AllBusiness

www.allbusiness.com

AllBusiness offers a number of short articles on all aspects of running a small business, such as starting a business, incorporation, sales and marketing, accounting and finance, franchises, buying and selling a business, insurance, and internet and technology.

Business Week Online - Small Biz

www.businessweek.com/smallbiz

Business Week Online - Small Biz offers news and advice for entrepreneurs on topics such as marketing, sales, leadership, and technology, as well as special "resource centers" on opening a franchise, comparing salaries, and purchasing health insurance and retirement plans.

Entrepreneur.com

www.entrepreneur.com

Entrepreneur.com has a vast array of resources on starting a business, buying a franchise, growing a home-based business, business opportunities, money and finance, sales and marketing, management, e-business, technology, and other topics.

My Own Business

www.myownbusiness.org

My Own Business is a free Internet course for anyone starting a business by providing 12 lessons covering topics such as business communications, e-commerce and online marketing, and small business marketing.

SCORE

www.score.org

SCORE offers a host of resources for people starting, growing, financing or managing their business, with one of the most valuable services being offered, "Ask SCORE", a database of retired business people who will provide free business advice.

Small Business Administration (SBA)

www.sba.gov

With a library containing over 200 free publications, Small Business Administration (SBA) has sections on starting, financing, and managing a business, as well as business opportunities, and disaster recovery.

Small Business Development Center (SBDC) National Information Center Clearinghouse

http://sbdcnet.org/

Small Business Development Center (SBDC) National Information Center Clearinghouse includes annotated links to websites containing forms and regulations for business start-ups, demographic information, company information, patent and trademark information, industry research, finance, small business trends, marketing, and many more topics.

WSJ Startup Journal

www.startupjournal.com

WSJ Startup Journal includes how-to advice, news, and articles on topics such as marketing and sales, franchising, financing, running a business, and e-commerce.

BPlans.com - The Business Planning Expert

www.bplans.com

BPlans.com - The Business Planning Expert offers more than 60 free sample business plans that you can view online, features interactive calculators to determine cash flow, starting costs, conversion rate, and other figures to use in a business plan, and includes feature articles on topics such as starting a business, marketing and advertising, growing a business, and managing your e-business.

EconData.Net

www.econdata.net

EconData.Net offers links for public and private data sources by subject (e.g., demographics, income, output and trade) and provider, and indicates which sites charge for their information.

Federal Communications Commission

www.fcc.gov

Federal Communications Commission has a vast array of data and statistics on wireless and wireline communication services, such as the Industry Analysis and Technology Division and the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.

FedStats

www.fedstats.gov

FedStats is a gateway to statistics from over 100 U.S. Federal agencies, with links to statistics organized by topic, by geography, and through a general search, as well as links to published collections of statistics such as the Statistical Abstract of the United States.

FreeDemographics.com

www.freedemographics.com

FreeDemographics.com offers a free subscription option to access U.S. Census data from 1980, 1990 and 2000, and users can create custom market analysis reports based on a number of selected demographic variables for any geography.

The Gallup Poll

www.galluppoll.com

The Gallup Poll contains links to various polls, reports, trends and audits of public opinion conducted by The Gallup Organization where users can search for poll analyses and questionnaires by keyword and gain free information including articles, graphs and charts, video clips, and specific questions on a variety of topics.

National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Research Foundation

www.nfib.com/page/researchFoundation

National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Research Foundation is the research arm of the nonprofit small business advocacy organization with more than 600,000 members producing the National Small Business Poll, a series of regularly published business survey reports based on data collected from national samples of small business employers.

Business Finance.com

www.businessfinance.com

Business Finance.com allows you to search the funding criteria of over 4,000 sources for business loans, venture capital, equipment leasing, and commercial real estate financing.

Inc.com Market Research

www.inc.com

Inc.com Market Research has a collection of articles about market research, including low-budget suggestions for conducting your own market research.

MarketResearch.com

www.marketresearch.com

MarketResearch.com is a searchable database of market research reports covering all industry sectors, both domestic and international with free searching, abstracts, and tables of contents, but the actual reports are fee-based, often costing thousands of dollars (you can sometimes buy )by the slice) to get specific pieces of a report).

Focus Group

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focus_group

Focus Group offers a complete explanation of what focus groups are and when they are used, as well as links to additional resources, including a handbook on focus group principles from the American Marketing Association.

SurveyMonkey.com

www.surveymonkey.com

SurveyMonkey.com allows you to create professional online surveys, collect responses, and analyze results via the web with basic or professional subscription options based on your research needs.