1. http://startup.wsj.com - Wall Street Journal Start-up information

The best of many American sites providing a wide variety of information for both start-ups and expanding businesses. Topics covered include, planning, financing and franchising. There are lots of sample business plans to examine and you can even develop and test your own business idea on-line. Another helpful site using a similar structure can be found at http://www.bplans.com/

2. http://www.nsd.ie - The National Software Directory Guide to Business Planning

A useful starting point for software start-ups. It identifies the main sections of the business plan and provides practical information on how to avoid the many pith falls in starting a business

3. http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu - Knowledge at Wharton

This University site provides interesting case studies on new ventures. See for example how the founders of E*Entity, defined their mission and identified their client base. http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/articles.cfm?catid=12&articleid=128

4. http://www.garage.com - Garage.com

Excellent source of information for high tech start-ups supplied by this leading US Venture Capital Company.

5. http://www.entrepreneurmag.com/startup

Yet another US site with lots of information for the new owner manager.

Now in its second edition, Crossing the Chasm is the bible of the high-tech entrepreneur. The book is easy to read and is driven by the examples from America's most successful high-tech companies.

An excellent guide for high-tech companies seeking to break into the US market. It covers all the critical issues in high tech market entry including funding. There is an excellent reference section in the appendix. It's expensive at £65 but there are 15 copies in the library.