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Small Business Resources
by Peg Elliott, Librarian
This pathfinder is designed for entrepreneurs looking to start their own business as well as individuals already in business. Whether you are brand new to the world of business and need ideas for where to start, gathering data for your business plan, looking for information on insurance or bookkeeping or how to market your business, there are free resources available for research and for checkout from your public library.
Please Choose from the Following:
Reference
These reference books, located at the Central Library, provide information on business and industry trends, census and demographic data and other information useful for preparing business plans, researching the competition and learning about business in the greater Syracuse Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).
Demographics USA: County Edition
Along with the companion title, Demographics USA: Zip Edition, these two titles contain maps and demographic, economic, commercial and industrial estimates. Each volume includes population, race/ethnicity, age/gender and household related data, effective buying power, consumer expenditure data, occupation and employment data.
R 304.607 DEM
MPA Market Profile Analysis: Consumer and Business Demographic Reports (Syracuse, NY)
Provides demographics and business information on the Syracuse Metropolitan Statistical Area. A comprehensive data tool for evaluating existing markets, locations and proposed sites for offices, stores and other businesses.
R 332.6 MPA
Mergent Industry Review
Contains company quick facts, comparative rankings and statistics within industries, including revenues, profit margins, ROI, key business rations and more.
R 332.6 MER
Standard & Poor’s Industry Surveys
Provide information on economic trends, forecasts and growth prospects of over 50 of the largest North American and global industries.
R 332.6 STA
CNY Business Journal Book of Lists
Lists of which companies are leading their industries in Central New York, the Mohawk Valley and Greater Binghamton.
R 338.09 CNY
Directory of Business Information Resources
Comprehensive coverage of 98 industries. Grow your business, expand your customer base and keep your competitive edge by discovering industry specific trade shows, associations, magazines and newsletters.
R 338.097 DIR
Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce Business Directory
Lists area businesses by product or service.
R 338.097 GRE
Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios
Includes composite financial statistics on over 800 lines of business. Cash, accounts receivable, inventory, deferred credits, net sales, gross profits, working capital, solvency, efficiency and profitability ratios are listed.
R 338.097 IND
RMA [Risk Management Association] Annual Statement Studies: Financial Ratio Benchmarks
Features composite financial data for over 740 manufacturing, wholesaling, retailing, service, agricultural and contracting businesses. Useful when comparing one business with another.
R 338.097 RMA
National Minority and Women-Owned Business Directory
Arranged by state within each industry. To be listed, 51% of business must be owned, operated and controlled by a minority or a woman who is a US citizen. Business must be located in the U.S., be profit seeking and capable of national and/or regional sales.
R 338.642 NAT
Dun and Bradstreet Regional Business Directory (Northern NY State Area)
Lists business information on the Central NY region, and includes a ranking of the top area businesses. Includes contact information, rankings, sales, number of employees and names of company officers.
R 338.702 DBR
Dun & Bradstreet Business Rankings
Includes public and private businesses ranked within industry category and state.
R 338.74 BUS
Business Rankings Annual
Lists of companies, products, services and activities compiled from a variety of published sources. Includes a handy SIC to NAICS code conversion guide and bibliography listing special annual issues of a wide selection of business magazines.
R 338.74 BUS
Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial Ratios
Provides a benchmark for evaluating an individual company’s financial performance, tracking 50 operating and financial factors in nearly 200 industries.
R 338.74 TRO
Incorporate Your Business
R 346.73 MAN
Small Business Start Up Kit
R 346.73 PAK
Legal Forms for Starting and Running a Small Business
R 346.73 STE
Small Business Sourcebook
Two volume annotated guide. Provides information to facilitate the startup, development and growth of specific small business. Lists articles, books, associations, suppliers and trade shows.
R 658.022 SMA
Business Plans Handbook
A multivolume set that includes sample business plans for a variety of types of business.
R 658.401 BUS
Books
The OCPL Catalog includes resources on a wide variety of business topics. This list is just a sampling of the titles available throughout the OCPL system. These and many other related titles can be requested and sent to your local library for pickup at your convenience.
