NEED HELP IN STARTING OR TAKING YOUR BUSINESS TO THE NEXT LEVEL IN MIAMI?

With 2.6 million residents and host to nearly 14 million visitors a year, headquarters to thousands of multi-national corporate offices, 75 foreign consulates and 21 foreign trade offices. MIA Airport is the 2nd leading international gateway to the U.S. Miami is the center of World Wide Business

Starting, expanding or transferring a business to Miami has many advantages over other places,  it is considered a tax haven, with no local or state personal income taxes and Florida’s state corporate tax rate of 5.5% is among the lowest in the nation.

These 5 free or low-cost resources can help you find the best counseling, training and information on doing business in Miami

 

1. logo The US Small Business Administration the SBA is an official US Government entity they provide free or low cost counseling on business management and obtaining loans for your business, help you qualify for government contracts and even help you create a business plan. They provide local support through their Miami-Dade office at 100 S. Biscayne Blvd 7th Floor, Miami, FL 33131. www.sba.gov/offices/district/fl/miami 

 

2. Beacon-Council-Logo The Beacon Council: Miami-Dade County’s official economic development partnership provides customized assistance to companies that are looking to expand or relocate in Miami-Dade County, they also create customized reports on Miami-Dade County to help companies make sound business decisions. These reports may include demographics, firms by major industry, employment by industry, percent distribution of employment and wages, international business, international transportation, population, households, income and quality of life.

www.beaconcouncil.com

 

3. miamidadeMiami-Dade SCORE is a nonprofit association dedicated to educating entrepreneurs and helping small businesses start, grow, and succeed nationwide. SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and has been mentoring small business owners for more than fifty years. They provide free counseling services at no charge from marketing and sales to management and business planning, they schedule workshops on different topics and their local office and many very useful free articles written by their volunteers experts.

SCORE also operates a resource-rich website that includes how-to guides as well as a listing of its local branches which also operate in-person workshops.

You can also get free advice via email. Enter a keyword or area of expertise in the search box on the mentors page – or browse mentors’ profiles by skill or industry experience – and you’ll get results of available folks who you can email for help.

www.miamidade.score.org

 

4. logo-ddaMiamiDDA Downtown Development Authority advocates, facilitates plans and executes business development, planning and capital improvements, and marketing and communication strategies, they provide useful market research and studies for free.

www.miamidda.com 

 

5. sbdcFlorida’s SBDC at FIU Small Business Development Centers are also sponsored by the SBA and provide management assistance to small business owners in the form of one-on-one counseling, training seminars, assistance with SBA loans and technical assistance.

Local SBDC full-time employees and volunteers are incredibly active in promoting entrepreneurial success in local communities. In addition to free counseling and complimentary seminars, several SBDCs (funding permitting) also operate resource centers that provide free use of PCs, business software and access to advice from counselors and a library of business publications. Networking sessions also promote knowledge transfer and business opportunities.

Anyone who is interested in starting a small business or in expanding an already existing business is eligible to use the services of an SBDC.

www.business.fiu.edu/sbdc/

Also a pretty useful tool is the Miami-Dade Business Startup Assistant tool. Make sure to give it a try.