The 40 Best Home Business Sites
By KAREN E. SPAEDER, Entrepreneur.com
It seems business owners are forever searching for information. We know this
because we read your letters and e-mails imploring us to send you the necessary
facts and figures. But because we don't always have the resources to provide you
with every detail of business ownership, we have put together a fairly
comprehensive list of government resources that will help in your informational
quest.
Business Basics
Small
Business Administration: The SBA provides a wealth of information to
entrepreneurs and should indeed be one of your first stops on this list. They've
got key advice on starting, financing and running your small business. If you're
looking to obtain a SBA-guaranteed loan, the financing section is crucial; it's
got links to forms, explanations of different lending programs, workshops and
more. In the starting area, you'll find tons of checklists, FAQs and resources
that'll help you get started. And if you're looking to cash in via the
government, the "Business Opportunities" section provides help on
government contracting, federal procurement and grants, among other things. The
SBA's "E-Business
Institute" also offers dozens of online courses and workshops.
Small
Business Development Centers: A partner of the SBA, SBDCs are one-stop shops
for small-business info. Located in every state with more than 1,100 service
locations (often on college campuses), you can stop in for training, counseling
and one-on-one sessions. Since most of the links on the SBDC site point back to
the main SBA site, the main purpose of it is to locate your local office?but
that's pretty handy.
SCORE:
Otherwise known as the Service Corps of Retired Executives, SCORE offers
plain-old good advice from those who've been in your shoes (or at least a
similar style) before. It's free, it's convenient (you can even get counseling
via e-mail, but face-to-face consultations are available), and it's
confidential. So what are you waiting for?
Business.gov:
Sponsored by the SBA, this site asserts that its purpose is to make the
relationship between business and government more productive?and it's got a good
chance of getting that task done. The home page is easily navigable, with
rollovers on the left-hand menu items indicating what you'll find if you click
on that link?a handy tool for those of you who don't want to waste time clicking
over to something you don't need. The "Laws
and Regulations" link will take you to a page where you'll find more
links to regulatory information.
Minority
Business Development Agency: A product of the U.S. Department of Commerce,
the MBDA offers access to capital, management and technical assistance,
education and training, and plenty of other features to keep minority business
owners busy. You'll also find, for your reading pleasure, links to several MBDA
publications, including Demographic Trends and Industry Trends.
U.S.
Postal Service: All mail jokes aside, the USPS delivers when it comes to
helping you figure out the ins and outs of shipping your precious letters and
packages. Of particular interest: a section
on direct mail?how to do it, rates and mailing info, templates, FAQs and
more.
Business Opportunities
Export.gov:
If you've never thought of exporting, you might change your mind once you visit
Export.gov, if only for the fact that they make international business sound
exciting. Register to receive the Export.gov newsletter, and you'll get monthly
updates on feature articles, trade events and new market reports.
FedBizOpps:
It seems there's no shortage of government Web sites with information on finding
government contracts?but why not add one more to the mix? This site boasts it's
the "single government point-of-entry for federal government procurement
opportunities over $25,000." Here, government buyers publicize their
business opportunities, and commercial vendors seeking federal markets for their
products and services can search, monitor and retrieve opportunities.
Small
Business Administration's Subcontracting Network: This site could prove
useful in landing that much-needed government contract. And if you get tired of
looking at this site, you can always click back over to the main
SBA site and check out the available resources.
WomenBiz.gov:
This site, of course, is directed at women?that is, women who want to sell to
the government. You'll learn the basics of government contracting, finding your
market, getting started, finding business opportunities and links to key
contacts. There's nothing fancy about this site, but it serves its purpose.
Government Branches and Agencies
Federal
Communications Commission: All things radio, television, wire, satellite and
cable fall under the FCC's jurisdiction. If your business relies on one of these
means of communication in some fashion, get familiar with this Web site.
Senate
Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship: You'll get a different
version of what's important, compared to the House's
Web site, if you visit the Senate's small-business page. You can decide
what's important to you.
U.S.
