SBA Export Express Assistance Program

The Small Business Administration has an express loan program called Export Express for exporters with loans up to $250,000.00. Check out the Small Business Administration's site especially detailing this program.

Export Express

Does Your Small Business Need Financial Assistance?

Looking to shore up or expand your small business? Take a look at the financial assistance offered by the Small Business Administration. The site provides an online tutorial of the types of financial assistance available to established small businesses.
http://www.sba.gov/services/financialassistance/index.html

Wondering What Your U.S. Representatives are Doing for Small Business?

Keep tabs on pending and proposed legislation before the U.S. House of Representatives. The House Committee on Small Business is chaired by the Representative from New York. The site contains reports, statements, press releases, and a newsletter.

http://www.house.gov/smbiz/

Outline for a Business Plan

Thinking of starting a small business in this economic downturn? Take a look at the Small Business Association's outline about what such a plan should include.

http://www.sba.gov/smallbusinessplanner/plan/writeabusinessplan/SERV_WRRITINGBUSPLAN.html

Traveling to a New International Client...

An excellent resource for information about travel requirements and the like is the State Department's website for International Travel.

http://travel.state.gov/travel/travel_1744.html?cm_sp=ExternalLink-_-Federal-_-State

Simply click on a region and a county to discover information on visas, crime, medical facilities, and embassy locations. The site is a must visit to get vital information on the country you visit while you expand your US business internationally.

New York City Small Business Activities

Looking for information on New York City Small Business Services try http://www.nyc.gov/html/sbs/html/home/home.shtml

The site is a wealth of basic information of issues and items relevant to small business in New York City.

Certification Needed As a Women Owned Business?

Take a look at the following site that describes the process in California to be certified as a Women Owned Business through the Public Utility Commission
http://www.asianinc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=20&Itemid=35

Canada Helps Small Business in Writing a Business Plan

Need help writing a business plan for your small business? Take a look at Canada's Interactive Business Planner at the following address:
http://www.canadabusiness.ca/ibp/eng/index.cfm

Looking For Trade and Tariff Stats?

Is your small business looking for statistics on trade volume or tariff information. Take a look at the WTO's statistics site, which breaks down trade volume into imports or exports as well as gives detailed tariff information for all WTO members. The database is searchable and you are able to select specific criteria to search by utilizing a straight forward interface.

http://stat.wto.org/Home/WSDBHome.aspx?Language=E

Try South Africa as a locale for your Small Business

The Small Enterprise Development Agency posts a wealth of information concerning small business and entrepreneurship in South Africa.

There website is http://www.seda.org.za/

Export-Import Bank of the US and Small Business

Looking for financial assistance in exporting as a small business.

Take at look at the Import-Export Bank of the United States.

http://www.exim.gov/smallbiz/index.html

Try the UK as a Place to Expand Your Business.

UK Trade and Investment offers a good source of information about why the UK may be a good place for your business to expand into. Take a look at their informative website, which contains pertinent information about expanding small business operations into the UK.

http://www.ukinvest.gov.uk/en-US-index.html

Do You Know Your Customers?

Take a look at the Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) guidance on identifying red flags concerning your overseas customers.

http://www.bis.doc.gov/complianceandenforcement/knowyourcustomerguidance.htm

The site indicates the importance of ensuring small business compliance with the BIS regulations.

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation Assists Small Business

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) provides financing and political risk insurance to small business. Take at look at their website for more information. http://www.opic.gov/smallbusiness/

Need An Export Credit Insurance Policy?

If you are a small business new to exporting goods, then check out the Export-Import Bank of the United States Small Business Export Credit Insurance Policy for your small business export venture.

http://www.exim.gov/products/insurance/small_bus_multi_buyer.cfm

SEC and Small Business

The Securities and Exchange Commission has resources devoted to small business. Check out the Commission's small business website http://www.sec.gov/info/smallbus.shtml for a host of resources concerning small business.

FDA Small Business Assistance

The FDA assists small business in the areas covered by the agency.

Take a look at the FDA's small business specific website.

http://www.fda.gov/cder/about/smallbiz/default.htm

Looking for Information about Health and Benefit Plans?

Take a look at the Department of Labor website offering basic information about health and benefit plans a small business owner may offer to its employees.

http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/health-plans/index.htm

Need To Know About Licenses Required in Connecticut?

Want to know if your Connecticut small business needs a certain business license? Does the State of Connecticut require your small business employees to obtain a license for their particular trade or occupation?

