Minnesota Business Startup Guides
Start a Business in Fergus Falls, Minnesota
Are you starting a business in Fergus Falls, Minnesota? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Fergus Falls.
Fergus Falls, Minnesota Demographic Information
Fergus Falls has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Fergus Falls demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Fergus Falls.
Businesses
As a new Fergus Falls entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Fergus Falls 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
Making the right decision when choosing a company name is very important. There are many decisions you'll make now that you can change later, but changing a company name years down the road is not very easy. So, choose a good company name at the outset.
We strongly advocate that you make sure the ".com" domain name is available for your company name. Every business needs a strong Web presence these days, and having a non ".com" domain means somebody else may outrank you in the search results for your own company name.
For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Naming a Business.
On a final note, given that you are planning on starting a business in Fergus Falls, it's very important that you make sure no other Minnesota company is using the business name you want to use.
Company Formation in Fergus Falls, Minnesota
It's very important that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will insulate you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.
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. Just because you are starting a business in Minnesota, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Minnesota. In fact, 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's a lot to know about forming a company. To learn the fundamentals of company formation, browse articles 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 Fergus Falls, Minnesota, our information on Incorporating in Minnesota may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Minnesota.
Don't Forget to Create a Business Plan
Writing a business plan is essential in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Simply put, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Not having a business plan will greatly reduce your chances of business success.
To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. You can also get free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Minnesota.
Startup Financing Basics
Getting your Fergus Falls business the capital it needs to succeed is not an easy task. To obtain business financing, you will need to hear a lot of rejections before you finally find a funding solution that works for you.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Angel Investors.
For Fergus Falls entrepreneurs who need startup capital, check out our List of Minnesota Angel Investors and our List of Minnesota Venture Capital Firms.
Marketing Your New Venture
To rise above the crowd in Fergus Falls and build your business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.
There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Exhibiting at Tradeshows is a good read to get your marketing juices flowing. That's just a taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
What's Next?
You have a dream -- starting a business in Fergus Falls. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Fergus Falls and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Fergus Falls, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Fergus Falls, Minnesota
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Fergus Falls.
- Resources for Fergus Falls, Minnesota Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Fergus Falls entrepreneurs.
- Minnesota Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Minnesota.
- Minnesota Small Business Development Center - The Minnesota Small Business Development Centers provide no-cost, professional business consulting to Minnesota small businesses covering a variety of business needs.
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