GENERAL INFORMATION

AllBusiness: Champions of Small Business

The "Business Advice" section provides hundreds of how-to articles, expert advice, and downloadable (for a fee) business forms and agreements.

AskNow

AskNow provides immediate and reliable information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through live, online chat with business librarians throughout California. From the convenience of your home or office, you can obtain quick answers to your questions. This service is also available in Spanish.

Business.com - Small Business

This subset of the meta site business.com provides extensive links to Small Business categories, including business plans, managing growth, franchising, minority-owned businesses, family-owned businesses, women-owned businesses, etc.

Business Nation

The site contains a comprehensive Small Business Resource Directory, including Web site links, entrepreneur resources, small business news, and much more.

Business: The Business Gateway to Federal Resources

Developed and maintained by the U.S. Small Business Administration, this is a one-stop portal to any kind of Federal form or information that a small business owner needs to access; the topics range from Federal government services (including training and financial assistance) to applicable laws and regulations.

CCH Business Owner’s Toolkit

Downloadable checklists, model business plans, forms, and other documents are available here free of charge.

California Businesses for Sale

Businesses for sale in California can be identified by type of business, geographic area, date, cost, and keyword.

California Business Portal

This guide to starting a business in California is maintained by the Secretary of State; it is available in English and Spanish.

Digital Commerce Center

The site contains online resources for entrepreneurs and small business owners, and archives The Entrepreneur's Notebook, a column sponsored by EC2 and published weekly in the Los Angeles Business Journal.

eVenturing

There is a “world of resources” including articles and research links here, divided into the broad categories of Starting Your Business, Growing Your Business, and Supporting Entrepreneurship.

Fambiz

This site tailors its information to family-owned and closely owned companies, covering such topics as sibling rivalry and inter-generational issues.

HealthCoverageGuide.org

From the California Healthcare Foundation, this site provides "independent, unbiased information" to help "small business owners in California" decide whether to offer health insurance to employees and to choose the best plan for their company and employees. It includes legal considerations, who is eligible for coverage, and a step-by-step planning guide for setting up a business health plan.

HowStuffWorks

Part of the award-winning HowStuffWorks destinatiuon site, this is an unusual resource for anyone who wants to know how different aspects of business work, from E-commerce to banner ads.

Peerspectives

The Edward Lowe Foundation champions the entrepreneurial spirit by encouraging "second-stage" business owners to peer network and take their company to the next level. A second-stage business is past the start-up stage but not yet professionally managed

SCORE: Counselors to America’s Small Business

The Service Corps of Retired Executives gives small business owners free guidance in establishing and maintaining successful enterprises. The Web site offers disaster advice; locations of local chapters; links to calculators, free software, business plans, trade shows, and other business resources; news and informational articles; and free, confidential counseling by e-mail and in person. Counselors representing more than 600 skills are available to assist in locating investors, setting goals, veterans’ business issues, and other matters.

Small Business Advisor

Templates for Your Business

An online gallery of templates used by small businesses, such as business plans and bank loan requests, created by the Seattle, Washington chapter of SCORE.

Welcome Business USA

Practical hands-on, how-to’s, and ideas for operating a small business are gathered here.