Indiana Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Columbia City, Indiana

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

Do You Have What It Takes?

Before quitting your day job, assess your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.

While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:

  • Talk to other entrepreneurs in Columbia City. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful 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. A support network of family and friends can be a great sounding board for good advice before you decide for sure to go into business.

What Business to Start

There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? We recommend that you read Good Business Ideas.

For step-by-step instructions on starting a variety of business types, visit the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Starting a Hermetic Seals Business guide or our How to Start a Truck Washing & Cleaning Equipment & Supplies Business guide.

Remember that you are starting a business in Columbia City. Some businesses will do better in Columbia City than others. Make sure you fully understand Columbia City demographics before you lock in on your business idea.

Columbia City, Indiana Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
1602
5-9 Employees
588
10-19 Employees
408
20-49 Employees
246
50-99 Employees
102
100-249 Employees
42
250-499 Employees
36
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Columbia City Businesses
3024

As a new Columbia City entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Columbia 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.

Business Type
# of
Businesses
Adhesive Manufacturing
1
Aluminum Extruded Product Manufacturing
1
Aluminum Foundries (except Die-Casting)
1
Amusement Arcades
1
Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
1
Baked Goods Stores
1
Beauty Salons
6
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
2
Book Stores
1
Business Associations
4
Car Washes
1
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
1
Collection Agencies
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
1
Computer Systems Design Services
2
Consumer Lending
2
Copper Rolling, Drawing, and Extruding
1
Court Reporting and Stenotype Services
1
Credit Unions
4
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
1
Direct Title Insurance Carriers
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
3
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
3
Electric Power Distribution
1
Electrical Contractors
8
Electronic Auctions
1
Engineering Services
3
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
1
Family Clothing Stores
1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
2
Finish Carpentry Contractors
3
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
3
Floor Covering Stores
2
Florists
2
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
1
Framing Contractors
1
Freight Transportation Arrangement
2
Full-Service Restaurants
16
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
2
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers
1
General Automotive Repair
6
General Freight Trucking, Local
2
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Rental Centers
2
General Warehousing and Storage
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
3
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
2
Graphic Design Services
1
Hardware Stores
1
Heating Oil Dealers
2
Heavy Duty Truck Manufacturing
1
Household Appliance Stores
3
Industrial Launderers
1
Industrial Mold Manufacturing
2
Interior Design Services
2
Iron and Steel Mills
1
Iron Foundries
1
Janitorial Services
7
Jewelry Stores
1
Land Subdivision
1
Landscape Architectural Services
1
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
1
Libraries and Archives
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
16
Logging
1
Machine Shops
5
Mail-Order Houses
1
Meat Markets
1
Metal Stamping
1
Metal Tank (Heavy Gauge) Manufacturing
1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
1
Motorcycle Dealers
1
New Car Dealers
4
Newspaper Publishers
2
Office Administrative Services
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
5
Offices of Chiropractors
1
Offices of Dentists
5
Offices of Lawyers
5
Offices of Optometrists
3
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
1
Periodical Publishers
1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
2
Photography Studios, Portrait
1
Precision Turned Product Manufacturing
1
Professional Employer Organizations
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
1
Real Estate Credit
2
Reinsurance Carriers
1
Residential Remodelers
6
Roofing Contractors
1
Savings Institutions
2
Sawmills
1
Shoe Stores
1
Site Preparation Contractors
5
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
2
Solid Waste Collection
1
Tax Preparation Services
1
Telecommunications Resellers
1
Temporary Help Services
1
Tire Dealers
2
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
2
Used Car Dealers
3
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
1
Used Merchandise Stores
2
Veterinary Services
2
Video Tape and Disc Rental
3
Voluntary Health Organizations
1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
3
Women's Clothing Stores
1

Should You Franchise?

As you drive around Columbia City, 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. On our site, you can read many articles about franchising, such as Buying an Existing Franchise. 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.

Representative franchise opportunities include California Quivers and Candy King. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Auto Rental Franchises and Modeling Franchises.

Note on Columbia City Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Columbia City.

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Columbia City Business?

An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Indiana. Follow that link and you can assess several good businesses for sale in Columbia City.

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

Getting the Word Out About Your New Company

To rise above the crowd in Columbia City and advance your business, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your successs.

We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Advertising Campaigns is a good read to get your marketing creativity flowing. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

The Art of Selling

Being able to sell is a key enabler to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Columbia City or are selling to customers throughout Indiana, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.

So what does it take to bring in more prospects and close more business? The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.

Closing Sales Techniques is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.

Now It's Up To You

You have a dream -- starting a business in Columbia 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 Columbia City and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Columbia City, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Columbia City, Indiana

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

More Business Startup Guides for Indiana

Starting a Business in Cloverdale
Starting a Business in Columbus

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

 

 

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