Carl Neighbors ⋅ U.S. Air Force, Staff Sergeant ⋅ 4 years served

Jerry, thanks for your reply. I am living and working in South Korea, and so there are no Chamber of Commerce here that I could contact. Do you know of any free mentorship programs that I could contact? Thanks again.

Jerry Welsh ⋅ Middleville, MI Master Military Transition Advisor/HPS GPO ⋅ 30 years experience

I would add to Jerry's response by indicating your local Chamber of Commerce. Depending upon the size they should have access to the SBA and other mentors who have run their own businesses.

Carl Neighbors ⋅ U.S. Air Force, Staff Sergeant ⋅ 4 years served

Thanks, everyone for answering my question. Nancy, I will go to your website to see about scheduling a call with you. Taylor, thank you for all of the resources that you listed. I will check them out. And, Gerald, thank you for your resources also. I do have a follow-up question. Does anyone know where I could enlist the help of a mentor that would be free-of-charge? I believe that if I could enlist the assistance of a mentor, s/he could assist me in avoiding any pitfalls I might incur in starting my business and also guide me in a path that would be most efficient and effective in starting my business. Thanks again for your assistance and I look forward to your replies to my follow-up question.

V/r

Carl

Nancy Quartey ⋅ Palo Alto, CA ⋅ 1 years experience

Hi Carl,
Your question has a lot of nuances that might be better addressed in a phone conversation. I'd be happy to have this discussion with you. The easiest way to schedule a call is directly on my calendar at nquartey.youcanbook.me.
Hope to speak to you soon!
Nancy

ACP AdvisorNet Staff ⋅ New York, NY ⋅ 10 years experience

Hi Carl,

Thank you for your question. In addition to the resources Gerald mentioned, I would recommend checking out our Community page on ACP AdvisorNet. You can search the community Advisors by industry, namely small business, and direct message individuals that may have direct experience and advice to offer. You can also browse through various topics on our site for related content here (https://acp-advisornet.org/questions/small-business).

Here are also some great videos and articles about small businesses I highly recommend sifting through. Could offer some valuable insight on what it takes to start a successful business!

TED Talk - The single biggest reason why startups succeed | Bill Gross: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNpx7gpSqbY

ACP Resource - Tips for Proteges Interested in Small Business - https://www.acp-usa.org/sites/default/files/resources-files/Tips%20for%20Prote%CC%81ge%CC%81s%20Interested%20in%20Small%20Business%20.pdf

Business Insider - 25 books that every entrepreneur should read - https://www.businessinsider.com/best-books-for-entrepreneurs-to-read-2016-1/

SCORE - Free Small Business Advice - https://www.score.org/

I hope this is helpful. Thank you for your service!

Best,
Taylor Boggio

Gerald Mannikarote ⋅ Houston, TX dMann Training Technologies ⋅ 20 years experience

Hi Carl,
Starting a business is never easy. Pitfalls vary from on industry to another, from one business to another.
Please check out https://www.sba.gov for lots of resources.
Warm regards,
Jerry