Resources
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The following links and start-up resources are listed to help you in your startup development. If you have any suggestions, contact us!
In this section: Accounting, Taxes, and Legal | Business Growth and Development | Business Planning | Business Start Up | Disability | Finance and Banking | Marketing and Advertising | Social Security | Special Interest (Minority, Women, Economically Disadvantaged) | Transition | US Small Business Administration and General Small Business Resources | Veterans
Accounting, Taxes, and Legal
Controlling Your Taxes
This chapter in the Small Business Guide offered by Business Owner’s Toolskit.com covers topics like payroll, federal, state, and other tax obligations. View »
e-News for Small Businesses
This is a free electronic mail service from the IRS designed to provide tax information for small business owners and self-employed individuals. It is sent out every other Wednesday. View »
How to Hire an Attorney
This article offered by entrepreneur.com provides some general rules about dealing with attorneys and more. View »
Importance of Writing Business Proposals: Laws and Negotiations
This article from more Entrepreneur.com explains how writing a proposal can help avoid misunderstandings. View »
IRS Tax Publications
Find an array of free IRS publications for small business owners. View »
Limited Liability Company
This site offers information on this popular business structure including the tax advantages. View »
Links to State Government websites from the IRS
Find links to state specific information for businesses. View »
Recording Keeping for Start up and Growing Businesses
This article offered by AllBusiness.com Finance and Accounting Center offers strategies for success. View »
Small Business and Self Employed Tax Center
Internal Revenue Services (IRS) with the United States Department of Treasury Small Business and Self Employed Tax Center This is a one stop resource for small business tax forms, information and assistance. View »
Starting a Business
This article offered by the IRS provides links to basic federal tax information for people who are starting a business. It also provides information to assist in making basic business decisions. View »
Starting a Business and Keeping Records
This IRS guide clearly explains basic federal tax and record keeping requirements. View »
The Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED)
A national nonprofit dedicated to expanding economic opportunity for low-income people, has announced that it is supporting 16 grantees across the country with the projection serving nearly 14,000 start-up businesses with tax preparation and innovative financial services. View »
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Business Growth and Development
AllBusiness.com
Sign up for free email newsletter subscriptions. Get news, tips, and business solutions on topics like Business Excellence, Women in Business, Technology Solutions and more. View »
Building Your Personal Wealth
This chapter in the Small Business Guide offered by Business Owner’s Toolkit.com explores creating a wealth plan, passing it on to heirs and more. View »
Entrepreneur Hour Radio Show
The Entrepreneur Hour Radio Show provided by The Emotional Endurance Institute, an international training organization that focuses on building professionals from the “inside” out, offers inspiration, hope and expertise from entrepreneurs and experts. Each show features entrepreneurs who share their story about overcoming a particular challenge and experts who share their advice. View »
Inc.com
This online magazine offers new stories and resources daily. View »
SBTV.com
SBTV is the first television network on the web devoted 100 percent to the small business market – from business start-ups to established enterprises. The network offers technical information on how to run a business; inspirational success stories from entrepreneurs across the country; information about small business conferences and associations; and more. View »
Success Stories
This compilation of archived articles offered by entrepreneur.com provides success stories from business owners. View »
Types of Business Loans: Apply for One and Get a Financial Boost
This article explains types of loans and what lenders are looking for during the application phase. View »
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Business Planning
Business Plan Building, Section by Section
This guide offered by Inc.com covers creation of business plan from start to finish. View »
Business Planning
This chapter in the Small Business Guide offered by Business Owner’s Toolkit.com explores writing a business plan, provides business plan case studies and more. View »
Business Plans
This compilation of archived articles from enterprenuer.com offers information on a variety of topics including why a plan is needed, how to calm writer’s jitters, financial projections and more. View »
Business Structures
This article offered by The Limited Liability Website explains the various options and how they differ. View »
How to Create a Business Plan
Find information on writing a business plan, including where to get help developing it. Access sample plans and other articles too all from entrepreneur.com View »
How to Research you Business Idea
This article offered by entrepreneur.com provides information on the idea stage, analysis, and checking out the competition. View »
Introduction to Business Plans
This offers information to help determine what type of plan may be best for the entrepreneur. View »
Naming Your Business
This compilation of archived articles from entrepreneur.com discusses naming a business. View »
Small Business Planning Guide
This guide offered by On Time Business Solutions LLC gives step by step advice on planning a small business. View »
Top 10 Mistakes Entreprenuers Make When Writing a Business Plan
This slide show offered by inc.com provides some things to look out for when drafting a plan. View »
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Business Start Up
ChooseWhat
ChooseWhat has a business checklist on its front page that gives the 22 main steps to starting your own business. It’s a good combination of simplicity and thoroughness that I think your followers would appreciate. Even better, there are already detailed articles to give people more information if they want to learn more and really dive into the subjects they’re most interested in. View »
Getting Started
This is one of many chapters in the Small Business Guide offered by Business Owner’s Toolkit.com. Learn more about getting ready to start a business and upload a start up checklist. View »
