Internet-Based Resources for the Entrepreneurial Venture
By:
Chris
Wittman
Matthew
Dell
FIN
402
Dr.
Juli-Ann Gasper
Table
of Contents:
Executive Summary pg.
2
Entreworld.org pg.
3
Entrepreneurs Help Page pg. 3-4
Business Week Small Business Services pg.
4
Yahoo! Small Business pg. 4-5
Small Business Administration pg. 5-6
Minority Business Entrepreneur pg.
6
Young Entrepreneur pg. 6-7
Startup Journal pg.
7-8
Conclusion pg.
8
Glossary pg. 9-11
References pg.
12
Executive Summary
In the last decade
the Internet has grown exponentially as a resource for information gathering
for both private and business applications.
In fact, for many small businesses the Internet is the primary source
for collecting information concerning market trends, economic forecasting,
product availability, supplier information, innovative tactics, industry
research, etc. The World Wide Web provides
the small business with a virtually endless supply-chain of information,
regardless of genre or application at a minimum of cost. The convenience inherent in gathering
information on the Internet is profound in relation to cost efficiency and availability,
thus providing the entrepreneur with an excellent means for conducting research
and tapping into the market on a global scale.
For the starting
entrepreneur or the established small business, the Internet is an excellent
resource of information, with literally thousands of sites dedicated to
everything from financial consulting to industry profiling with virtually
everything in between. The purpose of
this report will be to serve as a guideline for providing the entrepreneur with
credible web-based information resources.
This task will be accomplished by examining some of the most prominent
web sites dedicated to the entrepreneur and small business. This examination will include a discussion
of the given site’s content, layout, feature availability, navigation ease,
organization, credibility/professionalism, download speed, and overall
aesthetics with a ranking (out of five stars) which is based upon the site’s
fulfillment of these criteria. Thus,
this analysis will act as a tool for deducing the quality of information that is available to the entrepreneur on the worldwide web.
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Download
Speed |
Navigation
Ease |
Asthetics |
Content |
Credibility |
Organization |
Rating |
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Excellent |
Excellent |
Good |
Good |
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Good |
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Excellent |
Excellent |
Excellent |
Good |
Good |
Excellent |
***** |
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Excellent |
Good |
Good |
Excellent |
Excellent |
Excellent |
***** |
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Excellent |
Good |
Good |
Fair |
Good |
Excellent |
**** |
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Good |
Excellent |
Fair |
Excellent |
Excellent |
Good |
**** |
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Excellent |
Fair |
Fair |
Poor |
Good |
Fair |
** |
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Excellent |
Good |
Good |
Fair |
Fair |
Good |
*** |
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Excellent |
Excelent |
Good |
Excellent |
Excellent |
Excellent |
***** |
Entreworld was established in 1996
in association with Ewing Marion Kauffman, founder of the Kauffman Center for
Entrepreneurial Leadership at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Entreworld was one of the first small business
Web sites (Entreworld.org), and is an excellent source of information to the
entrepreneur, with a huge database containing literally thousands of articles,
audio clips, tools, databases and even town-to-town small business event
listings. The site organizes this
information with an easy-to-use search engine, where curious users can search
for an array of topics including information pertaining to starting a business,
growing a business, checking stocks quotes, understanding terminology,
counseling services, event information, books, and access to various newsletter
publications. The site’s editorial team (composed of experienced entrepreneurs,
educators, small business writers and editors) scour the Internet for
information that is particularly valuable to entrepreneurs, reads and reviews
each piece of content, and moves “grade A” material into the site’s dynamic
library of resources and tools. All of the content listed on the site is chosen
from a collection of original material, and is then coded within a logical
directory of very specific entrepreneurial topics, each segmented by stages of
business/industry development. The site
offers excellent navigation speed and simplicity, with a very easy to
understand format, and excellent assortment of quality information justifying a
4 star denotation for overall quality (http://www.entreworld.org).
