This article was written by Bill Morland, SCORE Orange County Chairman
Many of the entrepreneurs that come to SCORE are looking to create startup businesses. Their questions are usually about required licenses, business structure, local regulations, etc. Here are some web sites that are designed to assist the small business owner in securing the proper information regarding governmental requirements. In addition you will find good information on successful business practices.
Last October the SBA and 21 other federal agencies re-launched the business.gov web site. You can now search for compliance assistance information across all Federal agencies by industry or business area. The site is http://www.business.gov/.
You can find zip code specific information about state and local requirements by type of business by going to http://www.calgold.ca.gov/. Enter your business type and then select your county and city and you will be presented with a comprehensive list of local agencies that may have a say in the establishment and conduct of your business.
Great explanations of business legal issues and kits/forms for utilization are readily available at http://www.nolo.com/ and http://www.allbusiness.com/. If you want to find the average wages being paid by occupation in your metropolitan statistical area, go to http://www.bls.gov/, click on “wages, earnings, and benefits” then “Wages by area and occupation for 375metrpolitan statistical areas (MSAs)……” You will be able to secure specific wage data by occupation.
Then of course you can ask business questions of SCORE counselors across the country by going to http://www.score.org/. Under the heading “Ask SCORE for business advice” enter your keywords and click submit. You can select a counselor, ask your question and receive an answer by email. Plus our Orange county SCORE web site, http://www.score114.org/, is rich with information and web sites under our “Library” tab. Financing options and other information are readily available at the U.S. Small Business Administration’s web site at http://www.sba.gov/.
These web sites are valuable sources of tools and information to help you be successful and that’s what you and SCORE are working toward. Try them out. I know that you will be pleased with the information.
