Business and Startup Resources

Collections and Resources

 

Starting a Business in San Francisco (64:34) Presented by the San Francisco Office of Small Business  

The Main Library maintains an extensive collection of business directories that covers private and public companies in the United States and other parts of the world. Most of these directories are located on the 4th Floor of the Main Library for reference (in-library use) only.

Here are a few examples of our business directories in print:

Databases
  • Reference Solutions (Data Axle) contains U.S. business and residential telephone directories, with detailed business information. For “the white pages,” search the U.S. Consumers/Lifestyles database within ReferenceUSA. Download limit: 250. 
  • Mergent Intellect offers access to private and public U.S and international business data, industry news, facts and figures, executive contact information, the ability to access industry profiles, and much more.
  • Mergent Online has U.S. and international company financials, ratios, news, and annual reports.

This collection consists of resources on developing business plans. One of the most frequently used resources for this subject matter is the Business Plans Handbook which is a compilation of actual business plans developed by small businesses throughout North America.  This 60-volume set is available at the Main Library - 4th Floor - Business, Science & Technology Desk. Call No. 658.4012 B964 v1-60. It is also available online.

Online Databases
  • Gale Business: Entrepreneurship offers digital access to the Business Plans Handbook mentioned above. Search through a library of hundreds of real business plans. Get advice with how-to guides, articles and websites. Under Browse Topics, find Plan, and select Business Plans.
  • Mergent Intellect offers business plan templates in Word format. Click on Learning Center and then on Business Templates.
  • Plan Builder (Gale Business) provides a step-by-step process to build a business plan. Grow, plan, and optimize a business/nonprofit. Click "Get Started" on that page to create your account.

  • The Office of Small Business (OSB) serves as the City and County of San Francisco's central information point for small businesses. Receive one-on-one free business counseling, register a new business and more. OSB maintains this step by step guide to starting a business in San Francisco and offers starter guides with resources and processes for the most common types of small businesses in San Francisco.

  • San Francisco Small Business Development Center (SBDC) provides small businesses with the solutions they seek and the confidence they need to realize their dreams. Explore their quarterly training schedules, be paired with a mentor, and more. Note: You have to currently be operating a business in San Francisco to become a client. Anyone can avail themselves of the training opportunities through SF SBDC, however.   

  • Small Business Administration, San Francisco provides assistance to start and grow a resilient business. SBA is an independent agency of the federal government and serves to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns. Through SBA, explore financing options, receive free counseling and explore low-cost training opportunities for entrepreneurs. 

  • San Francisco SCORE can help you start, grow or successfully exit a business. SCORE pairs entrepreneurs with skilled mentors. SCORE also offers a plethora of virtual training at no cost. 

  • The Chamber of Commerce fosters a thriving business environment by hosting events, sponsoring initiatives, and collaborating with various community stakeholders. Through partnerships with merchant groups, community benefit districts, and industry associations, the Chamber contributes to the overall economic success of San Francisco. The Chamber sponsors San Francisco's annual Small Business Week and curates a selection of local resources to support small businesses, demonstrating their commitment to the growth and prosperity of the community

  • Renaissance Center helps launch and maximize new and existing Bay Area small businesses, delivering services from training and consulting to business incubation, access to capital, networking and special programs for women. 

  • SF LGBT Center takes pride in assisting LGBTQ entrepreneurs in San Francisco through a variety of programs including one-on-one business consulting and coaching, various business workshops, a new entrepreneur training program, the Queer Street Marketplace, and referrals to their vast small business development network for funding and other support.

  • En2action engages community stakeholders to develop and implement extensive neighborhood revitalization and economic development strategies that encourage and build dynamic and vibrant commercial corridors in emerging neighborhoods. En2action has several program offerings for entrepreneurs through three main programs: Sell Black, Ujamaa Kitchen and Black Cultural Preservation Mini-Grants. 

