I decided to acquire Startup Students and add to the conversation of young entrepreneurialism. I feel my background and experience offer rich lessons to draw from, and guide this site’s readers toward a business of their own. But before I get into my background, let me first offer thanks and good luck to the site’s originator, Brett Adams.

Brett started this site in July of 2007 and helped grow this site into a home for hundreds, sometimes thousands, of young business pioneers could come to learn to be better at their craft. He was a good steward of the entrepreneurial spirit and I thank him for his efforts. Unfortunately, as all things, it came to an ‘end’ when his time was stretched thin and he felt he should transfer it to someone who would be able to apply more energy to the site.

As the new sheriff in town, my goal is to write an engaging post once a week (or more, as I am able). I am a thirty-four year old entrepreneur with several active businesses (click to call website widgets, free website bullet icons for unordered lists, easy acne cures) and even more half-baked businesses on the horizon (premium web traffic (3/4 baked), article and press release directory (2/3 baked),  SEO savvy WordPress web design (1/4 baked)). I even own many domains I could turn into viable businesses if I had the time or Imperial cloning machines. As you can tell, I have invested heavily in WordPress. I personally believe it is the best content management system (CMS), especially for the money!

Let me finish by offering more information on my background:

• I am college educated. I spent (*cough*) nine years acquiring three degrees from three schools. I have an Economics degree from San Diego State University and an AS, AA, from San Diego Miramar College in, respectively, Business Administration and Liberal Studies. I also attended Tulane University in the mid-Ninties, when I was still ‘finding myself.’ I will probably not offer thoughts on college, except to say, get through it. Increasingly, a four-year degree is a must.
• I was a freelance web designer back in the late Ninties, back when it was fashionable to use tables to format a web page.
• I have worked for several real estate offices, the largest Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) and an industry-leading software start-up.
• My titles have included: designer, desktop support (IT), network admin, project manager and corporate (software) trainer.

As you can see, I’ve worked in organizations small to large, local to national firms, and my own individual businesses. I have to say, nothing satisfies me, intrigues me, and challenges me like owning my own businesses. I get to use every facet of my being to overcome the challenges laid before me. There is always a problem to fix, a process to improve, and books to read. Which leads to the important point that my only real problem is finding enough hours to accomplish everything, while minding a work/life balance. I can’t neglect my new bride of three months!

I hope the readers of StartupStudents.com come from a similar place and that I can offer you something of value. Nothing would thrill me more than to help you hatch your own business. So please, feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you’re working on. I would be happy to field questions, at they’re likely to spur new articles. And if it leads to new exposure for your business… so be it!

Until next time…

-Ansel Taft

Crush it – Gary Vaynerchuk

Do you have a hobby you wish you could indulge in all day? An obsession that keeps you up at night? Now is the perfect time to take that passion and make a living doing what you love. In Crush It! Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion, Gary Vaynerchuk shows you how to use the power of the Internet to turn your real interests into real businesses.

Gary spent years building his family business from a local wine shop into a national industry leader. Then one day he turned on a video camera, and by using the secrets revealed here, transformed his entire life and earning potential by building his personal brand. By the end of this book, readers will have learned how to harness the power of the Internet to make their entrepreneurial dreams come true.

Step by step, Crush It! is the ultimate driver’s manual for modern business.

The New Community Rules – Tamar Weinberg

Blogs, networking sites, and other examples of the social web provide businesses with a largely untapped marketing channel for products and services. But how do you take advantage of them? With The New Community Rules, you’ll understand how social web technologies work, and learn the most practical and effective ways to reach people who frequent these sites.Written by an expert in social media and viral marketing, this book cuts through the hype and jargon to give you intelligent advice and strategies for positioning your business on the social web, with case studies that show how other companies have used this approach.

Many consumers today use the Web as a voice. The New Community Rules demonstrates how you can join the conversation, contribute to the community, and bring people to your product or service.

Trust Agents – Chris Brogan and Julien Smith

This book is your guide to a new form of power broker–web natives who trade in trust, reputation, and relationships using tools you may never even have heard of. You will learn what you need to look for in such an agent for your business or how to become one yourself. Trust Agents is your guide to the deep end of meaningful relationships on the web.

The book explores how business people can use the Web’s new social software tools to build awareness, influence, reputation, and eventually authority. It focuses on methods of building trust and wielding influence, and how these efforts impact business processes and goals. In three parts, the book defines the landscape of this generation’s web, explains who trust agents are, and analyzes the mechanics of trust in today’s economy where reputation is key. Part career advice, part communications management, and part technology know-how, Trust Agents aims to deliver high level theory, actionable next steps, and stories and case studies to bolster the opinions and experiences of the authors.

Anatomy of Buzz Revisited – Emanuel Rosen

A new edition of the definitive handbook on word-of-mouth marketing, completely revised and updated for today’s online world. With two-thirds new material and scores of current examples from today’s most successful companies, The Anatomy of Buzz Revisited takes readers inside the world of word-of-mouth marketing and explains how and why it works. Based on over one hundred new interviews with thought leaders, marketing executives, researchers, and consumers, The Anatomy of Buzz Revisited shows how to:

* Generate genuine buzz both online and off.
* Encourage people to talk about your products and services—and help spread the word among their friends, colleagues, and communities.
* Adapt traditional word-of-mouth strategies in today’s era of Facebook, YouTube, and consumer-generated media.

Smart, surprising, and filled with cutting-edge strategies and insights, The Anatomy of Buzz Revisited is essential for anyone who wants to get attention for a product, message, or idea in today’s message-cluttered world.

Upstarts!: How GenY Entrepreneurs are Rocking the World of Business and 8 Ways You Can Profit from Their Success – Donna Fenn

Generation Y is creating startups at an unprecedented rate, and their approach to business is unlike anything you’ve seen. The generation described by the media as spoiled, entitled, even narcissistic, is proving these notions false every day. Inspired by the rock-star entrepreneurs of previous generations and driven by a burning desire to control their own destinies, GenY is rewriting the entrepreneurial playbook one cool startup at a time.

Inc. magazine writer Donna Fenn interviewed more than 150 young CEOs to learn what makes them tick. While upstarts are motivated by similar aspirations of past generations, their way of doing business is radically different—and it’s changing the way everyone must do business now.

Upstarts examines and analyzes this entrepreneurial revolution to reveal eight critical lessons every entrepreneur and marketer must learn. Fenn describes a generation of entrepreneurs that is highly collaborative and team-oriented. It’s quick and alert when it comes to new technologies. It’s hell-bent on changing the world. And it’s totally impatient with outmoded business models.

