101 - Free Government Money Vault
Transcription
101 - Free Government Money Vault
101 The Best Government Grants For Your Business by Matthew Lesko Mary Ann Martello Kelly Edmiston Grants, Direct Payments, Venture Capital, Loans, Loan Guarantees, Matching Funds, Government Contracts, Free Services Plus Free Money To Live On While You Start Your Business Matthew Lesko Information USA, Inc. 12083 Nebel Street Rockville, MD 20852 1-800-Uncle-Sam (1-800-862-5372) http://www.lesko.com/ © Copyright 2012 $4.99 Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Over One Million Entrepreneurs A Year Get Government Money And Help To Start/Expand Their Business It’s All There Waiting For You To Ask Billions are set aside every year for Americans to become entrepreneurs and ZERO is spent advertising that programs are available to: -Start New Businesses, a Part-Time Business, or a Home-Based Business -Expand an Existing Business, Start a Non-Profit, or Work on Your Invention -Make More Money as a Freelancer or Contractor Than an Average Employee Both Republicans and Democrats Love These Programs Why? Because small businesses create most of the jobs in America. You starting a business means you create a job for yourself and when you grow your business you create jobs for others. The big companies are always downsizing. It is small business that creates jobs. Over 17,000 Programs You Never Knew About Because They’re NOT At The SBA Free Money To Live On While You Start Your Business $1.5 Million To Grow Or Move Your Business $15,000 To Start A Business At Home Money And Help To Work On Your Invention $25,000 To Train Your Employees $5,000 For Teenagers To Start A Business Free Computers And Office Equipment Free Lawyers To Collect On Customer’s Bad Checks Free Help Writing A Business Plan Or Grant Application $15,000 To Learn How To Get Government Contracts Cheap Rent, Free Marketing Help And Excellent Contacts To Start A New Venture $5,000 To Travel Overseas To Look For Business Opportunities $6,000 Grant To Help You Learn How To Get A $150,000 Grant $100,000 For Freelancers To Work At Home Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Money For Both The 1% And 99% You can be certain the big guys have figured out how to use these programs. Apple Computer, Federal Express, Home Depot, Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream, Staples, and Amazon have all used government funding to help with their success. Even Donald Trump describes in his book how his first big deal was with a government program in Ohio. His father built his real estate empire using government programs and “The Donald” continues to use government funding and subsidies. But this help is more for the average person, with just a little money or NO MONEY AT ALL, who wants to achieve the American dream. These programs are really for people who can't easily walk into a bank and get the money they need to start their dream. These are programs you can use when the bank turns you down. I've interviewed dozens of average Americans who have used these programs for their success. Here are some videos you can watch on our web site: Unemployed Musician Gets Money To Start A Composing Business http://www.lesko.com/using-unemployment.php $1,000,000 For Lady's Invention To Stop Pain From Doctor's Shots http://www.lesko.com/doctor-Inventor-receives-grant.php $15,000 Grant For Mom With Good Ideas Non-Profit Makes Money Selling Junk http://www.lesko.com/moms-with-new-ideas.php http://www.lesko.com/construction_junction.php Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) $2,500 Grant To Produce Videos To Provide A Source Of Income http://www.lesko.com/artist-grant-to-produce-instructional-videos.php Retired Army Vet Gets Money To Start A Banana Bread Bakery http://www.lesko.com/vet-gets-money-and-help-for-banana-bread.php Student Gets Grant To Start Business In Dorm Room http://www.lesko.com/college-student-uses-grant.php Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Life Coach Gets $10,000 To Help People Get Jobs http://www.lesko.com/connie-six-figure.php Gets A $6,000 Grant To Help Apply For A $100,000 Grant http://www.lesko.com/landfill_gas_developer_learns.php Free Entrepreneur Training To Become A Management Consultant http://www.lesko.com/free-entrepreneur-training.php Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Contracts Are Bigger/Better Than Grants or Loans SBA Loans How Many Value 61,689 $30.5 Billion Gov't Contracts (2011) 91.5 Billion $286 Billion The government is 800% bigger than Walmart and buys more of anything that you can think of: pasta, broom handles, web services, plasma TVs, massage therapists, freelance writers, artists, and even stand up comics and freelance priests. It may take you a few months to figure out the system, but there are plenty of free experts that will guide you through the system for free. Don’t go out and pay for some consultant. All the help you need to figure out how to get government contracts is available for FREE. And remember to get a government contract you're not going to be able to just make a phone call and get a check in the mail next Wednesday. Anything good is going to take time. However, no matter how long it takes, this is the rest of your life you are talking about and you have to start working on it today. If you want to sell to the government, they even have a program that's called a Mentor Program where they hook you up with someone who is already successful in selling to the government. My sister frames pictures for the government all over the world out of her home in the middle of Virginia and she does a million dollars worth of business. Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Don't Waste Time And Money On Starting Or Expanding Your Business For any problem that comes up, you don’t have to pay…you can get it FREE. Here is a list of the kinds of problems that come up when you are starting or expanding a business and they can all be solved with a free program from the government. So, why pay for something if you can get it for free? 1. 2. 3. 4. Where Is Grant Money For A Business Like Mine? Where Is The Best Place To Get Low Interest Loans For My Business? Is There Venture Capital For My Business? I Need Help Deciding The Best Business download: To Start. http://www.unclelesko.net/ 5. How Do I Write A Business Plan? 6. I Need Help With Taxes. 7. How Can I Start A Business If I Don't Have Any Money And I Have Low Income? 8. How Can I Make More Money As A Freelancer Than As An Employee 9. Where Do I Get Money To Live On While I Start My Business? 10. I Need Help Starting A Non-Profit Organization. 11. Where Can I Get Free Help To Start A Part-Time Business? 12. I Need Help With My Invention, But I Think Invention Companies Are RipOffs. 13. Can I Get Office Space Cheap And Free Consulting Help? 14. How Do I Solve My Debt Problems So I Can Start My Business? 15. I Need More Sales. Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) 10 Things YOU DON'T KNOW About Free Government Money Life is full of answers. You can Google any topic and get one million answers to almost anything. The hard part in life is asking the right questions. Our mission is to educate America about the facts about government programs so you get all the benefits you are entitled to. Start your education here: 1) 80% of Free Government Money Is Not Called Grants Of the $2 trillion in free government money that is given out each year only about $378 billion is called grants. The rest of free money is called things like direct payments, venture capital or loans you do not have to pay back. So don’t call the government and ask for a grant, you will miss 80% of the free money that is given out. We know the average American only thinks about grants. That’s why we put the word “GRANT” in the title, but the programs we list include all other sources of free money and help. We make sure you always know the right words to say when contacting government offices. 2) Don't Call Washington Looking For Money Think local. Most money programs do originate from Washington; however, the money goes to the state governments, who in turn give out the money to local government and even non-profit organizations. Every state government has an office that tracks this money. Call the governor's office and ask for the state grants office to get started. 3) Free Services Are Better Than Free Money Consumers are missing out on tens of thousands of dollars in free services like: free credit card help http://www.lesko.com/free_independent.php free help to start a business http://www.lesko.com/columbus_sbdc.php free health care http://www.lesko.com/montogomery_health.php 4) Government Applications Are Easy This is where average Americans really miss out. They believe that grant applications are complicated, and they are right. But 80% of the free money the government gives out is not a grant so they do not require a grant application and all that is needed is three or four pages of fill in the blanks. Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) 5) Your Congressman Provides The Best Help Every elected official has someone on their staff who helps people take advantage of government programs. These are the most motivated people in government that want to help you because if they are able to make a call to a government office and get you $50,000 for your business or $8,000 to train for a new job, you will vote for them in the next election no matter what they do. (Find your elected official at: http://www.congress.org) 6) The Government Doesn't Know What It Has If you call a government office and ask if they have money to help you accomplish some goal, you can’t take NO for an answer. Government offices are too big for any one person to know what is in their office. Get the documents, check the web sites, ask for suggestions for other sources. The best way to deal with the government is to find out what they have before you contact them. Then you call and tell them what they have. (Find your local government office: http://www.govengine.com/) 7) Only 12% Goes To The Poor Many people think they have to be destitute to receive government money. But that's not true. A bigger percentage of rich people are eligible for government money than poor people. And what's poor in today's economy? You can be working full-time at Wal-Mart and be eligible for food stamps. (Source: “Running On Empty”, Peter G. Peterson, former Chairman of Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, New York, page 151) 8) Over $19,379 In Free Money Goes To Every Family The U.S. Budget for 2013 shows that in 2012 $2.5 trillion was spent in free money programs and the U.S. Census shows there are about 129 million families. You do the math. (Source: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BUDGET-2013-TAB/pdf/BUDGET2013-TAB.pdf, page 223 and http://www.census.gov/popest/data/housing/totals/2008/files/HU-EST2008-STlayout.pdf) 9) Government Programs Keep Growing Under Both Democrats And Republicans Total government spending has increased every single year since 1948. (Source: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BUDGET-2013-TAB/pdf/BUDGET-2013TAB.pdf, page 347) 10) 75% Of Government Money Programs Have No Income Requirements No matter what your income you can apply for money to do specific activities that the government wants to be done like create or grow a business, fix-up your home, work Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) on an invention, or train for a new job. (Source: “Running On Empty”, Peter G. Peterson, former Chairman of Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, New York, page 151) Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Watch These 11 Free Videos To Learn More About Your American Benefits Go to http://www.lesko.com/how_to_use_this_service.php and click on “Help With Your Problems” Matthew Lesko New York Time Best Selling Author and Entrepreneur http://www.lesko.com/ Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) About Matthew Lesko No one has done more to educate the American public about available government money programs than Matthew Lesko. Over 30 years ago, as an ex-Naval Officer armed with a MBA in Computer Information Systems, Lesko started with only a phone and a desk in a one bedroom apartment, but soon had over 30 employees in a big office on K Street, in downtown Washington, D.C. Lesko's brainstorm was showing Fortune 500 executives how to take advantage of littleknown government programs. These business leaders did not care how much the information cost because they were turning this information into millions. Growing up in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, Lesko never knew about such government programs and was constantly surprised when he kept uncovering more and more freebies that his rich clients could spin into gold. After a few years, Lesko got bored helping these fat cats. He thought: “Why don't average people know about all this free money and help from government programs?” Since then, he has concentrated on getting this information out to the average American. He has authored over 100 books--two became New York Times Best Sellers, and two won awards for Best Reference Book of the Year. He was a columnist for the New York Times Syndicate, Good Housekeeping magazine, The Chicago Tribune, and others. Lesko has appeared on hundreds of radio and television shows, including The Today Show, Larry King, Letterman, Jay Leno, Good Morning America, and Oprah. With his altruistic exuberance and enthusiasm, Lesko became a favorite guest on shows like Letterman and Larry King, especially when some big star canceled at the last minute. Now Lesko's TV time consists mainly of off-the-wall infomercials, and he is ranked among the top ten most recognized infomercial personalities. Lesko is done writing books, believing his web service allows him to provide even more personal education and services about government programs for only $20, in contrast to 30 years ago when he charged CEOs $10,000 for the exact same information. Isn't the government great...it even created the World Wide Web. Lesko wants to show how the government can help you create something new in your life, too. And it's FREEEEEE! Matthew Lesko http://www.lesko.com/ Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Learn How We Can Help More Join Matthew Lesko’s Government Money Club http://www.lesko.com/ 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 24/7 email access to answer ANY questions Top-secret interview videos with government officials The world’s most exclusive collection of Grants, Loans and other Free Services One-on-one training with Matthew Lesko Priority notification of OVER 200 new monthly programs Access to a team of experts to prepare customized reports Assistance writing grants from trained Free Money Experts Unlimited access to Matthew Lesko and his researchers – a dedicated team to help you find and utilize programs in your area, tailored to your specific needs Free assistance filling out ANY government application Watch This Video and Learn Why We Are The Best Grant Service In America http://www.lesko.com/why-we-are-the-best-grant-service.php Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) 101 Best Government Grants For Your Business There are literally thousands of government programs that can ensure the success of any entrepreneur, business, non-profit organization or even contract worker, freelancer or artist. If you cannot find what you need below, never, never, never give up your search for what you need for success. I truly believe that the help you need is out there, but it may just take some effort on your part to find it. Be Sure To Contact This Office First No matter what kind of venture you want to start or even if you are already in the middle of one, there are thousands of Business Development Centers that want to help you. Remember, they're FREE and they are familiar with a lot of the programs that are local to you. Go to item #102 and contact the lead office for your state to make an appointment as soon as you can. 1) $200,000 From Washington To Open Or Expand A Business You can actually get up to $1,000,000 in grants and/or loans to open or expand a business from the U.S. Federal Government alone. There are over 100 different money programs available from offices ranging from the U.S. Small Business Administration to the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the U.S. Department of Commerce. For the best source identifying all federal government money programs available, look at a government published book called The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance published by the U.S. Government Printing Office: http://www.gpo.gov/ or look at it for free on the web at: https://www.cfda.gov/. Another good starting place to find anything in the federal government is a free service called the Federal Information Center at 1-800-FED-INFO or http://publications.usa.gov/USAPubs.php 2) $150,000 To Open A Business In A Certain Zip Code In addition to the federal government, you also have to contact your state government. Every state has a number of money programs for people to start or expand a business in their state. Governors compete with other governors to see who can create the most jobs, and that’s why they offer money for people who create jobs in their state. You don’t even have to be a resident of the state. You can live in one state and put your business in a state that offers you more money. States also offer special money for entrepreneurs to put their business in certain areas of the state or in certain areas of a city. There are also other money programs Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) to build buildings or renovate old buildings. Some of this money comes from federal sources which is given to the states and distributed to entrepreneurs in the state. Other money is generated from local taxes. And some states use the winnings from their lottery money to give to entrepreneurs to create or expand businesses. Many states offer programs from more than one agency, so it may take some time to find all the programs in a given state. A good place to start is your state government Office of Economic Development located in your state capital. You can call 411 and ask for the state capital operator in your state capital or go to http://www.govengine.com/ and click on your state and find the office that is listed under business and/or economic development. 3) $10,000 To Put A New Sign On Your Business Most local governments have money programs to help businesses in their area. Be sure to check your city, your county or your local development agency. The money for these programs can originate from the federal government, state government or locally generated taxes. These programs can be for buildings, equipment, working capital, hiring employees or for local beautification projects like painting the front of your store and putting up a new sign. If you are opening up a business, you can shop around at different cities and counties to see who may have the most money for you. If you don’t know who to contact, call the information operator at 411 and ask for the mayor of the city or the head of the county government. The top office is always the best place to start. You can also go to http://www.govengine.com/ and click on your state. You will see a list of all the counties and cities in your state along with the relevant web sites. 