By Debbie Gregory.

Part 3 of 3

What You Need to Start and Run a Business : Online Resources and Tools

Often starting and running a business means that you are doing most of everything all by yourself. The good news is there are a multitude of resources out there that can help! Thanks to technology, there are tons of affordable and easy to use tools that can automate some of your most redundant tasks. Whether you need a hand starting your business or you are already up and going, below are some great resources to bookmark and take advantage of.

General Business Guides and Resources

• US Small Business Administration
• Entrepreneur – a well-respected publication on all things business
• The Self Employed – an excellent site for business owners for advice about funding, taxes, and marketing

General Business Programs:

• LivePlan –help develop a solid business plan

Funding and Money Management Resources

Loans: 

• Kabbage
• BlueVine
• Fundbox 
• The U.S. Small Business and Community Development Programs

Grants:

• National Association for the Self Employed
• Small Business Innovation Research Program

Peer-to-Peer:

• Prosper
• Funding Circle

Crowdfunding:

• Kickstarter
• Indiegogo

How to manage money

• Evergreen Small Business

Money Management Programs

• Expensify– can help track your expenses
• Due, QuickBooks, Gusto– and can make your accounting and payroll a bit easier
• TurboTax – helps you do your own business and personal taxes

Legal Assistance and Documents

• LegalZoom
• Rocket Lawyer
• Nolo
• Atrium

Marketing Resources

• Small Business Marketing Guide
• The Beginner’s Guide to Online Marketing for Small Business
• The Beginner’s Guide to Small Business Marketing Online

Marketing Programs

• Google Adwords – pay per click search engine ads
• Facebook Ads – pay per click social media ads
• Hootsuiteand Buffer – automate your social media posts
• HubSpot – all-in-one marketing platform with CRM, marketing, and sales
• MailChimp – generate leads and run an email marketing campaigns
• Intercom– chat and market to your customers

Networking

• YEC– help with networking
• Business Networking International (BIN) – get referrals by connecting with other businesses in your community
• SCORE– pairs businesses with volunteer mentors
• LinkedIn Small Business– to connect, promote, and network businesses
• Volunteer Match– locate volunteer opportunities in your community
• Check your local Chamber of Commerce or Rotary Club for more local networking resources and events.

Other Helpful Programs:

• Google’s G-Suite– free resources to organize and conduct business like Gmail, Google Drive, Google Calendar, and more
• Google Analytics– when paired with your company website it provides demographic and behavioral information about your audience
• Survey Monkey– great to use to hear from your customers
• FreshDesk – automated customer support platform
• LastPass– remembers and stores all of your passwords
• Trello– project management that lets you assign and monitor tasks
• UpWork– a good place to find freelancers
• Zoom, Lifesize, Slackand Skype – great to keep in touch with clients and virtual workers as well as conduct meetings

VAMBOA, the Veterans and Military Business Owners Association hopes that you hve enjoyed this three-part series.  We hope these online tools and resources are valuable and will help your business.   If you are a veteran, former military, spouse or loved one, consider joining VAMBOA.  There are not any membership fees or dues.  Here is a link to join:  https://vamboa.org/member-registration/.