Advice
Get local assistance
Enter a ZIP code and the SBA returns the funded advisors nearest you.
- Cost
- No cost
- Who it is for
- Anyone in the US
- Worth knowing
- The single best starting point. It covers every partner type below in one search.
Help yourself.
Twenty nine agencies, lenders, advisors and registries that help people start and run a business in the United States. Every one is public, no cost to use, and linked straight to the page you need.
One-to-one advising and training, usually hosted at a university.
- Cost
- No cost advising, low-cost training
- Who it is for
- Anyone
- Worth knowing
- SBDC advisors go deeper on financials, planning and access to capital than a general mentor.
Advice
SCORE business mentors
The largest network of volunteer business mentors in the country.
- Cost
- No cost
- Who it is for
- Anyone, any stage
- Worth knowing
- Mentoring is ongoing rather than one-off, by email, phone or video. They also run workshops and webinars.
Training, counseling and one-to-one support for veterans, service members and military spouses.
- Cost
- No cost
- Who it is for
- Veterans, National Guard and Reserve, military spouses and family
- Worth knowing
- 31 centers nationally. They also run Boots to Business classes on and off base.
Advice
Women's Business Centers
A national network of centers focused on women starting and growing businesses.
- Cost
- Little to no cost
- Who it is for
- Women starting or growing a business
- Worth knowing
- Counseling and training, plus routes into federal contracting and capital.
Advice
Boots to Business
The SBA entrepreneurship course delivered through the military transition program.
- Cost
- No cost
- Who it is for
- Service members, veterans and spouses
- Worth knowing
- There is also a Reboot version for veterans of any era, held off installation.
Advice
Plan your business
The SBA's own walkthrough of market research, business plans and funding.
- Cost
- No cost
- Who it is for
- Anyone at the idea stage
- Worth knowing
- Includes a business plan structure you can work through before paying anyone.
Advice
Browse by SBA district
Pick your district office and filter by the kind of partner you want.
- Cost
- No cost
- Who it is for
- Anyone
- Worth knowing
- Use this when the ZIP search returns too much and you want to narrow by type.
Money
SBA 7(a) loans
The SBA's primary loan program, issued by lenders and partly guaranteed by the agency.
- Cost
- Loan, terms vary
- Who it is for
- Businesses that can service debt
- Worth knowing
- The guarantee is what makes a lender say yes when they otherwise would not.
Money
SBA microloans
Smaller loans through community-based intermediary lenders.
- Cost
- Loan, smaller amounts
- Who it is for
- Newer and very small businesses
- Worth knowing
- Often the realistic option when a bank will not look at you yet.
Money
Lender Match
Describe what you need and the SBA connects you to participating lenders.
- Cost
- No cost to use
- Who it is for
- Anyone seeking financing
- Worth knowing
- A referral tool, not an application. You still apply with the lender directly.
Money
SBA 504 loans
Long-term, fixed-rate financing for major fixed assets like buildings and equipment.
- Cost
- Loan
- Who it is for
- Businesses buying property or heavy equipment
- Worth knowing
- Not for working capital or inventory. Read the eligible-use list first.
Money
Grants
What federal grants actually exist, and who they are for.
- Cost
- No cost to read
- Who it is for
- Anyone curious about grant funding
- Worth knowing
- Worth reading before you chase grants. Most small businesses do not qualify for federal ones.
Women-owned, veteran-owned, HUBZone and 8(a) programs for federal contracting.
- Cost
- No cost to apply
- Who it is for
- Businesses that qualify by ownership or location
- Worth knowing
- Certification opens set-aside contracts. It takes paperwork but costs nothing to apply.
Registration
Get an EIN
Your federal tax ID, issued by the IRS online in minutes.
- Cost
- No cost, ever
- Who it is for
- Anyone forming a business entity
- Worth knowing
- The IRS says plainly you never pay for an EIN. Sites that charge are reselling a government service.
Registration
What an EIN is
Who needs one, when you need a new one, what to do if you lose it.
- Cost
- No cost
- Who it is for
- Anyone
- Worth knowing
- Read before applying so you answer the responsible party question correctly.
Registration
Form SS-4
The paper route to an EIN, for anyone who cannot apply online.
- Cost
- No cost
- Who it is for
- International applicants and anyone without online access
- Worth knowing
- Also useful just to see the questions before you start the online form.
Registration
Register a business in NC
File articles of organization or incorporation with the NC Secretary of State.
- Cost
- State filing fee applies
- Who it is for
- North Carolina businesses
- Worth knowing
- Sole proprietors and general partnerships usually file with the county Register of Deeds instead.
Registration
Check an NC business name
Search existing NC registrations before you commit to a name.
- Cost
- No cost
- Who it is for
- Anyone naming a business in NC
- Worth knowing
- Do this before printing anything. Name conflicts are cheap to avoid and expensive to fix.
North Carolina
Start My Business, nc.gov
The state's own walkthrough of structure, licenses and taxes.
- Cost
- No cost
- Who it is for
- North Carolina
- Worth knowing
- North Carolina has no single general business license, so requirements depend on what you do.
North Carolina
EDPNC Small Business Advisors
North Carolina's business advisors, reachable on 1-800-228-8443.
- Cost
- No cost
- Who it is for
- North Carolina
- Worth knowing
- Particularly useful for the license and permit question, where most people get stuck.
North Carolina
NC SBTDC
The state's Small Business and Technology Development Center network.
- Cost
- No cost counseling
- Who it is for
- North Carolina
- Worth knowing
- University-hosted, with offices across the state.
North Carolina
VBOC at Fayetteville State University
The Veterans Business Outreach Center covering North Carolina, on 910-672-2683.
- Cost
- No cost
- Who it is for
- Veterans and military families in NC
- Worth knowing
- One of 31 VBOCs nationally, and the one assigned to this state.
The monthly count of new business applications, national and by state.
- Cost
- No cost, public domain
- Who it is for
- Anyone
- Worth knowing
- Updated monthly. The closest thing to a live read on how many people are starting.
Openings, closings and survival rates for establishments, from the BLS.
- Cost
- No cost, public domain
- Who it is for
- Anyone
- Worth knowing
- The actual source behind most survival statistics you see quoted secondhand.
The SBA's state-by-state dataset, downloadable.
- Cost
- No cost, public domain
- Who it is for
- Anyone
- Worth knowing
- Counts, employment share and ownership demographics for every state.
The full SBA profile for North Carolina, as a PDF.
- Cost
- No cost, public domain
- Who it is for
- North Carolina
- Worth knowing
- Where the North Carolina figures further down this page come from.
Census data on businesses with no employees, which is most businesses.
- Cost
- No cost, public domain
- Who it is for
- Anyone
- Worth knowing
- If you are a solo operator, this is the dataset you actually belong to.
Employer business counts by size, industry and geography.
- Cost
- No cost, public domain
- Who it is for
- Anyone
- Worth knowing
- Use it to size a market by number of firms rather than guessing.
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