Recommended Business Websites

Free, public websites for business information.

Business Associations

ASAE Center for Association Leadership

Guide2Detroit Business Directory

The Novi Chamber of Commerce

Business News & Information

allBusiness

Best Online Bachelor's in Business Administration Programs

BBC News

CNNMoney

Michigan Business Network

MSNBC

Yahoo! News

Business Plan Samples

Business Plan Development help from SBDC

Business Planning and Financial Statements Template Gallery from SCORE

Free sample business plans from Bplans

Write a Business Plan help from SBA

Demographics and Statistics

BizStats by BizMiner (free business statistics including industry benchmark reports, industry profitability risk data, financial calculators and more)

Census Business Builder: Small Business Edition

Consumer Price Index (CPI)

Current Employment Statistics (CES)

Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED)

Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget Labor Market Information (employment stats, income estimates, industry forecasts)

Michigan State University global EDGE (international market information)

Monthly Labor Review

Producer Price Index (PPI)

Survey of Current Business - Bureau of Economic Analysis

U.S. Census (people & households/business & industry/geography)

U.S. Census Economic Indicators

U.S. Census FactFinder (population/housing/economic/geographic)

U.S. Census Industry Snapshots (economic census by NAICS code)

Entrepreneur Community Consulting & Education Partners

Advantage Oakland Business Programs (including WalkIn StartUp Small Business Counseling monthly in Novi)

Eastern Michigan University Center for Entrepreneurship

Great Lakes Women's Business Council (formerly Center for Empowerment and Economic Development - CEED)

Michigan Corporate Relations Network (MCRN) University Expertise Portal

Michigan Small Business Development Center (MI-SBDC)

Michigan State University - Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Michigan State University - Product Center

Oakland University - OU Inc.

Service Corp of Retired Executives (SCORE)

Schoolcraft College - Business Development Center (BDC)

Schoolcraft College - Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC)

University of Michigan Business Engagement Center

Financing/Capital (Crowdfunding)

Financing/Capital (Traditional)

Grants.gov (Federal Government Grants)

Grant Proposal template from the Legal Action Council

Great Lakes Angels

Michigan Economic Development Corporation - Venture Capital and Grant Funding services

Michigan SBDC - Raising Capital services

Small Business Administration - Loan Programs

U.S. News & World Report Business Credit Card Guide

Government Resources

City of Novi Business Information

IRS Tax Information for Businesses

LARA Corporations Online Filing System - Business Entity Search (find registered companies in Michigan)

Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) (find Michigan business guidelines and download required forms)

Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget - Contract Connect (learn how to become a vendor to the State of Michigan

Michigan Department of Treasury

State License Search (find out if you need a license or permit for your business)

State of Michigan Business One Stop

USA.gov Small Business Resources

U.S. Department of State Business Center

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

U.S. Small Business Administration

Industry Codes

NAICS Codes (North American Industry Classification System)

SIC Codes (Standard Industry Classifications – up to 1987 then superseded by NAICS codes)

Investment Websites

Calculators

Investopedia calculators

Compound Annual Growth Calculator (The CAGR calculator is a useful tool when determining an annual growth rate on an investment whose value has fluctuated widely from one period to the next.)

Investment and Personal Finance Education

CNN Money - Money Essentials

Kahn Academy lessons on Finance

Michigan State University MI Money Health - Michigan State University Extension (MSUE) through its Greening Michigan Institute is teaching standard financial and home ownership principles to people throughout Michigan.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Office of Investor Education and Advocacy

Stock Symbol Lookup

Yahoo! Finance

Stock Prices (historical quotes)

Yahoo! Finance ( Investing (top tab) => choose “Stocks” on the drop-down menu => on the right column under “Research Tools” choose “Historical Quotes”. NOTE: You will need to know the company stock symbol to access this information.)

Stock Prices (real-time)

Yahoo! Finance
Type the full company name into the search box located below the “Home” tab. Click on the company name (the symbol will be displayed to the left of the full company name). The company profile will be displayed with the real-time stock price listed beneath the company name. NOTE ABOUT “REAL-TIME”: Real-time data is available during market hours (9:30 am to 4:00 pm Eastern time) and for the pre-market session (8:00 AM to 9:30 AM Eastern time).
Free, Public Websites for Business Information

Market Indices

CNNMoney (real-time for Dow, Nasdaq, S&P 500)

SEC Filings

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Provides free public access to corporate information, allowing you to quickly research a company’s financial information and operations by reviewing registration statements, prospectuses and periodic reports filed on Forms 10-K and 10-Q.* You also can find information about recent corporate events reported on Form 8-K but that a company does not have to disclose to investors.
* Form 10-K is an annual report; Form 10-Q is a quarterly report. Both include financial statements (balance sheet and income statement) and key business ratios.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission - EDGAR
Provides help for investors on how to search within the Edgar database.