Here are some useful subject headings to search for materials:
Business planning
New business enterprises
Small business
Small business - Finance
Home-based Businesses
General
The Boss of You: Everything a Woman Needs to Start, Run and Maintain Her Own Business
by Lauren Bacon
658.008 BAC
Conquer the Chaos: How to Grow a Successful Small Business Without Going Crazy
by Clate Mask
658.022 MAS
The Everything Start Your Own Business Book: Step by Step Guide to Starting, Managing and Building a Profitable Business
by Judith Harrington
658.11 HAR
How To Start a Business in New York
by Entrepreneur Press
658.11 HOW
The Mirror Test: Is Your Business Really Breathing?
by Jeffrey Hayzlett
658.401 HAY
It's Not Who You Know, It's Who Knows You!: The Small Business Guide to Raising Your Profits By Raising Your Profile
by David Avrin
658.8 AVR
Business Plans
How to Write a Business Plan
by Mike McKeever
658.15 MCK
How to Write a Business Plan
by Brian Finch
658.401 FIN
Anatomy of a Business Plan: A Step-By-Step Guide to Building the Business and Securing Your Company’s Future
by Linda Pinson
658.401 PIN
How to Prepare a Business Plan
by Edward Blackwell
658.4012 BLACKWEL
Legal
Small Business Legal Tool Kit
by Ira N. Nottonson
346.73 NOT
Streetwise Incorporating Your Business: From Legal Issues to Tax Concerns, All You Need to Establish and Protect Your Business
by Michele Cagan
346.73 CAG
Buying and Selling a Business
by Ira N. Nottonson
658.164 NOT
Small Business Start-up Kit
by Peri Pakroo
346.73 PAK
Marketing
Marketing Strategies for the Home-Based Business: Solutions You Can Use Today
by Shirley George Frazier
658.802 FRA
Tips and Traps for Marketing Your Business
by Scott W. Cooper
658.8 COO
Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green: Winning Strategies to Improve Your Profits and Your Planet
by Jay Conrad Levinson
658.802 LEV
How to Say It: Marketing With New Media: A Guide to Promoting Your Small Business Using Websites, Ezines, Blogs and Podcasts
by Lena Claxton
658.872 CLA
Web Marketing for Small Businesses: 7 Steps to Explosive Business Growth
by Stephanie Diamond
658.872 DIA
Get Rich with Twitter: Harness the Power of the Twitterverse and Reach More Customers Than Ever Before
by Dennis Prince
658.872 PRI
Grow Your Business with Google Adwords: 7 Quick and Easy Secrets to Reaching More Customers with the World's #1 Search Engine
by Jon Smith
659.144 SMI
Business Operations
Tax Savvy for Small Business
by Frederick Daily
343.73 DAI
Quickbooks 2010: The Official Guide: For Quickbooks Pro Users
by Leslie Capachietti
657.904 CAP
Finance for Non-Financial Managers and Small Business Owners
by Lawrence W. Tuller
658.159 TUL
Design
Your Own Effective Employee Handbook: How to Make the
Most of Your Staff
by Michelle Devon
658.455 DEV
Successful
Meetings: How to Plan, Prepare and Execute Top-Notch Business
Meetings
by Shri Henkel
658.456 HEN
Teach
Yourself Managing IT for Your Small Business
by Michael Pagan
004.068 PAG
Teach Yourself PC Networking for Your Small Business
by Anthony Price
004.68 PRI
Magazines
Paper copies of these magazines are kept for several years at the Central Library.
Contact the library to verify availability of specific magazine issues. You can also use the Gale Business & Company ASAP online database to retrieve full text magazine articles from business, management, and trade journals and newspapers.
Black Enterprise
Business Week
Business Woman Magazine
Canadian Business
Central New York Business Journal
Entrepreneur Magazine
Hispanic Business
Minority Business Entrepreneur
Databases
The library subscribes to several online databases that are useful for researching business topics. These business databases provide directory information, industry trends and access to magazine and newspaper articles and reference books 24 hours a day using your OCPL library card.
For using the online databases in the library, please see a librarian.
Reference USA
Business and residential phone numbers, addresses, and other directory information. Reverse phone number lookups; advanced mode searching by yellow page heading, business SIC or NAICS code, zip code, SMSA and more.
Gale Business and Company Resource Center
Company profiles, brand information, rankings, investment reports, company histories, chronologies, and periodicals, including detailed business and industry news and information. 1980-present.
Gale Business & Company ASAP
More than 35 million articles from business, management, and trade journals and newspapers.
Hoover’s Online
[Remote access available to Central and City of Syracuse branch cardholders]
Comprehensive coverage of public, private, and non-U.S. companies. Includes profiles, news, key people, and in-depth financials.
Newspaper Databases - Newspapers contain valuable articles on businesses
NewsBank
Full text of the Syracuse Post-Standard from 1986-present, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle from 1999-present, and the Utica Observer-Dispatch from 2003.