Low Cost Business Ideas
Entrepreneur.com provides insight in to a variety of businesses that do not require a lot of start up capital. View »
National Business Incubator Association (NBIA)
The association has everything needed to excel at growing a new company. NBIA offers support to help business succeed. Visit the resource page to learn more about Business Incubation. View »
New Business Start Up Kit
This kit offered by My Own Business, Inc. a nonprofit organization committed to helping people succeed in business includes a Do’s and Don’t’s checklist and other resources. View »
Small Business School
Small Business School is television for PBS and Voice of America. Meet 50 Business owners ready to help start a business. View »
Small Business Startup Guide
This SBA guide is intended to serve as a roadmap for starting a business. It is both comprehensive and easy to use. It also includes numerous electronic links for additional information. Use this powerful interactive tool, with many supporting resources to help you start a successful business. View »
Start up How to Guide
This guide provided by entrepreneur.com offers an array of information on a variety of topics related to business start up. View »
Start up Kits
Find start up kits for more than 20 different types of business offered by entrepreneur.com. View »
Starting a Company
A series of pod casts on this topic is offered by Small Business Focus with AllBusiness.com. Listen to entrepreneurs stories and learn more about business start up. View »
10 Steps to Starting a Business
This FAQ offered by the SBA provides answers to commonly asked questions about starting a new business. View »
The Online Business GuideBook
This is a step-by-step tutorial guide which provides public education on how to start and grow an online business. View »
50 Ways to Make Your First Sale
This is a comprehensive guide that outlines 50 different strategies to help you make your first online sale. View »
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Disability
Abilities Fund
The Abilities Fund provides assistance with business development and access to credit for individuals with disabilities working to start or expand a micro-business. View »
Disability.gov
This site provides quick and easy access to comprehensive information about disability programs, services, laws and benefits. This section includes information, resources and technical assistance to expand opportunities for self-employment and small business. View »
First National Study on Self Employment for People with Disabilities
This study from the Rural Institute includes survey data from entrepreneurs with disabilities and ideas on how to promote self employment for people with disabilities. View »
Griffin-Hammis Associates LLC
A number of FAQ sheets about self employment for individuals with disabilities can be found here. View »
IDA Fact Sheet Policy Implications
This fact sheet offered from the World Institute on Disability web site provides information about Individual Development Accounts. View »
Job Accommodation Network (JAN)
This ODEP supported service, offers a variety of services related to self-employment and small business development including referrals to help with business planning and more. Customers can expect to receive a resource packet tailored to their specific entrepreneurial goals and access to consultants to help. View »
Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP)
The Office of Disability Employment Policyhas initiated a range of activities with other Federal agencies to ensure that Federal employment programs for people with disabilities will promote small business ownership as a career option, and that potential entrepreneurs with disabilities know about the process and resources for starting a business. View »
Reach Independence Through Self Employment (RISE)
This program focuses on self-employment for persons with disabilities who work with rehabilitative services in Maryland. Services include program planning and design, regional and local market analysis, entrepreneurship training, staff development, client tracking and evaluation. View »
Research and Training Center on Rural Rehabilitation Services
The RTC works with vocational rehabilitation agencies and Independent Living Centers to promote the use of self-employment and economic development activities within those programs. As a result of research it has developed a model state vocational rehabilitation policy, implementing procedures, and a counselor curriculum. View »
Small Business and Self Employment for People with Disabilities
This fact Sheet from the Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy offers some important things to consider prior to business start-up. View »
Steps for Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors: Helping a Consumer Start a Business
The Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities offers this self employment training program for rehabilitation counselors. View »
Technical Assistance Circular
This Circular provided by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services, Rehabilitation Service Administration offers guidance on self employment as an employment outcome for individuals with disabilities. View »
Virginia Commonwealth University s Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Workplace Supports and Job Retention
The RRTC provides an array of information on disability and employment related topics including self employment. View »
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Finance and Banking
CIT Small Business Lending Corporation
CIT is designated the number one SBA 7(a) lender for the ninth consecutive year. View »
Finance and Banking Podcasts
This is a series of pod casts about Finance and Banking offered by Small Business Focus with AllBusiness.com. Learn more about a wide range of topics like applying for small business loan, tax planning, when to choose legal counsel, and more. View »
Financing Alternatives for the Small Business Owner
This article from more Business.com provides some financeing alternatives and business funding solutions to help small business succeed. View »
Getting Financing for Your Business
This chapter in the Small Business Guide offered by Business Owner’s Toolkit.com provides information about debt versus equity, equity financing, debt financing, and more. View »
Guide to Angel Investors
This article offered by entrepreneur.com explains this start up financing concept. View »
How to Get a Business Loan with Bad Credit
This article offered by More Business.com provides tips on how build credit back up to qualify for a loan. View »
Raising Start-Up Capital