Census Bureau: Nothing's more important in selling your product or service
than being able to sell it to the right people. Census Bureau stats are useful
for determining the appropriate demographic for whatever you want to sell?find
out who's doing what and where, and half the battle of starting a business is
done with. Check out the business
patterns by county for an even closer look at demographic data.
U.S.
Department of Labor: Anything you need to know about wages and hours,
workplace safety and health, retirement and health benefits, and other employee
rules can be found on the DOL's site. The links to state
labor offices could prove useful if you need a local contact.
U.S.
Department of State: Go straight to the "Business Center" if
you're looking to do business overseas. There are plenty of links to information
you need, like the "U.S. Government Export Portal," "Overseas
Building Operations" and "Travel and Living Abroad." Even if
you're just starting out, don't overlook this site?if your business gets big
enough, you might need it some day.
Legal Aid and Information
BusinessLaw.gov:
This site purports to be a plain-English guide to all the regulatory hoops
business owners have to jump through, and it does a pretty good job. The layout
is simple: On the left, you've got links to guides on starting a business,
handling finances, managing employees, doing business and getting out of
business. You'll also find state and local info through a pull-down menu and
search for compliance assistance for several industries. Go deeper, and you'll
find tools that will let you apply for an employer identification number, find a
lawyer, create an emergency evacuation plan for your business, e-mail your local
representative and more.
Environmental
Protection Agency: Keep it clean, kids. Click
here (under "Browse EPA Topics") to get to the small-business
section of the EPA's site. You'll find links to business information, technical
assistance and more as well as information on laws affecting small business.
Federal
Trade Commission: Go to the "For Business" link for information on
fair packaging and labeling as well as information specific to certain
industries, such as wool and fur apparel and jewelry. It might sound tedious,
but complying with the laws for your particular industry just makes good
business sense?if you plan on sticking around for a while.
Food
and Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition: If
you prepare any kind of food or drug for sale, you've gotta be within the letter
of the law. Everything from food and drinks to cosmetics carries restrictions.
Check out the "Small
Business Guide to the FDA" for information specific to you.
Occupational
Safety and Health Administration: Safety and health in the workplace aren't
just niceties; they're priorities (or they should be). If you haven't thought
about whether you're in compliance with OSHA regulations, get started now?before
they get started on you.
Office
of Compliance: What immediately catches your eye on this site is the
"Employee Rights" section. Ponder the potential lawsuits headed your
way if you fail to practice equal opportunity employment or fair labor
standards, or if you're not up to speed on the latest Family & Medical
Leave rules. The moment you get that first employee?and every employee
thereafter?you better make sure you're in compliance.
Regulations.gov:
Take advantage of this site if you're looking to cut down on your intake of
headache medication. Find, review and submit your own opinion on the countless
regulations that business owners need to know about. The site is fairly
bare-bones, but really, why would you want something complicated when you're
trying to cut to the chase?
Securities
and Exchange Commission: The SEC has a very straightforward purpose, and
they'll tell you all about it on their Web site: "The laws and rules that
govern the securities industry in the United States derive from a simple and
straightforward concept: all investors, whether large institutions or private
individuals, should have access to certain basic facts about an investment prior
to buying it." If you need to know what you're getting into as far as
investing, or if you envision your company eventually getting to the point of
public trading, you'll want to get cozy with the SEC.
U.S.
Bureau of Customs and Border Protection: If you import, export or travel
internationally, this site is for you. Like any government Web site, there's an
insane amount of information here?tariffs, ports, international trade agreements
(including NAFTA), export license and document requirements, and travel alerts,
to name a few. You'll also find links to other informative sites, like the International
Trade Commission's Tariff Database.
U.S.
Consumer Product Safety Commission: Manufacturers, distributors, importers
and retailers might want to find their way to this site and click on the "Business"
section. There are regulations, laws and business information by product, as
well as a link directly to a small-business
section.
U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office: This is your one-stop shop if you want to get a
patent or trademark. (Looking for a copyright? Check the Library
of Congress site. You can download forms, read informative FAQs, and perform
patent and trademark searches. Two sections you want to know about: the guide
to getting a patent and the Trademark
Electronic Application System, where you can do all your filing online.
