Are you looking to launch a small business in the Sacramento area? Starting a business is daunting. The list of things you need to learn seems to grow daily. Fortunately, there are many resources and programs available to entrepreneurs in the Sacramento region that can help you launch your business. We’ve compiled a list of organizations, resources, and programs, most of which are free, that can help you launch your business in Sacramento.
California Capital Women’s Business Center
A non-profit organization located in Sacramento, CA providing FREE business start-up and development assistance for small business owners, with a commitment to meet the unique needs of women entrepreneurs and women in business. We can help grow your business through financing assistance, educational workshops, online business training, one-on-one assistance, networking and connection with local resources.
Capital Region SBDC
Provides one-on-one free, professional business advising in marketing, finance, accessing capital, and more. Offers no-cost business workshops for everyone interested in small businesses. Provides expert help with business loan applications, investor packages, crowdfunding campaigns, and more. (they’ve been offering a lot of food business workshops lately).
Capital Corridor SCORE
SCORE volunteers provide education and mentoring to help entrepreneurs create new businesses and small business owners take their existing business to the next level. They offer one-on-one coaching as well as workshops.
Mentor Sacramento
Mentor Sacramento is an innovative and inclusive partnership between the City of Sacramento and MicroMentor, the online business mentoring platform that connects diverse small business owners to volunteer business mentors.
Veterans Business Outreach Center (for those who are military veterans)
VBOC mission is to advance the growth and commercial competitiveness of veteran owned small business enterprises through education and services focusing on business development, technology deployment and e-commerce.
Alchemist Microenterprise Academy (for food businesses)
Alchemist Microenterprise Academy is a 12-week business training course. AMA is designed to make sense of the confusing aspects of starting a food business. The next cohort will be in the fall. Graduates of AMA are invited to apply to the Incubator Program and continue developing their business with customized resources.
Carlsen Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Sac State
A regional hub and platform for providing approachable and accessible entrepreneurial education, community, and support to enable startup founders of all backgrounds to explore and launch their businesses. Open to the community — you do not need to be a student to participate in their programs. They offer a 5-part series every couple of months, the Entrepreneurship Toolkit Series, that is helpful to early stage entrepreneurs.
FourthWave is an accelerator for women-led technology startups with traction. I think the plan is to do one cohort a year. The Carlson Center at Sac State is a partner for this program.
StartupSac
With a mission to connect the startup ecosystem in Sacramento, StartupSac.com
1 Million Cups
1MC is a weekly event on Wednesday mornings where entrepreneurs present their businesses to an audience of their peers for advice and feedback.
Startup Digest
Subscribe for free to this weekly email that is published every Monday morning. It’s a curated list of events and meetups of interest to Sacramento region entrepreneurs.
