SBA Starts the Entrepreneur Mentor Corps

If your business start-up is in its infancy or you are a new business owner and not getting the results you expected, you’re not alone. For those with little or no experience as a business owner and for those who don’t receive training and support, it is very difficult to see your small business grow over time. Receiving training and support in your industry is key to your long term success.

Fortunately, there are numerous programs and training programs available that can help you get the training that you need to succeed. The United States Small Business Administration, in partnership with the Kauffman Foundation has recently begun the Entrepreneur Mentor Corps or the EMC. Their goal is to partner with 1,000 business startup owners to help them get their business through the infancy stages. The program is part of the new Startup America initiative, a program aimed at helping the small business community thrive throughout the United States.

The premise is simple and exciting: There are large amounts of business owners who have a wealth of experience as small to large business owners and they’re happy to pass that information on to the next generation. They have innovated the way businesses are ran and possibly the most important resource they have is that they’ve already made the mistakes and can guide the next generation of business owners through the potential pitfalls that come with the starting a new business.

Karen Mills, administrator of the Small Business Administration said that she can’t think of a better way to help a new business owner than to place them with somebody experienced in their business. One area of interest is how to register their LLC or as the appropriate corporation type. Other items of focus in this program are how to hire employees, taking a product from an idea to commercial development, and financing. Mentors are invaluable when it comes to business skills such as these.

The Entrepreneur Mentor Corps will roll out in stages. The first will be a clean energy program, a partnership between the SBA, the Department of Energy, and the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy. Small business owners who are in the clean energy industry will be eligible for placement with entrepreneurs already making an impact in that sector.

As the program rolls out in full force, the SBA will aim to place new business startups with mentors in all industries. This will happen over time. If you would like more information about the Entrepreneur Mentor Corps, go to http://www.sba.gov/startupamerica.