Although Citrus Heights resident Gary Winter is just a few years from retirement, he’s not planning to leave his career behind when gets there. Instead, he’ll do what he’s been doing for most of the last decade, except he’ll be the boss.

To start putting his “retirement” plan together, Winter attended the second annual Small Business Resources Workshop March 24 at the Carmichael Park Club House, where roughly 75 existing and or future small business owners gathered to collect resources from county, state and federal officials about how to get help for everything from obtaining small business “micro” loans and tax help support, to the bidding process for county and federal contracts and how to get support for women- or minority owned companies, or those in underserved areas.

“I’m not retired yet, but when I do get there, I intend to launch my own company doing what I’ve always done,” said Winter, who plans to start up a mobile automotive performance service. One of the key questions on his mind at the workshop was how to get clearance to operate outside his resident city of Citrus Heights. He got that, and much more. “I didn’t realize how many resources there are out there for small companies,” said Winter.

The Small Business Resource Workshop was presented by State Assemblyman Ken Cooley, who kicked-off the event with an energetic push for supporting small businesses, saying they play a key role in driving the economic engine of all communities. “Dollars get spent. You put money in the pockets of employees, who then spend that money in their community, and that’s how communities grow,” Cooley said.

Perhaps one of the most daunting and oft-misunderstood agencies governing laws pertaining to small businesses is the State Board of Equalization, the state’s main governing agency over business tax reporting and licensing. To help demystify some of the issues was David Nelson, who told attendees that many entrepreneurs who set out on their own don’t always reach out to his agency for available help, often leading to their unnecessary failure.

“We don’t want anyone going out of business because they didn’t know about the resources available to them,” Nelson said.

In addition to providing free, online sellers permit applications, Nelson explained that the board of equalization can guide small business owners through the process of correctly reporting sales, even if they don’t have any, how to craft a solid business plan for potential funding or grant opportunities, and options for creating a financial roadmap for success.

“We are not in the business of justifying how much you do, but reporting what you do,” said Nelson.

Joe McClure, district director of the Small Business Administration (SBA) office in Sacramento explained how his agency works to secure micro and small business loans for start-ups of all sizes and focus, and then he cautioned borrowers about defaulting on an SBA loan. “If you don’t pay it back, we will find you,” McClure said.

For women and minority owned small business owners, and those from underserved communities, Deboarh Lowe Muramoto from California Capital Financial Development Corp. was on hand to discuss how her agency secured more than $30 million contracts last year for small businesses. In addition, the center provided roughly 200,000 hours of counseling to existing and would-be business owners, and served more than 3,500 in its bilingual training programs, she said.

One of the most important things a small business owner can do, Muramoto told the crowd, is learn how to effectively represent themselves in their community.

“We also offer classes in advocacy,” Muramoto said. “Advocating for yourself as a small business is critical.”