Starting a small business or side hustle sounds exciting—until you realize how quickly all the little expenses start adding up.

A website. A logo. Shipping supplies. Accounting software. Business cards. Social media tools. Inventory. Packaging. Listing fees.

Before you know it, you’ve spent a small fortune before you’ve even made your first sale.

One thing I’ve learned is that you don’t need every fancy tool when you’re just getting started.

Whether you’re reselling thrifted finds, opening an Etsy shop, starting a blog, selling handmade items, mystery shopping, freelancing, or simply trying to turn something you enjoy into extra income, there are a TON of free and inexpensive resources available.

I’ve rounded up some of my favorites and some worth bookmarking.

1. Start With the FREE Small Business Resources You Already Pay For With Your Taxes

Before paying someone hundreds of dollars to tell you how to start a business, check out the resources that are already available for free.

U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)

The U.S. Small Business Administration has information on nearly every part of starting a business, including:

• Choosing a business structure
• Registering a business
• Writing a business plan
• Calculating startup costs
• Getting an EIN
• Business licenses and permits
• Business banking
• Funding
• Business insurance

Their SBA Launch Your Business Guide is a particularly good place to start.

Aunt B’s Tip: Don’t pay a random website to obtain an EIN for you. Applying for an EIN directly through the government is free.

SCORE

SCORE is one of those resources I wish more people knew about.

SCORE provides free business mentoring, along with webinars, courses, guides, checklists and downloadable templates.

You can even be matched with an experienced business mentor.

Their free business template library includes things like cash-flow worksheets, profit projections, marketing budgets, business planning tools and break-even analysis.

They also have a free Starting Your Business Workbook.

FREE is my favorite price!

2. Free Design Tools

You absolutely do not need to hire a graphic designer every time you need a Facebook post, flyer, price sheet or Pinterest graphic.

CANVA

Canva is probably the tool I use and recommend most for someone doing things themselves.

You can create:

• Social media posts
• Flyers
• Business cards
• Logos
• Pinterest pins
• Product inserts
• Signs
• Price lists
• Videos
• Presentations
• Printable products

There is a paid version, but there is plenty you can do with the free tools when you’re starting out.

Photopea

Photopea is a free online photo editor that’s especially useful when you need more control over an image.

Remove.bg

Need the background removed from a product photo?

Remove.bg can do it automatically.

Free Stock Photos

If you need photos for your website, blog or social media, try:

Pexels

Pixabay

Unsplash

Always double-check the current license and usage rules before using an image commercially.

3. Free Tools for Staying Organized

A side hustle can get disorganized FAST.

You may have orders, inventory, appointments, mileage, receipts, content ideas and about 47 other things happening at the same time.

Google Drive

Google Drive gives you access to Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms and cloud storage.

Google Sheets alone can be incredibly useful for tracking:

• Inventory
• Cost of goods
• Sales
• Mileage
• Mystery shops
• Expenses
• Leads
• Orders
• Profit

Trello

Trello is a visual project-management tool. I like this type of system for keeping ideas from disappearing into the black hole otherwise known as “I’ll remember that later.”

Todoist

Todoist is another option for keeping track of tasks and deadlines.

4. Free or Low-Cost Money & Accounting Tools

Please don’t wait until tax time to figure out what you made and what you spent.

Been there. Don’t recommend it.

Even a basic spreadsheet is better than nothing.

Wave

Wave offers accounting and invoicing tools geared toward small businesses.

Before choosing any bookkeeping platform, check its current pricing and make sure the features you need are included.

Google Sheets

If your business is still very small, a simple spreadsheet may honestly be enough to get started.

Track at minimum:

Sale price – cost of item – selling fees – shipping/packaging – other expenses = actual profit.

That $25 sale looks a lot different when you realize you paid $7.99 for the item, $4 in platform fees and another $2 in supplies.

5. Free Marketing Tools

You don’t have to immediately start paying for ads. Some of the best marketing tools available to small businesses are free

Facebook

Facebook can be useful for business pages, Marketplace, community groups and local selling.

Instagram

Instagram works especially well for visual businesses, handmade products, thrift finds, before-and-afters and behind-the-scenes content.

Pinterest

Don’t overlook Pinterest if you have a blog, Etsy shop, printables, crafts, recipes, DIY projects or other searchable content.

TikTok

TikTok can be a great place to show what you sell, how you make it, what you found while thrifting, packing orders, reseller tips and the real-life side of running a small business.

Google Business Profile

If you have a local business, look into a Google Business Profile so customers can find you through Google Search and Maps.

6. Learn New Business Skills for Free

YouTube University is real, people.

You can learn almost anything online before paying hundreds or thousands of dollars for a course.

Grow with Google

Grow with Google offers training and tools covering digital marketing, productivity, AI, online selling and other digital skills.

Coursera

Coursera offers courses from universities and companies. Some courses can be audited or accessed without paying, although certificates and certain content may cost money.

Alison

Alison offers free online courses covering business, marketing, technology and other subjects.

And don’t forget SCORE’s free training and mentoring. You don’t necessarily need to buy someone’s $499 “Start Your Dream Business” course when experienced business professionals are willing to help you for free.

7. Tools for Writers, Bloggers & Content Creators

If blogging or content creation is part of your business, there are several free tools worth bookmarking.

Grammarly

Grammarly can help catch spelling and grammar issues.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics helps website owners understand traffic and how visitors interact with their site.

WordPress

WordPress.com offers a way to start a website or blog without building everything from scratch.

If you eventually want full control of a business website, research the difference between a free hosted website and purchasing your own domain and hosting before deciding.

8. Don’t Forget Your Local Resources

This one is easy to overlook.

Search for a Small Business Development Center (SBDC) in your area.

The SBA can also connect you with free and low-cost small business counseling resources, including Small Business Development Centers and Women’s Business Centers.

Also check:

• Your local library
• Chamber of Commerce
• Community colleges
• City and county economic-development programs
• Local entrepreneur groups
• Local Facebook business groups

Your library may provide free access to databases, business research, classes, equipment or software that would otherwise cost money.

9. One Resource You Already Have: AI

AI tools can be incredibly helpful for a small business—as long as you’re still the person making the decisions.

You can use tools like ChatGPT to help brainstorm:

• Product descriptions
• Etsy titles
• Blog topics
• Social media captions
• Business names
• Customer responses
• Checklists
• Spreadsheet ideas
• Marketing ideas
• Questions to research
• Content calendars

The key word is help.

Don’t blindly copy everything AI gives you. Read it, fact-check it, change it and make it sound like YOU.

Your customers want to hear from a person, not a robot.

Don’t Spend Money Just Because Someone Says You Need To

This may be the biggest lesson on this entire list.

When you start looking into side hustles and small businesses, suddenly everyone wants to sell you something.

A course.

A subscription.

A coaching program.

An expensive website.

An app.

A “business opportunity.”

A $97 download explaining information you probably could have found for free.

Some paid tools are absolutely worth the money. But you don’t have to buy everything on Day One.

Start small. Use the free resources. Make some money. Then invest in the tools that actually save you time or help you earn more.

That’s pretty much the philosophy behind Aunt B’s Corner anyway.

Try things.

Learn things.

Make a little extra money.

And don’t spend $500 trying to make your first $50.

Save This List!

I’ll keep adding useful resources to Aunt B’s Corner as I find them, especially resources for reselling, mystery shopping, Etsy, printables, handmade businesses, side hustles and making extra money from home.

Have a free resource you absolutely love? Share it in the comments so I can check it out and possibly add it to the list.

Happy hustling!

— Aunt B