The following websites are excellent resources for researching and defining your business strategies, skills and risk-tolerance, along with your industry, market and product. These websites also offer links to additional information and support for your efforts:

• http://www.hcplonline.info/smallbusiness/businesscenter.html
  The Harford County Public Library Small Business Center offers resources to start, run and grow a small business.

• http://www.harford.edu/sbdc
  The Small Business Development Center will help establish and expand business by providing a variety of management and technical assistance programs and tools.

• http://www.sba.gov
  The U. S. Small Business Administration home page leads to a wealth of programs and services to start, grow and succeed in business.

• http://www.sbaguides.com/pdf/english/maryland.pdf
  The 40-page Maryland Small Business Resource Guide is located on the Maryland SBA webpage.

• http://www.choosemaryland.org/businessservices/smallbusiness/SmallBusinessIndex.html
  Maryland values the significant contributions the state’s approximately 443,000 small businesses make to our economy. Of that number, some 128,000 are women-owned, and nearly 115,000 are minority-owned. This important sector of our economy employs 47 percentof all Maryland workers.

• http://www.mdminoritybusiness.com

The Governor’s Office of Minority Affairs acts as a small and minority-owned business liaison in cooperation with the State of Maryland’s various departments.