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Resources for Would-Be Entrepreneurs Print
Sunday, 20th May 2007 (by J.D.)This article is about Entrepreneurship
Two weeks ago, The New York Times published a nice introductory article on how to get started with a small business. Author Barbara Whitaker notes that about ten percent of small businesses fail each year:
Success comes with education, careful planning and adequate cash flow, specialists say. And it has never been easier to lay the groundwork for starting a small business. Many tools are available on the Internet and at libraries to aid aspiring entrepreneurs. Whole magazines are devoted to the subject.
Whitaker’s article lists a number of web-based resources for would-be small business owners, including:
- The U.S. Small Business Administration web site
- SCORE (the Service Corps of Retired Executives) offers business advice to entrepreneurs.
- The Small Business Development Centers provide “management assistance to current and prospective small business owners”. For an example of the assistance available, visit the San Joaquin Delta College SBDC web site.
- Work.com offers a variety of how-to guides for running a small busines.
- e-Venturing bills itself as “the entrepreneur’s trusted guide to high growth.
- For advice about entrepreneurship from others who have been there before, visit StartupNation.
- Bplans.com features business plan software and free sample business plans, along with other expert advice.
- CCH has an amazing variety of ready-to-use templates and documents, as well as links to official government forms.
- The U.S. Library of Congress offers The Entrepreneur’s Reference Guide to Small Business Information.
For more about these resources, and for an extended discussion, please read the entire article.
I’m under the impression that the failure rate for small businesses applies to those with employees. If you follow Andréa’s advice and become a consultant, or if you take the route I’m pursuing and work as a wholly independent freelancer, I think the survivability rates are much higher.
Obviously, this is more information than you’ll need if you’re simply trying to make money from a hobby. But if you have bigger dreams, if you’d like to boost your income by starting your own business, these sites are a good place to begin your research.
[The New York Times: Small Business 101: How to Get Started]
May 20th, 2007 at 6:46 pm
Intuit also has some really great resources on their JumpUp site. http://jumpup.intuit.com/
May 20th, 2007 at 7:54 pm
[...] Get Rich Slowly has a nice article about resources for aspiring entrepreneurs. [...]
May 20th, 2007 at 8:31 pm
Thanks for the mention.
You might be interested in one of my archived posts, Why Businesses Fail: http://www.consultantjournal.com/blog/why-businesses-fail
We often hear stats, such as most businesses fail within 3 years. But many people start up businesses for a few years, then intentionally close them — not because they weren’t making money, but because they’d met their goals.
May 21st, 2007 at 12:53 am
For small business/entrepreneurs based in New Zealand, Got The GiST supports GST/sales tax calculation saving the owner both time and money. Tools like this can also help small businesses with cashflow calculations, which is a major cause of small business failure.
http://gotthegist.co.nz
May 21st, 2007 at 11:24 am
I found Entrepreneur magazine and the site is a great resource anyone interested in startups.
Does anyone know if there are places where someone can find a mentor who has been successful online and willing to share their knowledge.
May 21st, 2007 at 2:17 pm
We need personal mentors in order to grow. But mentors with free time are scarce. That has always been an issue.
May 22nd, 2007 at 6:26 am
[...] Resources for Would-Be Entrepreneurs ? Get Rich Slowly (tags: startup entrepreneurship) [...]
May 17th, 2009 at 8:03 am
Experts in their field who go out on their own are often surprised by the administrative burden of running their own business. The input I receive from my clients inspire me to encourage those thinking about starting their own business to spend time building a team of advisers to help in matters they are weak in. Marketing, contract writing, and yes, to toot my own horn, accounting. An example of what I mean would be the auto mechanic who starts his own service business, but now has to deal with employees and payroll, which he never had to do before. It’s a good idea to outsource this task and be able to concentrate on building his business.