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In addition to getting an idea, developing a business plan, determining funding, and thinking about all the details of operating a business, there are the ‘formal’ steps with the government to get a business started.

At SCORE, we have resources to help you through the maze. Let us help!

Official Online Resources to Get Your Business Set Up In Connecticut:

• State of CT Business - lots of helpful info for startups and existing businesses, startup checklist, info on taxes and licenses

• CT Secretary of State Business Startup Tool (can also get to this site from sites above)

When we think about setting up a new website, we automatically go to the question of website tools, which will be discussed here.  More important, however, is the topic of the website content, which will also be covered. Remember, your website is one component of an overall cohesive marketing plan connecting you to potential customers.

Technical Skills:

• For basic professional websites, no programming skills are required. However, building a website will be easier for those with computer proficiency.  If this is something you do not want to personally take on or you’re looking for

Accessing Capital Overview:

All businesses, regardless of their size, require capital – money with which to get started, operate, grow, and expand.  Whether you are starting or expanding your business, sufficient ready capital is essential.  Before you go to secure funds, be sure that you:

• have a well-thought-through business plan that shows an understanding of your market, your competition, and the cash flow potential of the business
• have properly calculated what you will need
• understand the objective and requirements of the funding instrument
• understand the risks and benefits of

Many people dream of starting their own business. Their ideas feel solid to them. They’re sure that they are the only one with this idea.

But is there a market for this idea? At what price? What’s the cost? Where are the manufacturers? Are there distributors? If it’s a service, is someone willing to pay, to take a chance on an unknown?

Following your gut is an easy thing to do; you just do what feels right. That’s smart, right? Not really.

What could possibly go wrong? How big is the risk? How about a little analysis to bolster your ‘good’ idea?

How long will it take? It depends on

Presentation Hosted by SCORE - Greater Hartford. Jeffrey Cohen Facilitator

Download  SCORE's free 100-page eBook Simple Steps to Growing Your Business. This guide is designed to help you assess your business and reach your marketing, financial, and operations goals. 

Workshops, Funding and General Support

This is a list of many of the resources in the Greater Hartford small business community. Some are volunteer organizations (like Score) while others are non-profits or banks with paid staff. All have the specific goal of helping to support small businesses as they struggle to start and/or grow to the next level. We encourage you to follow the links to discover many no/low-cost opportunities you can take advantage of!

Small Business Workshops and Support

• SCORE of Eastern CT
  • local live workshops, recorded webinars
  • live and recorded workshops

There are many reasons people start a business, but the bottom line is that you must clear a profit or the business will not survive. (Even a non-profit business must have a profitable bottom line to survive!)

Small businesses tend to place a lot of emphasis on the quality of product or service that they deliver, and on the profit they make. Costs influence profit.

Your business success depends on how well you manage your expenses. Companies compete predominantly on two things, price and differentiation. When you are competing on price, cost management is even more critical. So as a

In Know Your Costs to Boost Your Profit (another article), we stressed the importance of knowing your cost. Here we are again to stress that point, but now for a different reason – cost negotiation.

In cost negotiation, how well you use the knowledge of your costs is critical in creating value for yourself, your clients, and your business partners.  A business owner needs to be sensitive to the long-term effects that a poorly negotiated deal could have on their business. Paying more for products or services could significantly rob their business of its true earning potential. For example, a