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Although everybody wants to say that “it’s never been easier to start a business” than it is now, the truth of the matter is that they are exactly right! Not only has the Internet and its many tools made starting and operating a business easier than ever, the amount of attention being given to Entrepreneurship is at an all-time high. Whether through popular television shows like “Shark Tank”, “The Profit”, “Cleveland Hustles” or other shows that chronicle the trials and tribulations of entrepreneurs, being an Entrepreneur seems to be the ‘in thing’.
Entrepreneurship is the In Thing
Even though this added media attention brings with it potential negative energy, it certainly has elevated the importance of entrepreneurship in the economy and has made the true Entrepreneur the new darling of popular culture.
In fact, all of this positive attention has helped put in motion a renewed level of assistance from governmental, non-profit and for-profit entities that are focused on elevating entrepreneurial and small business activity. It REALLY has never been a better time to start and grow a business!
Take advantage of what’s out there
That being said, where do I start? Who do I reach out to? Where do I go or who do I go to for help? All great questions. Like many things in the world of entrepreneurship there is not an exact formula or a perfect pathway.
However, there are definitely some places to go first that might help compress the time frame to get on a pathway to success. Unfortunately, with the onset of this new focus on entrepreneurship, there is also more ‘noise’ out there in the space which has caused more confusion on where an entrepreneur should go for help.
What’s an Entrepreneur to do?! The first place to go is to a Small Business Development Center (SBDC). The SBDC is a national network that is usually a partnership between the federal Small Business Administration (SBA) and a University or state economic development agency. Either way, the SBDC is staffed with professionals that have spent their careers in helping entrepreneurs with getting businesses started and to the next level.
They’re from the government and they REALLY are here to help you!
In most cases, each SBDC has business counselors that have a general comprehensive of business formation and operations and have personnel that specialize in specific areas of business. The benefit of reaching out to an SBDC to begin with is that they are normally connected to the overall business assistance network throughout the state and have a broad network of contacts.
SBDC Centers
These centers can help you get your business idea from a concept into a business plan. The other good news is that the first few meetings with an SBDC counselor are usually free of charge. Therefore, it is extremely important to get as many of your ideas down on paper and fleshed out as completely as possible so that you can maximize your interaction with the SBDC. https://www.sba.gov/local-assistance/resource-partners/small-business-development-centers-sbdc
SCORE Mentors
The next stop would be to your local Senior Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) chapter. https://www.score.org/find-mentor?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7YLSn8if_QIVlP3ICh2iPwnMEAAYASAAEgIUcPD_BwE
SCORE is actually made up of volunteers who have had significant experience in private business and industry.
In most cases, these individuals held substantial positions within their respective businesses and offer an array of skills for a startup or a business that wants to get to the next level.
Similar to the SBDC, SCORE provides their services for free and works with other governmental agencies in the business assistance space such as the Small Business Administration (SBA) and state development agencies. Although sometimes SCORE specializes in specific areas, they are usually able to provide the same type of assistance as the SBDC. In fact, SCORE’s sponsoring agency is the SBA (www.sba.gov).
SCORE has some incredibly important resources for the entrepreneur and small business person, like their online counseling and workshop offerings. In addition, their forms ranging from business plans to financial spreadsheets are some of the best in the business. The easiest way to determine the type of assistance that is possible for your venture is to look them up at www.score.org and see if there is a chapter location near you.
Local or regional Economic development Agencies
The third place to look for help is a local or regional economic development agency. More than likely these will take the form of being a municipal or community funded department usually with the title of economic development, business development or commerce department.
Either way, if it is a municipal entity it will require that the business is actually located within the confines of that’s community boundaries. Regional development agencies, by their make up, tend to be able to assist businesses from a wider range of communities within their vicinity and usually provide very similar services.
The last place to look for help in starting or growing a business would be your state’s business development agency. These usually reside in your state’s capital city and are identified by being a department of the state’s administrative governing arm.
More specifically, they would normally have names such as Department of Commerce, Department of Economic Development, Department of Business Development, Department of Industry and Commerce and other similar titles.
Regardless of their format or make up, state business development agencies tend to be a nice resource in themselves as they usually know of other business assistance resources much closer to where you are located.
Business accelerators and business incubators
In addition to the four resources identified above, there are also other resources available that are similar in nature. In fact, many metropolitan areas throughout the country now have what are called ‘business accelerators’ or ‘business incubators’ that assist business startups with counseling, workshops and in some cases financing.
Although many have adopted enrollment requirements, where they only deal with those businesses that have been chosen to be part of their programming, many others provide basic services to all businesses beyond those that they provide financing and other long-term business services to.
With the success of such accelerators and incubators like TechStars and Y Combinator, many communities are developing entrepreneurial networks that rely on their community of entrepreneurs to help those individuals that want to start an entrepreneurial venture.
These networks have been springing up in nearly every corner of the country and are filling the void where there may not be an established publicly funded effort.
In addition to the more established entrepreneurial networks springing up, there are also more ‘loosely’ associated groups such as regional entrepreneurial ‘meet up’ groups that meet infrequently in person at restaurants or banquet rooms and that may have an online presence. The best way to find these groups, other than to do a Google search is to perform a search on LinkedIn and other social media platforms.
Conclusion
Help IS out there
So at one time in the not so distant past there may not have been somebody to help you on your entrepreneurial adventure, that is simply NOT an excuse nowadays.
In fact, there are a number of available resources, in many cases free, that are being targeted toward entrepreneurs and small businesses. This is an incredibly exciting time to take that step to control your own destiny.
So where can you go to get help with your business venture? Let’s recap the info from above:
1. The SBDC closest to you
2. The SCORE chapter nearest you
3. Your local or regional economic development agency
4. Your state’s business development agency
5. Regional business incubator or accelerators as well as entrepreneurial networks
6. Entrepreneurial ‘meet up’ groups
There’s TRULY never been a better time to start a business. So get out there and get going!
