Louisiana Business Startup Guides
Opening a Business in Bossier City, Louisiana
Contemplating starting a business in Bossier City, Louisiana? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Bossier City.
Are You Sure You Want to Do This?
Before you get too far along in the process, assess your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
With so much at stake when you start a business, we strongly recommend you do the following before you proceed:
- Grab a meal or cofee with other entrepreneurs in Bossier City. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
- Take a look at The Entrepreneurial Personality. It's a short article but it's a good reality check for those are about to jump into the world of entrepreneurship.
- Reach out to a trusted acquaintance. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.
Bossier City, Louisiana Demographic Information
Bossier City has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Bossier City demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Bossier City.
Businesses
As a new Bossier City entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Bossier City 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.
Businesses
What About Franchising Opportunities?
Browse the Yellow Pages for Bossier City and you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. Evidently, there must be some significant advantages to purchasing a franchise.
We advise the entrepreneurs we work with to consider franchising as an option. To help you learn more about franchising, we've gathered a ton of articles on franchising, including Franchising and Veterans. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.
To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.
Sample franchise opportunities include DirectBuy and Juice It Up Franchise Corp.. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Car Wash Franchises and Healthy Alternative Foods Franchises.
Note on Bossier City Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Bossier City.
Picking a Company Name
Making the right decision when choosing a company name is very important. There are many decisions you'll make now that you can change later, but changing a company name years down the road is not very easy. So, choose a good company name at the outset.
Even if the name doesn't do it by itself, many naming experts believe there should be a story behind the name that ties into your company mission.
For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Naming a Company.
On a final note, given that you are starting a business in Bossier City, it's very important that you make sure no Louisiana company has already registered the company name you have selected.
Forming a Company in Bossier City, Louisiana
It's very important that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will insulate you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.
When forming a company, you will decide among many company types, such as 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 Louisiana, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Louisiana. In fact, 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. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Bossier City, Louisiana, our web page covering Incorporating in Louisiana may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Louisiana.
Don't Forget to Create a Business Plan
Writing a business plan is essential in maximizing the prospects of your new company. In effect, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Not having a business plan will greatly reduce your chances of business success.
To learn more about business plans, read Free Business Plan Templates. You can also get free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Louisiana.
Promoting Your New Company
Whether your goal is to attract Bossier City customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you need a solid marketing plan.
There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Billboard Advertising Best Practices is a good read to get your marketing ideas flowing. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Next Steps
You have a dream -- starting a business in Bossier City. 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 Bossier City and throughout the United States . We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Bossier City entrepreneur who is just getting started or you are already up and running with your new venture.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Bossier City, Louisiana
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Bossier City.
- Resources for Bossier City, Louisiana Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Bossier City entrepreneurs.
- Louisiana Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Louisiana.
- Louisiana Small Business Development Center - The Louisiana Small Business Development Center (LSBDC Network) provides low- or no-cost guidance and training for small business owners and potential owners.
More Startup Articles for Louisiana Cities
Starting a Business in Bogalusa
Starting a Business in Boutte
Browse All Business Startup Guides for Louisiana
Starting a Business Guides for Other States
Share this article
Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs