What
Small Business Resources
Do You Need?
What small business resources are we
talking about? The first thing that
comes to mind is letterheads, brochures,
and business cards. Those things can
come in due time, but first you need the
wherewithal to run your business. Things
such as communication systems; computing
equipment; basic application software;
accounting systems; backup systems;
invoicing and payment systems; customer
relationship management (CRM) systems;
and, if you are selling products on the
internet, shopping carts. That sounds
like a lot of your money and your time
just to get started - doesn't it? Most
of these resources can be
found online at little or no cost.
If you are going to be an online
business then your vision is probably to
do as much online as possible. Certainly
you can buy everything on your list both
new and even used in some instances.
Think About Renting
Your Small Business Resources
One way to reduce you immediate expenses
is to rent or lease your computing
system hardware. This gives you small
monthly payments instead of one huge
outlay at the beginning. This also gives
you some real potential savings for your
start up costs.
But did you know that for some of the
tools you can rent the software? Known
as Software as a Service (SaaS) you can
run the application online. This usually
costs you a monthly or annual fee.
Advantages of these types of small
business resources are many including no
large costs to buy a software package,
updates are done automatically and
invisibly to you at the host, your data
is automatically backed up online and
locally, and you can buy smaller
computers because less of your computer
resources are tied up with application
storage and local computing cycles.
Prioritize Your Need for Small Business
Resources
Your list is long! That leads to two
problems, doesn't it? First where is all
the money going to come from? But
secondly and probably more important,
where is the time going to come from to
analyze the alternatives for each
category to come up with the best
solution for each task?
It is not in your best interest to
implement all of the systems at once. In
fact as you staff you business; it makes
sense to allow each staff member to have
input into the selection of the system
that they will use to do their job.
For example, your new accountant should
help you decide on the accounting system
for your new company. That way the
expenditure isn't made until you'll
actually utilize the resource and your
time analyzing the solution is greatly
reduced.
Probably the first thing you need to
consider is the communication system
including you internet connection. Then
you need to select the computer system
and basic application software including
word processing and spreadsheet
capability. And don't forget the
presentation software you'll need to
sell your concept to everyone who will
listen to you.
And of course don't forget the wealth of
information, advice and free tools that
the
U.S. Small
Business Administration (SBA)
has for you to use as you are planning
you small business.
Let's look in more detail at the
different small business resources you
need to consider-
-
Business Plans for Small Businesses
-
Computer Systems
-
Communication Systems
-
Backup Systems
-
Accounting Systems
-
Invoice and Payment Systems
-
CRM Systems
-
Shopping Carts
-
Basic Application Software
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