University of Southern Maine

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USM Business Professor Contributes to New Business Web Site

April 19, 2006

A professor in the University of Southern Maine School of Business has been recruited to provide content for a new Web site (http://www.smallbizresource.com/) described as the first comprehensive online information source for home or small office entrepreneurs.

USM Associate Professor Warren G. Purdy, has been a consultant with Inc. Magazine's Growth Management Consulting Group, and former president of the National Association of Small Business Development Centers, is author of the column "Small Biz Advisor." The column is a regular feature of the new Web site,
SmallBizResource.    

SmallBizResource was launched in late February and attracted 400,000 visitors in its first month of operation. SmallBizResource is expected to generate 750,000 hits each month, according to CMP Media, which created the site. CMP media is a subsidiary of United Business Media, a global provider of news distribution and specialist information services. 

The site, which is updated daily, features information on the basics of business law, marketing, HR issues, and the use of technology, among other topics. All information is geared to the needs of small businesses and home office entrepreneurs. According to CMP Media, there are nearly twice as many home-based enterprises as there are commercially established small businesses.

Purdy, one of four regularly featured columnists, has authored several columns for the site on topics such as knowing your customers and developing a virtual business. His latest, "The Cocktail Napkin Test," is a primer on conducting a break-even analysis. 

Purdy, the author of three books on business planning, joined the USM School of Business in 1980. Prior to entering academia, he worked on Wall Street as a loan and investment officer with CITICORP, and was associated with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. 

EDITOR'S NOTE: Purdy can be reached at wgpurdy@comcast.net, tel: 207-780-4866, or 603-431-5060.

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