Where To Get Small Business Help

Among Jewish friends, it is a common joke to hear that when one has business problems, you can ask your mother or sister for advice. Among the business oriented Jewish population, this is not surprising especially with everyone in the family involved in some way with businesses. But for beginning entrepreneurs who may be the first in their families or community to go into business, where and who can they turn to for small business help when they need it?

For those who take their business seriously, seeking small business helps from a bookstore (Small Business 101 for Dummies!) or online is foolhardy and not at all professional. If one's business operations are up and running, seeking small business help from a book, a manual or a business forum message would be like plugging a leak in a ship with bubble-gum.

Credible small business help resources or services may be found at your bank or the lending company who provided you with your initial capital or financing. If you acquired your business credit or loan through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), you may be pleased to know that it is simply not a loan guarantor or facilitator. As its name implies, it also offers financial advisement along with the loan it helped you to secure. You can call an SBA hotline number if you need small business help.

This hotline number which processes hundreds of thousands of calls a year from people asking for advice offers business strategies and solutions from SBA's credible staff of financial experts. The SBA also continuously puts out circulars, manuals and publications pertaining to small business matters and issues. Another good source of small business help that might be within your community or near your home is your local Small Business Development Center which is also partly funded by the SBA.

These SBDCs have been set up specifically for entrepreneurs with small businesses. If you want a more personal or intensive consultation, the SBA or your local SBDC can set you up with a one-on-one meeting with a member of SCORE or the Service Corps of Retired Executives. This is a nation-wide group of retired executives and financial experts who do volunteer work counseling first-time entrepreneurs set up their business or to find solutions to problems their companies may be having.

Certain segments of the population may find specific small business help resources tailor-made for them. If you are a member of a minority or an ethnic group, there are volunteer services that offer everything from finding financing to financial management consultations.

Other sources for small business help can be found at your local colleges, your local chamber of commerce and trade associations. Remember that a manual or an inexperienced relative should never be your last resort. Business problems are serious situations needing serious solutions. Once you have smoothed over your problems with a credible financial consultant, then it is time to hit the manuals and the how-to books for additional information.

Small Business