BankerGirl

Posted by Heidi on May 8th, 2008 in Entrepreneur, banking

This is the second of a multi-installment series on starting your own business.  If you’d like to start reading this series from the beginning, click here.

As an entrepreneur, your number one resource should be your banker.  The sad truth is, most bankers won’t spend a lot of time with potential customer who need to borrow less than $50,000.  From a simple cost-benefit analysis stand point, small business loans of this size are typically highest risk and the least profitable.  Here is a standard list of self-help resources I typically point my small, start-up clients towards:

•1.    The SBA (Small Business Administration) is a wonderful resource for those who have no idea where to begin.  Their website has helpful information for starting, growing, and exiting your business. 

•2.    SCORE often partners with the SBA.  SCORE volunteers are retired and current executives and entrepreneurs who donate their time and expertise to council entrepreneurs.  To find a mentor near you, just enter your zip code in the “In-Person Mentoring” section on the SCORE home page.

•3.    Entrepreneur.com and BusinessWeek are also pretty good resources for marketing and operational information, and CNNMoney.com has a Small Business section and forum.

Next week’s post will be about organizing your small business.  I’ll discuss the benefits and challenges faced by business owners operating as sole proprietors, partnerships, LLCs and corporations. 

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