Of prototypes and other things

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There's a column in the Wall Street Journal called "Small Talk", which currently appears every Tuesday. Readers are encouraged to send their small-business questions to smalltalk@wsj.com. A question last month was about prototypes. Columnist Kelly Spors recommended Thomasnet.com/, from the people who put out the Thomas Register. Click on Engineering & Consulting, then Prototypes. Also, the United Inventors Association makes recommendations.

Another more general useful tool from WSJ is the Startup Journal, from the paper's Center for Entrepreneurship, with tabs for franchising, finance, running a business and more.

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