Resources

Association of Women in the Metal Industries — a professional society of women and men who wish to foster the professionalism and personal growth of women in the metal industries.

Bureau of Labor Statistics — Official government site for business stats.  Most commonly-used statistic found on this site is the consumer price index.

Business Resources on Better Management — A wholly owned subsidiary of SAS Institute, Inc, the site contains resources on a variety of business topics across several industries and worldwide. 

CFO.com — Online version of CFO Magazine. Free subscriptions may be available. The website has searchable index of article topics. 

CIO Magazine — articles on supply chain management in its Supply Chain Management Research Center.  Free subscriptions available to qualified subscribers.

CPA Manufacturing Services Association — Olsen Thielen is the exclusive Minnesota member of this professional association of CPAs across the country who specialize in providing high-quality financial and consulting services to manufacturers.

U.S. Census Bureau — The Business category specifically includes such reports as Economic Census, Survey of Manufacturers, Foreign Trade, etc.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission — Contains regulations, laws, and information by product for manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers. 

U.S. Department of Labor — Occupational Safety & Health Administration — OSHA offers tools to help companies comply with requirements, and contains information regarding Laws & Regulations, Enforcement and Cooperative Programs.

Internal Revenue Service — link to numerous IRS forms and publications,

Manufacturing Alliance — Olsen Thielen is a member of this state association for manufacturers.

Manufacturing.net — organizes information from 23 leading publications according to function-specific communities. 

Minnesota Department of Revenue — Good resource of Minnesota tax information, including sales tax fact sheets.

Minnesota Precision Manufacturing Association — MPMA is a membership organization comprised of 320 manufacturers and their suppliers, which has served as the voice of precision contract manufacturing industry in Minnesota for 44 years.

Minnesota Technology — MTI is a non-profit organization originally founded and funded by the state  to assist businesses with growth and efficiency. 

National Institute of Standards and Technology — NIST is a non-regulatory federal agency within the U.S. Commerce Department. One of its four cooperative programs is the Manufacturing Extension Partnership - a national network of local centers offering assistance to smaller manufacturers.

Small Business Development Center National Information Clearinghouse (SBDCNET) — partially funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration, the site's toolkit provides a database of information and tools for use covering a variety of topics including business plans, assessment tools, marketing, etc.

Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms — A federal program providing federal assistance to manufacturers affected by import competition. Pays for one half of cost of consultants or industry-specific experts for projects that improve a manufacturer's competitiveness.

Wall Street Journal Online — Good source of business headlines.  A full subscription gives subscriber access to a great deal of business information.