Rebecca Game, founder of Digital Women, a group I have been a member of for a few years, guest posts this week giving some insight on all the ads we see claiming there is “free government money” to start a business here in the U.S.A really true. Please note she writes about Federal grants not the type of grants listed on this blog that are all from private sector organizations.

It’s posted all over the Internet. You hear it on the radio, and see it on television. The United States government is giving away free money in the form of federal grants. While it’s true that the government does indeed award $400 billion annually through its 26 federal entities, the statement of free money through the government doesn’t exactly pinpoint the definition of a federal grant.
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Posted in Grants, funding your business 4 Comments »

The Internal Revenue Service offers a free CD available for the asking. The resource is designed to help small business owners comply with the tax laws and covers a broad range of topics from starting to closing a business. From the IRS website:

Brief Description

The Small Business Resource Guide, CD-ROM provides

critical tax information to small businesses including forms, instructions, and publications.
valuable business information from a variety of government agencies, non-profits, & educational institutions.
essential startup information needed by new small businesses in order to be successful.

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I put together a list of links to resources available to start your business listed by state / region. The link to your state’s small business office should serve as a One Stop Shop to learn the specific start-up requirements— legal and regulatory for starting a business in your state or region.

Do you know of a link to official small business startup information in your city or country? If you wish to share country-specific links to similar information that others looking for start-up help will find useful, please leave them in comments.
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A federal tax identification number (TIN), also referred to as an employer identification number (EIN) is used to identify a business entity in the United States. Numbers are assigned by the US Internal Revenue Service to sole proprietors, corporations, partnerships, estates, trusts; the primary legal residence of which is in the United States or U.S. territories for tax filing and reporting purposes.

How to Apply for an EIN

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Posted in Start-up Checklist series, start up advice 1 Comment »

Today’s guest post is from Leanna Adams. Leanna outlines 8 great tips to keep in mind when choosing your business name.

Most people don’t realize it, but one of your first and most important business decisions can be picking your business name. A great name is one that attracts customers and can really give your business legs in terms of starting a buzz. Do you think Google would have created the fanatical sensation it has with a name like Search Engine USA?

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Posted in Start-up Checklist series, start up advice 8 Comments »