To kick off National Small Business Week, Google launched two new tools on Monday to help small business owners find resources and help.
Helpouts for Small Business allow small business owners to get expert help on a variety of topics that could impact their business.
Divided by subject, small business owners can find help in areas like website design, marketing, IT, payroll and hundreds of other topics. These virtual help sessions are led using live video by experts across different fields.
Users can browse through the qualifications and experience of the experts and check out their ratings or reviews from people who have participated in previous Helpouts.
The sessions can be free or paid, with the price listed per amount of time needed for the session. Some experts offer flat rates for a session while others have a per-minute price option.
When scheduling a Helpout, users can see the availability of the experts to help make it easier to find an appropriate time that works for both parties.
Small business owners with particular expertise can also offer their own Helpouts if they wish.
Google also created a community on their social network, Google+, called the Google Small Business Community. Anyone with a Google+ profile can join the community for free.
Small business owners can browse through the community for helpful tips and information or post their own.
Posts are broken up into the following categories: MiscBiz (miscellaneous business topics), Be Found Online (introducing a business or service), Work Together (helping out other small business owners), Advertise & Measure (marketing and analytics help) and Week in Review.
Using hashtags like #SmallBusinessWeek can help more people find posts in this community. Other hashtags within this community include #BizBits (tips, statistics and other learning), #BizBytes (articles, case studies and other content for discussion) and #Bizdom (training led by specialists).
