FREE · OPEN TO EVERYONE
Free resources for Houston businesses
& the marketers who grow them
Grants, funding, local programs, and the marketing tools the pros actually use — curated, current, and free to browse. No account needed. Join free to post and connect.
✨ FREE INTERACTIVE TOOLKITS
Not lists to read — tools you actually use. Plan your business step-by-step, get AI to do your work, and find the funding that fits you.
🚀
Start a Business in Houston
Your step-by-step roadmap — check off each step as you go.
Open →
🧠
AI Prompt Library
Copy-paste prompts that get AI to do your work. One click to copy.
Open →
🧭
Which AI Should You Use?
Answer 3 questions, get the right AI tool for the job.
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💰
Find Your Funding
Match your situation to Houston & Texas funding sources.
Open →
🚀 Start a Business💰 Funding & Loans🎓 Mentoring🧰 Jobs & Training🏠 Housing⚖️ Legal Help❤️ Health & Food🤖 Getting Started🙋 Personal Use💼 Business Use🧠 Pick the Right Model🔎 Research📊 Analytics🧲 SEO📍 Local SEO🎨 Design
🚀 Start a Business
★ Featured
Start a Business
Free federal EIN (tax ID) — IRS
Get your business's federal Employer ID Number straight from the IRS — free, online, in minutes. Never pay a third-party site for this.
irs.gov →
Start a Business
How to Register a Business in Texas: A Step-by-Step Guide
A practical walkthrough for registering any business structure in Texas—from sole proprietorships to LLCs and corporations. Covers filing steps, what each structure requires, and how to get compliant and operational.
Open →
Start a Business
Texas HUB certification — Comptroller
Historically Underutilized Business certification that opens state contracts to minority- and women-owned Texas businesses.
comptroller.texas.gov →
Start a Business
Texas sales-tax permit — Comptroller
Free Texas sales-and-use-tax permit, required to sell taxable goods or services. Apply directly with the state — no fee.
comptroller.texas.gov →
Start a Business
Register a Texas LLC — Secretary of State
Official state filing to form your LLC or corporation in Texas — the right way to start a business. File directly with the state.
sos.state.tx.us →
Start a Business
City of Houston — Office of Business Opportunity
MWBE / small-business certification that unlocks city contracts, plus the Hire Houston First program for local vendors.
houstontx.gov →
💰 Funding & Loans
★ Featured
Funding & Loans
LiftFund — Texas small-business microloans
Nonprofit lender offering microloans and small-business loans across Texas, including applicants banks turn down. Spanish support available.
liftfund.com →
★ FeaturedFunding & Loans
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
Federal small-business loans, disaster assistance, and free startup guides. The first stop for financing a Houston business.
sba.gov →
Funding & Loans
Where to Actually Find Houston Small-Business Grants
Real funding paths for Houston small businesses. No scams, no false hope—just the kinds of programs that exist, how to qualify, and where to look.
Open →
Funding & Loans
How to Get a Small Business Loan in Houston
A practical roadmap for Houston entrepreneurs seeking small business loans—covering SBA options, community lenders, banks, and what lenders actually look for.
Open →
Funding & Loans
Houston LISC
Grants, loans, and hands-on support for small businesses and affordable-housing developers across Houston.
lisc.org →
Funding & Loans
PeopleFund — Texas small-business loans
Nonprofit CDFI lender providing small-business loans and free coaching to Texas entrepreneurs, including those banks decline.
peoplefund.org →
🎓 Mentoring
Mentoring
Houston Public Library — free business resources
Free meeting rooms, business databases, and research help — a no-cost workspace and research desk for local entrepreneurs.
houstonlibrary.org →
Mentoring
UH Small Business Development Center
Free, confidential business advising and training from the University of Houston SBDC network — business plans, loans, growth.
uhsbdc.org →
Mentoring
SCORE Houston — free business mentoring
Free 1-on-1 mentoring from experienced Houston business owners, plus free local workshops. No cost, no catch.
houston.score.org →
🧰 Jobs & Training
Jobs & Training
Houston Community College — workforce training
Affordable workforce and continuing-education courses — trades, tech, healthcare, and small-business skills, close to home.
hccs.edu →
Jobs & Training
Workforce Solutions (Gulf Coast)
The region's workforce board: free job placement, training scholarships, and childcare assistance for working Houston families.
wrksolutions.com →
Jobs & Training
Texas Workforce Commission
Free hiring help, employee training grants, and job-seeker services. Useful whether you're hiring or looking.
