Starting and Structuring a Business

Local Resources

• Starting a Business
  The City of Memphis provides potential business owners with a ten-step process for starting a business.
• Small Business Resource Guide
  Prepared by the US Small Business Administration.
• Downtown Memphis Commission has a Develop & Invest page with a database of ongoing projects and an emerging developer program.  
• MLGW Economic Development team has a ‘one-stop-shop’ listing resources and TVA incentives for businesses in the Memphis area.
• SCORE – Service Corps of Retired Executives Memphis Chapter 68
  Memphis Chapter 68 is the locally-chartered volunteer association and resource partner of the Small Business Administration. SCORE Memphis offers free and confidential counseling to start up businesses and existing small businesses that seek advice.

State Resources

• TN Business Resources
  TN.gov offers a ‘Smart Start’ outline from the Department of Economic and Community Development. The listed resources support the successful growth and expansion of businesses and new entreprenuers in the state.
• TN Community Quick Links and Resource Guide
  The Business Enterprise Resource Office (BERO) includes resource lists and quick links for ESOs, DBEs, microenterprises, small businesses and entrepreneurs. 
• Tennessee Department of State – Division of Business Services
  Use this site to find forms, file annual reports, file new businesses online, search businesses, file and search UCCs, and order copies and certificates. Also includes a place to download and print business forms, business guides to navigate your next steps, how to become a notary, and more.
• Tennessee Department of Revenue – New Businesses
  Provides 6-step instructions for setting up a new business with the Tennessee Department of Revenue. Also provides guidelines for paying sales or use tax to the State, as well as a tax calendar.
• Department of Commerce & Insurance – Regulatory Boards
  This website provides information on how to acquire and maintain a professional license. From accountants and hairdressers to private detectives and real estate appraisers, this website will outline the necessary steps and forms for those professions required to be licensed to do business in Tennessee. This department also regulates the licensed professions and will revoke licenses of businesses guilty of violating the laws that govern them. The website is searchable and an archive of disciplinary proceedings is maintained.

Federal Resources

• SBA.gov
  The Small Business Administration is a federal entity which exists to help small businesses. Local chapters provide resources and workshops while the umbrella organization can offer loans, navigate entrepreneurs through the various steps to starting a business, and more. This site can provide the support necessary to create a business plan, launch a business, manage a business, or grow a business.
• SCORE – Service Corps of Retired Executives
  SCORE is the national, nonprofit association which has 10,500 volunteers and 389 chapters nationwide dedicated to helping anyone interested in starting a new business. Its official home page will allow you to locate your local chapter of SCORE, offers information about workshops and counseling, and contains many links to web sites which contain business information and tools helpful to entrepreneurs. A treasury of information and resources for the potential business owner is found on this site.
• IRS Business and Self-Employed One-step Resource
  This small business and self-employed page on the IRS website has information to help small businesses file their taxes. The site also has online learning tutorials and information on the tax calendar and preparing your taxes. For step-by-step information on employee ID numbers check out the page on Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN). 
• United States Patent and Trademark Office: Intellectual Property Protection.
  The USPTO has created this site to help inventors and entrepreneurs consider the benefits of strong IP protection. It includes important information on whether and when to file for intellectual property protection, what type of protection to file for, where to file, and how to go about it. From here, also learn about the trademark or patent process with guides to help protect intellectual property.

Other Resources

• EEOC – U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 
  This website provides information and guidance regarding the law governing the various types of discrimination. In addition, it provides information specifically for employers and small business owners. A link to the Americans with Disabilities Act can be found at this website. It also offers the publication The Americans with Disabilities Act: A Primer for Small Business.
• National Association for the Self-Employed 
  This site includes information on government issues affecting the small business owner, tax tips, and more. Links to other business and government sites are also found here.
• ResearchRoundUp Business Filings Databases
  Corporate and business filings information for individual states is contained on this site. Most of the states make at least some of the business filings available online. The majority of the states disseminate a range of public business records, for the most part at no charge.
• Resource for Small Businesses – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 
  Environmental information, assistance and regulations and laws are found from links on this government site. Also there is a Frequently Answered Questions page to help with questions that may arise about environmental issues that may concern small businesses.
• Small Business Development Center – Memphis
  Provides Memphis-area small businesses with the SBA’s Small Business Development Center. The SBDC offers training, consulting, programs, and resources.
• Small Business Development Center National Information Clearinghouse 
  This center acts as a clearinghouse for other Small Business Development Centers. Under “Getting Started” there are links to World Wide Web resources of particular interest to small business owners as well as information on state and local regulations.