Interested in learning more about using business development as a tool for the revitalization of your downtown? The following organizations and resources provide a host of innovative solutions and inspiring ideas:

Click on one of the following topics:

o Resources for Local and Independent Businesses
o Regional Business Development Resources
o National Business Development Resources


Regional Business Development Resources:

DowntownProperties.net
Find available storefronts and offices in downtown-based communities throughout Southwest Pennsylvania!
www.downtownproperties.net

Entrepreneurial Lifelines
Pittsburgh based Entrepreneur Mentoring Program
http://www.pittsburgh.tie.org

PA SourceNet Business Directory
Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development
http://www.newpa.com/default.aspx?id=15

Pittsburgh Regional Alliance
Business Resource Center
http://www.alleghenyconference.org/PRA/

Pittsburgh Technology Council
Helps the regions technology companies grow and thrive
http://www.pghtech.org/

Score Pittsburgh
Counselors to Small Businesses
http://www.scorepittsburgh.org/

Small Business Development Center
Duquesne University, Pittsburgh
http://www.sbdc.duq.edu/

Small Business Development Center
University of Pittsburgh: Katz Graduate School
http://www.business.pitt.edu/entrepreneur/sbdc/

Women’s Business Network Inc. of Southwest Pennsylvania
http://www.wbninc.com/

National Business Development Resources:

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Links Page to Online Articles about Entrepreneurship
http://web.mit.edu/e-club/hadzima/

Minority Business Development Agency
Planning and Startup Information for Minority Business Enterprises
http://www.mbda.gov/?section_id=5

National Association of Women Business Owners
http://www.nawbo.org/

National Business Association
http://www.nationalbusiness.org/

National Minority Business Council
http://www.nmbc.org/

Online Women’s Business Center
http://www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/onlinewbc/index.html

Resources for Local and Independent Businesses

Downtown First!
Offers a free directory of Downtown Businesses in Western Pennsylvania and identifies local, independent businesses. Downtown Business owners in select communities can post coupons, hours and more to their free webpage on Downtown First.
www.downtownfirst.net

American Bookseller’s Association
www.bookweb.org

American Independent Business Alliance
www.amiba.net

Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE)
www.livingeconomies.org

New Rules - The Hometown Advantage, Reviving Locally-Owned Businesses
http://www.newrules.org/retail/index.php

BOOK: Going Local: Creating Self-Reliant Communities in a Global Age
By Mark Shuman, Institute for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship

BOOK: Home Town Advantage: How to Protect Your Main Street from Chain Stores and Why It Matters
By Stacy Mitchell, Institute for Local Self-Reliance