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Small Business Advisory Resources
Seven additional free or low-cost resources that entities looking to start a business or small business owners can utilize have been provided below. They include Entrepreneur, The Balance Small Business, Grow with Google, Fortune, Inc., InspireHUB, and Kauffman Entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneur
- Entrepreneur offers free business advisory resources. The resources include video, podcasts, news, articles, books, webinars, and spotlight. The website has four sections namely Starting Up, Growing a Business, Franchise, and Inspiration. Resources that are specific to small businesses can be easily accessed.
- The video resources include the Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch, a show which features entrepreneurs who have to pitch their business ideas to potential investors within 60 seconds in an elevator. The entrepreneur is invited for further discussion if the investors were impressed by the presentation.
- Small business owners can subscribe to either the print edition or the digital (app) edition of the Entrepreneur for $9.99 per year. The content includes spotlights on successful entrepreneurs, coverage of emerging opportunities and trends, and practical tools and solutions for business productivity.
- The Entrepreneur Insider program gives "exclusive access to resources for launching business ideas, guides for operational best practices, strategies for growing your business, and advice from our network of experts" for $5 per month.
The Balance Small Business
- The Balance Small Business provides free advisory resources for starting and running a small business. The experts on the site provide "clear, practical advice on entrepreneurship and management".
- The site features resources on "business planning, accounting and bookkeeping, small business financing and loans, sales and marketing, hiring employees, and more."
- It also features highlights on specific small business industries including laws, regulations, and taxes obtainable in each industry.
Grow with Google
- Grow with Google offers free online tools and training courses for small businesses.
- Grow with Google helps small business owners to get their businesses online and strengthen their presence in order to attract customers with easy-to-use tools. Google helps "drive over 1.9 billion direct connections monthly, including phone calls, messages, requests for directions, and bookings for American businesses".
- The site also gives free access to experts through virtual events and workshops.
- Small business owners can answer a few questions and get a personalized plan of Google products for their business.
Fortune
- FORTUNE Small Business is a section on the Fortune website with focused and informative articles and news on small businesses.
- Fortune features audio podcasts and "flash briefings covering business news, leadership lessons, and CEO interviews.
Inc.
- Big Heroes of Small Business is a section on the Inc. website dedicated to inspiring stories of small business owners.
- Hispanic Small Business Town Hall is another section on the Inc. website which features articles and videos of Hispanic small business owners.
InspireHUB
- InspireHUB creates digital experiences and affordable digital design and marketing services for small businesses.
- The site has a Free Resource Library that includes books and guides, whitepapers, and podcasts.
- InspireHUB's podcast is known as the Big on Small Podcast. It is completely focused on the management of small businesses.
- InspireHUB created the IHUBApp™, an award-winning "Digital Experience Platform for small under-resourced teams who want to take their small business to the next level". Small businesses owners can use it to create digital experiences like "apps, websites, hubs, portals, intranets, and extranets".
Kauffman Entrepreneurs
- Kauffman Entrepreneurs helps people to generate business ideas, start, and grow their business. The resources include articles, audio, and video. Users can use the search box to focus on small business topics.
- The site features the Founders School, an online educational resource focused on entrepreneurship. Skills and tools are provided through a rich curriculum and online video lectures. The lectures include suggested readings, questions, and tools and exercises to engage the users.
- Kauffman Entrepreneurs facilitates the 1 Million Cups program which is designed for entrepreneurs to connect with their community.
- Entrepreneurs use the opportunity to talk about their business ideas and needs in a setting where answers can be provided to help the entrepreneur in making the right decision to start or grow their business.
Research Strategy
For this research on additional free or low-cost resources that entities looking to start a business or small business owners can utilize, we leveraged credible and popular sources including Entrepreneur, The Balance Small Business, Grow with Google, Fortune, Inc., InspireHUB, and Kauffman Entrepreneurs.