Do you feel the urge to start your own business? Whether you’re thinking of an online business or something firmly planted in the brick and mortar realm, you’ll be glad to know there are plenty of resources available to you. Most of the following resources are free. Some require a small investment. All of them are valuable and indispensable to entrepreneur-minded folks like you.
1. SBA
The Small Business Association (SBA) has popped up on a lot of business owners’ radar recently because of the PPP Loan Program. But did you know that long before COVID, SBA offered courses, resources and other help to entrepreneurs? All of the SBA’s offerings are available through their website at SBA.gov. You’ll find:
• Online business courses for women
• Resources to connect entrepreneurs with lenders
• Information about procuring federal contracts
• In-person courses (as available post-COVID)
• Extensive online library of business articles
• Direct loans from the SBA
• And more
2. Meetup Groups
Meetup.com is a site that brings like-minded individuals together. While many of the Meetup groups have to do with social gatherings, sports and hobbies, others have leveraged the platform for business purposes. You’ll find everything from marketing meetups to entrepreneur meetups, where you can network with others on the same path as you. And when you do get your new business going, you can use meetup to help spread the word about your new products or services.
3. Alibaba
If you’re looking to start a business with physical products, you may want to check out Alibaba.com. This is where you can source wholesale goods, mostly from China. The platform lets you obtain quotes directly from manufacturers, and you can even request customized products if you don’t find what you’re looking for.
4. Thomas Directory
The Thomas Directory is found at Thomasnet.com. Here, you can search for industrial suppliers, manufacturers and over 6 million products. Most of the sources at Thomasnet.com are located in the U.S., so if you want to support U.S. businesses, you’ll like using this resource. Ambitious entrepreneurs can even download 2D and 3D CAD models for product usage. Another great way to use this site is that if you yourself would like to be B2B supplier, you can list your business on the site.
5. SCORE
SCORE.org is where entrepreneurs can reach out to past and current business owners for advice, help and resources. SCORE helps connect you with mentors who donate their time to help entrepreneurs just like you. You can take a workshop with other entrepreneurs, volunteer to help others. SCORE is affiliated with the SBA too, so if you’re looking for funding, you can get more information on the SCORE site.
6. Hootsuite
Hootsuite.com is a powerful social media tool with a free tier. Once you start using it, you’ll probably want to upgrade, but the free level is pretty amazing, too. On this site, you can manage all of your social media posts across multiple platforms including Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Twitter. You can even track what others are saying about you online, follow others and track your own social media posts in terms of popularity and likes. As you know, social media presents free and low-cost opportunities for business advertisement, so Hootsuite is definitely worth looking into.
7. Biz Buy Sell
At BizBuySell.com, you can browse brick and mortar businesses for sale. Filter the search for your area and see what’s on the market. A lot of times you can find out more about any business you’re interested in by researching it independently; look at Google reviews, ownership records and the business website to get an idea of the true nature of the place. You can also find franchises to buy into, if you’re looking for something where you don’t have to market from scratch.
8. Flippa
Flippa.com is a website where entrepreneurs can buy and sell websites and domain names. This site has a little bit of a mixed bag as far as quality, but as the saying goes, “There’s gold in them thar hills.” If you’re interested in jumpstarting your online business, you might find a site for sale that already has a viable product, high traffic and documented sales. You might also find an interesting site that is not performing well due to poor management, which you could turn around with your superior business acumen.
9. Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter.com, GoFundMe.com, Wefunder.com and iFundWomen.com can be great for gathering together the money you need to get your business off the ground. Just be sure to file a provisional patent for your new product (if applicable) before going public with the idea. Also, be sure to read the fine print on any platform you use. Some won’t pay out unless you raise your entire goal amount; others will pay out in increments whenever you submit a payout request.
10. CPA
Finally, one of your greatest resources as an entrepreneur is a quality CPA. Your Certified Financial Planner can help you with many aspects of starting your new business, like:
• Helping gather materials and data for your business plan
• Helping to assess economic feasibility
• Helping to avoid cash flow problems
• Advising you on the best business entity to form
• Organizing your tax filings
• Preparing and filing your business taxes
• Representing you during an audit
• And much more
In fact, your CPA will be so valuable, that the first thing you should do as an entrepreneur is to get together with your CPA to formula a plan.
This is an exciting time to be an entrepreneur. There are so many free and paid resources available that it’s impossible to list them all. The more you look for help and resources, the more you’ll find. Your biggest challenge will be knowing when to stop looking and start doing. Don’t let “analysis paralysis” set in. At some point it will be time to down the pencil and launch your new business in 2021!