Edward
Lowe Foundation
The Edward Lowe Foundation
helps emerging growth businesses and second-stage business owners.
eWomen Network, GLOW
Project ,GLOW Movie
eWomen Network is a resource for connecting and promoting women
and their businesses. Leader of the GLOW project and the GLOW
movie.
eVenturing
eVenturing, run by the Ewing
Marion Kauffman Foundation, delivers useful information, guidance and contacts
to entrepreneurs.
National Association for the Self-Employed
(NASE)
NASE is the nations leading Web
resource for self-employed and micro-businesses. This site provides a broad
range of benefits and support.
National
Business Association
The National Business Association keeps
members up-to-date and informed on important issues impacting the self-employed
and small business community.
National Federation of Independent Business
(NFIB)
NFIB is a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy group that
represents the consensus views of its 600,000 members in Washington, D.C. and
all 50 state capitals.
Public Entity Risk Institute
(PERI)
PERI is a nonprofit that offers risk-management
resources and training to small businesses. Look for their Risk
Management for Small Business publication and their
Workplace
Safety Kit.
The Retailer Owners
Institute
The Retailer Owners Institute is dedicated to
improving the financial professionalism of independent retailers.
U.S. Chamber of
Commerce Small Business Center
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Small Business Center provides small business news and practical business
advice. This is the largest national membership organization of chambers in the
country.
U.S. Hispanic Chamber of
Commerce
National business membership organization for Hispanic
entrepreneurs with a variety of how to information, national conferences and a
membership spanning the nation.
Winning
Workplaces
Winning Workplaces is a nonprofit
that provides small and midsize employers with proven, practical
and affordable people practices, tools and articles to help entrepreneurs
improve their workplace practices.
Bizben Blog
This business selling
and buying blog gives tips on how to buy and sell a business
and lists popular types of
opportunities.
BizMiner
BizMiner provides business planning and research services and
includes a section on free resources to help understand industry
trends.
BizPlanit
BizPlanit
is a professional business plan consulting firm. The site provides an extensive
collection of free business plan resources for entrepreneurs interested in
preparing business plans.
BizStats
Business
statistics such as financial ratios and operating ratios, turnover,
profitability for sole proprietorships, employee productivity, industry
averages, benchmarking tools and more.
BizToolkit
The BizToolkit, offered by the
JJ Hill Reference
Library, is a portal of tools and resources including sample
business plans, financial calculators and expert live help for entrepreneurs and
small businesses.
BPlans
This business planning Web site provides
samples business plans and tips on writing effective business plans.
BusinessKnowHow
Business
Know-How provides how-to articles, newsletters, tips, tools and resources to
help small business owners and franchisees start, manage and grow their business
profitably.
BUZGate
BUZGate helps individuals to
start, grow and succeed in business by connecting them to free and low-cost
resources in areas such as business planning, funding, marketing, technology and
counseling.
CCH Business Owners
Toolkit
and CCH Financial Planning Toolkit
CCH provides a business owner toolkit to answer business, tax and legal
questions.
Center for Business Planning
This site has a collection of resources for planning your business,
documenting your plan and evaluating your
strategy.
Center for Rural
Entrepreneurship
The goal of the Center
is to stimulate and support private and public entrepreneurship development in
communities throughout rural America.
E-Myth Embark Community Connection
E-Myth Worldwides
inspirational online Community provides practical and informative business
training and advice for business owners and entrepreneurs around the globe.
Connect with peers to share best practices and lessons learned on launching and
growing a world-class business.
How to Start a Business
This free step-by-step guide
provides the right approach to starting a business and
maximizing the potential for success. It takes you
from preparing yourself, setting
the right goals and evaluating
the potential of ideas
through to starting your business. It
also provides a gateway to starting
an optimized website.
The Idea Cafe
This site was created to help small
business owners solve their problems, while having fun
too.
MergerPlace
MergerPlace.com connects
business sellers with business buyers.
Microenterprise Success
This site for
microenterprises features microenterprise programs, technical
assistance and grant and loan information.
MyNewCompany
MyNewCompany.com provides
small business start-up information and
resources.
My Own Business
My Own Business provides
an online, 11-session course that teaches the basic do's and
donts for
entrepreneurs.
MyStrategicPlan
MyStrategicPlan.com
helps entrepreneurs build and execute their business strategies and provides
free resources to help create business and strategic plans, mission statements
and more.
National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship
National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship (NDE) helps
improve awareness of the value of entrepreneurship through informing and
engaging national, regional and local policymakers. NDE produces a weekly
newsletter that provides short summaries and analyses of various trends driving
the innovation economy.
PlanWare
Features
business management software and templates related to financial projection,
cashflow forecasting, marketing, strategic planning and more.
Small Business Dictionary
The Small
Business Dictionary gives definitions to 2,500 of the most commonly used small
business terms.
