Even though the BIC contains a vast collection of information and links, it is designed to be simple to navigate and find what you are seeking quickly. It will take just a minute to get to know the five main areas of the site:

The top navigation bar links you to pages that deal with information about the NHBIC Web site, its partners and sponsors, how to contact us, and the user registration interface. You can also change the site’s language from English to Spanish, or vice versa.

The left navigation bar is split into four main categories: Money, Markets, Management, and Community. Under each of these headings you’ll find links to topics related to each of the categories. This information has been developed and compiled by the NHBIC staff and outside business experts. It’s a great place to explore the fundamentals of starting and running a business with a few simple clicks.

Just above the left navigation bar are a text box and button for the BIC’s powerful business search function, and a link to the BIC BizCoach, which gives you search results for a collection of most-asked business questions.

Type a word, a phrase, or even a sentence or two into the search text box, then click the “Search” button. You’ll be directed to the main search interface, where you can click on the results and find information from external Web sites, as well as relevant content from within the BIC site.

Click the BIC BizCoach icon under the search box and you’ll go to a page of questions that have been screened by business experts as some of the most vital to small business owners and prospective entrepreneurs. When you click on a question you’ll be directed to the search interface, where you can see search results related to the question on which you clicked. Try it out and see what a powerful tool this can be to increase your business knowledge!

Toward the lower right of the BIC home page you’ll see a green box with a list of cities for which we have searched and compiled links to local government agencies, business associations, training opportunities, and nearby funding options. If your city is on the list, click it to check out valuable contacts within your community. (Note: You can also click the “Switch to…” drop down box at the top right of the home page to see the current list of cities. Click on the city to be taken to the local resource page.)

In the BIC Forums you can ask questions of other site users and business owners, use your own experience to offer advice, and discuss the latest issues affecting you and your business. Just click the “BIC Forums” icon to be directed to our discussion boards. Remember, if you’re having a problem or need feedback, there’s probably someone else out there who has already overcome your obstacle and can help you through it. Just choose a category (Money, Markets, Management, or Community), then click the “New Topic” button to get started. (See “How-To: Use the BIC Forums” below for more advanced techniques.

The BIC search function is a powerful tool for finding articles and Internet content directly related to your business needs. Searching only Web sites screened and selected by the BIC staff, our search engine provides results with greater relevancy and fewer commercial solicitations than the major public search sites.

The BIC search engine is also unique in its support of natural language queries. That means you can type in phrases, sentences—even a paragraph—if you need to really narrow down your search results.

There are two ways to begin a Simple Search:

1. Type one or several keywords, a phrase, or even one or more sentences into the search text box at the upper left of the home page. Now click the “Search” button under the text box; or
2. 2) Simply click on the “Search” button, and you’ll be taken to the main search interface page where you can type in your search term(s). Click the “Search” button and your results will display in a box on the right side of the screen. Now click one of the search results and an article or other information source related to your query will open in a new window.

As you can see from the graphic, you may also check the appropriate boxes in order to focus your search to selected sources of information. In our example, we’ve checked Misc1, Manage, NHBIC, and Misc2.

To refine your search results beyond a Simple Search, use the Advanced Search function. (Note: You must be registered and logged in to conduct an Advanced Search.)

Click the Advanced Search icon at the top of the search interface page.

As you can see, you now have several more criteria with which to define your search: Quality, Dates, Query Language, Sort by. Click the “Query Help” button to see more detailed descriptions of each of these criteria.

A Search Agent will work on your behalf to discover new information and articles related to a business topic in which you are interested. When the Agent finds this material, it will send a link to your e-mail inbox so you can access the information. Here’s how it works:

After logging in, conduct a Simple or Advanced Search. When you find a link that is particularly useful or relevant, just click the small “eye” icon to the right of the link in the search results box.

To view the Agents you have created, click the Agents icon at the top of the search interface page. Now you can edit or delete previously saved agents. For more advanced instruction on using and managing Agents, click the “Query Help” button.

The BIC Forums are a place to meet and mingle with other small business owners and entrepreneurs like you. You can ask questions about your specific business concerns, or offer advice and encouragement to others who may be following in your path.

To enter the BIC Forums, click the orange BIC Forums box in the lower half of the home page. The Forums are organized into the four categories Money, Markets, Management, and Community, just like the business topics on the home page. You’ll see that you can read and post messages in either English or Spanish.

Each forum category contains multiple topics, or messages; a posted message plus any replies to that message is called a “thread.” Click on a forum category, for example Markets. You’ll see something like this:

To view the topic titled “Market Research,” click on the topic name. You’ll see the thread with the original message and any responses that message has received. To start a new topic in this category, click on the “new topic” button and you’ll see the “Post a new topic” screen. (Note: You can read threads in the forum without signing in, but to post a message you must complete the registration process by clicking “Register” at the top of the forum index page, and then signing in before you post. This is a separate login from your main NHBIC user login.)

Type the subject of your message into the “Subject” field at the top, then type your message into the main text box. Use the formatting options and emoticons to add your individual style to the message. To finish, click “Submit” to post your message to the forum, or “Preview” to see what your message will look like before it’s posted. You can always come back and edit or delete your message later.

One of the most effective techniques in using the forums to get information is to use the search capability. Let’s say you have a question about incorporating your business, and you’d like to find advice that other forum users have offered on this subject. Click the “Search” icon or text in the menu at the top of the page.

The Search Query screen will appear. Enter the keywords you’d like to search for, complete the other search options as you think appropriate, and click the “Search” button. A list of topics matching your keywords will be displayed. Now you can scan the topics to see if someone else has already asked (and answered) a similar question. If so, now you don’t have to wait for another member to reply to your original question. You can get back to work making your business a success!

A list of topics matching your keywords will be displayed. Now you can scan the topics to see if someone else has already asked (and answered) a similar question. If so, now you don’t have to wait for another member to reply to your original question. You can get back to work making your business a success!

To read about additional features and technical aspects of the BIC Forums, click the “FAQ” button on the forums menu.