Ok, so you are past the stage of writing your idea on the napkin at happy hour and talking it through with your buddies and actually ready to get started.  Think of this first step as putting the floaties on your arms for that first swim.  Its gonna require a little work, but in the end, you'll be glad you have a little something helping to keep you away from sharks. 

To that end, I put a little time in on the phone today to talk with one of the best, Mike Hahn, Regional Director with the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) in Waterloo, Iowa.  He's a pretty good cat and best of all, their services are FREE!  (most of them anyway)

Dan:  I've got a great idea - probably the biggest thing since the Twins resigned Mauer.  What do I do know?

Mike:  Typically you are going to want to go beyond that inner circle of your friends and seek some outside help.  Maybe call the Chamber or your Economic Development agency.  More than likely, they are going to refer you to the SBDC in your area.

Dan:  What can I expect at the SBDC?  How much is that gonna cost me?

Mike:  How could I forget your penchant for all things cheap.  You're in luck as most all of our services, except for some classes, are completely free!  At the SBDC, we'll probably enroll you in our 90 minute Entrepreneurship 101 cource called Smart Start.  Once you get through that, we'll pair you up with a consultant who can help you work out an individual plan on how to build your business.

Dan:  So what am I gonna learn at Smart Start?

Mike:  Sure, the class is really designed to give you a good overview of what its going to take to build your business.  We'll cover the benefits of entrepreneurship, some of the pit falls, we'll cover business plans, how to do some forecasting, and how to give your business idea the "smell test"

Dan:  Ok, but as you pointed out so eagerly, I am pretty cheap.  Is there any money out there for me to start this idea with?

Mike:  I knew we'd get to that one eventually with you.  Money is out there, but its usually not in the form people want to see it - i.e. grants.  There are some loan programs and subsidized loans.  My best recommendation is not to rely on any of that being available, but rather to bootstrap things (insert shameless title plug here).  There is some great info out there, particularly for what is available in Iowa, by checking out the Money Map at www.myentre.net.

Dan:  So it sounds like the best way to start out might be to build what I will call a Paper Business from my idea and see if it has any legs to it?

Mike:  If by Paper Business you mean, writing up a plan of attack, doing some market research, developing some forecasted cash flows, and figuring out your marketing strategy to see if it holds water, then yeah, I'd say you are on the right track.  That's where a counselor at the SBDC can come in.  They can guide you through this whole process. 

Dan:  Awesome, this looks great.  Anything else before I let you get back to preparing for the big Panther game tonight?

Mike:  I think my last bit of advice, would be to start networking.  Get it out there.  Start connecting and sharing your idea.  Get on www.myentre.net, stay in touch with the SBDC, check out our classes, and keep at it.

Dan:  Alright, with that, I think we will call it a go.  Thanks for being available to do this and for keeping the prices low on me man!