Listed below are some excellent resources provided by Government Agencies that can help you manage your business.
Small Business Administration: Don’t miss the SBA’s “E-Business Institute” also offering online courses and workshops.
Small Business Development Centers: A partner of the SBA, SBDCs are located in every state with more than 1,100 service locations (often on college campuses)
SCORE: Service Corps of Retired Executives, SCORE offers free consultations with retired experts.
Business.gov: Sponsored by the SBA. With informational links like: “Laws and Regulations” .
Minority Business Development Agency: provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
U.S. Postal Service: Streamline your mailing operations by printing postage directly from your computer. Using Direct Mail as part of your marketing strategy? Click on the following link for information provided by the U.S. Post Office: Direct Mail Tips
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES, GRANTS AND GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS:
Small Business Administration’s Subcontracting Network.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Sources for Grants.
REGULATIONS:
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: Census Bureau statistics, including Business patterns by county.
U.S. Department of Labor: Employee regulations.
U.S. Department of State: Business Center.
LEGAL AID AND INFORMATION:
Environmental Protection Agency.
Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration – OSHA regulations
Securities and Exchange Commission.
U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection.
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office:
Library of Congress site and the U.S. Copyright Office
Export-Import Bank of the United States
IRS and the Small Business One Stop Resource.
RESEARCH AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT:
Economic Indicators.gov.
Federal Citizen Information Center.
Firstgov.gov.
SciTechResources.gov: A catalog of government science and technology websites
SearchGov.com: Government search portal.
U.S. Government Sites for Kids:
SBA: Small Business Administration | Home – General information about the SBA with links to funding, government grants, and important forms.
Small Business Development Centers – Excellent site, with links to patent information, IRS, Business plans, training information, special assistance, the steps in starting your business, and more.
Worksheet – This worksheet provides you with a great framework to developing a business plan.
Small Business Resources – AllBusiness | Champions of Small Business – A helpful site for forms, instructions, locating business forms and papers
WorkersCompensation.com – Select your state for pertinent information.
United States Patent and Trademark Office Home Page
AOL for Small Business and OPEN Small Business Network – Provides business ideas and resources.
SCORE “Counselors to America’s Small Business” – Free consultations with retired experts.
Startupjournal.com – Learn what you need to know in order to start and run small businesses.
USPTO.gov – Patents & Trademark information.
www.SBA.gov/hotlist/license.html – Check the availability of your business name.
www.NetworkSolutions.com or www.register.com – Check the availability of your domain name.