FREE Small Business Counseling in West Central Florida

A few months ago, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the county I live in has many resources for the small business owner. I have been toying with the idea of opening another totally unrelated business over the past few months.

I started my first business six years ago, but it was in a fumbled way. I didn't really know what I was doing. I just knew that I was desperate for a job I could do at home so I could be home with my babies.

Through the years, I have had varying levels of success, but the fact that Polaris is still up and running six years later, is a major success of its own. Nevertheless, when I start a second business, I want to follow the book and have a business plan and vision in motion.

One way to prepare for this is to attend courses that teach members of the community how to become an entrepreneur. That is how I came to know of the Small Business Development Center at Pinellas County. As you look there you will notice that there are Centers located throughout West Central Florida.

When you click on that link it will take you the the Center's homepage. From there you can peruse the website and its resources at your leisure. The page I recommend you pay most attention to is the Training page. It is found by clicking a link toward the top of the page.

On the Training page, you can select what county you want to locate courses in. Below I have sircled Pinellas County, as I live in this county. Below that I have circled an example class that happens to be taking place at noon today. I took this course back in October. it was very informative, even though I already own and operate a small business. As you can see, the cost is very minimal - just $10 for a 2 hour class. There were nine of us in the class I took and I liked it so much that I came back two days later for another course about marketing, Growing a Business - Secrets of Success for Start-ups and Existing Business Owners.

One of the great aspects of this Center is that they offer FREE one-on-one business tutoring. I have yet to do this, but will be contacting one of the counselors soon.

If you are thinking about starting a business or already own one, I definitely recommend you look into the Small Business Development Center at Pinellas County. If you live out of this area, take some time to research the opportunities in your area.