Missouri Business Startup Guides
Open a Business in Columbia, Missouri
Need help starting a business in Columbia, Missouri? We've got the information you need to open a business in Columbia.
Are You Ready for Life as an Owner?
Most new businesses do not succeed, in part because the founder did not have the entrepreneurial skills and traits needed to succeed. So, before you start your business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.
Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Columbia. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
- 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. Ask them directly: Do I have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Listen carefully to their answer, as they presumably know your strengths and weaknesses.
What Business to Start
An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. To stir your creative juices on what kind of business to start, take a look at Free Business Ideas.
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 Starting an Ornamental Shrub & Tree Services Business guide or our Opening a Sound Level Testing Business guide.
Remember that starting a business in Columbia has some implications. Some businesses will do better in Columbia than others. Make sure you fully understand Columbia demographics before you lock in on your business idea.
Columbia, Missouri Demographic Information
Columbia has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Columbia demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Columbia.
Businesses
As a new Columbia entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Columbia 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
The Role of the Business Plan
A business plan is essential in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Simply put, 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 Contests. A great resource for business planning assistance is the face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Missouri.
Marketing Your New Venture
To rise above the crowd in Columbia and advance your business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.
There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Advertising on Google 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 taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Building Up Your Sales
Mastering the art of selling is priority one if you want your new Columbia business to do well.
Why should customers buy from you instead of buying from competitors? Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.
Selling Stuff on the Web is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.
Never Give Up
Most new Columbia 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.
Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Columbia and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Columbia, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Columbia, Missouri
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Columbia.
- Resources for Columbia, Missouri Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Columbia entrepreneurs.
- Missouri Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Missouri.
- Missouri Small Business Development Center - Missouri Small Business Development Center business specialists are uniquely qualified to help small businesses get started, develop and thrive.
Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Missouri
Starting a Business in Clinton
Starting a Business in Concordia
Browse All Business Startup Guides for Missouri
Starting a Business Guides for Other States
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