Money Matters
Catalog
of Federal Domestic Assistance: This is the storehouse and search engine for
federal grants for state and local governments; federally recognized Indian
tribal governments; U.S. territories; domestic public, quasi-public, and private
profit and nonprofit organizations and institutions; specialized groups; and
individuals...meaning there are a lot of grants to be had but you're probably
eligible for very few. Still, the site's got lots of information?like advice on
writing grant proposals?and, most important, a search for grant programs and
several ways to browse the listings. "By Applicant Eligibility" is the
one you'll want to check out, since here you can choose to search for
small-business-specific grants.
Export-Import
Bank of the United States: The Export-Import Bank, the official export
credit agency of the United States, supports the financing of U.S. goods and
services. There's extensive information here on applying for financing,
calculating fees and more. So if you're looking to international markets, or
plan to, here's your ticket.
IRS:
The tax man cometh?and he cometh several times a year, so it pays to know what
deductions you qualify for, how to get them?and how to avoid overpaying your
taxes. Click
here to get to the "Small Business One Stop Resource" for
information specific to small business.
Office
of Management and Budget: If you've ever felt left out of?or happy with?the
allocation of government budget dollars, you have the OMB to thank. This agency
makes its list and checks it twice, doling out dollars to the agencies it deems
worthy (and withholding from those it doesn't). If you want to know anything
about the budget, this is the place to go.
U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development: One reason to come here: Grants.
Also be sure to check out the "Small
Businesses" section for information on gaining one (or more) of the
agency's contracts.
Research and Business Development
Economic
Indicators.gov It's not enough just to guess at what lies ahead in our
economy. This Web site, a product of the Economics and Statistics Administration
and the U.S. Department of Commerce, presents timely information on key economic
indicators, as noted by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. One handy feature
allows you to sign up for a free subscription service to have files e-mailed or
faxed to you as soon as they're available, allowing you to keep up-to-date on
the latest research.
Federal
Citizen Information Center: This is basically a giant repository for
government-related FAQs, including information on Social Security, federal
grants and loans, locating military personnel, savings bonds, and more. And
guess what? There's a phone number you can call, (800) FED-INFO, to actually
speak to a government representative. Don't go straight to the phone number,
however; spend some time clicking around to see if your question has been
answered already.
FedWorld.gov:
Go to this site's home page, and it may not look like anything special?it's
basically just a gateway to government information. But the best part is the
page with links to top government Web sites, organized into
navigation-friendly drop-down menus.
Firstgov.gov:
The best thing about this site is the way a ton of information is organized into
neat little categories. You don't have to click five or six times to get to what
you need; just click on the "For Businesses & Nonprofits" link
at the top of the home page, and you'll find a host of topics on everything you
might want to know about doing business with the government, filing your taxes,
registering an employer ID number and more. There are even subcategories
designed especially for minority, self-employed and other specific groups of
entrepreneurs. And this
page is useful for those just starting a business or looking to buy and sell
with the government.
Library
of Congress: This site is huge, but there are two particular areas of
interest for entrepreneurs: The U.S.
Copyright Office and Thomas
(as in Jefferson), where you can find legislative information. First, on the
copyright site, you can learn how to register a copyright for different types of
works and the fees involved. You can research the laws of licensing copyrighted
works, download publications and forms, read up on applicable laws, and search
copyrighted records. If you're interested in specific legislation, Thomas is the
place to go. You can read legislation text, find out what's currently going on
in Congress, and find links to Web sites for legislative agencies, senators and
representatives.
SciTechResources.gov:
Here you'll find a catalog of government science and technology Web sites?useful
if your business is geared toward those areas of expertise. Get links to
government resources, services, laboratories, information centers and more.
SearchGov.com:
Tra-la-la, and tee-lee-wee, this site will find anything for thee. You'll be
pleased to learn that this government search portal is powered by Google. Need
we say more?
U.S.
Government Sites for Kids: So maybe you're not a kid anymore...or maybe you
are. Maybe you have one of your own, and you'd like it if he or she got
interested in, say, investing
or the U.S.
Patent and Trademark's Web site for kids. Get them started here.
Karen E. Spaeder
is a freelance business writer in Southern California
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