4) Let The Government Be Your Biggest Customer Question: Do you know what is better than a $100,000 government grant? Answer: A $100,000 government contract. Because with a grant you are most likely to get it once and with a contract you can keep getting it over and over again. Question: Do you know who buys more of anything than anyone else in the world? Answer: The government, including federal, state, local and county. Someone has to sell all those products and services to the government and it might as well be you. You just have to find out who in the government buys your product and figure out the paperwork on how to get paid. But don’t worry too much about the work required and the paperwork involved because there are offices that will help you do all this and they will do it for FREE. Find your local, state, and federal financed Small Business Development Center office by contacting 800-8-ASK-SBA or http://www.sba.gov/content/small-businessdevelopment-centers-sbdcs. Or you can also contact one of the local free offices Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) financed by the Department of Defense’s Defense Logistics Agency at 703-7671661 or http://www.dla.mil/smallbusiness/pages/ptap.aspx. Tell them you need help selling to the government. But, remember one thing: selling to the government is like going elephant hunting. When you bag one of these babies you have meat for a long time. 5) Your One-Stop Shop Business USA is the government’s one-stop platform to make it easier than ever for businesses to access services to help them grow and hire. They have links to start and expand a business, access financing, help with exporting, and more. There is a link to state and local resources that contain a wealth of information, resources, services, and financial assistance programs. Business USA even has a section for veterans, women and minority businesses, rural businesses as well as programs for web-based businesses. Check it out at: http://business.usa.gov/ 6) Get Free Legal Help, Free Financial Help, Free Marketing Help Have you ever wished you could call a great lawyer for legal advice and have them do the work for free? Have you ever dreamed about calling a great financial consultant for advice on a money matter and get your answer for free? Have you ever worried about how in the world you would pay for a PR agency to promote your store so everyone would know how great you are? Have you ever wished you didn’t have to pay to hire a management consultant to show you the secrets of how to double your sales in one year? You can get the answers to all these questions by knowing about the government’s best kept secret called Small Business Development Centers. There are over 1,000 of these offices around the country that will give you all these services and more for free or for very little cost. You don’t even have to know how to spell entrepreneur and they will sit down with you and help with any business problem you have. Don’t pay for something when you can get it for FREE. Find an office near you by contacting 800-8-ASK-SBA or go to: http://www.sba.gov/content/small-business-development-centers-sbdcs. A listing of state lead centers is listed at the end of this eBook. 7) Let The Government Be Your Collection Agency Do you have a supplier in another state who owes you money and won’t pay you back? Well, you don’t have to hire an attorney and pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars to get back your money. Try calling the attorney general’s office in the state of your supplier and complain about how a company in their state mistreated you. Many of these offices will investigate, for free, by contacting the business in question. No matter who is right in the matter the supplier likely does not want a government office on their back because this government office can put them out of business. The smartest business decision is to just give you the Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) money owed and have the problem go away. Maybe your credit card company does not treat you right and holds back money you think is due to you? Maybe your health insurance company will not pay a claim you think is covered in your policy? Maybe the package delivery service or the airline shipping your product did you wrong? Maybe the radio station running your ads cheated you? All of these problems can be handled more effectively, and for FREE, by contacting the government agency that regulates the business you are dealing with. All businesses are regulated by some agency. If your customers have a problem with you they can contact the state attorney general’s office or the postal inspector if you sent a product by mail. So, why hire an attorney who will charge you $200 an hour to get you satisfaction, when you can call a government office who will do the job for free. And don’t forget, a business can fight an attorney because the worst they have to lose is that they have to pay what they owe you. But it does not pay for a business to fight a government agency because a government agency has the power to put them out of business. To find who regulates a specific business, call 411 and ask for your state capital operator. Then ask for the office that regulates the profession or organization that hurt you. Or go to: http://www.govengine.com/ and start by looking for the office of the attorney general. You can also try the Consumer Action web site at: http://www.usa.gov/topics/consumer.shtml 8) Start A Business With No Money And No Products Who says you have to have an actual store to have a store? And who says that you even have to have any products to have a store? You can start a virtual store on the web. For this you only need pictures of the products and a source to get the products when someone actually buys them from your web site. Call a dozen suppliers of the product you are interested in and see if they would go into a 50/50 partnership when sales come in. You can find suppliers for any product from books in the library. Once you learn how to bring in sales, you can get your own store and keep all the money yourself. If you want to start a bookstore you can contact local hospitals, office buildings or other big structures, and make a deal with them to sell products in the lobby for people hanging out all day. And then contact a local bookstore to share the profits with them. Or you can approach a local bookstore and tell them that you will figure out how to sell books to the government and want a 50/50 deal. The bookstore has nothing to lose and you get to have a business with no money or books. And how are you going to learn to sell to the government? The government will teach you for free. Contact your local government sponsored Small Business Development Center and they will teach you for free. Call 800-8-ASK-SBA or go to: http://www.sba.gov/content/smallbusiness-development-centers-sbdcs Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) 9) Watch Videos Of Organizations That Offer Free Help For Starting A Business So many times we get asked if what we say is true. So we went out and talked to government offices and to people who received these services to show you that these things are available to you. Check out some of our videos: Business Incubators Increase Your Success: http://www.lesko.com/business_incubators_increase_your_success.php Start A Business Or Work On Your Invention: http://www.lesko.com/columbus_sbdc.php Local Business Grants: http://www.lesko.com/local_business_grants2.php Bring Your Business To Amarillo: http://www.lesko.com/money_to_bring_your_business_to_amarillo.php Big And Small Companies Get Help: http://www.lesko.com/big_and_small_companies_get_help.php Money To Train For A Better Job: http://www.lesko.com/workforce_development.php 10) $10,000 For Your First Business Count Me In offers access to business loans, consultation, and education by making loans of $500 to $10,000 available to women who are trying to obtain their first business loan. The organization provides access to networks that expand contacts, markets, skills, and confidence. Loans can be used for working capital, purchase of inventory or equipment, marketing materials for a sales event, or other uses. Contact: Count Me In, 240 Central Park South, Suite 7H, New York, NY 10019; 212-245-1245; http://www.makemineamillion.org/ 11) Where To Find The Best Customers For Your Business Or where is the best place to put up a store? Or which surrounding zip codes offer the best potential for increasing sales? Or where can I get a list of all the accountants in my area to tell them about my new product or service? You don’t have to hire a high priced marketing consultant to get answers to questions like these. You can tap into the government’s rich vein of free marketing data collected by the Bureau of Census and other government agencies. This is where the multibillion dollar companies get their marketing data and it is where the high priced consultants also get it and then resell it to clients at outrageous fees. That is what I used to do when I was a consultant. To get detailed information about data available for your state, contact your local Census State Data Center in your state capital by calling your state capital operator at 411 or going to: http://www.census.gov/sdc/. You can also get a lot of free and low-cost Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) marketing help from your local Small Business Development Center. You can find them by calling 800-8-ASK-SBA or go to: http://www.sba.gov/content/smallbusiness-development-centers-sbdcs 12) Money To Start A Business In A Small Town The government is so concerned about creating jobs in small towns that they gave someone $150,000 to start a winery in the middle of Iowa. See: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rd/newsroom/2003/vadglist03-final.pdf. There is a lot of money and help to start a business in a small town. The government is concerned about unemployment in small towns, so it has committed a number of loans and grant programs to encourage almost any kind of entrepreneuring venture. Montana gave out a $25,000 grant to help small businesses in rural areas figure out how to get government contracts. So check out the small towns in your area. Who cares if you have to drive an additional hour to work if someone is going to give you $150,000 to start your business. A good place to start to see what kind of money is available is at your local U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Office. Check out their programs at: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/LP_BusinessPrograms.html or contact your local office at: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/recd_map.html 13) Free Help Writing Business Plans Or Grant Applications Don’t believe it when some professional tries to scare you into thinking how hard it is to write a business plan or fill out a money application. This is the least of your problems, plus there is plenty of free help in filling them out when the time comes. The first thing you must do in getting government money is get a copy of the application that you believe may give you the money you need. No one should ever investigate hiring a professional before you even know where you are going to apply for the money. And once you get an application in hand and you think you need help, contact your local Small Business Development Center at 800-8ASK-SBA or go to: http://www.sba.gov/content/small-business-developmentcenters-sbdcs. They will help you for free or for next to nothing. In addition, you can get help from the best grant writing experts in the country by going to a non-profit organization called The Foundation Center. Their materials are available for free in libraries all over the country. You can find out where by contacting them at 212-620-4230 or http://foundationcenter.org/. By the way, I’ve seen a lot of applications for government money and many of them were so sloppy and unintelligible that any teacher would have given them a flunking grade, but they still got their money. And some applications are only one page long and you can get up to $150,000 for filling them out. Worrying about filling out an Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) application before you have one in hand is like buying a prom dress before you are invited to the prom. First things first. 14) $12 Million To Start A Real Big Business No matter how much money you need there is probably a program for you. You can also collect large amounts of money by putting together money from a number of programs. The government also offers venture capital through the Small Business Administration’s Small Business Investment Companies (SBIC). Over 75,000 entrepreneurs received money from this source to get their dreams off the ground, including the big guys like Compaq, Apple, Federal Express and Staples. SBICs are licensed by the U.S. Small Business Administration, but are privately owned and operate on a for profit basis. Their license allows companies to pool their money with borrowed money from the government in order to provide financing to small businesses in the form of equity securities or long-term debt. See how they can help you by calling the Associate Administrator for Investment, U.S. SBA, 202-205-6510 or go to: http://www.sba.gov/about-officescontent/1/2890. Many states also have venture capital programs or will help you locate private venture capitalists and state governments can also help you prepare the necessary paperwork. A good place to look for this kind of help is your state government Office of Economic Development located in your state capital. You can call 411 and ask for the state capital operator in your state capital or go to http://www.govengine.com/ and click on your state and find the office that is listed under business and/or economic development. 15) Get A $5,000 Grant With Bad Credit Maybe you don’t need a bunch of money to get your idea off the ground. Maybe all you need is just a few thousand dollars to get your idea to go. Well, there are hundreds of non-profit organizations that offer small grants and easy loans aimed at people who would never be able to get money from traditional sources. There are many programs specifically aimed at helping people with low-income or bad credit to start a business. These programs are available because the data show that they work. The Aspen Institute Self-Employment Learning Project studied 405 low-income people who started their own business and found that 53% were able to use their business to get out of being classified as low-income. These businesses also had better survival rates than the average business traced by the U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA). It is difficult to locate all of these groups around the country, but two good starting places are: 1) Association for Enterprise Opportunity at http://www.aeoworks.org/index.php/site/page/category/find/ and 2) The Foundation Center at 212-620-4230 or http://foundationcenter.org/ Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) 16) Money For Teenagers To Start A Business You can be as young as 10 and get $5,000 to start a business. The program is aimed at youth in rural areas, but you never know where you can use this. This loan can be used to finance income producing, agriculture-related projects. The project must be of modest size and carried out by rural youths participating in 4-H clubs, FFA, or a similar organization. It must be planned and operated with the assistance of the organization advisor and provide the youth with practical business and educational experience in agriculture-related skills. To qualify, you must reside in a rural area, city or town with a population of 50,000 or fewer people. Put this program aside; you never know when someone in your family may need this. It is part of the Farm Operating Loan program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Find out more by calling 202-720-1632 or go to: http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=home&subject=gfmlp&topic=ryl 17) Watch Videos Of Organizations That Offer Money For Your Business Below are nine videos that talk about other organizations that offer grants and other money for businesses. These are videos of entrepreneurs as well as money sources. Landfill Developer Learns To Get Grants: http://www.lesko.com/landfill_gas_developer_learns.php Green Bag Lunch Entrepreneur: http://www.lesko.com/green_bag_lunch_entrepreneur.php Non-Profit Sells Donated Building Materials: http://www.lesko.com/construction_junction.php Money To Train Your Employees: http://www.lesko.com/montgomery_country_workforce.php Help For Job Seekers And Employers: http://www.lesko.com/spring_field_work_force.php Green Roofs For Money And Veggies: http://www.lesko.com/green_roofs_for_money_and_veggies.php Help Starting A Business In Nevada: http://www.lesko.com/starting_a_business_in_nevada.php $200 To 72,000 Customers In 4 Years: http://www.lesko.com/houston_entrepreneur.php How To Sell To Local Governments: http://www.lesko.com/how_to_sell_to_local_governments.php Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) 18) Free Or Discounted Rent, Office Supplies, Management Services, Etc. The concept of “incubators” offers new entrepreneurs a place to start their business with free use of, or discounts on, everything you need to start and run a business. Some of these incubators even help with getting money for your project. It’s a great support system for new ventures. To find incubators near you, contact National Business Incubator Association at 740-593-4331 or see: http://www.nbia.org/links_to_member_incubators/index.php 19) Money For Out-Of Work Professional To Become Mentor Consultants Matthew Lesko interviewed Susan Bender Phelps who currently operates her own mentor consulting business, which she was able to start while she was receiving unemployment insurance. She explained her history and how she developed the idea for her company as well as how the government program allowed her to further develop her idea without risking losing her benefits. Self-Employment Assistance is designed to encourage and enable unemployed workers to create their own jobs by starting their own small businesses. States can pay a selfemployed weekly allowance, instead of regular unemployment insurance benefits, to help unemployed workers while they are establishing businesses and becoming self-employed. This is a voluntary program for states and, to date, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Pennsylvania have SelfEmployment Assistance programs. The State Workforce Agency web sites for these states can be accessed at: http://www.servicelocator.org/OWSLinks.asp. Generally, in order to receive these benefits, an individual must first be eligible to receive regular unemployment insurance under the state law. Individuals who have been permanently laid off from their previous jobs and are identified as likely to exhaust regular unemployment benefits are eligible to participate in the program. Individuals may be eligible even if they are engaged full-time in selfemployment activities, including entrepreneurial training, business counseling, and technical assistance. You should contact the State Unemployment Insurance agency as soon as possible after becoming unemployed. At the time you file your claim you should ask whether a Self-Employment Assistance program operates in your state. Check out: http://workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/unemploy/self.asp. You can watch Matthew’s video with Susan Bender Phelps at: http://www.lesko.com/money-for-out-of-work.php 20) Free Job Training Actually many state Departments of Labor offer a variety of job training programs to help employers train new hires or upgrade the skills of their current workers. Although these programs need