Having your own business can not only be stressful, but can be expensive too. So, to help you navigate through the vast array of free resources that are out there to help small businesses, the CarolRoth.com contributor network of entrepreneurs and experts have shared their favorite free resources.
I also was included in the article providing 1 of the 60 tips. My tip is below with a few others that I chose to highlight.
1. MY TIP: SCORE!
Need a mentor? Google S.C.O.R.E….it is a society of retired executives across a broad range of diverse businesses. This free national resource aligns you with a retired exec in your field who can help you with your business plan, direction, vision, etc. You can work one on one in person or via phone, email, Skype, carrier pigeon, etc. They were helpful to me when I set up my own private practice. I highly recommend SCORE.
2. GET FREE IMAGES
When you write your blogs or online articles, make sure you always add an image to it. Having a great picture really adds value to your story and vastly increases your readership rate. Personally, I use Stock.Xchng (their website is http://www.sxc.hu) as it is free and they always have a great selection and variety of free images by different photographers.
3. THERE IS GOLD IN LINKEDIN
One place that I find tons of business leads is on LINKEDIN. Specifically, I always check the questions that my group sends. I see that a person needs help on a certain topic, and I offer the HELP for free. I make no solicitation then. In many cases, the Linkedin person refers other business to me or invites me to bid on a specific project. It’s all about offering to HELP first. No pitching biz on Linkedin.
4. CONNECT WITH THE REPORTER
My favorite free resource for business is ReporterConnection.com The requests are specifically for entrepreneurs and small business owners. Overall, I have found more opportunities responding to their requests than those found elsewhere. However, I subscribe to a few to make certain visibility of my services is always available. Contact the site to have the requests emailed three times per day. Good luck!
5. RELIABLE AND FREE LEAD GENERATION
One of the most useful free resources for Entrepreneurs is a reliable and free Lead generation database. Not many people know about ZoomInfo.com. And even fewer people know about their Community Edition. When you subscribe to ZoomInfo CE, it gets linked to your MS Outlook. You get access to all of their contacts/company databases which are pretty good and validated. And in return, ZoomInfo makes use of contacts from your Outlook.
For all 60 tips, visit http://www.carolroth.com/blog/60-great-free-business-resources/