Where's the best place to get free help starting your own home
business? Would you believe it's the United States Government?
The Small Business Administration is one of the best resources
available to a new home business owner. A visit to their web
site will turn up easy to understand articles about startup
costs, calculators that help you figure out your tax
responsibility and access to support groups, forums and
information that's invaluable to anyone starting up or running a
home business. Here are some of the services that you'll find
from the SBA.
Free Consultation On Business Plans For New Business Startups
The business plan is one of the most important tools you have.
It can help you land loans, attract the attention of investors
and leverage existing funds. Your local Small Business
Administration office has experienced businessmen who will help
you prepare a business plan and offer you other startup advice
for your home business - for free.
Free Pre-Certification For Home Business Loans
The Small Business Administration 'guarantees' loans to certain
small businesses, including home business ventures. They don't
lend you money themselves. Instead, they make a guarantee to the
loan company or bank that they'll be repaid if you default on
the loan. An SBA businessman will go over your business plan and
credit history to help decide if you're a good credit risk. If
he thinks your business has a good chance of taking off, the SBA
will pre-certify your business for a loan. It's not a guarantee
to you that you'll GET a loan, but it's unusual for a business
that's been pre-certified by the SBA to have trouble finding
funding.
Free Mentoring - Especially For Women
The SBA offers several programs that are meant to help women
overcome the unique problems that face a new business startup
owned by a woman. Everyone's heard about the old boy's network.
Women don't have that option, but they do have roundtable
support groups and a matchmaking service offered by the Small
Business Association to help them find a mentor already working
in their field. The SBA's web site should be one of your first
stops if you're a woman looking to start or expand a home
business.
Other Free Resources For Home Business Startups
Also on the SBA web site, you'll find the government gateway to
bidding on contracts offered by the U.S. government, and the
newest postings of contracts, grants and other money that's
available to home and other small businesses. You'll also find a
wealth of other information, including step-by-step instructions
on how to incorporate your business, what your health insurance
options are as a self-employed business owner and much, much
more.
When you're starting a new home business or looking for a loan
to expand one, you need to make use of every possible resource
available. The Small Business Administration is one of the most
valuable resources that you'll find. For more information on
business plans, mentoring, contracts and more, visit the Small
Business Administration web site at www.sba.gov. It's all free -
the best price for your home business.
About the author:
Michael Law is editor at 1steliteworkfromhome.com (
http://1steliteworkfromhome.com ), a Work From Home Directory
Resource.
1steliteworkfromhome.com is a resource for anyone looking to
find work from home job information and discover ways to work at
home.
This article may be reprinted or published without the authors
consent as long as the "About" and "weblinks" are kept intact.
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