Wisconsin Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Beloit, Wisconsin

Thinking about starting a business in Beloit, Wisconsin? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Beloit.

Beloit, Wisconsin Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
3828
5-9 Employees
1665
10-19 Employees
1107
20-49 Employees
891
50-99 Employees
216
100-249 Employees
171
250-499 Employees
63
500-999 Employees
9
1000+ Employees
9
All Beloit Businesses
7959

As a new Beloit entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Beloit 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
3
Art Dealers
1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
9
Baked Goods Stores
1
Barber Shops
3
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
3
Boat Dealers
1
Book Publishers
1
Book Stores
3
Bowling Centers
2
Business Associations
4
Cafeterias
1
Car Washes
2
Child and Youth Services
2
Child Day Care Services
16
Civic and Social Organizations
9
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
2
Commercial Lithographic Printing
5
Computer and Software Stores
1
Computer Systems Design Services
1
Construction Sand and Gravel Mining
1
Consumer Lending
3
Convenience Stores
3
Court Reporting and Stenotype Services
1
Credit Unions
6
Diet and Weight Reducing Centers
1
Digital Printing
1
Directory and Mailing List Publishers
1
Discount Department Stores
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
20
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
6
Electric Power Distribution
4
Electronic Shopping
1
Elementary and Secondary Schools
1
Engineering Services
5
Exam Preparation and Tutoring
1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
1
Family Clothing Stores
1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
5
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
3
Floor Covering Stores
5
Florists
5
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
2
Food Service Contractors
1
Fossil Fuel Electric Power Generation
3
Freight Transportation Arrangement
1
Fruit and Vegetable Canning
1
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
1
Full-Service Restaurants
33
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
3
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers
1
Furniture Stores
3
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
1
Glass and Glazing Contractors
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
3
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Graphic Design Services
1
Hand and Edge Tool Manufacturing
2
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
1
Hardware Stores
2
Historical Sites
1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
1
Home Health Care Services
1
Homes for the Elderly
6
Household Appliance Stores
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
20
Investment Advice
1
Janitorial Services
8
Jewelry Stores
1
Landscaping Services
7
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
33
Locksmiths
1
Machine Shops
8
Mail-Order Houses
1
Marketing Consulting Services
2
Masonry Contractors
5
Mattress Manufacturing
1
Meat Processed from Carcasses
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
1
Motorcycle Dealers
1
Museums
1
Musical Groups and Artists
1
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
2
Natural Gas Distribution
1
New Car Dealers
3
Nursing Care Facilities
3
Office Administrative Services
2
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
1
Offices of Bank Holding Companies
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
4
Offices of Chiropractors
5
Offices of Lawyers
12
Offices of Optometrists
1
Offices of Other Holding Companies
4
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
3
One-Hour Photofinishing
1
Optical Goods Stores
1
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
1
Paint and Coating Manufacturing
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
2
Paper Industry Machinery Manufacturing
1
Paperboard Mills
1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
2
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
2
Photography Studios, Portrait
2
Prepress Services
1
Quick Printing
2
Radio Stations
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
3
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
1
Residential Property Managers
1
Retail Bakeries
2
Roofing Contractors
3
Rooming and Boarding Houses
2
Savings Institutions
1
Sawmills
1
School and Employee Bus Transportation
1
Securities Brokerage
3
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
2
Shoe Stores
3
Siding Contractors
5
Sign Manufacturing
1
Site Preparation Contractors
2
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
2
Solid Waste Collection
1
Spice and Extract Manufacturing
2
Sporting Goods Stores
1
Sports Teams and Clubs
1
Tax Preparation Services
5
Taxi Service
1
Telecommunications Resellers
1
Telemarketing Bureaus
1
Temporary Shelters
1
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
1
Tire Dealers
3
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
4
Tobacco Stores
1
Tradebinding and Related Work
1
Travel Agencies
3
Used Car Dealers
1
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
2
Used Merchandise Stores
2
Vending Machine Operators
1
Veterinary Services
2
Video Tape and Disc Rental
5
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
4
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
1
Women's Clothing Stores
1
Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing
2

Should You Buy an Existing Beloit Business?

We've created a helpful website page for those who want to Buy a Business in Wisconsin. Follow that link and you might discover several good businesses for sale in Beloit.

For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: How to Buy a Business.

Forming a Company in Beloit, Wisconsin

It's essential that you form your business as a legal structure. Among other things, forming a legal entity for the business limits your liabilities.

When forming a company, you will decide among many company types, such as a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.

Incorporating is a very popular way to form a business. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in Wisconsin, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Wisconsin. As it turns out, you can incorporate wherever you want. However, if you do incorporate in another state, you'll have to register as a foreign corporation in your home state.

There are many nuances to forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as C Corp Versus S Corp. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Beloit, Wisconsin, our web page covering Incorporating in Wisconsin may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Wisconsin.

The Role of the Business Plan

A business plan is critical to the health of your new business. Indeed, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Starting a business without a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Mistakes. A great resource for business planning assistance is the face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Wisconsin.

Marketing Your New Business

To grow your Beloit business, you need a excellent marketing plan.

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Marketing Versus Sales discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.

Learning More About Entrepreneurship

Good entrepreneurs recognize that what they know now may not be enough to ensure their future success.

As an entrepreneur who lives in Beloit, Wisconsin, you should investigate some of the learning programs at local Wisconsin educational institutions. You should also check if there are any Beloit networking organizations.

Moving Forward

Most new Beloit businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.

We are here to help Beloit businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Beloit, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Beloit, Wisconsin

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

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