where you'll find questions such as, "Our organization has a very casual relationship with time, and meetings often start 10 minutes late. Any suggestions to keep things under control?"
SmallBizNet, provided by the Edward Lowe Foundation, is an information "toolbox" with the answers you need for starting, running, and growing your business. The site offers over 4,000 articles and documents from governmental agencies, small business consultants, and the Entrepreneurial Edge magazine. You'll find a listing of small business events across the country and a Pick of the Week, such as an Insurance Checklist for Small Business. Categories include Employee Relations/Benefits, Publicity, and Women and Small Business.
Previously published in InfoAlert, a publication for business people.
