Standard Business Plan Outline. Bplans.com.  Lists elements of a business plan.

Essential Elements of a Good Business Plan.  U.S. Small Business Administration.

Business Plan Template.  U.S. Small Business Administration.  Fill in content and generate a business plan using the template.

NEBS Business Plan Tool.  A company that markets directly to small businesses provides this template that can be filled in to generate a business plan.

Nonprofit Business Plan Outline.   Nonprofits Assistance Fund.

Business Plans and Profiles Index.  Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.  Lists plans by industry with samples.

Free Sample Business Plans.  Bplans.com.  This site provides sample business plans in addition to selling software.

Sample Business Plans.  Entrepreneur.com.  Provides more than 125 sample business plans. 

Moot Corp Competition.  Sample Business Plans.  Center for Business Planning provides award-winning sample business plans and links to web resources for planning a business.

Business Plans Handbook.  Online at Gale Virtual Reference, v. 13 - present.  Print volumes in Holland and Terrell Reference HD 62.7 B865, v. 1 - 12. 

WSU WorldCat.  Lists books and other resources owned by WSU and other libraries as well as journal articles.

Griffin Catalog.  Lists books and other resources owned by WSU as well as journal titles.  Does not provide access to journal articles by topic.

Writing a Business Plan.  U.S. Small Business Administration.

Writing a Successful Business Plan.  Deming Center for Entrepreneurship. University of Colorado.

Business Planning for Nonprofits: Why, When - and How it Compares to Strategic Planning.  Alliance for Nonprofit Management.

Nonprofit Incorporating - The Business Plan.  Donald A. Griesmann. Tufts University.

All of the books listed may be borrowed through Summit, if the WSU copy is checked out.

Guide to Business Planning. (2nd edition)  Holland and Terrell HD 30.28 F747 2009

Anatomy of a Business Plan: the Step-by-Step Guide to Building Your Business and Securing Your Company's Future.  (7th edition)  Holland and Terrell HD 30.28 P5 2008  Includes a chapter on nonprofits.

Entrepreneur's Guide to Writing Business Plans and Proposals.  Holland and Terrell HD 62.5 C423 2008

Perfect Phrases for Business Proposals and Business Plans : Hundreds of Ready-to-Use Phrases for Winning New Clients, Launching New Products, and Getting the Funding You Need.  Holland and Terrell HF 5718.5 D43 2006

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Business Plans. Holland and Terrell HD 30.28 M67 2005

Entrepreneur Magazine's Creating a Successful Business Plan : a Step-by-Step Guide to Building Your Plan.  (5th edition) Holland and Terrell HD 30.28 H477 2004

Bankable Business Plans.  Holland and Terrell HD 30.28 R644 2004

Strategic Planning for Nonprofit Organizations: A Practical Guide and Workbook.  (2nd edition)  Holland and Terrell HD 62.6 A45 2005

The Nonprofit Handbook : Everything You Need to Know to Start and Run Your Nonprofit Organization. (4th edition)  Holland and Terrell HD 62.6 .G762 2005 

Sources of Information for Market Analysis Part of the Business Plan

IBISWorld.  Industry research reports for over 700 U.S. industries, at the 5-digit NAICS.

Business Source Complete.  Indexes and provieds full-text articles from thousands of business journals and periodicals on all aspects of business.

Passport GMID.   Earlier title: Global Market Information Database. Provides information on markets, consumers, companies, countries, and industries world wide.

Lexis Nexis Academic.  Provides company information and full-text articles from thousands of news, business, and trade publications.

Sources of Information for Financials Part of the Business Plan

eStatement Studies.  RMA.  Covers approximately 350 U.S. industries.  Nineteen of the most widely used ratios in the financial services industry accompany the balance sheet  and income statement information, including various types of liquidity, coverage, leverage, and operating ratios.  Gives both current and historical data, arranged by NAICS code.

Dun & Bradstreet Key Business Ratios.  Holland and Terrell Reference HD 47 D8  Provides ratio information for over 800 U.S. industries arranged by SIC code.

Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial ratios.  Holland and Terrell Reference  Covers nearly 200 U.S. industry groupings, arranged by NAICS code.

More extensive list of resources available at Industry Research LibGuide.

Sources of Free Legal Information on Washington State Law.  University of Washington Law Library.

The Business Organizations section provides links to information on starting a business in Washington State, changing business status, growing a business, licenses & permits, hiring & managing employees, taxes, doing business with the state, and finding laws & regulations.

For students, I can:

• Recommend the best business databases to search for your research topic
• Answer your questions via email, phone or in-person
• Meet with you individually or in groups to hash out your topic or discuss business research strategies
• Tell you about library services

For faculty, I can:

• Track down tricky citations
• Introduce your students to research tools and strategies via a workshop
• Create a webpage tailored to your class assignment
• Discuss ways to best incorporate research skills and library materials into your class assignments
• Meet with your students individually or in groups
• Purchase books and other material needed for your research
• Tell you about new library services
• Communicate the department's concerns and information needs on to others in the Libraries