to be initiated by the employer with the Labor Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Department, you can take the initiative and see what they have to offer. Then show your boss how eager you are to learn new skills, at no cost to them! California will reimburse companies who retrain current employees of manufacturing firms who are facing out-of-state competition and for training new hires who are unemployment insurance recipients. Ohio Training Tax Credit Program provides tax credits of up to $100,000 per year to help offset costs of training current workers. Pennsylvania offers Customized Job Training grants for specialized job training for existing or new employees; Guaranteed Free Training Program up to $850 per employee. Rhode Island has a job training grant program for industry to create customized training programs tailored specifically for a company. Arkansas Business and Industry Training program will provide financial assistance to companies to recruit new workers, will provide customized training before employment, and will pay for more training once you hire the employee. They also offer the Existing Workforce Training Program which will pay for upgrading the skills of your current employees. Contact your state Department of Labor to see what job training programs or tax credits they may offer to help you get the training or the employees you need. Locate your state Department of Labor or Department of Economic Development located in your state capital: http://www.govengine.com/ 21) Community Action Agencies Offer Money And Help For LowIncome Entrepreneurs There are over 1,000 Community Action Agencies across America and 39% of these offices provide help to low-income people who want to start or expand a business. Their programs include “Be Your Own Boss” and “Start a Home Day Care.” For more information, contact your nearest agency: Community Action Partnership, 1140 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 1210, Washington, DC 20036; 202-265-7546; http://www.communityactionpartnership.com/; http://www.communityactionpartnership.com/index.php?option=com_spreadsheet s&view=search&spreadsheet=cap&Itemid=188 (click on your state and county) 22) 59 Venture Capitalists Looking To Invest In Poor Areas The Community Development Venture Capital Alliance (CDVCA) is an association of venture capitalists who are looking to invest in companies located in distressed and neglected areas throughout the world to help improve wage and employment opportunities, provide training for workers and businesses, and to help improve society as a whole. The venture capitalists offer assistance when Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) most banks and financial institutions turn down these businesses or do not offer services in these areas. Often rural and distressed regions are not fully served and are in need of special types of assistance. The Alliance has over 100 members willing and able to provide the needed help and business assistance to companies willing to take the risk and grow in these communities. As venture capitalists, they do not require immediate loan repayment, but become part owners in the company. They have a vested interest in the success of your company. To learn more about the programs offered and to see what is available in your area, contact: Community Development Venture Capital Alliance, 424 West 33rd Street, Suite 320, New York, NY 10001; 212-594-6747; http://cdvca.org/ 23) Save $1 And The Government Will Give You $3 The program called Individual Development Accounts (IDA) gives low-income individuals who would otherwise not be able to save money the chance to save faster by the government matching $3 for every $1 you put into a savings program. The money can be used for housing, starting a business, or education. For more information or to see if there is an IDA Network near you, contact: Corporation for Enterprise Development, 1200 G St., NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20005; 202-408-9788; http://cfed.org/programs/idas/. You can check the directory list at: http://cfed.org/programs/idas/directory_search/ 24) U.S. Treasury Provides Money For Low-Income Communities Are you a member of the general public who is looking for a loan, perhaps to renovate your home or start your own business? The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, or CDFI Fund, is a program within the U.S. Department of the Treasury that awards money and tax credits to communitybased organizations that work in low-income urban and rural communities across America. These organizations, known as CDFIs, all have a common mission of working toward revitalizing economically depressed communities or communities underserved by mainstream financial institutions and improving the quality of life of those that live and work in these communities. To find funding sources near you, contact: Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, 1801 L Street, NW, 6th Floor, Washington, DC 20036; 202-622-6355; http://cdfifund.gov/. There is information to apply to a CDFI here: http://cdfifund.gov/what_we_do/need_a_loan.asp and you can go to a searchable database here: http://cdfifund.gov/awardees/db/index.asp 25) See How You Can Do Your Business With A Lot Less Money If you can’t get your project financed the way you want, think about restructuring your idea in another format that does not take so much money. Maybe you can: Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) 1. hook up with an existing business as a subsidiary instead of starting your own, 2. become a distributor of a product instead of a manufacturer, 3. start on the web instead of a building or office, 4. start selling a service instead of a product The important thing in life is not having the perfect business to run right now, but to continually take steps TOWARDS something you like and away from what you don’t like. Check out this video to learn more: Start A Business With $400 Or Less at http://www.lesko.com/nojobs_nogrants_getacontract.php 26) $2,000 To $2,000,000 To Start A Business Each year over 1,000,000 entrepreneurs will get government money to start or expand their business. You can get $20,000 to start a business at home or millions to build an energy business in Texas. This money can be in the form of grants, loans, loan guarantees, venture capital, and contracts. There are literally thousands of places to contact at the state, federal, and local government level. The best place to start is at your state Office of Economic Development located in your state capital http://www.govengine.com/, but make sure you do not stop there. 27) $250,000 To Work On Your Invention The Small Business Innovative Research Program (SBIR) stimulates technological innovation, encourages small science and technology based firms to participate in government funded research, and provides incentives for converting research results into commercial applications. Eleven federal agencies with research and development budgets greater that $100 million are required by law to participate in the SBIR program. Businesses of 500 or fewer employees that are organized forprofit are eligible to compete for SBIR funding. All areas of research and development solicit for proposals and the 2009 awards for SBIR were over $26.9 billion. There are three phases of the program: Phase I determines whether the research idea, often on high risk advanced concepts, is technically feasible; whether the firm can do high quality research; and whether sufficient progress has been made to justify a larger Phase II effort. This phase is usually funded for six months with awards up to $100,000. Phase II is the principal research effort, and is usually limited to a maximum of $750,000 for up to two years. Phase III pursues potential commercial applications of the research funded under the first two phases, and is supported solely by nonfederal funding, usually from third party, venture capital, or large industrial firms. SBIR is one of the most competitive research and development programs in the government today. To assist the small business community in its SBIR efforts, the U.S. Small Business Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Administration publishes the Pre-Solicitation Announcement (PSA) in December, March, June, and September of each year. Every issue of the PSA contains pertinent information on the SBIR Program along with details on SBIR solicitations that are about to be released. This publication eliminates the need for small business concerns to track the activities of all federal agencies participating in the SBIR program. In recognition of the difficulties encountered by many small firms in their efforts to locate sources of funding essential to finalization of their innovative products, SBA has developed the Commercialization Matching System. This system contains information on all SBIR awardees as well as financing sources that have indicated an interest in investing in SBIR innovations. Firms interested in obtaining more information on the SBIR program or receiving the PSA should contact the Office of Technology, Small Business Administration, 409 Third St., SW, MC/6470, Washington, DC 20416; 202-205-6450; http://www.sba.gov/content/small-business-innovation-research-program-sbir-0 28) Hire A Vet; Get A Break President Obama signed into law a measure that provides tax credits to companies that hire unemployed veterans. Companies can claim a credit against taxes owed – as much as $5,600 for hiring veterans, and as much as $9,600 for hiring veterans with service-connected disabilities, if the veteran has been looking for work for six months or longer. The new law also provides as much as $2,400 for hiring a veteran who has been looking for work for one to six months. The tax credits are part of a measure that also repeals a requirement that federal, state and local governments begin withholding 3 percent of payments to contractors in 2013. To further encourage hiring veterans, the government can pay employers for providing on-the-job training to veterans who haven’t been rehabilitated, up to the point of employability. To read more about the new VOW to Hire Heroes Act, go to: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/11/21/president-obama-hire-veteran or http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=253949,00.html 29) Free Help To Start Your Own Business The Center for Veterans Enterprise (CVE) is a centralized program to help veterans start up and succeed in business. Their goal is to support economic empowerment for every veteran entrepreneur and to provide assistance for veterans and service-disabled veterans who are considering business ownership. They provide assistance in management, marketing, financing and even provide a mentoring program. The Center for Veterans Enterprise works in conjunction with the Small Business Administration (SBA) to maximize the benefits for veterans. There are SBA Veterans Business Development Offices in each state. To declare your firm as a veteran owned business, a veteran or group of veterans must have 51% ownership and control of the business. A similar 51% rule is applied to Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) businesses owned by service-disabled veterans. Contact: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, The Center for Veterans Enterprise (00VE), 810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20420; 202-565-8336; 866-584-2344; http://www.vetbiz.gov/ 30) Government Contractors That Have To Hire A Vet When you are looking for a job, you should consider applying at companies that have contracts and subcontracts with the Federal government. Any contractor or subcontractor with a contract of $25,000 or more with the Federal Government must take affirmative action to hire and promote qualified targeted veterans which includes, special disabled veterans, veterans of the Vietnam-era, or recently separated veterans. Contractors and subcontractors with openings for jobs, other than executive or top management positions, positions which are to be filled from within the contractor’s organization, and positions lasting 3 days or less, must list them with the nearest State Job Service (also known as State Employment Service) office. Qualified targeted veterans receive priority for referral to Federal contractor job openings listed at those offices. Federal contractors are not required to hire those referred, but must have affirmative action plans. Companies must file an annual VETS-100 report, which shows the number of targeted veterans in their workforce by job category, hiring location, and number of new hires. Instructions, information and follow-up assistance is provided at VETS-100 Internet site at: http://www.dol.gov/vets/programs/fcp/main.htm or employers may contact the VETS-100 Processing Center at: 866-237-0275. For copies of Affirmative Action Obligations of Contractors and Subcontractors for Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era, Rules and Regulations, contact: Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, Employment Standards Administration, 200 Constitution Ave., NW, U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, DC 20210. 31) FREE Help For Vets President Obama is doing all he can to help our returning servicemen and women get the help they need to re-enter the work force once their military career has ended. Currently over 500,000 veterans and family members are going to college to get their degrees through the GI Bill. This fall they will start including vocational training and apprenticeships to help veterans get the skills they need to be employed in the private sector. But that is not enough in this economy, so the President has proposed several initiative’s to help the cause: 1. Get up to $9,600 For Hiring A Vet Returning Heroes and Wounded Warrior Tax Credits: A new Returning Heroes Tax Credit for firms that hire unemployed veterans (maximum credit of $2,400 for every short-term Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) unemployed hire and $4,800 for every long-term unemployed hire) and a Wounded Warriors Tax Credit which will increase the existing tax credit for firms that hire veterans with service-connected disabilities who have been unemployed long-term (maximum credit of $9,600 per veteran) and continue the existing credit for all other veterans with a service-connected disability (maximum credit of $4,800). To learn more about Work Opportunity Tax Credit go to http://www.doleta.gov/business/incentives/opptax/ 2. 100,000 Vets To Be Hired Before 2014 A Challenge to the Private Sector to Hire or Train 100,000 Unemployed Veterans or Their Spouses by the End of 2013: The President will challenge businesses to commit to hire or provide training to unemployed veterans or their spouses. Joining Forces will lead this work with businesses and industry. To learn more about Joining Forces go to http://www.whitehouse.gov/joiningforces/ 3. Improve Help So Veterans Can Join The Civilian Workforce Presidential Call for a Career-Ready Military: The Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, working closely with other agencies and the President’s economic and domestic policy teams, will lead a new task force to develop reforms to ensure that every member of the service receives the training, education, and credentials they need to transition to the civilian workforce or to pursue higher education. These reforms will include the design of a “reverse bootcamp,” which will extend the transition period to give service members more counseling and guidance and leave them career-ready. To learn about current benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs go to http://va.gov/ 4. Special Help At Career Centers For Vets Transition to the Private Sector: The Department of Labor will establish a new initiative to deliver an enhanced career development and job search service package to transitioning veterans at their local One-Stop Career Centers. The Office of Personnel Management will create a “Best Practices” Manual for the private sector to help businesses identify and hire veterans. To get the latest information and training resources available contact your local One-Stop Career Center at http://servicelocator.org/ 32) Learn Financial And Money Management Principles The Centers for Financial Education develops and offers curricula and materials Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) covering a full range of financial management skills including borrowing basics, budgeting, goal setting, credit management, savings, and more. For more information, contact: Money Management International, 14141 Southwest Freeway, Suite 1000, Sugar Land, TX 77478; 800-308-2227; http://www.crediteducation.org/ 33) Minority And Women-Owned Business Enterprises The National Minority Business Council provides business assistance, educational opportunities, and seminars to assist minority, women and veteran owned businesses. These businesses can receive contract procurement and RFP announcements, assistance in accessing capital markets, SBA8(a) certification assistance, education and training, consulting and needs assessments, participate in purchasing exchanges, and more. For more information, contact: National Minority Business Council, 1200 Broadway, 19th Floor, New York, NY 10271; 212-693-5050; http://nmbc.org/home 34) Funding For Low-Income Teen Entrepreneurs The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship's BizCamp is a one- to two-week intensive summer program for youth ages 13-18 who are interested in entrepreneurship. At the end of the camp, students compete for cash awards to fund their businesses. The Foundation also offers school year programs and more to help low-income youths learn about entrepreneurship and to help them plan a future. For more information, contact: National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, 120 Wall Street, 29th Floor, New York, NY 10005; 212-2323333 or 800-For-NFTE; http://www.nfte.com/ 35) Financial Assistance For Minority-Owned Businesses A wide range of programs and services are available including: referrals to corporate buyers of minority suppliers; working capital loans as well as longerterm financing; business consulting services; educational seminars and technical assistance; certification of minority business enterprises; access to the Minority Business Information Center; an advanced management education program; business opportunity fairs; and more. For more information, contact: National Minority Supplier Development Council, 1359 Broadway, Tenth Floor, New York, NY 10018; 212-944-2430; http://www.nmsdc.org/nmsdc/#.T9SllLCXQpE 36) $1,000 For Teen Entrepreneurs Youth Venture is a national non-profit organization that empowers young people 12-20 to start their own enterprises by providing them with a variety of resources, including up to $1,000 in seed capital. For more information, contact: Youth Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Venture, 1700 North Moore Street, Suite 2000, Arlington, VA 22209; 703-5274126; http://www.genv.net/ 37) What Are The Best Opportunities In A Lousy Economy If your idea is not gaining traction it may be a good time to start re-evaluating and try to figure out how you can make your idea be a part of something that will be growing in the world so that you will be part of the wave when it starts booming. A lot of success stories are not because of brilliance or thoughtful planning but because someone was at the right place at the right time. You can start positioning your business to be part of something that has a high likelihood of booming in the near future so that YOU can be in the