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No one knows the ins and outs of planning and running a business better than people who have done it. And most businesspeople are happy to share their experience and expertise, as long as you don’t plan on becoming a competitor! Many are even willing to mentor first-time entrepreneurs. Don’t be afraid to turn to a seasoned veteran for advice if you run into questions you can’t answer or run out of ideas to get your business off the ground.

Finding expert advice is surprisingly easy. The first place to look is in your own contact list. You may have an easier time getting help from someone you already know on a personal level. Ask your friends and colleagues for suggestions. Other good places to look for help are the local Chamber of Commerce, a nearby college or university (the local junior college might have an evening course on business start-ups), or the business section of your favorite news source. And don’t forget one other invaluable location that we should all hope never disappears: your friendly local library. The pros there can usually point you to a mass of relevant data specific to your inquiry. These sources are not limited to the United States; like nearly everything else, mentoring has gone global. For example, in the UK the British Library has excellent help for folks seeking start-up advice; see www.bl.uk/business-and-ip-centre/about.

Of course, you may end up paying for expert advice. Nothing odd about that — in fact, there’s a whole industry out there ready and willing to help. When you really need a lifeline, the advice could be well worth it. Later on, your advisers may pay you back by becoming your mentors or advocates, cheering on your business as you search for funding or those elusive first customers.

Choose experts with experience in a business similar to the one you’re planning. After you identify a person, decide exactly what kind of assistance you need. You can’t ask someone to plan your whole business for you, after all. But you can ask them to fine-tune the look of your web page, for example, or review and critique your financial projections.

Retired businesspeople represent a rich — and underused — source of expertise. By default, they have more experience than almost anyone else, and they often look for ways to use their experiences to help others. Contact the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), a nationwide organization that works with the Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide help to business owners. SCORE (www.score.org) has a free online newsletter and provides free email counseling. The group also has local chapters around the country, with retired businesspeople ready and willing to help.