Websites for Small Business
Saginaw Small Business Information Network
www.ssbin.org
Roadmap to small business information, education, and counseling in the Saginaw Valley
Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center
www.misbtdc.org
Provides useful information to Michigan’s small business owners.
Michigan Economic Development Corporation
www.michigan.org/medc/
Contains guide to starting a business
U.S. Small Business Administration
www.sba.gov
Government site with start-up information for small business, list of regional offices, and business plan outline
U.S. Government Census Site
www.census.gov
Government site with useful customer demographics. Click on American Factfinder, then street address, and enter your business location address.
Easy Analytic Software, Inc. (EASI)
www.easidemographics.com
Demographic reports, maps, and site selection. This site, along with the census.gov site can give you valuable customer demographic information.
Yahoo! Yellow Pages
http://yp.yahoo.com
Look here for listings of your competitors.
GovLoans.gov
www.govloans.gov
U.S. Federal government loans resource information.
Michigan.gov
www.michigan.gov
Official State of Michigan website. Click on “Business Services” for great links to Michigan business information.
Small Business Association of Michigan
www.sbam.org
Promotes interests of Michigan small businesses.
The Official Business Link to the U.S. Government
www.business.gov
Government & business site with links to federal government information, services, and transactions.
Michigan eLibrary
www.mel.org
Click on “Mel Internet” and then “Business, Economics & Labor”. Access to databases for grants, business statistics, start-ups and more.
Find Law for Small Business
http://smallbusiness.findlaw.com
Online legal guide for business.
NOLO: Your Legal Companion
www.nolo.com
Click on “business and human resources ” for free legal business info.
MyFico
www.myfico.com
Fee-based site to obtain your FICO credit score.
AnnualCreditReport.com
www.annualcreditreport.com
Allows you to get a free annual credit report from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
Quicken: Small Business Section
www.quicken.com/small_business/
Small Business commercial site with tax, legal, finance, and start-up information and products.
SCORE Service Corps of Retired Executives
www.score.org
Free business counseling via email on this site.
Kauffman's eVenturing (Previously EntreWorld)
www.eventuring.org
Explore helpful topics on starting up a business and more.
Non-profit Guides
www.npguides.org – Non-profit Guides (grant writing tools for non-profit organizations)
Register.com
www.register.com
Create Your Website (build and host a website for your business)
Wall Street Journal Center for Entrepreneurs
www.startupjournal.com
Resources to help entrepreneurs with online database of businesses for sale.
Interesting Minority Business Websites
Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA)
www.mbda.gov
The MBDA is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, created to encourage the creation, growth, and expansion of minority owned businesses in the U.S.
World Wide Minority Business Network
www.mbnet.com
This site is designed to centralize the efforts of organizations, associations, and groups committed to the minority business community.
Minority Business News USA
www.mbnusa.biz
Valuable news site of interest to the minority business owner.
Diversity Information Resources
www.diversityinforesources.com
Minority business directory of suppliers and other resources – Has national minority and women-owned business database.
National Women Business Owners Corporation Network
www.nwboc.org
Contains summaries of research for women business owners.
National Association of Women Business Owners
www.nawbo.org
Fee-based site contains support and resources to help women grow a business and enrich their life.
Entrepreneurs Seminar
Free monthly Entrepreneur Orientation Seminars are conducted at the Hoyt Main Library on the fourth Thursday of the month, from 6:00 – 8:30 p.m. The seminars are jointly sponsored by the partnering of these community organizations and institutions:
Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center, Region 5
Delta College Corporate Services
1961 Delta Road, H Wing
University Center, Michigan 48710
Phone: 989-686-9597
Fax: 989-667-2222
Website: www.misbtdc.org/region5
Email: sbtdc@corpserv.delta.edu
Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce
515 N. Washington Ave.
Saginaw, Michigan 48607
Phone: 989-752-7161
Fax: 989-752-9055
Website: www.saginawchamber.org
Email: info@saginawchamber.org
Public Libraries of Saginaw
505 Janes St.
Saginaw, Michigan 48607
Phone: 989-755-0904
Fax: 989-755-9829
Website: www.saginawlibrary.org
Saginaw Future Inc.
515 N. Washington Ave.
Third Floor
Saginaw, Michigan 48607
Phone: 989-754-8222
Fax: 989-754-1715
Website: www.saginawfuture.com
Email: info@saginawfuture.com
Click here for more information on the Entrepreneur Seminar.
In addition to the Entrepreneur Seminar, the Public Libraries of Saginaw also offers a large array of other classes at each of the 5 branches to improve your skills. These classes include Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and more.
Click here for a class description and schedule. |
Library Resources Guide
This guide lists some of the business resources available from the Public Libraries of Saginaw. The large business reference collection at the Hoyt Main Library contains many valuable and useful resources for entrepreneurs. Library staff are knowledgeable on a wide variety of business topics and will be happy to help you find the information you need. Call 989-755-9832, or visit the library to get your business questions answered.
