|
Small Business
Startup
Frequently
Asked Questions
Preguntas
Frecuentes
Analyzing
the Market | Business
Planning
Choosing & Registering
Corporate Structure
Evaluating the Competition
| Financing the Business
Licensing & Regulation
| Naming the Business
Operating & Growing
the Business
Small Business Links
(En
Español)
Use our handy Small
Business Startup Checklist.
Analyzing the
Market
Who are your customers? Where are your
customers? Gather important information
for your business planning from our Local
Demographics & Economic Statistics
page. Check out the
socio-economic characteristics of Seminole
County with demographics and statistical
data from the United States Census.
Investigate these online fact sheets with
data on Seminole County’s seven cities:
Altamonte Springs,
Casselberry,
Lake Mary,
Longwood,
Oviedo,
Sanford and
Winter Springs.
Top
Business Planning
Business Plan Basics – The Small Business
Administration (SBA) explains the function
of a plan, how to write it and use it, and
includes links to sample business plans.
Business Plan Templates – SCORE®'s template
gallery contains real business plans and
financial & accounting statements.
Business
Plans Handbook – Actual business plans
written by entrepreneurs who are seeking
financing for their businesses.
Free Sample Business Plans – Provides
100+ free samples such as starting a Bed
& Breakfast or setting up as a Painting
Contractor.
Come to the Library and use our new Business
Plan Pro 2007 software, a fast, easy
way to prepare a business plan. It gives
step-by-step guidance, includes 500+ sample
plans, and provides SBA- and lender-approved
formatting. The software is available on
designated computers at all five of our
branch
locations.
Top
Choosing &
Registering Corporate Structure
Sole proprietorship, Partnership, Limited
Liability Company (LLC), Corporation or S
Corporation? Deciding on a corporate structure
boils down to one basic legal issue: the
personal liability of owners for business
debts.
Business Registration – Start here for
State of Florida regulations and requirements
for business start-up and registering your
new business.
Sunbiz – The Florida Division of
Corporations’ online information, research,
and electronic processing service center. Here
you can directly access the Division’s
business entity, lien information, and image
databases. You can also download and print
copies of filed documents and forms to use
when filing.
Top
Evaluating the
Competition
Do you have any competitors? Where are they
located? Is there a need you can fill with
your business? Answer these questions and more
by researching the
ReferenceUSA
database. Find establishments in a specific
geographic area by type of business. Obtain
contact names, annual sales and number of
employees.
Top
Financing the
Business
Read a basic primer on financing
from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Take a look at
finance information from Seminole County
Economic Development. Investigate these
state and local
business incentives.
Government Grants – Find and apply for
competitive grant opportunities from all
Federal grant-making agencies. Through this
single access point for over 900 grant programs
offered by the 26 Federal grant-making agencies.
Note: grants for small business startups
are rare.
Government Loans – Your gateway to Federal
loan information, brought to you through a
partnership between Federal agencies and GovBenefits.gov; the official government
benefits website."
Small Business Resources – Business
assistance for small business.
Venture
Capital – Find venture capital firms
and angel investors. Create investor-ready
business plans and post for viewing by over
100,000 accredited potential investors.
Top
Licensing and
Regulation
Business and Professional Regulation –
Regulates one million professionals and
businesses across some 200 licensee categories
in the state of Florida, ranging from
electricians to real estate agents, from
cosmetologists to professional boxers. Other
department-regulated areas include hotels,
restaurants, alcohol and tobacco retailers,
condominiums and mobile home parks.
Federal Regulations – The official
business link to the U.S. government. Provides
direct entry to information, forms, and
assistance.
Municipal
– Find links to and contact information
for the seven municipalities within Seminole
County. If your business establishment is
located within the city limits, you may
be required to obtain both a city and county
Business Tax Receipt.
Seminole County – Every business in
Seminole County is required to maintain
a current Business Tax Receipt. These are
valid for one year, from October 1 through
September 30.
Top
Naming the Business
Registration of fictitious name for
your business can be done online. Search
the state of Florida fictitious name database
for all establishments doing business as
(dba) a certain name, or by keyword. The
database allows searching within your county
for new business names registered in the
last week.
Search the U.S. Trademarks
database for current and past usage of names.
Top
Operating and
Growing the Business
Many questions come up when operating your
new small business. What do I need to know
about labor and employment laws? What kind of
insurance does my small business need? Find
answers online in
Florida Trend’s Florida Small Business
magazine.
Read detailed, how-to articles on over 600
topics in the
Encyclopedia of Small Business*.
Essays offer explanations on issues such as
absenteeism, advantages and disadvantages of
various corporate structures, and RFPs
(Request for Proposals).
Speak with local experts and obtain free or
low-cost consulting at the
Small Business Development Center. Grow
your fledgling technology company in a
protected environment at the
Seminole Technology Business Incubation Center.
* You
will need to enter your 14-digit library
barcode number to access this database.
Top
Small Business Links
AllBusiness
- Tools, services, and information to help
start, manage and grow your business.
Business
Owners' Idea Cafe - Small business tax
tips, grants, business plan samples, and
business owner forum.
Business
Research - Portal allows a single, simultaneous
search of 25 business databases.
Business
Statistics - Useful Financial ratios,
business statistics and benchmarks.
Florida
Division of Corporations - Search, electronic
filing, forms, fees.
Florida Small Business Development
Center Network - Help for Florida entrepreneurs.
Florida Trend's Florida
Small Business - Start-up, Doing Business, In the Know, and Hot
Topics.
GovLoans.gov
- Official federal government site for all
types of federal loans including business.
Home
Business - Online magazine for home-based
business owners.
JumpUp
- Quick start tools and online community
for new entrepreneurs.
My
Own Business - A free Internet course
on starting a business with resources and
forums.
SBA
Free Newsletters & Publications
- Wide variety of information and business
opportunities in e-newsletters from the
Small Business Administration.
SCC Small Business Development Center
- Seminars, Start-up Guide, counseling, FAQ, more.
Seminole
Technology Business Incubation Center (STBIC)
- Helps technology based businesses.
Small Business Administration
- Financial, technical, and management assistance.
The Small Business Advisor
- Advice for starting and operating a small or
home based business.
Startup
Journal | The Wall Street Journal Center for
Entrepreneurs - Features, How-to, more.
Sunbiz - Florida Division of Corporations,
search, electronic filing, forms, fees.
En
Español.
TotalBusiness.com
- Find over 300 free tutorials and 1000+
articles on business topics.
UCF Small Business Development
Center - Business seminars, professional services, information.
Top
|
Top of Page - 
Email
this Page to a Friend ]
Translation Disclaimer - Dutch -
French -
German -
Italian -
Norwegian -
Portuguese -
Spanish
Business Matters