Gale New York State Newspapers
Full-text articles from 10 major New York State newspapers.
Gale Custom Newspapers
A full-text collection of 800 newspapers, both national and international.
Local Resources
Small Business Development Center
Onondaga Community College
Whitney ATC Suite 206
4585 West Seneca Turnpike, Syracuse, NY 13215-4585
315-498-6070
E-mail: sbdc@sunyocc.edu
The Small Business Development Center provides free and confidential counseling to both start up and existing businesses. The SBDC works with all small businesses, from home based to manufacturing. The center is staffed with certified business advisors who provide counseling and educational programs targeted to small business needs. The SBDC is funded through the State University of New York, the SBA and is hosted by Onondaga Community College.
Syracuse Cooperative Federal Credit Union
Eastside Office
723 Westcott Street
Syracuse, NY 13210
315-471-1116
Cooperative Federal is a unique combination of a traditional credit union and a non-profit community development organization. It seeks to improve the lives of members and to revitalize our local community. Also has Southwest and Northside offices. Low cost business seminars are offered throughout the year, including Business Planning, Small Business Financing, Marketing on A Shoestring, Legal Issues for Small Business, Credit for Entrepreneurs, QuickBooks course, Green Practices and more.
Syracuse SCORE
224 Harrison St, Suite 506
Syracuse, NY 13202
315-471-9393 x245
E-mail: info@syracusescore.org
Provides counseling and mentoring to small business clients. Also provides specialized services, such as workshop/seminar presentations, computer and Web site assistance.
South Side Innovation Center
2610 South Salina Street
Syracuse, NY 13205
315-443-8600
A business incubator that provides office space and business support for start up businesses and budding entrepreneurs on Syracuse’s South Side.
Greater Syracuse Economic Growth Council Resource Center
John H. Mulroy Civic Center, 14th Floor
421 Montgomery Street, Syracuse, NY 13202
315-435-3770 or Toll Free 877-797-8222
E-mail: info@SyracuseCentral.com
Find market data, research reports, information about tax credits, financial incentives, real estate and other local resources.
WISE Center
(Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship)
2610 South Salina Street
Syracuse, NY 13205
315-443-8693
With the support of the Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises (EEE) program, Syracuse University, and community partners, the WISE Center will provide training, services and other resources to women entrepreneurs across Syracuse and Onondaga County.
Empire State Development
Central New York Region
620 Erie Boulevard West Suite 112
Syracuse, NY 13204
315-425-9110
E-mail: nys-centralny@empire.state.ny.us
Empire State Development provides programs, services and incentives specifically designed to help small business entrepreneurs maximize their opportunities for success. This comprehensive web site allows small businesses to connect to all the various NY State government resources available to assist their operations.
CenterState CEO
572 South Salina Street
Syracuse, NY 13202-3320
315-470-1800
E-mail:ceo@centerstateceo.com
Offers referral services and seminars to assist local business in bidding for and winning local, state and federal procurement contracts. A nominal fee is charged for most seminars and workshops, with a discount for Chamber members.
Industrial Development Agencies
John H. Mulroy Civic Center, 14th Floor
421 Montgomery Street, Syracuse, NY 13202
315-435-3770 or Toll Free 877-797-8222
E-mail: info@SyracuseCentral.com
Two Industrial Development Agencies serve Onondaga County. The Syracuse Industrial Development Agency (SIDA) works with companies located within the city limits. SIDA is a nonprofit corporation created to enhance Syracuse's economic development capabilities. It provides benefits to qualified companies as taxable and tax-exempt industrial revenue bonds, payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs), tax exemptions and flexible development fund loans for major development projects. The Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency (OCIDA) works throughout the county. OCIDA provides tax assistance, financing, employee training grants and infrastructure support. Fees are charged for some services.
CNY Technology Development Organization (TDO)
1201 East Fayette Street
Syracuse, NY 13210
315-425-5144
E-mail: mail@tdosolutions.com
CNYTDO offers general business consulting/assistance and programs such as Training Within Industry (TWI), Lean Manufacturing Assistance, Business Assessment, QuickView Manufacturing Assessment, Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Outreach, OSHA training and ExportNY in support of small to medium-sized businesses and high-tech entrepreneurs in Onondaga, Oswego, Cortland, Madison, and Cayuga counties.
Other Resources
Business and Finance Links
Links to selected online business and finance resources.
Last updated: December 23, 2010