Business Resources

Here’s a curated list of buttery-good resources to start a business, support your existing business or to help your business grow.

  • The Small Business Guides provides helpful information, links to valuable resources, and outlines the steps for starting and operating a business in Washington state. The Small Business Guide is available in English, Spanish, Russian, Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese (Traditional), Japanese, Samoan, Somali, Tagalog, Ukrainian, NEW Farsi, and as two volumes in Braille Ready Format Braille - Volume 1 and Braille - Volume 2.

    The Business Guide includes sections that will help you plan, run, grow, or close a business in Washington State.

  • Business Impact NW is a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). We provide coaching, classes, and access to loans to small businesses across Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, serving entrepreneurs at every stage of their business growth, from early ideas to established businesses. We have been serving the community since 1997.

  • Good Business Network of Washington (formerly Seattle Good Business Network) is a nonprofit coalition of local businesses, municipalities, community organizations, and residents working to build a resilient and vibrant local economy. Good Business Network of Washington connects and inspires people to buy, produce, and invest locally, so that everyone has a meaningful stake in the local economy.

  • Intentionalist makes it easy to find and support local small businesses and the diverse people behind them through everyday decisions about where we eat, drink, and shop. Search the Directory here.

  • Make this your best business year yet. Whether you're launching a startup, scaling operations or planning your exit strategy, SCORE's experienced mentors are here to help you succeed at no cost. Small business owners who receive three or more hours of mentoring report higher revenues and faster growth.

  • The Accounting and Business Consulting Program helps Seattle-based businesses and nonprofits by offering up to 10 hours of personalized, one-on-one counseling in a variety of focus areas at no cost to participants. This program connects small businesses with expert guidance to strengthen finances, streamline operations, and support long-term growth. Services include accounting system setup or migration, bookkeeping support, cash flow management, loan readiness, marketing plan assistance, tax preparation and compliance, and website and search engine optimization.

  • The Small Business Administration (SBA) is a federal agency that supports entrepreneurs and small businesses through funding programs, expert guidance, and practical resources. From loans and grants to mentorship and disaster relief, the SBA helps businesses start, grow, and succeed at every stage.

  • The Office of Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises leads the Statewide M/WBE program as the sole agency that certifies minority- and women-owned business enterprises to participate in public contracting and procurement. This program includes a comprehensive certification process, small business support services, and the Supplier Diversity team that works with the Governor’s Subcabinet on Business Diversity, state agencies, and institutions of higher education to instill equitable and inclusive purchasing practices.

    These efforts help small businesses owned by minorities, women, and veterans to obtain more government contracts which strengthens our communities, makes our economy more resilient, and improves the quality of life for all Washingtonians.

The Butter Book List

Behold! Here are a few titles which have been very inspiring for me as an entrepreneur and might provide you with valuable insights to bring your business dreams to fruition.

  • The $100 Startup is a guide for turning passions into profitable businesses with minimal investment, focusing on real-life case studies of "unexpected entrepreneurs" who built successful ventures from their skills and hobbies. The book argues you don't need an MBA or a large budget, but rather a product or service people will pay for, and emphasizes taking action over extensive planning. Key principles include finding the intersection of your skills and market demand, starting small, and focusing on providing value to others. 

  • It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be is a motivational book by Paul Arden, a former creative director at Saatchi & Saatchi, that offers advice on success, creativity, and problem-solving, drawing from his advertising background. The book uses a quirky, bite-sized format with quotes, facts, and images to encourage readers to aim beyond their perceived limits, embrace being wrong, and seek criticism to achieve greatness. It's designed as a handbook for making the impossible possible in both creative and general life situations. 

  • Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip and Dan Heath explains why some ideas are memorable and others aren't, introducing the SUCCESs framework (Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional, Stories) as a guide for making messages stick. The book uses case studies, from urban legends to business strategies, to illustrate how to apply these principles to make communication more effective and impactful, helping to overcome the "curse of knowledge". 

  • Good to Great is a business book that identifies key factors for companies transitioning from good performance to sustained greatness, arguing that greatness comes from conscious choices and discipline, not just circumstance.

  • How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie is a classic self-help book that teaches principles for improving social skills, building relationships, and becoming a more effective communicator, focusing on making people feel appreciated and valued rather than manipulated.

  • Atomic Habits by James Clear is a bestselling self-help book that provides a framework for building good habits and breaking bad ones through small, incremental changes, emphasizing that systems are more important than goals. It teaches readers to focus on becoming 1% better each day, using the "Four Laws of Behavior Change" (make it obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying) to master the habit loop (cue, craving, response, reward). The book uses psychology, neuroscience, and real-life examples to offer practical strategies for lasting self-improvement in any area of life. 

  • Hooked is a guide to building products people use because they want to, not because they have to. Written for product managers, designers, marketers, startup founders, and people eager to learn more about the things that control our behaviors.