Starting a new business is both easier and harder than ever before. Easier for the wealth of free and readily available information online to help you learn about business marketing, growth and management. Harder for the same reason, because that mountain of information takes a long time to read through and it can be difficult to find the most important sources of advice.

Five Great Websites for Small and Medium Businesses

Inc.

http://www.inc.com/

Visually attractive and interestingly relevant to all types of small and medium businesses, we like Inc. for its topical take on business growth in the current climate, as well as its focus on innovation and approaching business in different ways, like this article about "What Poker Really Teaches You About Business".

The Small Business Blog

http://sme-blog.com/

Something of a bible for small business owners, The Small Business Blog has been going since early 2006 and has therefore stood the test of time. With authors from all over the world, it offers a very balanced outlook on the challenges small and medium-sized companies face today.

Entrepreneur

http://www.entrepreneur.com/

One of the longest running magazines and websites for entrepreneurs at all stages of business, Entrepreneur is an endless source of inspiration. It also packed with useful, practical advice on how to grow your company on and offline and how to manage your time in the most productive way.

Copyblogger

http://www.copyblogger.com/

Not an obvious choice for this list, but Copyblogger is the number 1 website for copywriters and content marketing professionals, i.e. all the people who use words to attract and engage new customers. With simple to follow snappy articles offering quick and easy ways to improve the copy on your website, the way you use social media and also the words that really work when you talk to your customer it's worth reading if you have a company blog or website. Sign up for free updates and you'll have access to a wealth of free and discounted ebooks, courses and pages and pages of information.

She Takes On The World

http://shetakesontheworld.com/

Blink and you might think that Natalie MacNeil's website is a woman's lifestyle blog, which we suppose it is as it's all about business and entrepreneurship as a lifestyle. With this in mind it deals with all elements of working life from how to take leaps of faith to how make the most of your time off. Lots of video content too if you learn better through audio or visual media.

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