Texas Business Startup Guides
Start a Business in Corpus Christi, Texas
Are you starting a business in Corpus Christi, Texas? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Corpus Christi.
Are You Sure You Want to Do This?
Being an entrepreneur is hard work, much more challenging than working as an employee. Are you positive you want to start a business?
While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Corpus Christi. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
- We recommend reading Should You Become an Entrepreneur?. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Have a candid conversation with friends and family. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.
Corpus Christi, Texas Demographic Information
Corpus Christi has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Corpus Christi demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Corpus Christi.
Businesses
As a new Corpus Christi entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Corpus Christi 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
Is Franchising a Better Option?
Visit the business district of Corpus Christi and it's apparent that franchising has become a very popular way to start a business. But is franchising the right option for you?
Our advice is to investigate buying a franchise. On our site, you can read many articles about franchising, such as How to Find Financing for Franchises. 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 PostNet Postal & Business Services and Al & Ed's Autosound. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Consulting Franchises and Health Franchises.
Note on Corpus Christi Franchise Opportunities: To find out if a franchise you are interested in is available in Corpus Christi, you will need to get in direct contact with the franchisor.
Forming a Company in Corpus Christi, Texas
It's very important that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will shield 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.
Incorporation is a very common way to legally create a business entity. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in Texas, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Texas. 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 Nevada Incorporation. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Corpus Christi, Texas, our information on Incorporating in Texas may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Texas.
The Role of the Business Plan
Having a business plan is vital in laying a solid foundation for your business success. Simply put, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Failure to write a business plan makes you more prone to becoming a business failure statistic.
If you want more information on writing business plans, we recommend reading Business Plan Contests. You should also take advantage of face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Texas.
Startup Financing Basics
Getting your Corpus Christi business the capital it needs to succeed will be harder than you might expect. If you don't have a rich uncle to fund you, you'll need to be creative in how you approach your fundraising efforts.
Take advantage of our many articles on raising money, such as Microlending as a Small Business Funding Source.
For Corpus Christi entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, you'll want to take a look at our List of Texas Angel Investors and our List of Texas Venture Capital Firms.
Ramping Up Sales
Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Corpus Christi business, you need to focus on sales.
Not knowing how to sell can result in lost customers and minimal market share. The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.
Closing Sales Techniques offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.
Next Steps
As an entrepreneur in Corpus Christi, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Corpus Christi and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Corpus Christi, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Corpus Christi, Texas
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Corpus Christi.
- Resources for Corpus Christi, Texas Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Corpus Christi entrepreneurs.
- Texas Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Texas.
- Houston, Texas Small Business Development Center - Serving 32 counties in Southeast Texas through 14 business consulting and training centers, the Small Business Development Center Network contributes to the growth and prosperity of the Texas Gulf Coast communities.
- North Texas Small Business Development Center - The NTSBDC Network promotes small business success by providing management education.
- Northwest Texas Small Business Development Center - The Northwest Texas Small Business Development Center was established with Texas Tech University in 1986. This regional program serves over ninety thousand square miles including ninety-five counties with a population base of approximately 1.8 million people. This region is serviced by six centers located in Lubbock, Amarillo, Midland/Odessa, Abilene, Stephenville, and Wichita Falls.
- South-West Texas Border�SBDC Network Texas Small Business Development Center - The South-West Texas Border Small Business Development Center (SBDC) provides consulting and technical assistance to the small business community.
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