(FORTUNE Small Business) – FranchiseSolutions.com On my mother's last visit, we spent our time doing her two favorite New York City things: walking through Central Park and eating dessert. For the latter I pulled her into a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop so that we could split two 200-calorie sugar rings. She took one bite, glanced around the green and white shop, and said, "You know, your brothers and I should start a family business back home." I don't know if it was the glaze talking, but it got me thinking: Is there a business--albeit beyond supervising a conveyor belt full of doughnuts--we'd be suited to? FranchiseSolutions.com helps: We can get the lowdown (initial capital needed, total investment) on available franchises, and search by how much we're willing to spend. Request more info about name brands like Dunkin' Donuts, Subway, and even various home-based businesses.

iShip.com Nothing ruins a day like a late or lost package--just ask our photo editor. We worked together to pull in the products for this year's gift guide (page 116), and one lifesaver was the "Quick" tools on the right side of iShip.com's homepage. It didn't make a cutting board magically appear in time for the photo shoot, but the tool told us exactly where it was (it works for every carrier). On the flip side, "QuickPrice" let us find the best option for returning everything. Based on the weight and when we need a product to arrive, it spits out a chart comparing the prices and delivery times of each major shipper.

KLWines.com In high school all the girls on the tennis team envied my doubles partner. Not because of her partner's ferocious backhand (ask anyone!), but because she got to celebrate her 13th birthday with her very own bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne. Sounds fishy until you realize the nature of her family's business: Her parents own K&L Wine Merchants, one of the San Francisco Bay Area's noted wine retailers, with two local stores and a corresponding website. The site is packed with readable wine descriptions. Whether you're buying a (value-priced?) bottle of white to complement the entrees of the next company luncheon or the rarest bottle of Bordeaux ($3,999) to send to your best client, the selection will be easy. Just note the states K&L can ship to--if yours isn't on the list, call for other shipping arrangements.

WorkPlaceDiversity.com According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 85% of people entering the work-force in 2005 will be minorities. Tap into this trend early--if you haven't already--by posting open positions at WorkPlaceDiversity.com, so your firm will appeal to those potential employees. The site promotes itself on many diversity organization sites (e.g., the NAACP) and pulls industry news and content from over 2,500 sources.

Citysearch.com For $24 a month, this local entertainment and company directory site will list your business and a link to your website. It promises better visibility to web surfers and placement above basic listings, but I rarely found what I was looking for. When I searched under "BBQ restaurant" for a place whose exact name I didn't know, I found it buried beneath Thai places and seafood houses. Sometimes even entering the correct name wasn't enough: I typed in "Max," a local bistro, and had to scroll through listings like "Nat'l COMM for Labor Israel" and "Village Vanguard" before I reached the right info--on the sixth page.