UNK’s Program for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the CRRD espouses the “grow-your-own” philosophy of economic development, known as Economic Gardening. According to a recent presentation by Bo Fishback of the Kauffman Foundation, two of the most misunderstood and under-valued concepts essential to entrepreneurship include markets and networks. CRRD provides direct service to entrepreneurs and start-ups in the form of general business counseling and primary market research.
With the help of our regional resources partners, entrepreneurs have access to a number of mentoring and networking opportunities across Central Nebraska. Those partners are:
Free Market Research Resources
General SitesBusiness PlansBusiness, Demographics, and Economic StatisticsExport and Trade InformationFinancing ResourcesMarketing Principles and StrategiesMarket Research-GeneralMarket Research-Primary ResearchCompany and Industry Information
List originally prepared by Christine Hamilton-Pennell, Business/Industry Affairs Department, City of Littleton, January 2005. Additions have been made since January 2005.
General Sites
All Business, http://www.allbusiness.com/, offers a number of short articles on all aspects of running a small business. You can find information on topics such as starting a business, incorporation, sales and marketing, accounting and finance, franchises, buying and selling a business, insurance, and Internet and technology. A variety of business forms and guides are available for purchase.
Business Week Online-Small Biz, http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/index.html, offers news and advice for entrepreneurs on topics such as marketing, sales, leadership, and technology. There are special "resource centers" on opening a franchise, comparing salaries, and purchasing health insurance and retirement programs.
Entrepreneur.com, http://www.entrepreneur.com/, has a vast array of resources on starting a business, buying a franchise, growing a home-based business, business opportunities, money and finance, sales and marketing, management, e-business, technology, and other topics.
EntrepreneurialConnection.com, http://www.entrepreneurialconnection.com/, powered by the National Association of the Self-Employed, offers free learning modules on topics vital to the success of the self-employed and micro-entrepreneurs (with less than 10 employees). Some of the topics covered include creating a marketing plan, financing, outsourcing, and wireless networks. You can also subscribe to a free newsletter, Get Connected.
My Own Business, http://www.myownbusiness.org/, is a free Internet course for anyone starting a business. It provides 12 lessons covering topics such as business communications, e-commerce and online marketing, and small business marketing. The course textbook may be purchased for a donation of $45.00.
Peerspectives, http://www.peerspectives.org/, from the Edward Lowe Foundation, features articles on topics such as business planning, market definition, finances, legal issues, operations, human relations, and technology. Case studies are included.
Small Business Administration (SBA), http://www.sba.gov/, has sections on starting a business, financing a business, managing a business, business opportunities, and disaster recovery. The site's library offers more than 200 free publications, as well as forums, business magazine links, and frequently asked questions. The SBA's Online Women's Business Center, http://www.onlinewbc.gov/, also has a section called "Business Basics" that covers topics such as accounting and finace, growing your business, marketing, and procurement.
Small Business Advancement National Center (SBANC), http://www.sbaer.uca.edu/, provides databases of local SBA offices, the Small Business Institute network, and a research archive of publications from 18 organizations such as the Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship and the Marketing Management Association. The website also offers industry profiles, business plans, research articles, loan information, conference details, and international and domestic contact information.
Small Business Development Center (SBDC) National Information Center Clearinghouse, http://www.sbdcnet.org/, is a virtual library of resources for small businesses. It includes annotated links to websites containing forms and regulations for business start-ups, demographic information, company information, patent and trademark information, industry research, finance, small business trends, marketing, and many more topics. You can also access the SBDC Counselor Toolkit, which contains actual examples of business plans, marketing audits, finance matrices, and other resources. This site is a good place to start your search for information and resources.
WSJ Startup Journal, http://www.startupjournal.com/, is part of the journal's Center for Entrepreneurs. It includes how-to advice, news, and articles on topics such as marketing and sales, franchising, financing, running a business, and e-commerce. You'll find a selection of tools that walk you through creating a mini business plan on line and doing a trademark search.
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Business Plans
BPlans.com-The Business Planning Expert, http://www.bplans.com/, offers more than 60 free sample business plans that you can view online. It also features interactive calculators to determine cash flow, starting costs, conversion rate, and other figures to use in a business plan, and includes feature articles on topics such as starting a business, marketing and advertising, growing a business, and managing your e-business. The company's Business Plan Pro 2005 business planning software is available for purchase through the website.
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh-Business Plan and Profile Index, http://www.carnegielibrary.org/research/business/bplansindex.html, lists types of small businesses and a corresponding small business plan, profile, or book about each type with sources provided after each entry.
SBA Business Plan Basics, http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/planning/basic.html, offers help in writing a business plan, including an outline of what should be included in the plan.
Small Business Development Center-Business Plans, http://www.sbdcnet.org/SBIC/businessplans.php, links to sites with specific business plans and other business planning tools and resources.
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Business, Demographic, and Economic Statistics
EconData.Net, http://www.econdata.net/, "aims to be a convenient, comprehensive first stop for anyone searching among the vast, disparate array of public and private (socioeconomic) data sources on the Web." The site offers links by subject (e.g., demographics, income, output and trade) and provider, and indicates which sites charge for their information.
Economic Indicators, http://www.gpoaccess.gov/indicators/index.html, is a monthly compilation of economic information on prices, wages, production, business activity, purchasing power, credit, money and Federal finance. Data is available from April 1995 forward.