This article from inc.com offers information on a variety of sources to consider for start up capital. View »
Start up Financing
This article offered by entrepreneur.com provides information on various start up financing options. View »
Tips for Starting Your Small Business on a Low Budget
This article from more Business.com offers budgeting tips to help get business up and running. View »
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Marketing and Advertising
Basics of a Small Business Marketing Plan
This article offered by Smartbiz.com covers the basics on plan development. View »
Finding Customers
This compilation of archived articles from entrepreneur.com provides information about how to find customers such as networking tips, hot marketing trends, and more. View »
Get Free Publicity: Small Business Publicity Marketing
This article from More business.com provides some tips on writing a press release and using the web for marketing. View »
Grassroots Marketing
This article from more Business.com reviews some effective marketing strategies to help develop a grassroots marketing campaign. View »
How to Create a Marketing Plan
This article from entrepreneur.com answers questions like what is a marketing plan and why is it so essential to the success of a business. Find out here, in the first section of a comprehensive guide to creating a marketing plan. View »
Marketing
Entrepreneur.com provides an array of resources like the seven guides to marketing success, articles, expert advice and more. View »
Marketing and Advertising
This series of pod casts offered by Small Business Focus with AllBusiness.com covers a variety of topics about Marketing and Advertising including improving cold calling, how to pitch a small business to the media, and more. View »
Marketing Basics for the Small Business
This article from About.com describes four ways to enhance business growth. View »
Marketing Versus Advertising
This article from About.com provides insight into the differences between these terms. View »
Marketing Your Product
This chapter in the Small Business Guide offered by Business Owner’s Toolkit.com takes a look at analyzing the market, developing a marketing plan and more. View »
Ten Powerful Marketing Tips for Small Business
This article by About.com provides information specifically geared towards smaller entities. View »
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Social Security
PassPlan.org
PassPlan.org provides information about establishing a Plan for Achieving Self Support. Some examples of PASS plans and forms can be downloaded from the site. View »
The Red Book: A Guide to Work Incentives
This guide offered by Social Security On line serves as a general reference source about the employment-related provisions of Social Security Disability Insurance and the Supplemental Security Income Programs for educators, advocates, rehabilitation professionals, and counselors who serve people with disabilities. View »
Plan for Achieving Self Support
Information offered by the Social Security Administration explains a PASS and links to resources to help develop one. View »
Plan for Achieving Self Support Tutorial
This online tutorial from Cornell guides a person through the PASS process. View »
Service Provider Directory
The directory offered by Social Security On line provides a list of work incentive planning and assistance providers across the United States. View »
Work Incentives for People Receiving Social Security and Supplemental Security Income Disability Benefits
This article from the Disability Expert describes a number of incentives to encourage people who are receiving disability benefits to work. View »
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Special Interest (Minority, Women, Economically Disadvantaged)
Article Library
The Article Library at the National Association of Women Business Owners website offers various articles with advice to help women overcome business challenges. View »
Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED)
Corporation for Enterprise Development expands economic opportunity by helping Americans start and grow businesses, go to college, own a home, and save for their children’s and own economic futures. View »
MicroMentor
MicroMentor connects entrepreneurs with experienced peers and volunteer business mentors. View »
Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA)
The Minority Business Development Agency is part of the US Department of Commerce. This federal agency fosters the establishment and growth of minority-owned businesses in America. View »
National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders Access to Capital Initiative
The association facilitates access to investment capital and grant support for their community development projects or business ventures. View »
Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU)
Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) under the US Department of the Treasury’s Office assists, counsels, and advises small businesses of all types on topics related to contracting with this office. View »
Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP)
The Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP)among other things, administers the Department of Labor’s responsibility to ensure procurement opportunities for small businesses. OSBP serves as the Department’s Ombudsman for small businesses under the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA), and is active in the Department of Labor’s compliance assistance activities. View »
Office of Women’s Business Ownership Entrepreneurial Development
This SBA program provides resources, training, and counseling services to women. View »
Oklahoma Native American Business Development Center
The center provides free business start-up, financial management, financial analysis, marketing management, business plans, and procurement assistance for Native Americans. View »
Women-21.gov
This federal resource provides services to assist women entrepreneurs. View »
Womenbiz.gov
This resource can help women owned businesses do business with the federal government. View »
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Transition
Road to Self-Sufficiency: A Guide to Entrepreneurship for Youth with Disabilities
This publication from the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disabilityshows how entrepreneurship education can be implemented in programs and offers suggestions on how to introduce self-employment as an option for all youth, including youth with disabilities. View »
Self Employment
This article from University of Montana Rural Institute Center for Excellence in Disability Education, Research, and Service offers guidance on self employment for transition aged youth including a case scenario. View »