Viral Loop – Adam Penenberg

Many of the most successful Web 2.0 companies, including MySpace, YouTube, eBay, and rising stars like Twitter and Flickr, are prime examples of what journalist Adam L. Penenberg calls a “viral loop”–to use it, you have to spread it. After all, what’s the sense of being on Facebook if none of your friends are? The result: Never before has there been the potential to create wealth this fast, on this scale, and starting with so little.

In this game-changing must-read, Penenberg tells the fascinating story of the entrepreneurs who first harnessed the unprecedented potential of viral loops to create the successful online businesses–some worth billions of dollars–that we have all grown to rely on. The trick is that they created something people really want, so much so that their customers happily spread the word about their product for them.

All kinds of businesses–from the smallest start-ups to nonprofit organizations to the biggest multinational corporations–can use the paradigm-busting power of viral loops to enable their business through technology. Viral Loop is a must-read for any entrepreneur or business interested in uncorking viral loops to benefit their bottom line.

Career Renegade – Johnathan Fields

Renegade in the title is appropriate, especially if readers are searching for a traditional career guide, which this is not. Instead, former high-powered New York City lawyer turned serial entrepreneur Fields leans heavily on the 75 percent of employees who are dissatisfied with their jobs. The first part involves discovering one’s secret passion, via a few exercises. What makes the journey with this author worthwhile are his sections on determining the exact work path (yes, via research on the Internet) and on developing a business. The references and ideas will inspire; he also interviews quite a few renewed careerists, whether it’s the tale of the young mother who started the Young Rembrandts franchise or an artist who found her passion in creating edible art through her family-owned Rivera Bakehouse. Part 3 zeroes in on honing online knowledge and creating an authority figure, via such social networks as MySpace or through blogging and word of mouth. –Barbara Jacobs

B-A-M!: Delivering Customer Service in a Self-Service World – Barry Moltz

BAM! Is a no nonsense book that teaches companies why they want to deliver effective customer service in this self-service world and how to do it The book debunks the 20 common myths of customer service-from “The customer is always right” to “Customer service means the same thing to everyone,” to “Companies achieve customer service by under-promising and over-delivering”-myths that too many companies use automatically to run their customer service practices and policies without ever questioning them. BAM! replaces myths with a tactical approach that shows companies how to make more money through attitudes and actions that will help their customers feel satisfied in good times or bad.Creating satisfied customers is the only enduring competitive advantage left in a world market where virtually everything is a commodity. Forget the customer service platitudes. The only reason a company should offer excellent customer service is because it will make money for the business.

Free: The Future of a Radical Price – Chris Anderson

The New York Times bestselling author heralds the new future of business in Free. In his revolutionary bestseller, The Long Tail, Chris Anderson demonstrated how the online marketplace creates thriving niche markets, allowing products and eager consumers to connect in a way that has never been possible before. Now, in Free, he makes the compelling case that in many instances businesses can profit more from giving things away than they can by charging for them. In order to succeed in the twenty-first century economy, Free is more than a promotional gimmick: It’s a business strategy that is essential to a company’s successful future.

In Free,Chris Anderson explores this radical idea for the new economy, and demonstrates how this revolutionary price can be harnessed for the benefit of both consumers and business alike.

The Facebook Era: Tapping Online Social Networks to Build Better Products, Reach New Audiences, and Sell More Stuff – Clara Shih

The ‘90s were about the World Wide Web of information and the power of linking web pages. Today it’s about the World Wide Web of people and the power of the social graph. Online social networks are fundamentally changing the way we live, work, and interact. They offer businesses immense opportunities to transform customer relationships for profit: opportunities that touch virtually every business function, from sales and marketing to recruiting, collaboration to executive decision-making, product development to innovation. In The Facebook Era, Clara Shih systematically outlines the business promise of social networking and shows how to transform that promise into reality

Right this minute, more than 1.5 million people are on Facebook. They’re interacting with friends–and talking about your brands. They’re learning about your business–and providing valuable information you can use to market and sell. In the Facebook Era, you’re closer to your customers than ever before. Read this book, and then go get them!

“A.S.A.P. is poison. Underdo the competition. Meetings are toxic. Fire the workaholics. Emulate drug dealers. Pick a fight. Planning is guessing. Inspiration is perishable.”

And that’s just the back cover of Rework, the new book by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson. The two founders of Chicago software firm 37Signals turn Management 101 on its head, where it gets a well-deserved headache. Their book is a manifesto for the new way work is getting done by small businesses, combined with a manual on how to do it.

And it’s really a relief. When I was in corporate America back in the day, we spent most of our time working brutal hours so we could be seen working brutal hours; obsessing about our competitors (I never really cared what they were doing but everyone else did, so I feigned equal paranoia just to get along); piling meetings on top of useless meetings, bemused that the CEO who called the meeting was always seriously late. That was the Eighties and Nineties. If you’re starting a business in 2010, consider yourself fortunate because you have much better models to emulate.

Rework is great on so many levels, from the economy of the writing to the great illustrations by Mike Rohde, which make the lessons it teaches resonate in a part of your brain the words don’t necessarily touch. There are scores of takeaways you can use right now. Just a couple of examples:

• Resumes are pretty meaningless when it comes to hiring people. Customized cover letters that are crafted just for your company and perfectly executed are the things to look for. Then have a candidate work for you for a day or two and see how she behaves. That’s a much better indicator of future results than all the references and resume highlights in the world.
• Hire people only when you are feeling the pain of the work. Remember the Internet era heyday when companies hired just so they could have really smart people? Fried and Hansson caution that bringing on people when there isn’t extremely important work for them to do right away is a disaster waiting to happen.
• I love this one: when you write a project or business plan, the authors suggest using a fat Sharpie on a big sheet of paper or whiteboard, rather than using a pen or a word processor. Get the big picture right before starting on the fine points.
• It’s a blessing that no one knows about your little company right now. Embrace obscurity rather than lament it, because your mistakes will only be known to a few. Later on, in the glare of the floodlights, you can’t hide.
• Corporate heroics are just plain stupid. We’ve all seen the unnecessary all-nighters and the people who pull them just so others will notice their work ethic. If they’d done real work during the day, they could have clocked out at 5.  Less foosball, more work.
• About emulating drug dealers: you have to give them this — they know how to market a specific product, create demand through sampling, and assure repeat customers who they then supply with excellent customer service. An odd profession to model but an interesting point.
• People who just delegate and manage are pretty much washed out of the work force. Everyone has to do the work.
• Don’t miss the opportunity to sell your business’s by-products. (Did you know Henry Ford took the wood chip waste from making Model T’s and processed it into charcoal, resulting in the Kingsford Charcoal brand? (Am I the only one who didn’t know this?) Rework is a by-product of 37Signal’s experience creating and selling software. It’ll be a bestseller, and will fuel even more sales of their software. Pretty clever.

If you like Rework, also read Seth Godin’s book, Linchpin. (Godin is quoted on the cover of Rework: “Ignore this book at your own peril.”) Godin focuses on the new definition of work and the power of individuals and companies to make themselves indispensable. And if you want to do a deep dive on the relationship aspect of customer retention, add this one to your list: Who’s Got Your Back by Keith Ferrazzi. Between these three books, you’ll have a very forward-thinking template for success in entrepreneurship and small business management.

Written By Mitchell York, About.com Guide to Entrepreneurs ]]> http://www.startupstudents.com/2010/04/07/run-your-business-like-a-drug-dealer/feed/ 0 http://www.startupstudents.com/2010/04/07/run-your-business-like-a-drug-dealer/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StartupStudents/~3/YQR8INlFj7w/ http://www.startupstudents.com/2009/08/28/27-links-to-startup-your-career/#comments Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:14:05 +0000 Ansel Taft http://www.startupstudents.com/?p=81 Many of you are fresh out of college or approaching your final semesters.  Now is the time to start exploring your opportunities.  Here is 27 fresh links to do just that.

1. Collegiate Career Coach Blog Specializes in coaching college bound students, currently enrolled college students, and college graduates. Learn how to live up to your full potential and make your dreams reality.
2. CollegeRecruiter.com Blog: Learn how to bargain for your salary and impress the hiring manager. A good tool for acing the job searching process.
3. The Creative Career Observations on the transition from college into career. Insight on how students can adapt to the aspects in public relations, communications, and marketing that are always changing.
4. Job Hunting Tips Suggestions on resources and advice to help you choose a career before hunting for a job.  Topics are on best medical careers to salary negotiations.
5. Work Coach Cafe Work Coach Cafe is a place to get advice on job interviews, job searches, workplace issues and much more.
6. The Emerging Professional Learn how to be distinct while still fitting in. This Ivy League career counselor’s articles include employment trends and what the recruiters are thinking.
7. Graduate Career Coaching Get detailed posts on recruiting, interviewing, training and development. View job searching from an insider’s perspective.
8. Brazen Careerist This blog is anything but your classic career site. Formed by a group of top Gen Y thought leaders, these posts provide forward thinking and encouragement to define your own path.
9. Student Loan Blog With topics on everything from budgeting your student loans to how to make a lasting impression at that interview, this blog gives helpful hints to college students and graduates to help them be successful and choose the right career for them.
10. One Day One Job Provides listings of job opportunities for recent college graduates. Daily employer profiles are given for entry level jobs and search tips.
11. Daily Career Connection For individuals interested in growing as job professionals. When you’re just starting out or have been looking, this blog has many tips that can help.
12. EduPlan Blog This blog will inspire students and graduates into uncovering their true potential through education and maximizing opportunities for success. Brought to you by a consulting firm that offers over 15 years of expertise in the field of career development.
13. Internet Marketing Tips Denise Wakeman is a skilled internet marketing strategist, whose observations can help you grow your business. Her blog is full of marketing tips including 101 low and no cost marketing tools.
14. SoloPreneur.biz Janet Slack is the owner of Life Adventure Coaching and gives tips on business, marketing, the entrepreneur, and technology. In addition to her blog, you can download her free eBook, “Biz Tips: Entrepreneur Edition.”
15. The Savvy Entrepreneur Cristina Favreau helps virtual office assistants find their authentic marketing voice. You can make a ton of extra money by following her tips or sign up for the Get Clients Now!
16. Your Career by Design Learn from this bloggers experience as an entrepreneur running an executive recruitment firm.  Gain knowledge on how to differentiate yourself from my competitors.
17. Deb Bailey Transition Coach Get great advice from this sought after expert to discuss today’s most pressing workplace issues. Deborah Bailey helps entrepreneurs by helping them connect with their personal power in order to move forward in their transition from employee to entrepreneur.
18. Escape From Corporate America Pamela walked away from a six-figure job and a twelve-year corporate career to start her own business. Her posts are filled with practical guides for entrepreneurs and other renegades.
19. Purposefulentrepreneurblog.com dedicated to helping visionary entrepreneurs build successful businesses and share their spiritual gifts through articulating their purpose, activating their passion, and accelerating their profits.
20. Center for Balanced Living Existing solopreneurs can expand their success by leveraging their assets and clearing the inner blocks. There are also numerous articles on effective and authentic marketing to create wealth while doing something they love.
21. Instigator Blog – Lots of great entrepreneurial advice here. This Canadian entrepreneur’s blog is for entrepreneurs and small business owners, with an emphasis on how to start a business, run a business, marketing and technology.
22. Shaboominc.com A thriving business requires and provides resilience and continuity. How do you go about building a thriving career or business? Learn to regard mistakes as stepping stones to mastery.
23. Entrepreneur’s Journey Interested in Internet business and entrepreneurship? If so, you’ll love Australian entrepreneurs Yaro Starak’s blog. Perfect for those of you who are interested in making money online.
24. Gaebler Ventures Resources for Entrepreneurs At least once a week, serial entrepreneur Ken Gaebler posts a helpful article that provides great entrepreneurial advice. A must read for entrepreneurs.
25. Home Office Voice Martin Neumann shares his experiences as an Internet entrepreneur. There are nuggets of gold in his tips for building a web-based business.
26. Paul Allen-Internet Entrepreneur This Utah entrepreneur knows what he’s talking about and offers great advice and insights on all aspects of internet marketing and entrepreneurship.
27. Mind Petals Smart, creative, and young entrepreneurs from all over the world hang out at this site. It’s a community that produces informative, inspiring, and motivating content to spark the minds of all entrepreneurs.

Class dismissed.

1. Laser Focus – The best entrepreneurs stick to their guns.  Find your passion and then follow it through.
2. Confidence – You need to have the confidence to make a decision without always being concerned about other’s opinions.  Stand by your decisions without caving in to the pressures around you.
3. Creativity- Young entrepreneurs must think outside the box in order to stand out in a sea of conformity.
4. Fearlessness - Don’t fear the competition. the consumer, the reaper, or failure itself.
5. Leadership- You must have the ability to lead your ideas to fruition, and leverage those around you to do so.
6. Scholarship - True entrepreneurs never stop learnin, especially those young entrepreneurs out there still in college!
7. Financial Savvy -  Knowing where your money is going and where it is coming in is very important.

