Business Planning

Business Planning tools for Entrepreneurial Success!

Business planning requires more than just preparing a business plan.  Here are some tools to help you along the entire life cycle of your business – from start up, to expansion, to an exit strategy.

• Business Assessment Tool.  Interactive tool to determine your business readiness.  Use the worksheets to determine your personal readiness, financial assessment and more.
• Small Business Planner.  This is an interactive tool to help you along every step of the way from a business start up checklist, naming your business, to managing employees, and to having an exit strategy.
• FREE Online Courses.  Any topic imaginable including starting a business, e-commerce, international business, marketing & advertising, business management and federal tax information.
• Small Business Guide to starting and operating a business in Washington State
• Interactive workshops:  Starting your business, managing your financing, foundations of marketing.  Spanish available.
• Business plan and other templates
• Business Counseling
• Women Entrepreneurs
• Women Owned Business
• Minority Owned
• Veteran Owned
• Non-Profit Organizations

Other useful websites for information on trademarks, business names and more.

• Washington State Trade Name Search:  Before you license a business in Washington, you should verify that the trade name is available.
• Here’s an excellent page on Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights – Business.Gov/Intellectual Property
• Free patent search US Government Patent Office or Google Patent Search. Read more about the US Patent Process.  Be wary of these websites that offer assistance with ‘free patents’, they could be too good to be true. Here is a good article on Design Patents.
• Free trademark search:  US Government Trademark Home Page
• Find out if you need a copyright for that blog, movie, book, etc. US Copyright Office.  There is an excellent FAQ page.