right place at the right time. There is always a lot more room for new entrepreneurs in areas that are growing than in areas that are static or shrinking. For example, it may be a bad time if you have an idea to sell a product to Wall Street, which is collapsing versus the Green Economy, which seems to be getting ready to boom. Great Opportunities In A Lousy Economy: http://www.lesko.com/great_opportunities_in_a_lousy_economy.php 38) Get A Contract The National Association of Minority Contractors can provide your business with information and support on issues that concern minority contractors. Education and training is available through the state chapters throughout the country. For more information, contact: The National Association of Minority Contractors, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20004; 202-204-3093; http://www.namcnational.org/ 39) Help For Hispanic-Owned Businesses The United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce was established nearly 25 years ago to provide a business network that promotes Hispanic-owned businesses. Through the National organization and over 200 local Hispanic Chamber of Commerce offices, a variety of programs are available. They offer Chamber training seminars, Latino youth entrepreneurship program, and a procurement council. For more information, contact: United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, 1424 K Street, NW, Suite 401; Washington, DC 20037; 202-842-1212; Fax: 202-842-3221; http://www.ushcc.com/ 40) Help For Pan Asian American Businesses The U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce represents all Asian Americans and Asian American businesses. They offer seminars and programs covering a wide range of business topics and offer procurement connections, contract opportunities and a certification program. To learn more, contact: US Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce, 1329 18th St., NW, Washington, DC 20036; 202-296-5221; http://uspaacc.com/ 41) Free Help For People With Disabilities To Start A Business The Small Business and Self Employment Service is part of the Office of Disability Employment Policy of the U.S. Department of Labor which provides comprehensive information, counseling and referrals about self-employment and small business ownership opportunities for people with disabilities. Entrepreneurship is an exciting opportunity for people with disabilities to realize their full potential while becoming financially self-supporting. Some of the benefits of self-employment or small business include working at home, control of your work schedule and the independence that comes from making your own decisions. Contact: Small Business and Self-Employment Service, Job Accommodation Network, PO Box 6080, Morgantown, WV 26506-6080; 800526-7234 V/TT; Fax: 304-293-5407; http://askjan.org/entre/index.htm 42) Free Financial Counseling Services Your local cooperative extension service offers free or very low fee courses and workshops on all kinds of subjects, including personal finance, small business, food and nutrition, plants and gardening, pets and animals, and health care. Contact your Local County Cooperative Extension service listed in the blue pages of your telephone directory or you can also find your local office at: http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/ 43) Minority Business Development Centers If you want to start or expand a business and you belong to a minority group, the Department of Commerce has something special just for you. The Minority Business Development Agency funds over 40 Business Development Centers (MBDC), Native American Business Development Centers (NABDC), Business Resource Centers (BRC), and Minority Business opportunity Committees (MBOC) nationwide to assist with the start-up, expansion, and acquisition of competitive minority owned firms offering quality goods and services. These centers provide business assistance for bonding, bidding, estimating, financing, procurement, international trade, franchising, acquisitions, mergers, and joint ventures to increase opportunities in domestic and international markets for minority entrepreneurs. Individuals that are eligible for the centers' business assistance are those that are socially or economically disadvantaged individuals who own or wish to start a business. Such persons include: Spanish Speaking Americans, Asian Pacific Americans, Asian Indians, Native and AfricanAmericans, Aleuts, Eskimos, Puerto Ricans, and Hasidic Jews. These centers are operated by private firms, non-profit organizations, state and local government Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) agencies, Native American tribes, and educational institutions. The centers provide one-on-one counseling for accounting, administration, business planning, construction, and marketing information. They also identify minority owned firms for contract and subcontract opportunities with federal, state, and local government agencies, and the private sector. The centers identify both private and public sector sources of financing for minority owned firms and assist with the preparation of financial documents and plans for submission to lenders. The Minority Business Development Agency is also a co-sponsor with the Small Business Administration on activities for Minority Enterprise Development Week (MED Week), which is a national yearly celebration that honors American minority entrepreneurs and the individuals and organizations that support their business development. Regional MED Week activities are held in the weeks prior to the observed MED Week, which is the first full week of October. If you need more information, you may contact the national headquarters at Minority Business Development Agency, 14th and Constitution, Washington, DC 20230; 202-4823917 or 888-324-1551; http://www.mbda.gov/ 44) Considering Flex-Time? Flex-Options Guide provides information on the different types of work schedules which allow your employees some flexibility from the 9-5 work week. The Guide shows you the benefits and how to establish these programs in your workplace. It also outlines issues and concerns which need to be addressed for each option. To view the guide, go to: http://www.genderprinciples.org/resource_files/Flex_Options_Guide.pdf. They also offer a publication called “Work-Life Balance and the Economic of Workplace Flexibility”, which outlines the costs and benefits of flex time at: http://www.dol.gov/wb/media/100331-cea-economics-workplace-flexibility.pdf. For more information, contact: Women's Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room S-3311, Washington, DC 20210; 800-827-5335 or 202-693-6710; http://www.dol.gov/wb/ 45) Women Can Get Help From The SBA The Office of Women's Business Ownership (OWBO) helps women achieve their dreams and improve their communities by helping them start and run successful businesses, regardless of social or financial disadvantage, race, ethnicity or business background. OWBO promotes the growth of women-owned businesses through programs that address business training and technical assistance, and provide access to credit and capital, federal contracts, and international trade opportunities. With a women's business ownership representative in every SBA district office, a nationwide network of mentoring roundtables, women's business centers in nearly every state and territory, women-owned venture capital Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) companies, OWBO is helping unprecedented numbers of women start and build successful businesses. For more information, contact: Office of Women's Business Ownership, Small Business Administration, 409 Third Street SW, Sixth Floor, Washington, DC 20416; 202-205-6673; http://www.sba.gov/content/women%E2%80%99s-business-centers 46) Business Centers Just For You The SBA's Women’s Business Center (WBC) program is a national network of WBCs providing educational resources to help women start and grow successful small businesses. The program's mission is to level the playing field for women entrepreneurs still facing unique obstacles in the business world. There are 115 Centers throughout the country. They can found at: http://www.awbc.biz/locate.asp According to the Mendocino Women’s Business Center, The Women's Business Center program, funded by the Small Business Administration and through locally matched dollars, provides free one-on-one consulting to women-owned businesses, start-ups, and self-employed women in the county. One-on-one consulting programs are customized to meet the individual needs of the clients. The WBC also provides low- and no-cost workshops and training seminars to help women gain the skills and knowledge they need to better manage their business and to become more successful. For more information, contact: Office of Women's Business Ownership, Small Business Administration, 409 Third Street SW, Sixth Floor, Washington, DC 20416; 202-205-6673; http://www.sba.gov/content/women%E2%80%99s-business-centers 47) Free Government Contracting Online Course The SBA provides information on the various programs that can help you position your business for contracting opportunities throughout the Federal Government. “Business Opportunities: A Guide to Winning Federal Contracts” reviews how the government buys and provides an overview on regulations, policies, and best practices. In addition, it provides a step-by-step process on how to register your small business for various contracting programs, including business matchmaking events and reviewing small business certification programs. Finally, it walks you through the process of preparing your bid. To register for this free course, go to: http://www.sba.gov/gcclassroom 48) Save To Reach Your Goal SSI eligibility and payment amount are based on income and resources (things of value that individual owns). PASS lets disabled individuals set aside money and/or things he or she owns to pay for items or services needed to achieve a specific work goal. You find out what training, items or services are needed to reach the work goal, such as supplies to start a business, school expenses, Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) equipment and tools, transportation and uniform requests and how much these items and services will cost. PASS can help you save to pay these costs. PASS lets you set aside money for installment payments as well as a down payment for things like a vehicle, wheelchair or computer if needed to reach work goal. You need to decide on a work goal and determine items and services necessary to achieve this goal, and you can get help in setting up a plan from a vocational rehabilitation (VR) counselor, which is an organization that helps people with disabilities; Benefits Specialists or Protection and Advocacy organizations who have contracts with SSA; Employment Networks involved in the Ticket to Work program; the local Social Security office or anyone else willing to help you. Contact local SSA office; SSA work site or some third parties shown above to get a PASS form (SSA-545-BK) to complete and bring or mail it to the Social Security office. SSA usually approves plans prepared by VR (if goal is selfemployment, there must also be a business plan). To learn more, contact your local Social Security office or go to: http://www.ssa.gov/disabilityresearch/wi/pass.htm#PASS 49) Help For Contractors And Others To Get Bonded To Obtain Contracts Under this program, small contractors unable to obtain a bond are guaranteed surety bonds issued by commercial surety companies. Guarantees are for up to ninety percent of the losses incurred and are paid by participating sureties when conditions are met. Types of assistance: insurance (guaranteed surety bonds). To learn more about surety bonds and the application process, contact: Office of Surety Guarantees, Small Business Administration, 409 Third Street, SW, Washington, DC 20416; 202-205-6540; http://www.sba.gov/about-officescontent/1/2891 50) Money To Invest In Companies Overseas The Overseas Private Investment Corporation provides financing for investments in developing countries for projects that contribute to the social and economic development of the host country and at the same time have a positive impact on the U.S. economy. OPIC disqualifies projects that may have a negative effect on the environment, U.S. employment, the host country's development, or would violate internationally recognized worker rights. Direct loans can only be made for private sector projects where there is significant involvement by a U.S. small business. Types of assistance: guaranteed insured loans; direct loans (70.002 Foreign Investment Financing). To learn more, contact: Information Officer, Overseas Private Investment Corporation, 1100 New York Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20527; 202-336-8400; Fax: 202-336-8700; http://www.opic.gov/ Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) 51) Free Patent Licenses To Develop And Market Energy Saving Inventions The Department of Energy (DOE) grants nonexclusive, revocable patent licenses to qualified applicants with plans to develop and/or market one of the more that 1,200 DOE owned U.S. patents. Type of assistance: dissemination of technical information. The Obama Administration’s Start-Up America Initiative supports innovation and entrepreneurship through a set of entrepreneur-focused policy initiatives in five areas: unlocking access to capital; connecting mentors; reducing barriers; accelerating innovation; and unleashing market opportunities. The Energy Department will continue to look at ways to reduce barriers to licensing to both established companies as well as start-ups while promoting their technology opportunities. Check out more information at the Energy Innovation Portal at: http://techportal.eere.energy.gov/. You can learn more about patents available and marketing summaries at: http://techportal.eere.energy.gov/category/startup_america 52) $500,000 Grant To Work On An Energy Related Invention The U.S. Department of Energy's Inventions and Innovation program provides financial and technical support to inventors and businesses to develop energy saving concepts and technologies. They offer a variety of funding opportunities. They have cost-shared research and development, a link to federal, regional, state and local organizations that offer rebates, grants, loans, and more at: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/financing/. Contact: Advanced Manufacturing Office, U.S. Department of Energy, Weatherization and Intergovernmental Programs, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Room 5F-065, MS EE-2F, Washington, DC 20585; 202-586-9488 or 877-337-3463; http://www1.eere.energy.gov/manufacturing/ 53) Counseling To Help Women And Minority Owned Businesses Get Department Of Energy Contracts This program strives to support increased participation of minority and women owned and operated small businesses; to develop energy related minority small business assistance programs; to encourage public/private partnerships to provide technical assistance to MBEs; to transfer applicable technology from national Federal laboratories to MBEs; and to increase the Department of Energy's high technology research and development contracting activities. Services provided by this program include identification and compilation of DOE procurement opportunities; technical assistance; dissemination of DOE energy technology opportunities; financial proposal and bid assistance; and matching business opportunities in public and private organizations with minority businesses and educational institutions. Type of assistance: advisory services and counseling. Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Contact: Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC 20585; 202-5867377; http://www.doe.gov/diversity/services/supporting-small-businesses 54) Grants To Develop Energy Saving Products This program offers grants to conduct research in the areas of buildings, industry and transportation. Grants are also offered to develop and transfer conservation technology to the non-federal sector. The Department of Energy EERE offices involved in this program are the Office of Building Technology, Office of Freedom CAR and Vehicle Technologies, Office of Industrial Technologies, and the Office of Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and Infrastructure. Type of Assistance: project grants. (81.086 Conservation Research and Development) Contact: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Mail Stop EE-1, Department of Energy, Washington, DC 28585; 202-586-9220 or 877-337-3463; http://www.eere.energy.gov/ 55) Grants To Work On Solar Energy Products The Department of Energy provides funding to conduct research and development efforts in the following energy technologies: distributed energy and electric reliability, solar, hydrogen, biomass, fuel cells and infrastructure, geothermal, wind and hydropower. Grants are also offered to develop and transfer these renewable energy technologies to the scientific and industrial communities, and state and local governments. Type of assistance: project grants. (81.087 Renewable Energy Research and Development) Contact: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Mail Stop EE-1, Department of Energy, Washington, DC 28585; 202-586-9220 or 877-337-3463; http://www.eere.energy.gov/ 56) $2,000,000 Grant To Work On Fossil Energy Ideas The focus of the Fossil Energy Research and Development program is to promote the development and use of environmentally and economically advanced technologies for supply, conversion, delivery and utilization of fossil fuels. Cooperative agreements will involve industry, DOE laboratories, universities and states. The successes of this program will benefit everyone through lower energy costs, reduced environmental impact, increased technology exports, and reduced dependence on foreign energy sources. Type of assistance: project grants and cooperative agreements. (81.089 Fossil Energy Research and Development) Contact: National Energy Technology Laboratory, 626 Cochrans Mill Rd., P.O. Box 10940, Pittsburgh, PA 15236; 412-386-4984; http://www.netl.doe.gov/ Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) 57) When To Invest In Yourself Matthew Lesko explains why your best investment will not be the stock market, real estate, gold or any other commodity but YOU...And how you can get free money and help to do it. Check it out: http://www.lesko.com/invest_in_yourself.php 58) Grants To Market Food Related Products To Emerging Markets Overseas The Emerging Markets Program's goal is to promote, enhance, or expand the export of U.S. agricultural commodities in low to middle income countries that are likely to emerge as promising export markets in the near future. U.S. agricultural and agribusiness firms, especially those that need assistance in obtaining or maintaining access to overseas markets, may be eligible for cost-share assistance to implement an Emerging Markets Program. Program funds may be used to finance activities such as feasibility studies, market research, sectorial assessments, orientation visits, specialized training, and business workshops. Type of assistance: direct payments for specified use. (10.603 Emerging Markets Program) Contact: Director, Marketing Operations Staff, Foreign Agricultural Services, Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250; 202-7200866; http://www.fas.usda.gov/mos/em-markets/em-markets.asp 59) Grants To Biomass Crop Producers The Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) provides financial assistance to owners and operators of agricultural and