Few would argue that time is one of the scarcest resources today. For women in business, this is especially true. Juggling between the demands of business, family and a whole range of other obligations requires working smarter constantly. Fortunately, there are many ways to leverage time, as well as improve productivity and efficiency today by connecting with a variety of online business services.
There are a large and growing number of different types of online business support services, and many are free. For example, MicroMentor is a free online service that connects small business owners with volunteer business mentors. Mentors may be selected based on the business owner’s interests and needs and counseling exchanges take place totally online. Other sources of no-cost business counseling are available across the country through state universities, government and nonprofit agency channels.
In areas of business development, there are no-cost business services to help you learn about selling your goods and services to the government. This business development opportunity is referred to as government contracting and involves working with a contracting representative to complete an application process for becoming a certified supplier of goods and services to the government. Women and minority-owned ventures may apply for specialized certification status, which places them in a more competitive position for securing contracting opportunities directly with government agencies or through private sector firms as a sub-contractor.
Other areas of no-cost business support services include marketing, financial counseling, and import/export assistance. For a complete list of types of business support services available, visit your state business assistance community.
Additional ways to your leverage time using online business services include fee-based solutions. Many of these services offer particular value for small businesses, home-based businesses and self-employed individuals because they provide big-business offerings at small business prices. For example, email marketing can be an extremely cost-effective strategy for staying in touch with customers and building new ones. This includes sending newsletters, surveys or other marketing messages via email. iContact, for example, offers newsletter templates, surveys and an online marketing community for customers all for a fixed monthly fee.
For print-based marketing campaigns, smaller firms can access easy-to-use, online design templates for things like post cards, flyers, brochures, greeting cards, magazines, stationery and many other common forms of direct mail marketing collaterals. Conquest Graphics offers these types of online solutions for its small business customers, as well as a host of direct mail services for assembling, targeting and distributing snail mail campaigns cost-effectively.
In summary, while time is a scarce resource, it can be effectively leveraged through online solutions. To learn more about other types of online business solutions, visit the SMEToolkit, which offers content specific to assisting women and minority business owners, and BUZGate.org, which offers access to state-based directories of free and low-cost government and nonprofit business assistance programs available to all entrepreneurs. Time may be scarce, but thanks to innovation and collaboration, there are ways to work smarter.
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