Small Business Information Sources
Revised by Elizabeth Mezick, March 2009
GUIDES AND MANUALS:
| Are You An Entrepreneur? The Characteristics and Skills Needed to Start Your Own Business. James Freeley. |
(Bus. HD 62.5 .F744) |
| A very practical guide to help the aspiring entrepreneur understand
what he/she needs to be aware of before starting a business. The
"Entrepreneurial Style Profile" will provide insight into the characteristics
of a successful entrepreneur and help to evaluate each person's own strengths
and weaknesses. |
| |
| Encyclopedia of Small Business. 2 vols. |
(Bus. HD 62.7 .H553) (Also available online) |
| A one-stop source for valuable and in-depth information on a wide range
of small business topics including: advertising media on the web, business
start-ups, employee compensation, financing, franchising, health insurance
options, home-based businesses, internet commerce, product development,
tax planning, and much more. |
| |
| How to Set Up Your Own Small Business. American Institute of Small Business. 2 vols. |
(Bus. HD 62.7 .H683) |
| Covers all aspects of setting up a small business including market research,
site selection, financing, law, advertising, bookkeeping, insurance, business
plans, franchising, accounting, and more. |
| |
| Small Business Sourcebook. Amy R. Suchowski and Theresa J. MacFarlane, Eds. 2 vols. |
(Bus. HD 2346 .U5 .S66) |
| This two volume set is an excellent source for finding information on
small business. Volume One profiles 194 specific small businesses,
listing sources of start-up information, reference works, statistical sources,
professional associations, trade periodicals, trade shows, etc. Volume
Two provides sources of information on such general small business topics
as accounting, business plans, credit, insurance, wholesaling, etc.
Also provided is a good listing of state programs. |
| |
| Small-Time Operator. Bernard Kamoroff. |
(Bus. HD 42.5 .K353) |
| This is a very practical, step-by-step guide to handling the business
side of your small business. The guide will show you how to keep
your books, raise capital, establish a partnership, and do your taxes. |
| |
| U.S. Small Business Administration. |
www.sbaonline.sba.gov |
| An independent
federal agency whose mission is to help Americans start, build and grow businesses. Good resource for help
with developing a business plan and identifying statistical sources of information. |
| |
| Your Own Business: A Young Entrepreneur's Start-Up Guide. James Freeley and John Matthews. |
(Bus. HD 2346) |
| Very similar to Are You An Entrepreneur? by the same author,
this book explores the basics of starting a business. Structure of
U.S. business, entrepreneurial characteristics, developing a business plan,
and new business ideas are some of the topics discussed. |
| |
BUSINESS PLANS:
| Bplans.com. |
www.bplans.com |
| An online
collection of free sample business plans. In addition, it has tools and resources for managing a
business. |
| |
| Business Plan Example. Kris Solie-Johnson. |
(Bus. HD 30.28 .S65) |
| An easy outline for writing a business plan is provided and a complete sample business plan for
a sandwich shop is presented. |
| |
| Business Plans Handbook. Kristin Kahrs, Ed. Multiple vols. |
(Bus. HD 62.7 .B865) (Also available online) |
| A compilation of actual business plans developed by small businesses
and arranged by type of business. Also contains a list of Small Business
Development Centers located throughout the U.S. and a business plan template
that you can use for your own business plan. |
| |
| Business Plans that Work: A Guide for Small Business. Jeffry A. Timmons, Stephen Spinelli, & Andrew Zacharakis. |
(Bus. HD 30.28 T5766)
(Also available online) |
| Each chapter
introduces a different component of the planning process and illustrates concepts by highlighting an actual
company in the launch stage. |
| |
FINANCIAL:
| Angel Capital Association. |
www.angelcapitalassociation.org |
| This is North
America's professional alliance of angel groups. The Association's Directory may be used to identify direct
investors in entrepreneurial companies. |
| |
| Financial Studies of the Small Business. |
(Bus. HD 2346 .U5 F55a) |
| Often difficult to find information, this directory provides financial
statement data on small business. The data is arranged by type of
business and asset size. This is a good source to use to find financial
ratios for small business enterprises. |
| |
| Pratt's Guide to Venture Capital Sources. |
(Bus. HG 65 .G83) |
| This book is a comprehensive collection of articles written by professional
venture investors, and a directory that profiles venture capital companies
by state. This will be a very useful source for those seeking a general
understanding of the venture capital industry as well as specific sources
of venture capital funding. A subject index to venture capital firms
is provided. |
| |
| RMA Annual Statement Studies. |
(Bus. HF 5681.B2 R6) |
| Financial
statement ratios, common-size balance sheet and income statement line items arrayed by asset
and sales size, as well as five years of trend data. |
| |
MARKETING:
Marketing information can be invaluable for targeting prospective customers
and positioning your small business. The following sources supply
data on the local, state, and national level.