The Entrepreneur’s Help Page (Top)
This site was designed and created
by a group of young professionals.
Their purpose is to share their skills and knowledge to produce a site
dedicated to providing young and/or inexperienced entrepreneurs with innovative
ideas designed to promote establishing and managing an entrepreneurial venture.
This web site distributes information pertaining to legal, financial, and
management issues that commonly affect and afflict entrepreneurs who are just
starting their businesses. Features
available on the site include a database housing information concerning general
business practice, immigration law, taxation law, intellectual property,
understanding contracts, business strategy technique, financial services,
marketing consultation, and access to various newsletters and articles
dedicated toward servicing young/inexperienced entrepreneurs. The site is very well organized with an easy
to use search engine and direct access to many different topics, all from the
homepage (there is no need to search through an endless assortment of
pages). The site’s database houses an extensive
quantity of quality content, giving the site a 5 star rating (http://www.tannedfeet.com).
Business Week Small Business Services (Top)
Business Week’s online web site is an excellent resource for
articles pertinent to the entrepreneur, which can be found in recent
publications of the company’s magazine.
The site offers month to month access to articles concerning selling
practices, globalization, answering common questions, dealing with insurance
and financing, growing a business, recent news, marketing tips, and book
reviews. The site also features tools
related to finding suppliers, raising capital, analyzing retirement options,
hiring and firing policy, daily operations, and managing investments. The selection of information changes
monthly, giving the regular viewer a wealth of up to date information
concerning all walks of entrepreneurial life.
An interesting feature available on the site is the link to the
“personal finance” section of the page.
This link provides the entrepreneur with the ability to calculate the
financial impact of buying and selling stocks, mutual funds, and bonds,
inflation rates, taxes, interest rates, insurance policy and coverage ratios,
and debt reduction measures. The site
also offers a stock quote search engine, which can be tailored to individual
interest. The site is very well
organized and allows for quick and easy navigation through a vast array of
quality material that is pertinent to entrepreneurs of all genres. In addition the credibility of Business
Week is impeccable, justifying a 5 star rating (http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz).
Yahoo’s section devoted to the needs
of the small business owner is, in comparison to some of the other sites
mentioned, rather limited in regard to content quantity. However, the site is organized in very
logical fashion, with easy to understand topic titles and explanations,
allowing the user to navigate with excellent ease and efficiency. The site features business planning tools,
franchise search options, LLC and non-profit information, product and vender
tools, and various articles relating to small business needs. The site also has an extensive section
dealing with technology/innovation management including an information
technology tool that allows users to search and compare software solutions, and
a research center that enables users to Search thousands of white papers in
order to find expert analysis and research on almost any business topic. The section of the site entitled “Business
Solutions” features tools that allow users to create a web page, sell products
and services, and advertise to customers via Yahoo.com, making for a very
attractive/inexpensive medium for entrepreneurs to make their business’s
presence known globally. Overall, the
site could be a very effective and convenient source for entrepreneurs to
benefit from, giving the site a 4 star rating, despite deficiencies in overall
content quantity (http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com).
Small Business Administration (Top)
The Small Business
Administration website is one of the most financially influential tools
available to entrepreneurs on the World Wide Web. The Small Business Administration (SBA) is an agency of the U.S.
federal government. It was founded in
1953 as a means to make credit available to small businesses that cannot reasonably
obtain financing from sources. The SBA
is the nation’s single largest financial supporter of small businesses. In addition to financial support, the SBA
offers managerial and technical support to over 1 million small business
owners. The SBA assists business
owners by offering three major types of loans; direct loans, participation
loans, and economic opportunity loans.
Direct loans are directly financed by the agency, meaning the principle
comes out of the government’s pocket.
Participation loans are acquired from local banks, with the guarantee
that the government will repay 90 percent of the loan in the event of a
default. Finally, economic opportunity
loans are available to those entrepreneurs who are both economically and
socially disadvantaged.