  • Propsera partners with Latinx entrepreneurs to launch businesses that foster cooperation, economic independence and well-being in immigrant communities. Through their culturally-based programs, participants access the networks, tools and capital they need to become successful business owners and powerful community leaders. Their workshops and courses are conducted in Spanish.

  • SF New Deal is a local non-profit organization that strengthens neighborhoods by making it easier for under-resourced small business owners to succeed. SF New Deal runs “Vacant to Vibrant," a program that transforms vacant downtown San Francisco storefronts into vibrant communities shaped by local small business participation. Vacant to Vibrant is a component of the Mayor’s Roadmap to San Francisco’s Future. 

We provide a variety of resources to assist you in conducting thorough market research. This includes sources for tracking market trends and assessing competition. Our offerings extend to a number of consumer demographics sources to help you find information on potential customers for your product or service. 

Online Databases
  • Business Source Complete (EBSCO) offers access to business journals including market research and consumer research publications.
  • Through Insights (Gale Business) find market share/rankings and market research reports by limiting your search results by those content types. 
  • Reference Solutions (Data Axle) offers a U.S. Consumer/Lifestyles database containing information of consumers who have answered market research surveys about their preferences. 
  • Statista has a Market Insights platform that covers a broad range of topics, from consumer goods to technology to automobiles. The Consumer Insights platform helps you understand consumer behavior and consumer interactions with brands.
Print Sources 
  • Book of Lists lists top ranking local businesses by industry or service. 
  • Business Rankings Annual compiles business rankings published in periodicals, newspapers, financial services, directories, statistical annuals and other sources. Lists only top companies but covers a wide range of industries.
  • California Retail Survey lists 10-year sales trends for 45 retail categories in over 500 market areas. 
  • Market Share Reporter presents market share data on over four thousand companies, and 2,500 products, facilities, and brands. 
  • Plunkett’s Industry Almanacs contain market research, latest trends and technologies analyzed, profiles of leading companies and more in each industry-specific almanac. 
Internet Resources
  • Census Data is the platform to access demographic and economic data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Census Data provide detailed statistics that businesses can use for business decisions and strategic planning.
  • Consumer Expenditure Surveys provide data on expenditures, income, and demographic characteristics of consumers in the United States. Issued by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Discover valuable datasets related to businesses and the economy in San Francisco through DataSF, an open data portal offering a wealth of information relevant to businesses under its Economy & Community category. Explore a range of valuable datasets, including registered business locations, a mobile food facility permit database, maps of commercial vacancy tax status and registered businesses, San Francisco population and demographics census data, and more. Users can easily navigate the portal by browsing categories, departments, data types, or tags to pinpoint specific datasets relevant to their business or research needs. 

Find resources on securing funding to start, run and grow your business, including nonprofit businesses.