non-industrial private forest land who wish to establish, produce, and deliver biomass feedstocks. BCAP provides two categories of assistance: Matching payments may be available for the delivery of eligible material to qualified biomass conversion facilities by eligible material owners. Qualified biomass conversion facilities produce heat, power, biobased products, or advanced biofuels from biomass feedstocks. Establishment and annual payments may be available to certain producers who enter into contracts with the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) to produce eligible biomass crops on contract acres within BCAP project areas. Contact: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency, Kansas City Commodity Office, Contract Reconciliation Division, P.O. Box 419205, Stop 8758, Kansas City, MO 64141-6205; 816-926-6525; http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=home&subject=ener&topic=landing Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) 60) Money To Farmers, Ranchers, And Aquaculture Businesses This program assists eligible farmers, ranchers, and aquaculture operators, including farming cooperatives, corporations, partnerships, and joint operations, through the extension of credit and supervisory assistance to become owneroperators of not larger than family farms; make efficient use of the land, labor, and other resources; carry on sound and successful farming operations; and enable farm families to have a reasonable standard of living. Loan funds may be used to enlarge, improve, and buy family farms; provide necessary water and water facilities; provide basic soil treatment and land conservation measures; construct, repair, and improve essential buildings needed in the operation of a family farm; construct or repair farm dwellings; or provide facilities to produce fish under controlled conditions. Types of assistance: direct loans and guaranteed/insured loans. (10.407 Farm Ownership Loans) Contact: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency, Director, Loan Making Division, AgBox 0522, Washington, DC 20250; 202-720-1632; http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/frmapp?area=home&subject=gfmlp&topic=landing 61) $3,000,000 In Venture Capital The goal of this program is to promote economic development and job opportunities in low-income geographic areas through developmental venture capital investments in smaller businesses located in such areas. The SBA designates New Markets Venture Capital companies which are eligible to receive guaranteed loans and project grants. The guaranteed loan funds are used to make equity capital investments in smaller businesses located in low-income geographic areas. Grant funds are used to provide management and technical assistance to these smaller enterprises in connection with the capital investments. Types of assistance: project grants and guaranteed/insured loans. (59.051 New Markets Venture Capital) Contact: Director, New Markets Venture Capital Program, 409 3rd Street, NW, Suite 6300, Washington, DC 20416; 202-205-6510 or 800-8ASKSBA; Fax: 202-205-6013; http://www.sba.gov/content/new-markets-venturecapital-companies 62) Short-Term, Working-Capital Loans For Small Businesses CAPLines is a SBA loan program that helps small businesses meet their short term and cyclical working capital needs. Under the CAPLine program, there are five short term working capital loans: Seasonal line, Contract line, Builders line, Standard asset-based line, and Small asset-based line. The Seasonal line is an advance against anticipated inventory and accounts receivable during peak seasons when businesses experience seasonal sales fluctuations. The loan can be revolving or non-revolving. A Contract line finances the material cost and direct labor associated with performing assignable contracts. It can be revolving or nonMatthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) revolving. A Builders line is for small general contractors or builders who are constructing or renovating commercial or residential buildings. The building project serves as collateral, and loans can be revolving or non-revolving. A Standard asset-based line is a revolving line of credit for businesses unable to meet credit requirements for long term credit. It provides financing for cyclical growth and recurring and/or short term needs. A Small asset-based line is a revolving line of credit up to $200,000. It operates like a standard asset-based line except that some of the stricter requirements are waived providing the business demonstrates repayment ability. Type of assistance: direct loans. (59.012 Small Business Loans) Contact: Office of Financial Assistance, CAPLines Program, Small Business Administration, 409 Third Street, SW, Washington, DC 20416; 202-205-6490 or 800-UASK-SBA; http://www.sba.gov/content/caplines or http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/loans-grants/small-businessloans/sba-loan-programs/7a-loan-program 63) $1,000,000 To Sell Your Goods And Services Overseas The International Trade Loan program helps businesses that are preparing to engage in or are already engaged in international trade, or are adversely affected by competition from imports. Applicants must establish that the loan will significantly expand or develop an export market, currently be adversely affected by import competition, upgrade equipment or facilities to improve competitive position, or be able to provide a business plan that reasonably projects sufficient export sales to cover the loan. Loan funds may be used to acquire, construct, renovate, modernize, improve or expand facilities and equipment to be used in the U.S. in order to produce goods or services involved in international trade, and to develop and penetrate foreign markets. International Trade Loan funds cannot be used to repay debt. Type of assistance: guaranteed loans. (59.012 Small Business Loans) Contact: Office of Financial Assistance, International Trade Loan Program, Small Business Administration, 409 Third Street, SW, Washington, DC 20416; 202-205-6490 or 800-UASK-SBA; http://www.sba.gov/content/exportloan-programs 64) $750,000 For Businesses Hurt By North American Free Trade Agreement The U.S. Community Adjustment and Investment Program (CAIP) was established to aid communities that suffered job losses due to changing trade patterns with Canada and Mexico after the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). CAIP increases the availability of credit to encourage business development and expansion in impacted areas. Through CAIP, credit is available to businesses in eligible communities to create new, sustainable jobs or to preserve existing jobs. CAIP works with the SBA in both the 7(a) loan program and 504 Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) programs to reduce borrower costs and increase the availability of funds. Eligible businesses must be located in, or relocating to, a specific geographic area designated as eligible for funding under the CAIP by the U.S. Treasury and the NAD Bank. Type of assistance: guaranteed loans. (59.012 Small Business Loans) Contact: Office of Financial Assistance, CAIP Program, Small Business Administration, 409 Third Street, SW, Washington, DC 20416; 202-205-6490 or 800-UASK-SBA; http://www.sba.gov/content/caip 65) $1,250,000 To Sell Your Goods And Services Overseas The Export Working Capital Program (EWCP) is designed to provide short term working capital to exporters who have been in business for at least one full year. The EWCP supports export financing to small businesses when other financing is not available on reasonable terms. The program encourages lending by guaranteeing loans up to $1,000,000 or 90% of a loan amount, whichever is less. Loans through the EWCP must be used to finance the working capital needs associated with single or multiple transactions of the exporter. Type of assistance: guaranteed/insured loans. (59.012 Small Business Loans) Contact: Office of Financial Assistance, Special Purpose Loans, Export Working Capital Program, Small Business Administration, 409 Third Street, SW, Washington, DC 20416; 800-UASK-SBA or 202-205-6490; http://www.sba.gov/content/export-loanprograms#Export Working Capital Program (EWCP) 66) $750,000 To Start Or Expand A Small Business 7(a) loans are the most basic and the most used of the SBA's business loan programs. The loans are from commercial lenders, but are guaranteed by the SBA. Small businesses are considered for eligibility based on size, type of business, use of proceeds, and the availability of funds from other sources. 7(a) loan funds may be used to establish a new business, or to assist in the operation, expansion or acquisition of an existing business. Eligible uses include the purchase of land or buildings, new construction as well as expansion or conversion of existing facilities; to acquire equipment, machinery, furniture, fixtures, supplies or materials; long-term working capital including the payment of accounts payable and/or the purchase of inventory; to purchase an existing business; and to refinance existing business debts which are not already structured with reasonable terms and conditions. Type of assistance: guaranteed loans. (59.012 Small Business Loans) Contact: Office of Financial Assistance, 7(a) Loan Program, Small Business Administration, 409 Third Street, SW, Washington, DC 20416; 202-205-6490 or 800-UASK-SBA; http://www.sba.gov/category/navigationstructure/loans-grants/small-business-loans/sba-loan-programs/7a-loan-program Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) 67) $10,000,000 To Help Sell Overseas Ex-Im Bank assists U.S. exporters by guaranteeing financing to credit worthy international buyers for purchase of U.S. goods and services, and exports to large scale projects. Financing may also be available for refurbished equipment, software, certain banking and legal fees, and certain local costs and expenses. The benefits of this program include flexible financing options and repayment terms, no limits on transaction size, medium and long term financing, 100% coverage of commercial and political risks, and it enables buyers to obtain loans from lenders. To qualify for Ex-Im support, the product or services must be made up of at least 50% U.S. content, and must be shipped from the U.S. to an international buyer. Military or defense items are not eligible, nor are sales to military buyers. The loans are available for up to 85% of the U.S. export value. Type of assistance: loan guarantees. (Medium and Long Term Loan Guarantee Program) Contact: Export Finance Department, Export-Import Bank of the United States, 811 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20571; 202-565-3946 or 800-565-3946; http://www.exim.gov/products/index.cfm 68) Training Close To Home You may only need to look as far as your local school district to find training programs that may fit your needs. Many offer adult education courses either at their schools or at local area career centers. One career center near me offers fire fighting, business training, computer literacy, GED classes, and more. Most are very reasonably priced and may lead to a certificate to get you on your way. Check out your local school system to see what adult classes they offer or contact your state Department of Adult Education, which can be found at: http://wdcrobcolp01.ed.gov/Programs/EROD/org_list.cfm?category_ID=DAE 69) The Center For Veterans Enterprise VETBiz is the federal web site for veterans in business. They offer information on everything a veteran needs to start a small business, including a register of veteran owned businesses. To find out more, contact: The Center for Veterans Enterprise, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20420; 202-303-3260 or 866-584-2344; Fax: 202-254-0238; http://www.vetbiz.gov/ 70) VetFran Business Program VetFran helps to make owning a franchise operation more affordable for U.S. veterans. Veterans can get started in a franchise with initial investment assistance. Contact: VetFran Business Program, International Franchise Association, 1350 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 900, Washington, DC 20005-4709; 202-628-8000; Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Fax: 202-628-0812; http://www.franchise.org/ and http://www.franchise.org/Veteran-Franchise.aspx 71) The Veterans Corporation The Veterans Corporation is a business e-portal for current and prospective Veteran business owners and for those interested in working with Veteran-owned businesses. They offer: Veterans Entrepreneurial Training Program: Veterans Corporation offers FastTrac New Venture for veterans wanting to become entrepreneurs and FastTrac Planning for veteran business owners that want to expand their existing business. Financing: Veterans Corporation help veterans meet their capital needs by offering assistance to qualified veteran business owners. They have loans ranging from microloans to $2 million or more. Contact: The Veterans Corporation, 1800 Diagonal Road, Suite 230, Alexandria, VA 22314; 866-283-8267; http://www.veteranscorp.org/ 72) Veteran's Help For Entrepreneurship The Office of Veterans Business Development can assist those service members who choose to start a business. Many service members choose self-employment for various reasons. The information they provide is very comprehensive and will assist with all aspects of having your own business. In addition, there is a Veteran's Handbook which also may be very helpful. To learn more, contact your nearest SBA office: http://www.sba.gov/about-offices-list/2 or call: 800-U-ASKSBA or go to: http://www.sba.gov/content/veteran-service-disabled-veteranowned 73) Know Your Rights A franchise or business opportunity seller must give you a detailed disclosure document at least 10 business days before you pay any money or legally commit yourself to a purchase. You can use these disclosures to compare a particular business with others you may be considering or simply for information. The disclosure document includes: names, addresses, and telephone numbers of at least 10 previous purchasers who live closest to you; a fully audited financial statement of the seller; background and experience of the business's key executives; cost of starting and maintaining the business; and Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) the responsibilities you and the seller will have to each other once you've invested in the opportunity. To learn more, request the publication “Franchise and Business Opportunities” from Consumer Response Center, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania, NW, H-130, Washington, DC 20580; 877-FTC-HELP; http://www.ftc.gov/; http://business.ftc.gov/selected-industries/franchises-and-business-opportunities 74) Federal Business Opportunities Fedbizopps.gov (well, actually, https://www.fbo.gov/ ) is the government’s onestop virtual marketplace. Through this single point-of-entry commercial vendors and government buyers are invited to post, search, monitor, and retrieve opportunities solicited by the entire Federal contracting community. There are user guides, search engines, news, and more to help you get your contract. Check out Fedbizopps.gov at: https://www.fbo.gov/ 75) Women Business Research The National Women’s Business Council, which is a bi-partisan federal advisory council, promotes initiatives and programs to support women’s business enterprises. They conduct research, connect individual women business owners to a larger community, and more. They did a study on different Mentoring programs, identifying best practices and those that may be geared specifically towards women. For more information on the Council, contact: National Women’s Business Council, 409 Third St., SW, Suite 210, Washington, DC 20024; 202205-3850; http://www.nwbc.gov/ 76) Do I Need To Get Certified? The federal government does not require that your business be certified as a woman-owned business, as there are not specific set-aside programs for women. They do have a goal of giving a certain amount of government contracts to women-owned businesses, but you can “self-certify” that your company is woman-owned. But prime contractors who give out sub-contracting opportunities may require an official certification. The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council is one of several non-profits that certify a business as women-owned. They state that this certification can be an important marketing aspect for your company. Many corporations are striving for diversity in the procurement process. To become certified, your business must go through a rigorous process, and there are some fees involved. In addition, the Council offers a wealth of sourcing tools, and a database of certified women’s businesses for use by purchasing managers. They state that over 700 companies and government agencies rely on this certification. For more information, contact: Women’s Business Enterprise Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) National Council, 1120 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 950, Washington, DC 20036; 202-872-5515; http://www.wbenc.org/ 77) A Microenterprise Program Finder FIELD (Microenterprise Fund for Innovation, Effectiveness, Learning and Dissemination) has a mission to help identify, develop and disseminate best practices for microenterprises. They have a listing of microenterprise programs throughout the United States. Each program operates a little differently. Some charge a fee, while others are free. Some have small microlending programs, while others provide only business training and services. Check out the directory to find a program that serves your needs. The Program Index button allows you to search by your state. Many of these programs target women or low-income entrepreneurs. Contact: The Aspen Institute, One Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20036; 202-736-1071; http://microtracker.org/programindex/?state= 78) Money For Women Running A Taxi Company Actually, the money can be used by women and minorities in almost any kind of transportation-related business. The U.S. Department of Transportation works hard at trying to help companies succeed by helping them get contracts as well as offering short term working capital loans at prime interest rates while working on transportation related contracts. Businesses need to be certified as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE), which means a firm must be a small business owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals (including women). The Department of Transportation has a goal of 10% of all funds going to DBEs. For more information, contact: National Information Clearinghouse, U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, W56-485, Washington, DC 20590; 800-532-1169; http://osdbuweb.dot.gov/ 79) NY Minority Women’s Assistance Black Women Enterprises offers free services and programs to help the minority woman business owner. They have business plan workshops, and provide assistance to those enterprises seeking Minority Business Enterprise/Women’s Business Enterprise Certification. They also offer one-to-one business counseling and a monthly program on how to do business with the federal government. 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If your business performs well and completes a government contract satisfactorily, chances are you'll have a shot at more and maybe even bigger contracts. Contact your state Procurement office to learn how you can get one of these great contracts. To find your office go to: http://govengine.com/ and click on your state. 81) Small Business Offices Just For You Offices designated as Offices of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBUs) provide procurement assistance to small, minority, 8(a) and women owned businesses. Their primary function is to ensure that small and disadvantaged businesses receive their fair share of U.S. Government contracts. "OSDBUs" are the contacts for their respective agencies and are excellent sources of information. There are offices in every agency and department within the government. To find a listing of these offices go to the Federal OSDBU Directors Interagency Council at: http://www.osdbu.gov/ 82) What A Great Idea! To help you get started with patenting your invention, the Patent and Trademark Offices will send you a free booklet upon request called “General Information Concerning Patents.” There are three legal elements involved in the process of invention: the conception of the idea, diligence in working it out, and reducing it to practice - i.e., getting a finished product that actually works. If you have a great idea you think might work, but you need time to develop it further before it is ready to be patented, what should you do? For answers to general questions on patent examining policies and procedures, contact the Inventors Assistance Center at: 800-PTO-9199 or 571-272-1000; TTY: 571-272-9950; http://www.uspto.gov/inventors/iac/index.jsp. They will not answer legal questions or opinions. You can view the publication General Information Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Concerning Patents at: http://www.uspto.gov/patents/resources/general_info_concerning_patents.jsp 83) Patent Pending These applications create an early effective filing date and the term "Patent Pending" can be applied to the invention. There must be a written description of the invention, any necessary drawings and the name of the inventor(s). Claims and oath or declarations are not required. Also needed, is a cover sheet that states it is a provisional application and a filing fee. The filing date is the date that the PTO receives the application. This type of application cannot be filed for design inventions. A non-provisional application must be filed within 12 months or else it will be discarded. You can learn more by checking out the web site at: http://www.uspto.gov/patents/resources/types/provapp.jsp or contact the Inventors Assistance Center at: 800-786-9199. 84) The Right Way To Get A Copyright Copyrights are filed on intellectual property. A copyright protects your right to control the sale, use of distribution, and royalties from a creation in thought, music, films, art, or books. It is an automatic form of protection for authors of published and unpublished "original works of authorship." The concrete form of expression as opposed to the subject matter is what is protected. Since a copyright is automatic when a work is created, registration is not required for protection. However, there are advantages to registration. If it is registered within 5 years of publication of the work, it establishes prima facie evidence of its validity and can be helpful in case of a court action. Generally, the work is protected for the author's life plus 70 years after death. For more information, contact: Library of Congress, Copyright Office, 101 Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20559-6000; 202-707-3000; http://www.loc.gov/index.html and http://www.copyright.gov/ 85) Program Helps Female Veterans Become Business Owners V-WISE is open to all female veterans with a passion for entrepreneurship and the desire to start their own business. Applicants may have served in any branch of the military during any era. Participants must be able to complete the online component of the program and be able to travel to one of the mandatory conferences held at numerous times from spring 2011 through fall 2013. Please apply at: http://www.whitman.syr.edu/VWISEApplication2/. This program is funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration and administered by the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University. Due to the SBA funding, the cost to the participant is minimal. The participant is responsible for a $75.00 registration fee and transportation to and from the conference. All other expenses Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) are covered, i.e. hotel, books and food. Cost assistant may be available (for the $75.00 registration fee), so please email vwise@syr.edu for more information or contact: Admissions Coordinator, Institute for Veterans and Military Families, Syracuse University, 700 University Avenue, Suite 303, Syracuse, NY 132442530; 315-443-8791; http://www.whitman.syr.edu/vwise/about.asp 86) Veteran Exposition, Inc. Veteran Exposition is a veteran owned and operated organization dedicated to improving opportunities for U.S. Military Veteran business owners. The site aims to create awareness and business for U.S. military veteran owned businesses so that the public and government can locate veteran businesses. The site contains a directory of veteran-owned businesses and information about possible discounts to veterans. For more details, contact: Veteran Exposition, Inc., P.O. Box 05623, Sarasota, FL 34232; 941-951-2561; http://www.vetsexpo.org/ 87) Veterans Business Outreach Program The Veterans Business Outreach Program (VBOP) is designed to provide entrepreneurial development services such as business training, counseling and mentoring and referrals for eligible veterans who own or are considering starting their own business. Contact the following offices for help in your area: Serving California Sacramento Veterans Resource Center Veteran's Business Outreach Center 7270 E. Southgate Drive Sacramento, CA 95823 916-393-8387 Fax: 916-393-8389 http://www.vietvets.org/ Serving Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee Veterans’ Business Outreach Center 2500 Minnesota Avenue Lynn Haven, FL 32444 800-542-7232 850-271-1108 Fax: 850-271-1109 http://www.vboc.org/ Serving New York State Veterans Business Outreach Program 41 State Street Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Albany, NY 12246 877-875-VETS (8387) http://www.nyssbdc.org/services/veterans/veterans.html Serving Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas The University of Texas-Pan American 1201 W. University Drive Edinburg, TX 78539-2999 956-292-7535 Fax: 956-292-7561 http://portal.utpa.edu/utpa_main/ce_home/bdi_home/vboc_home 88) Business Help Every Step Of The Way Whether you are starting or growing a business, FastTrac offers programs for every level of entrepreneurship. Programs include: FastTrac NewVenture: This is for new entrepreneurs who are still in the “idea” stage and need help starting their business. FastTrac GrowthVenture: This is for current business owners who are looking for strategies to grow their business. FastTrac TechVenture: This is for technology or science-based business owners who need help navigating the factors that go in to starting a business like acquiring funding and intellectual property protection. FastTrac also offers special programs for women and veteran entrepreneurs. FastTrac programs are delivered by a variety of affiliate organizations—non-profit and for-profit alike—including chambers of commerce, business development centers, local and regional economic development councils, colleges, universities, consulting firms, and many others. FastTrac is offered throughout the U.S., so to find a program in your local area, go to: http://fasttrac.org/program-locator.aspx For additional information, contact FastTrac at: 816-454-4380 or 877-4509800; http://fasttrac.org/entrepreneurs/programs.aspx 89) Kickstart Your Dreams Kickstarter claims to be "the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world. Every week, tens of thousands of amazing people pledge millions of dollars to projects from the worlds of music, film, art, technology, design, food, publishing and other creative fields." A caveat is that the project must reach its funding goal before any money is actually exchanged. For your donations to the projects you often get product samples, tickets to the show or movie, copies of CDs, which are all dependent upon your donation level. You cannot use Kickstarter to fund a charity, cause, or to just pay your bills. They have guidelines and even a Kickstarter school. If you meet your goal, there is a 5% fee charged by Kickstarter. There are step-by-step instructions to get your project listed for you Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) to receive the funding you need to make your dreams come true. For more information, go to: http://www.kickstarter.com/ 90) Up To $5,000 For Florida Entrepreneurs The Peer Lending Program is designed for individuals who aren't in business yet or have been in business for less than two years. Entrepreneurial and Financial Literacy Training are combined with peer-evaluated business loans of $1,000 to $5,000. Peer group members make lending decisions collectively. This collaborative method of inclusion empowers clients who might have been previously felt marginalized or lacked the confidence to take on a leadership role. Peer-to-peer support and networking opportunities are also provided. The Peer Lending Program requires no credit or collateral and is available to qualified residents of Miami-Dade and Broward Counties. For more details, contact: Partners for Self-Employment Inc., 3000 Biscayne Boulevard, Suite 215A, Miami, FL 33137; 305-438-1407; Fax: 305-438-1411; http://partnersforselfemployment.org/en/peer-lending. Contact your city or county economic development office to see if similar programs are available near you. 91) Help For The Self-Employed The National Association for the Self-Employed is one of the leading resources for businesses. For a minimal annual fee they offer a wide range of benefits and services to the small business owner. You get access to health, life, dental and prescription insurance, discounts on a variety of services such as travel, entertainment, and legal and accounting. They even have a Business Development Grant Program. You can get quick answers to your tax and finance questions and help with understanding your taxes. To learn more, contact: National Association for the Self-Employed, P.O. Box 241, Annapolis Junction, MD 20701-0241; 800649-6273; http://www.nase.org/ 92) Yet More Free Help For Entrepreneurs There is a wealth of FREE help available to help you start your business. We have come across yet another resource to help you. Entrepreneurship.org is a free, online resource designed to help small businesses thrive. Entrepreneurship.org features a vast array of content and resources to assist entrepreneurs, business mentors, policy makers, academics and investors through each phase of the entrepreneurial process. The content ranges from resources entrepreneurs need to launch a company to policies and research that has been conducted regarding entrepreneurship. To take advantage of this FREE help, go to: http://www.entrepreneurship.org/ Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) 93) State Child Care Funding Some states offer special funding resources for child care centers. Some examples include Ohio and Virginia. The Community Capital Development Corporation offers a microloan of up to $25,000 for child day care anywhere in Ohio. For more information, contact: Community Capital Development Corporation, 900 Michigan Ave., Columbus, OH 43215; 888-756-CCDC; http://www.ccdcorp.org/workingcapital.html; http://www.ccdcorp.org/ Virginia Child Day Care Financing provides low-interest loans to Family Home Providers (up to $5,000) or Child Care Centers (up to $50,000). Contact: Virginia Department of Business Assistance, 707 E. Main Street, Suite 300, Richmond, VA 23219; 866-248-8814; http://vdba.virginia.gov/vsbfa.shtml#programs Child Care Online provides resources and links to other loan programs for Child Care financing. Check them out at: http://www.childcare.net/grantsfinance.shtml or contact your state Department of Economic Development which you can find at: http://www.govengine.com/ 94) Become A Non-Profit First and foremost in establishing or creating a non-profit is filing for Federal and state non-profit tax status. Non-profit status is not available to individuals, only to organizations, so your group must be incorporated or exist as an association or trust. To help you determine if your organization may qualify for tax-exempt status, or to find out what you will need to do in order to qualify, request Publication 557 from the local office of the Internal Revenue Service. This publication takes you step-by-step through the filing process, and contains instructions and checklists to help you provide all of the necessary information required to process your application the first time around. The fee to become exempt can be as low at $150! The IRS has even established a hotline at 877-8295500 staffed with experts on completing the forms and can help you with any questions you may have. They can't make it any easier for you! You can also check out any questions you may have at: http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/charities/index.html 95) To Good To Be True It's easy to see why ads for business opportunities appeal to consumers looking to make extra money: They promise good pay for little effort. But, as many consumers who have answered these ads have learned - and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has found - many business opportunity promotions are nothing but scams that take consumers' money up front and fail to deliver on the promises. If you're a prospective business owner, what can you do to make sure this doesn't Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) happen to you? First, do your homework, including getting pre-investment information in writing. Under the FTC Franchise Rule, most potential business purchasers have the right to receive information about the earnings potential of a business opportunity. Most legitimate business opportunity promoters don't hesitate to give this information. Second, research other aspects of the business' performance. One way to do that is to personally interview other people who have bought into the program. “Could 'Biz Opp' Offers Be Out For Your Coffers?” is a free publication from the Federal Trade Commission that can answer your questions and help you ask the right questions. For more information, contact Consumer Response Center, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania, NW, H-130, Washington, DC 20580; 877-FTC-HELP; http://www.ftc.gov/ or http://business.ftc.gov/documents/inv02-could-biz-opp-offers-be-out-yourcoffers 96) Connect Online With Other Minority Businesses The Minority Business Network is a free online service that provides online methods for marketing, supporting and growing your minority-owned business. Check them out at: http://www.mbnet.com/ 97) Money For People With Disabilities To Start A Business We cannot emphasize enough the help that is available from your state. We have known people who have gotten $11,000 to start a business at home and $15,000 to finish a degree because they were suffering from low self-esteem. You can receive: Medical examinations and treatment Vocational evaluation, training and placement Assistive devices Transportation Occupational equipment Rehabilitation engineering Student services Financial assistance Housing assistance Home retrofitting Your state Vocational Rehabilitation offices want to keep you a productive member of society, and they will do what it takes to get you on your way. If you are denied any of these services, you have several places you can turn for help. The first stop is your state Client Assistance Program. They will help you learn your rights and handle the appeal to get you what you need. They can take your Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) appeal process from the first stages, all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary and it won’t cost you a penny. Here is how to find your state’s Vocational Rehabilitation office: https://askjan.org/cgi-win/TypeQuery.exe?902 98) Free Legal Help And Information Services For The Handicapped If you think you've been wrongly denied benefits or discriminated against because of a disability or handicap, the Client Assistance Program (CAP) will help you fight for your rights when you're denied various types of disability benefits from any disability program. They will help you directly and/or put you in contact with the agencies that can help you. Contact your local CAP office. You can find your state office at: http://askjan.org/cgi-win/TypeQuery.exe?039 99) Up To $500,000 To Help Start Or Grow A Business Entrepreneurs who want to start or expand a business that brings revenue into the community can compete for a grant through the business plan competition available from the Amarillo EnterPrize Challenge. There are grants totally $500,000 available and your winning business plan could get a share of that grant money. Everyone who participates will gain a better understanding of how to develop and follow a realistic business plan and those qualifying businesses will win a capital funding grant. For rules and guidelines information, go to: http://www.incubationworks.com/enterprize-challenge/. You can also contact: West Texas A&M University Enterprise Center, 2300 N. Western, Amarillo, TX 79124; 806-374-9777. Obviously this is for businesses in the Amarillo area. Contact your local economic development office to see what programs may be available near you. 100) The Best Way To Get Sales For Your Business The reason a lot of new businesses fail is because they don’t have customers or they pay too much to get customers. Remember those Dot Com businesses in the 90s? They were paying $3 million or more for Super Bowl ads and getting only $1 million in business from it. That’s how you go out of business. Advertising can be very risky, but our society has so much media now there are plenty of ways to get NO RISK advertising or advertising at BIG DISCOUNTS. Advertising Does Not Have To Cost A Lot Of Money: http://www.lesko.com/marketing_in_the_new_bad_economy.php 101) Procurement Technical Assistance Centers Long ago offices were established to help people get contracts from the Department of Defense. These offices have now expanded their scope and help businesses get federal, state, and local government contracts all for free or nominal Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) cost. The offices are operated through the Defense Logistics Agency and are called Procurement Technical Assistance Program Centers (PTAP). To find an office near you, go to: http://www.dla.mil/SmallBusiness/Pages/ProcurementTechnicalAssistanceCenters .aspx and click on your state. ALABAMA Alabama Procurement Technical Assistance Center Program The University of Alabama 201 Bidgood Hall Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 Phone: 205-348-1687 Fax: 205-348-6974 Email: PTAC@UA.EDU http://www.al-ptac.org ALASKA Procurement Technical Assistance Centers of Alaska 430 West 7th Avenue, Suite 110 Anchorage, AK 99501 Phone: 907-274-7232 Fax: 907-274-9524 Email: alaskaptac@uaa.alaska.edu http://www.ptacalaska.org/ ARIZONA Arizona Procurement Technical Assistance Center Glendale Community College, Bldg. I-2, Room 105 6000 W. Olive Avenue Glendale, AZ 85302 Phone: 623-845-4700 Fax: 623-845-4705 Email: info@azptac.com http://www.azptac.com ARKANSAS Arkansas Procurement Assistance Center University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service 127 West 5th Street Malvern, AR 72104 Phone: 501-337-5355 Fax: 501-337-5045 Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Email: apac@uaex.edu http://www.arcommunities.org/apac.htm CALIFORNIA Los Angeles County Office of Small Business/PTAC 1100 N. Eastern Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90063 Phone: 323-881-3964 Fax: 213-415-8521 Email: osb@isd.lacounty.gov http://osb.lacounty.gov Procurement Assistance Center Riverside Community College District 152 East Sixth Street Corona, CA 92879 Phone: 951-571-6459 Fax: 951-898-7946 Email: pac@rcc.edu www.rccpac.com San Diego Contracting Opportunities Center – PTAC 4007 Camino del Rio South, Ste. 210 San Diego, CA 92108 Phone: 619-285-7020 Fax: 619-285-7030 Email: sdcoc@ptac-sandiego.org http://www.ptac-sandiego.org COLORADO Colorado PTAC 6 S Tejon Street, Suite 850 Colorado Springs, CO 80903 Phone: 719-434-3470 Fax: 719-434-3475 Email: info@ColoradoPTAC.org http://www.ColoradoPTAC.org CONNECTICUT Connecticut Procurement Technical Assistance Program 190 Governor Winthrop Blvd., 4th Floor New London, CT 06320 Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Phone: 860-437-4659, Ext. 208 or 888-673-2837, Ext. 208 (toll free) Fax: 860-437-4662 Email: ptap@ctptap.org http://www.ctptap.org/ DELAWARE PTAC of Delaware University of Delaware One Innovation Way, Suite 301 Newark, DE 19711 Phone: 302-831-0780 Fax: 302-831-0771 Email: info@delawarecontracts.com www.delawarecontracts.com DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA There is no PTAC located in the District of Columbia. FLORIDA University of West Florida PTAC 11000 University Pkwy, Bldg. 38 Pensacola, FL 32514-7806 Phone: 850-473-7806 Fax: 850-473-7813 Email: info@floridaptac.org http://www.fptac.org GEORGIA Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center 75 - 5th Street, NW, Suite 300 Atlanta, GA 30308-1019 Phone: 770-718-3981 Fax: 770-535-5847 Email: gtpacatl@innovate.gatech.edu http://www.gtpac.org GUAM Guam Procurement Technical Assistance Center University of Guam School of Business & Public Administration, Room 116 UOG Station, Mangilao, Guam 96929 Phone: 671-735-2552 Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Fax: 671-735-5717 Email: info@guamptac.com http://www.guamptac.com HAWAII Hawaii Procurement Technical Assistance Center (HI-PTAC) 711 Kapiolani Blvd., Suite 1430 Honolulu, HI 96813 Phone: 808-596-8990, ext 1009 Fax: 808-596-8992 Email: hiptac@hookipaipai.org http://hiptac.ecenterdirect.com IDAHO Idaho PTAC Idaho Department of Commerce, 2nd floor 700 W. State Street Boise, Idaho 83720 Phone: 208-334-2470 Fax: 208-334-2631 Email: ptac@commerce.idaho.gov www.ptac.idaho.gov ILLINOIS Illinois Procurement Technical Assistance Program 500 E. Monroe Springfield, IL 62701 Phone: 217-557-7808 Fax: 217-524-0171 Email: ceo.ilptac@illinios.gov http://www.ienconnect.com\PTAC INDIANA Partners in Contracting Corporation 5209 Hohman Avenue Hammond, IN 46320 Phone: 219-750-1200 Fax: 219-750-1211 Email: picc@piccorp.org http://www.piccorp.org Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) IOWA Iowa PTAC Iowa State University Extension - CIRAS 2701 SE Convenience Blvd., Suite 13 Ankeny, IA 50021 Phone: 515-289-0280 Fax: 515-289-0282 Email: ciras.info@iastate.edu http://www.ciras.iastate.edu/procurement/ KANSAS/MISSOURI Heartland PTAC Missouri Southern State University 3950 Newman Road Joplin, MO 64801-1512 Phone: 417-625-9538 Fax: 417-625-3090 Email: heartlandptac@mssu.edu http://www.mssu.edu/heartlandptac KENTUCKY Kentucky Procurement Assistance Program Cabinet for Economic Development Old Capitol Annex 300 West Broadway Frankfort, KY 40601 Phone: 800-838-3266 or 502-564-7140 Fax: 502-564-3256 Email: ced.kpap@ky.gov http://www.thinkkentucky.com/KPAP LOUISIANA Louisiana PTAC 635 Cajundome Boulevard, Room 127 Lafayette, LA 70506-4291 Phone: 337-482-6422 Fax: 337-482-5837 Email: la-ptac@louisiana.edu http://www.la-ptac.org Northwest Louisiana Government Procurement Center 400 Edwards Street Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Shreveport, LA 71101 Phone: 318-677-2530 Fax: 318-677-2534 Email: gpc@shreveportchamber.org http://www.nwlagpc.org/ MAINE Maine PTAC 40 Harlow Street Bangor, ME 04401 Phone: 207-942-6389 Fax: 207-942-3548 Email: maineptac@emdc.org http://www.maineptac.org MARYLAND Maryland Procurement Technical Assistance Program 7100 Baltimore Avenue, Suite 402 College Park, MD 20740 Phone: 301-403-2740 Fax: 301-403-2743 Email: ptapadmn@umd.edu http://www.mdptap.umd.edu MASSACHUSETTS Massachusetts Small Business Development Center Network/PTAC 227 Isenberg School of Management University of Massachusetts 121 Presidents Drive Amherst, MA 01003-9310 Phone: 413-545-6303 Fax: 413-545-1273 Email: ptachelp@msbdc.umass.edu http://www.msbdc.org/ptac/rfc.html MICHIGAN Downriver Community Conference PTAC 15100 Northline Road, Suite 135 Southgate, MI 48195 Phone: 734-362-3480 Fax: 734-281-6661 Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Email: PTAC@dccwf.org http://www.dccwf.org/economic_dev_ptac.php Macomb Regional PTAC 7900 Tank Avenue Warren, MI 48092-3936 Phone: 586-498-4122 Fax: 526-498-4165 Email: ptac@macomb.edu http://www.ptacsofmichigan.org Muskegon Area First PTAC 380 W. Western Avenue, Suite 202 Muskegon, MI 49440 Phone: 231-722-7700 Fax: 231-728-7251 Email: info@muskegonareafirst.org www.muskegonareafirst.org/ptac Northeast Michigan Consortium PTAC 20709 State Street Onaway, MI 49765 Phone: 989-733-8540 Fax: 989-733-8069 Email: PTAC@nemcworks.org http://www.nemcworks.org PTAC of Northwest Michigan 1209 S. Garfield Street Traverse City, MI 49686 Phone: 231-929-5036 Fax: 231-922-3737 Email: ptac@nwm.cog.mi.us http://www.nwm.org/ptac.asp PTAC of Schoolcraft College 18600 Haggerty Road Livonia, MI 48152 Phone: 734-462-4438 Fax: 734-462-4673 Email: inforeq@schoolcraft.edu http://www.schoolcraft.edu/bdc/ptac.asp Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) The PTAC of South Central Michigan One Jackson Square, Suite 1100 Jackson, MI 49201 Phone: 517-788-4680 Fax: 517-787-6100 Email: ptac@ptac-scmi.org http://www.ptac-scmi.org Southwest Michigan Procurement Technical Assistance Center 346 West Michigan Avenue Kalamazoo, MI 49007-3737 Phone: 269-381-2977, Ext. 3243 Fax: 269-343-0430 Email: ptac@kazoochamber.com www.kazoochamber.com/swmiptac Genesse Regional Chamber of Commerce 519 S. Saginaw Street, Suite 200 Flint, MI 48502 Phone: 810-600-1432 Fax: 810-600-1461 Email: ptac@thegrcc,org www.thegrcc.org/ptac MINNESOTA Metropolitan Economic Development Association 250 South Second Avenue, STE 106 Minneapolis, MN 55401-2214 Phone: 612-259-6565 Fax: 612-317-1002 Email: mnptac@mnptac.org http://www.ptac-meda.net MISSISSIPPI Mississippi Procurement Technical Assistance Program Mississippi Development Authority 501 North West Street Jackson, MS 39201 Phone: 601-359-3448 Fax: 601-359-5290 Email: procurement@mscpc.com http://www.mississippi.org/mptap Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) MISSOURI Missouri Procurement Technical Assistance Centers 410 S. Sixth Street, 200 EBN Columbia, MO 65211 Phone: 573-882-3597 Fax: 573-884-4297 Email: moptac@missouri.edu http://www.moptac.net Note: Missouri Southern State University (MSSU) provides procurement technical assistance in southwest Missouri. Find contact information for MSSU on this page under Kansas. MONTANA Montana Procurement Technical Assistance Center Granite Towers 222 North 32nd Street, Suite 200 Billings, MT 59101-1948 Phone: 406-256-6871, ext 115 Fax: 406-256-6877 Email: ptac.bigsky@eda.org http://www.bigskyeda-edc.org/ NEBRASKA Nebraska Business Development Center 6708 Pine Street, Mammel Hall, Suite 200 Omaha, NE 68106 Phone: 402-554-6253 Fax: 402-554-3473 Email: unoptac@mail.unomaha.edu http://ptac.unomaha.edu NEVADA Procurement Outreach Program Governor's Office of Economic Development 808 W. Nye Lane Carson City, NV 89703 Phone: 775-687-9900 Fax: 775-687-9924 Email: procurement@diversifynevada.com http://www.diversifynevada.com/divisions/procurement_outreach/ Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) NEW HAMPSHIRE New Hampshire Procurement Technical Assistance Program 172 Pembroke Road Concord, NH 03302-1856 Phone: 603-271-7581 Fax: 603-271-7583 Email: ptapinfo@dred.state.nh.us http://www.nheconomy.com/sell-to-the-government NEW JERSEY NJIT - Procurement Technical Assistance Center 323 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Fenster Hall, Room 490 Newark, NJ 07102 Phone: 973-596-3105 Fax: 973-596-5501 Email: ptac@njit.edu http://www.njit.edu/dptac UCEDC Procurement Technical Assistance Center 1085 Morris Avenue Union, NJ 07083 Phone: 908-527-1166 Fax: 908-527-1207 Email: ptac@ucedc.com http://www.ucedc.com NEW MEXICO NMSBDC/PTAP Lead Center 6401 Richards Avenue Santa Fe, New Mexico 87508-6401 Phone: 505-428-1622 Fax: 505-428-1469 Email: PTAPinfo@sfcc.edu http://www.nmsbdc.org/ptap-government.html NEW YORK Cattaraugus County PTAC 303 Court Street Little Valley, NY 14755 Phone: 716-938-2331 Fax: 716-938-2779 Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Email: ptac@cattco.org http://www.ccptac.org LaGuardia Community College Procurement Technical Assistance Center 30-20 Thomson Avenue, Room B309 Long Island City, NY 11101 Phone: 718-482-5289 Fax: 718-482-5176 Email: PTAC@lagcc.cuny.edu http://www.laguardia.edu/ptac/ New York City Department of Small Business PTAC 110 William Street, 7th Floor New York, NY 10038 Phone: 212-513-6444 Fax: 212-618-8899 Email: bizhelp@sbs.nyc.gov http://www.nyc.gov/sbs North Country PTAC 1241 Coffeen Street Watertown, NY 13601 Phone: 315-788-4400 Fax: 315-788-3369 Email: ptac@watertownny.com http://www.northcountryptac.com Monroe County Finger Lakes PTAC 50 West Main Street, Suite 8100 Rochester, NY 14614 Phone: 585-753-2015 / 2017 Fax: 585-753-2028 Email: ptac@MonroeCountyFingerLakesPTAC.org http://www.MonroeCountyFingerLakesPTAC.org Rockland Economic Development Corporation PTAC Two Blue Hill Plaza, 3rd Floor Pearl River, NY 10965-1575 Phone: 845-735-7040 Fax: 845-735-5736 Email: PTAC@redc.org www.redc.org/new/index.php?/site/ptac Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) SoBRO PTAC 555 Bergen Avenue, 3rd Floor Bronx, NY 10455 Phone: 718-732-7540 Fax: 718-292-6645 Email: PTAC@sobro.org http://www.sobro.org NORTH CAROLINA North Carolina PTAC 5 West Hargett Street, Suite 600 Raleigh, NC 27601 Phone: 828-345-1115 Fax: 828-326-9117 Email: ptac@sbtdc.org www.nc-ptac.org NORTH DAKOTA There is no PTAC located in North Dakota. OHIO Procurement Technical Assistance Centers of Ohio Ohio Department of Development 77 South High Street Columbus, OH 43216-1001 Phone: 614-644-1637 or 800-848-1300 Fax: 614-466-4172 Email: ohioptac@development.ohio.gov http://www.odod.state.oh.us/DMBA/ptac.htm Southern Ohio Procurement Outreach Center 216 Collins Avenue South Point, OH 45680 Phone: 740-377-4550 Fax: 740-377-2091 Email: info@sopoc.org http://www.sopoc.org OKLAHOMA Oklahoma Bid Assistance Network 1500 West Seventh Avenue Stillwater, OK 74074 Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Phone: 405-612-7386 or 405-743-5571 Fax: 405-743-6821 Email: office@okbid.org http://www.okbid.org OREGON The Government Contract Assistance Program 1144 Gateway Loop Suite 203 Springfield, OR 97477 Phone: 541-736-1088 or 800-497-7551 Fax: 541-736-1090 Email: info@gcap.org http://www.gcap.org PENNSYLVANIA Government Agency Coordination Office California University of Pennsylvania 250 University Avenue, Box 20 California, PA 15419 Phone: 724-938-5881 Fax: 724-938-4575 Email: gaco_calu@calu.edu www.calu.edu/business-community IUP Government Contracting Assistance Program 650 South 13th Street, Robertshaw Bldg Rm 5 Indiana, PA 15705-1087 Phone: 724-357-7824 Fax: 724-357-3082 Email: iupptac@gmail.com http://www.iup.edu/ptac Johnstown Area Regional Industries PTAC 245 Market Street, Suite 200 Johnstown, PA 15901 Phone: 814-535-8675 Fax: 814-535-8677 Email: jariptac@jari.com http://jari.com/jari/services_procurement.html NEPA Alliance PTAC 1151 Oak Street Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Pittston, PA 18640 Phone: 570-655-5581, Ext. 244 Fax: 570-654-5137 Email: ptac@nepa-alliance.org http://www.nepa-alliance.org/ptac/index.htm Northwest Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission 395 Seneca Street Oil City, PA 16301 Phone: 814-677-4800, Ext. 102 Fax: 814-677-7663 Email: nwpaptac@nwcommission.org http://www.nwcommission.org/gov.html SEDA Council of Governments 201 Furnace Road Lewisburg, PA 17837 Phone: 570-524-4491 Fax: 570-524-9190 Email: sedapta@seda-cog.org http://www.seda-cog.org/ptac Southeast Pennsylvania Procurement Technical Assistance Centers 3819-33 Chestnut Street, Suite 325 Philadelphia, PA 19104-3238 Phone: 215-746-6472 Fax: 215-573-2135 Email: sepaptac@pasbdc.org http://www.pasbdc.org/government The Southern Alleghenies Planning & Development Commission PTAC 3 Sheraton Drive Altoona, PA 16601-9343 Phone: 814-949-6528 Fax: 814-949-6505 Email: ptac@sapdc.org http://www.sapdc.org/HelpingBusinesses/HowToGetGovernmentContracts.aspx PUERTO RICO Puerto Rico Federal Contracting Center 355 F.D. Roosevelt Avenue Hato Rey, PR 00914 Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Phone: 787-758-4747, Ext. 2234 Fax: 787-751-6239 Email: fecc@pridco.pr.gov www.federalcontractingpr.com RHODE ISLAND Rhode Island Procurement Technical Assistance Center 315 Iron Horse Way, Suite 101 Providence, RI 02908 Phone: 401-278-9100 Fax: 401-273-8270 Email: ptac@riptac.org http://www.riptac.org SOUTH CAROLINA SC SBDC/PTAC USC Technology Incubator 1225 Laurel Street Columbia, SC 29201 Phone: 803-777-7877 Fax: 803-777-4403 Email: ptac@sc.edu www.scsbdc.com/ptac.php SOUTH DAKOTA South Dakota Procurement Technical Assistance Center 414 East Clark Street Vermillion, SD 57069-2390 Phone: 605-367-5252 Phone: 605-367-5755 Email: SDPTAC@usd.edu http://www.usd.edu/ptac TENNESSEE University of Tennessee Center for Industrial Services 193 Polk Avenue, Suite C Nashville, TN 37210 Phone: 615-532-8885 Fax: 615-532-4937 Email: ptac@tennessee.edu http://www.ptac.tennessee.edu Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) TEXAS Angelina College Procurement Assistance Center 3500 South First Street Lufkin, TX 75901-7328 Phone: 936-633-5432 Fax: 936-633-5478 Email: director@acpactx.org http://www.acpactx.org Contract Opportunities Center 9050 Viscount, Bldg. B, Rm. 545 El Paso, TX 79925 Phone: 915-831-7748 Fax: 915-831-7755 Email: coc@epcc.edu http://www.elpasococ.org Del Mar College PTAC 3209 S. Staples Street Corpus Christi, TX 78404-3897 Phone: 361-698-1025 Fax: 361-698-1024 Email: ptac@delmar.edu http://dmc122011.delmar.edu/sbdc/ptac.html Rio South Texas Regional PTAC 1407 E. Freddy Gonzalez Drive, Room 1.200 Edinburg, TX 78539 Phone: 956-665-8931 Fax: 956-665-7561 Email: ptac@utpa.edu www.utpa.edu/ptac Texas Tech University Procurement Assistance Center 2579 S Loop 289, Suite 114 Lubbock, TX 79423 Phone: 806-745-3973 Fax: 806-745-6207 Email: pac@nwtsbdc.org http://www.nwtpac.org Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) University of Houston Procurement Technical Assistance Center 2302 Fannin, Suite 200 Houston, TX 77002 Phone: 713-752-8466 Fax: 713-756-1515 Email: sbdcptac@uh.edu www.ptac.uh.edu University of Texas at Arlington Cross Timbers Procurement Center 7300 Jack Newell Blvd. S. Fort Worth, TX 76118 Phone: 817-272-5978 Fax: 817-272-5992 Email: ctpc@uta.edu http://www.ctpc-texas.org West Texas Contract Procurement Center 701 South Taylor, STE 118 Amarillo, TX 79101 Phone: 806-372-5151 Fax: 806-372-5261 Email: office@contractprocurementcenter.com www.contractprocurementcenter.com UTAH Governor's Office of Economic Development 60 East South Temple, Third Floor Salt Lake City, UT 84111 Phone: 801-538-8733 Fax: 801-538-8888 Email: ptac@utah.gov http://business.utah.gov/PTAC VERMONT Vermont Procurement Technical Assistance Center One National Life Drive Montpelier, VT 05620 Phone: 802-828-5240 Fax: 802-828-3258 Email: VTPTAC@thinkvermont.com http://economicdevelopment.vermont.gov/vtptac Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) VIRGINIA Crater Procurement Assistance Center 1964 Wakefield Street Petersburg, VA 23805 Phone: 804-861-1667 Fax: 804-732-8972 Email: info@craterptac.org http://www.craterptac.org Virginia Procurement Technical Assistance Program George Mason University Mason Enterprise Center 4031 University Drive, Suite 200 Fairfax, VA 22030 Phone: 703-277-7757 Fax: 703-352-8195 Email: ptap@gmu.edu http://www.vaptap.org Southwest Virginia Community College PTAC 724 Community College Road Cedar Bluff, Virginia 24609 Phone: 276-964-7334 Fax: 276-964-7361 Email: pac.info@sw.edu http://ptac.sw.edu WASHINGTON Washington PTAC 665 Woodland Square Loop SE, Suite 201 Lacey, WA 98503 Phone: 360-754-6320 Fax: 360-407-3980 Email: ptac@washingtonptac.org http://www.washingtonptac.org WEST VIRGINIA Regional Contracting Assistance Center, Inc. 1116 Smith Street Suite 202 Charleston, WV 25301-1314 Phone: 304-344-2546, Ext. 4 Fax: 304-344-2574 Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Email: rcac@rcacwv.com http://www.rcacwv.com WISCONSIN Business Procurement Assistance Center 302 South Gammon Road Madison, WI 53717 Phone: 608-243-4490 Fax: 608-243-7906 Email: bpac@madisoncollege.org http://madisoncollege.org/bpac Wisconsin Procurement Institute 10437 Innovation Drive, Suite 228 Wauwatosa, WI 53226 Phone: 414-270-3600 Fax: 414-270-3610 Email: info@wispro.org www.wispro.org WYOMING Wyoming PTAC 601 Broadway, Suite C Thermopolis, WY 82443 Phone: 307-234-3203, Toll free: 866-253-3300 Fax: 307-577-7014 Email: ptac@uwyo.edu http://www.wyomingentrepreneur.biz/ 102) State Lead Small Business Development Centers Have you ever wished you could call a great lawyer for legal advice and have them do the work for free? Have you ever dreamed about calling a great financial consultant for advice on a money matter and get your answer for free? Have you ever worried about how in the world you would pay for a PR agency to promote your store so everyone would know how great you are? Have you ever wished you didn’t have to pay to hire a management consultant to show you the secrets of how to double your sales in one year? You can get the answer to all these questions by knowing about the government’s best kept secret called the Small Business Development Centers. There are over 1,000 of these offices around the country that will give you all these services and more for free or for very little cost. You don’t even have to know how to spell entrepreneur and they will sit down with you and can help with any business problem you have. Don’t pay for something Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) when you can get it FOR FREE. Find an office near you by contacting 800-8ASK-SBA or go to: http://www.sba.gov/about-offices-list/2. Alabama SBDC The University of Alabama 500 Colonial Drive Room 201, Bidgood Hall Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 Phone: 205-348-1582 Fax: 205-348-6974 http://www.asbdc.org Alaska SBDC University of Alaska- Anchorage 430 West Seventh Avenue, Suite 110 Anchorage, AK 99501-3550 Phone: 907-274 -7232 Fax: 907-274-9524 http://aksbdc.org/ American Samoa SBDC American Samoa Community College P.O. Box 2609 Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799 Phone: 684-699-4830 Fax: 684-699-8636 http://www.as-sbdc.org Arizona SBDC Maricopa County Community College 2411 West 14th Street, Suite 114 Tempe, AZ 85281 Phone: 480-731-8720 Fax: 480-731-8729 http://www.azsbdc.net/ Arkansas SBDC University of Arkansas at Little Rock 2801 South University Avenue, Room 260 Little Rock, AR 72204 Phone: 501-683-7700 Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Fax: 501-683-7720 http://asbdc.ualr.edu California - Santa Ana SBDC Orange County SBDC 2323 N. Broadway, Suite 201 Santa Ana, CA 92706 Phone: 714-564-5200 Fax: 