Managing a business is no easy task. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, around 20% of new businesses fail during the first two years of opening while an astounding 45% fail during the first five years.
Every business owner could use some help- from hiring the right talent and training them, to marketing and handling social media.
Rather than trying to do everything from scratch and learning from mistakes, why not take advantage of numerous business resources out there? There’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Simply find the proper business resources to learn from and you’re good to go!
This is why we decided to scour the internet and find some of the best business resources out there that every entrepreneur should know about.
List of 15 Business Resources Every Entrepreneur Should Know About
We decided to break down these business resources into 3 categories- websites, software tools, and books – to make it easier for you to find what you’re looking for. So without further ado, let’s dive in…
List of Business Websites
1. Entrepreneur.com
First up is Entrepreneur.com, a great resource for new as well as seasoned business owners. Entrepreneur.com has a ton of written content, videos, as well as podcasts regarding various aspects of a business.
From tips on starting a business to growing it, Entrepreneur.com is a must-visit for every business owner.
2. Score.org
Score is a non-profit with 10,000+ retired as well as working business professionals who volunteer to support small businesses worldwide. Score has been operational since 1964 and has provided education and guidance to more than 11 million entrepreneurs.
Score provides free, confidential business mentoring in person at more than 250 local chapters or remotely via phone, email, or video conference. It also offers free webinars and workshops on marketing, finance, and business strategies.
Read more: Finance Newsletters You Can Read to Manage Money!
3. BizBuySell.com
BizBuySell is one of the biggest marketplaces on the internet to buy and sell businesses. With over a million hits a month, BizBuySell is a popular avenue for business owners looking to buy, sell or franchise their business.
The website has over 45,000 active for-sale listings. From hotels and gas stations to websites and eCommerce, BizBuySell has a plethora of options.
4. Forbes
Been in circulation for over 100 years, Forbes is an indispensable resource for business owners worldwide. An American-based business magazine, Forbes also has a website with tons of free content.
Forbes publishes extensive content across every business category: entrepreneurship, personal finance, marketing and advertising, technology, stock market, careers, and more.
5. CPA Directory
CPAdirectory.com is the go-to website to find 600,000+ Certified Public Accountants for free. Simply enter the state (or ZIP code) your business operates in and CPA directory will find an accountant for you.
6. SBA.gov
Small Business Association or SBA is a cabinet-level federal agency committed to small businesses. The SBA provides mentoring, funding, and expertise for small businesses operating in the United States.
Read more: Market Reach: Tips to Improve It For Your Business
List of Software Tools
1. Bit.ai
Bit.ai is the most advanced virtual workspace software for teams to communicate and get work done efficiently. It lets you create, manage, share, and track all of your business documents using virtual workspaces and keep your files safe and secure.
You can create an unlimited number of workspaces for the entire organization, teams, departments, and even clients. It gives you the ability to collaborate in real-time with your teammates using @mentions, inline comments, and more.
Moreover, it offers a plethora of amazing templates that cut your labor in half and help you kickstart your work swiftly. The best part? Bit.ai works in the cloud, so you don’t need to download any software!
2. elink.io
We all know how important email marketing is for every business! A newsletter creator and a content curation tool, elink helps anyone send out visually pleasing and responsive e-newsletters in a matter of minutes.
Choose a newsletter template and simply add links to the content (articles, videos, music, etc.) you want to share as a newsletter, and let elink do the rest.
elink will convert those URLs into visual blocks with a picture, title, and a brief description. You can further add a header/footer, intro text, your company logo, and hit submit. It’s that simple!
The best part is the huge list of ready-made newsletter templates that you can use to create a stunning newsletter in minutes! All the templates are responsive and look flawless on all devices.
3. Trello
A daily planner for individuals and teams, Trello is a fun and interactive business tool. Trello allows you to organize your tasks and to-dos into visual boards.
