SBDC Helpful Links

Helpful Links

Federal and State

Business News and Articles		 Local

Finance and Loans		 Chambers of Commerce

Inventors

Federal & State Government

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/index.html
Your one-stop business resource - employer ID (EIN), employment taxes for small businesses, IRS forms and publications.

http://www.business.gov/
Getting legal help, federal/state laws and regulations for businesses.

http://www.sba.gov/hubzone/
Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Empowerment Contracting Program. Federal contracting preferences to  HUBZone-certified small businesses.  

http://www.azdes.gov/opac/
Department of Economic Security, Office of Procurement and Administrative Counsel.
Guide for doing business with DES; Business Services contact persons; Purchasing Office solicitations; Arizona Procurement Information.

http://www.census.gov/
United States Department of Commerce - US Census Bureau.

http://sba.gov/
US Small Business Administration (SBA)

http://www.irs.gov/
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Forms and information booklets for small business owners; Tax information

http://www.azcommerce.com/BusAsst/SmallBiz/
Arizona Business Connection - A one-stop resource center for state and local governmental regulations such as: name registration, federal identification number, state licensing requirements, trademark and trade name, patents, copyright, sales tax license, Arizona payroll taxes, unemployment compensation, zoning, home based businesses, environmental regulations, permit to operate a business, peddler’s license, permit to operate food establishment/food handler’s permit.

http://www.cc.state.az.us/
Arizona Corporation Commission

http://www.azcommerce.com/CommAsst/Profiles/
Arizona Department of Commerce – Community Profiles

http://www.azsos.gov/business_services/tnt/
Arizona Secretary of State’s Trademark & Trade Name Office

http://www.revenue.state.az.us/
Arizona Department of Revenue

http://www.rc.state.az.us/
Arizona Registrar of Contractors

http://www.azdoa.gov/spo/
Arizona Procurement Information Exchange.  How to do business with the state.

http://az.gov/webapp/portal/
Arizona State Government Information Portal

Local

http://pinalcountyaz.gov/
Pinal County Government

http://www.ajcity.net/
City of Apache Junction

http://www.ajmainstreet.com/
Apache Junction Main Street

http://www.casagrandeaz.gov
The City of Casa Grande

http://www.casagrandeaz.gov/web/guest/finance
City of Casa Grande - Business License & Transient Merchants License  (Required for Peddlers & Street Vendors) Finance Department

http://www.casagrandeaz.gov/web/guest/devcenter
City of Casa Grande Building Permits Information and Home Business

http://www.casagrandemainstreet.org
Casa Grande Main Street

http://www.caredf.org/
Greater Casa Grande Valley Economic Development Foundation
(Serving Casa Grande, Coolidge & Eloy)

http://www.coolidgeaz.com/
City of Coolidge

http://www.eloyaz.org/
City of Eloy

http://www.town.florence.az.us/
Town of Florence

http://www.townofkearny.com/
Town of Kearny

http://www.cityofmaricopa.net/
City of Maricopa

http://www.goldcanyonwebsite.com
Gold Canyon Community Bulletin Board; Gold Canyon Businesses

http://www.superior-arizona.com/
Town of Superior

Chambers of Commerce

http://www.apachejunctioncoc.com
Apache Junction Chamber of Commerce

http://www.azchamber.com
Arizona City Chamber of Commerce

http://www.casagrandechamber.org
Greater Casa Grande Chamber of Commerce

http://www.coolidgechamber.com
Coolidge Chamber of Commerce

http://www.copperbasinaz.com/
Copper Basin Chamber of Commerce

http://eloychamber.com/
Eloy Chamber of Commerce

http://www.florenceaz.biz
Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce

http://www.maricopachamber.com/
Maricopa Chamber of Commerce

http://queencreekchamber.org/
Queen Creek Chamber of Commerce

http://www.santanareachamber.org/
San Tan Area Chamber of Commerce

http://www.superiorarizonachamber.org/
Superior Chamber of Commerce

Business News and Articles

http://www.ceoexpress.com
Business portal for executives – business news, business research.

http://www.bpwaz.org
Business and Professional Women/AZ – the leading advocate for working women.

http://www.rhondaonline.com
Tips on all aspects of starting and running your own successful business by Rhonda Abram, one of the nations most recognized advocate for small business.

http://www.hoovers.com
Find companies not just by what they're named but also by what they do, where they're based, or how they're structured.  Information on more than 300 industries.

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix
Latest business news, business resources, sales prospecting, networking. Business Journals are the best way to reach business owners, managers, top executives, and the people you want as customers.

