Reference USA is offering our customers free online training throughout October, November, and December. If you have never used Reference USA before or are an experienced user, you will find a training that will interest you. All you have to do is register online.

• Search Essentials: Four Things You Need to Know
• Uncovering the Hidden Job Market: Career Search Strategies
• Start, Manage, Grow! How Businesses Can Use ReferenceUSA
• People Who Seek People

StreetAdvisor is similar to Yelp, in that the content is user generated reviews but instead of businesses, StreetAdvisor has reviews of city neighborhoods. This site would be helpful for real estate investors/ buyers to get a sense of a particular neighborhood or for someone moving to a new area. I was impressed with the quality of the reviews as well, I could tell the reviewers were very thoughtful in their opinions and the reviews were quite thorough to give readers a real feel for a particular neighborhood.  I will say the weak point is that the site mainly has major cities and major streets, so if you're looking for reviews on say, Lancaster, CA, the site won't be as helpful.

SCORE has a special program called the Veteran Fast Launch Initiative that offers veterans:

• FREE or significantly discounted resources for starting businesses, such as computer software and business services (provided by major corporate partners)
• Training in how to start and how to grow a successful/profitable business
• SCORE’s mentoring program where Fast Launch participants will be assigned a knowledgeable and highly experienced mentor to guide them every step of the way

Learn more about this program and get a coupon towards attending any one of SCORE's workshops for free by visiting http://vetsfastlaunch.org/

This Saturday, August 11th 2012, from 10:30am-12:30pm, the special guest speaker at the Small Business Workshop will be Santa Clara County Supervisor, Mike Wasserman. He will be talking about his personal experience in business, the upcoming Small Business Economic Summit, and how he has been changing county government to run more like a business.

This event is free and will be held in the Santa Teresa Library's community room.

We have just acquired a new online resource, PrivCo.  PrivCo provides business and financial information on major private companies.  In addition, this online database has a search feature for those looking for investors, recent VC fundings, private mergers and acquisitions and equity deals.

If you have ever tried finding data on private companies you know how difficult that can be, this resource can help.

Some of the reasons why this database would be useful to you:

• You are starting a company similar to an established private company and you want to research that company's financials
• You have a start-up and you're looking for investors for seed money
• You want to know which VC's fund biotech
• You're an investor and want to get the inside scoop on IPO's and M&A deals

Try it out and let us know what you think.

You can access this resource for free from work or home with a valid San José Public Library card.

On Thursday, July 19th 2012 at the Entrepreneur Center from 10:30am- 12:00pm, I will be talking about all the great and free resources available for small business. I will highlight some of our online business resources and how they can help you with your small business. I look forward to seeing you there!

Registration is encouraged.