LibGuides: Small Business & Entrepreneurship: Web Resources

Additional Web Resources

Additional Open Web Resources

Recommended Websites for Business

Doing Business
Part of the World Bank, this database gives detailed and practical advice to business owners wanting to establish companies in foreign countries.
Encyclopedia for Small Business
Overviews of topics relevant to small business. Entries include bibliography.
Business Plans Handbook
Actual business plans written by entrepreneurs in North America who are seeking financing for their business. Plans include strategies, start-up and organizational activities, and other key elements. Searchable by industry.
Foundation Center
The Foundation Center is a non-profit organization devoted to serving the information needs of grantmakers and grantseekers. They publish an extensive list of books and provide libraries and training sessions related to the non-profit sector. The Website's Reference Desk has a FAQ page organized by topic, a long list of annotated links for finding online sites related to non-profits, and an online reference librarian who takes questions by e-mail.
Yahoo's Finance & Company Research
Especially helpful for finding historical stock prices for publicly traded companies (under Stock Research, then Historical Quotes). This site offers a wealth of analytical detail on public companies.
Explore Census Data
Demographic data about the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Island areas.
*This replaces the previous "Fact Finder" website information.
City-Data.com
"Latest real estate prices and sales trends, recent home sales, a home value estimator, hundreds of thousands of maps, satellite photos, demographic data (race, income, ancestries, education, employment), geographic data, state profiles, crime data, registered sex offenders, cost of living, housing, religions, businesses, local news links based on our exclusive technology, birthplaces of famous people, political contributions, city government finances, employment, weather, natural disasters, hospitals, schools and libraries." --From the Website
County Business Patterns
Provides data on the total number of establishments, mid-March employment, first quarter and annual payroll, and number of establishments by nine employment-size classes by detailed industry for all counties in the United States and the District of Columbia.
Census Bureau's Business & Industry Data
Economic and business data based on U.S. Census information.

Evaluating Sources

When you find something online, you need to evaluate the source. Check the following:

Accuracy:

Does the author cite reliable sources for his or her facts?
How does the information compare with that in other works written about this topic?

Authority:

What are the author's qualifications for writing on this subject?
Is he or she connected with an organization that has an established reputation?

Currency:

Does the web site include a publication date or "last updated" date?

Objectivity:

Is the author affiliated with a particular organization that might have a bias?

Critically analyzing information sources from Cornell University Library, lists some of the critical questions you should ask when you consider the appropriateness of sources for your research.

The A B C Ds of Evaluating Internet Resources from MBHS, lists criteria one uses to evaluate Internet Resources.