Business Resources

State Resources

• Washington Business Hub is a one-stop resource for starting and operating a business in Washington State.
• The Washington APEX Accelerator (formerly Washington Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC), works to give businesses the opportunity to thrive in the government-contracting marketplace. The Washington APEX Accelerator provides no-cost, confidential, one-on-one technical assistance in all aspects of selling to federal, state, and local governments.
• The Washington Small Business Development Center (WSBDC) is a network of business advisors, trainers, and support staff. WSBDC provides in-depth, confidential, no-cost customized one-on one business advising, business training, and advisor-assisted market intelligence.
• Washington State Department of Commerce – Offers businesses, entrepreneurs, and investors, especially those in rural and underserved communities, an array of consulting and support services, most of which are free.

Federal Resources

• The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) was created in 1953 as an independent agency of the federal government to aid, counsel, assist, and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise, and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our nation.
• The Internal Revenue Service Small Business and Self-Employed Tax Center provides tax resources for self-employed, independent contractors, or employers. It provides assistance with preparing your taxes, online learning, and stages of owning a business.

• Make It Tacoma offers local workshops and trainings on a variety of topics related to opening and running a business in Tacoma.
• Business Impact NW – Offers one-on-one free business coaching and lunch and learn workshops for small businesses.
• Pierce County Business Skills Program – offers nine free, non-credit, short courses for small business owners. Get access to free, on-demand business skills training to help you start, build, and keep your business on the right track.
• Small Business Development Center (SBDC) – The Washington Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is a network of more than 40 expert business advisors working in communities across the state to help entrepreneurs or small business owners start, grow, or buy/sell a business. The Tacoma SBDC offers no fee business advising on an appointment basis for existing businesses.
• Small Business Administration (SBA) Virtual Federal Funding Workshop – A program created to help socially, and economically disadvantaged entrepreneurs gain access to and succeed in the federal marketplace through building capacity and growing through contracts and having access to business development support.
• South Sound/Tacoma SCORE – A team of nationally certified mentors who provide free professional counseling to aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners in Pierce, Thurston, Lewis, Mason, and Grays Harbor counties.
• The World Trade Center Tacoma – The World Trade Center Tacoma is a non-profit located in downtown Tacoma that helps local businesses connect to the global economy. It offers training, counseling, and connections for Tacoma area companies that want to trade internationally.

• Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) Business Center – MBDA provides strategic business consulting services, including sales consulting and forecasting, market feasibility studies, operations management and quality control, bid preparation, and many more services.
• SCORE Association – SCORE mentors are business executives who volunteer their time to assist small businesses with strategic planning and business plan review.
• CRAFT3 – Provides loans to finance businesses, including those in start-up and expansion phases. Our loans range in complexity and size, from $25,000 to $5 million.

• SizeUp – Are you a business owner or aspiring entrepreneur? Make smarter decisions with data that shows how you measure up against the competition in your industry. This free tool helps you determine what percent of businesses you are outperforming in your industry in revenue, size, salaries, and more.
• Zoom Prospector – Are you a site selector or investor? Get robust, high-quality data that drills all the way down to the zip code level as you assess possible locations. This free tool helps you research hundreds of criteria to find the community that meets your specific needs and helps you analyze locations based on more than 1,000 variables to find the perfect one.
• ESRI Business Analyst Online – Provides demographic reports with 75 different templates. Psychographic tapestry profiles showing socioeconomic and consumer behavior are measured against national averages and medians. Businesses can use this to build business and marketing plans or site selection. Annual subscription fee associated. Email the program to learn more.
• The Puget Sound Economic Forecaster – Provides trends for the Puget Sound area for a subscription.
• IMPLAN – Provides economic impact data and modeling to governments, universities, and public and private sector organizations for assessing the economic impacts of project decisions in all industry sectors. When you need to know how businesses, projects, or policies interact with and shape the economy, IMPLAN is here to help.