Friday, January 23. 2009
When starting a business, a young entrepreneur needs a lot of guidance, especially in the beginning. There are many resources to consult when starting a business. Some may be sensationalistic, such as ‘Get Rich Quick’. I would avoid them. There are good, informative books, but these can become dated quickly. This is especially true with laws and tax information. I recommend the Internet to find accurate information. These 3 websites I find especially useful.
Small Business Association
The Small Business Association (SBA) website covers a variety of information for small business owners, from startup to selling.
There are 4 headings on the home page. Each of them provide in depth, up-to-date information. They are as follows:
Small Business Planner outlines the 4 steps to start and manage your business that the young entrepreneur may find useful.
Under Services you can find help with financial assistance, contract opportunities, disaster assistance, laws/regulations, and much more. There are online training courses listed here which are available for free.
Tools includes forms needed for a small business. You can also find monthly web chats, and a link to SCORE (Counselors to America’s Small Business). SCORE itself is a wealth of information as well.
Legal Resources is where you can find local SBA offices. There are also links specific small business owners, such as women and veterans.
The Small Business Association is a government organization, and its website is full of useful info. You will want to bookmark this one and refer to it often.
Business.gov
Business.gov is another government website which is not specific to small businesses. A young entrepreneur can find a wealth of information here. Some of the topics covered here are ‘Start a Business’, ‘Advertising and Marketing’, and ‘Government Contracting’.
This site also contains info on ‘Employment and Labor Laws’, ‘Franchises and Opportunities’, ‘Licenses and Permits’, and much more.
The forms which are accessible from this site are more comprehensive. You can find tax forms, the I-9 (employment and eligibility verification form), family medical leave act forms, Occupational Health and Safety (OSHA) forms, forms for patents, trademarks, and copyrights, and more.
FAQs can be found on this site on many topics. Human resources, taxes, and environmental compliance are just some of the helpful topics found here.
This site offers so much to the young entrepreneur, and consulting it is time well spent!
FindLaw
This site is a great place to learn about business law. The young entrepreneur can find information discussing the different types of incorporations, such as an LLC and a non-profit.
There is a place to post a question to be answered by the users of FindLaw and links to various service providers, such as LegalZoom. This site is great for figuring out what services you need and how to find them.
These sites are great resources for business owners. The young entrepreneur really must check these out!
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