Minding Your Own Business -- On the Web
Karen Bronshteyn -- Library Journal, 01/01/1999
Note: Clicking on a hyperlink below will launch a new browser window.
Gateway sites reviewed below allow entrepreneurs to begintheir web research broadly, by reviewing the steps to starting a business,including writing a business plan. Other sites focus on specific opportunitiessuch as home-based businesses or franchises. While books on thistopic may assemble broader information, web sites provide more currentmaterial and -- in the case of agencies like the Small Business Administration -- better-organized access than a pamphlet search.
ONLINE WOMEN'S BUSINESS CENTER (OWBC)
http://www.onlinewbc.org
Date Visited: 12/18/98
Developer/Provider: Small Business Administration's Officeof Women's Business Ownership
This site provides subject-specific access to some 300concise articles, written by affiliate agencies and organizations, that offerspecific advice on marketing, finance, management, technology, andprocurement.
At the homepage, users can choose Entrance (bottom, left),which pulls up a brief welcome screen, including subject access and a tableof contents along the left-hand column. (The search feature -- toward the bottom of the list -- wasn't working.) For quick but extensive information,go to Frequently Asked Questions, under Resources.
The first two main categories, Learning About Business andRunning Your Business, should help both established and start-up smallbusiness owners on matters ranging from technical issues (e.g., accountingsoftware) to interpersonal communication issues (e.g., team-building).
Start-up entrepreneurs should check Marketing for help in market research.Starting contains a sample of an effective business plan,as well as a detailed start-up "to-do" list and an online personality/interest test for potential entrepreneurs.
Under Resources, the Resource Database allows users tosearch within statesfor agencies to contact for specific information on topicsfrom taxation tolicenses. However, many listings are incomplete.
When looking for outside sites to visit, Internet Sites,under Resources,covers the essential company research sites and businessmagazines andextends into such categories as International Business andOffice Tools.Some listings could be weeded.
Entrepreneurs also may post messages in the InformationExchange, whichincludes several categories of public message boards. Postsoften gleanresponses from regional Women's Business Centers. This sitealso offersSpanish-language access from the homepage.
Bottom Line: This expansive site is for both casualvisitors and serious researchers -- not just women -- who need a solid collection ofinformation onentrepreneurship. It's hardly small but easier to use thanthe larger SBAsite (below).
U.S. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
http://www.sba.gov
Date Visited: 12/15/98
Developer/Provider: U.S. Small Business Administration
While OWBC provides more general information and resources,the SBA web siteoffers access to government information and also morespecific "how-to"documents.
The first three buttons on the homepage's leftside -- STARTING, EXPANDING, orFINANCING -- cover a wide range of small business issues.Alternatively,researchers with more time can click on Site Map, a yellowbutton toward thebottom of the screen. This brings up all the site'scategories andsubcategories, though you must scroll down to see them all.
The STARTING category, also available via the site map,includes thedetailed Elements of a Business Plan, as well as FAQs andother usefulinformation. FINANCING provides information on loanprograms, as well as SBAloan forms. EXPANDING includes access to Pro-Net, "anelectronic gateway ofprocurement information," and franchise and marketingworkshops (in gopher).
The category Local SBA Resources offers contact and otherinformation fordistrict offices, though it is incomplete and lackshotlinks.
The Online Library/Reading Rooms (a blue button on thehomepage) providesforms, laws, and regulations, many available in PDF (Adobe)format. Tosearch the regulations, choose Laws and Regs from theleft-hand margin andthen scroll down for the Search Only the Regulationsoption. The OnlineLibrary contains FAQs and a broad selection of sharewarefiles, some ofwhich are outdated or have moved.
Users can explore SBA's list of more than 3000 Internetresources via theOutside Resources blue button in the right column of thehomepage. Thisincludes unannotated lists of links in some 40 categories.The site does not always promote logical navigation. Incategories, usersmust remember to look to the left-hand margin for a tableof contents -- orstart with the site map. To access the small part of thesite available inSpanish, choose Offices and Services from the homepage,then En Espanol inthe left hand margin.
Bottom Line: Those with a broad range of questions may findthe site focusedon SBA programs, but the site remains an essential resource.
THE SCORE ASSOCIATION
http://www.score.org
Date Visited: 12/14/98
Developer/Provider: Service Corps of Retired Executives(SCORE)
A nonprofit organization of retired executives whovolunteer to helpbusinesses, SCORE provides free and confidential advice viaE-mail -- clickGet Email Counseling, at the top left of the homepage. Youmay search itsdatabase of online volunteers by selecting a geographiclocation and up tothree different skills. While the organization claims over12,000 currentlyactive volunteers, only a few hundred are available foronline contacts.
Other homepage icons include Find SCORE, which providescontact informationfor local offices, and Client Successes. However, to obtainall successstories, you must click again on SCORE Archives, at thebottom of thatcategory.
Those seeking concisely written information should checkthe monthly How-totips under About Workshops. These sensible articles andbook excerpts covertopics ranging from working at home to creating yourcompany's web site.