714-647-1168 http://www.ocsbdc.com/ California - San Diego SBDC Southwestern Community College District 900 Otay Lakes Road, Bldg. 1681 Chula Vista, CA 91910-7299 Phone: 619-482-6393 Fax: 619-216-6703 http://www.sbditc.org California - Fresno SBDC UC Merced Lead Center University of California- Merced 550 East Shaw, Suite 100 Fresno, CA 93710-7702 Phone: 559-241-7406 Fax: 559-241-7422 http://sbdc.ucmerced.edu California - Sacramento SBDC California State University- Chico 35 Main Street, Room 203 Chico, CA 95929-0765 Phone: 530-898-5443 Fax: 530-898-4734 http://www.necsbdc.org California - San Francisco SBDC Northern California Humboldt State University Office of Economic Development 1 Harpst Street Arcata, CA 95521 Phone: 707-826-3919 Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Fax: 707-829-3912 http://www.norcalsbdc.org California - Los Angeles Region SBDC Long Beach Community College District Office of Economic & Resource Development 4900 E. Conant St., Bldg. 2, Suite 108 Long Beach, CA 90808 Phone: 562-938-5020 Fax: 562-938-5030 http://smallbizla.org/ Colorado SBDC Office of Economic Development 1625 Broadway, Suite 2700 Denver, CO 80202 Phone: 303-892-3864 Fax: 303-892-3848 http://www.coloradosbdc.org Connecticut SBDC University of Central Connecticut 185 Main Street New Britain, CT 06051 Phone: 860-832-0650 Fax: 860-832-0656 http://www.ctsbdc.org/ Delaware SBDC Delaware Technology Park 1 Innovation Way, Suite 301 Newark, DE 19711 Phone: 302-831-0770 http://www.delawaresbdc.org District of Columbia SBDC Howard University School of Business 2600 6th Street, NW Room 128 Washington, DC 20059 Phone: 202-806-1550 Fax: 202-806-1777 http://www.dcsbdc.org/ Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Florida SBDC University of West Florida Office of Economic Development & Engagement 11000 University Pkwy, Bldg 38 Pensacola, FL 32514-5750 Phone: 850-473-7800 Fax: 850-473-7813 http://www.floridasbdc.com Georgia SBDC University of Georgia 1180 East Broad Street Athens, GA 30602-5412 Phone: 706-542-2762 Fax: 706-542-7935 http://www.georgiasbdc.org Hawaii SBDC University of Hawaii- Hilo 308 Kamehameha Avenue, Suite 201 Hilo, HI 96720-2960 Phone: 808-974-7515 Fax: 808-974-7683 http://www.hawaii-sbdc.org Idaho SBDC Boise State University 1910 University Drive Boise, ID 83725-1655 Phone: 208-426-1640 Fax: 208-426-3877 http://www.idahosbdc.org Illinois SBDC Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity 620 East Adams Street, 4th Floor Springfield, IL 62701-1615 Phone: 217-524-5700 Fax: 217-524-0171 http://www.ildceo.net/dceo/Bureaus/Entrepreneurship+and+Small+Business/sbdc. htm Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Indiana SBDC Indiana Economic Development Corporation One North Capitol, Suite 900 Indianapolis, IN 46204-2043 Phone: 317-234-2082 Fax: 317-232-4146 http://isbdc.org/ Iowa SBDC Iowa State University 2321 North Loop Dr., Suite 202 Ames, IA 50010-8218 Phone: 515-294-2030 Fax: 515-294-6522 http://www.iowasbdc.org Kansas SBDC Fort Hays State University 214 SW Sixth Street, Suite 301 Topeka, KS 66603 Phone: 785-296-6514 Fax: 785-291-3261 http://www.kansas.gov/ksbdc/ Kentucky SBDC University of Kentucky One Quality Street, Suite 635 Lexington, KY 40507 Phone: 859-257-7668 Fax: 859-323-1907 http://www.ksbdc.org Louisiana SBDC University of Louisiana- Monroe College of Business Administration 700 University Avenue Monroe, LA 71209-6435 Phone: 318-342-1224 Fax: 318-342-5510 http://www.lsbdc.org Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Maine SBDC University of Southern Maine 96 Falmouth Street P.O. Box 9300 Portland, ME 04103-9300 Phone: 207-780-4420 Fax: 207-780-4810 http://www.mainesbdc.org Maryland SBDC University of Maryland 7100 Baltimore Avenue, Suite 401 College Park, MD 20740-3640 Phone: 301-403-8300 x 15 Fax: 301-403-8303 http://www.mdsbdc.umd.edu Massachusetts SBDC University of Massachusetts 227 Isenberg School of Management 121 President's Drive Amherst, MA 01003-9310 Phone: 413-545-6301 Fax: 413-545-1273 http://www.msbdc.org/ Michigan SBTDC Grand Valley State University 510 West Fulton Avenue Grand Rapids, MI 49504 Phone: 616-331-7480 Fax: 616-331-7485 http://www.gvsu.edu/misbtdc/ Minnesota SBDC Minnesota Small Business Development Center 1st National Bank Building 332 Minnesota Street, Suite E200 St. Paul, MN 55101-1351 Phone: 651-297-5770 Fax: 651-296-5287 Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) http://www.positivelyminnesota.com/Business/Get_Help_from_Our_Experts/Smal l_Business_Development_Centers/ Mississippi SBDC University of Mississippi P.O. Box 1848 122 Jeanette Phillips Dr. University, MS 38677-1848 Phone: 662-915-5001 Fax: 662-915-5650 http://www.mssbdc.org Missouri SBDC University of Missouri 410 S. Sixth St. 200 Engineering North Columbia, MO 65211 Phone: 573-884-1555 Fax: 573-884-4297 http://www.missouribusiness.net/sbdc/ Montana SBDC Department of Commerce 301 South Park Avenue, Room 116 P.O. Box 200505 Helena, MT 59601 Phone: 406-841-2747 Fax: 406-841-2728 http://sbdc.mt.gov/ Nebraska SBDC Nebraska Business Development Center College of Business Administration Mammel Hall, Suite 200 University of Nebraska at Omaha Omaha, NE 68182-0248 Phone: 402-554-2521 Fax: 402-554-3473 http://nbdc.unomaha.edu Nevada SBDC University of Nevada- Reno Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Reno College of Business Ansari Business Building, Room 411 Reno, NV 89557-0100 Phone: 775-784-1717 Fax: 775-784-4337 http://www.nsbdc.org New Hampshire SBDC University of New Hampshire Mittemore School of Business and Economics UNH 110 McConnell Hall Durham, NH 03824-3593 Phone: 603-862-2200 Fax: 603-862-4876 http://www.nhsbdc.org New Jersey SBDC 1 Washington Park, Suite 360 Newark, NJ 07102 Phone: 973-353-1927 Fax: 973-353-1110 http://www.njsbdc.com/ New Mexico SBDC Santa Fe Community College 6401 Richards Avenue Santa Fe, NM 87508-4887 Phone: 505-428-1362 Fax: 505-428-1469 http://www.nmsbdc.org New York SBDC State University of New York 22 Corporate Woods, 3rd Floor Albany, NY 12246-0001 Phone: 518-443-5398 Fax: 518-443-5275 http://www.nyssbdc.org North Carolina SBDTC University of North Carolina 5 West Hargett Street, Suite 600 Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Raleigh, NC 27601-1348 Phone: 919-715-7272 Fax: 919-715-7777 http://www.sbtdc.org North Dakota SBDC University of North Dakota 1600 E. Century Avenue, Suite 2 Bismarck, ND 58501 Phone: 701-328-5375 Fax: 701-328-5381 http://www.ndsbdc.org Ohio SBDC Ohio Department of Development 128th Floor P.O. Box 1001 Columbus, OH 43216-1001 Phone: 614-466-2711 Fax: 614-466-0829 http://www.entrepreneurohio.org/ Oklahoma SBDC 301 W University Blvd. Durant, OK 74701 Phone: 580-745-2877 Fax: 580-745-7471 http://www.osbdc.org Oregon SBDC Lane Community College 99 West Tenth Avenue, Suite 390 Eugene, OR 97401-3015 Phone: 541-463-5250 Fax: 541-345-6006 http://www.bizcenter.org Guam SBDC University of Guam Pacific Islands SBDC P.O. Box 5014 - U.O.G. Station Mangilao, GU 96923 Phone: 671-735-2590 Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Fax: 671-734-2002 http://www.pacificsbdc.com Pennsylvania SBDC Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers 3819-33 Chestnut Street, Suite 325 Philadelphia, PA 19104-3238 Phone: 215-898-1219 Fax: 215-573-2135 http://pasbdc.org Puerto Rico SBDC Inter-American University of Puerto Rico Union Plaza Building, Suite 1000 416 Ponce de Leon Avenue, 10th Floor Hato Rey, PR 00918 Phone: 787-763-6811 Fax: 787-763-6875 http://www.prsbtdc.org/ Rhode Island SBDC Johnson & Wales University RI Small Business Development Center Richmond Building, 4th Floor 270 Weybosset Street Providence, RI 02903 Phone: 401-598-2702 Fax: 401-598-2722 http://www.risbdc.org South Carolina SBDC The University of South Carolina at USC Technology Incubator 1225 Laurel Street, 3rd Floor Columbia, SC 29201 Phone: 803-777-5118 Fax: 803-545-0079 http://www.uscbiz.net/sbdc-index.htm South Dakota SBDC University of South Dakota Beacom School of Business Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) 414 East Clark Street, Patterson Hall Vermillion, SD 57069 Phone: 605-677-5103 Fax: 605-677-5427 http://www.usd.edu/business/south-dakota-small-business-development-center/ Tennessee SBDC Middle Tennessee State University 3050 Medical Center Parkway Murfreesboro, TN 37129 Phone: 615-898-2745 Fax: 615-217-8548 http://www.tsbdc.org Texas-Houston SBDC University of Houston 2302 Fannin, Suite 200 Houston, TX 77002 Phone: 713-752-8444 Fax: 713-756-1500 http://sbdcnetwork.uh.edu Texas-North SBDC Dallas County Community College 1402 Corinth Street, Suite 2111 Dallas, TX 75215 Phone: 214-860-5831 Fax: 214-860-5813 http://www.ntsbdc.org Texas-NW SBDC Texas Tech University 2579 South Loop 289, Suite 114 Lubbock, TX 79423-1637 Phone: 806-745-3973 Fax: 806-745-6207 http://www.nwtsbdc.org Texas-South-West Texas Border SBDC Network University of Texas- San Antonio 501 West César E. Chávez Boulevard San Antonio, TX 78207-4415 Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Phone: 210-458-2450 Fax: 210-458-2464 http://www.txsbdc.org Utah SBDC Salt Lake Community College Miller Business Resource Center SLCC Miller Campus 9750 South 300 West Sandy, Utah 84070 Phone: 801-957-5200 Fax: 801-957-2007 http://www.utahsbdc.org/ Vermont SBDC Vermont Technical College PO Box 188, 1 Main Street Randolph Center, VT 05061-0188 Phone: 802-728-9101 Fax: 802-728-3026 http://www.vtsbdc.org Virgin Islands SBDC University of the Virgin Islands 8000 Nisky Center, Suite 720 Charlotte Amalie St. Thomas, VI 00802-5804 Phone: 340-776-3206 Fax: 340-775-3756 http://sbdcvi.org Virginia SBDC George Mason University Mason Enterprise Center 4031 University Drive, Suite 200 Fairfax, VA 22030-3409 Phone: 703-277-7747 Fax: 703-352-8518 http://www.virginiasbdc.org Washington SBDC Washington State University 534 E. Spokane Falls Blvd. Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) P.O. Box 1495 Spokane, WA 99210-1495 Phone: 509-358-7765 Fax: 509-358-7764 http://www.wsbdc.org West Virginia SBDC West Virginia Development Office State Capitol Complex Bldg. 6, Room 652 1900 Kanawha Blvd E. Charleston, WV 25305 Phone: 304-558-2960 Fax: 304-558-0127 http://wvsbdc.wvcommerce.org/default.aspx Wisconsin SBDC University of Wisconsin 432 North Lake Street, Room 423 Madison, WI 53706 Phone: 608-263-7794 Fax: 608-263-7830 http://www.wisconsinsbdc.org Wyoming SBDC University of Wyoming 1000 E. University, Dept. 3922 Laramie, WY 82979 Phone: 307-766-3505 Fax: 307-766-3406 http://www.wyomingentrepreneur.biz/ Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) 25 Ways Uncle’s Sam Un-Balanced Budget Can Balance Your Budget Stop looking under the cushions in your sofa for money to help you make it through tough times. Instead, start looking inside government agencies. That’s where the real money is. Here are just a few of Uncle Sam’s Best. 1) Help Paying Your Student Loans (Income Limit: None) People with student loans now have a number of options in handling their debt during tough economic times, including: Decrease Payments by Extending the Life of the Loan Reduce Payments Because of Reduced Income Temporarily Stop Making Payments Until You Improve Your Finances, and You May Even Have Some of the Loan Forgiven http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/repaying.jsp 2) Free Or Cheap Health Insurance For Kids (Income Limit: $45,000 /family of 4) Children up to 19 years old may be eligible for health coverage under the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Covers U.S. children and eligible immigrants. http://www.insurekidsnow.gov/ http://www.insurekidsnow.gov/qa/index.html 3) Free Phones And Cell Phones (Income Limit: $30,173 /family of 4) Free and discounted installation and monthly services are available to people with certain incomes under the Lifeline and Link Up Program. http://lifeline.gov/lifeline_Consumers.html 4) $6,000 To Pay For Groceries (Income Limit: $28,668 / family of 4) Estimates show that there are over 7 million working and non-working people who are unaware they are eligible to receive assistance under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/applicant_recipients/apply.htm 5) Up To $8,000 To Train For A New Job (Income Limit: None) Local One-Stop Career Centers offer money to train for a new job, free resume writing assistance, free computer use and in some states financial assistance to become selfemployed. http://servicelocator.org/ Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) 6) $2,000 From Missing Deposits or Unclaimed Money (Income Limit: None) It does not take much time to see if you have unclaimed money waiting in your name from old utility deposits, life insurance policies, travelers checks, paid up insurance policies, or even savings and checking accounts. Over $34 Billion is waiting in state offices for people to claim. http://www.unclaimed.org/ 7) Free/Cheap Health Care at 8,000 Centers (Income Limit: Varies) These government funded health care clinics offer overall health care, dental and substance abuse services. Search your zip code http://findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov/widgets/ 8) Free Prescription Drugs (Income Limit: Varies By Company) Drug companies offer free prescriptions to those who cannot afford to pay. 888-PPANOW; http://www.pparx.org/ 9) Cash, Child Care, Transportation, Health Care & Job Training (Income Limits: Very Low) The Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) offers a full range of services to help families with children become self-reliant. Find your state program http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/states/stlinks.htm 10) Free Or Cheap Care For Seniors (Income Limit: Varies) The Eldercare Locator will identify community based organizations that offer health care, financial assistance, legal help, and housing to seniors. Call 800- 677-1116, http://www.eldercare.gov/Eldercare.NET/Public/Index.aspx 11) $1,156 In Extra Spending Money For Seniors (Income Limit: up to $12,576 /yr for a single and $16,872 /yr for a couple): Every year millions of seniors fail to apply for little-know programs called Qualified Medicare Beneficiaries Plan or Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiaries Plan. Contact Medicare Hotline at 800-MEDICARE or online at http://www.medicare.gov/; http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Pubs/pdf/10126.pdf; http://www.medicare.gov/navigation/medicare-basics/medical-and-drug-costs.aspx 12) Free Help Paying Your Bills, Rent, or Mortgage (Income Limit: None) Counselors supported by government grants will assist you with your finances, work with your creditors, landlord or bank. Make an appointment with a local counselor. http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/i_want_to/talk_to_a_housing_counselor Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) 13) Free Treatment By The Best Doctors In The World (Income Limit: None) Government money is currently financing over 113,486 clinical trials where doctors study and treat patients for research purposes. See if there is a trial for your condition. http://clinicaltrials.gov/ 14) An Extra $5,871 For Your Family (Income Limit: $48,362) You don’t even have to have paid any taxes in order for the IRS to send you a refund under the Earned Income Tax Credit. You need publication 596 by calling 800-8293676; or online at http://www.irs.gov/ or http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96406,00.html 15) $6,500 To Weatherize Your Home (Income Limit: $44,700 /family of 4) Homeowners and renters can apply to have storm windows, insulation and even weatherstripping installed which can help reduce your heating and cooling bills under the Weatherization Assistance Program. http://www1.eere.energy.gov/wip/wap.html 16) $$$ To Pay Heating And Cooling Bills (Income Limit: up to $33,525 for a family of 4): Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) serves families by offering heating and cooling subsidies, energy crisis intervention to assist in weather-related and fuel supply shortages, and household energy-related emergencies, such as utility shutoffs. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ocs/liheap/grantees/states.html 17) Get Free Child Support Enforcement (Income Limit: None) The Office of Child Support Enforcement will fight for you to establish paternity, set up a court order for child support, track down a missing parent, collect child support, and get the courts to adjust child support orders. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cse/extinf.html 18) $568 Million In Child Support Money Waiting For You To Claim (Income Limit: None) The government collects child support money from tax refunds, employers, sale of property etc. but cannot always find the custodial parent to whom the money is owed. Check if your money is sitting in your state child support agency. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cse/extinf.html Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) 19) 350 Colleges Where Seniors Can Attend For Free (Income Limit: None) At age 60 you may live 30 more years and have time to start a new career. Community colleges and universities supported by state governments offer courses for free and low cost. Locate these colleges in your area. http://govengine.com/ 20) $400/wk When You're Out of Work (Income Limit: None) You can qualify for unemployment even if you made a fortune at your previous job. The most recent data available shows that 10,851 people making over $500,000 a year also collected over $71 million in unemployment money. http://www.servicelocator.org/OWSLinks.asp 21) $230/Mo Commuting Money (Income Limit: None) The Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefit or Transit Benefit Program allows your employer to give you $230 a month to pay for going to work in a bus, van, metro or even for parking. Get IRS Publication 535, Business Expenses or IRS Publication 15-B and show your boss the section entitled "Qualified Transportation Fringe". 800-TAXFORM or http://www.irs.gov/ 22) Free Vet Services For Fido and Oscar (Income Limit: Varies) Many veterinary college teaching hospitals offer free services, drugs, treatments to those in need and even answer questions over the telephone. See if there is a veterinary college near you. http://www.avma.org/education/cvea/colleges_accredited/colleges_accredited.asp 23) $1200 Food Vouchers For Women & Children (Income Limit: $41,348 family of 4) The Women, Infant and Children (WIC) Program provides women, infants, and children up to age 5 nutritious foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating, and referrals to health care. http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/Contacts/tollfreenumbers.htm 24) $10,000 For Down Payments and Closing Costs (Income Limit: $56,000+) The American Dream Down Payment Initiative covers down payment, closing costs, and rehabilitation assistance for first-time homebuyers. http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/affordablehousing/programs/home/contacts/ 25) Free Help To Start a Business, Write A Plan, Protect Your Invention (Income Limit: None) Don’t use Google to look for help with your ideas because there are thousands of experts that receive government grants to perform this work for free. Find a local office at http://www.asbdc-us.org/ Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372) Look for Other eBooks by Matthew Lesko 101 Of The Best Government Grants In America: You Won’t Believe What Uncle Sam Is Giving Away 101 Of The Best Government Grants To Pay For College Without Going Into Debt 101 Of The Best Government Grants For Job Seekers Matthew Lesko - www.lesko.com - 1-800-Uncle-Sam (800-862-5372)