Did I miss anything?

Class dismissed.

First, Entrepreneur’s top five fears of entrepreneurs. They are:

1. Fear of Failure: “Without a doubt, an entrepreneur’s biggest fear is failing–understandably, because 95 percent of all businesses fail within the first five years. When you’re starting with those kinds of odds, it’s OK to be a little freaked out.”

2. Economic Uncertainty: “Five years ago, the economy may not have been of forefront concern for a startup entrepreneur. But today, businesses big and small, young and old, are worried about what the declining economy means for them.”

3. Being your own Boss: “As a small business, especially during the startup stages, there’s very little stability and security. Unlike traditional employment, you probably don’t have an office, employees, benefits or a paycheck. And what you definitely don’t have is a boss, someone guiding you along.”

4. Consuming Your Life: “The idea of not having any time for yourself, neglecting your family and giving up your social life can be terrifying.”

5. Staying Afloat: “You need money to start up; you need money to operate; and you need money to grow. Throw the dismal economy into the equation–when people are spending less and it’s taking longer for small businesses to get paid–and money is even harder to come by.”

Why stop at five? Here are five more:

6. High-Wire with No Net: When you have been in your own small business and survived the early years that weed out most startups, you have the fear that you can never turn back to “the devil you knew” (i.e. traditional employment). The struggles of entrepreneurship make you forget why you left corporate America in the first place and your memories become revised to dwell on how easy and happy it all was “back then.”

7. Losing Ground to the Jones’s: Even though your business may be getting more profitable every year, you look at your old car in the driveway and the Jones’s new Lexus and feel that if only you’d stuck to being a corporate (fill in the blank) you’d have new toys, too.

8. The Merry-Go-Round Stopping: Your business is cooking, but you worry that somehow, someday, and soon, the phones will go silent and no one will want what you sell anymore.

9. Stuck in Third Gear: You know how to cruise at 40 MPH but you need and want to do 90 (this is metaphorical). You fear you will never break through the wall of your business being merely “okay”.

10. Emperor Has No Clothes: And the big-daddy of all entrepreneurial nightmares–you dream that you’re walking down the street and suddenly you discover that you forgot to put your shorts on. Perhaps if you act natural no one will notice. Lots of entrepreneurs think everyone else is smarter than they are and live in fear of the world finding out their secret.

I could go on. So could you, so let’s have it: five more entrepreneurial fears from the front lines.

Oh, you were waiting for some advice on how to cure yourself of all these? How’s this: You can’t! Not completely, anyway. And I don’t think you’d want to. Fear is a great motivator. Ask anyone who owns a business if fear helps them get up in the morning and do what has to be done.

Contributing blogger Mitch York coaches executives who are evolving into entrepreneurs. Find York — and his personal blog — at www.e2ecoaching.com.

What does this mean for you and your pursuit of the next great student startup? A couple things, actually. First off, the findings of this survey suggest that you (and I) are well ahead of the game. The small business experiences we are endeavoring in will only further the chances of success in the long run. Think about it this way, most people wait until they are in their late 30′s or early 40′s to take the leap into entrepreneurialism – many of whom will fail for a variety of reasons. But by starting young, you benefit from the fact that failing is virtually meaningless (financially speaking). You can then learn from your mistakes and build upon your successes and failures so that your next venture will be that much more successful.

So take the study with a grain of salt and do not give up your pursuit of creating the next great startup! Class dismissed.

Question: Given your experience and the entrepreneurs you’ve observed, what are the fundamental attributes of a good entrepreneur?

Answer: Entrepreneurs need to develop three skills, and they are very learnable:

First is networking. You have to learn to connect with as many people as you can. Be committed to building your Rolodex.

Second is education and learning. You have to really like learning and reading random stuff. Become knowledgeable, not in depth but on the surface, because you’re going to be working with everybody.

Third is accessing mentors and people you can learn from. The fewer bad decisions you make, the better chance your company has.

Question: What does the economic slowdown mean to entrepreneurs and Silicon Valley?

Answer: Boom times are bad because it can be hard for entrepreneurs to get access to engineering talent, space and people who will listen.

No recession lasts forever. It’s a business cycle. It cleans out bad habits and practices, and then you have a much better environment.

Question: Where do you see the emerging opportunities for innovators and entrepreneurs?

Answer: Opportunities come from seeing problems around you and in your lifestyle . . . that you would like to do something about. Instead of doing it as an employee or a volunteer, do it as a company. I recommend the book Built to Last. General Electric, Sony, they all started because the founders wanted to build a company.

That’s all for today, class dismissed.

Business Plans

Writing a business plan is often deemed essential, not only for seeking out financing, but as a road map for the future success of your small business. Please utilize the following links to gain insight into the necessary steps for creating your plan:

• Business Plan Primer: A tutorial about business plans.
• Business Plans: Yahoo Small Business Resources provides guidelines on developing business plans and marketing plans, and offers samples of each.
• Start-Up Checklist: A business plan checklist to guide you through the creation process.
• VFinance.Com: Information on Venture Capital, also a free business template.
• http://www.sba.gov/smallbusinessplanner/plan/writeabusinessplan/index.html

Legal Assistance

While seeking professional assistance for legal advice is preferred, a number of resources exist to assist small businesses:

• American Arbitration Association
• American Bar Association
• American Law Institute
• Association of Federal Defense Attorneys
• Association of Trial Lawyers of America
• BusinessLaw.Gov: Information on business law for small businesses.
• Inter-American Bar Association
• IRS Small Business: Information on IRS laws for small businesses and information on starting a business.
• Law & Legal Aid Resources: Resinets.com information on law and legal aids.
• National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, Inc.
• Practising Law Institute

Employment Information and Regulations

As your business grows, so does your need for human capital. The following resources serve as guidance on key issues facing potential employers:

• Business Owners Toolkit: A good general discussion on employee issues can be found here.
• Department of Labor Elaws Advisors: Interactive tools that provide information about Federal employment laws.
• HR-Guide.com: Information and web links on Company Human Resources – Personnel
• Department of Labor Small Business Resource Center: Information on Web page designed to assist small businesses in complying with rules, regulations and laws enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor.
• Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM): Information on Human Resources topics.
• U.S. Department of Labor: Information on current federal employment statutes.

