In this article I am going to assume that you want your own small business or that you already have your small business. In the first case, I assume that you need start-up information. In the second case you want to improve your business and expand it too.

The first thing you want to do to start your small business is to start from where you are standing. You either know what business you want to start or you are looking for suggestions. In either case, start with your computer. I just put “business start-up Idaho” in the Google search box. I chose the entry from the Idaho Chamber of Commerce. Up came a .pdf with a greeting from our governor. The Table of Commerce .pdf read is comprehensive but of special interest is the checklist for starting business. It helps you form a business plan and find the resources you need to build your small business.

Such state documents will put you on the right track for starting your small business. Your checklist might include factors for a large or small business, a sole proprietor business or a corporation. It may include many factors from research to legalities and taxation. It will put you in contact with local and national sources for your small business help.

You can easily find your state’s chamber of commerce on the Internet. If it is in driving distance, certainly go there for information including business ideas. Your state has many institutions that promote business and you will learn about all of them. A visit to a university after consulting with your chamber could lead to an exciting new business that you would never have thought of.

You will want to call local educational institutions, those within driving distance, about their interest in small business and small business start-up. You will find instruction, often free, from knowledgeable people some retired from the business world. I have attended such free classes in New Jersey and they were very good indeed. There is nothing like talking to an old pro: "When you are on the road, never order a piece of breaded meat at a restaurant. They can bread an old tough piece of meat which they could otherwise never sell."(I actually got that advice in Colorado.)

Visit your local bankers asking for suggestions about business: "What we need in this town is a good sandwich shop." Talk to an attorney, an accountant, and by all means talk to business owners. Did you go to your local chamber of commerce, your local library, that local junior college?

Some folks are afraid to talk to professionals and business owners about business. Those who don’t pay the price. They make mistakes that could be avoided.

Many business expand to the internet or even start there. You need to realize that an Internet business is still a business and to start your small business on the Internet you will need special training in research, site building, blogging, traffic, email marketing and monetizing your website and activities. If you are going to have a storefront business you will want to survey the businesses in your area.

When I was college professor I had young men come into my office who had an invention they wanted to promote. Some had many inventions and some were producing products. Find people like this in your area and you may come up with something huge. Inventors sometimes like to leave the business end to others. You could be another Steve Jobs.

Fly Old Glory!