Resources 10/04
Web sites, organizations, events and more to grow your business
LoopNet.com is an online commercial real estate service that has
more than 250,000 commercial lease and sales listings. It offers a
free basic service that highlights properties, as well as a
"Find a Broker" directory of real estate professionals
nationwide who can assist you with your real estate challenges.
Don't be intimidated by the prospect of managing online
payments—it can save you time and money. CyberSource has
numerous free PDFs you can download that help promote online
payments, including "New Payment Rules Change Online Retail
2003," "Managing Online Tax Calculation in 2004,"
and "Best Practices for Contact Centers."
American FactFinder offers U.S. Census Bureau data sets in
easy-to-understand formats. Create custom maps and tables by
picking out only the information desired, such as industry, race,
economic level, etc. The site also offers ready-to-go data sets,
making your customer data search even easier.
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ContentFinder.com helps small businesses find syndicated content
sources for Web sites, newsletters or even their intranets. The
site organizes content by topic, demographic audience, content
type, language and publisher. Search results contain provider
briefs and are cross-referenced for convenience. The results offer
a link to the content provider's Web site, resulting in free
contact information.
A directory of information on professional, business and trade
associations; 501c nonprofit organizations; chambers of commerce;
and other charity and community organizations. The site boasts more
than 35,000 organizations and is updated in real time. The list is
available online for $49.95 per month plus a $99 setup fee, or $395
per year. A CD-ROM edition is available for $595 and includes free
Web access for one year.
Experian BizInsight is an online B2B prospecting tool for
entrepreneurs. Small businesses can generate customized leads from
more than 15 million U.S. businesses, as well as target
demographics, credit and public record data. If timeliness is a
concern, you can take advantage of pre-established lists that are
ready for rent, such as the Cottage Industry File (homebased
businesses) or the Hotline File (new businesses filed).