Guest post from Marissa Mitrovich, director, public policy and corporate responsibility for Verizon.  Follow @mpmitrovich on Twitter.

(photo taken with her smartphone: Marissa with Marie Johns, Deputy Administrator of the US Small Business Administration)  

Earlier this month, I attended a very powerful event:  The White House Business Council and Small Business Administration hosted the Urban Economic Forum at Barnard College, a women’s college, in New York City.  The venue was thoughtfully selected, as the entire day was dedicated to women.

While there were many invaluable pieces of advice offered to women throughout the day.  One of the key takeaways – and the advice that was repeated throughout the day by multiple people, but first mentioned in the morning by Susan Lyne, Chairman of Gilt Groupe Inc., an e-commerce company that pioneered “flash sales.”  She told the women in the room that they must embrace technology. 

Susan indicated that technology was going to allow women to maximize the reach of their business, increase their efficiency, and help them cut costs. 

Guest post from Marcia O’Toole, manager of the Verizon Small Business Center.

In a recent analysis conducted by Compass Intelligence, a small business market analysis firm, in 3Q 2011 Verizon once again ranked highest among leading small business portals.  This is the fourth consecutive quarter where the Verizon Small Business Center was judged to offer the best online experience for small business owners.

For more information on this report click here (or go tohttp://bit.ly/sYNmWM).  Strengths of the Verizon Small Business Center cited were its “elegant, consistent design; engaging content; self-learn training; and business-specific news.” 

Guest post from Marcia O’Toole, manager of the Verizon Small Business Center.

During the holiday season, many small businesses experience a reduction in work or planned vacations.  This is a great time to launch or update your professional online profiles, network with new and old colleagues, and get updated on your field.   

If you haven’t joined, check out Verizon Professional Networking, this is a great viral community to find other small business owners or professionals… perhaps you need the services of an accountant, or want to team up with a similar business to buy in bulk or want to barter services… this is a free platform for you to network.