Starting Your Own Small Business

Would you like to start your own business but do not know where to begin? Your public library is the best place to start. The Business Information Center, located at the reference desk at the Main Library, offers materials and services to help you launch your own small business.  We provide information about the steps you might take to begin your business and offer a wide variety of resources from which to choose.

We are happy to assist anyone thinking about starting their own small business, as well as those of you who are new entrepreneurs. The Business Information Center has an extensive collection of information to help you, including business databases, newspapers and periodicals, industrial surveys, statistical sources, and marketing and advertising information. We also have materials on writing business proposals and business plans, and explaining how to set up different kinds of entities.

There's a wealth of information on our business databases which can assist you with everything from starting, financing, and marketing a business, to issues of international trade, taxes, profits and losses, and staffing. If you are interested in learning how to use the our business databases, we offer a class called, Business on the Internet.   Keep an eye on our web site at  http://www.pbclibrary.org/ to find out the dates for these classes which are open to all, but space is limited in the computer lab. We ask that you stop by or call the reference department (233-2600) to pre register.

You can even do some research from your home computer. Take the following steps on your home computer to access the business databases:

Visit our home page at  http://www.pbclibrary.org/  point your mouse to Research Resources,
Click on Electronic Databases
Go over to the Business & Law section.

In the comfort of your home, you will be able to search databases such as Access World News (there is a subset Access Business News), Reference USA (directory of US businesses), and the Business and Company Resource Center (company profiles and histories, brand information, rankings, and investment reports).

In addition, when you stop by, you can pick up any of our business bibliographies. For instance, the bibliography on Local Contacts for Small Business provides information about business incubators, centers designed to support and nurture small, start-up businesses. It also provides contacts for the Florida Atlantic University Small Business Development Center (FAU/SBDC), which has offices throughout the county offering free professional expertise to current and prospective small business owners. The staff conducts seminars and provides counseling in a wide variety of areas including accounting/bookkeeping, business plans, compliance, emergency planning, financing, franchising, taxes, and more.

The Local Contacts for Small Business bibliography includes the names, addresses, phone numbers, and web sites for county and state information on business licensing and registration. This information is useful for obtaining a Palm Beach County occupational license, zoning, or registering a business in Florida with the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporation. We also have bibliographies on Grant Resources, Business Plans and Venture Capital, Franchising Resources, and Importing and Exporting.

Any of our reference librarians can help you with books and other materials in the library. We also have an extensive business periodical collection which includes those geared to the small business owner such as Entrepreneur and Inc.

We have many resources for your use. Individual consultations and group tours are available by appointment at 233-2600. Ask for the business librarian or the Research Center. A list of business seminars on a variety of topics can be found on the library's web site - Publications.  We look forward to serving your small business needs.

Posted: 04/16/07