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Welcome to the Small Business Growth Center Newsletter
The purpose of this newsletter is to point small business owners
and their employees towards free resources and tools that can help improve business operations and make their lives easier.
This issue is focused on no-cost resources you can use to help manage, market, and grow your business. In these tough economic times, every business is trying to reduce expenses, and do more with less while remaining focused on profitability and growth. These resources will help you do just that.
As always, we welcome your comments and suggestions. Enjoy!
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Get Small Business Advice from Successful Experts
SCORE is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping small businesses succeed. They provide one-on-one local mentoring from experienced, successful executive volunteers who love business and want to share their knowledge to help others succeed.
You can connect with a counselor for online or in-person sessions. All sessions are completely confidential, so you can speak freely and get the best possible advice.
You can also post an online question, or view one of their free online courses. The SCORE website provides a number of free resources, including how-to articles and business analysis tools that can help you succeed.
Search the SCORE expert database to schedule your in-person or online consultation
Go to the SCORE Online Learning Center to access free business courses
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Get Free Press Release Distribution
Writing and publishing press releases is a great way to get free exposure for your company. Just make sure the release is truly news and not simply a marketing pitch for you company.
Simply writing your press release and posting it on your website is not enough -- you need to have it distributed to the press, published on reputable third-party websites and blogs, and indexed in search engines.
All the sites listed below will enable you to distribute your press release for free. Many of them also offer paid upgrades to your posting, which you do not need to purchase. In most cases, Google, Yahoo and other search engines pick-up and index press releases from these sites.
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Get Free Tech Support
It seems we're even more reliant on technology in all aspects of our business and personal lives. As technology becomes more complex, more things can go wrong. And when they do, they are even more difficult to troubleshoot and fix.
Some people are lucky enough to have a friend or relative who is a technology expert willing to help out. If you don't have a resident "geek" in your circle, you can get free access to one at:
Tech Support Guy--a website offering free technical support for all types of problems from volunteer experts.
You can join and participate in the forum for free. Simply search for your problem and read the posted solutions. Or post your problem in the appropriate forum and get quick, effective help from an expert. Problems solved on the forum range from how to rid your system of viruses and Trojans, to help with Excel formulas, to how to set-up your iPod.
With manufacturer technical support getting increasingly frustrating, this great, free forum is a perfect first stop when you're experiencing technical difficulties.
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Get Free Stock Images
Royalty free stock photography can be just the thing when you are trying to spruce up your website, add some pizzazz to a power-point presentation or marketing piece, or create a dazzling advertisement.
Pricing for stock photos typically varies based on size (meaning file size). Higher resolutions are needed for print materials, especially large size print materials. If you need to create a 12 foot banner out of a single image, you'll likely have to pay quite a bit.
FreeDigitalPhotos.net
This large catalog of completely free small images is suitable for use in websites, Power-Point presentations, and other screen resolution applications. Free images come in sizes up to 430 pixels x 640 pixels -- that's equivalent to about half of a standard computer screen or a 3 x 4 low-resolution printed image. You don't have to register to search freely through their large catalog, which includes categories such as food, technology, money, transportation, people, pets, and more. The images are yours to use for any purpose, including published materials and paid advertisements.
TurboPhoto
For larger photos, try this smaller collection of free images. The catalog on the landing page provides access to 2000 images you can use for any purpose at a large enough size for most printed projects such as brochures and small posters -- typically around 1920 pixels x 2650 pixels. That's equivalent to a 6.5" x 8.5" high resolution printed picture.
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Suggest a Site
Have a
Small Business resource or tool you think others will find useful? Send
us a link and we may include it in a future issue!
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Small Business Growth CenterProvided by:
Creating Platforms that Help Stars Shine
In our view, Small Businesses are the stars of America. If they thrive,
our world is a better place--more jobs, improved economy, and more people
become empowered. When people are empowered, communities are empowered,
and these people become the mentors of the next generation.
PaySimple strives to bridge the gap for small businesses by providing technology that enables them to bill, collect, and manage their customers' payments under one user-friendly system. Best of all, PaySimple is designed for small businesses' needs and budget, so it requires no technical knowledge to set up or customize. Learn more at www.paysimple.com.
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