LibGuides: Business: Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship Resources

Starting your own business requires lots of planning and research. You need information about your potential customers, what your competitors are doing, funding opportunities, and more. The resources on this page can help you get started. Here you will find links to useful websites, recommended books, and other helpful resources.

Web Resources

Business Owner's Toolkit
Provides basic information on all aspects of owning a business, from starting and planning to financing, marketing, and hiring for small business, as well as free downloads of customizable forms.
U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) continues to help small business owners and entrepreneurs pursue the American dream. The SBA is the only cabinet-level federal agency fully dedicated to small business and provides counseling, capital, and contracting expertise as the nation’s only go-to resource and voice for small businesses.
CO-- (U.S. Chamber of Commerce)
Designed for business owners, CO— is a site that connects like minds and delivers actionable insights for next-level growth. Provides guidance on starting, running, and growing a business.
Ohio Small Business Development Center
The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Program provides a variety of management assistance to existing and startup businesses. This is mainly accomplished through trainings, seminars and one-on-one counseling sessions. These services are offered at little or no cost to the client.

Books at Lakeland

Managing a Startup in the Digital Age by Howard A. Tullman
Call Number: HB615 .T85
A collection of Tullman's straightforward, plain-spoken principles which are crucial to hiring and managing a new start-up today in almost any technology-driven marketplace.
Business Creation: Ten Factors for Entrepreneurial Success by Paul D. Reynolds
Call Number: HB615 .R49
Presents an overview of the major factors associated with contemporary business creation, reflecting representative samples of U.S. early stage nascent ventures, and emphasizing the unique features of the two-fifths that achieve profitability.
Starting a Successful Business by Michael J. Morris
Call Number: HD62.5 .M677 2017
Contains the crucial, practical information needed to turn your exciting new idea into a stable and profitable business.
The Wiley Handbook of Entrepreneurship by Bailey Klinger (Editor); Tessa Karcisky (Editor); Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic (Editor); Görkan Ahmetoglu (Editor)
Call Number: Electronic Book
Provides a distinctive overview of methodological, theoretical and paradigm changes in the area of entrepreneurship research.

Web Resources

U.S. Patent & Trademark Office
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is the federal agency for granting U.S. patents and registering trademarks.
Google Patents
Search and read the full text of patents from around the world.
U.S. Copyright Office
the Copyright Office is responsible for administering a complex and dynamic set of laws, which include registration, the recordation of title and licenses, a number of statutory licensing provisions, and other aspects of the 1976 Copyright Act and the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Creative Commons Copyright License
The Creative Commons copyright licenses give everyone from individual creators to large companies and institutions a simple, standardized way to grant copyright permissions to their creative work.

Books at Lakeland

Intellectual Property by Deborah E. Bouchoux
Call Number: KF2980 .B678 2018
Throughout the book, you'll find sample agreements, forms, checklists of paralegal tasks, statutes, realistic case studies, and excerpts of real cases involving interesting issues that will help you prepare for a successful career as a paralegal.
Idea Rights by Howard C. Anawalt
Call Number: KF2979 .A745
Presents a concise and accurate view of United States intellectual property law for the interested general reader, for attorneys, and for classes that introduce or otherwise cover the material.

Web Resources

U.S. Small Business Administration
The SBA connects entrepreneurs with lenders and funding to help them plan, start and grow their business. Includes information on business plans, marketing, industry, and links to government statistics.
Bplans
Bplans contains the largest single online collection of free sample business plans. In addition, Bplans offers practical advice on planning, interactive tools and calculators, and advice that will help you grow your business.

Books at Lakeland

Writing Your Plan for Small Business Success by Ian Birt
Call Number: HD62.7 .B57 2013
This practical guide tells you all you need to know to prepare a sound business plan that will enable you to get your business off the ground successfully, and obtain a loan.
Preparing Effective Business Plans by Bruce R. Barringer
Call Number: HD30.28 .B36837 2015
This book is for the future entrepreneur who wants to understand the critical issues and feasibility of developing a business venture, while developing an extensive business plan.
Business Plans Handbook by Michelle Lee (Editor)
Call Number: HD62.7 B865
Business Plans Handbook is a collection of actual business plans compiled by entrepreneurs seeking funding for small businesses.
Anatomy of a Business Plan by Linda Pinson
Call Number: HD30.28 .P5 2014
Provides any entrepreneur the tools to create a well-constructed business plan.

Web Resources

Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
BEA's economists produce some of the world's most closely watched statistics, including U.S. gross domestic product, better known as GDP. They do state and local numbers, too, plus foreign trade and investment stats and industry data.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
From the U.S. Department of Labor, a valuable source for information about buying habits and information to help calculate your consumer price index (CPI).
USA.gov
Data and statistics about the U.S., including maps and population, demographic, and economic data.
Market Sizing
From the Resource Center at Intuit, this article provides helpful information for small business owners about the steps necessary for evaluating market size, in addition to additional sources for research.
Small Business Administration
Provides statistics and information that can be valuable when determining your market size. In addition to general business data that can help you better understand your competitors, it also offers demographic information, consumer statistics, economic indicators, income and earning statistics, and much more.
U.S. Census Bureau
The nation's leading provider of quality data about its people and economy.

Books at Lakeland

Marketing Research by Naresh K. Malhotra
Call Number: HF5415.2 .M29 2019
With a do-it-yourself, hands-on approach, this text illustrates the interaction between marketing research decisions and marketing management decisions.
The Market Research Toolbox by Edward F. (Francis) McQuarrie
Call Number: HF5415.2 .M383 2016
This comprehensive collection of essential market research techniques, skills, and applications helps readers solve real-world business problems in a dynamic and rapidly changing business atmosphere.
The Entrepreneur's Guide to Market Research by Anne M. Wenzel
Call Number: HF5415.2 .W454
This invaluable guide arms entrepreneurs with all they need to know to research and analyze potential markets--key steps in constructing effective marketing plans, establishing sound financial forecasts, and finding backers.

Web Resources

Fund Your Business (SBA)
Information on determining amount of funding required to start a business and various methods of funding, including self-funding, investors, and loans.

Books at Lakeland

The Customer-Funded Business by John Mullins
Call Number: HG4027.6 .M65
In The Customer Funded Business, best-selling author John Mullins uncovers five novel approaches that scrappy and innovative 21st century entrepreneurs working in companies large and small have ingeniously adapted from their predecessors.
The Crowd Funding Services Handbook by Jason R. Rich
Call Number: Electronic Book
Offers a step-by-step overview of the various crowdsource funding services available on the Web, as well as the necessary documentation required to launch a successful crowdfunding campaign.