Minnesota Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in Crookston, Minnesota

Are you starting a business in Crookston, Minnesota? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Crookston.

Choosing the Right Company 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 Finding Your Niche in Life.

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 an Air Freshener Business guide or our Starting a Trousers & Pants Retail Business guide.

Always keep in mind that you are opening your new business in Crookston. The business you want to start may already be well-represented in Crookston. Only by spending some time analyzing Crookston demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.

Crookston, Minnesota Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
768
5-9 Employees
396
10-19 Employees
216
20-49 Employees
156
50-99 Employees
24
100-249 Employees
30
250-499 Employees
24
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Crookston Businesses
1614

As a new Crookston entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Crookston 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
Aluminum Foundries (except Die-Casting)
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
2
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
3
Beauty Salons
5
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
1
Beet Sugar Manufacturing
1
Boat Dealers
1
Bowling Centers
1
Business Associations
1
Car Washes
2
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Civic and Social Organizations
3
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
1
Community Food Services
2
Computer and Software Stores
1
Computer Systems Design Services
2
Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers
1
Convention and Visitors Bureaus
1
Credit Unions
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
1
Dry Pasta Manufacturing
1
Electric Power Distribution
2
Electrical Contractors
1
Engineering Services
3
Family Clothing Stores
1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
2
Finish Carpentry Contractors
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
1
Flight Training
1
Floor Covering Stores
1
Food Service Contractors
1
Full-Service Restaurants
4
Furniture Stores
1
General Automotive Repair
4
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
2
Hardware Stores
1
Home Health Care Services
1
Homes for the Elderly
1
Household Appliance Stores
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
9
Janitorial Services
1
Jewelry Stores
1
Landscaping Services
5
Masonry Contractors
1
Meat Processed from Carcasses
1
Museums
1
New Car Dealers
3
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
2
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
2
Offices of Dentists
4
Offices of Lawyers
3
Offices of Optometrists
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
4
Photography Studios, Portrait
3
Radio Stations
1
Savings Institutions
1
Securities Brokerage
1
Site Preparation Contractors
3
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
2
Solid Waste Collection
1
Sporting Goods Stores
2
Tax Preparation Services
2
Tire Dealers
1
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
1
Used Car Dealers
1
Video Tape and Disc Rental
2
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
2
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
1

Naming the Business

A good company name can give a big boost to a new startup. It might seem like an easy thing to do, but there are many things to consider when naming a business.

Companies like Starbucks, Apple, Target, Microsoft and Intuit all have strong company names that are easy to remember and have become well-loved brands. Wouldn't it be nice if your new company name got on a similar track?

To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Naming a Business.

There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are opening a business in Crookston, it's very important that you make sure no Minnesota company has already registered the company name you have selected.

Forming a Company in Crookston, Minnesota

It's very important that you choose the right legal structure for your new entity. The principal advantage of forming your new business as a legal entity is that it separates your business liabilities from your personal liabilities.

When forming a company, you will pick from many company types, such as a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.

Incorporating is a very popular way to form a business. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in Minnesota, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Minnesota. As it turns out, you can incorporate wherever you want. For example, it's very popular to incorporate in Delaware, and incorporating in Nevada has become very trendy as well. Don't forget, though, that you will have to register as a foreign entity in all states that you do business in.

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 should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Crookston, Minnesota, our web page covering Incorporating in Minnesota may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Minnesota.

Make Sure You Have a Business Plan

Writing 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 will greatly reduce your chances of business success.

To learn more about business plans, read Free Business Plan Templates. You can also get free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Minnesota.

Bring in Revenues

Being able to sell is critical to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Crookston or are selling to customers throughout Minnesota, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.

Clever sales techniques can transform any business from good to great. The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.

Selling Products on eBay offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.

Never Give Up

You have a dream -- starting a business in Crookston. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

We are here to help Crookston businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Crookston, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Crookston, Minnesota

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

More Startup Articles for Minnesota Cities

Starting a Business in Cottonwood
Starting a Business in Crosby

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

 

 

Share this article


Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs

Lists of Venture Capital and Private Equity Firms

Franchise Opportunities

Contributors

Business Glossary