Starting a small business on your own can be pretty taxing, financially speaking, and you’ll need substantial capital to keep your business running through the early stages, as it’s well known that most business owners give up by the end of the first year.
That period is what makes or breaks a small business, and if you’re able to power through all the contingencies that may pop up during this time, your company is sure to make a name for itself on the market one day.
Unfortunately, not everyone has the funds to make this happen, and without any outside assistance, small businesses tend to face bankruptcy even without any hiccups, as the company is still far too young to be profitable.
The market may have already been explored or it’s far too new of an idea to catch on as quickly as it should, and that’s when businesses suffer.
Your options
Thankfully, with the help of the Small Business Administration, the federal government has created a vast amount of programs to give initiative to first-time entrepreneurs looking to set foot into the market.
Congress has also given the SBA authorization to launch numerous education programs, high-quality training and counseling, and access to resources for small businesses, giving them the opportunity to go against all odds and push past their first year in the market.
The help is distributed through the many resource partners of the association which can be found all across the US, and you’ll find programs ranging from development centers to business centers focused on developing skills in certain minority groups and offering assistance to minority-owned businesses in the area, which helps communities fight off poverty and turn over a new leaf in their lives with the help of these small business owners.
Small Business Development Center
Unlike the majority of other government programs which provide continuous access to resources or funding for qualifying Americans, the SBDC program is more of a one-time thing, as it gives small businesses access to management and counseling services.
Currently, there are more than 63 leading centers, each managing dozens of service centers that satisfy the management needs of over 650k businesses every day.
With this, every small business owner can gain access to high-quality marketing, financial and growth assistance, with a lot of the emphasis being on the improvement of effectiveness and the profitability of the business.
The best way to learn more about how the SBDC works is to go to their official website and explore whether there are any centers in the area, and you can find those on a map spanning the entire country on SBA.gov.
Women’s business centers
While the ownership of businesses in the US does include a lot of women, they’re still in the minority, meaning that we’ve got a long road ahead of us until we’ve reached true equality in all of the markets.
Oftentimes, people look down on woman-owned businesses, which is ignorant, to say the least, and is a display of just how judging we can really be without even giving something a chance.
With the help of specialized women’s business centers across the nation, female business owners can get all the assistance they need with running their businesses, and the program offers both counseling and management services as well as loans and even grants to woman-owned businesses across the country.
These grants are distributed by the SBA’s Office of Women’s Business Ownership, which was created with the sole purpose of leveling the playing field between male and female business owners competing on the market.
Veteran Business Outreach
Other times though, it’s the veterans that need help, and due to their financial circumstances, a lot of them are forced to be part of the workforce even though they’re receiving welfare from the government.
Because of this, a lot of veteran-owned businesses are in dire need of assistance in the early stages, and that’s where the Office of Veterans Business Development comes in, which conducts a comprehensive outreach program for these small businesses.
This assistance is available to any business owned by a veteran, a veteran’s spouse, service-disabled veteran, or any former National Guard and Reserve members that have served a certain amount of time during wartime or peacetime.
To learn more about how this program works, you can examine it much more thoroughly at the Small Business Administration’s website on the page for OVBD.
Final word
Running a business on your own can be tough, and even if you choose to register it as a partnership, you’re bound to encounter a few bumps along the way.
Thankfully, with the help of the SBA, a lot of small business owners can receive some much-needed counseling, management, and even financial support, which usually pays off in the long run, as most businesses simply need to make it past their first year to reach profitability.