Grants
  • Find information on small business grants currently available through the City and County of San Francisco 
  • The San Francisco Women's Entrepreneurship Fund is a joint project of Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA) in collaboration with the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD). The Fund provides mini-grants of up to $5,000 to San Francisco women-owned small businesses for projects and upgrades that will have a transformative impact on the business’ ability to grow.
  • California Grants Portal offers a centralized location to find new state-administered grant and loan opportunities.
  • OEWD and its partners provide small business consulting services and access to capital in the form of grants and affordable loans.
  • The National Pride Grant provides qualified U.S. based small businesses the opportunity to obtain one of 25 LGBTQ+ grant packages worth a total of $25,000. To be eligible for the National Pride Grant, you must identify as an LGBTQIA+ business owner, have been in business for at least one year, employ two to 100 people, and produce less than $5 million in yearly revenue.
  • The National LGBT Chamber of Commerce’s Community Impact Grant Program is intended to raise funding for LGBTQ-owned or LGBTQ+ ally-owned eateries. The program provides scholarships ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 to restaurants, bars, and cafes that serve food. To qualify, you must show documentation that your business is LGBTQ-owned or associated.
  • The Transform Business Grant is a microgrant program aimed to help small business owners from systematically oppressed groups, such as people of color, formerly incarcerated people, and queer, transgender, and nonbinary people. To qualify, the business must be social impact oriented. Grantees receive $1,000 as well as a year-long business planning and mentorship program.
  • Queer to Stay, an annual grant program, is administered by the Human Rights Campaign, Paramount+, and the television network Showtime. This initiative provides assistance to small businesses that primarily serve the LGBTQ+ community, including LGBTQ+ Communities of Color, the LGBTQ+ Women's Community, and/or the Transgender and Non-Binary Community. Qualifying businesses must explain how they have experienced a negative financial impact due to COVID-19.
Loans
  • SF Lends is an initiative of the Office of the Treasurer & Tax Collector and the City Administrator’s Office to address the difficulty many small businesses have in accessing capital. SF Lends connects small businesses to affordable loans and lines of credit for their day-to-day cashflow needs. This is a great option for small businesses that are certified as Local Business Enterprises (LBEs), with active contractual relationships with the government. 
  • Main Street Launch works with OEWD to provide capital to businesses through the Emerging Business Loan Fund (EBLF) and other lending programs, offering small business loans from $10,000 to $350,000.
  • Accion Opportunity Fund provides $5,000 - $250,000 loans for small businesses, as well as educational resources and networking opportunities. 
  • Pacific Community Ventures provides loans and microloans up to $250,000 for small businesses that have been in business for at least 12 months.
  • Southeast Asian Community Center is a designated intermediary lender for the US Small Business Administration’s 7(m) Microloan program. This program provides commercial loans of $5,000 to $50,000 to small businesses that have been unable to secure conventional bank loans.
  • Working Solutions offers $5,000 to $100,000 loans for first-time business owner and serial entrepreneurs, including those with limited credit history and those who have been turned down for bank loans.
  • MEDA's community loan fund, Fondo Adelante, provides $5,000 to $100,000 loans to small-business owners in the 9 Bay Area counties who cannot get a loan at a traditional bank.
General Sources of Business Names

Search general business directories to find out what names are in use.

  • Reference Solutions (Data Axle) contains 101 million business names. It is searchable by any keyword in the name and also by industry and location. (In the U.S. Businesses Database's Advanced Search, include/select Unverified Businesses to capture all businesses using the name.)
  • Mergent Online has U.S. and international company financials, ratios, news and annual reports, including D&B Private Company Database.
  • Consultants & Consulting Organizations Directory (print directory)
  • Encyclopedia of Associations is a good source for nonprofit and special interest organizations. In print at the General Collections Center.
    California Businesses
  • California Business Search provides access to available information for corporations, limited liability companies and limited partnerships of record with the California Secretary of State. The Business Search is only a preliminary search and not intended to serve as a formal name availability search. (See Name Reservations for more information.)
  • Brands & Their Companies - U.S. listings of trade names and products. Current
  • ThomasNet contains information on manufacturers, distributors and service providers. Includes a brand search.

Fictitious Business Name (FBN) Search

  • Search for your business name on the San Francisco Fictitious Business Name index to see if it is available. If your business name has already been filed with the San Francisco County Clerk's Office, you must choose another name.


Print Directories of Local Businesses

The Business, Science & Technology Center has many print trade directories for a wide range of industries. 


Additional Suggestions
  • Search the Internet for your prospective trademark. Use a search engine like Google for a broad search or try an index such as Yahoo to concentrate on a business or product category.
  • Scan trade magazines for business and product names.
  • Consult local and regional yellow pages.
  • For special types of businesses, consult a library center that specializes in a related subject. For instance, ask staff at the Art, Music, and Recreation Center about searching for band (music) names.
  • There are companies that perform trademark searches for a fee. They can be located in the phone book under “trademark consultants,” or found online in library databases such as Reference Solutions (Data Axle).