Finance and Loans

http://www.bdfc.com
Business Development Finance Corporation offers many different loan programs to finance business expansion

http://www.azsmallbusinessloans.com/
PPEP Microbusiness & Housing Development Corporation, Inc. (PMHDC)
Intermediary Lender for SBA MicroLoan Program

Inventors

Beware!

There are a lot of "invention promotion" scam artists out there waiting to take your money and give you heartburn in return.  They advertise on late night radio, on Internet web sites, and in TV infomercials--promising to help inventors make a fortune from their ideas.  They won't!   Avoid them and don't get burned!

Dan Shaffer, Business Counselor
Central Arizona College Small Business Development Center

http://www.uspto.gov
United States Patent and Trademark Office
This user-friendly, US Government web site will give you nearly all of the information you need, including basic information on types of patents, filing instructions, and fees.  You can do patent searches on-line to see if your idea has already been patented and it is even possible to apply for a patent on-line.

http://www.azinventors.org
The Inventors Association of Arizona
The non-profit Inventors Association of Arizona has a web site at the above URL titled, Arizona's Inventor Network Source.  The organization, which you can join, is made up of inventors and entrepreneurs, and it is a useful source of information for inventors at all levels of experience.   There is a membership fee, but there are also monthly meetings open to the public with an entrance fee of $5.00 for non-members.  You can also find useful information from presentations made at its past meetings (e.g. "Basics of Licensing" and "Financing Your Invention") on their web site at http://www.azinventors.org/meetingnotes.htm.

http://www.sba.gov/training/courses.html
SBA On-Line Training Courses

http://www.sba.gov
The US Small Business Administration has a wealth of information available at its web site.

http://sbdcnet.org/SBIC/copyright.php
SBDCNET National Information Clearinghouse: Copyright, Trademark, and Patent Information. Many online resources for inventors are accessible through links at this web site.

http://www.inventionconvention.com/ncio/inventing101/index.html
National Congress of Inventor Organizations:  The NCIO web site also provides resources for inventors including this free course on patenting an invention by Stephen Paul Gnass. It provides useful information on patenting process, from keeping a log book and obtaining non-disclosure agreements to patent searches and applying for a patent.

www.inventorsdigest.com
Inventors' Digest: This magazine, by and for inventors and other "idea people", has useful information and articles.  Many helpful articles from past issues of the magazine are available free to non-subscribers at the above web site (Click on "The Best of Inventors' Digest").

http://www.uiausa.org
United Inventors Association: This non-profit organization, which is sponsored by the Dial Corporation, has been in existence since 1990 and has a lot of useful information.  Find out about their Services and Resources or Educational Content.

www.inventored.org and www.inventnet.com
Both of these sites are designed primarily as forums (e-mail based discussion groups) where inventors can talk and exchange tips with other inventors.  They also have a lot of other useful information and newsletters.  In particular, I strongly suggest you read the "Inventing and Patenting Help" article by Victor Lavrov at http://www.inventnet.com/help.html.

http://www.inventnet.com/prior_art.html
Patent Searches: You can do your own patent search, but it is recommended that you also have a professional patent search done before filing. Through the Inventnet.com web site, a firm named Patent Search International (PSI) offers a professional patent search with patentability opinion for $240.

http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/provapp.htm 
Provisional Patent Application:  "Since June 8, 1995, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has offered inventors the option of filing a provisional application for patent which was designed to provide a lower-cost first patent filing in the United States. Applicants are entitled to claim the benefit of a provisional application in a corresponding non-provisional application filed not later than 12 months after the provisional application filing date." Fee: $100.00

Other Patent Information

  • Prepare and File Your Own Application: You can prepare your own patent application and even file on-line with the US Patent and Trademark Office at its web site http://www.uspto.gov.
  • Self-Patenting Books and Software:  There are books on self-patenting.  Check your library for Patent It Yourself by David Pressman.  If your library doesn't have it, ask them if they can get it through interlibrary loan.  Lavrov mentions other books as well as the "Bookroom" on the www.inventnet.com website.
  • Software Programs: There are a number of software programs designed to help prepare patent applications.  These include the following:

Note:   Some files may be pdf and require Adobe Reader to access.

If you have any questions or need additional information, please call us @ 520-494-6610 or send an email.  To sign up for counseling, please fill out a request for counseling form.

AZ SBDC Network State Office   Central Arizona College   U.S. Small Business Administration


Content on this page is provided by Small Business Development Center.

Central Arizona College - District Office 8470 N. Overfield Road, Coolidge, AZ 85128 Phone: 800-237-9814