Small Business Resources

When you're just starting up a new small business you need every bit of free advice you can find. One of the best places to turn is the United States Small Business Administration web site and local office. There, you'll find answers to many of the questions and concerns you might have. In easy to read and understand articles, user forums, and calculators to help you work out startup costs and tax liabilities, and many other free small business resources.

The SBA is well known for the help that it offers to small startups. One of their most popular resources is the aid they offer in putting together a business plan. Your business plan is the most important tool you have to leverage your existing funding, land new loans and attract the attention of potential investors. Done right, your business plan can serve as a step by step blueprint for your first two to three years in business, secure a loan and draw in investors to help get you off the ground - or launch your business with a bang.

You'll find local businessmen with lots of experience in your city ready to help you put together a comprehensive, professional business plan at your local Small Business Administration office. They'll critique your presentation and help you polish your business plan before you present it to any banks or investors so that when you ARE ready to jump in to the business world, you'll have a great tool to get you started.

The Small Business Administration can also serve as a guarantor on certain loans to small business ventures. The SBA won't actually lend you money. What they will do is evaluate your business plan and your chances for success, as well as your overall credit. If they think that you're a good credit risk, they'll "pre-certify" you. You'll still have to apply for a loan from a bank or financial service, but you'll be going in armed with a piece of paper from the Small Business Administration guaranteeing that they will repay a portion of your loan if your business fails and you default on it. While an SBA pre-certification is no guarantee that someone else will lend you money, very few new business owners have trouble getting funding that they seek when they have one.

For women and minority business owners, the SBA offers a number of services that are meant to "level the playing field". These include a mentoring network of other women in business for new female business owners, and a series of open Roundtable discussions where you can ask questions and get answers to your questions and concerns. There's also a free "matchmaking" service to hook new business owners up with mentors already working in their fields - the voice of experience is one of the best business resources you'll find anywhere.

Besides their resources for new business owners, the Small Business Administration serves as a vendor gateway for businesses that work with the U.S. government. You'll find listings of contracts that are open for bidding, as well as information on how to bid on them. You'll also find information on filing your taxes, where to find health insurance and health insurance alternatives, how to incorporate your business and just about anything else you need to know about running a small or home business. It's all there for you, and it's all free just for typing www.sba.gov into your browser.