Minnesota Business Startup Guides
Open a Business in Brainerd, Minnesota
Need help starting a business in Brainerd, Minnesota? We've got the information you need to open a business in Brainerd.
Choosing the Right Company to Start
An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. If you are struggling with what type of business to start, read Evaluating Your Idea.
For in-depth how-to guides on how to start specific businesses, browse our Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Opening a Music Composers' Supplies Business guide or our How to Start a Sewing Contractors Business guide.
Remember that you are starting a business in Brainerd. Some businesses will do better in Brainerd than others. Study Brainerd demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.
Brainerd, Minnesota Demographic Information
Brainerd has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Brainerd demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Brainerd.
Businesses
As a new Brainerd entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Brainerd 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
Should You Buy an Existing Brainerd Business?
If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Minnesota. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Brainerd.
If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: Buying a Business.
Choosing 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.
Pick a company name that isn't too generic. If you do a search engine search for your proposed name and a billion results come up, you may want to reconsider the name. It's much easier to come up in the search engines when your name is fairly unique.
Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Naming a Company.
There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are planning on starting a business in Brainerd, it's imperative that you check now that no other Minnesota company is using the business name you want to use.
Do You Need a Business Plan?
A business plan is vital in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Simply put, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Starting a business without a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
If you want more information on writing business plans, we recommend reading Business Plan Contests. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Minnesota.
Letting the World Know You Exist
Whether your goal is to attract Brainerd customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.
We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Marketing Research discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Increase Your Entrepreneurial Knowledge
Good entrepreneurs know that they don't know everything.
Given that you are starting a business in Brainerd, Minnesota, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Minnesota universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also wise to see if there are any Brainerd networking organizations.
Never Give Up
Most new Brainerd businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Brainerd and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Brainerd 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 Brainerd, Minnesota
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Brainerd.
- Resources for Brainerd, Minnesota Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Brainerd entrepreneurs.
- Minnesota Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Minnesota.
- Minnesota Small Business Development Center - The Minnesota Small Business Development Centers provide no-cost, professional business consulting to Minnesota small businesses covering a variety of business needs.
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