Located at 9200 113th St North - Seminole, FL 33772 - (727) 394-6905		 Seminole Library's Online Guide to Business
 

General Business Directories

Here will be found large collections of business related resources covering a wide range of topics
InvestorWords "With over 5,000 investing terms and 15,000 links between related words, InvestorWords is the most comprehensive financial glossary you'll find anywhere, online or off." 
New York Times Business Connection
Links to markets (all major exchanges) investing sites, company information, government, business news and business directories.
Business Link    Provided by the Librarian's Guide to to the Internet. Currently there are some 54 web sites listed in this directory. Each is carefully and concisely described. Resources are grouped by "best of," "general directories" and sources for specific industries or types of business.
LookSmart Business Links. You'll need to "drill down"  through LookSmart's extensive array of business related categories, to get to specific information sources, but you'll not likely encounter any dry holes.
The Corporate Library is "a repository for research, study and critical thinking about the modern global corporation, with special focus on corporate governance and the relationship between company management, their boards and shareholders." 
Industry Information Resources.  "Industry Information Resources provides links to industry resources for over 250 industries. Individual pages for each industry list resources available from trade associations, publications, and research firms which address subjects such as industry overview, issues, trends, and outlook, financial ratios and benchmarking, compensation surveys, and valuation resources"

Competitive Intelligence Sources
CI Strategies and Tools.  From Fuld & Scott. Describes over 600 sources of business intelligence covering topics from macro-economic data to individual stock quotes.
The CI Resource Index: Competitive Intelligence Resources Categorized.  Links to over 650 databases.
 

Company and Investor Information Links

These sources provide extensive and detailed information about individual businesses and the financial markets.
Wall Street Research Net  Probably the most comprehensive investment resource on the web.  Covers all companies traded on the major North American stock exchanges. Typically features links to company home page, SEC filings, fundamental data charts, stock performance, company profiles and business news.
 The Motley Fool  Good site for those new to the investing game 
Investools  Site for online investment advice.
SmartMoney.com  Multi-featured online investment zine. Includes ratings for brokers, mutual fund information, IPOs, stocks, bonds, personal finance and business news.
.Investor Guide.  "InvestorGuide, provided by WebFinance, Inc., is a web site that provides annotated links to free information on personal finance and investing. The links are carefully selected and are organized into Personal Finance, Investing and Education." Reviewed by Internet Scout Project.
American Association of Individual Investors "The American Association of Individual Investors specializes in providing education in the area of stock investing, mutual funds, portfolio management and retirement planning. We are a not-for-profit organization that arms investors with the knowledge and tools needed to manage their finances effectively and profitably."
 Edgar Electronic database of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Highly detailed data on publically owned companies in the United States. 
Washington Post International Markets and IndicesLinks to all major international stock markets and indices. Arranged by region.
Yahoo! Finance. Quick responding site showing performance of stocks along with links to other data on markets and companies.
Mutual Funds Sources
Money Magazine's Ultimate  Guide to Mutual Funds

Morningstar
.Historical Stock Charts. Closing prices for stocks or mutual funds dating from January 2, 1985 to the present.
Carol World. Free UK based source for company annual reports and other online investor information. Reports are searchable by business category or by name. Geographic coverage Europe, Asia and the United States.
Industry Research Desk. Created by Polson Enterprises, this site has a number of useful features including a step by step guide for industry or company research,  directories of industries and manufacturing web sites and a guide to patent searching.

Florida Business Information

Offered mainly by the State of Florida and economic development agencies (such as Enterprise Florida), these sites offer information about Florida firms, advice about starting a business in Florida and sources for business opportunities both within the State of Florida and internationally.
Registering a business in Florida
Florida Department of State Corporations Public Access System
Florida Small Business Development Centers
Enterprise Florida
Florida Small Business Resource Guide.
Starting a Business in Florida. From the Florida Department of State, site covers business registration,  location selection, tax registration and land use permits.
 

Venture Capital Sites

Business funding sources and information relating to venture capital.
National Venture Capital Association. Includes list of members with descriptions and contact information.
America's Business Funding Directory
vFinance.com
Commercial Finance Online

Small  Business and other resources

Sites listed here include sources for small business advice, starting a business and special topics such as franchises, network marketing and exporting.
  Multilevel Marketing Sites From LookSmart.
CCH Business Owner's Toolkit.  A set of online tools including model documents, downloadable financial spreadsheet templates,  checklists and  official government forms from the IRS and other Federal agencies. See also the CCH Small Business Guide for "Thousands of pages of information and tools to help you start, run and grow a successful small business"
 Franchise Links Another collection of sources assembled by LookSmart.
 Small Business Links  LookSmart's collection of small business resources
  U.S. Business Advisor Federal government site. A one stop "information mall" for small business assistance given by the US government
How to Start a Business.Online book with many info-links See also  Operating Your Sucessful Small Business, another complete online book
Small Business Administration
Women's Online Business Center.  The SBA's directory for the female entrepreneur.
Mining Company Links for Small Business Information
Export-Import Bank
Yahoo Small Business Links

The links here provide information about supplying goods and services to Federal, state (Florida) and local (Pinellas County) Governments. 
 

Doing Business with the Federal Government
FAR: Federal Acquisition Regulation. Online version of the Federal procurement "bible" covering all aspects the process in exacting detail.
CBD.NET. Commerce Business Daily.  The free online version of the Commerce Business Daily, the daily publication which lists proposed government procurement actions, contract awards, sales of government property, and other procurement information. A new edition comes out every business day and contains between 500 and 1000 notices. Backfiles of the CBD (from 1996) can be searched on GPO Access (online federal government databases) from December 2, 1996
FEDBIZOPPS Federal Business Opportunities The mandatory government wide point of entry for posting goverment business opportunities greater than $25,000 
CCR Central Contractor Register. "CCR is a robust, customer focused database for vendors wishing to do business with the DoD [Defense Department]. CCR has been designed to hold information relevant to procurement and financial transactions."  Companies must be registered in the CCR in order to be awarded contracts by the Department of Defense. The site is divided into five main sections: the Vendor Corner, which explains how to become registered with the CCR,  the Government Area, Small Business , a set of critical links such as Department of Defense Business Opportunities and the Department of Defense Small Business Office, the CCR handbook, and access to CCR data.
Government Contracting. Site produced by the Small Business Administration. Its most useful section is Library& Resources which include links to acquistion offices of individual federal departments and independent agencies. 

Doing Business with the State of Florida

PurchasingDirect Vendors Center. Online access to state purchasing information. "Search for state purchasing offices, look up state contract prices and SNAPS information, review available bids, research rules, and much more -- all at your fingertips." 
State of Florida Purchasing Manual and the State of Florida Vendor Guide.
State Purchasing Report. Quarterly newsletter for Florida state purchasing.

Doing Business with Pinellas County
Pinellas County Purchasing Department. Besides general information about doing business with the county this site also includes links to vendor application forms, a directory of current bid openings and the county guide to procurement.
 
 

Industry Specific Information Portals ("Vortals")

Directories of web sites devoted a specific topic such as an industry are often referred to as "vortals" or vertical portals. A "vortal"  gives information about an industry which will not likely be found by using standard search engines. 
Net Resources International.  The Internet technology arm of one of the United Kingdom's leading business to business publishing firms (Sterling  Publications Limited). International in scope each of their vortals includes up to date detailed project information, directories of leading suppliers and equipment with "a full profile of each companies activities and products",  list of current events, shows and exhibitions, and a"comprehensive reference source of the most powerful organisations in the industry."  A complete directory of NRI sites can be found by clicking on this link to this part of their web site. Or you can visit individual vortals listed below
Aerospace Technology
Air Force Technology
Airport Technology
Army Technology
Automotive Technology
Chemical Technology
Hospital Management 
Hotel Technology
Hydrocarbons Technology
Mining Technology
Mobile/Cellular Technology
Naval Technology
Offshore Technology (oil and gas)
Packaging Technology
Pharmaceutical Technology 
Plant Automation Technology
Plastics Technology
Port Technology
Power Technology
Railway Technology
Semiconductor Technology
Ship Technology
Space Technology
Sports Technology
Steel Technology
Urban Transport Technology

Water Technology

International Business

 Country Commercial Guides. Prepared by the United States Commercial Services, a division of the Department of Commerce  these provide extensive business and commercial profile of selected countries throughout the world. Information includes general business and commercial climates, guides to doing business in the country, and likely markets for U.S. exports.

 Doing Business Produced by the World Bank. Covers business regulations and their enforcement for 130 different economies. Topics covered include business registration, labor relations and contracts.