Reliable Sources For Start-Up Businesses

Last Updated: September 12, 2022

When you have a great idea, you want to pursue it – but with so many details involved, starting a business can seem like a daunting task. A million questions run through your head, such as: Where do I start? What is a business plan, exactly? How do I create a business plan and where can I find examples? What topics should I include and what scenarios do I need to consider? To ensure success and guarantee you secure funding, you must have a foolproof startup business plan that ticks through every detail. 

Score.org

With a variety of tips and templates for starting your own company, Score is a definite value add. If you find yourself procrastinating on a business plan, check out their 5 Reasons Your Startup Needs a Business Plan article to get you motivated. They also offer workshops, podcasts, and have a “Find a Mentor” program.

Small Business Administration

The Small Business Administration (SBA) was created to help your business idea come to fruition. The website houses tips and tricks to help you jumpstart your business, and their article on how to Write Your Business Plan features plan types, and the instructions and resources to get you started, while the How to Write a Business Plan course in their Learning Center offers a visual aid for those who prefer to learn through video.

Forbes

With advice and articles for everything from startups to corporations, Forbes is an invaluable resource if you want to be in the know about business news. One of many informative articles, the Basic Structure of a Business Plan for Beginners will introduce you to fun facts surrounding new business ventures and will also break down the business plan process into easy-to-understand segments. This article takes intimidating to stress-free in ten minutes or less.

Navarro College Small Business Development Center

Unexpected but priceless, Navarro College’s Small Business Development Center offers a to help you get thinking! The comprehensive questionnaire touches on a variety of items you may not have thought through during the early development stages and gives you the opportunity to gather a cohesive startup plan and strategy.

Shopkeep

The Shopkeep website has a small business section that offers advice and articles on everything from inspiration and planning through inventory management and company expansion. Their tips on creating a business plan break down the process and offer fun startup facts along the way!

edX

edX is a course-based website offering free classes you can stream on your computer. These classes feature a number of topics that are useful for entrepreneurs and startups including lessons on financial planning and marketing that can help create a more thorough business plan to ensure success.

My Own Business Institute (MOBI)

Another course-based site, My Own Business Institute is hosted by Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business and features online business courses focused on entrepreneurship. A neat feature: In addition to its helpful resources segment, the site also offers all of its courses in Spanish!

Houston Chronicle

The Houston Chronicle houses an impressive article detailing resources necessary for a startup. The topics listed in the article are a great starting place when thinking through a business and can provide a good groundwork for a thorough startup proposal.

YouTube Business Videos

Bet you didn’t see this one coming! YouTube is popular for more than viral videos; with a simple search, you can have countless entrepreneurship and startup videos at your disposal. For example, our “Business Planning and Strategy” search came back with some impressive, concise, and convenient videos containing topics to think about when starting a business and planning for growth.

Podcasts

Podcasts are another handy way to educate yourself on planning for a startup. How to Build a Rocketship is a well-known and respected podcast that covers startup and development subjects relevant to businesses in the B2B and B2C market. The best part? You can educate yourself on the go!

NOLO

Many entrepreneurs focus solely on the fact that a business plan will get them the funding they need to establish their business. However, even if you do not need funding, a business plan is vital to success. In NOLO’s article Why You Need To Write A Business Plan, they explain why a plan is important no matter what your financial situation and they make a convincing case! The article is a must-read for any founder.

Cayenne Consulting

When you write a business plan, the focus is on how to get funding. However, by changing up the way we think about the business plan process, better content can appear. Cayenne Consulting’s article on Why Business Plans Don’t Get Funded provides a unique way to begin writing – by thinking about what not to do in the report. They run through common mistakes entrepreneurs make when writing plans and, in doing so, teach you the important things to think about when forming a startup.

Entrepreneur

Entrepreneur Magazine is one of our favorite publications for interesting advice and inspirational articles so, naturally, their website is a terrific resource as well. They feature webinars, articles, videos, and more, allowing you to learn using your preferred media type. Their articles on planning, like Business Plans: A Step-By-Step Guide, answer a number of questions and cover things to think about before, during, and after writing your plan. All content is geared toward entrepreneurs and provides insights into a variety of industries and business types.

 Everyone absorbs information differently and has a preference for specific types of media, so we have incorporated a diverse grouping of resources in this list to help you get started so you can build the most comprehensive business plan possible and increase your chances of success. Although it is far from a comprehensive listing of resources, these are the ones we have found most helpful for first-timers through serial entrepreneurs, guaranteed to help you hit the ground running.

Resource Based URLs

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_card

https://www.wikihow.life/Use-a-Credit-Card

https://www.moneywehave.com/category/credit-cards/

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Credit_cards

James Scott

James Scott was born in Missouri and studied at the University of Central Missouri. Currently working as Manager at ActoutLoud, James Scott helps readers learn the fields of Law, Marketing, Construction, Education, Health, etc hone their skills, and find their unique voice so they can stand out from the crowd.

Written by James Scott

James Scott was born in Missouri and studied at the University of Central Missouri. Currently working as Manager at ActoutLoud, James Scott helps readers learn the fields of Law, Marketing, Construction, Education, Health, etc hone their skills, and find their unique voice so they can stand out from the crowd.