South Dakota Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Clark, South Dakota
Thinking about starting a business in Clark, South Dakota? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Clark.
Are You Sure You Want to Do This?
Before quitting your day job, take inventory of your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
Because entrepreneurship is not for everyone, we recommend you do the following to help you assess whether you should move forward with starting a business:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Clark. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
- We recommend reading Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.
Clark, South Dakota Demographic Information
Clark has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Clark demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Clark.
Businesses
As a new Clark entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Clark 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 Franchise?
Browse the Yellow Pages for Clark and you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. But is franchising the right option for you?
We highly recommend you evaluate the possibility of your buying a franchise opportunity. We have many articles on franchises, such as Buying an Existing Franchise. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.
A comprehensive list of franchisors is available via our List of Franchise Opportunities.
Representative franchise opportunities include Rocky Rococo Pan Style Pizza & Pasta and Dent Doctor. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Child Care Franchises and Cleaning and Maintenance Franchises.
Note on Clark Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Clark.
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.
Company names need to be easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and easy to remember.
For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Branding Advice.
On a final note, given that you are opening a business in Clark, it's very important that you make sure no other South Dakota company is using the business name you want to use.
Forming a Company in Clark, South Dakota
A critical step is ensuring that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will protect you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.
The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.
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 South Dakota, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in South Dakota. In fact, you are allowed to 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 Offshore Company Formation. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Clark, South Dakota, our information on Incorporating in South Dakota may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in South Dakota.
Getting Money to Start a Business
Getting your Clark business the capital it needs to succeed is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. If you don't have a rich uncle to fund you, you'll need to be creative in how you approach your fundraising efforts.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as How Equity Dilution Works.
For Clark entrepreneurs who need startup capital, check out our List of South Dakota Angel Investors and our List of South Dakota Venture Capital Firms.
Next Steps
You have a dream -- starting a business in Clark. 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 Clark and throughout the United States . We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Clark 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 Clark, South Dakota
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Clark.
- Resources for Clark, South Dakota Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Clark entrepreneurs.
- South Dakota Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in South Dakota.
- South Dakota Small Business Development Center - The South Dakota Small Business Development Center (SBDC) helps new South Dakota entrepreneurs realize their dream of business ownership and assists existing businesses in their efforts to remain competitive.
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