Small Business Start-Up: A PCL Pathfinder

If you are interested in starting a small business, chances are you will need to begin by writing a business plan. Information needs will include how to raise capital and finance your business, industry analysis, market research, advertising plans, and identifying trade shows and conventions within your industry. This guide introduces researchers to some of the basic informational sources on the topic. The terms and phrases listed in the subject headings below can be used to search for more materials in the library's catalog and research databases. If you need further assistance, please ask a librarian.

Business license

For a list of businesses required to have a license, call 517.373.9808 or go to http://medc.michigan.org/services/license/

Inc.com
http://www.inc.com
Inc.com, the website for Inc. magazine, delivers advice, tools, and services, to help business owners and CEOs start, run, and grow their businesses more successfully. You'll find information and advice covering virtually every business and management task, including marketing, sales, finding capital, managing people, and much, much more.

Register business name

To check on a business name go to http://www.cis.state.mi.us/bcs_corp/sr_corp.asp

Call the Kalamazoo County Clerk's office at 269.393.8840 and/or the State of Michigan Corporation Division at 417.341.9223 to see if you are required to register your businesse's name.

Michigan Economic Development Corporation -- Starting A Business in Michigan
A wealth of information on starting a business in Michigan.

SCORE Kalamazoo
http://www.scorekazoo.org

SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Business" is the best source of free and confidential small business advice to help you build your business—from idea to start-up to success. The SCORE Association, headquartered in Washington, D.C., is a nonprofit association dedicated to entrepreneurial education and the formation, growth and success of small businesses nationwide.

SCORE's extensive, national network of 10,500 retired and working volunteers are experienced entrepreneurs and corporate managers/executives. These volunteers provide free business counseling and advice as a public service to all types of businesses, in all stages of development. SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration .

Small Business Administration
http://www.sba.gov
The most comprehensive government web site for small business information.

Starting a Business in Michigan
http://medc.michigan.org/services/startups/?m=12;7
An excellent guide for those interested in starting a business in Michigan. From the Michigan Economic Development Corporation's web site. Includes a startup checklist.

Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial Ratios by Leo Troy. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1969– . Annual. ISSN: 07479107.
Provides financial ratios for companies in various asset ranges by SIC code. Data reported are based on aggregate numbers from IRS records.
[NOTE: We do not own this title. You may find it at the Kalamazoo Public Library, and at the Waldo Library at WMU.

Annual Statement Studies. Philadelphia: Robert Morris Associates, 1923– . Annual. ISSN: 15457699.
Contains composite financial data on various industries. Used to compare one company's performance relative to other companies in the same line of business.
[NOTE: We do not own this title. You may find it at the Kalamazoo Public Library, the Portage District Library, and at the Waldo Library at WMU.

Business Plans Handbook. Detroit: Gale Research, 1995– . Annual. ISSN: 10844473.
Compilation of actual business plans developed by small businesses throughout North America. 658.4 BUS

Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios. Murray Hill, NJ : Dun & Bradstreet, 1983– . Annual.
Includes financial norm and business ratio data developed from actual company income statements and balance sheets.
[NOTE: We do not own this title. You may find it at the Kalamazoo Public Library, and at the Waldo Library at WMU.

Small Business Sourcebook: The Entrepreneur's Resource. Detroit : Gale Research, 1983– . Annual. ISBN: 0787670154.
Lists associations, consultants, educational programs, franchisers, government agencies, reference works, statisticians, suppliers, trade shows, and venture capital firms for various types of small businesses.
[NOTE: We do not own this title. You may find it at the Kalamazoo Public Library, and at the Waldo Library at WMU.

Small Business State Profiles. Office of Advocacy, U.S. Small Business Administration. Available at www.sba.gov/ADVO/research/profiles/.
Includes basic information on the small business economy such as small business income, industry composition, number of firms, women and minority-owned firms, job creation, and banking information.

“The Myth of Free Government Money: A Perennial and Pernicious Scam. Why do so many entrepreneurs believe in the Tooth Fairy?” BusinessWeek, January 11, 2000. Available at www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/0001/sa000111.htm.

SBA Financing Center
www.sba.gov/financing/
Financing section of U.S. Small Business Administration site includes information on its various loan programs, forms, studies, workshops, shareware, and other resources.

Top 100 Venture Capital Firms/Entrepreneur Magazine
http://www.entrepreneur.com/vc100
Offers information about venture capital in addition to directory.

Venture Capital Resource Library
www.vfinance.com
Provides research, investment banking, brokerage, and trading services to more than 10,000 corporate, institutional, and private clients worldwide.

Barrons
http://www.barrons.com
Edited to contain in-depth analyses of how the capital markets impact on the future of business and government. Articles point out industrial developments and investment opportunities affecting the businessperson, the money manager, the investor, the advocate, and the consumer. Each issue contains corporate evaluations, financial columns, and a complete listing of economic indicators and market results.

Better Investing
http://www.better-investing.org/publications/
It is a monthly how-to magazine for people who want to learn how to become successful lifelong investors. It comes complete with investment principles to follow, tools to use to help find good companies at good prices, and even a support group - a community of other investors ready and willing to help you in your efforts to become a better investor.

Business Week
http://www.businessweek.com/
The world's most widely read business magazine, BusinessWeek is a vital resource for nearly 5.6 million readers worldwide who require insightful coverage and commentary to stay ahead of their competition. More up to date than the bi-weeklies, more thoughtful than the dailies, BusinessWeek takes readers inside critical business issues to give professionals the insight, information, and inspiration they need to make smarter decisions about business, finance, and their lives and careers.

Economist
http://www.economist.com
A weekly news and business publication written for top business decision-makers and opinion leaders who need a wide range of information and views on world events. It explores the close ties between domestic and international issues, business, finance, current affairs, science and technology. Published in London, England.

Enterprise. Kalamazoo Chamber of Commerce. Monthly.
http://www.kazoochamber.com
A monthly magazine for and about business in Southwest Michigan, which contains articles of interest to local entrepreneurs, and listings of area business seminars, training, and meetings. The Chamber's mission is "To help members grow and prosper through leadership, programs and services focused on competiveness, community improvement and regional cooperation."

Fast Company
http://www.fastcompany.com
Since 1995, Fast Company has been an informative and vital voice of the changing business industry. The monthly magazine is a beacon to new industries, especially those tied to the Internet, but offers more. Inside are smart attitudes and information that give entrepreneurs and business professionals the particulars of leadership and organization, no matter what the trade. Find key ingredients of working in teams or read a candid interview with the leaders of today's leading-edge companies. The magazine also offers practical business tools and tactics, from must-have gadgets to how to handle voluminous amounts of e-mail. Ideas come from Wall Street, Silicon Valley, Harvard, and even Las Vegas. The magazine dubbed the entrepreneurship and consulting movement "Free-Agent Nation," and overnight became the bible for those working for themselves. --Doug Thomas for Amazon.com

Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/
The hard-hitting journalism that you have come to expect from America's leading business magazine. Read more about Technology, Money & Investing, Market Trends, Portfolio Strategy, Entrepreneurs and Forbes Life. Supplements: FYI (quarterly)

Fortune
http://www.fortune.com
Just as Wall Street is an icon to the investment community, Fortune magazine is one to its readership, the difference being Fortune 's diversified reach into the many facets of business: technology, companies, global economics, and, of course, your personal fortune. While many a narrow-focused business and investing magazine has come and gone, Fortune has grown and prospered, investing as much in content as ad space and staying in print since the 1930s. Columns include features on the marketplace, tech movers and shakers, career trends, U.S. politics, and even European business. Readers also look forward to the annually updated Fortune lists, which include the "40 Richest Under 40," "Most Powerful Women," and the " Fortune 500," an exclusive collection of companies whose employees are undoubtedly Fortune readers as well. --Mace Bainwright for Amazon.com

Inc.: The Magazine for Growing Companies. Boston: United Marine, 1979– . Monthly.
http://www.inc.com
Delivers advice, tools, and services, to help business owners and CEOs start, run, and grow their businesses more successfully.

Mi Biz Southwest. Muskegon (Mich.): 1988- . Bi-monthly.
http://www.mibiz.com
Founded in 2001 by its editor/publisher, William R. Lowry, MiBizSouthwest today presents readers with an in-depth snapshot of the business scene throughout Southwest Michigan 26 times a year.

Smart Money
http://www.smartmoney.com
Smart Money is a personal business magazine edited for discriminating investors, featuring practical and imaginative ideas for investing, spending, and saving. Articles and features provide action-oriented information on investment opportunities and pitfalls. Editorial asks tough questions about the big names and big businesses that affect important personal business decisions.

Western Michigan Business Review
http://mbusinessreview.com
A "business to business" weekly paper, which examines how manufacturing, banking, construction, commercial real estate and other industries affect business in western Michigan.

Kalamazoo Public Library Business Collection
http://www.kpl.gov
The Kalamazoo Public Library has a large selection of reference and circulating materials to assist business owners and those seeking to start their own business.

Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center
www.misbtdc.org/region 11

Kalamazoo College
L. Lee Stryker Center
1327 Academy Street
Kalamazoo, MI 49006-3200
Phone: 269.337.7350
Fax 269.337.7352

Provides counseling, training, research, and advocacy for new ventures, existing small businesses and innovative technology companies.

Northside Economic Potential Group (NPEG)
http://www.nepg.org/

526 North Burdick Street
Kalamazoo, MI 49007
Phone: (269) 342-5655
Fax: (269) 342-6035

NEPG is an organization that was founded in the early 1990's by a group of civic and religious leaders who wanted to address the steady decline in population and neighborhood-based retail business in the Northside Neighborhood of Kalamazoo.

NEPG's mission is to restore economic vitality to the northside of Kalamazoo by providing training, economic and technical assistance to new and existing businesses, entrepreneurs and the self-employed. They offer training courses as well as micro-lending to graduates of their training courses.

Portage District Library Business Information Center
http://www.portagelibrary.info/BusinessCenter/Homepage.htm

300 Library Lane
Portage, MI 49002
Phone: (269) 329-4544

Procurement Technical Assistance Centers of Michigan
http://michigantac.org

Region 7: Mike Black & Janice Campbell
Southwest Michigan First
4717 Campus Drive
Kalamazoo, MI 49008
(269) 372-3941 Mike, (269) 372-3942 Janice
(269) 353-5569 fax

The Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) of Michigan are not-for-profit organizations funded by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and local funding partners. The PTACs support our national security by ensuring a broad base of capable suppliers for the defense industry and other agencies, thereby increasing competition, which supports better products and services at lower costs. The mission of the Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) of Michigan is to enhance national defense and economic development of the State of Michigan by assisting Michigan businesses in obtaining and performing on federal, state and local government contracts.

SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives)
http://www.scorekazoo.org

Phone: (269) 381-5382
Volunteers who provide free business counseling.

Southwest Michigan First
http://www.southwestmichiganfirst.com

Southwest Michigan First is an economic development organization providing business development, retention and attraction programs throughout Kalamazoo County. Southwest Michigan First provides entrepreneurs and established companies with a wide range of corporate business development services and support.

American Small Businesses Association (ASBA)
www.asbaonline.org
Advocacy group representing small business owners. Provides paid members with group benefits such as insurance, human resource benefits, and discounted services.

National Association for the Self Employed (NASE)
www.nase.org
Provides a broad range of benefits and support for self-employed and micro-businesses (up to ten employees).

Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE)
www.score.org
Nonprofit association funded by the SBA and dedicated to providing entrepreneurs with free, confidential face-to-face and e-mail business counseling.

Small Business Council of America (SBCA)
www.sbca.net
National organization representing the federal income and estate tax, pension, and other benefit interests of privately held and family owned businesses.
Kalamazoo contact: (269) 381-5382.

U.S. Small Business Administration
www.sbaonline.sba.gov
Its mission is to maintain and strengthen the nation's economy by aiding, counseling, assisting, and protecting the interests of small businesses and by helping families and businesses recover from national disasters.

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