What is one great resource for small business owners that can help them jumpstart their business?
To help new entrepreneurs with jumpstarting their business, we asked small business owners and CEOs this question for their best insights and resources. From getting support with SCORE to becoming a member of your local chamber of commerce, there are several resources available to you to help you jumpstart your business.
Here are 13 resources to help your small business get a jumpstart:
- Check out the Coleman Entrepreneurship Center
- Create a Digital Footprint
- Get Support with SCORE
- Take Courses at a Local College
- Listen to Productivityist Podcast
- Leverage Networks on LinkedIn
- Utilize Social Media Platforms
- Join the Small Business Association
- Learn Skills with Alison
- Become a Member in Local Chamber of Commerce
- Organize Your Needs with Trello
- Create a Google My Business Profile
- Invest in SEO Strategies
Check out the Coleman Entrepreneurship Center
Seek out a local entrepreneurship program for helpful resources on your entrepreneurial journey. One program offered by my alma mater is the Coleman Entrepreneurship Center (CEC) at DePaul University. The CEC is a hub for students, alumni, and Chicago entrepreneurs interested in sharpening their entrepreneurial skills. This program offers specialized coursework, workshops, and events about entrepreneurship. For expert guidance, successful entrepreneurs share their wisdom through the mentorship program. Local Chicago startups can also find a pool of university talent for internships and employment. Even if you are not in the Chicago area, the website contains a resource guide for aspiring business owners.
Carol Bramson, Side By Side
Create a Digital Footprint
At Markitors, we optimize the digital footprint of our clients to maximize their brand authority online. With Digital PR, we drive brand awareness through thoughtful placement strategies on a monthly basis. In doing so, clients are better able to benefit from their online sales funnels, which ultimately improves online traffic for more sales and conversions. Digital PR is a valuable tool to improve your online SEO strategy and is thus the best way to jumpstart your small business.
Rronniba Pemberton, Markitors
Get Support with SCORE
SCORE is a great resource for small business owners. It’s a non-profit with around 11,000 business professionals who volunteer to support small business owners. Support is free and workshops are incredibly affordable.
Fred Gerantabee, Foster Grant
Take Courses at a Local College
A great resource for small business owners to jumpstart their business is their local college. A local college can be a great place to find entry-level workers who are well educated and ready for a job. Utilize this resource to find great talent for cheap to help you jump start your business.
Lauren Picasso, Cure Hydration
Listen to Productivityist Podcast
Listen to the Productivityist Podcast. The Productivityist podcast is perfect for the unorganized. The content includes expert advice on how to improve your current productivity levels and time-management skills. The best part is that you can apply the lessons to any aspect of your life, not just work
Chris Alexakis, Cabinet Select
Leverage Networks on LinkedIn
Expand your network through LinkedIn by reaching out to professionals in related industries. Initiate conversations with them and build genuine relationships. They might end up opening the door for you to people who can help your business or access startup funds for you. Consider joining online groups and making connections there.
Rym Selmi, MiiRO
Utilize Social Media Platforms
We use social media to increase profits by showcasing the many brands we work with and promoting our products and services. Because we engage genuinely with our customers and followers on social media, they share their reviews on their websites and social media channels, helping us reach an even broader audience. Whether through photos of them with their purchases, or highly detailed reviews, customers and clients will always provide the most meaningful marketing material because it is their organic and honest review of your product- and it’s free! Furthermore, a recent study in CXL shows that consumer reviews are trusted nearly 12 times more than product descriptions and produce an average 18% uptick in sales.
Shaunak Amin, SnackMagic
Join the Small Business Association
If your business is either just starting out and you’re located in the US, a great resource is the Small Business Association. They offer many resources and tips on a wide range of subjects having to do with your business in their learning platform. In addition to important and helpful information, they provide many relief resources, such as Covid-19 relief and loans, counseling, disaster assistance, and local assistance.
Saneem Ahearn, Colorescience
Learn Skills with Alison
Alison is a great educational resource for small business owners. You can select courses that you want and learn at your own pace. They teach everything from IT skills to marketing and sales. Learning a new skill could be just what you need to jumpstart your business.
Greg Hannley, Soba Recovery
Become a Member in Local Chamber of Commerce
A great resource for small business owners is their local chamber of commerce. The chamber of commerce is a great resource for getting helpful information about starting a business in your area. I would recommend this resource to anyone just starting their local business.
Craig Carter, Jack Mason
Organize Your Needs with Trello
Starting a business can seem daunting and it can be easy to feel overwhelmed with all of the tasks that need to be completed. This is why organizational tools such as Trello can really help with productivity and efficiency in order to propel the growth of your businesses forward. Once you utilize tools such as these to keep your workflow organized, you’ll feel less stressed and you’ll be much more prepared to accomplish all that you need to in a timely fashion.
Maegan Griffin, Skin Pharm
Create a Google My Business Profile
A Google My Business (GMB) profile is probably the most powerful tool a small business has at their disposal. A company’s GMB will support SEO efforts, drive new customer acquisition, provide a forum for your customers to share their experiences with you as well as with other customers, as well as give your hours of operation, contact information and other relevant business info. And the best part is, a small business owner doesn’t need to hire an expensive digital marketing guru to create or maintain it. Google makes it very easy for a layperson to do it all. You can create an excellent profile in about a half hour. Then spend 15 minutes or so a week maintaining it.
Eric Rutin, Marketing Mentor
Invest in SEO Strategies
A great way to help jumpstart your business is to utilize stellar SEO strategies. If you have an excellent SEO plan in place, you will set your website up for success from the beginning. SEO helps your website rank higher in search engines, which makes it easier to be found. Do keyword research based on what your brand offers, and prioritize keywords that you can easily incorporate into product listings, landing pages, blogs, etc. You want to use keywords with high search volume, and low competition, if possible.
Eymel Daniel, ForChics
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