Every new business looks for ways to save time, cut costs, and boost sales. “As the head of a start-up with no money, I use as many free tools as possible,” says Chadd Bennett, founder of RetroRazor. Here are 10 free or inexpensive Web-based services that he recommends.

• Slideshow: The Best iPhone Apps for Small Business
• Slideshow: 10 Great Entrepreneurs Recall Their Start-up Days

Study-guide publisher Flocabulary was $50,000 in the hole, but its founders picked themselves up and kept going.

Friends can be valuable assets for your business, especially in this oh-so unfriendly economy. Still, any business arrangement with friends requires more formality than planning a backyard barbecue. You should state your expectations and set terms up front, just as you would with any contractor, says Fairytale Brownies founders David Kravetz and Eileen Spitalny.

• Why Can’t We Be Friends?
• Slideshow: How Two Friends Built a $100 Million Company

The Obama Small Business Administration today promised to deploy yet…

Tips on how to rev up your marketing efforts by turning everyday e-mails into mini ad campaigns.

Whether it’s building a website, developing an iPhone app, or customizing a program for internal use, many businesses are turning to freelance programmers to get the job done cheaply. But it can be tough finding good help. Sites like oDesk, Elance, Guru, and RentACoder can help.

• Coding Made to Order
• Slideshow: How to Draw 22 Million Visitors to Your Website

Landing a book contract with an established publisher boosts your business profile to a new level. The problem for many new nonfiction authors, however, is how to go about actually getting that contract. This is where a literary agent comes into play. …

Here at Inc.com, we’re constantly using the tools at our disposal–i…

Leigh Buchanan gives five tips for maintaining quality customer service amid the economic downturn.

The average employee sends about 38 e-mails a day. Could those be wasted marketing opportunities? How to turn your employees’ missives into ad campaigns that produce results.

• Understanding Gen-Y Sales Reps
• Slideshow: 10 Ways to Use Texting for Business