StartupGarden
This
Web site features information on how to start a
business.
Sample Business
Plans
Strategy
Business Plans offers business plan solutions that result in funding and growth
for businesses.
SME
Toolkit
IBM and IFC created a
free, small business toolkit specifically for women and minority
entrepreneurs to provide business information, tools and training
services usually reserved for Fortune 1000 companies.
The Veterans
Corporation
The Veterans Corporation hosts a business portal for
current and prospective Veteran business owners and for companies working with
Veteran-owned businesses.
USABizMart
USABizMart lists thousands of
business opportunities, franchises and small businesses for sale throughout the
United States. It includes resources, articles, blog and weekly online webinars
through the Business for Sale Online Academy.
VendorSeek
VendorSeek.com connects
business consumers with pre-qualified vendors based upon the dynamics of the
purchasers needs and the specific nature of the services that the seller
provides. This process enables business consumers to locate the right vendor to
fill their needs and allows vendors to identify customers who are seeking the
very services they provide.
Welcome
Business USA
This site gives resources and information to
help you start, run and grow your small business.
Work.com
This
site helps business owners solve management problems with a wide variety of
helpful guides on every aspect of business maintenance.
Working Solo
Working Solo
helps individuals develop a sense of personal discovery and achievement that
comes from mastering self-employment and related business practices.
Business Credit Services
This site
provides a free, clickable online seminar and downloadable booklet on the
importance of business credit.
BusinessFinance
Businessfinance offers free business
funding resources and has a database of over 4,000 sources of business
capital.
BizBuyFinancing
BIZBUYFinancing
offers tips, articles, webinars and a blog on small business
purchase financing through SBA loans and commercial financing resources.
CardFellow.com
CardFellow.com is
a free service that helps business owners navigate the confusing subject of
credit card processing. They offer the chance to select the best card processing
account from mulitple credit card processing quotes under the guidance of
neutral industry professionals.
Corporate
Turnaround
Corporate
Turnaround, formally Commercial Credit Counseling (CCC), restructures debt in
order to save companies from bankruptcy.
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
(FINRA)
FINRA, through the consolidation of NASD and the New
York Stock Exchange, is dedicated to investor protection and market integrity
through effective and efficient regulation, complementary compliance and
technology-based services, which include market regulation, policy enforcement
and dispute resolution.
$$$ iBank
iBank provides information and
resources to assist small businesses in obtaining loans, equipment leases and
insurance.
Inc. Gauge
Business owners and non-profit
administrators can quickly evaluate their Key Performance Indicators and
discover how they compare to up to 80,000 other companies using this free,
confidential analysis tool.
Integra
Integra Information provides
entrepreneurs with financial industry data for more than 900 industries. This
data allows managers to benchmark with instant access to income statements,
balance sheets and ratios.
Intuit
QuickBooks and Innovative Merchant
Solutions
Intuit
Inc. is a leading provider of business and financial management solutions for
small and mid-sized businesses, consumers and accounting professionals. Its
flagship products and services, including QuickBooks, Quicken and TurboTax
software, simplify small business management and payroll processing, personal
finance, and tax preparation and filing.
MyBizHomepage
MyBizHomepage provides
free, easy-to-use financial analytics and other information to help small and
emerging businesses run more smoothly and profitably.
National Venture Capital
Association
NVCA represents Americas
venture capital community. This site contains data on venture capital
investments.
National
Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO)
NCEO is a private,
nonprofit membership and research organization that serves as the leading source
of information on employee stock ownership plans.
Peachtree
Peachtree
offers resources for accounting solutions to the small business marketplace.
Strong
Business Credit
Strong Business Credit provides information for
business owners on how to build their business credit.
Bizquest
Bizquest's
business-resale listings. The site lists opportunities in 13 franchise
industries.
The
Business Market
The Business Market has free information on
hundreds of franchise opportunities for sale. Use the powerful search tools to
find the ideal franchise for you.
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
The FTC has an online section on
franchises and business opportunities. The site features franchise and business
opportunity FAQs, business opportunity fraud alerts, federal and state business
opportunity rights and laws and information on the FTC Franchise Rule.
Franchise Gator
Franchise Gator, a franchise web resource, links
people with franchise opportunities through franchise
and business for sale listings and an eNewsletter
with the latest franchising news.
FranchiseHandbook.com
The Franchise
Handbook is a quarterly publication offering franchise
opportunities.
Franchise
Solutions
FranchiseSolutions allows you to identify franchises
that best meet your criteria and then assists you through the investigation and
due diligence process.
FranchiseWorks.com
Search FranchiseWorks.com for
free franchise information, including a
directory of hundreds of franchise opportunities, business opportunities
and home based
businesses.
FranChoice
FranChoice
calls itself the "franchise information company" and helps entrepreneurs find
the right franchising opportunity based on their goals and preferences.
