Start a New Business in Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania Business One-Stop Shop is a state office equipped with knowledge, information, and resources for businesses both large and small. Serving as the first point of contact for Pennsylvania business development concerns, its team helps connect and guide businesses through all stages of development — from planning and startup to operating and expanding. Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur or existing business, they provide complete, customer-focused service backed by firsthand knowledge and experience.

The Pennsylvania Business One-stop Shop helps you plan and start your business; register your business to make it official; operate your business with the required taxes, reporting and licenses; grow your business by accessing resources to help your business thrive; and take advantage of the benefits of being a Pennsylvania business.

Phone: 833-722-6778

Pennsylvania Business One-Stop Shop website

The Pennsylvania SBA is supported by main district offices in King of Prussia and Pittsburgh, as well as additional locations in Harrisburg and Wilkes-Barre. 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 King of Prussia office serves Bucks, Berks, Carbon, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia, Schuylkill, and York counties.

The Pittsburgh office serves Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Bedford, Blair, Butler, Cambria, Cameron, Centre, Clarion, Clearfield, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Fayette, Forest, Greene, Indiana, Jefferson, Lawrence, McKean, Mercer, Somerset, Venango, Warren, Washington, and Westmoreland counties.

The Harrisburg location serves Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata, Mifflin, Northumberland, Perry, Snyder, and Union counties.

The Wilkes-Barre location serves Bradford, Clinton, Columbia, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Lycoming, Montour, Pike, Potter, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Wayne, and Wyoming counties.

Examples of educational programs and events include Keeping Yourself Legal, Pinterest for Beginners, Financial Matters for Startups, and Fundamentals of Marketing.

King of Prussia district office:
660 American Avenue
Suite 301
King of Prussia, Pennsylvania 19406
Phone: 610-382-3062

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania SBA website

Pittsburg district office:
3 Parkway Center
Suite 375
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15220
Phone: 412-395-6560

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania SBA website

Harrisburg location:
2601 North Third Street
Suite 503
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17110
Phone: 717-782-3840

Wilkes-Barre location:
Phone: 610-382-3062

The Women's Business Enterprise Center – East (WBEC-East) is an advocate for women business owners and entrepreneurs in Pennsylvania, from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, as well as Delaware and Southern New Jersey. They provide the most relied upon certification standard for women-owned businesses, as well as entrepreneurial training and education to help them succeed.

As a regional partner organization of the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), WBEC-East facilitates WBENC Certification, which validates that a business is at least 51 percent owned, controlled, operated, and managed by a woman or women. This certification standard is accepted by more than 1,000 corporations representing America's most prestigious brands, in addition to many states, cities and government entities.

WBEC-East also provides educational, networking, procurement-related, and informational programs and services that foster growth and business opportunities between certified women's business enterprises (WBEs) and purchasing entities, including major corporations and government agencies.

123 South Broad Street
Suite 500
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19109
Phone: 215-790-9232

Women’s Business Enterprise Council WBEC-East website

Women’s Business Network (WBN) provides access to experts in a wide variety of business fields including legal, financial, business services, retail, insurance, real estate, and more.

With a reach that spans six counties in southwestern Pennsylvania, WBN has more than 20 chapters. Each WBN member has access to every other member in all chapters.

WBN is proud to support the growth of women business owners and professionals through its network of chapters and variety of business expertise.

Pittsburgh and locations throughout Pennsylvania
Phone: 412-254-3592

Women’s Business Network website

The Women's Opportunities Resource Center (WORC) promotes social and economic self-sufficiency primarily for economically disadvantaged women and their families. WORC provides training, individual business assistance, incentive savings program, job placement, and access to business and financial resources.

The Women's Opportunity Resource Center and its subsidiary, the Economic Opportunities Fund (EOF), is a certified Community Development Funding Institution (CDFI) that provides low-income and under-served Philadelphians with access to capital and financial services. WORC empowers clients to develop personal economic development strategies and to grow their small businesses by providing the capital, business development assistance, specialized workshops, seminars, and one-on-one consultations with industry experts entrepreneurs needed for economic success.

