If you want to open or grow a small business, the following organizations can help you get on your way. You can also look for organizations in your community that provide free or low-cost help to small business owners.

Organizations That Offer Support to Small Businesses

Association for Enterprise Opportunity
This organization supports the development of strong and effective U.S. microenterprise initiatives to help underserved entrepreneurs in starting, stabilizing, and expanding businesses.
Telephone: (703) 841-7760

Entrepreneur.com
This site has information on all parts of being an entrepreneur—starting, managing, and expanding your business. Entrepreneur.com offers many services for free including how to build a business plan and holding live online meetings with your customers and colleagues. They also offer information for special groups such as women entrepreneurs and teen entrepreneurs.
Telephone: 1 (800) 421-2300 (toll-free)

MicroMentor / Mercy Corps
MicroMentor provides entrepreneurs with opportunities to grow their businesses and increase revenues by participating in a mentoring relationship.
Telephone: (503) 465-4181

National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)
The National Federation of Independent Business is a nonprofit organization representing small and independent businesses. NFIB's mission is to promote and protect the right of our members to own, operate and grow their businesses. NFIB also gives members access to many business products and services at discounted costs, and provides timely information designed to help small businesses succeed.

National Minority Business Council, Inc. (NMBC)
The organization is dedicated to providing business assistance, educational opportunities, seminars, purchasing listings and related services to hundreds of businesses across the nation.
Telephone: (212) 693-5050

SCORE – Counselors to America’s Small Business
SCORE provides resources and expertise to help existing and emerging small businesses. SCORE mentors entrepreneurs through one-to-one business advising sessions and via email, and they offer workshops and seminars on a variety of business issues. Visit the website to find your local SCORE office. Some offices may offer help in other languages.
Telephone: 1 (800) 634-0245 (toll-free)

U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency
The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce and is the only federal agency that actively promotes the growth of minority-owned businesses. Check their website for a location near you.
Telephone: 1 (888) 324-1551 (toll-free)

U.S. Small Business Administration, (SBA)
SBA helps entrepreneurs start, build and grow businesses. See their website for a location near you.
Telephone: 1 (800) 827-5722 (toll-free)

African-Americans

Black Business Association (BBA)
The BBA helps in the development and growth of African-American owned businesses. They offer hands-on assistance, training, and education including marketing strategies and planning, finance, public relations, project management, and business planning skills for start-up businesses.
Telephone: (323) 291-9334

National Black Business Council, Inc.
This organization helps create and advance African-American and minority owned businesses and the programs that will close the economic and digital divides between minority and majority businesses.
Telephone: (301) 585-6222

National Black Business Trade Association (NBBTA)
This is a self-help membership organization that helps Black business owners and entrepreneurs succeed. They offer access to business loans, training, referrals, consulting, workshops, networking, expos, publications, and technology support.

National Black Chamber of Commerce
This organization helps to economically strengthen and sustain African-American communities through entrepreneurship and by increasing business development.
Telephone: (202) 466-6888

National Black MBA Association, Inc.
The National Black MBA Association develops partnerships to create intellectual and economic wealth in the Black community through networking opportunities, entrepreneurial development, professional development seminars and more.
Telephone: (312) 236-2622

Latinos

HispanicBusiness.com
HispanicBusiness.com offers a variety of business services such as career placement, recruitment services, business research, surveys and advertising.
Telephone: (805) 964-4554

Hispanic Business Women’s Alliance
The Hispanic Business Women's Alliance is an online community of Hispanic women entrepreneurs, professionals, consultants, executives, inventors and investors located throughout North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Spain interested in doing business and collaborating with each other.
Telephone: (787) 289-7843; (787) 289-8779

Hispanic Entrepreneur
This blog features interviews of Hispanic and Latin American entrepreneurs and companies, as well as the investors who provide the entrepreneurs with start-up funds.

Hispanic SMB
This website helps Hispanic small businesses start up, manage and grow their businesses.

Latin Business Association
This association provides programs and services to help Latino entrepreneurs. They offer a calendar of the organization’s events, an e-newsletter to keep up with announcements and updates, and a member directory that lists all the current members.
Telephone: (213) 628-8510

Latin Vision
You can advertise your business and build your business network, search for products or services, and find suppliers and buyers.
Telephone: (646) 519-2452

LinkedIn, Hispanic Business Inc.
If you join this site you can connect with other people involved with Hispanic Business. This site can help you find potential clients and service providers, and search for jobs.

National Hispanic Business Association
This association helps Hispanic undergraduate business students develop the real-world skills and relationships needed to launch successful professional careers. There are many chapters across the nation.
Telephone: (512) 380-7575

National Hispanic Business Information Clearinghouse
This organization provides Latino entrepreneurs and small business owners with business resources that include local resources, training, and other information on starting, marketing and managing your business.

National Society for Hispanic Professionals
NSHP's purpose is to provide Hispanic professionals with networking and leadership opportunities and information on education, scholarships, grants, careers, jobs and entrepreneurship.
Telephone: 1 (877) 502-6771

United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
To encourage Hispanic economic development by monitoring legislation, policies and programs that affect the Hispanic business community, providing technical assistance to Hispanic business associations and entrepreneurs, promoting international trade between Hispanic businesses in the United States and Latin America, and more.
Telephone: 1 (800) 874-2286 (toll-free)

Women

Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC)
WBENC is the nation's leading advocate of women-owned businesses as suppliers to America's corporations. It works to encourage diversity in commerce with programs and policies designed to expand opportunities and eliminate barriers in the marketplace for women business owners.
Telephone: (202) 872-5515

WomanOwned.com
WomanOwned.com provides online business information and networking assistance as well as a number of resources for setting up / running / growing businesses, including an online search engine of women business owners from every type of industry and from almost every country around the world.
Telephone: 1 (888) 663-9320 (toll-free)

Disabled

World Institute on Disability
This organization is organized by and for people with disabilities. It works to strengthen the disability movement through research, training, advocacy and public education to help people with disabilities throughout the world enjoy increased opportunities to live independently.
Telephone: (510) 763-4100

Asian-Americans

Asian Women in Business (AWIB)
AWIB assists Asian women entrepreneurs by sponsoring skills building workshops, seminars, conferences and networking opportunities, and provides one-on-one technical assistance for entrepreneurs.
Telephone: (212) 868-1368

US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce (USPAACC)
This organization nurtures and promotes economic growth by developing educational and professional opportunities for Asian Americans and their business partners in corporate American and government agencies.
Telephone: 1 (800) 696-7818 (toll-free)

Native-Americans

NCAIED (The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development)
This organization is dedicated to developing American Indian economic self-sufficiency through business ownership.
Telephone: (480) 545-1298

ONABEN - A Native American Business Network
ONABEN helps Native American realize a better quality of life through owning and operating a successful business. ONABEN helps increase private enterprises on the reservations and decrease reliance on federal funds.
Telephone: (503) 968-1500; 1 (800) 854-8289 (toll-free)

Gay and Lesbian

National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC)
The NGLCC helps promote economic growth and the prosperity of its members by forming a coalition of LGBT-owned and friendly businesses, professionals, and major corporations.
Telephone: (202) 234-9181

Out Professionals
Out Professionals is a social and business networking organization for gay men and lesbians. The group hosts panels, celebrity interviews, and workshops on business, finance, and personal growth, and informal seminars with leaders in pop culture, commerce, and academia and lets members connect through an active online community.

Veterans

Vetbiz.gov, The Center for Veterans Enterprise (CVE), Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization
The mission of CVE is to improve the business climate for veterans, to minimize access barriers and to inform the public about the benefits of working with veteran-owned small businesses.
Telephone: (202) 461-4300; 1 (800) 949-8387 (toll-free)