The agency’s website
can be found at www.sba.gov. It is an extremely useful and thorough
site. Entrepreneurs will find it lacks
aesthetic zeal, but at the same time, it is easily navigable. One of the most constructive tools available
on the site is the virtual startup kit.
This is the most redeeming aspect of the site. In outline form, the startup kit leads the participant through
almost every aspect of starting up a business.
Out of a possible 5
stars, www.sba.gov gets a 4 and 1/2. The only thing detracting from the website
is the fact that it is constructed in a stereotypically drab government
backdrop. Little can be found on the
page that will appeal to the senses.
Minority Business Entrepreneur (Top)
Minority Business
Entrepreneur is the website of MBE Magazine, a bimonthly publication for
and about minority and women business owners.
The magazine serves as a forum for minority and women business owners,
corporations and government agencies, working together to build a stronger
America.
The MBE website is
an unremarkable extension of the MBE Magazine and can be found at
www.mbemag.com. It seems as though the
site’s main purpose is to market current and back issues of the Minority
Business Entrepreneur Magazine. The
site doesn’t devote much muscle to aiding the perspective entrepreneur with
online resources. One positive feature
of the site is the “In Brief” section, which allows you to view the topics
covered in the most current issue of the publication.
Out of a possible 5
stars, www.mbemag.com gets 2. The site should be used by entrepreneurs as
a means of determining whether or not to purchase the most recent issue of the
publication. The only other applicable
use of the site is to explore the history of the MBE Magazine.
Young Entrepreneur
is a site devoted to helping today’s young entrepreneurs achieve success in the
business world.
Startupjournal.com is a virtual cornucopia of entrepreneurial
related information. This site
literally seethes with useful info and fascinating interactive features. Startup
Journal is an endeavor of the Wall Street Journal. The site basically incorporates all the attractive
attributes of other well-built entrepreneurial sites and synthesizes them into
a neat, easy to navigate site. Startup
Journal has an array of applications, including how-to columns, financing
info, entrepreneurial articles/news, an online bookstore, help with creating
business plans, quizzes and much more.
The site is under the direction of Tony Lee and is updated every
business day.
One of the most
notable sections of the website is entitled “Running a Business.” This segment includes articles that relate
important tips on how to maintain a firm grasp on the successful administration
of a small business. Most articles have
in-depth information on how current events impact small business ownership. In essence, the site is a free, extremely thorough
online entrepreneurial journal.
Startupjournal.com
gets a five star rating because it fulfills each prerequisite of an ideal
entrepreneurial website, from A to Z.
Conclusion
The internet is
no-doubt becoming a more widely used tool in accessing information previously
out of reach to time-constrained individuals.
Business owners are often pressed for time and information. As this essay has demonstrated, the internet
is presently developing as a tool that bridges these two factors, allowing business
owners to gather information in a timely fashion and use the assembled data to
form sensible and intelligent business solutions.
While there are many
helpful websites available to entrepreneurs with internet access, there are a
select few that stand out above the rest.
These sites integrate aspects of professionalism, organization,
credibility, usefulness, and aesthetic appeal that make them outstanding. These sites should be book marked and
referred to on a regular basis by those entrepreneurs seeking to gain a higher
degree of sophistication.
ADVERTISING – communicating the features and benefits of
your product/service through the use of radio, television, print and other
media.
AOE - Academy of Entrepreneurship
ASBE - Association for Small Business &
Entrepreneurship
ASSET BASED
LENDING – the loaning of
money on the value of assets offered as security. The lender is protected from loss by the liquidation value of the
asset.
BOARD OF ADVISORS – a group of outside experts, typically
three to six, recruited by entrepreneurs to provide regular input and
suggestions to management. Many small
companies use an advisory board in place of a board of directors with
outsiders, so as to avoid liability issues.
BRAINSTORMING - a management technique used to foster
ideas, solve problems, set goals, establish priorities, and make assignments
for their accomplishments.
BROWSER - software that allows user to access Web
sites.
BUSINESS LICENSE - a permit or certification that local and
state governments require businesses to obtain and post. Obtaining a license
may merely require the payment of a fee to do business; in other cases, the
proprietor may have to pass a test that certifies he or she is competent to
perform certain services. Some licenses limit the number of businesses that can
provide certain goods or services.
CAPITAL – overall assets, less liabilities
CONSULTANT - an individual who provides advice,
counsel, feedback, and sometimes implementation services on any of a variety of
management issues ranging from strategic planning to marketing to financing to
production.
DATABASE - an integrated collection of data stored in
different record types.
ENTREPRENEUR - derived from the French word "to
undertake." Someone who is willing and eager to create a new venture in
order to present a concept to the marketplace.
ENTREPRENEURIAL ORGANIZATION - a company structure and/or culture that
promotes entrepreneurial behavior so as to encourage risk-taking,
opportunity-seeking, innovation, creative financing and leveraging resources.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP - a process through which individuals and
groups pursue opportunity, leverage resources, and initiate change to create
value. Thus, an entrepreneur is one who creates and manages change by pursuing
opportunity, acting with passion for a purpose, living proactively, and
leveraging resources to create value.
INDUSTRY - a business or trade group. The business
and all its competitors looked at collectively is the industry.
INDUSTRY PROFILE - the history, participants, total sales
volume, trends, growth potential, and other pertinent facts on a particular
industry.
INNOVATION - introducing something novel or unique in
the marketplace.
INTERNET - largest collection of networks in the
world, interconnected to allow them to function as a single virtual network.
MARKET - (1) the actual and/or potential buyers of
a product or service; (2) a place where exchanges between buyers and sellers
occur.
MARKET NICHE - a particular appeal, identity, or place in
the market that your product/company has. What you do well, different, or
better than others in the market.
MARKETING - the performance of business activities
that direct the flow of goods and services from producer to consumer or user.
MEDIA - the means used by the transmitter of a
message to deliver it to the intended receiver in a communications system. In
advertising, refers to newspaper, radio, television, magazines, billboard,
direct mail and other such institutions which are used to carry advertisements.
MINORITY – an ethnic, racial, religious, or other
group having a distinctive presence within a society.
NETWORK - the common channels established with
important people in a variety of related fields to provide information and
contacts which can be used to help the entrepreneur become successful.
NEW VENTURE - a new business providing products/services
to a particular market.
ON-LINE - describing equipment or other devices in a
computer system that are connected to or communicating with the central
processing unit (CPU).
PARTNERSHIP - a business association of two or more
people. Two types of partnerships are general and limited.
SBA--SMALL BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION - federal
agency created in 1953 that assists with business loans and other problems
relating to the operation of small business.
SERVER - a
computer that acts as a provider of some service to other computers, such as
processing communications, interfacing with file storage, or controlling
printing facilities.
START-UP - a company in the earliest stages of
development, of which the stock is not yet publicly traded.
TECHNOLOGY - changes in the science of mechanics,
computers and industrial arts that impact every business.
VENTURE - a business endeavor that involves a high
level of risk and chance.
Business Week.
18 Mar. 2002.
<http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz>
EntreWorld.
22 Feb. 2002. <http://www.entreworld.org>
Minority Business
Entrepreneur.
31 Jan. 2002. <http://www.mbemag.com>
The
Entrepreneur’s Help Page.
23
Feb. 2002. <http://www.tannedfeet.com>
The Small
Business Administration.
16 Mar 2002. <http://www.sba.gov>
WSJ. The Startup
Journal.
22 Feb. 2002.
<http://www.startupjournal.com>
Yahoo
Small Business.
23 Mar. 2002.
<http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com>
Young
Entrepreneur.
23 Feb. 2002.
<http://www.youngentrepreneur.com>
Dictionary.com.
22 Feb. 2002. <http://www.dictionary.com>
EntreWorld.
22 Feb. 2002.
<http://www.entreworld.org/Content/Glossary.cfm>