RESOURCES FOR GETTING STARTED
How to Set Up Your Own Small Business
R 658.02 Fa (2 volumes)
Vol. 1 contains market research, forecasting sales, site selection, financing, legal, and advertising information. Vol. II contains bookkeeping, insurance, store policies, business plans, and franchising information.
Small Business Sourcebook
R 658.022 Sm
(2 volumes)
Contains everything you need to know to get started: Master list of specific business profiles, start-up information, primary associations, reference books, sources of supply, trade periodicals, trade shows, libraries, research centers, etc.
Business Plans Handbook
R 658.4 Bu
(2 volumes)
Great source! Contains examples of actual business plans from cover page to financial information. Here is the place to look for ideas on how to do your business plan.
Small Business Profiles
R 338 Sm
(2 volumes)
Each volume contains business start-up information for 60 to 70 types of small businesses.
Franchise and Business Opportunities
R 658.87 Fr
Listings of companies in franchising and business opportunities in the United States, Canada, and abroad. Contains alphabetical index, categorical listings, and selected profile listings.
Bond’s Franchise Guide
R 381.13 Bo
Over 1,000 detailed franchisor profiles. Includes franchise attorneys, consultants, and service providers.
Michigan Nonprofit Management Manual
R 658.048 Mi
Great source of information for start-ups and managers of nonprofit organizations and business in Michigan.
IDENTIFY YOUR POTENTIAL MARKET
Census: Various useful marketing demographics are contained on the census website, www.census.gov.Click on American Factfinder and enter your street address or business location address. www.easidemographics.com is another useful demographic site.
City Directories: (Reference Desk)
Local city directories contain names and addresses of residents by streets in the green pages. This is useful for developing mailing lists and flyer distribution when marketing your new business.
KNOW YOUR COMPETITION
Michigan Telephone Directories – Yellow Pages: (Reference Room)
Look up your business by product or service in the yellow pages, and determine how many other businesses like yours are already in the area. Visit them as a customer.
Michigan Industrial Directory
R 670.2 Ha
Lists businesses geographically by city, alphabetically by company, by products, and SIC codes. Also contains listings of Michigan Chambers of Commerce, State Departments, and officers.
Michigan Manufacturers Directory
R 670.2 Mi
Similar to the Michigan Industrial Directory, this source lists businesses geographically, alphabetically, and by products.
Michigan Business Directory
R 650 Mi (2 volumes)
Contains listings of nearly 400,000 Michigan businesses. Vol. 1, lists businesses by city. Vol. II, lists businesses by yellow page category. Also lists business by SIC code. Gives company information: address, estimated sales, employee size, and credit score.
LOCATE SUPPLIERS AND VENDORS
Encyclopedia of Associations
R 061 En (multi-volume by Regional, State, and Local)
A valuable source! Locate the organizations related to your type of business for networking and useful information. This source lists trade, business and commercial organizations.
Thomas Register
R 658.2 Th (multi-volume source and online website)
The Thomas Register is now available both in print format and online at www.thomasregister.com.
Mail Order Business Directory
R 381 Ma
Invaluable aid for finding products and supplies for your business or organization, this source lists and describes more than 5,500 mail order catalogs.
American Wholesalers and Distributors Directory
R 381.2 Am
Contains information on more than 28,000 wholesalers. Lists companies in index alphabetically, geographically, by SIC code, and by product or service.
CIRCULATING COLLECTION
The library has a large collection of books that circulate, for the small business entrepreneur, located in the Dewey business section from 650 – 659 and the legal section from 346 – 346.9. These books may be checked out for 3 weeks.
VIDEOS AND TALKING BOOKS
Videos and DVD’s on the subject of small business, may be found in the nonfiction video collection Dewey number 650’s. The collection is housed in the Reading Room, are free rentals, and may be checked out for 3 days. The business talking books/cassettes and CD’s, are shelved in the Fiction Room under the Dewey number 650’s and may be checked out for 3 weeks.
KEEP CURRENT WITH BUSINESS NEWS
Internet
The Internet contains current information on any and all subjects dealing with business entrepreneurship In addition, the Public Libraries of Saginaw website, www.saginawlibrary.org, can link you to business resources online. Magazine articles and a business and company resource center can be accessed from the library homepage by clicking on E-Resources and then Magazine Articles & Databases. This page contains a large variety of databases that are excellent for business news. Specifically, the Business and Company Resource Center or General Business File ASAP.
Click here to go directly to the Magazine Articles and Database page.
Magazines
Keep current with business news by using some of the library business periodicals: Black Enterprise, Entrepreneur, Fortune, Inc., Minority Business Entrepreneur, Money Magazine, and more.
Newspapers
The most current business news can always be found in newspapers, both in print form and online. Hoyt Library subscribes to Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, and several major Michigan city newspapers.
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Small Business Resources 