Library Guides: New Orleans Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses: Welcome!

Welcome!

Turchin Business Library is pleased to provide this guide to resources for starting and managing a business. Designed for local and regional entrepreneurs and small business owners, the resources presented here include links to business databases through the state library of Louisiana, business plan guides, and sources for registering intellectual property and researching your customers and industries. Links to city and state sites for determining your legal structure and registering your business are also included.

Turchin Library’s business librarians are happy to help. For more information, please call 504-865-5376 or write to us at turchin@tulane.edu.

Resources for planning and managing your business

Bplans
Guide to business planning including templates and examples.
Business Model Canvas
Design, test, and assess your business ideas. Free templates allow you to describe, design, challenge, invent, and pivot your business model.
Choose your business structure
From the Small Business Administration: The business structure you choose will have legal and tax implications. Learn about the different types of business structures and find the one best suited for your business.
Propeller-Types of Business Structures
Propeller's guide to deciding which business structure is right for you
Small Business Administration (SBA) Build Your Business Plan
SBA's business plan tool; must register for an account.

Data USA This link opens in a new window
A collection of U.S. statistics and stories including information on demographics, public health, energy consumption, education, mean income and other topics categorized by location, industry, occupation and education.

US Census-Current Industrial Reports
Monthly, quarterly, and annual measures of industrial activity.
US Census Annual & Quarterly Services
Estimated revenue and inventories.
Economic Census-US Census Bureau
Compiled every 5 years for every industry; includes statistics for the U.S., states, metro areas, counties, and cities.

Small Business Administration-Market Research & Competitive Analysis
SBA's guide to researching the market and finding your competitive advantage

Data USA This link opens in a new window
A collection of U.S. statistics and stories including information on demographics, public health, energy consumption, education, mean income and other topics categorized by location, industry, occupation and education.

Pew Research Center
Includes access to data sets for Pew's many ongoing research projects: People & the Press, Journalism, Hispanic Trends, Global Attitudes, Internet & American Life, Social & Demographic Trends, and Religion & Public Life.
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Free registration required before downloading data sets.

Google Advanced Patent Search
Search by keyword, patent number, title, inventor, original assignee, or U.S. or international classification.
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office-Classification Standards and Development
Common classifications schemes of the United States and European patent offices.
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office-Getting Started with Patents
Tools and links for searching for existing patents and filing a patent application.

ThomasNet.com
Supplier Search: Source manufacturers, distributors, MRO providers and other service companies from a network of over 600,000 suppliers. Refine by location, ownership, certification and more to create shortlists.