Washington Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Dayton, Washington
Thinking about starting a business in Dayton, Washington? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Dayton.
Dayton, Washington Demographic Information
Dayton has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Dayton demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Dayton.
Businesses
As a new Dayton entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Dayton 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
Choosing a Company Name
A big decision when starting a company is choosing a company name. Believe it or not, choosing a good company name can be a big contributor to your business success.
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?
For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Naming a Business.
On a final note, given that you are starting a business in Dayton, it's very important that you make sure no other Washington company is using the business name you want to use.
Company Formation in Dayton, Washington
A critical step is ensuring that you choose the right legal structure for your new entity. Among other things, forming a legal entity for the business limits your liabilities.
The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.
Incorporating 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. Just because you are starting a business in Washington, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Washington. As it turns out, you can incorporate in the state of your choosing. However, if you do incorporate in another state, you'll have to register as a foreign corporation in your home state.
There's a lot to know about forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as C Corp Versus S Corp. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Dayton, Washington, our information on Incorporating in Washington may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Washington.
Where to Get Money to Start a Company
Getting your Dayton business the capital it needs to succeed will be harder than you might expect. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.
Take advantage of our many articles on raising capital, such as Attracting Investors.
For Dayton entrepreneurs who need startup capital, check out our List of Washington Angel Investors and our List of Washington Venture Capital Firms.
Building Up Your Sales
Being able to sell is essential to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Dayton or are selling to customers throughout Washington, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.
Not knowing how to sell can result in lost customers and minimal market share. Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.
Landing Big Customers offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.
Improving Your Entrepreneurial Skillset
Successful entrepreneurs know that they don't know everything.
With your business being located in Dayton, Washington, you will want to take advantage of the learning programs at local Washington educational institutions. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking organizations for Dayton entrepreneurs.
What's Next?
You have a dream -- starting a business in Dayton. 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 Dayton businesses to be successful. We have a wealth of experience in business start-ups, financing, marketing, sales and more...and we've made all of our knowledge available to you.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Dayton, Washington
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Dayton.
- Resources for Dayton, Washington Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Dayton entrepreneurs.
- Washington Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Washington.
- Washington Small Business Development Center - Washington Small Business Development Centers promote economic vitality by providing advice, training and research to Washington entrepreneurs and existing Washington businesses.
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