Take a look at http://www.ct-clic.com/

The State of Connecticut operates this website, which provides a good deal of useful information about licensing requirements.

Looking to Establish a Small Business in Australia?

If you are looking to expand your small business activities into Australia, then explore the Australian government's website concerning small business.

http://www.smallbusiness.gov.au/Business+Entry+Point/

Interested in What Ireland Thinks of Small Business?

Take a look at the Small Business Report prepared by the Irish government.

http://www.smallbusinessforum.ie/

The Report contains information on the climate for small business operating in Ireland and proposals for improving the transaction of small business enterprises within the country.

Need Financing for Your Small Business?

Consult the US Chamber of Commerce Small Business Center's financial toolkit. The site features explanations and resources on each step of the borrowing process.

http://www.uschamber.com/sb/finance/default.htm

The site is specially tailored to small business issues.

UK Small Business Resource

If you are looking for a resource to find information about small business in the UK, then explore the UK's Enterprise Directorate website specifically about small business http://www.dti.gov.uk/bbf/small-business/index.html

The links on the right-hand side of the page lead to helpful information on taxation, finance, and a variety of other business information.

Export Assistance from US Chamber of Commerce

If your interested in starting or growing your small business exports, then take a look at the US Chamber of Commerce's Trade Toolbox http://www.traderoots.org/fsMain.asp?i=tt

The site features county reports, stats, market, and industry reports. A wealth of information for growing your small business export capacity.

Questions about Copyright, Trademark, or Patents?

Take a look at the United States Patent and Trademark office's website specifically devoted to small business http://www.uspto.gov/smallbusiness/

The site features explanations, links, and pdf guides addressing may intellectual property issues concerning small business.

Need Information on Different countries around the globe fast?

A great resource for investigating or learning about a country your small business might be interested in trading with or operating in is run by the BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/country_profiles/default.stm

Look at individual countries, regions, or international organizations--all in easy to use drop down menus.

Wondering what an SE or European Company is?

Check out the definition of a 'Societas Europaea' or European Company provided by the UK's Companies House to discover the basic constitution and requires for creating one.
http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/about/gbhtml/gb06.shtml

What is the difference between American and UK Business Entities?

Take a look at the variety of business entities a company may utilize in the US by visiting the New York City government's business site http://www.nyc.gov/html/sbs/nycbiz/html/starting/business_legal_structure.shtml

Compare the legal structures listed by the New York City government with those discussed on the UK's Companies House website http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/about/gbhtml/gbf1.shtml

Exploring Africa for Potential Business?

Check out the resources referenced in the Library of Congress' African Business Guide, which provides both internet and print sources for information concerning the business climate for small business in Africa. http://www.loc.gov/rr/business/african/africanhome.html

Need Info on Tax Issues related to Small Business?

Take a look at the IRS Small Business specific website for useful information on tax issues facing a small business operating in various fields.

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/

Is Your Small Business Looking to Expand Operations to China?

The US government operates a site that assists small business in all aspects of expanding your business into China. The site contains trade leads, events, and trade policy documents.

Take a look at http://www.export.gov/china/ to discover useful information for small business to enter the Chinese market. See if your small business is ready to trade in China and the assistance the US government provides to small business in determining if China is a viable place to export your goods/services.

Looking to Protect Your Connecticut Small Business Against Fraud?

Take a look at what the Connecticut Attorney General advises on methods to avoid fraud in operating your small business. http://www.ct.gov/ag/cwp/view.asp?A=2066&Q=292366

Along with other obstacles faced by small business owners in operating their business, an awareness of harmful fraudulent activities directed to your small business is necessary.

Wondering if New York Likes Small Business?

New York State operates two websites a small business owner should take a look at because of the wealth of information and links to helpful sites about operating and growing a small business in New York.

The links are http://www.nylovesbiz.com/default.asp (the main site with information relating to New York businesses in general) and http://www.nylovessmallbusiness.com/home.asp (specific site related to New York small business issues).

Looking for New York Small Business Specific Information?

Take a look at the IRS website http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=100203,00.html
that collects links to virtually every state agency in New York you will need to consult while operating your small business. This site provides links to municipal agencies as well as state departments/divisions.

Of course tax information and tax seminar events in the New York area are also available through the site.

Need Information on OSHA Compliance?

Take a look at OSHA Small Business website, which contains a host of information on compliance programs and other information specifically related to small business.
http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/smallbusiness/index.html