Welcome to the world of entrepreneurship! The Cabinet for Economic Development commends you on your desire to start a business and add to the economic prosperity of the state.

Starting your own business can be a very exciting and gratifying process. Given both the personal financial investment as well as the time commitment that is needed to launch a business, you owe it to yourself to make sure that a genuine business opportunity exists.

In order to do that, you should research your business idea fully, take advantage of resources like the Cabinet’s Small Business Services Division (SBSD) that are available to assist you, and become familiar with topics such as taxes and record keeping, marketing, legal matters, and financing.

A business plan, put together in an organized and logical format, is the culmination of all of your research. It communicates to others how you will successfully operate your business. More importantly, it should be used as a management tool to make sure the business is staying on track and meeting its goals. The business plan should constantly be referred to and updated at least annually.

There are a number of resources available to help you start and grow your business. We encourage you to take advantage of these resources.

For additional information or assistance, please email us at cedsbsd@ky.gov or call 800-626-2250.

Additional Resources:

U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) information on starting a business
http://www.sba.gov/smallbusinessplanner/index.html

Entrepreneur Resource Navigator (ERN)
http://www.thinkkentucky.com/SMBD/ERN/ernMain.aspx

Kentucky Small Business Development Center (KSBDC)
http://www.ksbdc.org

Service Corp of Retired Executives (SCORE), Kentucky Office
http://www.score-kentucky.org/ky_score.html

SBA Small Business Resource Guide for Kentucky
http://www.sbaguides.com/pdf/english/kentucky.pdf

Entrepreneur Magazine website for small business
http://www.entrepreneur.com/bizstartups