Where can a woman get help in Minnesota to start her own business?

Question

My mom wants to make and market some of her recipes for chili sauce, bbq sauce, and I think there was some dressings too. She has celiac disease, and her sauces & dressings would be suitable for anyone regardless of diet. I need to know the proper channels to go through and the capital to do this. I know there's also legal things that go along with doing something like this. How does she get it started etc. Any women entrepreneurs out there please share your experiences!??! I welcome all comments! As this is a dream of hers for some time & I want to do what I can to help! Thank you in advance!

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WOW!! I got several answers within a short span! & I want to thank EVERYONE!! Jack D and girlwhoknowsitstrue & storeonwheels I so appreciate the great answers... I was able to get back to ONE of you.... I clicked on the others names to thank them as well & give a lil feedback.... for some reason it won't let me!? I thank EVERYONE who has replied so far! netnew, I also have a blog which I started yesterday in hopes of getting more world wide responses... the US is a good start too, but I know going by one's own state is the way to go...

http://tzbug7.blogspot.com

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Answer 1

Hi, get a health license per your state requirements. You can check online - type food license and you will get the license for Minnesota. You may have to take some health and food preparation classes too.

Also for starting a small business, go to the internet and type small business minnesota, see what pops up. You can ask the Small business association for guidance. They are a bunch of veterans who can assist you.

For capital, it is not going to be easy. Banks don't come forward for new startup businesses. You can do one of two things. Borrow money for capital from your relatives and friends. Write them a notarized note that you will pay them back on a set date (say 2 years). Or you can put your home as collateral (if u have a home) and the bank will give you Equity money as loan (which is repayable in 15 or 30 yrs).

A food and health license or permit is a must as you don't want the state to shut you down. Health classes, sanitary preparation of food, right way to package and maintain right temperature while cooking and storage are all important.

Get books from the library on food preparation, bottling, etc. Check for local vendors who will have plastic or glass bottles. You can print labels at home in color using a home printer or find a good local printer to do it. Find labels that are AVERY brand with 4 inches wide x 2 inches high.

I do designing of labels so if you want help I can do it for a small fee. Contact me for this. Also if you found my information useful please write me by clicking on my name.

If you have anyother questions, I'd be glad to answer them for you to the best of my knowledge.

Answer 2

The best routes to take are to research the process of starting a business as well as the industry you're interested in.

I recommend checking out the SBA, Entrepreneur, The Start Up Journal & Nolo. All 4 are great informational resources for the new/small business owner. I posted links for you in the source box.

Research, research, research – this cannot be stressed enough. Read as much as you can. Here are some book titles that are relevant:

* Small Business Savvy: A Woman's Guide to Building a Business by Norma J. Rist, Katina Z. Jones
* The Woman's Advantage: 20 Women Entrepreneurs Show You What It Takes to Grow Your Business by Mary Cantando
* The Women's Business Resource Guide by Barbara Littman
* Powertools for Women in Business: 10 Ways to Succeed in Life and Work by Aliza Sherman

There are plenty of free informational resources out there. Check the source box for links to articles.

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

Answer 3

she can do it in her basement - just need to get a board of health clearance on her processes.

Go to the county and register your business - you can do sole propriettorship - called DBA (doing business as).

If you sell and your state has a sales tax, then you need to apply for a sales tax id so that you collect and submit sales tax.

if you will have employees, need a federal and state tax ID number to do withholding and filing.

If sole proprietroship and no employees, you can just use your soc number and file schedule C or F (if you decide to make your business a farm).

Make batches of your stuff, bottle it, sell it at local art fairs and see if anyone buys! As it grows, buy bigger equipment (bottlers, et al).

Biggest thing is to find out if anyone likes what her stuff tastes like , and if enough like it to buy, and also if she can perfect her recipes so that they taste exactly the same every time even though she's making huge batches of it - that's the trickiest part, since spices and herbs have different strengths.

Answer 4

Find some local newspapers if you like to visit internet then go to http://net-new.blogspot.com/ and search for your product.

Answer 5

contact me!