Focus On: 10 Reasons to Love Small Business
10. Small businesses make up 99.7% of all United States employers.
9. Small business create more than 50% of the American nonfarm private gross domestic product (GDP).
8. Small patenting firms produce 13 to 14 times more patents per employee than large patenting firms.
7. The more than 24 million small businesses in the United States are located in every community and neighborhood.
6. Small businesses employ 50.1% of the United States’ non-farm private sector workers.
5. Home-based businesses account for 53% of all small businesses.
4. Small businesses are 97% of America’s exporters and produce 26% of all export value.
3. The United States saw an estimated 580,865 new small firms with employees start-up in the last year measured.
2. There are approximately 4,115,900 minority-owned businesses and 6,492,795 women-owned businesses in the United States, and almost all of them are small businesses.
1. The latest figures show that small business creates 65% or more of America’s net new jobs.
Small Business Administration
Office of Advocacy website
www.sba.gov/advo
Upcoming Events & Programs
A month long series of programs for entrepreneurs and small business owners. Watch for program details in the coming months on Business Link and in the April First R newsletter.
Essential Magazines for Entrepreneurs at the Library
Business 2.0
monthly
Comprehensive industry coverage of emerging technologies, business models,
and trends.
Inc.
monthly
Some of the topics covered are selling and raising capital, defining your
small business opportunities, managing technology, and hiring and training
personnel.
Smart Money
monthly
Offers investors personal finance options, investing strategies, and financial
planning.
Money
monthly
Whether you’re looking to invest, cut taxes, save money, or retire
worry-free, Money helps you reach your financial goals.
What’s New in Reference
Consultants & Consulting Organizations Directory
Bus Ref 658.46 CON
A directory of 26,000 consulting firms in the United States and Canada.
Company data includes: address, telephone number, web address, email, number
of employees, and a detailed description of the firm’s areas of expertise.
2007 New York Manufacturers Register
Bus Ref 338.025 NEW
A directory of New York State manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors.
Locate companies by product/service or by geographical location. Company
data includes: address, telephone number, fax number, toll free number,
key personnel, number of employees, annual sales, year established, a description
of product/service, and ownership.
Bacon’s New York Publicity Outlets (2007)
Bus Ref 016.071 BAC
A comprehensive directory of print and broadcast media in New York and parts
of Connecticut and New Jersey. Use this to quickly find contacts on the
staffs of daily newspapers, community newspapers, ethnic newspapers, television
and radio stations and cable programs, to name a few.
Websites of Interest
Trade Shows
TSNN.com
www.tsnn.com
A great resource if you are looking for suppliers or venues, whether you
want to exhibit or to attend. It contains more than 15,000 trade shows,
exhibitions, public events, and conferences.
Tradeshow Week
www.tradeshowweek.com
This site features a trade show directory that is continually updated, an
exhibit hall directory, and a newsletter to keep you informed of trade
show news.
Tradeshowspecialist.com
www.tradeshowspecialist.com
Helpful information on trade show booth designs, promotions, marketing,
and graphics.
International Market Research
OANDA
http://www.oanda.com
Current and historical exchange rates.
International Data Base
http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idbnew.html
Demographic and socioeconomic statistics for 227 countries and areas of
the world from the U.S. Census.
Timeanddate.com
http://www.timeanddate.com
Time, date, and national holidays for cities and countries around the world.
Portals to the World
http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/portals.html
Selected by Library of Congress area and country specialists, these are
links to resources around the world.
How Much Money Does It Take to Start a Small Business?
Small business owners averaged $10,000 to start their business, according
to the latest Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business poll. Many started businesses
with their personal savings (73%), while 37% obtained loans or lines of
credit. More than one half (53%) indicated they would have had an easier
time if additional money had been available at the onset.
Most revealing was the need for business information. Only one-third started
with a business plan. Almost one-half (49%) agreed the road to entrepreneurship
would have had less bumps if they had done some homework before starting
out.
Are You an Entrepreneur? Do You Have What it Takes?
