Colorado Business Startup Guides
Open a Business in Fort Collins, Colorado
Need help starting a business in Fort Collins, Colorado? We've got the information you need to open a business in Fort Collins.
What Business Are You Starting?
Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. To stir your creative juices on what kind of business to start, take a look at Free 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 Engines Rebuilding, Service, & Repair Business guide or our Starting a Railroad Equipment Inspection & Repair Business guide.
Don't forget that you are starting a business in Fort Collins. Think about what needs are currently being underserved in Fort Collins. Make sure you fully understand Fort Collins demographics before you lock in on your business idea.
Fort Collins, Colorado Demographic Information
Fort Collins has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Fort Collins demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Fort Collins.
Businesses
As a new Fort Collins entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Fort Collins 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 Franchising?
Examine a list of Fort Collins businesses and you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. Evidently, there must be some significant advantages to purchasing a franchise.
Our recommendation is that you consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as Franchising Scams. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.
A comprehensive list of franchisors is available via our List of Franchise Opportunities.
Representative franchise opportunities include Sizzler USA and Ziebart. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Consulting Franchises and Health Franchises.
Note on Fort Collins Franchise Opportunities: To find out if a franchise you are interested in is available in Fort Collins, you will need to get in direct contact with the franchisor.
Naming the Company
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.
Company names should be fun to say, and they should help people to understand what you do and how you differentiate yourself in the market.
For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Naming a Company.
There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are starting a business in Fort Collins, it's imperative that you check now that no other Colorado company is using the business name you want to use.
Marketing Your New Business
To rise above the crowd in Fort Collins and accelerate your business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.
You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Comparing Advertising to PR discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Learning More About Entrepreneurship
The best business owners recognize that they need to continually improve.
Given that you are starting a business in Fort Collins, Colorado, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Colorado universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking organizations for Fort Collins entrepreneurs.
Some Interesting Fort Collins Entrepreneurs
Here, we'll keep a running list of interviews we've had with Fort Collins entrepreneurs.
- Interview with Children's Book Insider Founder Jon Bard
- Interview with FreeShipping.org Founder Luke Knowles
- Interview with Entrepreneur Mike Levy
Never Give Up
Most new Fort Collins 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.
We are here to help Fort Collins businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Fort Collins, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Fort Collins, Colorado
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Fort Collins.
- Resources for Fort Collins, Colorado Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Fort Collins entrepreneurs.
- Colorado Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Colorado.
- Colorado Small Business Development Center - The Colorado Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network is dedicated to helping small businesses throughout Colorado achieve their goals by providing free confidential counseling and various training programs.
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