Colorado Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in Alamosa, Colorado

Are you starting a business in Alamosa, Colorado? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Alamosa.

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

Before quitting your day job, take inventory of your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.

To determine whether you have what it takes to run a business, we recommend these three steps to help you decide:

  • Speak with other entrepreneurs in Alamosa. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
  • You should read Business Failure. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
  • Involve a spouse, family member or trusted friend in the decision. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.

Alamosa, Colorado Demographic Information

Alamosa has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.

To give you a better feel for Alamosa demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Alamosa.

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
724
5-9 Employees
366
10-19 Employees
222
20-49 Employees
114
50-99 Employees
27
100-249 Employees
6
250-499 Employees
6
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Alamosa Businesses
1465

As a new Alamosa entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Alamosa for each business category. By looking at this chart, you can get a general sense for how much competition there is in the business niche that you are pursuing.

Business Type
# of
Businesses
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
1
Architectural Services
1
Art Dealers
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
2
Automotive Transmission Repair
2
Beauty Salons
1
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns
1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
3
Bowling Centers
2
Cable and Other Program Distribution
1
Car Washes
3
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
2
Child Day Care Services
3
Civic and Social Organizations
6
Community Food Services
1
Computer and Software Stores
1
Computer Systems Design Services
1
Construction Sand and Gravel Mining
1
Consumer Lending
1
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
1
Convenience Stores
1
Couriers
3
Credit Bureaus
1
Credit Unions
2
Dental Laboratories
1
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
1
Direct Title Insurance Carriers
1
Dried and Dehydrated Food Manufacturing
1
Electric Power Distribution
1
Electrical Contractors
5
Elementary and Secondary Schools
2
Emergency and Other Relief Services
1
Engineering Services
2
Family Clothing Stores
1
Family Planning Centers
1
Fine Arts Schools
2
Finish Carpentry Contractors
3
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
4
Floor Covering Stores
1
Florists
2
Food Service Contractors
2
Footwear Merchant Wholesalers
1
Full-Service Restaurants
18
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
2
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers
1
Furniture Stores
4
General Automotive Repair
3
General Freight Trucking, Local
3
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
2
Glass and Glazing Contractors
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Graphic Design Services
1
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
1
Hardware Stores
4
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
1
Home Health Care Services
1
Home Health Equipment Rental
4
Homes for the Elderly
1
Household Appliance Stores
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
13
Internet Service Providers
1
Janitorial Services
1
Land Subdivision
1
Landscaping Services
1
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
13
Linen Supply
1
Locksmiths
1
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
2
Meat Markets
1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
1
Motorcycle Dealers
1
New Car Dealers
2
New Housing Operative Builders
1
Newspaper Publishers
1
Office Administrative Services
3
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
4
Offices of Chiropractors
1
Offices of Dentists
8
Offices of Lawyers
17
Offices of Podiatrists
1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
2
One-Hour Photofinishing
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
1
Passenger Car Rental
1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
3
Political Organizations
1
Prepress Services
1
Radio Stations
2
Real Estate Credit
2
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
1
Residential Remodelers
1
Roofing Contractors
1
Savings Institutions
2
Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation
1
Securities Brokerage
1
Sewage Treatment Facilities
1
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
1
Shoe Stores
1
Siding Contractors
1
Solid Waste Collection
1
Sporting Goods Stores
2
Support Activities for Metal Mining
1
Tax Preparation Services
2
Testing Laboratories
1
Tire Dealers
2
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
1
Travel Agencies
2
Used Car Dealers
3
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
1
Veterinary Services
2
Video Tape and Disc Rental
3
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
5
Women's Clothing Stores
1

Forming a Company in Alamosa, Colorado

A critical step is ensuring that you are forming a legal entity that operates independently from you. Doing so will shield you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.

The entity you form can be a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.

Incorporating is a very popular way to form a business. A key decision is whether to form and S-Corp or a C-Corp, and you also must decide in which state you will incorporate. If you are starting a business in Colorado, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Colorado. As it turns out, you can incorporate in any state you would like to. For example, it's very popular to incorporate in Delaware, and incorporating in Nevada has become very trendy as well. Don't forget, though, that you will have to register as a foreign entity in all states that you do business in.

There are many nuances to forming a company. To learn the fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Registered Agents. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Alamosa, Colorado, our information on Incorporating in Colorado may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Colorado.

Startup Financing Basics

Getting your Alamosa business the capital it needs to succeed is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. To obtain business financing, you will need to hear a lot of rejections before you finally find a funding solution that works for you.

Take advantage of our many articles on raising capital, such as 504 Loans.

For Alamosa entrepreneurs with great ambition but a shortage of investment capital, check out our List of Colorado Angel Investors and our List of Colorado Venture Capital Firms.

Promoting Your New Company

Whether your goal is to attract Alamosa customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you need a solid marketing plan.

You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Writing Contributed Articles is a good read to get your marketing ideas flowing. That's just a taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

How to Improve Your Entrepreneurial Abilities

Good entrepreneurs recognize that they don't know everything.

With your business being located in Alamosa, Colorado, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Colorado universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Alamosa entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

Next Steps

You have a dream -- starting a business in Alamosa. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Alamosa and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Alamosa, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Alamosa, Colorado

Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Alamosa.

More Business Startup Guides for Colorado

Starting a Business in Akron
Starting a Business in Arvada

Browse All Business Startup Guides for Colorado
Starting a Business Guides for Other States

 

 

Share this article


Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs

Lists of Venture Capital and Private Equity Firms

Franchise Opportunities

Contributors

Business Glossary