Federal Reserve Board Economic Research and Data, http://www.federalreserve.gov/rnd.htm, includes a section on current interest rate statistics, some of which are released almost daily, others monthly or quarterly. They include bank prime rates, foreign exchange rates, U.S. government securities rates, conventional mortgage rates.
FedStats, http://www.fedstats.gov/, is a "gateway to statistics from over 100 U.S. Federal agencies." Links to statistics are organized by topic, by geography, and through a general search. There are also links to published collections of statistics such as the Statistical Absract of the United States and the State and Metropolitan Area Data Book. Other useful resources include a list of agencies that provide statistics and links to selected agency online databases.
Financing Resources
Business Finance.com, http://www.businessfinance.com/, allows you to search the funding criteria of over 4,000 sources for business loans, venture capital, equipment leasing, and commercial real estate financing. You can search by type of funding (e.g., working capital or equipment finance), or you can limit your search to funding sources for businesses already in existence for four months, for businesses just starting up, or for purchase of a business or franchise.
SBA- Financing Your Business, http://www.sba.gov/financing/, provides information about raising capital for your business. It includes information about eligibility and preparation, SBA loans, contract security bonds, equity capital, and special purpose loan programs.
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Marketing Principles and Strategies
CCH Business Owner's Toolkit: Marketing Your Product, http://www.toolkit.cch.com/text/P03_0101.asp, is a free web-based resource designed to introduce the small business owner to some of the concepts and strategies that professional marketing experts in large companies use.
Mplans.com, http://www.mplans.com/, contains a collection of free sample marketing plans. It also offers articles and advice for managing a business. "Mplans.com includes practical advice on planning, interactive tools, and a panel of experts who have answered more than 1,400 questions from people like you." The website is a free resource owned and operated by Palo Alto Software, Inc., which also sells their marketing software on the site.
Peerspectives- Defining and Serving a Market, http://peerspectives.org/, offers a number of short articles and resources on topics such as exporting, market strategy, and multicultural marketing. A particularly helpful resource is the in-depth article, "How to Prepare a Market Analysis," which includes a checklist of resources for gathering market data.
SBA- Marketing Basics, http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/marketing/basics.html, provides helpful information about all aspects of marketing, including market research, marketing strategy, and targeted marketing. The SBA's Online Women's Business Center Marketing Mall, http://www.onlinewbc.gov/docs/market/, covers a wide variety of marketing topics, including the principles of marketing, multicultural marketing, and marketing on the internet.
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Financing Resources
Business Finance.com, http://www.businessfinance.com/, allows you to search the funding criteria of over 4,000 sources for business loans, venture capital, equipment leasing, and commercial real estate financing. You can search by type of funding (e.g., working capital or equipment finance), or you can limit your search to funding sources for businesses already in existence for four months, for businesses just starting up, or for purchase of a business or franchise.
SBA- Financing Your Business, http://www.sba.gov/financing/, provides information about raising capital for your business. It includes information about eligibility and preparation, SBA loans, contract security bonds, equity capital, and special purpose loan programs.
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Marketing Principles and Strategies
CCH Business Owner's Toolkit: Marketing Your Product, http://www.toolkit.cch.com/text/P03_0101.asp, is a free web-based resource designed to introduce the small business owner to some of the concepts and strategies that professional marketing experts in large companies use.
Mplans.com, http://www.mplans.com/, contains a collection of free sample marketing plans. It also offers articles and advice for managing a business. "Mplans.com includes practical advice on planning, interactive tools, and a panel of experts who have answered more than 1,400 questions from people like you." The website is a free resource owned and operated by Palo Alto Software, Inc., which also sells their marketing software on the site.
Peerspectives- Defining and Serving a Market, http://peerspectives.org/, offers a number of short articles and resources on topics such as exporting, market strategy, and multicultural marketing. A particularly helpful resource is the in-depth article, "How to Prepare a Market Analysis," which includes a checklist of resources for gathering market data.
SBA- Marketing Basics, http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/marketing/basics.html, provides helpful information about all aspects of marketing, including market research, marketing strategy, and targeted marketing. The SBA's Online Women's Business Center Marketing Mall, http://www.onlinewbc.gov/docs/market/, covers a wide variety of marketing topics, including the principles of marketing, multicultural marketing, and marketing on the internet.
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National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Research Foundation, http://www.nfib.com/tabid/83/Default.aspx, is the research arm of the nonprofit small business advocacy organization with more than 600,000 members. NFIB produces the National Small Business Poll, a series of regularly published business survey reports based on data collected from national samples of small business employers. Eight business survey reports are produced annually. The website offers downloadable copies of recent survey reports, as well as the monthly Small Business Economic Trends and the Regulatory Impact Model Forecasts.
Salary.com, http://www.salary.com/, contains all kinds of information relating to compensation. While most of the content is available for a fee, there are several free "wizards." The Salary Wizard lists salary statistics for hundreds of positions by geographic location. The Cost-of-Living Wizard compares living-cost indexes and salary differentials between any combinations of 300-plus U.S. cities. It also reports the salary adjustment needed to maintain a particular standard of living, and what salary increase or decrease is likely given local market factors.
SBA Office of Advocacy, http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/, offers research studies and data on small businesses, finance, business owner demographics, regulation, exporting, and other topics. Among the dozens of downloadable reports in Small Business Economy, an extensive annual report that provides information on small business' performance in the economy. You can also subscribe to a number of e-newsletters on small business research.