Entrepeneurs and Small Businesses
Are you a small business seeking mentorship, training and expertise?
Small businesses are the backbone of Rhode Island’s economy—sparking growth, creating opportunity, and driving innovation. The Small Business HUB exists to make sure you don’t have to do it all alone. Whether you’re just starting out or ready to scale, we connect you with the resources, expertise, and support needed to bring your vision to life and build a thriving business for the future.
Getting started is easy — fill out a form with basic information about your business and the service you are requesting. This can be anything from technical assistance to a request to join one of our professional development programs for small business owners. A program coordinator will connect with you to guide you through our process, assist you with any documentation, learn more about your business goals, and create an action plan tailored to your needs.
We’ll match you to an in-house expert who can address your business’ technical assistance needs, or match you to a training program to help you ramp up your business operations and achieve your goals.
Get to work on your business and receive one-on-one business support training and professional development through the RI Small Business HUB.
Your journey doesn’t end when you complete one of our programs. As part of our HUB network, we’ll continue to support your growth with a customized plan that provides access to ongoing trainings, networking opportunities, and resources to help your business scale.
The Rhode Island Small Business HUB (HUB) is a one-stop-shop for entrepreneurs and small business owners to access helpful information, advice, and assistance on various topics, such as business planning, financing, marketing, legal, and more. The HUB is designed to be user-friendly and easy to navigate, allowing users to quickly find the information they need to help them achieve their business goals. The HUB is managed by Skills for Rhode Island’s Future.
The HUB is designed specifically to help start, grow, and scale small businesses in Rhode Island. We have a network of partners you can access, plus the HUB provides consultative services to assist your business in critical services such as legal, bookkeeping, marketing, technology, and human resources. A full list of services can be found on our website www.risbHUB.com. By taking advantage of these resources, small business owners can increase their chances of success and achieve their goals more quickly and effectively.
No, you don’t have to pay for our services; our services are free to all qualified RI small businesses. To see if you qualify for the HUB services, we encourage you to connect with our team. Call us at 401-BIZ-2222 (401-249-2222).
Yes, we have on-site staff and resources available to help you get started. We provide free one-on-one business counseling and can help you with registering your business, financial analysis, business planning, market research, and more.
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Yes, the HUB believes Rhode Island nonprofit organizations are small businesses and provide critical employment and economic opportunities for our local and state communities. All services available to small businesses also include nonprofit organizations.
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To receive support from the HUB, you must be or plan to be an established small business in Rhode Island, which means you are either registered in Rhode Island or plan to launch your business in Rhode Island. If you have an e-commerce business that is based in Rhode Island, this qualifies as having a “physical presence.”
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Yes, our services are linguistically and culturally relevant, additionally the HUB has team members that are multi-lingual. All materials and resources for HUB services and programs will be immediately available in English and Spanish, plus other languages upon request. The HUB may use third party translation services for languages other than English and Spanish.
Yes, we provide accommodation for business owners with disabilities. We encourage you to contact a program coordinator by calling 401-BIZ-2222 (401-249-2222) to discuss your needs.
You can complete a contact request form online at https://www.risbHUB.com/contact or call us at 401-BIZ-2222 (401-249-2222). If you contact us online, a HUB team member will follow-up to schedule a time to discuss your ideas and needs.
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If the services you need are outside of the list of services advertised, we encourage you to contact us. Our HUB team will work with you to see if there may be services available to you with one of our program partners or other agencies in Rhode Island supporting small businesses.  
If you have additional questions that may not have been answered under this FAQ, please contact a HUB team member by calling 401-BIZ-2222 (401-249-2222) or email us risbHUB@skillsforri.com.