FranNet
FranNet's franchise
consultants help with all phases of franchising, from development to prospect
acquisition.
International Franchise Association
(IFA)
IFA is a membership organization of franchisors,
franchisees and suppliers. IFA also offers a free course on Franchising
Basics.
Minority
Franchising
Minority Franchising
lists companies most committed to reaching out to and supporting minority
franchisees.
PRG's
Franchise Resources
PRG's Web site lists
franchising opportunities, resources and news.
Department of
Homeland Security
The Department of Homeland Security's Web site
includes information to small businesses about potential business opportunities
and keeping employees safe in the event of a terror attack.
FedStats
This site lists statistics from
more than 100 government agencies, useful when conducting market
research.
Fedmarket.com
Fedmarket.com offers free content including a how-to guide to small businesses
interested in entering the federal marketplace. Fedmarket.com
also provides products, services and federal sales training to small
businesses.
GiveMe5.com
American Express and WIPP.org
come together to help women small business owners by educating them and offering
tools to help to secure government contracts.
USA.gov
FirstGov
is online collection of federal, local and tribal governments, information,
services and resources.
IRS Small
Business/Self-Employed Web Site
The
IRS Web site offers a broad range of products, services and resources to educate
and assist small business owners and self-employed
professionals.
Office of Special Counsel for
Immigration Related Unfair Employment
Practices
A wealth of
immigration-related employment discrimination information can be found on this
Web site.
Social Security
Online
This site allows employers to process their W-2s
for their employees. The process requires no special
software.
The Catalog of Federal
Domestic Assistance (CFDA)
The online
CFDA gives access to a database of all federal assistance programs.
U.S. Department of
Commerce
Department of Commerce offers information on foreign
markets and international trade. Commerce also monitors and enforces compliance
with U.S. trade laws and agreements.
U.S. Department of
Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics
(BLS)
BLS is an agency for the Federal Government that produces labor economic
data and statistics.
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
This
site contains everything you need to know about patents and trademarks.
U.S.
Small Business Administration (SBA)
The SBA provides financial,
technical and management assistance to help Americans start, run and grow their
businesses.
Salary.com
Salary.com provides online
compensation information and data for most industries. The site also lists
thousands of job titles gathered via proprietary research and published reports.
See special section for small business.
Society for Human Resource Management
(SHRM)
SHRM
provides practical, time-saving resources and tools on HR topics. SHRM members
can access sample forms, policies, mission statements, job descriptions, RFPs and
more than 30 HR toolkits.
Global Sources
Global Sources creates,
manages and delivers information that international trading partners need to
meet and do business. Global Sources Direct lets small- to medium-sized
companies buy retail products directly from China.
Tradeeasy
Tradeeasy is
an international trade enabler, which incorporates both on-line and
off-line marketing solutions to sellers.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
The U.S. Chamber
of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3
million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions. It includes hundreds of
associations, thousands of local chambers, and more than 100 American Chambers
of Commerce in 91 countries.
ActiveFilings
This site provides free,
downloadable templates related to documents relevant to corporations.
Business Owner's
Toolkit
Business Filings provides free information and
financial calculators for small business
owners.
Law & Policy
Institutions
Guide
The Law & Policy Institutions is a repository of legal articles, law
related resources and more.
Nolo
Nolo offers self-help legal information for small
businesses. Browse their free Small Business Law
Center.
Payroll-Taxes.com
Payroll-Taxes.com is a useful site for conducting
payroll research. Users can search the payroll database to find
information on both state and federal forms, rates, publications, unemployment
rates, labor laws, local taxes and important dates to know for filing forms.
Small Business Lawyers
Read small
business legal news & legal topics.
FastCompany
FastCompany is a magazine about innovative people
and ideas. Look for the Fast Companies Database, a helpful resource
to find articles, information and ways to connect with other
companies.
Inc.com
Use Inc. to
discover strategies for starting, growing and running your business. They
also offer resources on business-management issues and free How-To Guides on a
variety of business matters.
Prairie
Business
Prairie Business is a monthly
business magazine for rural entrepreneurs.
SBTV.com
SBTV, Small Business Television Network,
provides technical information on how to run your business,
success stories from entrepreneurs across the country, information about small
business conferences and associations and other resources.
SmallBizResource.com
SmallBizResource.com
is an online paper with a mission to be the go-to repository of easy-to-find,
no-nonsense advice for small businesses.
The Small Business Advocate
The Small
Business Advocate is a nationally syndicated weekday radio/Internet talk
show.
Smart
Business Ideas
Smart Business Ideas magazine
articles go right to the heart of business issues by highlighting whats
essential to business executives. Their website has an article archive,
searchable B2B Directory, and well organized links focused on the needs of small
business.
