Spec notes
- The City of Austin’s BizAid Business Orientation is a free, virtual class and the first step to the city’s confidential one-on-one coaching.
- Austin is an official Kiva Hub, offering access to 0 percent interest, crowdfunded microloans for eligible small businesses.
- City coaching covers business plans, marketing plans, financial readiness and business management.
Austin has a big private startup scene: incubators, accelerators, coworking spaces and investor networks. Many are excellent and some are expensive. Before you pay for help, it is worth using what the public sector already offers founders here for free. Most of it runs through the City of Austin’s Economic Development Department and its Small Business Division.
Start with BizAid
The city recommends the BizAid Business Orientation as the first step for anyone starting or growing a business in Austin. It is a free, virtual class that gives an overview of the steps needed to start a business here, including permits, legal structures and other foundations, and introduces the government and organizational resources available to small business owners. It is also the gateway to coaching.
One-on-one coaching
After completing BizAid, owners can request confidential, one-on-one coaching from the city’s small business coaches. The city lists coaching topics including:
- business plan development;
- marketing plan development;
- financial readiness assessment;
- business management technical assistance, including expansion planning and operational improvements.
The city says coaching is available to for-profit businesses located within Austin’s city limits, and to nonprofits within six hours of the city limits.
Tip: Bring a one-page summary of your idea and your numbers to the first coaching session: what you sell, to whom, for how much and what it costs you. You will get more specific advice.
Microloans at 0 percent through Kiva
Austin is an official Kiva Hub, which gives eligible small businesses access to 0 percent interest, crowdfunded microloans. Kiva loans are funded by many individual lenders online. For a founder without a credit history or collateral, they can be a first step before a bank or SBA loan; see SBA Loans and SBIR/STTR Awards: Federal Funding Options for Austin Startups.
Certifications that open doors
The city runs Minority-Owned Business Enterprise (MBE) and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE) certification programs, intended to encourage those businesses to participate in city contracting opportunities. If you plan to sell to the city, look at certification early.
Research help at the library
The Austin Public Library offers business and nonprofit resources, including marketing tools, company and investment information, business plan examples, directories, interactive maps and metrics. For market research before you launch, these databases can replace an expensive subscription.
Process help for your space
Austin Development Services’ Development Process Team offers free support with high-level questions about the development process for small business owners and renters, by appointment. It is a good place to ask about a space before you sign a lease. See Austin Business Permits and Zoning: Opening a Storefront, Office or Studio.
State and federal help
- The Texas Comptroller administers state and local sales tax and offers education on sales and franchise taxes; see Texas Sales Tax Permits for New Businesses: Who Needs One and How It Works.
- The Travis County Appraisal District handles business personal property tax for Austin businesses that own income-producing property.
- The U.S. Small Business Administration runs loan programs through lenders and has district offices and resource partners; see SBA Loans and SBIR/STTR Awards: Federal Funding Options for Austin Startups.
- The USPTO explains patents and trademarks free; see Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights for Startups: What Protects What.
Using private programs wisely
Incubators and accelerators can add mentors, networks and funding. Before you sign, compare what they offer with the free resources above, and read any agreement that gives up equity or charges fees carefully. The FTC warns that programs promising big, guaranteed money with little effort, or a secret proven system, are signs of a scam, and that the payoff of paid training and coaching often does not match the promise.
What BizAid covers
The city describes BizAid as a flexible program giving a clear overview of the steps to start or grow a business in Austin, including permits, legal structures and other foundational information. The same start-a-business guide walks through the order of steps: choose a structure, register the name (sole proprietors file assumed names with the Travis County Clerk; partnerships, LLCs and corporations file with the Texas Secretary of State), then sort out federal, state and local taxes with the IRS, the Comptroller and, for business personal property, the Travis County Appraisal District.
A sensible first month
- Week 1: take the BizAid orientation and request a coaching session.
- Week 2: decide your structure and file with the county or state; see Assumed Names (DBAs) in Texas: When and Where to File and Forming an LLC in Texas: Form 205 Step by Step.
- Week 3: get your EIN and, if needed, a sales tax permit; see Getting an EIN for Your Austin Business: Free, Online and in the Right Order.
- Week 4: check any space with Development Services before you sign a lease, or confirm your home business stays no-impact; see Running a Home-Based Business in Austin Under Texas’s New Rules.
The bottom line
Take the free BizAid orientation, book city coaching, look at Kiva microloans and MBE/WBE certification if they fit and use the library’s research tools. Then decide what, if anything, is worth paying for. For the formal setup, start with Choosing a Business Structure in Texas: Sole Proprietorship, LLC or Corporation.