If you’re interested in starting your own business, you may be wondering where to get started. While I don’t pretend to know *everything* there is about starting a new business, I have stumbled upon a few sites that I think will help anyone get started! If you’re currently a customer of the following services, leave a comment and let us know of your experience (positive or negative).
- US Small Business Administration (Cleveland Office): The SBA can help you plan your business, find financial assistance and loans, and get you pointed in the right direction when starting your new business.
- SCORE (Cleveland Chapter): SCORE provides free and confidential business advice and counseling.
Intuit MyCorporation: Free LLC or S-Corp creation! They also can help with Trademarking as well as a multitude of other tasks. MyHighTechStartup has a great article on choosing between an S-Corp or LLC. - COSE (Council of Smaller Enterprises): By joining COSE, you’ll join a group of small enterprises that collectively bargain for services you’ll most likely need for your business: Health/Dental Insurance, Workers Compensation, Meeting Spaces, Electricity/Natural Gas, Office Supplies, etc. This one is definitely worth a look if you’re in Northeast Ohio!
- LogoEase and LogoMaker: Make logos for free, and use those logos as part of your brand.
Xerox Free Color Printers: One of my past employers was actually enrolled in this program and I think it’s great! Printers are one of those things that are not pleasant to purchase. They frequently break, or the ink leaks everywhere, or the toner cartridges break, etc. The Xerox program allows you to get a FREE Xerox 8560DN solid-ink printer (which uses no-mess, solid resin-based ink blocks) with three years on-site service. The only catch is you have to purchase printer supplies through Xerox. However, at the time of editing this blog, 6 “sticks” of solid ink printed roughly 1800 more pages for about $10 cheaper than a comparable toner cartridge for an HP CP3520 Series Color LaserJet (per each manufacturer’s website). What have you got to lose by applying? Nothing! What have you got to gain? Potentially over $1,000 in savings!
- My postings on Free Software Tools and Small Business Accounting Software: These can help you discover some technology tools that can help you as you get your business started and save you some cash!
Intuit MyCorporationAs always, feel free to Contact Me if you would like help determining the best way to meet the technology needs for your new business.
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Thanks for the feedback Rodney!
I've attended a couple of the SBA's SCORE meetings (Akron chapter). Not only are they very informative classes (most of which are free), but you can also find prospects if your business model is B2B.