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🇺🇸 For people on unemployment in the US

Start your business without risking your benefits.

Self-Employment Assistance in five states, SSDI and SSI work rules everywhere: we find what applies in your state, plan the money and guide you to your first customers.

Sign up freeSee how it works
Always free
  • No card needed
  • No trial that runs out
  • No hidden charges
  • 5 statespay unemployment while you build (SEA)
  • $50,000SBA Microloan
  • 9 monthsSSDI trial work period

Schemes

Official schemes in the US

  • Keep an incomeJob search required

    Unemployment insurance while you look for work

    Your state pays unemployment insurance while you look for work. You search for work every week and report any earnings. In most states, starting to run a business ends your eligibility, so use this time to plan, and ask about Self-Employment Assistance if your state has it.

    What is this, and what do I have to do? →
    • Weekly work search is required; how many contacts depends on your state
    • Report all earnings every week when you certify
    • In most states self-employment means you are not unemployed: Pennsylvania counts the “first positive step”, such as advertising or buying equipment
    • Fraud adds a penalty of at least 15% on top of repaying the overpayment
    Official siteChecked Sep 25, 2026
  • Keep an income

    SSDI trial work period (self-employed)

    Keep your full SSDI while you test a business for 9 trial months within a rolling 5 years. For the self-employed, a trial month is net earnings over $1,210 or more than 80 hours in the business (2026).

    • 9 trial months within a rolling 60-month window
    • Then 36 months when SSDI is paid for any month below substantial gainful activity ($1,690 in 2026)
    • SSA judges self-employment on the value of your work, not profit alone
    • Report your work and earnings to SSA
    Official siteChecked Sep 25, 2026
  • Advice & support

    PASS: Plan to Achieve Self-Support (SSI)

    Set money aside for a business under an SSA-approved plan and SSI doesn’t count it, so your SSI can go up (to a federal maximum of $994 a month in 2026). A business goal needs a full business plan.

    • Written plan approved by SSA (form SSA-545) and a separate account
    • Start-up costs can cover the first 18 months of the business, or longer if needed
    • No fixed time limit; reviewed at least once a year
    • Business property doesn’t count towards SSI’s $2,000 resource limit
    Official siteChecked Sep 25, 2026
See all 13 options
  • Advice & support

    Ticket to Work

    Free, voluntary support for people aged 18 to 64 on SSDI or SSI to work, including self-employment, through Employment Networks or state Vocational Rehabilitation.

    • Help Line: 1-866-968-7842
    • You make “timely progress” under your plan
    • Services come from Employment Networks or VR
    Official siteChecked Sep 25, 2026
  • GrantCheck first

    State Vocational Rehabilitation: self-employment

    If you have a disability and self-employment is your goal, your state VR agency can fund business planning, equipment and start-up costs. Caps and rules vary by state.

    • Federal rules count self-employment as an employment outcome
    • Market analysis and business plan help, then purchases under your Individualized Plan for Employment
    • Caps, matching and waitlists vary by state
    • Veterans with a service-connected disability: the VA VR&E Self-Employment track
    Official siteChecked Sep 25, 2026
  • Loan

    SBA Microloan

    Loans of up to $50,000 (about $13,000 on average) through nonprofit lenders, repaid within 7 years, often with business training.

    • Up to $50,000; about $13,000 on average
    • Up to 7 years to repay; the lender sets the rate within SBA caps
    • Not for existing debt or real estate
    • SBA gives no start-up grants: treat “free government grant” offers as a scam signal
    Official siteChecked Sep 25, 2026
  • Advice & support

    SBDC, SCORE and Women’s Business Centers

    Free business advice and mentoring near you: Small Business Development Centers, SCORE volunteer mentors, Women’s Business Centers and Veterans Business Outreach Centers.

    • Free or low-cost, before you start and after
    • SCORE mentors by email, phone or video
    • Veterans and military spouses: Boots to Business
    Official siteChecked Sep 25, 2026
  • Advice & support

    SNAP and Medicaid work rules when self-employed

    Hours on your business count towards the new SNAP and Medicaid work requirements, so log them. Medicaid expansion adults need 80 hours or $580 a month of net income, from 1 January 2027 at the latest.

    • SNAP adults without young children: 80 hours a month, now up to age 64
    • Medicaid expansion adults aged 19–64: 80 hours or $580 net a month (earlier in some states, e.g. Nebraska from May 2026)
    • CMS counts starting or running a business as work
    • Property essential to your self-employment doesn’t count towards SNAP resources
    Official siteChecked Sep 25, 2026
  • Keep an incomeJob search until approved

    Self-Employment Assistance Program (SEAP), New York

    Keep your weekly unemployment benefit while you start a business full time, with no work search and business income not deducted. You need 13+ weeks of benefits left, a profiling score of 50 or more, and written acceptance before you start.