| American Generations: Who They Are, How They Live, What They Think. |
(Ref. HC 110.C6 M545) |
| This volume
presents important 2000 census data profiling each generation: Millennial, Generation X, Baby-Boom, the Swing
Generation, and the World War II Generation. It includes tables and text describing the most important trends,
including what to expect in the future. |
| |
| The American Marketplace: Demographics and Spending Patterns. Janet Heslop, Ed. |
(Bus. HA 203 .A635) |
| Contains demographic information about the U.S. marketplace. Breaks
population down by various criteria helpful to marketers. |
| |
| Best Customers: Demographics of Consumer Demand. |
(Bus. HC 79 .C6 R87) |
| Based on
unpublished, detailed data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this resource examines spending patterns
by demographic patterns of households. It identifies which households spend the most on a product or service
and which control the largest share of spending. |
| |
| CensusScope. |
www.censusscope.org |
| Easy-to-use tool
for investigating U.S. demographic trends, brought to you by the Social Science Data Analysis Network (SSDAN)
at the University of Michigan. With eye-catching graphics and exportable trend data, it is designed for both
generalists and specialists. |
| |
| Demographics USA: County Edition. |
(Bus. HF 5415.1 .D46x) |
| Supplies invaluable, easy-to-use demographic data at the county level.
Can be used to profile a county in terms of such key indicators as total
population, population by age and sex, households by age, number of persons
and effective buying income, retail sales and establishments by category,
retail sales by type of merchandise, five year projections for population,
households and retail sales, and more. |
| |
| Demographics USA: Zip Code Edition. |
(Bus. HF 5415.3 .D463x) |
| Supplies invaluable, easy-to-use demographic data at the zip code level.
Can be used to profile a zip code in terms of such key indicators as population,
households, effective buying income, total retail sales, and households
by income. An excellent source to use to target your market. |
| |
| Editor & Publisher Market Guide. |
(Ref. HF 5905 .E38) |
| This is an annual
directory featuring market data ranging from ethnic breakdowns to shopping mall information to tap water
descriptions. It contains details on more than 1,600 cities in the United States and Canada, and provides census
figures and current estimates for population, housing, and income data, as well as retail sales
amounts. |
| |
| Market Share Reporter. Robert S. Lazich. |
(Bus. HF 5410 .M35) |
| An annual compilation of reported market share data for companies, products,
and services. |
| |
| Statistical Abstract. |
www.census.gov/compendia/statab |
| This authoritative
and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States
is convenient for statistical reference and a guide to additional print and Web sources of information. Sources
of data include many Federal agencies and private organizations such as the Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor
Statistics, and Bureau of Economic Analysis. |
| |
E-COMMERCE:
| E-Business : Strategic Thinking and Practice. Brahm Canzer. |
(Bus. HF 5548.32 .C356) |
| Presents a wide variety of topics important to understanding e-business strategy. Includes chapters on:
developing e-business models, creating the marketing mix, environmental factors that can influence
e-business and online behaviors, ethical, legal, and social concerns, and research methodologies in
e-commerce planning. |
| |
| Gale E-Commerce Sourcebook. |
(Available online) |
| Practical
information for entrepreneurs and researchers, organized
into three sections: how-to topics that serve as a guide
through the workings of e-commerce, providing answers to the major
questions about the launching, development, growth, and
maintenance of an e-commerce enterprise; directory listings of companies,
services, associations, and government agencies
related to e-commerce; and a listing of the top 250 e-commerce companies
worldwide, including rankings by revenue and
number of employees. |
| |
| Gale Encyclopedia of E-Commerce. |
(Available online) |
| Features 470
essays covering the world of Internet commerce and presents
answers to common questions about website
development, financing, advertising, and more. Includes topics and
terms, profiles of the top e-commerce companies,
biographies of e-commerce innovators, and coverage of events and
legislation related to e-commerce. |
| |
| Plunkett's E-commerce & Internet Business Almanac. Plunkett Research, Ltd. |
(Bus. HF 5548.325 .U6 P59) |
| Provides profiles of Plunkett's Internet 400 Firms, and statistics and trends in e-commerce and web-based
retailing. |
| |
SMALL BUSINESS WEB LINKS
LIBRARY DATABASES:
The following databases are available on campus and from home. A University I.D. card with a barcode
will provide access from off campus. Go to the Circulation Desk of the Library to obtain a barcode.
These databases will provide many full-text articles about all business topics and will be especially useful for
finding current small business information.
| ABI/Inform Global (ProQuest) |
|
| The ProQuest databases provide a wealth of information in full-text articles.
Use the Advanced Search to locate articles by specific company and/or subject heading. |
| |
| Business & Company Resource Center |
|
| Use this database to find many current, full-text articles on a specific topic.
The Advanced Search feature is useful for locating targeted data such as company and
industry information, investment reports, company history, and rankings. |
| |
| Business Source Premier (Ebsco) |
|
| Business Source
Premier provides full text articles for over 8,000 scholarly business journals and
other sources, including full text for more than 1,100 scholarly business publications. Coverage
includes virtually all subject areas related to business. This database provides full text (PDF) for
more than 350 of the top scholarly journals dating as far back as 1922. |
| |
| Conference Board |
|
| The world's most
widely-quoted business network, it publishes research on a broad range of management issues, most of which are
surveys of actual corporate practice. The organization also publishes domestic and international
economic data. |
| |
| General BusinessFile ASAP |
|
| Produced by the same company as the Business & Company Resource Center, this
database provides similar information in a somewhat different format. |
| |
| Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe |
|
| This all full-text
database provides many current and retrospective news and business articles. |
| |
HTML by Robert Delaney
robert.delaney@liu.edu
|
