Athena International offers this help for women entrepreneurs through local chambers of commerce, attracting as many women entrepreneurs to its advisory board program as last year, Dianne Dinkel, president and CEO of Athena told the Wall Street Journal.

This is just one example of how entrepreneurs are seeking out guidance, but free advice is certainly on the list of good news for small business owners.

Some free advice offered by the March Group, a mergers and acquisitions advisory firm, is that entrepreneurs should look to buy an existing company as an alternative to operating a franchise or investing in a startup of their own.

"With an existing, nonfranchise business, all of the assets are in-house - long-term employees, established profit-making processes," the March Group said. The decision-making authority and independent management responsibilities are the pay-off.

But any business decision is full of risks, so entrepreneurs in the end are the ones reaping the rewards or holding the bag.