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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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Got Small Business Growth Center Newsletter?
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Have an iGoogle page?
Add our Small Business Tip of the Week
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Watch the "How Not to Market to Small Business" video
Watch this short YouTube rant on the annoying, ineffective mass marketing mailing
addressed to "Business Owner."
Watch the Video
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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!
Email Us
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Small Business
Growth Center
Provided 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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