Government Sites
• US Small Business Administration (SBA). This is an excellent site to begin researching a business
plan. It covers writing a plan, financing a start-up, selecting a location, managing employees, and
insurance and legal issues. A follow-up page at http://www.sba.gov provides access to publications,
statistics, video tutorials, podcasts, business forms, and chat rooms. Another page—
http://www.sba.gov/about-offices-list/2—provides access to localized resources.
• SCORE Program. The SCORE program is a partner of the SBA. It provides a variety of services to small
business owners, ranging from online (and in-person) mentoring, workshops, free computer templates,
and advice on a wide range of small business issues.
In developing a business plan, it is necessary to anticipate the future economic environment.
The government provides extensive statistics online.
• Consumer Price Index. This index provides information on the direction of prices for industries and
geographic areas.
• Producer Price Index. Businesses that provide services or are focused on business-to-business (B2B)
operations may find these data more appropriate for estimating future prices.
• National Wage Data. This site provides information on prevailing wages and can be broken down by
occupation and location down to the metropolitan area.
• Consumer Expenditures Survey. This database provides information on expenditures and income. It
allows for a remarkable level of refinement by occupation, age, or race.
• State and Local Personal Income and Employment. These databases provide a breakdown of
personal income by state and metropolitan area.
• GDP by State and Metropolitan Region. This will provide an accurate guide to the overall economic
health of a region or a city.
• US Census. This is a huge site with databases on population, income, foreign trade, economic indicators,
and business ownership.
There are nongovernment websites, either free or charging a fee, that can provide assistance in
building a business plan. A simple Google search for the phrase small business plan yields more
than 67 million results. Various sites will either help with writing the plan, offer to write the plan
for a fee, produce reports on industries, or assist small businesses by providing a variety of
support services. The Internet offers a veritable cornucopia of information and support for those
working on their business plans.