2010 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103
Phone: 215-564-5500

Women’s Opportunities Resource Center WORC website

Pennsylvania Women Work is a nonprofit workforce development organization dedicated to helping individuals find financial stability.

It empowers women by helping them gain long-term career stability and financial independence, advance in their careers, and achieve self-sufficiency through life-changing career development programs and mentorship.

Free programs are designed to serve a wide range of clients including women reentering the workforce, single mothers, refugees, immigrants, and more. PA Women Work offers events and workshops that provide useful information and support to help clients fulfill their personal and professional goals.

​​5607 Baum Boulevard
Suite 333
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15206
Phone: 412-742-4362

Pennsylvania Women Work website

NAWBO Greater Philadelphia propels women entrepreneurs into economic, social and political spheres of power worldwide by:

• Strengthening their wealth creating capacity and promoting economic development within the entrepreneurial community

• Creating innovative and effective change in the business culture

• Building strategic alliances, coalitions and affiliations

• Transforming public policy and influencing opinion makers

NAWBO seeks full participation by all business owners who support the organization’s mission to empower women entrepreneurs, regardless of race, religion, age, sexual orientation, national origin or disability.

1231 Highland Avenue
Fort Washington, Pennsylvania 19034

NAWBO Greater Philadelphia website

Pennsylvania SBDC provides educational programs and no-cost, confidential consulting services and training for small business owners and entrepreneurs looking to start or grow their small business. SBDC consultants work with entrepreneurs in confidential, one-on-one sessions to help them with a range of business issues including testing a new business proposition, shaping a business plan, investigating funding opportunities, and much more.

Pennsylvania SBDC
Kutztown University
DeFrancesco Building, Suite 120
College Boulevard
Kutztown, Pennsylvania 19530

The Pennsylvania SBDC has a statewide network of 15 centers to serve all 67 counties.

Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers SBDC website

SCORE Pennsylvania includes a group of experienced business volunteers who guide entrepreneurs looking to start a small business or assist existing small business owners in improving their profitability.

Volunteers are experts with experience in areas such as accounting, finance, human resources, consulting, import/export, law, operations, production, retail, wholesale, manufacturing, sales, marketing, management, business plan preparation, strategic planning, and many other business disciplines.

The organization provides:

• Volunteer business experts who share their expertise across many industries

• Free, confidential business mentoring in person, via email or by video

• Free business tools, templates, and tips

• Inexpensive or free business workshops and webinars

SCORE Central Pennsylvania in State College
Phone: 1-800-634-0245

SCORE Pennsylvania website

SCORE Central PA serves Centre, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Crawford, Erie, Forest, Huntingdon, Jefferson, Lycoming, Mercer, Mifflin, Warren, and Venango counties.

SCORE Susquehanna serves Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Perry, and York counties.

SCORE Northeast Pennsylvania serves Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, Stroudsburg and Honesdale.

SCORE Berks and Schuylkill Counties serves Berks and Schuykill counties.

SCORE Lehigh Valley serves Lehigh, Northampton, and Carbon counties.

SCORE Lancaster-Lebanon serves the Lancaster-Lebanon area.

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 Funding Resources website

Women’s Opportunities Resource Center offers loans, investment products, and services to low-income and underserved populations in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area looking to start or expand their businesses, with a special focus on women and minorities. WORC products include:

• Credit Builder Loans up to $2,500

• Direct Loan $1,000 to $2,500

• Small Business Loans up to $10,000

• Credit Line up to $20,000

• Expansion Loans up to $50,000

• Real Estate Loans for Business Property up to $250,000

Assistance is also available for developing a business plan, financial projections, market access, graphic design, and professional services like legal, accounting, and more.

2010 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103
Phone: 215-564-5500

Women’s Opportunities Resource Center WORC Loan Programs website

The PA Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) oversees the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) in Pennsylvania. PA-SSBCI includes three programs to support private financing for small businesses.

Loans for small businesses are available through SSBCI Program Administrators.

Equity investments in existing and emerging technology companies provide seed and later-stage capital.

