Filing in Oregon (Oregon Secretary of State Corporate Division) provides both step-by-step guide and extensive information on starting a business in Oregon. Some of the most useful links include:
- Business Wizard: an interactive tool that provides referrals and necessary resources for different kinds of businesses, based on your answers.
- Oregon Business Guide: read the following documents (step-by-step guide with checklists, explanations of key business concepts, contact information):
Portland Development Commission provides a New Business Checklist on starting a business in Portland.
Licensing: state, local, Portland
Other local resources:
- Oregon Economic and Community Development Department: provides assistance and resources to Oregon businesses. Has very detailed county statistics and community profiles.
- Oregon Small Business Development Centers: provide "counseling, training, information and technical assistance...available to anyone who owns or operates-- or is considering starting-- a small business in Oregon"
- Business in Portland: "a gateway to the information and services from Portland area government agencies to help you start and run a business."
- Official City of Portland Web site Business section: for business, big or small.
- Portland Business Alliance: "As Greater Portland's Chamber of Commerce", it offers "information, support, and advocacy for businesses in the greater Portland area."
- SCORE (Portland): free counseling and information
~ top ~
General resources on small business/entrepreneurship
Small Business Administration (SBA): lots of information in the Library, esp. the Small Business Management Series.
SBA Office of Advocacy: provides research and statistics, regulatory policies and updates, etc.
eVenturing: from the Kauffman Foundation, it "provides original articles, written by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, and aggregates 'the best of the best' content on the Web related to starting and running high-impact companies."
Fambiz: a site "for executives and owners of family-controlled companies", it provides "information about family business issues and challenges."
Business Owners' Idea Cafe: "A fun approach to serious business." Developed by seasoned entrepreneurs, it contains a plethora of resources with practical, current, and often entertaining information for entrepreneurs.
CELCEE: "contains abstracts of materials on entrepreneurship education at all levels."
Business.gov: "guides you through the maze of government rules and regulations and provides access to services and resources to help you start, grow, and succeed in business."
Students' Guide to Getting Started as an Entrepreneur: more information available at NCIIA (National Collegiate Inventors & Innovators Alliance)
BusinessWeek - Small Business: other major business media sites might contain similar sections, e.g., Forbes, CNNMoney, SmartMoney, Entrepreneur magazine, etc.
~ top ~
Business Plans and Profiles Index: excellent place to start if you know what your business will be. NOTE: not all the resources are available at PSU. To check if we have certain books, use Vikat
Many of the above sources include guides on how to write a business plan and/or free sample business plans. The PSU Library currently has the following books on business plans:
- Prentice Hall Encyclopedia of Model Business Plans
HD30.28 .C76 1998 (Reference) - Business Plans Handbook: a compilation of actual business plans developed by small businesses throughout North America
HD62.7 .B865 1995 (Reference)
Sites with free business/marketing plan samples and/or related information:
- U.S. Small Business Administration Business Plan Tutorial
- Bplans.com
- Moot Corp Competition Sample Business Plans
~ top ~
Resources in the Library & Beyond
US Marketing Guide: databases, reference books and free Web sites that provide marketing resources (company profile, industry information, demographic statistics, etc.).
Books can often provide overviews and serendipitous information. To find books on entrepreneurship, use the following keywords (one at a time) in the Subject Field of Vikat (just copy and paste the following keywords in the search box, then click on the results):
- entrepreneurship
- small business
- new business enterprises
There are many many other sites/blogs that contain useful/interesting information, many of them created/maintained by entrepreneurs. Evaluate the information critically, and if possible, double check the information (esp. claims, statistics, facts, etc.). The following is a list of them:
NOTE: Most of these sites (as well as some previously mentioned sites, e.g., the SBA Office of Advocacy site) provide RSS feeds. You can also import the OPML file I compiled on business information (containing RSS feeds, if available, from sites mentioned in this guide) to your blog reader/aggregator. For more information regarding RSS or OPML file, contact Kerry Wu.
~ top ~
QW