Kansas Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Dodge City, Kansas

Thinking about starting a business in Dodge City, Kansas? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Dodge City.

What Business Are You Starting?

There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read Good Business Ideas.

If you still are not sure what type of business to start, peruse the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Opening an Orthopedic Appliances Retail Business guide or our Opening a Paramedics Business guide.

Don't forget that you are starting a business in Dodge City. Some businesses will do better in Dodge City than others. Don't forget to review Dodge City demographics to see if there's a market for what you want to sell.

Dodge City, Kansas Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
2290
5-9 Employees
984
10-19 Employees
594
20-49 Employees
414
50-99 Employees
132
100-249 Employees
48
250-499 Employees
6
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
12
All Dodge City Businesses
4480

As a new Dodge City entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Dodge City 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
Amusement and Theme Parks
1
Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering
3
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
4
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
7
Beauty Salons
9
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
5
Boat Dealers
1
Book Stores
1
Bowling Centers
1
Broadwoven Fabric Mills
1
Business Associations
3
Cable and Other Program Distribution
2
Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores
1
Canvas and Related Product Mills
1
Car Washes
3
Casino Hotels
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Child and Youth Services
2
Child Day Care Services
1
Clothing Accessories Stores
1
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
1
Collection Agencies
2
Community Food Services
4
Computer and Software Stores
3
Confectionery and Nut Stores
2
Construction Machinery Manufacturing
1
Convenience Stores
1
Couriers
4
Credit Bureaus
1
Credit Unions
3
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
1
Direct Title Insurance Carriers
1
Drafting Services
1
Educational Support Services
1
Electric Power Distribution
2
Electrical Contractors
3
Elementary and Secondary Schools
1
Emergency and Other Relief Services
1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
1
Family Clothing Stores
5
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
5
Fertilizer (Mixing Only) Manufacturing
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
2
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
3
Floor Covering Stores
2
Florists
3
Flour Milling
1
Food Service Contractors
2
Freight Transportation Arrangement
1
Full-Service Restaurants
21
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
3
Furniture Stores
2
General Automotive Repair
6
General Freight Trucking, Local
6
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
3
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Hardware Stores
3
Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal
1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
1
Home Health Care Services
3
Homes for the Elderly
2
Household Appliance Stores
3
Industrial Gas Manufacturing
1
Industrial Launderers
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
19
Interior Design Services
1
Janitorial Services
10
Kidney Dialysis Centers
1
Landscaping Services
4
Limited-Service Restaurants
14
Livestock Merchant Wholesalers
2
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
2
Machine Shops
2
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
2
Masonry Contractors
4
Meat Processed from Carcasses
1
Miscellaneous Intermediation
1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
2
Motor Vehicle Towing
1
Motorcycle Dealers
1
Museums
3
Natural Gas Distribution
1
New Car Dealers
7
Newspaper Publishers
2
Nitrogenous Fertilizer Manufacturing
1
Nursing Care Facilities
2
Office Administrative Services
1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
1
Offices of Chiropractors
6
Offices of Dentists
12
Offices of Lawyers
16
Offices of Optometrists
7
Offices of Podiatrists
2
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
2
One-Hour Photofinishing
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
2
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
3
Photography Studios, Portrait
2
Portfolio Management
1
Radio Stations
2
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
1
Real Estate Credit
3
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
1
Refrigerated Warehousing and Storage
1
Residential Property Managers
2
Residential Remodelers
5
Roofing Contractors
2
Savings Institutions
1
Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation
2
Securities Brokerage
6
Security Guards and Patrol Services
2
Shoe Stores
5
Siding Contractors
2
Site Preparation Contractors
1
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
1
Solid Waste Collection
2
Sporting Goods Stores
2
Sports Teams and Clubs
1
Tax Preparation Services
3
Taxi Service
1
Television Broadcasting
1
Temporary Help Services
1
Temporary Shelters
2
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters
1
Tire Dealers
4
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
1
Travel Agencies
1
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
1
Used Merchandise Stores
1
Vending Machine Operators
1
Veterinary Services
4
Video Tape and Disc Rental
2
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
8
Women's Clothing Stores
2
Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing
1

Should You Franchise?

Browse the Yellow Pages for Dodge City and it's apparent that franchising has become a very popular way to start a business. Should you be giving franchising serious consideration?

We highly recommend you consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as Evaluating Franchise Opportunities. 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 Jackson's All American Sports Grill and Kids 'N' Clay. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Apparel Franchises and Healthcare Franchises.

Note on Dodge City Franchise Opportunities: To find out if a franchise you are interested in is available in Dodge City, you will need to get in direct contact with the franchisor.

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Dodge City Business?

If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Kansas. Follow that link and you might discover several good businesses for sale in Dodge City.

If you are headed down the path of buying a business, you may want to read this article: Buying a Business.

Don't Forget to Create a Business Plan

Writing a business plan is essential to the health of your new business. Indeed, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Failure to write a business plan will greatly reduce your chances of business success.

To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. You should also take advantage of face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Kansas.

Marketing Your New Business

To grow your Dodge City business, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your business achieving its goals.

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Promoting an Online Business is an article that will stimulate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Increase Your Entrepreneurial Knowledge

Successful entrepreneurs recognize that what they know now may not be enough to ensure their future success.

With your business being located in Dodge City, Kansas, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Kansas universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Dodge City entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

Next Steps

As an entrepreneur in Dodge City, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

We are here to help Dodge City 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 Dodge City, Kansas

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

More Business Startup Guides for Kansas

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