    What is this, and what do I have to do? →
    • Weekly amount = your unemployment benefit ($140 to $869 in 2026)
    • Up to 26 weeks of unemployment and SEAP combined in your benefit year
    • At least 20 hours of entrepreneurial training and 2 meetings with a business counselor
    • Once per lifetime; the law is due to end on 7 December 2027 unless renewed
    Official siteChecked Sep 25, 2026
  • Keep an incomeJob search until approved

    Self-Employment Assistance, Oregon

    Keep your weekly unemployment benefit and what your new business earns, with no work search, if you’re a dislocated worker unlikely to return to your old job.

    What is this, and what do I have to do? →
    • Weekly amount = your unemployment benefit ($211 to $902 in 2026)
    • Within 45 days of acceptance: business ID, EIN and business plan
    • Doesn’t extend your claim: it ends when your benefits run out
    • Call 503-947-1800 to start; cannabis businesses are excluded
    Official siteChecked Sep 25, 2026
  • Keep an incomeJob search until approved

    Self-Employment Assistance Program, Mississippi

    Keep your weekly unemployment benefit while you work full time on a new business, with training and no work search. Self-employment earnings are reported but not deducted.

    What is this, and what do I have to do? →
    • Weekly amount = your unemployment benefit ($30 to $235 in 2026)
    • Up to 26 weeks, ending when your benefits run out
    • 40+ hours a week on the business and training
    • Apply online or email msseap@mdes.ms.gov
    Official siteChecked Sep 25, 2026
  • Keep an incomeJob search until approved

    Pathway to Work (self-employment), New Hampshire

    Keep your weekly unemployment benefit while you work full time on a new business, with training and SBDC counseling, no work search, and business income not deducted. Apply early: within 60 days of your first claim.

    What is this, and what do I have to do? →
    • Apply within 60 days of your first claim, with at least 18 weeks of benefits left
    • Weekly amount = your unemployment benefit (up to $427 in 2026); counts against your 26 weeks
    • Start with the mandatory orientation at a local NHWorks office, bringing form NHES 0401
    • Places are capped at 2.5% of claimants
    Official siteChecked Sep 25, 2026
  • Keep an incomeJob search until approved

    Self-Employment Assistance Program (SEAP), Washington

    Train full time with an approved SEAP provider while on unemployment, with work search waived for up to 52 weeks. Unlike other states, your net self-employment earnings are reported and can reduce your benefit.

    What is this, and what do I have to do? →
    • Work search, availability and job-refusal rules waived for up to 52 weeks
    • Net self-employment earnings are reported; 40+ hours a week in the business counts as not unemployed
    • Profile score above 30.6 (2026 applicants) or eligible for Commissioner-Approved Training
    • Keep searching for work until approved (3 to 5 weeks)
    Official siteChecked Sep 25, 2026

Summaries are simplified. Always check the official source before you apply.

Start a business on unemployment: your stateSee what your state allows, and what Self-Employment Assistance adds up to.

Your state

Unemployment and other support are run by each state.

Looking for work as well?Your unemployment work search log, done in minutesMake the job search easy

Your plan, step by step

We hold your hand from idea to first customer

Eight stages, in order. Each step says what to do and why, gives you the tool for the job (free first) and keeps your budget and benefit right.

  1. Get set up

    Keep your income safe and make time for the business.

  2. Shape your offer

    Know what you sell, who it’s for and what it costs.

  3. Fund it

    Know what you can spend, and claim the support you’re entitled to.

  4. Get online

    A website, your own domain and a proper email. Every business needs them.

  5. Show up on social

    Be where your customers already are, without it eating your day.

  6. Find customers

    Start conversations and make it easy to say yes.

  7. Get paid properly

    Tell the right people, take money safely and keep records.

  8. Grow with others

    You don’t have to do this alone.

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Tools

The right tools for what you’re building

Websites, design, AI assistants, bookings, shops and bookkeeping, matched to your goal and budget. Free tiers first.

  • Website

    • CarrdFree
    • FramerFree
    • Squarespace

  • Design

    • CanvaFree
    • FigmaFree

  • AI assistant

    • ClaudeFree
    • ChatGPTFree

  • Bookings

    • Online shop

      • Shopify
      • Square OnlineFree

    • Bookkeeping

      • Google SheetsFree

    • Email list

      • MailerLiteFree
      • beehiivFree
      • KitFree

    • Business bank

      • Revolut Business

    Some tool links are affiliate links. If you sign up through one we may earn a fee. It never changes your price or what we recommend.

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    FAQ

    Questions, answered

    Is it really free?

    Yes. No card, no subscription and no hidden charges, now or later. We’re paid small commissions when you choose a tool we recommend, at no extra cost to you.

    Are you part of the government?

    No. We are an independent service. We link to the official source for every scheme, and your benefit office always has the final say.

    Will starting a business affect my benefit?

    Usually it has to be reported. We show you when, and we never suggest hiding income or activity.

    What happens to my data?

    In this early version your plan is stored only in your browser. When accounts launch, we will ask before storing anything.

    Your scheme is the start. Let’s build the rest.

    Two minutes to a plan you can act on today.

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    Always free
    • No card needed
    • No trial that runs out
    • No hidden charges