We all know the frustration of trying to find information and getting passed from one representative to the next, or even one agency to another. Every time you start with someone new, you have to explain your question from the top. What a waste of time and energy!
Business.USA.gov is a U.S. government website that combines resources from different government agencies. It’s designed to be a one-stop shop to help businesses grow and hire.
You can search for help in these eight areas:
Start a Business
Grow Your Business
Access Financing
Begin Exporting
Expand Exporting
Find Opportunities
Veterans
Disaster Assistance
From there, you can narrow your search based on industry, special certification status or the type of help you’re looking for (e.g., counseling or process improvements).
To get your questions answered directly, you can call a centralized number (1-800-FED-INFO), submit a support ticket by email or book an in-person appointment. There is also a list of local events and workshops that you can search by various criteria.
The site touts a “no wrong door” approach, meaning that no matter how you enter the portal or who you speak to first, you should be able to get information about any agency or service.
That’s the idea, anyway. The site is still in beta mode and agencies are still coming on board by adding their resources and materials.
In the meantime, they want business owners to test out the system and give your feedback. So visit http://business.usa.gov/, check out the information that’s available and ask your questions. Be sure to tell them how they’re doing, and while you’re at it, tell me as well. You can submit a comment on this blog post or on Twitter.
thanks for the plug, Bill!