Funding and Grants

Depending on the needs of your small business, acquiring funding can be a painful process. The following resources will assist you in sorting through the necessities of funding your business.

• Business Finance: Information on business funding resources and has a database of over 4,000 sources of business capital.
• Finance a Business (SBA): Information on several SBA financing programs.
• Garage Technology Ventures: Information on venture capital for emerging technology companies.
• Startup Journal: Information on deducting home office expenses on your income tax.
• Startup Venture Toolbox: The Toolbox is organized in the order that most entrepreneurs follow in taking their ventures from idea to IPO.
• The Money Tree Survey: The definitive source of information on emerging companies that receive financing and the venture capital firms that provide it.
• Turbo Tax: A link to one of the most widely used tax preparation software packages for homes and small businesses, produced by Quicken.
• VFinance.Com: Information on Venture Capital, also a free business template.

General Entrepreneurial Resources

• About.com’s Entrepreneur Link: Information from an on line resource pool for small business owners.
• Center for Veterans Enterprise: Information for Veterans and business.
• Entrepreneur.com: Information on a number of useful forms you can use in your business.
• Kauffman Foundation: A search engine specifically targeted at entrepreneurs like you.
• Finding Distributors: Entrepreneur.com article on distribution and marketing.
• Getting out of your business: Entrepreneurs Toolkit article on how to get out of your business if/when you wish to exit.
• Home Business: Information on Home Business, including both opportunities and challenges.
• Idea Cafe: Information on the basics of getting your idea off the ground, from e-commerce design to logo-embroidered apparel.
• Jim Blassingame, Small Business Advocate: Information on small business, both opportunities and challenges.
• National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE): Information for small businesses and the self-employed. Has discount programs and general information.
• SBC Business Solutions: Communications services products for business users.
• Small Business Administration (SBA): Home page for the US Small Business Administration site, which contains a range of useful links, tips, courses and advice.
• Small Business Development Centers: General coaching (from SBDC and SCORE) as well as advice on funding options.
• Start-Up EPA: Creating a Business Plan: Guidelines on how to create a business plan, why you need one, and what it can do for you.
• Start-Up Journal: Published by the Wall Street Journal – information of interest to those starting a business.
• Welcome Business USA: Information on business checklists to help you make sure you are not missing important steps in starting and running your business. Has wealth of resources, how-to articles for business.
• Yahoo! Small Business – Start-Up Basics: Current info on hot start-up areas and more.

Government Resources

• Business Law www.business.gov/
• Franchise Registry www.franchiseregistry.com
• Internal Revenue Service www.irs.gov
• Federal Government Portal www.firstgov.gov
• Federal Government Grants www.grants.gov
• US Census www.census.gov
• Federal Acquistion Regulations www.arnet.gov/far
• Small Business Innovative Research www.sba.gov/sbir
• U.S. Government Export Portal www.export.gov
• Federal/DOD Contractor Central Registration www.ccr.gov
• Federal Contracting Opportunities www.fedbizopps.gov
• Veterans Small Business Research www.sba.gov/advo/research/#veterans
• SBA Economic Research www.sba.gov/advo/research/
• U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services www.dhhs.gov
• Faith-Based & Community Initiatives www.dhhs.gov/fbci/
• Dunn & BradStreet DUNS Number www.dnb.com/us/duns_update/index.html
• U.S. Dept. of Labor www.dol.gov
• SBA Online Training www.sba.gov/training/
• Getting a D-U-N-S Number www.dnb.com/us
• Department of Homeland Security (Customs/Inmigration/ect) www.dhs.gov

Online Databases

The following databases offer free components to assist you with a variety of research needs. Please note that some sites may require registration and are in no way associated with the Disney Entrepreneur Center.

• http://www.melissadata.com/lookups/: A great free resource offering database search capabilities for demographics and statistics. Highly recommended.
• http://www.quirks.com/: Resources to help small businesses complete market research projects.

Marketing Resources

• AAAAgencySearch.com is a database of members of the American Association of Advertising Agencies. Search the database by agency name, brand or client name, by billings, number of employees, industry experience and category specialties (e.g. African American market, or Business-to-Business marketing. The search engine returns a list of matching agencies and provides the above information for each agency.
• Ad-Resource contains a list of links to various websites describing web advertising rates, guides to interactive advertising, and other resources related to advertising. (NOTE: MarketMatch and SRDS are two fee-based web ad rate guides which provide useful data. The free ad rate guides are typically far less comprehensive and current.)
• Advertising Age publishes the full-text of recent top stories from it’s print publication. It has an Interactive Daily, which contains articles about web marketing and critiques of web marketers. It contains rankings of global marketers. Marketing and web marketing conference and event calendars are posted.
• Advertising World is a service that links to marketing web sites. Come here for directories of agents, associations, market research firms, and PR firms. Find sites dealing with consumer psychology, coupons, web marketing and more.
• Adweek provides free article excerpts as well as the full-text of one feature story from each of its three major print publications: Adweek, Brandweek, and Mediaweek. The site also posts daily internet marketing newswires and spotlights various brand marketing campaigns.
• Agency ComPile is a database of advertising, public relations, direct marketing, design, sales promotion, interactive, yellow pages, recruitment, and media buying agencies. It provides profiles at the agency level which include a brief overview, client lists, and specialties. Searchable by a variety of criteria.
• Dentsu Online Gateway provides data on Japanese advertising expenditures. Click on Dentsu Data to retrieve data.
• GreenBook is a directory of marketing research companies and services. It features a comprehensive (over 1400 listings) searchable directory of marketing research firms and focus group facilities. Visitors can search for companies by research services (400+ service categories), location, name, or a combination of the above.
• MarketScope provides historical quarterly newspaper advertising expenditures and ad volume. It also provides readership information, average newspaper prices, and circulation data.
• Marketing Resource Center is a site that focuses on marketing and the internet.
• STAT-USA is the Internet source for business and economic information produced by the Federal Government. STAT-USA gathers information from over 50 Federal agencies and distributes from a central source. STAT-USA includes U.S. economic data & release calendars, exchange rates, industrial data, and consumer credit reports. Its international side includes trade opportunity leads, international industry reports, market analysis, imports, exports, and guides for U.S. companies doing business in different countries.