Social Security Work Incentives
This article from University of Montana Rural Institute: Center for Excellence in Disability Education, Research, and Service a leader in the area of transition planning for youth with disabilities since 1995, offers information on Social Security Work Incentives specific to youth with disabilities. View »
Success Stories
University of Montana Rural Institute: Center for Excellence in Disability Education, Research, and Service offers success stories about self employed individuals with disabilities. View »
Transition Projects
Learn more about Transition Projects from University of Montana RuralInstitute: Center for Excellence in Disability Education, Research, and Service. View »
University of Montana: The Rural Institute: Center for Excellence in Disability Education, Research, and Service
University of Montana: The Rural Institute: Center for Excellence in Disability Education, Research, and Service is part of the national network of programs funded by the Federal Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD) committed to increasing and supporting the independence, productivity, and inclusion of persons with disabilities into the community. Find all kinds of information related to transition, self employment and more. View »
Young Entrepreneurs Program (YEP)
The Young Entrepreneurs Program presented by Partners for Youth with Disabilities is a hands-on, practical program takes participants through the entire process of starting a small business. View »
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US Small Business Administration and General Small Business Resources
All Business.com
This site provides business advice, videos, tools services, and much more on an array of topics of interest to small business owners. View »
Business Owner’s Toolkit
This site offers immediate access to download business documents, financial spreadsheet templates, checklists, and official government forms. Sign up for free membership. View »
Business.gov
This official business link to the U.S. Government, is managed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) in a partnership with 21 other federal agencies. This partnership, known as Business Gateway, is a Presidential E-government initiative that provides a single access point to government services and information to help the nation’s businesses with their operations. View »
Local SBA Resources
Find counseling, training and business development specialists providing free and low-cost services in a local area. View »
My Own Business
This nonprofit organization committed to helping people succeed in business. The site offers a free Internet business course on how to succeed in starting and operating a business. Fourteen sessions cover a wide range of topics related to business planning and operations. View »
National Association for the Self Employed
NASE helps the self-employed successfully meet the challenges of managing and growing their businesses by securing focused tools and resources that help the self-employed manage and compete more effectively, access to group health benefits and more. View »
Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE)
SCORE is a SBA resource partner. Entrepreneurs can access no cost confidential business advice and training. View »
Small Business Development Centers (SBDC)
The Small Business Development Centers is a branch of the SBA. Centers are located at universities, community colleges, and vocational schools and provide management assistance to small business owners. View »
Small Business Provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA, P.L. 111-5), which was signed into law on February 17, 2009, makes supplemental appropriations for many federal programs in an effort to mitigate the effects of the economic recession that began in December 2007. This report provides an overview of key provisions related to the Small Business Administration
(SBA). View »U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
The mission of the Small Business Administration is to maintain and to strengthen the nation’s economy by enabling the establishment and viability of small businesses and by assisting in the economic recovery of communities after disasters. The site provides a wealth of information on a variety of topics related to new business start up. View »
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Veterans
Center for Veterans Enterprise
Center for Veterans Enterprise at the Department of Veterans Affairs seeks to improve the business climate for veterans, to minimize access barriers and to inform the public about the benefits of working with veteran-owned small businesses. View »
‘Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities’ (EBV)
The site offers experiential training in entrepreneurship and small business management to soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines disabled as a result of their service supporting operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. View »
Getting Veterans Back to Business: Veteran s Small Business Guide
This publication from the SBA that provides information and resources to veterans interested in self employment. View »
Small Business Assistance for Veterans and the National Guard
This service is available through SCORE. There a team of volunteer counselors with special expertise in this area offer assistance to Veterans and National Guard. Information on counseling, loans, and other resources are available. View »
U.S. General Services Administration
The U.S. General Services Administration is the lead acquisition arm of the federal government. It offers assistance for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses. GSA offers the following solutions for service-disabled veteran-owned small business owners looking for federal government business opportunities. View »
Veteran Entrepreneurship & VA’s Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program
Veteran Entrepreneurship & VA’s Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program is provided through a partnership between The Department of Veteran Affairs Veteran Benefits Administration Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Service (VR&E) and the SBA and the SBDC. Together they provide entrepreneurial assistance to qualified service connected disabled veterans participating in a VR&E program. View »
Veteran Owned Businesses
In this section of the Business.gov website, you will find resources to help veterans start their own businesses and locate government contracting opportunities. View »
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