| SCORE.
This year SCORE celebrates its 35th anniversary of helping new
business owners with free counciling. For information about starting
or operating a small business, call 1-800-634-0245 for the SCORE
chapter nearest you or visit their website at http://www.score.org.
Small businesses can receive e-mail counseling, which allows small
business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs to select and correspond
with a SCORE counselor via e-mail. |
| TELEPHONE
SCAM ALERT. Be wary of anyone calling you and identifying
themselves as a Telephone Service Technician who is conducting
tests. The “technician” will ask you to touch nine (9), zero (0),
the pound sign (#) and then hang up. If you do this, you give
the requesting individual full access to your telephone line,
which allows them to place long distance telephone calls billed
to your phone number. Do not press 90# for ANYONE. |
CREDIT
HISTORY. You should check your credit history with the major
national credit bureaus at least once a year. Call or write to
get a copy of your report.
Experian, PO Box 2350, Chatsworth, CA 91313. 1-800-392-1122
TransUnion, PO Box 7000, N. Olmstead, OH 44070. 312-408-1400
Equifax, PO Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374. 1-800-685-1111 |
| DUNS.
Speaking of DUNS, you should get a DUNS number even if you are
not interested in pursuing Government business. Many of your potential
customers may check D&B to see if you are a "real business." The
DUNS number will allow D&B to identify your business. Get the
number - it's free and takes about 2-minutes over the telephone.
You are given the number immediately. |
| SOCIAL
SECURITY INFO. Your social security records are important
(especially in light of possible Year 2000 problems!). Get a current
copy by calling the Social Security Administration at 1 (800)
772 1213 and ask for a "Personal Earnings and Benefit Estimate
Statement," Form SSA-7004 or get one over the internet at http://www.ssa.gov |
| U.S.
GOVERNMENT BUSINESS. NASA has a couple of programs of interest
to small businesses. The Small Business Innovation Research program
(SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR)
The general objective of the SBIR Program is to provide increased
opportunities for small businesses to participate in federal research
and development. The goal of the Congress in establishing the
STTR program is to transfer technology developed by universities
and federal labs into the private marketplace through the entrepreneurship
of a small business. Learn more about these programs at http://sbir.nasa.gov.
|
| CURRENCY CONVERTER.
Need to convert one currency into another? Try out this site:
http://www.xe.net/currency which contains a very easy to use form. |
| UPS WEBSITE CAUTION.
When using the UPS website (www.ups.com) to determine shipping
costs, be advised that the amounts returned are for a customer
with a UPS account - shipping costs for those without an account
are somewhat higher! |
| TELEPHONE SAFETY
TIP: Anyone concerned about employees or family members calling
undesirable exchanges (such as 809, 900 or 926 numbers) can request
"call blocking" from their local telephone company. |
| LOOKING FOR
an area code, an address, a location somewhere in the U.S.? Try
this fantastic resource: http://www.555-1212.com/aclookup.html |
| THE LIBRARY.
Don't forget your local library as a source of business information.
For example, your reference section most likely contains the following
items that, if purchased, cost hundreds of dollars:
Magazine Advertising
Source (SRDS). A giant volume containing listings of thousands
of direct mail lists, mailing list compilers, brokers and managers.
Phone books from
every major city in the U.S and most other countries.
The Thomas Register.
20 volumes of products and services from Abacuses to Zoo equipment;
2 volumes of company profiles, 3 volumes covering the food industry
and 8 volumes of company catalogs.
Tax guides
Periodicals covering
dozens of different disciplines.
The Standard Periodical
Directory (Oxford). Every print publication in the U.S. and
Canada including newspapers, newsletters, journals and catalogs.
|
| AREA CODES.
Looking for the area code for a city or the city for an area code?
Here is an easy to use resource: http://www.555-1212com:80/aclookup.html |
| FRAUD ALERT INFO.
To monitor what's going on in the world of "on line" fraud check
out www.fraud.org. |
| Those of you who
have used the THOMAS REGISTER series of industrial catalogs
know what a valuable resource it is. Now search the complete catalog
on line at http://www.thomasregister.com and save the cost of
this expensive resource and gain the advantage of keyword searching. |
| CONSUMER INFORMATION
CATALOG. Get a copy from the Computer Information Center,
7D-7, POB 100, Pueblo, CO 81002. It's free and contains some interesting
free and inexpensive small business related publications. For
example, "Copyright Basics" 50-cents; "General Information concerning
Patents" $2.25; "Guide to Business Credit for Women, Minorities,
and Small Businesses" 50-cents; "Resource Directory for Small
Business Management" 50-cents; "Starting a Business" Free. You
can view all these publications at the Consumer Information Site
at http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov. |
