Free Business Counseling Services

Wake Tech Entrepreneurship & Small Business Center offers free, one-on-one business assistance through counseling, coaching and mentorship. Counselors provide a personal approach to help you start your business in the Wake County area. We want to provide support at your pace, helping you build your business, create a marketing plan, review available small-business grants and more.

We work with small businesses in every industry. Some of our clients are solo entrepreneurs or single-member LLCs, while others have 25 or fewer employees. To become a counseling client, use the two-step process outlined below.

New or potential clients

If you have never worked with our counselors before, you must first complete a brief request form. Submit the required information to tell us about your business plans and how we can help. Once received, our team will reach out to provide additional details on how we can best serve the needs you mentioned in your request form.

Request counseling

Existing clients

Call the Entrepreneurship & Small Business Center at 919-335-1019 for assistance.

Frequently asked questions

How does counseling work?

Our professional counselors provide confidential guidance. They can work with you across your journey: from preparing your business idea to launching, building and potentially expanding your business. If you are looking for help with a specific topic and have already prepared financial documents, marketing tools, a business plan or other materials, your counselor may be able to review those with you to provide feedback.

Do I have to be a Wake Tech student?

No, our services are open to any Wake County resident. If you live outside of Wake County, you can contact the Small Business Center at your local community college.

How many times can I meet with someone?

Our small-business counselors work with you at your pace and can meet as many times as you find helpful.

Do you help nonprofit businesses?

Yes, help is available for for-profit, nonprofit and social mission businesses.

I don’t know where to start, but I have a business idea. Can you help me?

Yes! Meeting with a small-business counselor can provide you step-by-step guidance to take your idea to execution. We also offer seminars, training programs and specialized resources that can support you on your entrepreneurship journey.

Should I come in for a counseling session if I am not sure what type of business to start?

We encourage people who are entrepreneurial minded to start digging into their interests and areas of expertise to develop a business idea before meeting with one of our small-business counselors. Starting a business is an intense endeavor, and it is best to come into an initial counseling session with a strong idea of what type of business you want to start. Attending our introductory workshops can help you brainstorm your big ideas before potentially requesting counseling.

I’m already in business. What help can you provide?

SBC counselors help existing business owners solve common business challenges that include:

  • Pricing and understanding business financials
  • Developing a marketing strategy and implementation
  • Branding
  • E-commerce
  • Email list building
  • Employee recruitment and management
  • Public relations and press releases
  • SEO
  • Social media marketing

Our department also offers workshops on these topics and specialized training initiatives, such as LaunchWakeCounty, that can unlock new skills and networking opportunities.