JuliannaWebsites devoted to business matters are seemingly endless on the Net. Most are mediocre and many are downright disappointing once you poke around a little bit. No stringent criteria was applied while compiling this resource list, rather these are websites that we use ourselves, have been recommended to us by colleagues and customers, and where the content – informative articles, how-to’s, business advice, newsletters and resource guides – are solid and consistently helpful!
This list includes a mix of websites maintained government agencies, professional associations, commercial endeavors and non-profit organizations.
Canada Business, Government of Canada
This government website is an essential reference for Canadian entrepreneurs. The portal is collaboratively run by 43 Government of Canada departments and agencies, and the homepage links directly to Provincial and Territorial business service centres that provide regionally-specific information on starting a business, human resources for employers, federal regulations, taxation and financing. Resources include on-line business and corporation registration, business statistics on everything from labour markets to ecommerce trends, a useful interactive business planner and tonnes more. Our Advice: bookmark important pages as you explore, as the site contains thousands of documents, pages and links.
http://canadabusiness.gc.ca/gol/cbec/site.nsf/en/index.html
http://www.cbsc.org/ibp/ Interactive Business Planner
Related Picks to Click
http://www.communityfutures.ca/home/index-eng.html – The Community Futures Group promotes economic and business development for folks living outside of Canada’s urban centers
http://www.cybf.ca/ – The Canadian Youth Business Foundation is a Canada-wide charitable organization that assists young Canadians (ages 18 to 34) in becoming entrepreneurs; the website contains information on start-up financing, mentoring and learning resources
About: Small Business Information: Canada
Yep! It’s an About.com site and we think it’s a keeper. There’s heaps of useful information on this website, once you get beyond the distracting advertising, sponsored links and annoying scrolling tool-bar. The articles and resources are easily digestible, varied and updated frequently. When you enter a category – for example: Articles and Resources > Starting a Small Business – scroll down the entire length of the page, past the advertisements in the middle, to get the full selection of articles. Don’t forget to consult the More Categories panel on the left for resources on related subjects. Most of the articles are oriented towards doing business in Canada, but there are good generalist resources that are worth a look also.
http://sbinfocanada.about.com/
http://sbinfocanada.about.com/od/womeninbusiness/
MarketingProfs.com
Marketing can be tricky for many small businesses. Determining where to allocate your budget requires strategic planning and underwhelming return-on-investment can irreparably damage a fledgling business. If you’re working on your 2006 marketing plan and need a little free, professional advice, MarketingProfs.com provides both strategic and tactical marketing resources about online and offline marketing. The site also has an excellent and diverse archive of articles on marketing related topics, including: branding; search engine optimization; marketing metrics; copywriting for businesses; customer analysis and more. The name is no misnomer, as the site draws on the marketing knowledge of a broad array of analysts, industry professionals, and academics who bridge the gap between cutting-edge theory and business practice. Their e-newsletter is good too!
http://www.marketingprofs.com/
CanadaOne.Com
CanadaOne.com is an informational business website for Canadians. While some areas of the website are a little weak, CanadaOne’s magazine and tool-kit are worth checking-out. The magazine publishes a half-dozen or so articles monthly and its archives go back to 1999 (strangely however, 2004 is missing), however there’s not as much Canadian content as you might expect. In the tool-kit there are a couple of fairly-active forums on Canadian business organized around topics such as business promotion and support, a good financial ratio calculator, a search engine submitting tool and an events calendar that you can add to. The website also has a wide-ranging Canadian business directory where you can submit your business listing.
http://www.canadaone.com/
http://www.canadaone.com/ezine/index.html
Workz.Com
Workz.com calls itself the “one-stop resource for small businesses” and it’s certainly got a lot of stuff. Their Forms and Agreements page includes dozens of templates, sample letters and checklists to help manage business matters as diverse as tradeshow preparation, drafting dismissal notices and requesting permission to use copyrighted material. The site also has excellent sections on Sales and Marketing and Web Techniques with instructive articles on dozens of business topics: online advertising, branding and copyright, public relations, internet marketing, tradeshows, web design, systems architecture, ecommerce solutions … and the list goes on. It’s also nice that the site is not bogged down by too much advertising. Check out the weekly WorkZ News e-newsletter, it does a good job keeping current with recent trends and developments relevant to small businesses.
Canadian Women’s Business Network
It’s not the prettiest website, but the Canadian Women’s Business Network has great content. We like that the site’s resources balance business practices such as customer service and internet marketing with women-focused articles on subjects like mothers returning to the workforce. CWBN also features topical business news, career advice, a job board, resume centre for freelancers and businesses for sale list. There is an online business directory that accepts free submissions and is searchable by province, industry or contact information; there is a charge to post to the events calendar and business newsboard.
http://www.cdnbizwomen.com
Managing for Business Success
Another Government of Canada selection, this is the second incarnation of this Industry Canada website previously known as Contact! The Canadian Management Network. The site’s mandate is to support small and medium-sized businesses in solving management challenges. Managing for Business Success provides numerous diagnostic tools to help small businesses pin-point problems, discover areas of opportunity and increase their competitiveness in the marketplace. The other unique feature of the site is the Find a Business Advisor directory where you can search Canadian companies that support small businesses in offering expertise on business management subjects.
Diagnostic Tools
http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/inmfbs-gprea.nsf/en/h_lu00002e.html
Find Business Advisors
http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/inmfbs-gprea.nsf/en/h_lu00005e.html
SmallBusinessComputing.com
Part of the Internet.com collection of sites on all-things IT, Small Business Computing addresses the technology requirements of businesses with fewer than one hundred employees. Strengths of the site include an excellent Buyer’s Guide chock-full of technology product reviews and ‘how to’s’ on everything from buying a server to choosing an e-commerce provider to help small businesses determine the best products for their technology needs. The glossary defines the forty most common computing terms for small businesses and searches Webopedia for queries you submit. Other notables include News and Trends which covers industry goings-on and innovations, a top-notch Online Marketing section with impressively current content and areas devoted to the latest in business software, hardware, equipment and super-gadgets.
http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/