• Are you ready to put your house, other assets, and collateral on
the line?
• Do you possess confidence in yourself as well as in your business
concept?
• Are you able and willing to raise a significant amount of money
from investors?
• Have you evaluated your strengths and weaknesses?
• Take an EQ Test and measure your ability to work with people?
Source: Lesonsky, Rieva. Start Your Own Business: The Only Start-up Book You’ll Ever Need.
New York Ranks Among The Least Friendly Toward Small Business
The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, in its Eleventh Annual Small Business Survival Index, ranks New York State near the BOTTOM (#45) of all states in regard to state policies affecting small business. Twenty-nine government imposed costs are measured. Some of these include: capital gains tax, corporate income tax, sales, gross receipts, excise taxes, electricity costs, state minimum wages, workers’ compensation and health care regulations. For the full report visit http://www.sbecouncil.org.
Small Business Survival Index 2006: State Rankings
(Ranked from the Friendliest to the Least Friendly Policy Environments for
Entrepreneurship)
Top Ten
Rank State
1 South Dakota
2 Nevada
3 Wyoming
4 Alabama
5 Washington
6 Florida
7 Mississippi
8 Colorado
9 Texas
10 Michigan
Bottom Ten
Rank State
41 Iowa
42 Vermont
43 Massachusetts
44 Hawaii
45 New York
46 Minnesota
47 Maine
48 Rhode Island
49 California
50 New Jersey
Business Link on the Web
hhhl.suffolk.lib.ny.us/BusinessLink
Visit Business Link on the Half Hollow Hills Library home page. Locate websites of interest, local business organizations, upcoming business events, or access the library’s business databases.
If you have suggestions for future programs at the library,
e-mail us at bizlink@suffolk.lib.ny.us
Franchising
Bond’s Franchise Guide
Bus Ref 658.87 BON
Hayes, Robert
The Franchise Handbook: A Complete Guide to All Aspects of Buying, Selling
or Investing in a Franchise
658.8708 HAY
“How Much Can I Make?”
q658.8708 HOW
Lesonsky, Rieva
Ultimate Book of Homebased Franchises 2005/2006
q658.8708 LES
Lesonsky, Rieva
Ultimate Book of Low-cost Franchises 2005/2006
q658.8708 LES
Lesonsky, Rieva
Ultimate Book of Restaurant and Food-service Franchises 2005/2006
q647.95068 LES
Mathews, Joe
Street Smart Franchising
658.8708 MAT
Seid, Michael
Franchising for Dummies
658.8708 SEI
Sugars, Bradley J.
Successful Franchising
658.8708 SUG
Women-owned Businesses
Steede-Terry, Karen
Full-time Woman, Part-time Career: Launching a Flexible Business That Fits
Your Life, Feeds Your Family and Fuels Your Brain
658.1141 STE
Florence, Mari
The Enterprising Woman
658.1141 FLO
Zobel, Jan
Minding Her Own Business: The Self-Employed Woman’s Essential Guide
to Taxes and Financial Records
343.7305 ZOB
Christy, Janet W.
Capitalizing on Being Woman Owned: Expert Advice for Women Who Have or Are
Starting Their Own Business Including Marketing Research, Planning, Government
Support, and Tax Breaks
658.1141 CHR
Monosoff, Tamara
The Mom Inventors Handbook: How to Turn Your Great Idea into the Next Big
Thing
658.1141 MON
Cantando, Mary
The Woman’s Advantage: 20 Women Entrepreneurs Show You What It Takes
to Grow Your Business
658.421 CAN
Wilmerding, Ginny
Smart Women and Small Business: How to Make the Leap from Corporate America
to the Right Small Enterprise
650.1082 WIL
Half Hollow Hills Community Library
Dix Hills Building
55 Vanderbilt Parkway
Dix Hills, NY 11746
(631) 421-4530
Melville Building
510 Sweet Hollow Road
Melville, NY 11747
(631) 421-4535
Compiled by Eileen Effrat
Reference Department
March 2007