In his article on business intelligence, "You Know It’s Out There…Here’s How to Find It," Keizer provides an impressive array of websites to help small businesses answer some of their most challenging research questions. "Best of all, most of these Web resources won’t cost you a dime," he says.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s EDGAR Database let’s you search through any public company’s SEC filings, he says. "It’s a good way to find out what kinds of perks the top brass at the competition are getting."

"If you’re on a tight budget, check out the free information at the U.S. Census Bureau’s County Business Patterns site. He explains how you can "drill down to the appropriate county in your state for a list generalized industries" to reach "more specific trades (such as brokers, insurance agents) to find the number of employees and payroll information. "It’s a quick way to find out if there’s room for opportunity or if a market’s already saturated," he says.

And if you have a new product in mind, and maybe even a name for it, Keizer suggests that you do a trademark search on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office database. If the product name you want isn’t taken, you can register your trademark on the spot — just fill out the online registration and pay the fee.

If you’re thinking of starting a new business, or expanding your business into a new market, Keizer steers you back to the U.S. Census Bureau and its American FactFinder site for demographic information. When you’ve clicked on Facts About My Community, and then Community Profiles, next you "simply choose the town or city you’re interested in" and create a report from such data profiles as General Population and Housing Characteristics and Income and Poverty Status. The report, he says, "tells you everything you’ve ever wanted to know about a community" such as statistics on home ownership and rentals, educational levels, and languages spoken at home.

To find the qualifications and average salary of jobs you need to fill, Keizer recommends the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, and its online publication, the 1998-99 Occupational Outlook Handbook. "You can search for more than 250 occupations," he says.

And what about government regulations? "To follow these rules, you’ve got to know what they are," he says. He suggests heading to the Department of Labor’s Regulatory Compliance Assistance page. "Part of DOL’s Office of Small Business Programs, this page links valuable resources for small businesses, including The Small Business Handbook, a solid summary of the relevant laws," he writes.

For specific Labor Department regulations — like hard hats and safety — he says the eLaws Advisor page is the "best bet."

Since GSA sells surplus property through its 11 regional offices, he recommends this Personal Property Sales/Auctions page, which links to each office’s public sales information.

Accompanying Keizer’s article is an interesting sidebar, "Watch Your Back," in case another company is researching your business. What if your records in public and private databases are wrong? How do you correct misinformation? If you dispute the information, he points you to the Federal Trade Commission website for what to do.

And, if someone has stolen your identity and ruined your reputation, Keizer says go to the Identify Theft site.

The Small Business Administration’s popular U.S. Business Advisor is a handy one-stop shortcut to government regulations, forms, and other business-related information. And businesses are singing the praises of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Online Advisors. An Online Advisor is as good as having an OSHA safety expert at your side — and maybe better if you’re a little nervous about compliance.

And there’s good news about buying used property from Uncle Sam. The federal government's FinanceNet is a one-stop shop. You can get information on the sale or auction of just about anything that any government -- federal, state, local or international -- offers for sale or auction to the general public electronically.

Patricia Wood, Editor of Access America Online Magazine, also manages the National Partnership for Reinventing Government website. She also oversees the activities of the Federal Communicators Network. You may reach her at pat.wood@npr.gov or (202) 694-0063.