Jack Lander is a credentialed inventor, past president of UIA, and regular columnist for Inventors' Digest, among other achievements. That experience shows in his book How to Finance Your Invention or Great Idea, which provides valuable advice to entrepreneurial inventors who want to control production and manufacturing. Lander lays out a variety of money-raising options, tools, and tips. His clear language, helpful examples, and succinct end-of-chapter summaries make this an informative, easy read. You can find more details about the book and even place orders at Lander's website, www.inventor-mentor.com.

If you're thinking of bringing an invention to market yourself, check out SCORE. This nonprofit organization offers free advice for small businesses "from idea to start-up to success." You can consult them at no charge via email or face to face--even enroll in their low-cost workshops. SCORE's website also offers hundreds of pages of content, including business article, trends, and information. See www.score.org for more.

While re.Invention's blog is advertised as "a toolbox for women-led businesses," it provides insights, resources, and articles of interest to many entrepreneurs and innovators. The blogs by the editorial team are smart, funny, and topical. Surrounding it all is a list of resources, organizations, blogs, and more that is far deeper, broader, and more useful than on many similar sites.

Entrepreneur's online "Inventing A to Z: Everything you ever wanted to know about making your big idea a marketable reality" provides more business basics. From "attorneys to zipped lips," the site provides in-depth articles, plus suggested additional resources. Check it out at http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/homeofficemagcom/2002/may/51616.html.

The National Business Incubation Association (NBIA) brings together organizations and professionals who share an interest in business incubations. The NBIA's website (http://www.nbia.org/) offers helpful free resources (as well as some services and resources available only to paid members). Check out their open list of incubation sponsors if you're searching for advice and seed money. Their bookstore is also a great place to find books, software, and other guides for incubating businesses.

Click here to check out the inventor resources at Technology Transfer Information Center's website. It lists resources for business assistance, including venture capital firms, business incubators, and government-run business assistance programs. The site also provides information about inventor groups, patents, and helpful publications--including a list of inventing-related periodicals.

The Entrepreneur Network (www.tenonline.org) is designed for lifestyle businesses, "helping individuals find creative ways to do 'what you want with what you've got." They address inventors, entrepreneurs, artists/craftspeople, and technical service providers. Features include news, articles, reference materials, resources, information about new product opportunities, and recommended sites.