Young startup coffee cafe owner open and welcome customer. New small business owener.

Starting a new business

Thinking of starting up a new business? BBB can help with everything from how to get funding, to creating a business plan, to paying your taxes.

Is your business listed on BBB.org? If not, learn how to Get Listed!

Getting started

LLC? S-Corp? Sole Proprietorship? 
New: U.S. Corporate Transparency Act and BOI filing

Start-up costs to consider as a new business owner.

Learn how to do a competitor analysis.

What taxes you should pay? When are they due? 

Canadian version of this article.

Business insurance protects you financially and legally. 

How do you write a business plan? And what components will help ensure your business is successful?

Prepare to get BBB Accredited at 6 months

Learn what you need to be doing now.

The first 6 months

How to build the best budget for your small business

8 tips for building stronger industry relationships

You want to be able to tell customers that your business is trustworthy and transparent..

When money is tight, there’s little room for error, which makes financial record-keeping critical.

Hiring those first few employees is a big step for new business owners.

Successfully attracting and then keeping talent helps your company continue to flourish.

At 6 months and beyond

You've been in business for 6 months! Find out what you need to do next to Get Accredited.

Why should you become BBB Accredited? Why does it matter? Find out!

Your BBB Accreditation tells the community you’re a newly minted champion of trust, so what’s your first move? What to do once you're BBB Accredited.

Marketing your new business

Marketing and advertising help from BBB

BBB helps your business keep growing

Want to be found by some of our 140 million website visitors each year?

Your business can display the BBB Seal as proof of your high standards.

These Accreditation Standards are based on what BBB identifies as a better business. Do you qualify as an Accredited Business? If so, Get Accredited.

Many BBBs offer dispute resolution as an alternative to going to court.

Here are tips on how to grow your team and build your business.

Learn how to increase customer confidence with accreditation and how to manage complaints and reviews.

Read articles on sales and marketing.

Learn how social media can help grow your revenue, using hashtags, writing copy to convert website visitors, using your blog to win more customers, and more!