Iowa Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Des Moines, Iowa
Thinking about starting a business in Des Moines, Iowa? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Des Moines.
Which Business to Choose?
Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. If you are struggling with what type of business to start, 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 Opening a Soda Fountain Shops Business guide or our How to Start a Woolen Fabrics Retail Business guide.
Don't forget that you are starting a business in Des Moines. Some businesses will do better in Des Moines than others. Only by spending some time analyzing Des Moines demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.
Des Moines, Iowa Demographic Information
Des Moines has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Des Moines demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Des Moines.
Businesses
As a new Des Moines entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Des Moines 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
Writing a business plan is vital in laying a solid foundation for your business success. Indeed, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Not having a business plan will greatly reduce your chances of business success.
If you want more information on writing business plans, we recommend reading Business Plan Contests. You should also take advantage of free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Iowa.
Raising Funding for Your Startup
Getting your Des Moines business the capital it needs to succeed requires strong organization skills and perseverance. The reality is that there is very little funding available for new small businesses, and you have to explore every possible alternative.
Recognizing this challenge, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled How Equity Dilution Works.
For Des Moines entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, check out our List of Iowa Angel Investors and our List of Iowa Venture Capital Firms.
Letting the World Know You Exist
Whether your goal is to attract Des Moines customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.
You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Pros and Cons of Advertising is an article that will stimulate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
The Art of Selling
Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Des Moines business, you need to focus on sales.
Good selling involves demonstrating that your wares meet your customer's needs. Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.
Hiring Telemarketing Firms to Generate Sales Leads is worth reading, as it may give you some good ideas on how to sell your products or services. We have many more good articles on selling that you may enjoy reading.
What's Next?
As an entrepreneur in Des Moines, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Des Moines and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Des Moines, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Des Moines, Iowa
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Des Moines.
- Resources for Des Moines, Iowa Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Des Moines entrepreneurs.
- Iowa Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Iowa.
- Iowa Small Business Development Center - The Iowa SBDC conducts research, counsels, and trains business people in management, financing, and operating small businesses. They provide comprehensive information services and access to experts in a variety of fields. This is a great resource for Iowa entrepreneurs!
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