The best (free) business resources
Some things in life are free. Fortunately, anyone
today can take advantage of plenty of free busi-
ness resources and information, both on the
Internet and off. The following list covers ten
great free resources that can help your business.
We also note where you can take advantage of
premium resources at the sites for a small fee:
 The Small Business Administration (www.
sba.gov) is the granddaddy of help for your
business needs. Established by the U.S. gov-
ernment in 1953, the SBA provides financial,
technical, and management assistance to
people who want to start, grow, and run
businesses.
 MarketingProfs (www.marketingprofs.
com) is arguably the best marketing site on the
Internet. Why? Because it isn’t an aggregator of
everyone else’s marketing stuff; it generates new
content from its network of marketing professors
and professionals. Here you can find marketing
articles, blogs, case studies, events, and online
seminars. Much of the information on the site is
accessible with no fee, but you may want to con-
sider signing up for premium membership (about
$49 a year) to gain access to in-depth articles
and online seminars.
 WSJ Entrepreneur (www.wsj.com/
entrepreneur) provides a comprehen-
sive set of online resources for businesses
and the entrepreneur. You can discover and
utilize great articles, business-plan tools, and
maybe even your next business opportunity.
 The Center for Business Planning (www.
businessplans.org) provides free
business-planning guidelines, which include
articles and templates for such things as a
cash-flow statement, mission statement, and
financial ratios. You can also find checklists
for segmenting your market and looking at
pricing, as well as a strategic marketing plan.
 Kauffman Foundation eVenturing (www.
eventuring.org) is devoted to growing
a business. We recommend that you check
out the content under its Collections section,
where you’ll find groupings of information on
finance and accounting, people and HR, sales
and marketing, products and services, opera-
tions, and the entrepreneur. In addition to the
topics you can explore on the site and its blog,
it sponsors a monthly e-newsletter that you
can sign up for.
 Mind Tools (www.mindtools.com) helps
consumers learn 100 essential life, career,
and management skills — free! Of course, the
site also offers self-development courses and
e-classes taught by experts — you’ll pay for
these courses, but the tuition is reasonable.
 SCORE (www.score.org), formerly known
as the Service Corps of Retired Executives,
bills itself as the “Counselors to America’s
Small Business.” More than 10,500 volun-
teers — coming from the ranks of retired
business owners, executives, and corporate
leaders — answer questions, give advice,
and share their wisdom and experience.
SCORE has an online, 24/7 counseling ser-
vice, and it has set up many offices nation-
wide for walk-in help.
 U.S. Export Assistance Centers are located
in more than 100 cities around the United
States. (You can find them through the U.S.
Department of Commerce at www.doc.
gov.) They provide assistance to businesses
that want to export goods and services to for-
eign countries. If you’ve never done business
with a foreign country, it can be a daunting
task. The counselors at the assistance centers
are trained to hold your hand through the
process.