Resources for Women Entrepreneurs

	"Anything women do, they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily this is not difficult."
FUNDING / GRANTS BOTTOM LINE MODEL Your Career - Online Resume and Search Engines

FIRST OF ALL - ABOUT MONEY The best response I have ever heard to this kind of assertion - "no business case" - is from a stock analyst friend of mine: a gravel pit can be a great business, and so is a grocery store.
Great businesses are the result of great business people, and those who are looking for a business case are probably insufficiently lazy or creative to be successful at ANY business.

Second of all . . Make sure your credit report is clean.

Everyone is now entitled to receive 1 free copy of their credit report. No Not really . . .

TransUnion
report internet fraud or request your credit report
President Harry Gambill
2 Baldwin Place
1510 Chester Pike
Cromlyn, PA
Director of Customer Service Mary Lane 610-546-4600 EXT: 52636
Sales 610-690-3175

See ChoicePoint provides public records information about a person, asset or location, a company spokesperson said. The information can include current and former addresses, property ownership records and bankruptcy, lien or judgment information.

Women CEOs for FORTUNE 500 Companies

WIN, the Greater Philadelphia region's organization for women who are leaders and supporters of high-growth, entrepreneurial businesse
The WIN Mission is to provide education, networking and mentoring opportunities to leaders and supporters of high-growth businesses. The depth of the WIN network comes from the success of our members and their collective commitment to build an organization that attracts women-led businesses and enhances their opportunities for growth.
WIN P.O. Box 543 Pottstown, PA 19464 Ph(484) 945-2108 F (610) 970-7520
admin@winwomen.org

BUSINESS PLANS:

First of all site know the language a dictionary with 20,000 business-related definitions.

IF YOU ARE ALREADY IN BUSINESS FOR YOURSELF YOU'LL WANT THESE 101 ESSENTIAL FREELANCE RESOURCE LINKS.

Should you be a For Profit or Should you be a Non Profit Organization?

What is the 990-PF:
1. The annual tax return that U.S. private foundations file with the IRS

Public information Available:

2. Why important:
May be only source where you can find complete grants list, particularly for smaller and mid-sized foundations
Larger foundations often issue annual reports and/or have Web sites which contain this information
3. Information included: Financial data, Application guidelines, Names of foundation’s board/officers/trustees, Complete list of grants awarded
4. Currency: Typically one to two years behind
5. Accessibility via the Web in PDF format:
Foundation Finder or 990 PF Search at http://lnp.fdncenter.org/finder.html
GuideStar at · http://www.guidestar.org/

Grantsmart at · http://www.grantsmart.org/

6. Finding the information you need on a 990-PF:
Page 1, top section & line 25: Date, name, address, assets, grants paid
Page 6, Part VIII, line 1: List of board/officers/trustees*
Page 9, Part XV, line 2, a, b c, d: Application information*
Page 10, Part XV, line 3: Grants paid*
*Often you will be referred to supplementary pages at the end of the form for this information. For example, "See Statement 6, 8, etc."
7. Excellent tutorial at http://fdncenter.org/learn/demystify/index.html

BIZ PLAN WEBSITES

"Because I'm a strong minded women, who rides a bycicle and wants the vote" ~ from Goodby Mr. Chips.

http://www.businessinsight.org/ This Internet tool is designed to provide you with a FREE sample analysis of a marketing strategy for your product or service. This online sample will ask 30 fairly generalized questions designed to allow the program logic to make inferences about how you would probably have answered hundreds of more detailed questions. When you are done, the software will create an industry model based on the inferred answers, apply thousands of rules against that model and return a high-level, summary analysis.

More Business - Business Resource Center
Virtual BizPlan Business Plan Consulting Firm - virtual business plan
Do You Need a Business Plan?and specifically Bplans.com: Business Plans and Marketing Plans -- Free Samples and Interactive Tools
SBA – Starting Your Business – Business Plans
http://www.sbaonline.sba.gov/starting/indexbusplans.html
Business Planning http://eweb.slu.edu/businessplan.htm
A directory of well-annotated and rated web-based resources geared toward teaching students how to develop commercially viable business plans. It is organized into the following categories:
Business Plan Advice
Feasibility Analysis Advice
Business Plan Financial Calculations
Example Business Plans
Netpreneur Exchange.. Advertising & Marketing
Writing a Business Plan - BusinessTown
Business Planning Software
Dotcom Business Plans Gathered in Archives
A collaborative effort of Webmergers.com and University of Maryland Robert H Smith School of Busines, ALSO FIND PowerPoint presentations and audio files.

BOOKS:

*Small Business Management: An Entrepreneur's Handbook by Megginson, Byrd and Messinson.
*Kim M. Bayne: Book: The Internet Marketing Plan -- a practical handbook for creating, implementing and assessing your online presence

SOFTWARE:

Business Plan Pro by Palo Alto Software .
Their site, also has some example business plans to look at as well.

WEB SITES:

Small Business Administration
Find and use Free Legal Forms
Why you should not use Free Legal Forms
USA Government Grants For Women-2007
Women Owned
Advancing Women
Forum for Women Entrepreneurs
Global Funding Community
Online Women's Business Center
Organization of Women in International Trade
The Enterprise Development Website Women and Enterprise Development
Webmergers.com -- Here's the source of data, analysis and services for buyers and sellers of Web-related properties. Before making any moves, check out the Watch List to see whose IPO is on hold, who is laying off and who is pulling the plug. However, this list and the entire site looks like it should be updated more often. Webmergers offers various programs to sellers as well as calculator tools designed to help you put a value on your Web business. Potential buyers or partners can be notified via email when a business is for sale or in need.
Geographical (GIS) Software to calculate distances, Choose "Routes", enter begin point and end point, you can make other refinements like fastest route etc. It will tell you how long, how far, how many turns, and gives directions in text form. Very handy when you realize you forgot to log your mileage and your travel claim is due!
Social Security Administration has set up a site for women only.

Note: some links won't work - they get old and go offline

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES

Researching Competitors
www.mediafinder.com
http://www.emarketer.com
http://www.thestandard.com
http://www.gvu.gatech.edu/gvu/user_surveys/others
http://www.internettrafficreport.com/
http://www.loc.gov/rr/business/ecommerce/inet-business.htm

3rd party certification that your company is a woman-owned business.

1) The small business administration
2) The Women's Business Enterprise National Council
3) Women's Business Center
4) The Small Business Administration's Women-Owned Business Center
5) Ellyn McKay in the Women's Business Enterprise National Council
ellynmckay@erols.com
Patricia White in SBA's Office of Federal Contract Assistance for Womens Business Owners patricia.white@sba.gov

BUSINESS REFERENCE, RESEARCH, PUBLICATIONS

Inc.Com http://www.inc.com/
Inc. Com’s focus is providing information on how to start and manage small businesses. Their site content can be accessed through two main menus:

Company Functions: these address organizational topics such as marketing or human resources.
Business Challenges: these address specific tasks that are necessary to the success of the business such as Increasing Sales or Raising Capital.
A full listing of any of these content categories may be accessed through a site view menu located at the bottom of every Inc.Com page. A key word search engine to site content is also provided.

Entrepreneur Magazine http://www.entrepreneurmag.com/entrepreneur.hts
Entrepreneur Magazine is another publication with a website devoted to entrepreneurial and small business issues. The most current issue will be found on its home page. Each issue provides links to its feature articles as well as 7 other information channels such as Money, Technology or Management. Two drop-down menus are provided for locating past issues or cover stories. There is also a keyword search capability for site content.

Locating Other Business Oriented Online Media Content News Directory
(http://www.newsdirectory.com/ ) Browsable directory of over 16,000 links to online English content media such as newspapers and magazines. Relevant categories would be business newspapers and business magazines. The site allows searches for any publication by title and by area codes for newspapers only.

AJR Newslink http://ajr.newslink.org/
This site is sponsored by the American Journalism Review magazine and NewsLink Associates, an online research and consulting firm. It maintains over 9,000 links to online media content including newspapers and magazines. These sites can be accessed by browsing selected link subcategories such as Business / Professional magazines or by doing a keyword search of the AJR Newslink site. Searches of other news services or general search engines can also be done from the site’s Search page.

NewspaperLinks.Com http://www.newspaperlinks.com/
This is a search gateway to U.S. based local newspapers maintained by the Newspaper Association of America. Searches may be done by browsing state categories or by using specific place or publication names.

Business Oriented Search Resources
Internet search tools that specifically focus on locating business information. Some of these are described below. As with any Internet search tool, reading the help files that are provided is highly recommended in order to gain maximum benefit from its capabilities.
LiveLink Pinstrip http://pinstripe.opentext.com/
This is a searchable database of business oriented webpages that is being developed by the Open Text Corporation. It can be searched in one of three ways:

Slice Search: Conduct a keyword search based on a selection of "slices" or specific groupings of web pages such as those relating to Construction, Manufacturing or Waste Management.
Quick Search: Searches are based on one or more key words.
Power Search: Search terms can be combined using logical operators and the location of the search within the web page can be specified (e.g. Page titles).

Dow Jones Business Directory http://bd.dowjones.com/
This is a directory of reviewed business oriented web sites that is maintained by Dow Jones & Co., who is also the publisher of the Wall Street Journal. Sites are organized within 12 main categories such as Financial Markets, Law and Small Business and are evaluated on the basis of content, speed, navigation and design.

LSU – Subject Guides http://www.lib.lsu.edu/weblio.html#Business
This is a well-organized webliography of business information sources compiled by the Louisiana State University Library into 10 subtopics. A nice feature is a detailed explanation of how the Business webliography was developed. Browsing some of the other LSU library subject guide categories is also highly recommended.

SBDC Research Network http://www.smallbiz.suny.edu/Research_Network/research_network.html
This is a browsable directory of over 200 recommended business web sites organized within 20 categories by the New York State Small Business Development Center.

ASAE Gateway to Associations Online
http://www.asaenet.org/Gateway/OnlineAssocSlist.html
Search engine, provided by American Society of Association Executive, for locating the web sites of professional and trade associations. A search can be done by entering the name of the association or a category key word along with a geographic criterion if desired.

Usgovsearch http://usgovsearch.northernlight.com/publibaccess/
This search engine, operated by Northern Light, is the public access site for locating information on Federal government and military web sites. Searches are conducted using one or more keywords.

State Web Locator http://www.infoctr.edu/swl/
This site, maintained by the Center for Information Law and Policy, is a directory of key state web sites. Selecting a state link leads to a page listing the links for the state home page as well as the web pages for the executive and legislative branches and major state departments and agencies. There is also a link to the Center’s Federal Locator web site.

Biz Plan Mags and Pubs

www.mbemag.com Minority Business Entrepreneur
www.wfs.org
www.fastcompany.com
www.tsbj.com
http://www.internettrafficreport.com/
http://www.marketingtools.com

Sources of Statistical Data Sites

http://www.spss.com/
http://www.internetworld.com/daily/stats/index.html http://www.gvu.gatech.edu/user_surveys/survey-1996-04/
http://www.loc.gov/global/Internet/inet-stats.html
http://www.nua.net/surveys/
http://www.duke.edu/~mccann/q-mkting.htm
http://www.inktomi.com/new/press/billion.html
http://www.census.gov
http://www.nielsen.com
http://future.sri.com
http://www.adweek.com
www.ai.mit.edu
www.roper.com

Statistical Sources

http://www.lib.umich.edu/libhome/Documents.center/stats.html This site, which is managed by the University of Michigan Documents Center, is a comprehensive directory of Web accessible statistical data sources. These sources are classified into 24 categories such as Business and industry, Housing and Science. Clicking on any category link leads to a listing of links to specific statistical data sources along with brief descriptions of them. It should be noted that some of the listed statistical resources are available only to the University of Michigan users.

EconData.Net http://www.econdata.net/index.html
This site, which was developed by economic development consulting firms Andrew Reamer & Associates and Impresa, Inc., serves as a meta-index to regional economic data that is available on the Web. Information may be found in the following ways:
Two drop-down menus are provided for locating web sites based on either subject (e.g. Demographics) or data provider (e.g. Census). Clicking on a menu item leads to a page with appropriate annotated link listings.
A complete non-annotated listing of all links can be found under "Quick Links."
Link listings of sites with multiple data collections or the ten best data sites respectively are also provided.
A users guide to understanding and using regional economic data can be downloaded as a PDF file from this site.

FedStats http://www.fedstats.gov/
This is a Web based gateway to statistical data generated by more than 70 Federal agencies that is maintained by the Federal Interagency Council on Statistical Policy. There are several recommended research starting points:An A – Z listing of topical links to statistical data sources.A listing of data sources organized into 14 program areas such as Agricultural, Environment and Labor that can be accessed from the Programs navigation link.A drop down menu for locating state and county statistical profiles.There is also a site search capability based on title and keyword or full text searching. These searches can be restricted to a specific agency source.

Business Plan Organizations/Associations

www.wfs.org
www.usccsbi.com
www.tei.net/tei
Networking http://info.asaenet.org/gateway/OnlineAssocSlist.html

Getting Funding

Finance / VC Orgs
Venture Capital Firms and Angel Investment Groups in the Philly Region.
www.fed.org
www.sbsc.org
www.nvca.org

Finance / VC /Grant Sites
http://www.smallbusinesscenter.com/
http://www.businessfinance.com/statmenu.htm
http://www.business.gov/busadv/index.cfm
http://www.slu.edu/eweb/
http://www.ideacafe.com/getmoney/financing.html
www.moneyhunter.com
http://FinanceHub.com/vc
www.vfinance.com

Elevator Pitch

Everybody Needs an Elevator Pitch <http://executive.monster.com/tip/010801/>

The Art of the Elevator Pitch <http://www.seekingcapital.com/misc/elevator.cfm>

Site with pic of an elevator and three styles of live elevator pitch to choose from: <http://www.escador.com/eng/a1.html#>

A Detroit radio show with an Elevator Pitch Segment where you call in your pitch and they critique it: <http://www.digitaldetroit.org/web/dhour/tdh-elevaltor.html>
Their how-to guide
<http://www.digitaldetroit.org/web/dhour/tdh-how-to.html>

UK Pitch Battle
<http://www.unlimited-magazine.co.uk/unlimited_elevatorpitch/elevator.htm>

Grants & Resources for Women

Women Grants & Resources

A great pamphlet is available for download at the Queens Council on the Arts.

Bill Clarence will How To Locate Small Business Grants,Government Grants, and Other Grant Money.

Revenue Management

Tax Information
http://www.irs.gov/
http://www.tax.gov/

Pricing and Rates
http://www.wageweb.com/
http://www.realrates.com/

Money Management/Accounting
MM/Acc. Assoc./Orgs
www.edgar-online.com
www.aaa-edu.org
www.aicpa.org

MM/Acc. Websites
www.deloitte.com
www.arthurandersen.com
www.eyi.com
www.quicken.com

Insurance/Benefits
http://benefitslink.com/index.shtml
http://www.smallbusinesscenter.com/
www.iii.org

Transactional Management

eCommerce
http://sellitontheweb.com/ezine/opinion049.shtml
http://www.sellitontheweb.com/ezine/webstore101.shtml http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/server/commerce/cookbook.asp

http://sellitontheweb.com/ezine/opinion049.shtml
http://wilsonweb.com/
http://whatis.com/

Buying a Business
www.bixbuysell.com
Customers and Marketing
Marketing Resources Non-stat

Advertising

Advertising Assoc/Orgs
www.nasp.com

Advertising Sites
http://gmarketing.com/
http://advertising.utexas.edu/

Marketing Pubs/Mags
http://www.wdfm.com
http://www.adage.com
http://www.netb2b.com/
www.adage.com

Marketing Associations / Orgs

http://netpreneur.org/connect/am/webdevelopsummary.html http://199.171.55.3/womeninbusiness
www.the-dma.org
www.ama.org
http://www.aaaa.org
http://www.pizazzconsulting.com/internet_marketing_plan/imp_index.ht http://www.dcwebwomen.org/ubb/sig/Forum13/HTML/000008.html
http://www.freeagentnation.com/university/business.html#marketing