CONTRIBUTED BY
BBB — CENTRAL AND
SOUTH ALABAMA
A thriving business community across Alabama founded on trust and ethics. That is one of the Better Business Bureau Serving Central and South Alabama’ visions. To ensure the Alabama business community continues to grow and to make that growth as easy as possible, BBB Serving Central and South Alabama has developed the Alabama Business License Resource Guide — a document that did not exist until now.
This interactive document outlines the process of getting a business license in more than 400 cities and towns across the State of Alabama. Currently, there is no universal process for obtaining business licenses around the state. BBB Serving Central and South Alabama saw that as the opportunity to develop this resource. The guide is a living document that will be updated frequently to ensure business owners have the tools they need to succeed.
“The last year and a half has been tough on everyone in Alabama,” said BBB Serving Central and South Alabama President and CEO Carl Bates. “The last thing business owners need right now is the added stress of tracking how, when and where to obtain a business license in different parts of the state.”
Not only does the document share the specifics on obtaining a business license in more than 80% of counties in the state, but it also links business owners to state agencies such as the Secretary of State’s Office, the Alabama Department of Commerce, Atlas Alabama and many others.
“The guide is going to be an excellent resource for the small business community,” said Manager of Alabama’s Office of Small Business Advocacy Eddie Postell. “The work that the Better Business Bureau has done to produce this particular resource is proving to be one of the most value-added items that I have seen in quite a while. It will ensure that small businesses will have a resource that will provide them with the ability to access licensing requirements wherever they are located throughout the State of Alabama. This is something that has been really needed, and there have been numerous attempts in the past to provide this information. However, the Better Business Bureau seems to be very well-suited to take on this particular task, and it is great to know they are going to be the repository for this information, as well as being able to continue to update the information so it is always updated and provided in a timely manner to the small business community.”
The easy-to-navigate guide can be accessed at wwwbbb.org/local/0463/csal-education-foundation/alabama-small-business-resources.html) on BBB.org. Better Business Bureau Serving Central and South Alabama is working to add the 13 remaining counties to the guide in the near future through a partnership with BBB serving North Alabama.
ABOUT BBB
For more than 100 years, the Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands and charities they can trust. In 2018, people turned to BBB more than 173 million times for BBB Business Profiles on nearly 5.4 million businesses and Charity Reports on 11,000 charities, all available for free at BBB.org. Incorporated locally in 1954, BBB Serving Central & South Alabama serves over 4,100 accredited businesses in 50 counties with offices in Birmingham and Mobile. The International Association of Better Business Bureaus is the umbrella organization for the local, independent BBBs in the United States, Canada and Mexico.