Small Business and Entrepreneurship
BizStats (http://www.bizstats.com/)
"BizStats is the leading free online source for small business statistics. BizStats collects, analyzes, edits and adds value to public data and delivers it without cost in an easy-to-read, easy-to-understand format." Among the statistics available are those for benchmarking, balance sheets, financial ratios, net profit, productivity, corporations and S-corporations, industry markets, calculators, and more.
Bplans.com (http://www.bplans.com/)
Established to assist entrepreneurs by providing free advice and information, this site includes sample business plans, marketing plans, and a locator for small business development centers in the United States.
Business Owner’s Toolkit (http://www.toolkit.com/small_business_guide/index.aspx)
Commerce Clearing House (CCH) Incorporated, publisher of many business books and services, offers a wealth of free information about starting a business, planning a business, getting financing, marketing products, etc. on this site.
National Federation of Independent Business (http://www.nfib.com/page/home)
"NFIB is the nation's leading small-business advocacy association, with offices in Washington, D.C., and all 50 state capitals." Business Toolbox, "a library of business management info" can be found under "Tools & Tips." It provides information on a wide variety of business topics. See the Research section for small business economic trends and research; choose Texas from the state search box for state-related data and research.
SCORE® - Service Corps of Retired Executives (http://www.score.org/index.html)
"SCORE 'Counselors to America's Small Business' is America's premier source of free and confidential small business advice for entrepreneurs." The organization works in partnership with the federal Small Business Administration to assist in the formation, growth, and success of small businesses. You can find Austin SCORE at http://www.scoreaustin.org/
State by State Guide to Doing Business (http://www.entrepreneur.com/stateguide)
Entrepreneur.com "prepared this State-By-State Guide to Doing Business, based on data in the SBA's '2004 State Small Business Economic Profiles' report, an annual study that includes information from 2003 on the total number of firms, small-business income, industrial composition, job growth, and minority and women-owned businesses throughout the 50 states and the District of Columbia."
U.S. Small Business Administration (http://www.sba.gov/)
"The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) was created in 1953 as an independent agency of the federal government to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our nation." The site provides information about programs and services to help you start, grow and succeed, including: small business planner, services, tools, local resources.
See research studies on growth, financing, and management and The Small Business Advocate, a monthly or bi-monthly newsletter that details economic developments and regulatory trends related to small business at the SBA Office of Advocacy (http://www.sba.gov/advo/). “Created by Congress in 1976, the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent voice for small business within the federal government."