Oregon Business Startup Guides
Start a Business in Eugene, Oregon
Are you starting a business in Eugene, Oregon? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Eugene.
Will You Be a Good Entrepreneur?
Most new ventures fail, in part because the business owner 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.
Because entrepreneurship is not for everyone, we recommend you do the following to help you assess whether you should move forward with starting a business:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Eugene. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
- We recommend reading Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.
Eugene, Oregon Demographic Information
Eugene has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Eugene demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Eugene.
Businesses
As a new Eugene entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Eugene 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
Forming a Company in Eugene, Oregon
A critical step is ensuring that you choose the right legal structure for your new entity. Without a legal structure for the business, you can be held personally liable for the actions, debts and obligations of your company.
The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.
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 Oregon, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Oregon. As it turns out, you can incorporate wherever you want. 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. 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 may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Eugene, Oregon, our information on Incorporating in Oregon may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Oregon.
Startup Financing Basics
Getting your Eugene business the capital it needs to succeed is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. To obtain business financing, you will need to hear a lot of rejections before you finally find a funding solution that works for you.
Fortunately, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled 504 Loans.
For Eugene entrepreneurs who need startup capital, check out our List of Oregon Angel Investors and our List of Oregon Venture Capital Firms.
Marketing Your New Venture
Whether your goal is to attract Eugene customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you need a excellent marketing plan.
You can learn a ton about marketing on our site. Dealing with Angry Customers discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
The Art of Selling
Mastering the art of selling is priority one if you want your new Eugene business to do well.
Clever sales techniques can transform any business from good to great. Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.
Anticipating Prospect Responses offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.
Interviews With Eugene Entrepreneurs
Enjoy these interviews we've had with Eugene entrepreneurs.
What's Next?
Most new Eugene businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Eugene and elsewhere to achieve real success. 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 Eugene, Oregon
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Eugene.
- Resources for Eugene, Oregon Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Eugene entrepreneurs.
- Oregon Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Oregon.
- Oregon Small Business Development Center - Oregon Small Business Development Centers use a client-centered approach to deliver counseling, training, information and technical assistance in all aspects of small business management. There is no fee for their assistance.
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