Getting Started: Associations and Services
Kaufman Foundation Devoted to help individuals attain economic independance by advancing educational acheivement and entepreneural success.
Entrepreneur.com Comprehensive source for news, videos and contributed content.
SCORE Service Corp of Retired Executives offering free mentoring.
SME Toolkit Free resources from IBM and the World Bank enabling entepreneurs and small businesses to learn how to impliment sustainable business management practices needed for growth.
U.S. Small Business Administration Portal to government initiatives around start-ups and small businesses.
Entepreneur's Reference Guide to Small Business Information E-book from the Library of Congress
Business Plans
Seven Steps to a Successful Business Plan
Harvard Business Review on Entrepreneurship
Search our Catalog for more books on writing a business plan. Browse the results to distinguish between practical guides and scholarly studies of business planning behaviors. The following subject terms work:
- Business Planning
- New Business Enterprises
- Entrepreneurship
- Small Business
- Strategic planning
Some additional effective keywords:
- Start-ups
- New Ventures
Business Plan Competition Advice Videos (from Prendisimo)
Importance of Knowing How To Pitch Your Own Business and Not Worrying About Competition
Importance of Bring Creative In Your Pitch
Importance of Being Accurate In Business Plan Competition And Not Misrepresenting Information
A Strong Business Plan Outlines Preparation for Contingencies
Thoughts On How He Evaluates Business Plans
Revenue Model In a Business Plan Should Be Succinct
Using Criticism To Strengthen Business Plan
You Have To Build Your Financials From The Bottom Up
Importance of Working Through Financials During Business Planning Process
Business Plan May Change But Thought Process Is Critical Before Launching Startup
Primary Marketing Research
Encyclopedia of Survey Research Methods
Focus Groups: A Practical Guide for Applied Research
Asking Questions the Definitive Guide to Questionnaire Design
To find additional "how to" books on conducting primary market research, try searching the following subjects in our Catalog:
- Questionnaires
- Social Sciences-Research
- Social Surveys
- Interviewing
- Focused Group Interviewing
- Social Sciences-Methodology
Free Online Survey Tools
These are some popular and free web survey tools. The free versions don't have all the functionality of subscription access, but are still quite good.
SurveyMonkey This is the one I've used with success....
Qualtrics VSB students can self register for a survey software account
Secondary Marketing Research
Secondary market research is data collected by someone else but useful for learning about your target market. Typical secondary market research data include Census data, consumer surveys, and market research reports. Governments, trade associations, and market research firms are the primary providers of secondary market research.
American Factfinder Use this portal to data collected by the U.S. Bureau of the Census to find demographic data, time use, expenditure, and business activity data.
DataPlanet EASI Market Planner
MRI+ University Internet Reporter Mediamark survey of American consumers. Must use Explorer browser.
SRDS Local Market Audience Analyst Demographic, lifestyle behaviors and consumer segmentation reports from Nielson Claritas. Must use Explorer browser.
Mintel Market research reports about products, services, marketing trends and market segments
Market Research.com Research reports about products, services and market segments
ReferenceUSA Resarch reports about products and services in the international business module.
GMID Euromonitor Research reports with global scope about consumer products, services, consumer expenditure and behavior.
Market Share Reporter Index and abstracts for market share of wide range of products, brands and services reported in trade literature.
ESRI Business Analyst Online Use GIS program to map market segments.
Finance
Practical Guidebooks
Entrepreneur's Guide to Raising Capital
Venture Capital Funding: A Practical Guide to Raising Funding
Raising Venture Capital for the Serious Entrepreneur
Additional how to books on how to raise capital can be found in our Catalog by searching these subjects:
- Angels (Investors)
- Venture Capital
- New business enterprises-Finance
- Small Business-Finance
Venture Capital & Private Equity Firms Directory of venture capital firms. The User Key is an indispensable tool for formulating expert searches.
Microcapital Monitor News and reports on microfinance markets around the world.
Kickstarter Website for crowsourcing funding for creative projects, gagets and innovative buisnesses.
Indiegogo Another crowdfunding site.
FormDs.com Findout who's raising capital by name or by geographic area.
Sample Start-up Financials
BizMiner This database offers a start-up report showing typical profit and loss statements
Associations, Workshops and Directories for Funding
- Pennsylvania Funding and Program Finder
- Greater Philadelphia Minority Business Strategic Alliance
- SCORE Philadelphia
- Women's Business Development Center
- Pennsylvania Innovation Partnership
- National Venture Capital Association
- Prequin
- MoneyTree Report
Academic Journals
The following scholarly journals frequently publish articles on innovation, entepreneurship and small business.
Journal of Product Innovation Management
Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice
Videos
ECorner Stanford University's Entepreneurship Corner
Films On Demand The business & economics collection has a browsable section on entrepreneurship.
FORA.tv[Details]