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So you have decided to take the plunge? Well done, speaking from experience, its hard work and sometimes far from fun. The reward you get from running your own business however.... Well there is nothing like it. Nothing like knowing that your talent and hard work is the reason money is coming in. Its going to be hard at the start, no doubt about it. We have done our best to assemble a range of online applications and advice that will help you in your quest to run your business effectively. Cost is obviously a factor when you are just starting. We have tried hard to make sure content is both useful as well as cost effective, often free. The information below is a goldmine and will ensure that many of the mistakes commonly made at startup will be avoided. I suggest bookmarking this page for future reference ("control" key plus the "D" key at the same time)
You have been running for a while now and perhaps have up to 4 staff or 3 staff and a partner. You will in most cases have the very same requirements as a business that is just starting out. Cost is still a factor although you will have enough experience to realise that free does not always equate to value. You will probably be wanting to find things that just do the job and if they cost a few dollars a month, then so be it. You are at the stage where your time managing the business is more important than spending hours searching for free stuff just to save a couple of dollars, although throwing money about willy knilly is not on either. We have put together a selection of useful resources that will assist you in getting everything done in a fast, efficient and cost effective manner.
As a small business operator, you are starting to become more reliant on technology and understand from a business perspective the high value of ensuring the correct resources are used within the business. The definition of small business varies, our definition is between 6 and 20 staff. At this level both successes and failures are magnified and each staff members input can make the difference between overall success and outright failure. At the upper end of the small business scale (above 15 users) It is worthwhile looking at the vertical markets section below for some great resources on "Enterprise Resource Planning" (ERP) This is end to end software packages designed to encompass manufacturing, supply chain management and inventory. These packages can benefit the upper end of small businesses by increasing efficiencies in the business.
This is where small changes make big differences. We class medium business as between 21 and 200 employees. While there are a few areas where online applications makes sense, on the whole medium businesses will likely have at least one business server on site. Here is the medium business suppliment. Use the small business tab above as your base set of resources.
Vertical market resources deal with tools and information specifically designed for a certain business sector whether it be finance, manufacturing or real estate. The software and resources are sorted based on industry rather than software function. Below are the industries that have specialist software and other resources available to them on this site.
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Above is our current pick of the best resources on the internet for business. These are web sites & software services that we use all the time. We have seperated resources based on the size of business. Now some of these resources will be repeated through all business sizes because they are relevant to them all, others are not. Google Apps at this point is probably not relevant to small and medium business, however is highly relevant to micro businesses and those new to business. Some of the free software that we recommend here is relevant to all business sizes because it is just so damn good. Please bear in mind however that free software often becomes un-free when used for commercial purposes. We are all trying to make a few dollars, We strongly believe that if someones hard work has contributed to your success, then they should be compensated. Imagine someone expecting your services for free? A short pier and long walk probably come to mind. |