Start a New Business in Kansas

Whether your business is getting started, making changes, growing or expanding, the Kansas Business One Stop is your one-stop-shop for interacting with Kansas government.

This is an inter-agency collaborative between the Kansas Department of Agriculture, Kansas Department of Commerce, Kansas Department of Labor, Kansas Department of Revenue, and Kansas Secretary of State.

Kansas Business One Stop website

Kansas is committed to the development of a comprehensive network to support research and facilitate commercialization across the state with a variety of tools to promote new technology for companies, whether they are in the early stages of their business or more mature in their operations.

Start in Kansas includes a large variety of statewide resources, Wichita regional resources, and Kansas City metro resources.

1000 Southwest Jackson
Suite 100
Topeka, Kansas 66612
Phone: 785-296-3481

Kansas Department of Commerce Start in Kansas website

The Kansas SBA is supported by two district offices, with a total of three offices across Kansas and Missouri. They provide services including funding programs, counseling, federal contracting, certifications, and disaster recovery. They can also connect you to partner organizations, lenders, and other community groups that help small businesses succeed.

The district office in Wichita serves Barber, Barton, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cheyenne, Clark, Clay, Cloud, Comanche, Cowley, Decatur, Dickinson, Edwards, Elk, Ellis, Ellsworth, Finney, Ford, Geary, Gove, Graham, Grant, Gray, Greeley, Greenwood, Hamilton, Harper, Harvey, Haskell, Hodgeman, Jewell, Kearny, Kingman, Kiowa, Lane, Lincoln, Logan, Lyon, Marion, McPherson, Meade, Mitchell, Morris, Morton, Ness, Norton, Osborne, Ottawa, Pawnee, Phillips, Pratt, Rawlins, Reno, Republic, Rice, Riley, Rooks, Rush, Russell, Saline, Scott, Sedgwick, Seward, Sheridan, Sherman, Smith, Stafford, Stanton, Stevens, Sumner, Thomas, Trego, Wabaunsee, Wallace, Washington, and Wichita counties.

The district office in Kansas City serves Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Bourbon, Brown, Cherokee, Coffey, Crawford, Doniphan, Douglas, Franklin, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Labette, Leavenworth, Linn, Marshall, Miami, Montgomery, Nemaha, Neosho, Osage, Pottawatomie, Shawnee, Wilson, Woodson, and Wyandotte counties in Kansas and Adair, Andrew, Atchison, Bates, Buchanan, Caldwell, Carroll, Cass, Chariton, Clay, Clinton, Cooper, Davies, DeKalb, Gentry, Grundy, Harrison, Henry, Holt, Howard, Jackson, Johnson, Lafayette, Linn, Livingston, Mercer, Nodaway, Pettis, Platte, Ray, Saline, Sullivan, and Worth counties in Missouri.

The SBA office in Springfield serves Barry, Barton, Benton, Camden, Cedar, Christian, Dade, Dallas, Douglas, Greene, Hickory, Howell, Jasper, Laclede, Lawrence, McDonald, Morgan, Newton, Ozark, Polk, Pulaski, St. Clair, Stone, Taney, Texas, Vernon, Webster, and Wright counties in Missouri.

District office:
220 West Douglas Avenue
Suite 450
Wichita, Kansas 67202
Phone: 316-269-6616

Kansas Small Business Administration SBA Wichita District Office website

District office:
1000 Walnut Street
Suite 500
Kansas City, Missouri 64106
Phone: 816-426-4900

Kansas Small Business Administration SBA Kansas City District Office website

Additional office:
901 E. Saint Louis Street
Suite 704
Springfield, Missouri 65806
Phone: 417-501-0542

The mission of the Women’s Business Center is to develop, counsel and mentor women in all stages of business development and growth. This is done through classes, seminars, peer roundtables, one-on-one consultation, networking and referrals. Women entrepreneurs are also educated on sources of funding that include micro-loans and angel funding through the Women’s Capital Connection.

Although the office is located in Kansas, the Women's Business Center team serves the entire metropolitan area of Kansas City, advising women-owned businesses on both sides of the state line.

The Women’s Business Center offers a variety of programs and services for women who have an idea, want to test the feasibility of it and potentially develop it into a business. Many additional workshops and seminars are open to the general public, including both male and female entrepreneurs.

6405 Metcalf Avenue
Building #3
Suite 318
Overland Park, Kansas 66202
Phone: 913-492-5922

Kansas Women’s Business Center website

The WBDC Kansas office in Overland Park supports and accelerates business development and growth, targeting women and serving all diverse business owners.

Coaching and education services include strategic one-on-one and group business advising, specialized cohort-based curricula and workshops, and digital learning.

Contract assistance is available for private sector procurement opportunities, public sector contracting assistance, and WBE (Women's Business Enterprise) certification.

Capital-related services include financial education, debt and equity placement, direct lending, and Kiva microlending.

6405 Metcalf Avenue
Suite 318
Overland Park, Kansas 66202
Phone: 312.853.3477 x 400

Women’s Business Development Center WBDC website

NetWork Kansas is devoted to the growth of entrepreneurship and small businesses throughout the state of Kansas, providing a central portal that connects entrepreneurs and small business owners with the right resources— expertise, education, and economic assistance. In pursuit of this mission, they partner with well-respected business development organizations and educational institutions that work with entrepreneurs and small business owners who have the vision and potential to succeed. The result is a seamless system that accelerates economic and community development in Kansas.

P.O. Box 877
Andover, Kansas 67002
Phone 877-521-8600

NetWork Kansas website

Kansas SBDC provides services and training for every stage of business including, Start-Up, Loans and Grants, Marketing and Sales, HR and Employees, Accounting and Sales Tax, Exit and Transition, Strategic Planning, Government Contracting and Inclusion, and Business Protection.

