Growing your Business

The State of Missouri wants to help you develop your business in every way possible. Unfortunately, funding for grants and loans is very limited. With a bit of ingenuity and the resources listed here, you will find the help you need to make your business thrive.

Raising Money or Capital for your Business

Through the State Small Business Credit Initiative, the State of Missouri partners with private lenders to increase the amount of credit available to assist small businesses with job-creating business expansion.

The Missouri Small business & Technology Development Center (SBTDC) offers comprehensive business counseling to help you find the proper funding source for your situation, obtain debt or equity financing, and develop strategies for growth without external funding.

The Missouri Catalog of State Assistance Programs provides detailed information about state grants, loans and assistance programs and how to apply for them.

The Department of Economic Development Research Toolbox lists the assistance programs offered t businesses and communities by the State of Missouri.

The Missouri Department of Agriculture webs tie has a great deal of information aimed at supporting agri-business in Missouri, including Financial Assistance, Inspections, Licenses and Permits, and Business Development.

Agri-business Development

The State Treasurer uses a portion of the state’s investable funds to help Missouri businesses, farms, and communities grow and prosper through the Missouri Linked Deposit Program.

The Missouri Film Commission offers a Film Production Tax Credit to qualified film production companies.

At the Federal Government level:

The USDA offers numerous resources for financing and support. You may wish to contact your County MU Extension Center for more information.
The Small Business Administration offers numerous loan programs to assist small businesses.
At Grants.gov, you can find and apply for competitive Federal grant opportunities.
GovLoans.gov is the gateway to information on loans granted by or guaranteed by the federal government.
The Catalog of Federal domestic Assistance offers assistance in numerous categories. Not all of this material pertains to businesses.

Assistance for Growing your Business

Missouri Small Business & Technology Development Centers (SBTDC) provide comprehensive business counseling and educational workshops to help Missouri businesses. There are centers throughout the state. Find one near you at the Missouri SBTDC web site.

The Missouri Department of Agriculture web site has a great deal of information aimed at supporting agri-business in Missouri:

The Missouri Economic Research and Information Center provides a wealth of data on the business environment of Missouri.

These boards, commissions, and councils can provide assistance in specific areas:

The University of Missouri Extension offers several resources:

Import

Importing products can be facilitated by referring to the following resources:

The Basic Importing and Exporting Guidelines from the U.S. Customs Service.
The Import Resources page from the International Trade Data System offers tips on a wide variety of related subjects.
The U. S. Department of Agriculture has a page dedicated to Import Programs.
The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Trade Spotlight provides information and links regarding customs enforcement.
The Import Administration page of the International Trade Administration offers insight into unfair foreign pricing.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Import page contains information on food and drug imports.
If you want to import fish or wildlife, you’ll want to visit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Import and Export Permits.

Export

If you’re interested in exporting goods to another country, you’ll want to take advantage of the information available from several of our resources.

The Small Business Development Centers offer an information page and an extensive library on international trade.

The Department of Agriculture provides a site which provides assistance on International Trade.

The U.S. Department of Commerce has several sites on international trade:

E-Commerce

Since you’re here on this portal, you already know the power of the Internet but, do you know how to harness that power for your business? Our resources can help you do just that.

The Small Business & Technology Development Center offers several resources including a Marketing Library listing and links to other resources such as an E-Commerce Guide.
The Federal Government offers three resources:
The site, Business.gov offers information on a wide variety of subjects, including e-commerce.
The U.S. Department of Commerce has the E-Commerce toolbox.

For more technical information, you may want to consult the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.