Help for Struggling Businesses: 7 Places That Offer It Without a Sales Pitch

If you own a small business in a jam, there’s free help from people whose job is to help you, not sell you something. Local Small Business Development Centers, SCORE mentors, and local women’s and veterans’ business centers can help for free. Your state economic development office may have a business recovery program or an office devoted to helping small businesses. The IRS has taxpayer advocates to help you manage your federal debt. If you have business loans through the Small Business Administration, you may be eligible for hardship relief on your payments.

These seven places are good to know because they make their money from government or nonprofit funding, not from selling you something.

Your local Small Business Development Center should be your first stop for help. There are 63 lead centers funded by the Small Business Administration. Many are housed in local universities or state economic development agencies and can connect you with financing, grants, and people who can help. Someone local through a Small Business Development Center will look at the numbers you provide and give you a realistic picture of what your choices are.

SCORE is next, with more than 9,000 volunteer mentors who have been in your shoes before and who can sit down and talk with you about your specific situation. There is no cost; this is a mentoring network, and there is nothing to sell.

If you fit a particular group, the Small Business Administration may have a program tailored for you. More than 100 Women’s Business Centers offer business training and counseling to women. The agency funds 31 Veterans Business Outreach Centers. The Minority Business Development Agency runs minority business centers that help local owners access capital. If the Minority Business Development Agency operates a Business Center in your town, its staff can help you apply for loans and for federal, state and local grants.

Hardship Grants or Emergency Loans

If the problem is cash -- or the need is emergency -- check your state and city governments for hardship grants or emergency loans. Many agencies offer special programs after a crisis or natural disaster. Deadlines for help come quickly after a big disaster, and you have to be ready. Your state government may run special loan and grant programs for businesses that have been hit by fires, floods, and hurricanes.

Some companies reach out with hardship grants. Etsy, for instance, made CERF+ grants available to sellers hit by federally declared disasters over the previous year. DoorDash will take applications within 12 months of a disaster. The money is meant for local merchants, including restaurants. You get priority if your business was a DoorDash merchant.

The SBA typically does not directly give grants to small businesses, but it does make money available through nonprofits that administer the funding. Grants typically count as income, and you’ll pay income tax on them. Read the fine print before you spend the time applying, and get your paperwork in order.

Settle Your Tax Debt

If you owe the IRS, call the number on your tax notice or 800-829-4933. Or look up your closest taxpayer assistance center. A long-term payment plan costs a $29 setup fee online if the amount is deducted from a bank account. An Offer in Compromise lets you settle your tax debt for less than you owe. It costs $205 to apply, but it may be waived for low-income filers. The $205 fee is not returned if you are rejected.

If you’re stuck with the IRS, the agency has an independent group called the Taxpayer Advocate Service to help. There is an office in every state, and its services are free. You can also consider a Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic. The tax dispute typically has to be less than $50,000, but these clinics offer legal help for free or a small fee.

Hardship Accommodation

If you are paying on a COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan, you can ask the SBA for a hardship accommodation. Interest will continue to build, but your payments could be 50% less for six months.

While you look for help, the last thing you need is predatory people who want to make your situation worse. The Federal Trade Commission banned RAM Capital Funding, a merchant cash advance provider, and its owner from the industry and ordered them to pay $675,000 over deceptive tactics used against small businesses.

Start with the IRS or its Taxpayer Advocate Service if your problem is taxes. Reach out to the SBA if your hardship stems from an SBA loan. If you have been hit by a hurricane, flood, or similar disaster, your state’s economic development office is best. If you are unsure where to start, contact your nearest Small Business Development Center or SCORE.

If none of this is enough, there is a Subchapter V bankruptcy that is tailored for small businesses. The debtor limit to be eligible for the Subchapter V small-business Chapter 11 is $3,424,000. At the end of the day, you may have to consult a bankruptcy attorney to work out a strategy. First, get yourself organized and pick one free place you’re going to call this week.