Simply create a Trello board, add tasks (or cards) to these boards, add task description, due date, labels, and much more. You can even assign tasks to fellow teammates and see their progress.
Over 1,000,000 teams worldwide use Trello to organize their tasks and get work done quickly. The platform also has iOS and Android apps so you can take your work wherever you go.
4. Calendly
If you have a remote team, organizing and setting up virtual meetings can be a hassle. This is why it’s important to use a reliable calendar app to do the work for you.
Calendly allows teammates to add their schedule and availability preferences and share them with their co-workers. Calendly then automatically books a meeting when all teammates are available, reducing the nuisance of back and forth email discussions.
5. Hootsuite
Every business nowadays needs to have a social media presence. However, being active on multiple social media platforms and engaging with fans online can be exhausting.
This is why your business needs Hootsuite, a popular social media management tool. Hootsuite integrates with over 35 social media platforms including – Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc., and manages them from one dashboard.
With HootSuite, you can plan all your social media content, invite your team to review and schedule everything to keep your social presence active 24×7.
Moreover, real-time analytics help your business make intelligent, data-driven decisions to develop your social media strategy.
6. LastPass
Businesses use a ton of software tools to get work done. However, every tool requires a user id and password to log you in. Enter, LastPass. An amazing password manager, LastPass helps you save all your passwords, credit card details, contact details, and more in one place.
Apart from your passwords, LastPass also allows you to save other digital assets like memberships, insurance cards, wifi passwords, and more.
Having trouble coming up with strong passwords? LastPass has a robust password generator that creates randomized passwords to protect your accounts against hacking.
Read more: Top Business News RSS Feeds You Must Follow!
List of Books
1. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
Time magazine has listed 7 Habits of Highly Effective People as one of “The 25 Most Influential Business Management Books”. Published way back in 1989, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is one of the most influential self-help books of our time.
In his book, Stephen Covey describes 7 behaviors he has observed in successful people from all walks of life. The book has sold more than 25 million copies in 40 languages while the audio version has sold 1.5 million copies!
It’s no surprise that 7 Habits of Highly Effective People remains one of the best-selling nonfiction business books in history.
2. Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies by Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras.
Published in 1994, Built to Last is the result of a six-year-long research project that explored what leads to companies being successful.
Jim and Jerry surveyed 100 CEOs and covered a wide variety of companies ranging from Fortune 500 industrial companies, Fortune 500 service companies, Inc. 500 private companies, and Inc. 100 public companies.
If you have ever wondered how small companies turn into giant powerhouses that take over the world, look no further than this book to get all your answers.
3. Crushing It!: How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Business and Influence-and How You Can, Too by Gary Vaynerchuk
Four-time New York Times bestselling author Gary Vaynerchuk comes up with his latest book Crushing It!, a successor to his 2009 classic ‘Crush It’!
Being an internet personality, Gary knows a lot about how to build and market successful businesses online and offers a ton of advice for anyone who wants to leverage social media.
4. Zero to One: Notes on Start-Ups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel
Zero to One is a ‘hot to startup’ guide by a billionaire entrepreneur and venture capitalist, Peter Thiel. Thiel knows a thing or two about building something huge from scratch, having co-founded Paypal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund.
Derek Thomson from The Atlantic described Thiel’s book as ‘possibly the best business book he has ever read’, and we agree! If you are just starting up your business, Zero to One is a must-read.
5. Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE
Bill Gates described Shoe Dog as “a refreshingly honest reminder of what the path to business success really looks like”. The memoir describes the history of Nike from being an early-stage startup to becoming one of the world’s most recognized brands in the world.
Final Words
So, there you have it, folks! This was our list of awesome business resources every entrepreneur should know about. We are sure you are going to find a ton of useful information from all the above-mentioned sources which are going to help you build and sustain a successful business.
What do you think about our list of business resources? Did we miss out on your favorite resource? Do let us know by tweeting us @elink_io. Good luck!
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