Retail Business Resources

Skill Development & Education

Penn Foster Career School
Free & Affordable Distance Education

Inc.com
Leadership Resource Center covering topics such as leadership development training, business leadership training, and business leadership skills

E-Leaning Center
Distance Learning Courses

Marketing

110+ Marketing Ideas (Small Business Administration)

ideabook.com
Comprehensive archive of free tutorials offering insights on design, page layout, the use of color, illustration, photography, and typography, print and web design, and the business of design.

Duct Tape Marketing
Practical business marketing advice

Finding a location for your business

Entrepreneur & NPRC’s 2006 list of  Hot Cities for Entrepreneurs

Articles:

Choosing a Location for Your Business

Thriving in a bad location

How to Select a Shopping Center Location

Evaluating potential locations for your retail business

Writing a business plan

Inc.com
Provides an excellent, thorough section touching on almost every aspect of creating a business plan.

Planware
Business planning software and a great quantity of other information and resources

Bplans.com
Over 500 sample business plans with searchable database

Retail Business Associations

The Retail Owners Association
Retail Merchants Association
North American Retail Dealers Association

Other helpful resources

Welcomebusiness.com
features a wealth of resources, how-to articles, free business counseling and special discounts.

Related information:

Retail merchant accounts
Merchant resources