Under Business Resources, SCORE counselors have compiled alist of their topten business questions. Also, they have prescreened about50 web sites andposted them under Business Hotlinks. The Business ResourceIndex, analternative to searching the net, provides alphabeticalkeyword access toboth internal and external web resources. Warning: thehotlinks to web sitesand business resources bring them within the www.score.orglocation field,making it difficult to ascertain the URLs.
Bottom Line: Use this for access to volunteer counselors,though relativelyfew are available online, plus some selected links andresources.
ENTREPRENEUR MAGAZINE ONLINE
http://www.entrepreneurmag.com
Date accessed: 12/16/98
Developer/Provider: Entrepreneur Magazine
Entrepreneur Magazine covers issues of technology, finance,management, andmarketing. The publishers of Entrepreneur and BusinessStart-Ups,Entrepreneur's Home Office, and the supplement EntrepreneurInternationalprovide all print content online, dating back to January1995. (The onlineversion lags behind print by about a month.) Moreover, theFranchise 500listing, a popular annual special issue of Entrepreneur,becomes aneffective database online, allowing a keyword search forfinancial andcontact information.
The Most Requested Features at the site -- a list in the rightcolumn -- providesone navigation strategy. Alternatively, check the Marketingand Starting Outsections, linked from a list on the left of the homepage.The Marketingsection also ranks the Top Ten sales sites. In the StartingOut section, theEntrepreneur's Start-up Kits provide tips on 24 hot newbusinesses (e.g.,Bridal Consulting).
Hotlinks to Small Business Resources, at the bottom of thehomepage, include300-plus free business forms, notably contracts, plus linksto external websites.
The site includes the Business Resale Network, a databasesearchable bylocation, category, and price. Although smaller thanBizbuysell (see below),it includes relevant articles about buying businesses andfranchises. Bewarned: the Site-Seeing Guide consists of advertisingcontent.
Bottom Line: Besides offering an index to back issues ofEntrepreneur, thissite -- though narrower in scope than some -- offers goodinformation onfranchises, forms, and some specific industries.
Alternate Sites
- Entrepreneur Edge Online
http://www.edgeonline.com
Entrepreneur Edge magazine (quarterly) just ceased printpublication butwill remain as an online newsletter. Electronic archivesback to October1995 provide hundreds of articles; while the archive is notsearchable(except via your browser's find feature), that may change.The BusinessToolbox, available from both the homepage and the left-sidemenu, includesinteractive modules that cover topics such as starting andgrowing abusiness. Business Builders include 42 training modules intopics likemarketing, managing, and promoting your business. - Bizbuysell
http://www.bizbuysell.com - Franchise Handbook
http://www.franchise1.com
Search for (or post) businesses to buy and sell, ranging inprice fromseveral thousand to a few million dollars in Bizbuysell.The extensivedatabase allows searching by several criteria. The Buyer'sGuide (look inlower right-hand corner) contains informative articles onwhy to buy abusiness and how to value it. While commercial, this sitedoesn't pushfee-based services too hard. For strictly franchiseinformation, theFranchise Handbook lists resales and also contactinformation for franchiseopportunities arranged alphabetically. Sponsored byEnterprise magazine, thelisting is large but not comprehensive. It also includesinformation onfranchise shows and associations. - Sample Business and Marketing Plans
http://www.palo-alto.com/html/sampleplans.htm
While this site aims to sell a software package, it alsofeatures severalexamples of business plans, complete with graphs andcharts. You must useAdobe Acrobat Reader. - Paul and Sarah Edwards
http://homeworks.com - Business @ Home
http://www.gohome.com
While larger sites include information on home businesses,Paul and Sarah Edwards -- authors, talk show hosts, and home businesspioneers -- providesarticles, success stories, and book excerpts. Reach messageboards via AskPaul and Sarah. Click on Overview of Site to start.Business @ Home providessimilar articles on lifestyle and survival skills. Thefeature story"Cashing in on Chaos" provides a good list of businessopportunities. - Profits Online
http://www.profitsonline.com - What's Wrong with Multi-Level Marketing?
http://www.vandruff.com/mlm.html
Profits Online, the self-proclaimed MLM (multilevelmarketing) "supersite,"focuses on the online medium and includes a few dozenfeature articles andbook excerpts, mostly about general issues, not specificproducts (likeAmway). At the bottom of What's Wrong with Multi-LevelMarketing?, check thesummary and hotlinks to articles, humor, and exposes onvarious MLMcompanies. Check the long FAQ, posted by Dean Van Druff(credentials notprovided), for responses to many questions from MLMproponents. - National Association for the Self-Employed
http://www.nase.org/
National Association for the Self-Employed includes currentnews, ideas, andlegislative issues concerning the self-employed. Click onthe Reference areain the left-hand margin; ShopTalk 800* offers detailedanswers to commonquestions, and TaxTalk includes useful tips.Karen Bronshteyn is Director, Rasmussen College Library, Minnetonka, MN
