Chapter Overview
Proper planning for your Internet design, programming,
marketing or consulting business means thinking through the key elements that will lead
you to success. This chapter of The Geek's Guide covers everything from what to include in
your business plan, to choosing the legal form of your business, selecting an office
location and establishing your competitive advantage.
Links to resources relevant to this chapter.
Updated
04/24/08
AT&T Small Business Resources
http://home.bellsouth.net/s/s.dll?ep=3&only=y&ck=&ch=sm
Small business section of their site has special
offers and a portal of links to information of interest to small businesses.
U.S. Small Business Administration
www.sbaonline.sba.gov/starting/
A large site with a business plan tutorial and other basic business
startup and management information.
U.S. Treasury Home Page
www.treas.gov/site-index.html
The official word on the U.S. economy. Some small business
information on doing business with the federal government, and small business contacts.
IRS
http://www.irs.gov/sitemap/index.html
From the people who brought you the income tax. Forms, instructions,
and more than you ever wanted to know. This sitemap page is a good place to
start.
Inc. Magazine
www.inc.com
Inc. has done a great job with its site and offers a wealth of
searchable archives digging back into the magazine's past issues. A search on any
imaginable small business topic will yield fruitful results.
The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition
www.wsj.com/
Available by paid subscription, this is the online edition of the
world's leading source for daily business information. Non-subscribers have access to the
Small Business Suite section of the site.
American Express Small Business Exchange
http://www133.americanexpress.com/osbn/landing/informyourdecisions.asp
In addition to providing information on their services, this page
also has some great resources with information on starting and running a business. You can
ask them for advice, get tips from industry experts on taxes and other matters, browse
their online classifieds, and get pointers on creating an effective business plan.
Visa Small Business Site
www.visa.com/cgi-bin/vee/fb/smbiz/main.html?2+0
usa.visa.com/business/index.html
Links to sites with information about venture capital/finance,
resources, and other publications are provided.
TIME Magazine
www.time.com/time/business/
The Time Warner Pathfinder site mentioned in Chapter 3
no longer exists. Try the link above for Time's business coverage.
Microsoft Smallbiz
www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/hub.mspx
Resources for start-ups, sales and marketing, and financial aspects of
running a small business.
And another Microsoft business resource, for start-ups (with MasterCard)
- requires registration.
www.microsoft.com/SMALLBUSINESS/small-business-plus/startup_landing.aspx?lc=1033
Compuserve's PR & Marketing Forum
In operation since the 1980's, unfortunately now
completely defunct. The operators of this forum have moved it to Delphi
Forums (www.delphiforums.com)
where it is the MediaPro forum.
Unfortunately, it is of
limited value to web professionals. However, if you want to see a great model
for online community moderating in action, you can't beat the MediaPro
forum.
Though no longer available, the Compuserve forum was a great online resource for traditional marketing, advertising and
public relations professionals. The forum libraries held archives of the forum's occasional electronic
seminars, including one on writing business plans conducted by Linda Elkins. With the
permission of the forum sysops, two of Linda's checklists are included in the Geek's Guide
book.
The Silicon Valley Small Business Development Center
www.siliconvalley-sbdc.org
The Silicon Valley Small Business Development Center is sponsored by
the U.S. Small Business Administration, the California Trade and Commerce Agency, and the
West Valley-Mission Community College District. This site covers planning, financing and
marketing as well as a sample business plan. Still useful after all these
years!
Khera Communications
www.morebusiness.com
Basic business planning information.
The Entrepreneurship Centre, Ottawa, Canada
entrepreneurship.com
Quick guide to writing a business plan. Links to web based training
seminars. Lots of goodies here, eh?
The Geek's Guide to Internet Business Success
The Definitive Business Blueprint for Internet
Developers, Programmers, Consultants, Marketers and Service Providers
Author: Bob Schmidt
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 0471288381 |
