Getting Started

Small Business Development Centers

As the SBA’s largest non-finance program, Small Business Development Centers meet the needs of small businesses and promote economic development in local communities by helping to create and retain jobs. Partially funded by a cooperative agreement with SBA, SBDCs meet the counseling and training needs of more than 650,000 start-ups or existing business clients annually.

SBDCs provide services such as development of business plans, manufacturing assistance, financial packaging assistance, contracting assistance and international trade assistance. Special emphasis areas include e-commerce, technology transfer, IRS, EPA and OSHA regulatory compliance, research and development, Defense Economic Transition Assistance, disaster recovery assistance and market research. Based on client needs, SBDCs tailor their services to meet the evolving needs of the local small business community.

SBDCs deliver management and technical assistance to prospective and existing small businesses using an effective business education network of 63 lead centers and more than 1,000 service center locations contracted to manage a broad-based SBDC program. SBDCs are located throughout the U.S., District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

There are specialized programs for small businesses owned by individuals who are socially and economically disadvantaged, women, veterans, Reservists, people with disabilities and persons in low- and moderate-income urban and rural areas.

SCORE

SCORE is a 10,500-member volunteer nonprofit association which operates under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

With more than 40 years experience helping small businesses succeed, SCORE matches volunteer business-management counselors with clients in need of expert advice.

SCORE has experts in virtually every area of business management and maintains a national skills roster to help identify the best counselor for a particular client. Volunteer counselors, whose collective experience spans the full range of American enterprise, share their management and technical expertise with both current and prospective small business owners.

Most SCORE volunteers are retired business owners or managers, though some members are still actively employed. Volunteers work in or near their home communities to provide management counseling and training to first-time entrepreneurs and current small business owners. They meet with clients at a SCORE chapter office, an SBA office or at the client's place of business.

Every effort is made to match a client's needs with a counselor who is experienced in a comparable line of business. All individual and team counseling is free; there may be a nominal fee for workshops and seminars.

Through in-depth counseling and training, SCORE volunteers help prospective and established small business owners and managers identify problems, determine the causes and find solutions.

Any small business can obtain help from SCORE. Whether you are considering starting your own business, have a business that is experiencing problems, are ready to expand, or need some other type of advice, SCORE can help. The approach is confidential and personal.

You don't need to be applying for or have an SBA loan to participate in the program. In fact, an idea is all that is necessary; consultation and counseling before a business start-up is an important part of SCORE's service.

Women's Business Centers

SBA serves women entrepreneurs nationwide through its various programs and service, some of which are designed especially for women. Many of these are overseen by SBA’s Office of Women’s Business Ownership.

Women’s business ownership representatives in every SBA district office coordinate services for women, helping them access appropriate training, counseling, mentoring, federal contracting opportunities, financing, and more. They can also provide information on other local resources, including SBA resource partners and lenders.

The SBA’s Women Business Centers are a nationwide network of 114 community based centers that provide business training, counseling, mentoring and other assistance geared to women, particularly those who are socially and economically disadvantaged.

To meet the needs of women entrepreneurs, the WBCs offer their services at convenient times and locations. Some offer child care during training and many provide assistance and materials in different languages, depending on the needs of the individual communities they serve. Classes are either free or offered at a small fee, and scholarships are often available to those who need them. A number of WBCs also provide courses and counseling via the Internet, mobile classrooms and satellite locations.

Both SBA district offices and women’s business centers offer mentoring roundtables. If there is not an existing roundtable nearby, women’s business centers may be able to help women entrepreneurs set them up.

Veterans Business Outreach Centers

The Veterans Business Outreach Center Program provides online and face-to-face entrepreneurial development services such as business training, counseling and mentoring to eligible veterans owning or considering starting a small business. SBDCs and SCORE also provide targeted management assistance to veterans who are current or prospective small business owners. SCORE also provides resources and counseling services online at: www.score.org.

The SBA offers special assistance for activated Reserve and National Guard members and the small businesses they work in or own. Any self-employed Reserve or Guard member with an existing SBA loan can request from their SBA lender or SBA district office, loan payment deferrals, interest rate reductions and other relief after they receive their activation orders.

The SBA offers special low-interest-rate financing to small businesses when an owner or essential employee is called to active duty. The Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program provides loans to eligible small businesses to cover operating costs that cannot be met due to the loss of an essential employee called to active duty in the reserves or National Guard. Small businesses may apply for MREIDLs of up to $1.5 million if they have been financially impacted by the loss of an essential employee. The SBA has created a special Web page specifically for Reserve and Guard members at http://www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/reservists/index.html.

To ensure that veterans, service disabled veterans and Reserve and National Guard member entrepreneurs receive special consideration in all its entrepreneurial programs and resources, the SBA has established a fully staffed Office of Veterans Business Development.

OVBD develops and distributes various informational materials for entrepreneurship such as the Veterans Business Resource Guide, VETGazette, Getting Veterans Back to Work, and various other materials. Veterans may access these resources and other assistance from OVBD by visiting the Web site at: www.sba.gov/VETS/.

Franchising

There are more than 3,000 franchised businesses. The challenge is to decide on one that both interests you and is a good investment. Many franchising experts suggest that you comparison shop by looking at multiple franchise opportunities before deciding on the one that's right for you.

Some of the things you should look at when evaluating a franchise: profitability, effective financial management and other controls, a good image, integrity and commitment, and a successful industry.

In the simplest form of franchising, while you own the business, its operation is governed by the terms of the franchise agreement. For many, this is the chief benefit for franchising. You are able to capitalize on a business format, trade name, trademark and/or support system provided by the franchisor. But you operate as an independent contractor with the ability to make a profit or sustain a loss commensurate with your ownership.

If you are concerned about the risk involved in a new, independent business venture, then franchising may be the best business option for you. Remember that hard work, dedication and sacrifice are key elements in the success of any business venture, including franchising.