Kansas SBDC can help Kansas businesses up to 500 employees and they do it in a confidential and judgment free manner.. There is no cost for a majority of services.

Eight regional offices and several outreach centers are spread across Kansas and located in Hays, Garden City, Dodge City, Liberal, Wichita, Emporia, Topeka, Manhattan, Wetmore, Lawrence, Overland Park, Pittsburg, and Independence.

Kansas SBDC Statewide Central Office
800 Southwest Jackson Street
Topeka, Kansas 66612
Phone: 800-949-7661

Kansas Small Business Development Center website

NAWBO KC helps local women win in business and life. It brings together women in business to learn, connect and grow. Whether you are launching your business, scaling up, or expanding beyond your wildest dreams, you will enjoy fresh, educational programming, access to peer support groups and professional mentoring, national opportunities, and more.

NAWBO Kansas City website

SCORE provides a wide range of services to established and budding business owners alike, including:

• Free Mentoring: Access free, confidential business mentoring in person or remotely via email, phone and video.

• Webinars and Courses: SCORE regularly offers Free online events on topics ranging from startup strategies to marketing and finance are available as live programs or online recordings.

• Library of Online Resources: An extensive collection of guides, templates, checklists, blogs, videos, infographics, and more provide the most relevant and current educational content to help small business owners and entrepreneurs succeed.

Greater Wichita
220 West Douglas
Suite 450
Wichita, Kansas 67202
Phone: 316-239-1131

SCORE Wichita website

The U.S. Small Business Administration helps small businesses get the funding they need. Funding resources include:

• Loans: Start or expand your business with loans guaranteed by the SBA.

• Investment capital: Find an investor for your business. Investors make both debt and equity investments.

• Disaster assistance: Get help after a disaster with low-interest disaster loans.

• Surety bonds: Protect your work and your client with an SBA-guaranteed surety bond.

• Grants: Look for government grants that help businesses do scientific research and development.

U.S. Small Business Administration website

The Small Business R&D Acceleration Grants are designed to assist Kansas small businesses in advancing a product or service to commercialization; modifying a product or service to enter a new market; or gaining a new client by leveraging higher education facilities, equipment and expertise.

This grant program partners smaller businesses with Kansas public higher education institutions who will support the business through engagement and mutual benefit. Prospective grant recipients who work with a public higher education institution to conduct research and development can receive a 50/50 matching grant up to $25,000 for research and development cost at the public institution.

1000 Southwest Jackson
Suite 100
Topeka, Kansas 66612
Phone: 785-296-3481

Kansas Department of Commerce Small Business R&D Acceleration Grants website

Whether you want to launch a new venture, already have your own venture, or just have an interest in entrepreneurship, the KU School of Business is the destination for students wanting to develop their entrepreneurial skills.

Beyond the classroom, co-curricular programs allow you to gain hands-on experience advancing ventures, providing advising and consulting solutions to clients, and assisting retiring entrepreneurs in the Midwest with selling their businesses.

Capitol Federal Hall
1654 Naismith Drive
Lawrence, Kansas 66045
Phone: 785-864-7500

University of Kansas School of Business website

Students majoring in entrepreneurship learn about generating innovative ideas and testing their feasibility.

Management theory along with coursework on specific topics to apply in a business plan make up the foundation of the major. Also included is coursework in web design, accounting, finance, marketing, and business law.

You will learn:

• Innovation: define and evaluate the needs, problems, and demands of a market for product, service, and process opportunities.

• Planning: through a written business plan to evaluate business models and validate their components.

• Viability: measure the ability to start and grow a business, helping it to thrive through analyzing and planning accounting and financial strategies in the business model, as well as risks and rewards.

• Critical thinking: apply strategic thinking to make connections between quantitative and qualitative tools, theories and context to solve problems and provide business vision.

• Interpersonal and leadership skills: foster teamwork, secure stakeholders and team members who are effective at pursing ideas that add societal value.

School of Business Administration
2030 East College Way
Olathe, Kansas 66062
Phone: 913-971-3573

MidAmerica Nazarene University College of Arts and Sciences for Entrepreneurship website

Courses focus on developing an entrepreneurial mindset that includes a set of skills necessary to be successful in any profession today whether you decide to start a new business or work for an existing organization.

You can choose to pursue an Entrepreneurship and Innovation Major or Minor or take a class or two to learn how the entrepreneurial mindset will benefit you in your career.

College of Business Building
1301 Lovers Lane
Manhattan, Kansas 66506
Phone: 785-532-6180

Kansas State University College of Business Administration Center for the Advancement of Entrepreneurship website

Thinking Bigger serves growth-minded small business owners and entrepreneurs with the resources, people, tools and information they need to lead their businesses to the next level.

You’ll find solid advice on finance, sales, marketing, technology, management, business law, regulatory issues, legislation, HR, business expansion and other facets of running a company. Plus you’ll learn the fascinating, real-life stories of entrepreneurs who have succeeded at business — and find out how they did it.

Thinking Bigger website

TK Business Magazine is a bi-monthly publication that shines a light on entrepreneurs and business professionals in Topeka. The magazine’s focus is on growth, innovation, leadership, and the heart of the entrepreneur that inspires others to follow their dreams while sharing the truths of the journey.

7512 South West Falcon Street
Topeka, Kansas 66610

TK Business Magazine website

Wichita Business Magazine targets growth-minded business owners, entrepreneurs and professionals who are looking for strategies, resources and inspiration to grow to the next level. We publish several types of articles, ranging from practical “how to” strategy articles to full-length features spotlighting successful businesses, owners and professionals, and tackling topics and issues relevant to business in Wichita.

Phone: 316-706-0178

Wichita Business Magazine website