“The greatest achievement of the human spirit is to live up to one's opportunities and make the most of one's resources.” –Luc de Clapiers
An entrepreneur strives to live up to one’s opportunities. If you’re an entrepreneur, you shine when you’re living to your potential. In so many ways, that’s what makes you an entrepreneur in the first place: that ambition to reach for the stars, to make your dreams real.
Luckily, small business owners do not have to reach for the stars on their own. There are many resources available to help support you to achieve your goals.
Take advantage of these resources to get your business going.
- The U.S. Small Business Administration is a United States government agency that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. They provide loans, grants, disaster assistance, and surety bonds.
- The SCORE Association (Service Corps of Retired Executives) is a non-profit organization that provides free business mentoring services to small businesses. They also provide workshops and educational resources.
- Small Business USA help entrepreneurs learn how to start a small business. They list useful websites and information about business taxes and incentives.
- Small Businesses provides tools to small businesses to help them grow. They help you with all the knowledge you need to start and grow a business.
- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is an agency committed to helping small and large USA businesses succeed.
- The Orange County Small Business Development Center helps your business start, grow, and thrive. They offer workshops and training programs at almost no cost.
- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is a government agency that teaches you how to prevent discrimination in your business.
- GovLoans.gov is your gateway to government loan information.
Maximizing your available resources is the beginning of your success.
Staying up to date
Our favorite online resources for informative articles and staying up to date with business news are:
Gathering a team
Don’t underestimate the value of good branding and marketing for your small business. While most small businesses don’t have the ability to hire full-time employees for all the aspects of their business needs, you can create a quality team in other ways. Here are some options.
- Upwork is a good resource for contracting with skilled professionals, including content writers, editors, graphic designers, accountants, admin support, engineering, marketing, IT and networking, and more.
- Fiverr also offers the opportunity to connect with skilled professionals for contracted work ‘gigs,’ and is best known for graphic and website designers, though they do offer an array of other categories.
Continuing Education
Do you know you can take continuing education courses online — and free from reputable educational institutions? Here are some we recommend.
- Improving Your Business Through a Culture of Health - Harvard
- Contract Law - Harvard
- Operations Management - IIMB
- Introduction to Finance Management - Colombia University
- Entrepreneurial Operations: Launching a Startup - Babson
- Finance for Everyone: Smart Tools for Decision-Making - University of Michigan
With all the available resources to small business owners, you can certainly reach for the stars...and succeed. The sky really is your limit.
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