Minnesota Business Startup Guides
Open a Business in Grand Marais, Minnesota
Need help starting a business in Grand Marais, Minnesota? We've got the information you need to open a business in Grand Marais.
Are You Sure You Want to Do This?
Running your own business is difficult, much harder than working as an employee. Are you sure you have the stamina and skills to succeed on your own?
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 Grand Marais. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
- We recommend reading Why Small Businesses Fail. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Get feedback from somebody whom you trust. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.
Which Business to Choose?
An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading How to Evaluate a Business Idea.
For in-depth how-to guides on how to start specific businesses, browse our Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Opening a Carpet, Rug, & Upholstery Dyers Business guide or our Opening a Wine Consultants Business guide.
Remember that you are opening your new business in Grand Marais. Some businesses will do better in Grand Marais than others. Only by spending some time analyzing Grand Marais demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.
Grand Marais, Minnesota Demographic Information
Grand Marais has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Grand Marais demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Grand Marais.
Businesses
As a new Grand Marais entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Grand Marais 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
Is Franchising a Better Option?
Browse the Yellow Pages for Grand Marais and you'll see that franchises make up a large percentage of local businesses. But is franchising the right option for you?
Our advice is to look into purchasing a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as Multi-Unit Franchising. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.
You can review hundreds of franchise opportunities by browing our Franchise Directory.
Representative franchise opportunities include A-Pro Home Inspection and 1 800 905 GEEK. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Employment and Staffing Franchises and Auto Repair Franchises.
Note on Grand Marais Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Grand Marais.
Forming a Company in Grand Marais, Minnesota
It's essential that you are forming a legal entity that operates independently from you. Among other things, forming a legal entity for the business limits your liabilities.
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 Minnesota, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Minnesota. 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 Getting an EIN. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Grand Marais, 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 critical in laying a solid foundation for your business success. Simply put, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Failure to write a business plan will greatly reduce your chances of business success.
Before you start writing a business plan, we suggest you skim Business Plan Contests. You should also take advantage of face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Minnesota.
Startup Financing Basics
Getting your Grand Marais business the capital it needs to succeed is a difficult chore. To obtain business financing, you will need to hear a lot of rejections before you finally find a funding solution that works for you.
Take advantage of our many articles on raising capital, such as Business Incubators.
For Grand Marais entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, check out our List of Minnesota Angel Investors and our List of Minnesota Venture Capital Firms.
Next Steps
As an entrepreneur in Grand Marais, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.
We are here to help Grand Marais 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 Grand Marais, Minnesota
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Grand Marais.
- Resources for Grand Marais, Minnesota Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Grand Marais 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.
More Startup Articles for Minnesota Cities
Starting a Business in Gonvick
Starting a Business in Grand Meadow
Browse All Business Startup Guides for Minnesota
Starting a Business Guides for Other States
Share this article
Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs