Resources & Links
A VC
www.avc.blogs.com
Fred's probably the smartest VC in the business. He's always got great information and a thoughtful take on the best ways to grow your business.
Feld Thoughts
www.feld.com
Brad's been on both sides of the table. He started his first business while still in college (and sold that for millions) and has never looked back. He knows more about technology, and technology start-ups, than anyone I know.
Brianstorms
www.brianstorms.com
Brian blogs life as an entrepreneur. Too many entrepreneurs toil in isolation. Brian's a smart guy with real world stories.
VentureBlog
www.ventureblog.com
A great resource for understanding the mind(s) of Silicon Alley VCs.
BurnhamsBeat
www.billburnham.blogs.com
Burnham's yet another great investor who knows technology stone cold.
EntreWorld: Resource for Entrepreneurs
www.entreworld.org
The Kauffman Foundation's one-stop resource for entrepreneurs. Should be on every small-company CEO's favorites list.
OnlyOnce
www.onlyonce.blogs.com
Matt's take on being a CEO. He's a great writer and yet another person to break the isolation of running your own company.
Seth's Blog
www.sethgodin.typepad.com
Seth is brilliant. He's an entrepreneur, a writer, a speaker and, in his own parlance, a Purple Cow. Required reading for anyone interested in attracting and retaining customers.
Business Plan Writing
www.businessplans.org
This is a site developed by the Moot Corp Business Plan Competition offering sample business plans and guidelines for developing a complete plan.
"Note on Business Model Analysis for the Entrepreneur"
www.harvard.edu
This Harvard Business article provides some excellent insight into some of the main drivers of the success of your business. However, Harvard will charge you to read it, as any good business school would.
Small Business Advisory Practice
www.sbap.org
This free site offers advice and tutorials on topics such as cash flow management, financial modeling, valuation, and taxes.
"Bootstrapping Tactics: A Bootstrapper's Primer"
www.inc.com This 1995 Inc. Article provides some good insight into how to effectively bootstrap your business.
Riding the American Dream: The Official Story of Excelsior-Henderson Motorcycles
www.ridingtheamericandream.com
This book was written by Dan Hanlon, founder of Excelsior-Henderson in the mid-1990's. Although this company eventually failed, it is a compelling story from a human interest and business perspective and covers a wide array of strategy and other issues that all entrepreneurs must deal with, providing many lessons learned along the way. Plus, it's about motorcycles, which are way more interesting than fast-food or mega-retail stores.
Low Risk, High Reward
www.lowrisk-highreward.com
This book was written by seasoned entrepreneur Robert Reiss, who addresses entrepreneurship from the perspective of minimizing the risk involved. The book provides some basics that are important to any business.
Small Business Administration
www.sbaonline.gov
The SBA website provides a vast array of information pertinent to small business, including the latest news, legal and regulatory information, and details on SBA loan programs. The site also provides advice on financing, management and other relevant small business topics.
Business Week Small Business
www.businessweek.com
This site is an excellent resource for relevant current articles regarding small business.
Easidemographics
www.easidemographics.com
Check out this website if you need to do demographic research: it offers demographic information down to the specific neighborhood. Some information is gratis, and some you will have to pay for.
Industry Trade Associations
www.dir.yahoo.com
If you are looking to find out information on a specific industry, a good place to start is this listing of industry trade associations.
Recommended Links
Knowledge@Wharton
Check out the marketing section of the Web site for the Wharton School of Business. Much useful information, including links to other sites including The Academy of Marketing Science, the Journal of Marketing Research and the Association for Consumer Research.