Business Support

There is no substitute for expert advice. Visit a New Jersey Small Business Development Center near you for help with growing your business. Receive free, hands-on guidance on business planning, taxes, marketing, and much more.

SCORE is a national non-profit organization dedicated to helping existing small businesses maximize their potential for success. They provide free, confidential, and professional business counseling to aspiring entrepreneurs who are launching their companies, and to small business owners or individuals planning on going into business.

SCORE’s main goal is to connect small business owners with mentors who are experts in their industries. SCORE also offers online webinars and courses on various topics related to starting and operating a business.

Central Jersey Score: Somerset, Hunterdon, and Middlesex Counties

Metro NJ Score: Essex, Hudson, and Union Counties

Monmouth NJ Score: Monmouth County

Northeast NJ Score: Bergen and Passaic Counties

Northwest NJ Score: Morris, Sussex, and Warren Counties

Ocean County Score: Jersey Shore region, from Point Pleasant to Cape May

Princeton Score: Middlesex, Mercer, Burlington, Camden, Gloucester & Salem Counties

NJ Business and Industry Association

Latin American Economic Development Association (LAEDA)

TechUnited (New Jersey Technology Council)

BioNJ

New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners (NJAWBO) - This member-supported organization allows women business owners to network, collaborate, educate, lead, and grow professionally

Support for Nonprofits‍

Pro Bono Partnership - This group offers free business and transactional legal assistance to nonprofits.‍

NJ Center for Nonprofits - The Center provides tools and learning resources for New Jersey’s nonprofit community

NJ State Library nonprofit resources - The Public Library includes information on starting a nonprofit in New Jersey, fundraising, employment and volunteering, and more

Support for Women Business Owners

Northern New Jersey
‍Women’s Center for Entrepreneurship - This organization offers classes and counseling, including guiding business owners to available funding options through its Women’s Business Center.

Southern New Jersey
‍The LAEDA Women’s Business Center - The Women’s Business Center supports and encourages women’s business ownership by offering business skills and creating a support, referral, and resource network. (Phone 856-338-1177 and email wbc@laeda.com)

The Small Business Assistance Program (SBAP) helps New Jersey’s small businesses understand the complex world of environmental regulation.  The services that we provide include the following:

• Consultations: The SBAP provides consultations on the phone, by e-mail, or on-site, where we discuss how State and Federal environmental rules and permits may apply to your particular situation
• Referrals:  The SBAP has access to engineers, scientists, and environmental specialists who can help you with your environmental questions or concerns
• Guidance Documents: The SBAP develops and distributes guidance documents to help small businesses comply with environmental regulations and permits
• Education & Outreach: The SBAP provides seminars, workshops, and on-site training, on a range of regulatory topics that help small businesses stay in and go beyond compliance
• Fostering Innovation: The SBAP supports innovative ideas which help small businesses improve energy efficiency, resource conservation, pollution prevention, and sustainability
  

ResearchwithNJ.com is a free database for businesses and entrepreneurs to search for experts in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and learn about their professional backgrounds, publications, and achievements. It also contains information about research departments and specializations of six participating New Jersey universities: New Jersey Institute of Technology, Princeton University, Rutgers University, Rowan University, Stevens Institute of Technology, and Montclair State University.

New Jersey libraries provide a wealth of information to help businesses grow and succeed, whether in the beginning stages of writing a business plan, conducting market research, or exploring financing options.

Statewide, the New Jersey State Library makes available a suite of resources for all New Jersey residents with a library card, accessible anytime from anywhere.

Individual libraries may select to provide additional online tools for their users covering a range of business and entrepreneurship topics, including but not limited to:

• ‍Workforce Learning Link‍
• Business Source Premier – Over 2,300 full-text journals, including more than 1,100 peer-reviewed titles. Covers business, marketing, accounting, management, economics, finance, banking, and more
• Regional Business News – Comprehensive coverage for regional business publications, incorporating coverage of 75 business journals, newspapers, and newswires from all metropolitan and rural areas within the U.S.
• Reference Solutions – Select any of the 7 Reference USA databases to search from the main access page: U.S. Businesses, U.S. New Businesses; U.S. New Movers/Homeowners; U.S. Healthcare; U.S. Standard White Pages; Canadian Business, and Canadian White Pages. A webinar on the New Jersey State Library YouTube Channel features an overview of Reference Solutions

Many libraries also conduct and host training offered by partner business organizations, including the New Jersey Division of Taxation, Small Business Administration, SCORE, UCEDC, Small Business Development Centers, and more.

For more information, visit your local public library, JerseyClicks.org, or the New Jersey State Library.

A Chamber of Commerce is a business network that connects its members with ideas, resources, and each other. Chambers of Commerce also frequently lobby on behalf of businesses for laws and policies that are favorable to its members. A Chamber can be organized around a specific region, such as businesses located in Morris County, around a specific type of business, or around another affinity such as an ethnic group. Find a Chamber that suits you and your business.

Here are some statewide Chambers of Commerce:

New Jersey Chamber of Commerce
Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce New Jersey
African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey
New Jersey Chinese American Chamber of Commerce
Asian Indian Chamber of Commerce
Portuguese American Chamber of Commerce

Main Street New Jersey is a comprehensive revitalization program that promotes the historic and economic redevelopment of traditional business districts in New Jersey. Every two years, select communities join the program and receive valuable technical support and training to assist in restoring their Main Streets. These communities demonstrate commitment to a volunteer board of directors, procurement of long-term funding, development of private-public partnerships, the hiring of an executive director, and other criteria. Exploring this program is a good idea if you are a business owner interested in whether your downtown is a part of Main Street New Jersey or interested in starting the process.

(SBA) Learning Platform – Includes courses ranging from launch to management to market. It also includes a free online learning center for women – Ascent – and development programs for transitioning service members and their spouses.

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