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Salt Lake County has several offices that give small business owners free advice. The SBA has its Utah office downtown on State Street, and its partner offices do the one-on-one work. This guide lists where each one is, what it helps with, and which one to call.
The U.S. Small Business Administration's Utah District Office is at 125 S. State St., Suite 2227, in Salt Lake City (801-524-3209), open weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It handles SBA loan programs, contracting certifications and disaster help, but for one-on-one advice most owners go to an SBA partner: the Salt Lake SBDC at Salt Lake Community College's campus at 9750 S 300 W in Sandy (801-957-5441), SCORE Utah's free volunteer mentors (385-212-4777), or the Women's Business Center of Utah at 201 S Main Street (801-328-5066). The SBDC, SCORE and the Women's Business Center all say their one-on-one advising is free.
Most owners call the SBA first and then get pointed somewhere else. The district office runs programs. The one-on-one help comes from the partner offices it funds.
If you need someone to sit down with your numbers, your business plan or a loan package, call the Salt Lake SBDC. If you want an experienced owner or executive to talk to every month for as long as you run the business, ask SCORE Utah for a mentor. If you are a woman starting or growing a business, the Women's Business Center of Utah does advising and classes built for you. If you would rather work in Spanish, or your shop is on the west side, the Suazo Business Center at 960 W 1700 S teaches classes in both English and Spanish. If you want to sell to the military or a government agency, call the Utah APEX Accelerator. Call the SBA district office itself when the question is about an SBA program: a loan guarantee, a contracting certification, or disaster assistance.
| Office | Address | Phone | Cost of advising | Go here for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SBA Utah District Office | 125 S. State St., Suite 2227, Salt Lake City | 801-524-3209 | Government office | SBA loan programs, contracting certifications, disaster help, referrals |
| Salt Lake SBDC (Salt Lake Community College) | 9750 S 300 W, Sandy | 801-957-5441 | Free, per its site | Business plans, financing and SBA loan packaging, marketing |
| SCORE Utah | Remote chapter, Salt Lake City 84101 | 385-212-4777 | Free, per its site | A volunteer mentor matched by ZIP code |
| Women's Business Center of Utah | 201 S Main Street #2300, Salt Lake City | 801-328-5066 | No cost, per its site | Advising and training for women business owners |
| Suazo Business Center | 960 W 1700 S, Salt Lake City | 801-521-1709 | Ask when you call | Classes and advising in English and Spanish |
| Utah APEX Accelerator | Statewide, regional managers | 801-538-8655 | Free, per its site | Government contracts and SAM.gov registration |
The SBA's Utah District Office is at 125 S. State St., Suite 2227, Salt Lake City, UT 84138. The phone is 801-524-3209 and the office is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed on federal holidays. It serves all 29 counties in Utah. To set up an appointment, the SBA asks you to use the "Send us a message" form on its Utah page rather than walking in.
The office lists four things it helps with: SBA funding programs, counseling, federal contracting certifications, and disaster recovery. It also refers owners to partner organizations and lenders, which is how most people end up at the SBDC or SCORE.
The most common misunderstanding is about loans. The SBA's 7(a) page says the agency does not make 7(a) loans directly to borrowers, and that you will always work with your lender and not with the SBA. A bank or credit union makes the loan and the SBA guarantees part of it, up to a $5 million maximum. The SBA also backs microloans of $50,000 or less and 504 loans, which are long-term, fixed-rate loans made through Certified Development Companies. If you want an SBA loan, get your financials in order, often with SBDC help, then talk to a lender that makes SBA loans.
The Small Business Development Center for the Salt Lake area is hosted by Salt Lake Community College at 9750 S 300 W in Sandy. The phone is (801) 957-5441 and the office is open weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Jim Herrin is listed as director. If you live in Sandy, Draper or South Jordan, it is a short drive. If you are downtown, you can meet online.
The Utah SBDC calls itself a free and confidential resource for business consulting, training and access to capital. Its consultants help with business plans and financial projections, SBA loan packaging and cash flow, market research and online marketing, government contracting paperwork, and exporting. Training is listed as free and low cost, including an Entrepreneur Academy.
