Entrepreneurs, business owners, disruptors, innovators, inventors, and job creators: the bold individuals behind small businesses wear a lot of titles. They also face many different challenges, chase creative opportunities, and are constantly learning from both successes and failures. This resource center is for anyone who needs help achieving their dreams of owning a small business.
The resources listed here are always being updated and expanded, so be sure to check back as your needs change and your business knowledge grows.
Table of Contents
Business Terms and Definitions
Start speaking like an entrepreneur with this helpful dictionary of business terminology. Covering all the basics from financial jargon and acronyms to operations and management, this dictionary will help you navigate the business world fluently.
Startup Basics for Hustlers, Freelancers, and Aspiring Entrepreneurs
There are a lot of ways to be an entrepreneur today. Small businesses can comprise everything from a traditional brick and mortar store to an enterprising student working a side hustle even while still in college. These resources will help you define and navigate your own small business experience, whether you are just earning some money with a hobby or working toward a physical place of business full-time.
- The Entrepreneur’s Toolkit: Startup Resources You’ll Need
- Thanks to Technology, Small Business Ownership Has Never Been Easier
- An Entrepreneur’s Journey: How to Get Started
- Small Business Ideas and Tips for College Students
- Working a Job While Working a Side Hustle
- Freelancer Finances: Becoming A Business of One
Getting Started: From Startup Dream to Small Business Reality
Opening a small business isn’t as simple as hanging a shingle and turning on an “open” sign. In fact, many entrepreneurs today don’t even have a physical storefront. The following resources provide an overview of the different opportunities available to modern business owners, sole proprietorships, and traditional small businesses.
- How to Create Your Small Business Plan
- Define and Develop Your Business Model
- Give the People What They Want: Market Research to Optimize Your Business
- How to Start a Nonprofit Business
- Nonprofit Status, Charities, and More Business Basics
- Your Pre-Opening Checklist: What You Must Have Before You Start Doing Business
Start-Up Funds: Getting Your Small Business Seed Money
You don’t have to be rich to open your small business, but you probably will need some seed money to get started. Fortunately, there are a lot of different ways to can raise the money you need. These resources will offer helpful tips on how to budget for your startup, important things to prepare before taking out loans or asking for money, and all the different ways you can fundraise for your new (or existing) business.
- Elevator Pitches: The Basics of Asking for Seed Money
- Small Business Loan Basics: What They Are, How They Work, and Alternatives to Consider
- Applying for a Small Business Loan: Where to Apply and What to Do to Ensure Approval
- How Credit Scores Work for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs
- How to Get a Business Loan, Even with Bad Credit
- Business Loan Resources for Military Vets
- Business Loan Resources for Women Entrepreneurs
- Business Loan Resources for LGBTQ Entrepreneurs
Franchises and Turn Keys: An Alternative Pathway to Small Business Ownership
Not every new business has to begin from the ground-up. Plenty of successful small business owners buy into existing companies, or open their own franchise location as part of an established chain. These resources will cover all the basics of franchises, including how you can get involved and even how to convert your own succeeding business into a franchise opportunity for others.
- Franchise Basics: What is a Franchise, and Is a Franchise Right for You?
- How Franchising Works for Different Locations and Business Models
- Franchise Ownership Pros and Cons
- Buying the Best: The Most Profitable Franchises to Own or Acquire
- Turning Your Small Business Into a Chain: How to Franchise Your Company
- Appraising a Small Business for Sale: Find the Right Price to Buy or Sell
- Business Brokers: Middlemen for Buying or Selling an Existing Business
Make Your Business Innovative: How Entrepreneurs Lead and Disrupt Industries
Perhaps the ultimate aspiration of any small business is to be disruptive, to leave such a profound mark on an industry or the economy as a whole, that everything changes as a result. There may not be a set formula you can follow to become a disruptor, but these articles will help you find ways to be innovative and maximize the impact of your ideas.
- What It Takes to Be An Inventor
- Disruption: What It Is and How Your Business Can Achieve It
- Learn From the Best: Businesses and Disruptive Leaders to Follow
Credit Matters for Companies and Business Owners
Credit scores and reporting don’t just apply to individuals — businesses also borrow money and require lending profiles. If you are hoping to open a business or start a company, the following resources will help you understand what business credit is, how to build yours, and how to use it to help grow and sustain your small business.
- Does Your New Business Need Its Own Line of Credit?
- Business Credit: Building and Securing Your Company’s Credit Identity
- The Difference Between Your Credit Card and Your Company’s
- Should Your Small Business Accept Credit Cards?
- Is Your Partner a Financial Liability?
- Bankruptcy, Your Business, and You
New Business Money Management: Mistakes to Avoid and Questions to Ask
Operating a business isn’t quite the same as balancing your household budget. Depending on your operation, you may have other considerations such as payroll and liability insurance. The articles below will help outline some of the money management basics you’ll need to consider as a small business owner, as well as common mistakes and advice on how to avoid making them.
- Budgeting Basics for Small Businesses: Managing Income and Expenses
- Operating Costs: How to Pay the Bills
- USERRA: Rules for Employing Veterans and Military Service Members
- Why it Pays to Employ Veterans and Military Staff
- Tax Filing Basics for Startups and New Business Owners
- Reimbursement Matters for Your New Business
- Protecting Your Business
- Copyrights, Patents, and Trademarks: Business Law Basics Made Simple
- Avoiding Lawsuits and Other Small Business Legal Challenges
- Small Business Cyber Security: Protect Your Data and Your Customers
Planning for the Future: Tips to Keep Your Small Business Growing and Thriving
Starting your small business is a huge accomplishment. Sustaining a new business, however, can be a whole different challenge, even for capable owners and managers. From increasing profits and reaching new customers, to fighting off competition and keeping your innovation strategy alive, these resources will help you plan ahead and remain successful with your small business.
- Financing for Non-Traditional Businesses and Innovation
- Growth Strategies and Future-Casting
- Get More New Customers — Marketing 2.0
- Growth, Change, and Sustaining Innovation in Your Business
- How to Turn Your Company Into a Nonprofit Business
- When to Sell: Exit Strategies for Business Owners
- How to Sell Your Small Business
- Small Business Retirement Plans for You and Your Employees