Resources for startups and small to medium businesses in general, can be a godsend. After all if you’re starting up a new business or looking to reinvent or re-energise an existing one, you’ll no doubt be constantly on the hunt for reliable, professional advice and resources regarding all sorts of things – from marketing and sales to financial management, HR, technology and innovation.
Having run two businesses myself over the past 10 years, I’ve noticed the number of websites and organisations offering a myriad of really fantastic (and free) resources for startups and SMEs in Australia has increased dramatically. I wanted to share a few of the sites I’ve personally found really useful below:
Flying Solo
Australia’s largest online small business community, with over 46,000 members. Great advice from people who have gone it alone before you on how to succeed in areas such as technology, marketing and finance and a constantly evolving members directory choc a bloc with real-life case studies.
JCD has Business Class membership of this site and the link to my ‘Spotlight’ profile is consistently our second highest referrer of new clients online, after organic Google search results.
Start-Up Smart
Start-Up Smart is a free news and information website that is full of resources for startups and people thinking of starting their own business. Started by Amanda Gome, founder of SmartCompany (see link below), this website was started in response to a perceived need for a site specialising in providing advice to individuals and groups either before or during their plunge into the exhilarating but often overwhelming world of small business ownership.
Creative Women’s Circle
Driven with finesse and gusto by my friend and former colleague Tess McCabe, the CWC website has a wealth of interesting articles, case studies and resources for anyone – be them female or not – working in Australia’s creative sector. The CWC is actually a group as well, and hosts regular meet-ups around Melbourne where guest speakers from a spectrum of creative disciplines are invited to present, inspire and impart their knowledge in a relaxed, informal way.
Small Business, Big Marketing
When I started JCD in early 2011 I fortunately one day stumbled across this website and regular podcast by two gung-ho local entrepreneurs / marketing experts – Luke Moulton and Tim Reid. These two are without doubt characteristically blokey Aussie guys, but that also adds to their appeal. They provide really useful, practical tips in their podcasts covering everything marketing-related from social media to branding.
SmartCompany
SmartCompany is a completely free news, information and resource site for Australia’s entrepreneurs, small and medium business owners and business managers to help keep them ahead of their competition. Writers for this site have many years of experience reporting for several of Australia’s leading newspapers and magazines including BRW and The Australian Financial Review. Contributors include Australia’s top entrepreneurs, experts and advisers.
Inc.
This is an American site founded in 1996 designed to provide business owners and entrepreneurs with advice, insights, resources and inspiration for running and growing a small business. Although much of the content on this site is US-oriented, I have found it enormously useful for articles on a diversity of subjects (particularly those relating to new technologies) that aren’t always covered off in detail by local sites.
Hope these come in handy! I’m sure this list is merely the tip of the iceberg. If you have any more sites to suggest/recommend, I’d love to hear from you.