Wisconsin Business Startup Guides
Opening a Business in Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Contemplating starting a business in Eau Claire, Wisconsin? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Eau Claire.
Will You Be a Good Entrepreneur?
Most new businesses fail, in part because the entrepreneur did not have the perseverance and abilities that are necessary to succeed. So, before you open a business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.
While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:
- Grab a meal or cofee with other entrepreneurs in Eau Claire. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
- Take a look at Starting a Company. It's a short article but it's a good reality check for those are about to jump into the world of entrepreneurship.
- Talk it over with a close friend or partner. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.
Eau Claire, Wisconsin Demographic Information
Eau Claire has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Eau Claire demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Eau Claire.
Businesses
As a new Eau Claire entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Eau Claire 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
Have You Considered Buying an Existing Eau Claire Business?
We've created a useful website page for those who want to Buy a Business in Wisconsin. Follow that link and you can review several good businesses for sale in Eau Claire.
For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.
Forming a Company in Eau Claire, Wisconsin
It's essential that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. The main advantage of forming your new business as a legal entity is that it separates your business liabilities from your personal 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. A key decision is whether to form and S-Corp or a C-Corp, and you also must decide in which state you will incorporate. If you are starting a business in Wisconsin, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Wisconsin. In fact, you are allowed to 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 are many nuances to forming a company. To learn the fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Avoiding Personal Liability in Business. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, our information on Incorporating in Wisconsin may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Wisconsin.
Do You Need a 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. Starting a business without 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. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Wisconsin.
Where to Get Money to Start a Company
Getting your Eau Claire business the capital it needs to succeed is not an easy task. 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 capital, such as Only Idiots Send Venture Capitalists Business Plans.
For Eau Claire entrepreneurs who need startup capital, check out our List of Wisconsin Angel Investors and our List of Wisconsin Venture Capital Firms.
Promoting Your New Startup
To grow your Eau Claire business, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your succeeding.
There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Internet Advertising discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.
What's Next?
Most new Eau Claire businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.
Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Eau Claire and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Eau Claire, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Eau Claire.
- Resources for Eau Claire, Wisconsin Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Eau Claire entrepreneurs.
- Wisconsin Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Wisconsin.
- Wisconsin Small Business Development Center - Wisconsin Small Business Development Centers offer a variety of educational services to small-businesses. The low-cost courses, seminars, and workshops cover both basic and complex topics, from marketing to management techniques to business plan development.
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