twc.texas.gov →
🏠 Housing
Housing
Avenue — homebuyer & housing counseling
HUD-approved counseling in Houston: first-time-homebuyer classes, credit repair, and access to affordable homes.
avenuecdc.org →
Housing
Harris County Community Services Dept
Harris County rental, utility, and home-repair assistance programs for county residents who qualify.
csd.harriscountytx.gov →
Housing
BakerRipley — rent, utility & financial help
One of Houston's largest nonprofits: rental and utility assistance, free tax preparation, workforce programs, and senior services.
bakerripley.org →
Housing
Texas Dept. of Housing & Community Affairs (TDHCA)
Statewide housing assistance: rental help, down-payment and first-time-homebuyer programs, utility and weatherization aid.
tdhca.state.tx.us →
⚖️ Legal Help
❤️ Health & Food
Health & Food
Houston Food Bank
Find free food distributions across the Houston area, plus help applying for SNAP and other benefits.
houstonfoodbank.org →
Health & Food
Harris Health System (Gold Card)
Low-cost, sliding-scale healthcare for Harris County residents — including the uninsured — through the financial-assistance program.
harrishealth.org →
Health & Food
2-1-1 Texas / United Way HELPLINE
Dial 2-1-1 or search online for any local help in Houston — rent, food, utilities, childcare, healthcare. Free, confidential, 24/7.
211texas.org →
🤖 Getting Started
★ Featured
Getting Started
Run AI on Your Own Computer (Free & Private)
Want AI that's free, private, and works offline? You can install it on your own PC in about 15 minutes. A plain-English, step-by-step beginner guide.
Open →
★ FeaturedGetting Started
AI for Total Beginners: How to Start Today
New to AI? Start here. The three big chat assistants, how to sign up free, and how to actually get useful answers — no install, no jargon.
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Getting Started
How to Write AI Prompts That Actually Work
A no-fluff guide to writing AI prompts that deliver usable results. Practical structures and real examples for Houston business owners and marketers.
Open →
Getting Started
LM Studio
A friendly free app to run AI models locally — no command line needed.
lmstudio.ai →
Getting Started
Ollama
Free tool to download and run AI models privately on your own computer.
ollama.com →
Getting Started
ChatGPT
OpenAI's popular all-purpose AI chat assistant — the easiest place to start.
chatgpt.com →
🙋 Personal Use
Personal Use
Google Gemini
Google's AI assistant, built into Search, Gmail, and Docs.
gemini.google.com →
Personal Use
10 Real Ways to Use AI in Everyday Life
Beyond the hype — practical, everyday ways regular people use AI to save time at home, from meal plans to tricky emails to learning new things.
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💼 Business Use
Business Use
Is It Safe to Put My Business Data Into AI?
A practical guide for business owners on whether and how to safely use AI tools with sensitive business data—what generally happens to your information, which risks matter most, and how to protect yourself.
Open →
Business Use
Claude
Anthropic's AI assistant — strong at writing, analysis, and long documents.
claude.ai →
Business Use
AI for Small Business: Where It Pays Off First
Where AI actually saves a small business time and money first — customer replies, marketing content, summaries, and more. Practical starting points.
Open →
🧠 Pick the Right Model
★ Featured
Pick the Right Model
Which AI Model Should You Use? A Plain-English Guide
ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or a local model? A no-hype guide to picking the right AI for the job — writing, coding, research, images, or privacy.
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Pick the Right Model
The Best Free AI Tools for Small Businesses
Free AI tools that actually save small business owners time: text generation, image creation, data analysis, and customer service—without signing up for another subscription.
Open →
Pick the Right Model
Perplexity
An AI answer engine that cites its sources — great for research.
perplexity.ai →
🔎 Research
★ Featured
Research
Meta Ad Library
See every ad any competitor is running on Facebook & Instagram, right now, for free. The single best free competitive-research tool in marketing.
facebook.com →
Research
How Much Should a Small Business Spend on Ads?
A practical framework to set advertising budgets that match your business stage and goals—not industry guesses or random percentages. Covers revenue-based rules, CAC payback, and Houston-specific media options.
Open →
Research
Google Trends
Free, real-time view of what people are searching for and when. Spot seasonal demand and rising topics before competitors do.
trends.google.com →
📊 Analytics
🧲 SEO
📍 Local SEO
Local SEO
A Local SEO Checklist for Houston Businesses
A step-by-step checklist to improve your Houston business's visibility in local search results and Google Maps—no fabricated numbers, just the fundamentals that move the needle.
Open →
Local SEO
Google Business Profile
Free local listing that puts you on Google Maps and local search. For any business with customers in a city, this is non-negotiable.
google.com →
🎨 Design
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