Relocations are an opportunity to reinvent yourself. If you're an auto mechanic and you're tired of your job, moving to a new city can present you with the opportunity to switch careers. For some, that means opening their own business and becoming their own boss. Perhaps there's a design for a front license plate bracket you'd really like to develop and sell once you get to Boise but you're not sure how to get started. The Idaho Small Business Development Center can help. Here are some of the services it provides:
Advice/Consulting
You've heard the saying "knowledge is power," well if that's true, than what the IBDC is offering you is power. Just by visiting their website you can learn about how to start up a business. Fill out the online forms to learn about the lifestyle changes owning an electronic manufacturing firm will bring and whether you are able to handle them. You'll also get tips on researching the feasibility of your business idea and how to apply for funding for start up costs. The IBDC also offers free consulting with experts in business.
Workshops
Interested in getting into the nitty gritty of tracking shipments of diapers, keeping the books, marketing products, and dealing with customers? Then why not attend an IBDC workshop? These professionally instructed lessons are taught by experts and professors from schools like Boise State University. They generally last less than a day and you'll come out ready to go. Here are some of the courses routinely held at the IBDC's Boise location: Business Fundamentals (business plans, setting up your company, marketing), Beginning and Intermediate Quickbooks (accounting software), and the ABCs of Small Business Loans.
Funding
In addition to pointing you toward banks and other lenders who might invest in your new business and teaching you to tell a good deal from a bad deal, the IBDC can also provide assistance to those who wish to apply for research and development grants. R&D grants aren't generally awarded for consumer products, but if you have a way to streamline industrial mixers, that might warrant consideration by the government or a major company. IBDC and the Idaho Public Libraries can help you determine if you idea is grant worth and guide you in applying for the right one.
Environmental Solutions
In this day and age, making businesses more environmentally friendly is in everyone's best interests. Enviro boosting your business can help you save money, both on your utility bills and in your taxes. The IBDC provides ideas and advice to business owners interested in "going green" and sells Energy Star and EPA booklets for a small fee. They also do free environmental assessments so you can tell where your business needs improving (for instance, if your livestock waterers are leaking).
For more information, visit www.idahosbdc.org.
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