Free Small Business Advice from Microsoft

If you are looking for some online resources to help you run your business, check out the events Microsoft is holding online this week.

Microsoft’s Small Business Center is offering a series of online webcasts for small business owners and managers — 25 in all. They start today and run through Friday (March 15 – 17, 2005).

They feature a variety of small business experts, as well as some Microsoft people.

One of the best things about these webcasts is that they are designed for businesses with under 50 employees. Often when you read something from technology vendors, they are really speaking to larger small businesses, such as those with several hundred employees.

I spoke last week with Cindy Bates, General Manager of Microsoft Small Business, and she said that the 50-employee threshold is based on research Microsoft had done several years ago. Below 50 employees, usually the business does not have an internal IT department. That’s the reason for the cut-off (as opposed to making the cut-off 10 employees or 200 employees). That is meaningful because it means that the information and resources are designed to be useful to businesses without an IT department. That’s a pretty important distinction when you are looking for guidance and help.

Head on over to Microsoft Small Business Summit.