Annual Reports and Corporate Filings

• Annual Report Gallery lists Annual Reports published on the internet. The database currently links to the reports of over 2000 companies, including most of the Fortune 500. Also includes links to services that compile international Annual Reports.
• Annual Report Service will mail (postal mail) copies of annual reports of a large group of companeis free of charge.
• Carol is service which provides financial statements and excerpts from annual reports for major European companies. In some cases, Carol links users directly to corporate home pages. Files may be saved as html.
• GuideStar provides financial data on non-profit organizations in the U.S. The database contains information on 850,000 IRS-recognized non-profit organizations. Search by organization name or use an advanced search to identify non-profits in certain geographic locations and categories, and of certain types and sizes.
• Multex Investor provides company snapshots, free real-time stock (and major U.S. index) quotes, price charts, and articles from PRN and BW newswire services. It also provides user with stockscreening tools and industry, sector, and company rankings (biggest movers) on over 10,000 equities trading on the NYSE, Nasdaq, AMEX, and OTC Bulletin Board. Detailed financials & ratios are available. Contains First Call earnings estimates and surprises.
• PRARS provides a free mailing service. Hard copies of including annual reports, prospectuses or 10k’s on over 3,600 public companies will be mailed by this service without charge to the investing public. Includes “Security Traders Handbook” designed to give investors the information needed to make intelligent financial decisions. Ranks common stocks by popularity.
• SEDAR WEB SITE provides annual reports for Canadian companies in English & French. Most reports are in .pdf format, although some are in Microsoft Word or Word Perfect.

Banking and Financial Resources

• Bank Rate Monitor provides current average rates on: loans, mortgages, and savings deposits, as well as the discount rate, prime rate, and some treasury rates. Also contains a loan payment calculator.
• Banking studies small business lending in the U.S. The Office of Advocacy annually analyses call report data collected by the Federal Reserve on the lending activity of about 9,000 individually reporting commercial banks. Banks are ranked based on their small business lending on a state-by-state basis.
• FRED provides historical U.S. economic and financial data, including daily and monthly U.S. interest rates, T-bill rates, monetary and business indicators, historical exchange rates for over 30 currencies, and regional economic data for Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee. Also includes online publications: U.S. Financial Data & National Economics Trends.
• U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation provides information on the U.S. banking industry, consumer information, and press releases. Includes full text of a variety of FDIC research reports.

Corporate Databases

• American Hospital Directory contains information on U.S. hospitals. Search the “Free Services” database by geographic location, name, area code, etc. for a list of hospitals that meet your criteria. Information on hospitals includes type of ownership, number of beds (total and by service), financial data, utilization statistics, and charges for specific services.
• Europages-European Business Directory Contains contact information on Western and Eastern European companies. Search by company name or product/service.
• Hoover’s Online provides profiles for over 10,000 companies. Search company by name, ticker symbol, keyword search, or industry. Full Access is subscription based. More limited company reports are available for free.
• JobWeb: Employer Profiles is published by The National Association of Colleges and Employers which describes various employers and provide links to their home pages.
• Thomas Register allows users to search by product name for U.S. public and private manufacturers. Includes over 60,000 product heading categories and over 5500 on-line supply catalogs.
• Vault Reports provides 2-3 page employer snapshots for 1000 U.S. companies. Reports are sent to users via e-mail. Free information is also available in a career advice column and a diversity forum. 50-70 page reports on employers are available for a fee. Information in these reports is provided by current and former employees, and covers areas such as corporate culture, salaries, career ladders, the recruiting process, and more. Free previews to these reports are available.
• Websense Company Locator provides a Company Site Locator which allows users to find private and public companies’ websites worldwide. When using search engine, type a complete, partial, or specific domain name under Company Name.
• WetFeet Press provides free online profiles of major consulting and finance companies. Profiles created by the companies themselves include recruiting, company, career, and corporate culture information. More in depth reports, with anecdotes and comments from insiders, are available for a fee; for companies in the finance, consulting, high tech, and brand management industries.

Management

• A Business Researcher’s Interests is a searchable knowledge map of Contemporary Business, Management and Information Technology issues. It provides access to hundreds of full-text papers, magazines & journals, case studies and tools, and thousands of online resources on some of the current issues of interest to Business, Technology & Information professionals.
• The web site of the Conference Board provides a searchable database of management and economic research and forecasts.
• The catalog to Harvard Business School’s case studies is now available online. Search by company name or management concept to find appropriate cases. Catalog access is free; cases cost an average of $5 each. Ordering can be done online.

Statistics

• Bureau of Labor Statistics provides data and information on consumer and producer prices, employment and unemployment, occupational compensation, workplace injuries and illness, employee benefits, and productivity.
• FedStats provides statistical data generated by many different U.S. Government agencies. Statistics on interest rates, inflation rates, and wages are available as are those on breastfeeding, education, consumer credit, and many more. Key agencies included are BEA, BLS, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Bureau of Transportation, Bureau of the Census, EIA, OMB, and more.
• FRED provides historical U.S. economic and financial data, including daily and monthly U.S. interest rates, T-bill rates, monetary and business indicators, historical exchange rates for over 30 currencies, and regional economic data for Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee. Also includes online publications: U.S. Financial Data & National Economics Trends.
• Governments on the WWW is a meta site linking to official government web sites for over 200 countries. Many of the sites it links to are in local languages.
• IMF Staff Country Reports in Full-Text are statistical reports covering IMF member countries. Coverage is 1997 – present. Data is extensive in fiscal and economic areas and textual analysis of country economic developments is sometimes available. The IMF main site also provides access to quarterly and weekly reports, as well as working papers, on the IMF’s efforts and the status of the global economy.
• Infonation is a statistical service provided by the UN. Includes about 50 demographic, economic, and social indicators for member nations. Does not include time series data, but rather the most recent data published by the UN.
• NAA.org, the web site of the Newspaper Association of America, provides historical quarterly newspaper advertising expenditures and ad volume. It also provides readership information, average newspaper prices, and circulation data. Click a category for links to data in that category.
• The Securities Industry Association (SIA), established in 1972, brings together more that 600 securities firms to accomplish common goals. Their website includes several of the association’s publications, including securities industry trends, statistics, financial results and free newsletters. This website also includes SIA’s job bank and career resource center.
• Statistics Canada includes recent economic statistics, data highlights of news releases, and census data. Statistics Canada is mandated under the Statistics Act to produce and publish statistical information on the economic, social, and general conditions of Canada and its population. Available in English and French.
• Statistics Norway contains press releases, monthly statistics on external trade, the index of production, and CPI monthly (1930-present).
• STAT-USA is the Internet source for business and economic information produced by the Federal Government. STAT-USA gathers information from over 50 Federal agencies and distributes from a central source. STAT-USA includes U.S. economic data & release calendars, exchange rates, industrial data, and consumer credit reports. Its international side includes trade opportunity leads, international industry, market analysis, imports, exports, and guides for U.S. companies doing business in different countries.
• UN Statistics Division provides a variety of types of demographic data for all of the countries in the U.N. Some parts of the site are fee-based, but several are free.
• United Nations has news, publications information resources, and documents. It offers information on peace and security, economic and social development, international law, human rights, and humanitarian affairs worldwide.
• World Bank includes a compendium of socioeconomic and environmental data. It contains press releases, speeches, and media contacts on various topics ranging from HIV/AIDS to business products and services.

