Business Resources

(Los recursos para hispanohablantes se enumeran en una página separada.)

FVRL Resources

Reference Solutions (formerly ReferenceUSA)

Find U.S. white pages and yellow pages, as well as demographic details, business competitor maps, and heat maps for U.S. and Canadian businesses. Get the most out of Reference Solutions by visiting their Learning Center.

Legal Information Source

Use tools and instructions to independently address a wide range of legal issues including business law, financial planning, family law, property & real estate, and rights & disputes.

DemographicsNow (Gale Business)

Access a variety of ready-to-use and customizable demographic data reports for entrepreneurs, students or anyone who needs to identify cultural patterns or sociological trends.

Dun & Bradstreet First Research Industry Profiles

Review industry intelligence tools that can be consumed very quickly to better understand a prospect’s or client’s business issues. Published by Hoover's Inc.

Small Business Source

Access articles with up-to-date information on starting a company, operations management and sales, or growing or rescuing a business.

You may also view the Small Business Start-Up Guide: Washington directly.

Entrepreneurship (Gale Business)

Learn how to start, finance, or manage your small business. Includes sample business plans, how to guides, articles, and more. Find full-text insights, tips and strategies for students and entrepreneurs.

ABI/INFORM Trade & Industry

Read trade and industry-focused information in journal articles, market reports, industry reports, and news.

Gale Business: Insights

Review company profiles, brand information, rankings, investment reports, company histories, chronologies, and company & industry news from periodicals.

Business (Gale OneFile)

Research companies, the products and technologies they produce, and the markets in which they compete. Results include summaries and full text from business and trade journals, industry newsletters, newspapers, market research studies, news releases, and investment and brokerage firm reports.

One title of particular interest is The Economist. You can even use the feature "Create Journal Alert" to receive notifications when articles from new issues are published!

Web Resources

WorkSource Washington

Explore careers, research occupations, the labor market, and more under the Career Tools menu. Find local offices, training, job listings, etc. under the Resources tab. Take advantage of the information and services for both job seekers and employers.

SCORE SW Washington

Access free individual mentoring services, no- and low-cost workshops and events, plus templates and tools, all to help entrepreneurs start and successfully run small businesses. Serves Clark County, Longview, and the Columbia Gorge.

SBDC - Small Business Development Centers

Find advice, training, and resources for Washington business owners and entrepreneurs.

Washington Business Hub

Find information and requirements for planning, starting, running, and closing a business in Washington State. Do you need a license, business name, information about reporting revenue, paying taxes?  It's all here!

Librarian Tips

Tip: find resources for starting or growing a small business

Try searching the web for "small business." Look for results from .us, .gov, and .org. Add your  state, county, or city name to the search to focus more locally, e.g. "small business" +Skamania County.

Tip: find local incentives and assistance for business

Try searching Google Maps for "economic development" and then dragging and zooming the map to focus on your county or metro area, then clicking "Search this area."

Tip: Check the library catalog for business subjects

Check the library catalog for business subjects like: