Starting your Business

As you consider starting or growing your business, you want to be sure you’ve got all of the information available to make your best decisions. A good starting point is the Small Business Development Centers (SBDC), described below:

Missouri Business Development Programs

Each year, the Missouri Small Business & Technology Development Center (MO SBTDC) successfully assists more than 10,000 businesses. The staff is uniquely qualified to help businesses get started, develop and thrive with Missouri Business Development Programs by offering both training workshops and consulting services.

The MO SBTDC website gives you information so you can better answer the questions asked when registering your business with the various departments of the state. These resources include the following:

Starting a New Business in Missouri

This book provides a nice overview of many of the aspects a person should consider when going into business.

Evaluating your business idea

This is an excellent tool to evaluate the viability of your business idea.

Licenses and registration checklist

This is a checklist to help you locate the various forms needed to register your business.

Industry specific business guides

This provides research on some industries that are common in Missouri.

Doing business in Missouri

This provides more in depth information on the following topics:

Missouri Federal and State Technology Program (MoFAST)

This provides assistance services which enable Missouri technology based businesses to obtain federal research and development grants.

Additional Missouri Research Resources

It’s always best to confer with your legal and financial advisor about business matters. If you don’t have an accountant, you can contact the Missouri Society of Accountants or the Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants. If you need an attorney, contact the Missouri Bar Lawyer Referral Service.

Several state level resources include:

If your business involves commercial vehicles, you’ll want to review the information in these sites:

For minority or women owned businesses, the Office of Supplier and Workforce Diversity can provide valuable assistance.

The University of Missouri Extension offers several resources:

Some clients may require that your business and its employees be “bonded.” Corporate surety bonds are the preferred method of guaranteeing the performance or financial obligations of others. These guarantee bonds, license and permit bonds and many others. Contact your insurance agency for more information or:

Surety and Fidelity Association of America
1101 Connecticut Avenue, NW Suite 800
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202) 463-0600
Web: http://www.surety.org

Federal Research Resources

Doing business with the Federal Government can be especially challenging and rewarding. The Federal Government offers a portal to business information for businesses and non-profits with their Business Gateway.

The Small Business Administration offers a wealth of information for small business owners.

Central Contractor Registration (CCR)

This is the primary vendor database for the Federal Government. CCR collects, validates, stores, and disseminates data in support of agency acquisition missions. Through CCR, a business can register once.

Patents, trademarks, service marks and copyrights can be important to your business. After you consult with your advisors, you may want to visit these sites:

To get and remain in compliance with various environmental regulation, you’ll want to visit the US EPA Small Business Gateway for assistance.

In conjunction with your accountant, you can also find business information from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).