You are not locked into one center. The SBDC says you can sign up at whichever of its 10 centers is most convenient, and meetings can be in person or online. Owners in Bountiful or Farmington may find the Davis Tech center in Kaysville (450 S Simmons Way, Suite 100, 801-643-0424) closer, Tooele County owners have a center at Tooele Technical College (88 S Tooele Blvd, 435-248-1892), and the Utah Valley University center in Orem (815 W 1250 S, 801-863-8230) covers Utah and Wasatch counties.
SCORE Utah is the state chapter of SCORE, whose mentors are experienced business people who volunteer their time. The chapter lists its address as remote, Salt Lake City, UT 84101, so there is no office to walk into. You request a mentor on the SCORE Utah site by entering your ZIP code, and the chapter matches you. The chapter phone is (385) 212-4777.
The chapter's page says mentoring is always free, for the life of your business, and that it serves Salt Lake County along with the rest of the state. SCORE fits the owner who wants a regular sounding board: someone who has run a restaurant or a contracting company and will look at your pricing or hiring plan once a month. The chapter also runs workshops listed on its calendar.
The Women's Business Center of Utah (WBCUtah) is at 201 S Main Street #2300, Salt Lake City, UT 84111, with a second office in Cedar City. Its contact page lists (801) 328-5066 and [email protected], with hours Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is a nonprofit tied to the Salt Lake Chamber and is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the SBA.
Its advising page says one-on-one advising is offered at no cost, in virtual sessions. You fill out a one-time sign-up form, then book a session through its online eCenter, which also opens up its live trainings and Online Academy. Advising is available on evenings or weekends, and Spanish translation is available on request. The center's classes cover business plans, marketing and finances, and it keeps a Utah Women-Owned Business Directory.
The Suazo Business Center is at 960 W 1700 S in Salt Lake City, on the west side, with a second office in Ogden and virtual services across Utah. It is open Monday and Thursday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and closed Fridays. The phone is (801) 521-1709.
Its courses run in English and Spanish, and the advisors work in the client's language. Advising covers starting a business, registrations, professional licenses and access to capital. It does not post prices on its home page, so ask about cost when you call. For an owner in West Valley City or on the west side of Salt Lake City who wants to work in Spanish, start here.
If you want to sell to the military, a federal agency, the state or a city, the Utah APEX Accelerator is the free office for it. It used to be called PTAC, is run by the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity, and is funded in part by the Department of Defense. The state says its offices offer free one-on-one counseling on finding, bidding on and winning government contracts. That includes SAM.gov registration, which every federal contractor needs, and bid-matching emails that send you contracts in your line of work. Reach the team at [email protected] or 801-538-8655. The SBA district office handles federal contracting certifications, and the SBDC also helps with SAM registration and capability statements.
Salt Lake City runs its own Department of Economic Development, reachable at (801) 535-7200 or [email protected]. Its Economic Development Loan Fund lends to businesses inside city limits, with each loan approved by the City Council. Recent ones it has announced include $75,000 for Policy Kings Brewery at 79 W 900 South, $100,000 for The Goat Head restaurant at 702 S 300 East, and $350,000 for the Frontier Fruit taproom in the Ballpark neighborhood. If your business is in Salt Lake City proper, ask the department about the fund.
Grants and business licenses are their own topics: grant programs each have their own rules and deadlines, and every city in the county runs its own license office. The SBDC and the Suazo Business Center both help with registration paperwork.
These offices can help you write a marketing plan, but none of them will run your ads. Our guide to where to advertise in Salt Lake City compares the options, from KSL to billboards, and our list of Salt Lake City marketing agencies covers the firms that do it for you.
We sell one of those options. The Salt Lake Valley is a free newsletter that goes to about 2,400 Salt Lake County subscribers every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The Neighbor plan is $179 a month for a written shout-out in two issues, The Closer is $149 a month for the closing spot in four issues, and a featured event is $59. A Local Directory listing is $49 a month, and a job post on our jobs board is $49 for 30 days. The plans are on our advertising page. If you want to use AI for the busywork these offices won't do for you, like drafting product descriptions or answering email, our free AI 101 class is built for local owners.