This is a breakdown of some of the resources that have helped us along the way and may help you on your entrepreneurial journey. This is a good startling resource list but there are plenty out there to get you to where you want to go. Remember to network with like minded people and people that will push you forward to reach your goal.

If you need help we are here.

Veterans Business Outreach Resources

As a small business owner you will end up wearing different hats and you will need different resources to get your business up and running. below are some of those resources to get you started.

Business Plan

A business plan doesn't have to be something complex or a document that is 10 pages long. But you do need to cover the basics to get your thoughts started on what your business will look like. SCORE.org has a great one-page business plan; Click HERE to get to the link. This document covers the following to get you started.

Overview
- what are you selling? Who will buy it? How will your business idea help people?
Financial
- What will you charge? How will you get paid? How else will you make money from this project
Marketing and Advertising
- How ill customers learn about your business? How can you encourage referrals?
How will I measure success?
- Number of customers or annual net income
Obstacles/Challenges/Open questions
- Specific concerns or questions.

Basic Needs

Domain

A domain is an internet name that can be purchased by anyone. This name is usually in the website name like www."DOMAIN".xxx. You can compare a domain name to a business or home address; there is only one. A domain can be purchased from several different vendors and varies in price depending on the names demand. Some of the most common vendors are:

Website Hosting

Hosting is a place where your website lives which includes its content and files which make it accessible to users. A webhost is a vendor that provides the storage and delivery of information from the website to the user once they type in your URL (simplest term website). Webhosts vary on functionality as they also provide a means of building your website out. Depending on your talent level you might want to visit the vendors below and get a free account to see how your skills match up to the vendor. Remember that you can always outsource this to someone that does webdesign for a living.

Analytics

Web Analytics is an essential tool to figure out how your website is performing and who is accessing it. With analytics you can measure how many people visited your site, what country was the user in, did they access your site from a mobile device, tablet, or a desktop. Analytics can even capture how the user arrived at your website either directly by typing in the website address or social media or a search engine. Your webhosting vendor usually has a native analytics tool but you can also use Google analytics (which is being upgraded 1 July 2023 to Google Analytics 4). Below is a link to a beginners guide to web analytics from HubSpot blog and a link to Google Analytics.

Email

Personal use email and business use email is totally different even when you try to bend the rules to make a personal email look like a business email. Which emails looks professional “Davesfinancialplanning@gmail.com” or Dave@Fiancialplanning.com. Of course the email Dave@Fiancialplanning.com looks more legit. Don’t be cheap when it comes to getting a business email for your business. A business email can be purchased for as little as 6 Dollars today (2023). There are several ways to get a business email. You are usually going to be offered a business email from your domain provider or webhost provider. Another option is to purchase one from Google or Microsoft directly.

Accounting

Now that you have a product and/or service to sell you will need to generate estimates and invoices as well as taking in payments. When running your small business, you are going to need to track your business transactions in one place from purchases, sales, expenses, payroll, and others. Accounting software distinguishes itself from a spreadsheet by providing the business owner, bookkeeper, and accountant information in real time in addition the ability to connect receipts into those transaction. Spreadsheets do have their strengths in offering complex calculations that accounting software is not able to provide. Some of the most common accounting software applications are:

Campaigns

Emailing campaigns in simplest terms is digital mail marketing. Instead of sending out fliers to multiple address you are performing the same action except you are sending digital fliers to multiple email addresses. There are several emailing campaign vendors that provide you the ability to create and design campaigns and send them out to hundreds of email accounts with a couple of keystrokes. The goal of a campaign is to entice the receiver to purchase one of your products or services or to learn more about your business. Some of the most popular email marketing campaign services are.

Branding

Branding is a distinct identity you create for your business for the minds of the consumers. It’s your ability to share what your company stands for by the way you present your company logo, your company colors and the products and services you deliver. Your company logo and colors are the beginning of your brand image. As you purchase your domain and website host you have probably been offered logo making design tools. There is one tool, in our opinion, that stands out from the rest and can offer not only logo creation but content creation. Check out Canva

Canva

Network Opportunities