There are a number of federal, state and private, and nonprofit organizations dedicated to assisting entrepreneurs in forming and running their businesses. Taking advantage of these resources can significantly reduce the effort to get your business off the ground.

Entrepreneurs THRIVE in Coweta (ETC!) is a program of the Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce, and is made up of volunteers who serve the needs of Entrepreneurs in our community. The ETC! offers many valuable resources to local business owners, including this Business Owners Guide. Programs supported by the ETC! include:

Minority Business Owner's Council
Coweta Women In Business Council
Youth Programs
Community Connections
Preferred Providers
Business to Business Mentors
Entrepreneur Education
Small Business Incubator

Contact the Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce at 770-253-2270 for more information or to get involved with these programs.

The Georgia Department of Economic Development (www.georgia.org) is a global agency and one-stop-shop for accessing Georgia’s assets and finding the right components for success. Their specialists can assist in many areas including business expansion and relocation, international trade, small business development and tourism.

The Newnan Coweta Chamber of Commerce (NCCOC) is the largest business organization in our community with over 700 members. It’s a great place to locate tools and resources and provides many opportunities to network with other local business owners.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is a federally funded agency that provides managerial, technical and financial assistance to small business
developers and existing businesses. It serves as an advocate for entrepreneurial development, reporting on economic contributions of small businesses and
recommending policies to Congress that further enterprise development.

The SBA and the State of Georgia fund six Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) in Metro Atlanta. The SBDCs provide free managerial and technical counseling services that assist with management training, business and
market planning, finance and research.

The Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) program, administered through SBA, matches entrepreneurs with experienced and successful business executives who serve as advisers.

This MAP shows the various government and licensing offices around the county.

Is This Your First Business?

If this is your first business in the state of Georgia, take a look at the resources at the Ga Secretary of State's Office (sos.georgia.gov). In particular these two documents will help you get oriented.

Points of Contact for Small Business Entrepreneurs

and

First Stop Business Guide.

(note: you will need Adobe Acrobat reader to view these documents. Click here for more information)

There are also many other online resources available to help you learn more about starting and running a business. Many good business startup guides are available online. Some of the better ones are linked below. You can also use a search engine like Yahoo or Google to locate specific resources for your industry.

SBA "Start your business" guide
Corporate.com "Startup Wizard"
FindLaw "Starting a business guide