Commonwealth Keystone Building
400 North Street
4th Floor
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120

Pennsylvania State Small Business Credit Initiative website

The Wharton School’s Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program has the formula to accelerate your business. You will learn how to:

• Pick the right business model using the disruptive model, the architecture model, the value chain model, and the efficiency model to help you decide.

• Build the right team based on the three Rs of relationships, roles, and rewards. Topics include allocating equity, founder’s agreements, hiring key management, and finding technical resources.

• Choose the right financing approach by learning about the various financing pathways available and the tradeoffs for each type. Topics include equity financing valuations, equity financing terms, and term sheets.

• Ramp up sales and scale the business by understanding the importance of creating a growth culture and different expansion strategies, such as vertical and horizontal expansion.

The Wharton School
3733 Spruce Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
Phone: 215-898-2575

University of Pennsylvania Wharton School Entrepreneurship Acceleration website

Carnegie Mellon turns researchers, hackers, hustlers, and designers into successful entrepreneurs.

• Get classroom instruction through the Donald H. Jones Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, part of the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship.

• Project Olympus, The Incubator Program, bridges the gap between cutting-edge university research and economy-promoting commercialization for the benefit of our communities.

• Work on your startup venture out of an interdisciplinary and collaborative entrepreneurship space at the Swartz Center.

• Corporate Startup Lab pairs teams of graduate students with companies looking to be more entrepreneurial.

• CMU Tech and Entrepreneurship Alumni focus on connecting the community, building an entrepreneurial culture, and providing resources for the community to succeed.

• Curriculum, speakers, and programming are available to support and grow the Carnegie Mellon and Pittsburgh-area Family Business Leaders.

• Entrepreneurship through Acquisition planning journey is available.

• Step out of the classroom and into your own real-world startup with the Swartz Center's many experiential learning programs

• Enhance the experiential education for any individual interested in innovation and entrepreneurship with the CONNECTS event series.

• Tepper/Swartz DEI Outreach Initiative delivers programs to support family owned businesses.

• Swartz Center Entrepreneurs-in-Residence are mentorship resources for students and alumni.

• Explore and engage with the multiple makerspaces on campus and discover how you can bring your idea and product to life.

Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship
Tepper Quad, 3rd Floor
4765 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213

Carnegie Mellon University Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship website

The Penn State Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIENT) major is designed for students interested in starting and managing new businesses, as well as students interested in managing innovation and re-inventing current businesses, with the intent of growing the economy and providing jobs for a diverse workforce.

The CIENT major is designed to develop problem solving and creative thinking skills, along with the ability to spot trends, recognize opportunities, and develop plans to capitalize on high-potential ideas.

202 Business Building
University Park, Pennsylvania 16802
Phone: 814-863-1947

Penn State Smeal College of Business Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship website

Central Penn Business Journal is the place business leaders turn for news and insights about how to succeed in the constantly evolving business industry.

CPBJ is a multimedia news source that publishes a regular print and online edition and breaks news daily on its website. In addition, Central Penn Business Journal publishes special focus sections and products throughout the year including Reader Rankings, Fastest Growing Companies and Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania. Central Penn Business Journal also honors leading Pennsylvanians through several annual awards events including Healthcare Heroes, Women of Influence, and Forty Under 40.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Phone: 717-236-4300

Central Penn Business Journal website

Covering business news in Dauphin, Cumberland, Lebanon, Lancaster and York counties.

Pennsylvania Business Report is a daily source for news about the latest business and policy developments that serve as a catalyst for economic growth in the state of Pennsylvania.

Its team of experienced journalists deliver topical articles on issues that shape the business climate and impact the wide array of industries and businesses operating in Pennsylvania.

800 New Jersey Avenue SE
#705
Washington, DC 20003
Phone: 202-660-1429

Pennsylvania Business Report website

Pennsylvania Business Central is the #1 B2B resource in Central Pennsylvania, reaching readers in 23 counties each month. It provides a targeted audience of C-Level executives, chamber of commerce members, business owners, entrepreneurs, and market managers. Each issue is filled with industry lists, regional news, press briefings, and leads and contacts.

1001 University Drive
State College, Pennsylvania 16801
Phone: 814-278-1320

Pennsylvania Business Central website