Telephone Directories

• ATT 800# Look up toll-free numbers anywhere in the U.S. Search by category, state, city, business name–or any combination–to get to the listings you need. Updated twice each month. Reverse phone number search available.
• InfoSpace allows you to search for people, businesses, e-mail, government offices, fax numbers, toll-free, reverse lookup, and more.
• Super Pages is a directory of businesses. Contains links to web sites, where applicable and links to street maps of areas surrounding businesses. Search by company name or business category. Super Pages also contains listings for 100 million U.S. residences. It also contains a Canadian yellow page directory.
• Switchboard is a free nationwide residential and business directory. Look up people by last name, first name, city, state, or any combination of these. It provides addresses and telephone numbers of individuals listed.
• Infobel World provides links to online telephone, fax, and business directories from around the world.
• Yahoo People Search! is an online directory which allows users to search for people and companies via White Pages, Yellow Pages, and an AT&T Toll Free listing. Users can also perform advanced E-mail searches here. Maps/Directions available.

Demographics

• Access to U.S. Demographic Data provides links to a variety of demographic analysis tools.
• American Demographics publishes its print edition on the web in full-text access. Users are asked to browse the site and to subscribe to the print edition if they want to continue using it. Also contains access to Marketing Tools articles, recent demographic reports, and a bookstore of American Demographics’ publications.
• Asian Demographics provides socio-economic data for 14 Asian countries. Most data is for paid subscribers, however summary data is available under the Country data section. It also contains information on the population, consumer expenditures, education, labor, GDP, tourism, transportation, and communications data of Asian countries.
• FedStats provides statistical data generated by many different U.S. Government agencies. Statistics on interest rates, inflation rates, and wages are available as are those on breastfeeding, education, and consumer credit. Key agencies included are BEA, BLS, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Bureau of Transportation, Bureau of the Census, EIA, OMB, and more.
• Infonation is a statistical service provided by the UN. Includes about 50 demographic, economic, and social indicators for member nations. Does not include time series data, but rather the most recent data published by the UN.
• MABLE/Geocorr engine provides cross reference information for researchers converting data from one geographic area to another (e.g. counties to zip codes, congressional districts to metropolitan areas, etc.)
• Penn World Tables provides data on all countries on a variety of government finance, consumption/production, and investment indicators. Data is annual in most cases. Penn World Tables are provided by Computing for the Humanities and Social Sciences (CHASS) at the University of Toronto.
• Statistics Norway contains press releases, monthly statistics on external trade, the index of production, and CPI monthly (1930-present). Also includes a variety of demographic data. Pages are available in Norwegian and English.
• UN Statistics Division provides a variety of types of demographic data for all of the countries in the U.N. Some parts of the site are free-based, but several are free.
• U.S. Census Bureau: Official Statistics is the most authoritative site for economic and demographic data on the population of the United States.

Internet and E-Commerce Resources

• Business 2.0 is a magazine that examines the changing landscape for commerce in the digital world. It puts its magazine on its web site in full-text format and supplements content with articles from other sources. The in-depth “case” studies of internet and high-tech businesses are particularly valuable tools for entrepreneurs.
• Catherwood Library Guide to E-Commerce is a guide that provides links to e-commerce resources on international commerce, technology, and legal issues. It also links to online journals and newspapers, industry and association guides, and government policy pages. It is maintained by Cornell’s own Catherwood Library in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
• E-Commerce Times publishes current news for the internet industry. Known for its regular industry news updates (every 15 minutes).
• e-lab: The Electronics Commerce Research Laboratory is a corporate-sponsored research center at Vanderbilt University devoted to the study of strategic, consumer behavior, and policy issues related to electronic commerce. Recent report topics include the digital divide, online advertising pricing models, and consumer contro in the online environment. E-lab publishes its research findings full text on this site.
• ebusinessforum.com is the EIU’s center for information on E-commerce worldwide. It provides news and reports on the state of e-commerce in many countries as well as best practices reports and “thought leadership” articles, which provide analysis of the industry.
• Epaynews – ePayment Resource Center publishes articles, white papers, and statistics on the electronic payment industry, which has been spurred by the growth in e-commerce.
• Nua Internet Surveys provide articles on the demographics of internet use. Click on a category (e.g. seniors, teens) in the left margin to find information on the trends in that group’s internet usage patterns. Users can also search the archives for articles on a specific topic about internet use.

Entrepreneurship

• America’s Business Funding Directory provides information about methods of seeking different forms of capital in order to operate a business. It also provides lenders/investors with information on how they could get in contact with those who are seeking money. In addition, it contains a library resource on foreign trade, government information, business education, etc.
• Entrepreneur Magazine provides an online site featuring many articles from the print magazine as well as other resources for entrepreneurs. Users can searched archived full-text articles from 1991 – present using keywords. . The site ranks the hottest 100 new businesses, 100 best banks for small business, and best cities for small business. It provides entrepreneurship tips, and features a Franchise Opportunity guide, which includes 500 franchises & rankings of the best new, fastest growth, and low investment franchises). The site also discusses trends in entrepreneurship, , and provides EASI geographic economic reports. 75 entrepreneurs (now millionairs) tell their stories at this site. A library of free business forms is also available. It also contains information on legal help such as, assistance with searching for lawyers, help with documents, previous court cases, etc. Membership is FREE.
• Smart Online provides free online software for creating business plans, marketing plans, etc. Users can also download HR documents, accounting forms, and a variety of legal forms. Registration is required, but is free.