Soundview Executive Book
Summaries
Soundview Executive Book Summaries pioneered the
concept of outlining the key points and ideas of full-length business books into
quick and easy-to-read print summaries.
StartupJournal.com
The Wall Street Journal Center for Entrepreneurs features
articles on business planning and small business management. This site includes
a list of franchises.
TradePub.com
On this site, order free
subscriptions to leading trade
magazines.
Tulenko
Group
Paul
Tulenko is a syndicated columnist for Scripps-Howard.His Web site is dedicated to helping
business owners & future business owners attain the success they
desire.
Womensbiz.us
Womensbiz.us is a free
online magazine for women in all types and stages of business.
Your
Business
MSNBC's online version of the television news
magazine, which focuses exclusively on America's small business entrepreneurs.
The program offers news, information, advice and guidance for people who own
businesses. MSNBC's "Your Business" is a weekly half-hour television program
that airs Sundays at 7:30 a.m. EST.
Local Marketing Guide
Learn how to do
internet marketing for your business. Local Marketing Guide also provides a
forum where you can receive personalized advice.
Marketing
Experiments.com
Marketing Experiments.com performs large-scale
online marketing experiments and publishes results in its free biweekly
e-newsletter. Researchers test Internet marketing methods and offer data on Web
site marketing techniques that work and don't work.
MarketingforSuccess
Marketing coach
Charlie Cook helps small businesses attract clients. His Web site offers a free
marketing guide.
NetPost Mailing Online
With the U.S.
Postal Service's NetPost Mailing Online, all you need is a document, a list of
addresses and an Internet connection to send direct mail. NetPost does the
rest—printing, addressing, collating, folding, stuffing and
sorting.
NewspaperAdvertising.com
Learn
to advertise effectively in newpapers and magazines. Free, practical articles,
resources and message boards.
PR
Newswire's PR Toolkit
PR Newswire provides a PR Toolkit
with everything necessary for getting the word out about your products and
services.
SellingSelling.com
SellingSelling.com provides free
articles to advice small businesses on selling strategies and
tactics.
Trade-Show-Advisor.com
Trade-Show-Advisor.com
offers free information and encouragement for people whose businesses might gain
exposure and attention from participation in trade
shows.
VendorSeek.com
VendorSeek.com connects
business consumers with pre-qualified vendors based upon the dynamics of the
purchasers needs and the specific nature of the services that the seller
provides. This process enables business consumers to locate the right vendor to
fill their needs and allows vendors to identify customers who are seeking the
very services they provide.
HP Business Learning Center
Instructor-led courses from
Hewlett-Packard, including Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Word, data
security/protection, Adobe Photoshop and much more.
Internet Learning Tutor
A free online
interactive training series for Web users who want to improve their Internet
skills. Brought to you by SCORE and Verizon Superpages.com.
Joshua
Feinbergs Small Biz Tech Talk
Get one free
hour of computer consultants business training. The site also provides
free articles on computer training issues.
LiveOffice Corporation
LiveOffice provides
on-demand, free conference calling with no advance notice or scheduling required.
Service provides a 250 person conference capacity and 6 hour duration. Long
distance rates apply.
Microsoft Office Tools on the
Web
Microsoft's small business Web site offers "tools of the Web,"
including SCORE business plan templates, downloads, support articles and
clip art.
Open Office
Open Office offers free,
open-source, MS Office-compatible software that runs on a variety of
platforms.
Tech-Net
Produced by the U.S. Small
Business Administration, this site contains tech information and resources for
and about small businesses.
Workz.com
Articles at workz.com help small businesses with building
their Web sites and attracting customers online.
Entrepreneurial Development
SBA's
Office of Entrepreneurial Development helps small businesses start, grow and be
competitive by providing training, counseling and other forms of management and
technical assistance.
Government Contracting &
Business Development
The
Government Contracting
& Business Development Office is charged with making sure
that small businesses get a fair share of the approximately $46 billion annual
federal procurement market.
HUBZone
The HUBZone
program stimulates economic development and creates jobs in urban and rural
communities by providing federal contracting preferences to small
businesses.
International
Trade
Export information and
development assistance to help small businesses take advantage of export
markets.
Loan
Programs
The SBA offers numerous loan programs to assist small
businesses.
National Small Business Week
National
Small Business Week is an annual event that recognizes the important role of
Americas business community. Visit the Web site to find out
more.
Publications
The SBA has more than 200 free e-books and publications
online.
Small Business Development Centers
(SBDC)
SBDCs assist individuals and
small businesses by providing a wide variety of information and guidance through
58 branch locations.
Small Business Training
Network
The
Small Business Training Network is a virtual campus housing free training
courses, workshops and knowledge resources
designed to assist entrepreneurs and other students of enterprise.
Technology
(SBIR/STTR)
SBIR is a highly competitive program that encourages
small business to explore their technological potential and provides the
incentive to profit from its commercialization.
