Small Business Owners
These skills can save you time and 
money, and keep your business growing

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1. Flyers and brochures -- create them, and update prices, products, and services as needed
2. Use a laptop as a presentation machine, with Powerpoint
3. Create a spreadsheet to track time, money, sales, inventory, salaries, costs
4. Look good on paper: make professional business letters & documents
5. Sell products and services on the Internet
6. Track product and service improvements on the Internet
7. Track the competition on the Internet
8. Add pictures graphic effects to your documents
9. Make new documents from old letters, lists, photos, contracts, brochures
10. Know how to avoid doing things twice, when making documents and using your computer for communications
11. Faxes:  Send and receive with your computer

1.  Write text & numbers easier, faster, more thoroughly

• Speed tricks in Word, Excel, & other programs
• Talk, don't type: use a voice recognition program to get your thoughts on paper.  Stop typing!
• Make links among your documents or document sections, for faster navigating

2.  Better document formats

• Use tables, columns, other arrangements to make documents easy to understand.
• Footnoting, tables of contents, & authorities
• Headers and footers that work the way you wish
• Control runaway "sections" in an MS Word document
• Import Excel docs into Word docs, & vice-versa
• Outline numbering: easy adjustments, correct layout

3.  Use Internet better, for sources, pictures, information

• Searching: use more (and better) search engines
• Bringing text, pictures, data from  websites into your document
• Putting links in your document to Internet information
• Copying Internet info that "can't be copied"

4.  More appealing documents

• Adding pictures, other graphic effects
• Using text art, word art
• Use visuals from web sites, news
• Newsletter/columnar layouts that "can't be done" in MS Word

5.  PowerPoint presentations

• Basic and more advanced PowerPoint shows
• Special picture and text effects
• Add pictures, layer them, copy them, add graphic effects
• Add music to your PowerPoint show
• Convert an outline into a PowerPoint presentation
• Print handout sheets and documents from your PowerPoint docs
• Bring MS Word and Excel documents into a PowerPoint presentation

6.  Spreadsheets: Keep track of the dollars, hours, miles, and other numbers

• Be accurate in tracking your costs
• Communicate better with clients and coworkers, showing numbers and charts
• Use the eight main formulas that cover almost everything
• Sort and filter lists of information
• Show averages and percentage of total
• Pie charts, line and column charts for impact
• ​Bring MS Word docs into spreadsheets
• Nest a spread.sheet in an MS Word Doc
• Put a spreadsheet in a PowerPoint presentation