Industry & Market Research

• Industry Research Desk contains an index of links to industry home pages. Content of the pages vary, but may include the following: descriptions of industry trends, industry-related articles, rankings, statistics, and directories of buyers, sellers, and industry members.
• Industry information: industrial and service center resources from ITA. is a U.S. International Trade Administration site which provides descriptions of and statistics on U.S. and international industries. It encompasses a broad range of industries that include basic industries, consumer goods, environmental technologies, service industries and finance, tourism, technology and aerospace industries, and textiles and apparel.
• Thomas Register is a directory of manufacturers. Users can search by product type for a list of manufacturers in the industry (includes brief descriptions). Users may also search by company or brand name.
• The Gallup Organization freely provides much of their polling results online. Includes public opinion on social issues, business, politics, and technology. Contains survey results on respondent’s health habits, recreation and leisure time, and attendance at arts and cultural events.
• J.D. Power and Associates provides free access to part of its market research online. Contains annual award reports for the automotive, telecommunications, credit card, and travel industries, and provides access to a searchable database of statistical and descriptive excerpts from its annual studies.
• Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) is a triennial survey of the balance sheet, pension, income, and other demographic characteristics of U.S. families. The survey also gathers information on the use of financial institutions. The links to the surveys provide summary results of the surveys, codebooks and related documentation, and the publicly available data.

Journals and Newspapers

• Advertising Age publishes the full-text of recent top stories from it’s print publication. It has an Interactive Daily, which contains articles about web marketing and critiques of web marketers. It contains rankings of global marketers. Marketing and web marketing conference and event calendars are posted.
• Adweek provides free article excerpts as well as the full-text of one feature story from each of its three major print publications: Adweek, Brandweek, and Mediaweek. The site also posts daily internet marketing newswires and spotlights various brand marketing campaigns.
• American Demographics publishes it’s print edition on the web in full-text access. Users are asked to browse the site and to subscribe to the print edition if they want to continue using it. Also contains access to Marketing Tools articles, recent demographic reports, and a bookstore of American Demographics’ publications.
• Business 2.0 is a magazine that examines the changing landscape for commerce in the digital world. It puts its magazine on its web site in full-text format and supplements content with articles from other sources. The in-depth “case” studies of internet and high-tech businesses are particularly valuable tools for entrepreneurs.
• Business Week gives you the current issue of Business Week including stories that only appear in Business Week International editions.
• CIO On-Line is a website for senior level IT and business professionals. It provides in-depth articles and research reports on IT issues, including year 2000, web-related issues, electronic commerce, data warehousing, outsourcing, etc. It includes the full-text of CIO’s articles from 1994 to the present.
• The Economist web site offers many full text articles from the current issue and selected articles from recent issues. Registered users (registration is free) may search the site’s index of archived articles. The site posts Emerging Markets Indicators, Economic Indicators, and Financial Indicators on a weekly basis. Users can have the Business & Politics This Week summaries sent to them via E-mail.
• Elsevier’s Econbase is a searchable database of articles from many of Elsevier’s publications, including the Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Financial Markets, European Economic Review, and about 35 others. Select full-text is available to the Cornell Community only.
• Entrepreneur Magazine provides an online site featuring many articles from the print magazine as well as other resources for entrepreneurs. Users can searched archived full-text articles from 1991 – present using keywords. The site ranks the hottest 100 new businesses, 100 best banks for small business, and best cities for small business. It provides entrepreneurship tips, and features a Franchise Opportunity guide, which includes 500 franchises & rankings of the best new, fastest growth, and low investment franchises). The site also discusses trends in entrepreneurship, and provides EASI geographic economic reports. 75 entrepreneurs (now millionairs) tell their stories at this site. A library of free business forms is also available.
• Euromoney provides full-text articles from recent issues of Euromoney, Euroweek, Corporate Finance, Global Investor, Project & Trade Finance Newsletter. It also contains a data section which contains bondware tables, country risk surveys, and emerging markets bank ratings. Search for articles by keyword or category. Access to some parts of the site is restricted to registered users; registration is free.
• Far Eastern Economic Review includes significant portions of the journal online in full-text format. It also provides a searchable archive of past issues.
• FT.com provides the full-text of about 1/3 of the current day’s issue of Financial Times. It contains a searchable archive of 30 days. It also provides exchange rates, share prices, equity index prices, company briefings, and leading economic indicator data for several countries. Free registration is required.
• Forbes covers the current issue plus older ones in their archives. Also includes the 500 Largest Private Companies and The 200 Best Small Companies in America.
• Fortune covers the current issue plus older ones in their archives. Also includes the Fortune 500 List, Gloabl 500 List, Pacific Rim Special, and Investor’s Guide 1997.
• Globe & Mail provides users with various topics of information including news, sports, classifieds, mutual funds, advertising information, births and deaths, etc. It also includes daily closing markets data. Allows users to generate stock reports, produce charts, search for articles, learn about mutual funds, and how to set up a fundlist.
• Harvard Business Review provides free abstracts and ordering information for recent articles.
• INC Online is a journal which contains articles on-line. It covers areas including advertising, marketing, products, and consulting. It also includes The INC 500 which provides users with information on American’s fastest-growing private companies. It contains the latest news, product announcements, employment opportunities, and more.
• International Business & Technology is a meta-index that links to U.S. and international e-journals & newspapers, T.V. and radio sites, technology-related sites, banks, currency sites, and market information.
• Investor’s Business Daily covers business, financial, economic, and national news.
• Kiplinger Online provides users with information on business forecast, personal finance, stock quotes, top funds, yields and rates, and retirement advice. It also includes information on savings and investing, fund-raisings, and allowances for kids.
• MarketScope provides historical quarterly newspaper advertising expenditures and ad volume. It also provides readership information, average newspaper prices, and circulation data.
• New York Times on the Web provides subscribers with the latest news online. News is broken down into various categories including International, Metro, Sciences, Business, etc. Includes weather forecasts, up-to-minute sports scores and summaries, and market quotes for stocks, options, and mutual funds.
• Red Herring provides business information for the technology and entertainment industries.
• USA Today provides general news as well as Wall Street market summaries, global market news, mutual fund reports, economic reports, bank rates, and IPO’s.
• Washington Post provides feature articles from its print edition, as well as additional online features.

Here are some benefits to trademarking your brand name:

• If your copyright is infringed, you now have the right to sue in federal court.
• By the same token, you limit your ability to be sued.
• You will have evidence of ownership, and sometimes your name is your most valuable asset.
• Your registration can be filed with U.S. Customs Service to prevent importation of infringing foreign goods – that is huge!
• You will be able to have a small “tm” placed after your logo or design to signify that this is your trademark and that others can not use it. This adds a sense of professional to your clients.

Overall, it’s simply a good idea to do so.  For more information, or to get the ball rolling with TM registration, visit the USPTO.  Class dismissed.