Being a small business owner means being an expert in a wide variety of areas.
Along with the day-to-day demands of keeping your store running, you’re responsible for sourcing the best products, setting profitable prices, tracking your wide-ranging inventory, acting as your store’s accountant, managing a team of employees, and more.
Learning everything you need to know to operate a profitable store can seem daunting — but fortunately, there are so many helpful small business resources and tools available to help you manage your workload, streamline your operations, and put your small business on a path to success.
To save you time, we’ve done the hard work and compiled a list of all the best small business resources into one place. Let’s dive in and explore over one hundred resources!
General Small Business Resources
Whether you’re just starting to explore your entrepreneurial aspirations or you’re a retail industry veteran, these general resources have you covered for every step of your small business journey.
- AARP Small Business Resource Center for the 50+
- Accion Opportunity Fund Coaching Hub
- Entrepreneur.com
- National Women’s Business Council
- Minority Business Development Agency
- SCORE
- Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- U.S. Census Bureau
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
- U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
- VA Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilization
Small Business Planning and Funding
The first step in any journey is always the hardest. When launching a new business, you need to secure adequate funding and make projections to see whether or not your venture will be successful. These small business resources will help you start off on the right foot with financial planning.
Accounting and Finance for SMBs
Small business ownership means becoming an accounting pro. Luckily, these resources can help! Learn best practices and find helpful tools for keeping your store financially healthy.
- AccountEdge
- AICPA FRF for SMEs™ Toolkit for Small Business
- Bank of America Small Business Resources
- Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation: Money Smart for Small Business
- FreshBooks
- H&R Block Premium & Business
- IFAC Guide to Practice Management for Small- and Medium-Sized Practices
- IRS Small Business and Self-Employed Tax Center
- IRS Video Portal
- Kashoo
- Sage
- Shopify
- TaxAct Business
- TurboTax Business
- QuickBooks Online
- Wave
- Xero
- ZipBooks
- Zoho Books
Project and Workflow Management
If your to-do list feels unconquerable, you might need additional reinforcements. These productivity tools can help you manage your goals, break down your tasks into bite-sized chunks, and work more efficiently. \
Small Business Sales Tools
If your small business makes high-ticket sales, or if your customers require lots of guidance on their purchasing journey, you might need sales software. These solutions will help you keep track of potential customers, their specific needs, and their contact information.
Marketing Resources for Small Businesses
Marketing is critical to the success of your small business. A solid marketing plan will help you attract new customers to your store, keep your sales high, and amplify the success of your promotions. Here are all the small business resources and tools you need to execute effective marketing campaigns.
These tools will help you maintain an active profile on the most popular social media platforms. We’ve included tools to help you design posts and automate the scheduling process to make social media marketing a breeze.
- Adobe Creative Cloud
- Canva
- Hootsuite
- HubSpot
- Meta Business Suite
- Sprout Social
- SkedSocial
- Vimeo
- Wistia
- Youtube
Email Marketing
Email is an excellent way to stay in contact with your customers, allowing you to send regular updates about new arrivals in-store, your current promotions and deals, and upcoming events. These tools will help automate the email marketing process and provide data about the performance of your emails.
Pro Tip: Make sure your chosen email marketing platform integrates seamlessly with your POS system! You’ll be able to sync your contacts between the two system and reach the greatest possible number of customers.
Digital Marketing
Your website is a key way that new customers find your small business. These tools will help you build a great website, grow your reach, and learn how many people are regularly visiting your page.
- Grammarly Business
- Google Analytics
- Google My Business
- Google Trends
- Hubspot
- Matomo
- Lucky Orange
- Wix
- Wordpress
Print Advertising
A well-designed postcard or flyer can be a great way to capture the attention of potential customers. Here are our favorite places to print advertisements.
Business and Professional Development
A successful small business owner is always learning. Here are our favorite resources to further your education and learn about everything from marketing to leadership.
- Alison
- Coursera
- Hubspot Academy
- Linkedin Learning
- MIT Open Courseware
- Semrush Academy
- Skillshare
- Udemy
SMB Human Resources
Managing is a significant ordeal. Along with training and leading your employees, you also need to keep track of payroll, tackle scheduling, and provide benefits for your full-time team members. These tools can help with your HR workload.
Hiring and Recruitment Tools
Need employees? A “We’re Hiring” sign on your store’s door might not cut it. These sites will allow you to post your open positions and help you find the right person for the job.
Resources by Retail Industry
Some retail verticals require a little extra research than others. Here are resources specifically designed for retailers in the grocery, liquor, and tobacco industries.
Grocery Store Resources
The grocery business can be profitable, but complicated. With perishable items like produce, meats, and cheeses, inventory management and food safety add an extra challenge. These small business resources will teach you everything you need to know to keep your grocery store thriving.
- FDA Food Industry Resources
- GS1 Retail Grocery Resources
- IBISWorld: Supermarkets & Grocery Stores Industry Market Research Report
- MarketResearch.com: Grocers Market Research Reports
- Progressive Grocer
Liquor and Tobacco Shop Resources
These small business resources outline the legal constraints on the sale of tobacco and alcohol. Understanding these laws and regulations is crucial to the success of your smoke shop or liquor store.
- Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau
- Serving Alcohol Inc.: Alcohol Resources
- Library of Congress: Alcoholic Beverage Industry Research Guide
Leverage the Most Important Small Business Resource
We’ve left the most important small business resource for last: A point of sale system.
Your store’s point of sale (POS) system is foundational to everything you do. It processes every transaction, streamlines inventory management, generates detailed sales reports, manages your customer loyalty program, and so much more.
A modern POS system can be a game changer for your small business — helping you operate more efficiently, elevate the customer experience, and run a more profitable store.
If you’re ready to take your small business to the next level, build your custom POS solution and generate an instant quote using our build and price tool!
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