Missouri Business Startup Guides
Start a Business in Hopkins, Missouri
Are you starting a business in Hopkins, Missouri? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Hopkins.
What Business Are You Starting?
There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading How to Evaluate a Business Idea.
For step-by-step instructions on starting a variety of business types, visit the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Opening an Emergency Disaster Preparedness Business guide or our Opening an Ink Manufacturers' Materials Business guide.
Always keep in mind that your new startup will be located in Hopkins. If Hopkins already has plenty of the kind of business you want to start, you might want to change your plans. Only by spending some time analyzing Hopkins demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.
Hopkins, Missouri Demographic Information
Hopkins has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Hopkins demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Hopkins.
Businesses
As a new Hopkins entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Hopkins 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
What About Buying an Existing Hopkins Business?
An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Missouri. Follow that link and you might discover several good businesses for sale in Hopkins.
Before buying a business, be sure to read this article: Buying a Business.
Choosing a Company Name
A good company name can give a big boost to a new startup. It might seem like an easy thing to do, but there are many things to consider when naming a business.
Pick a company name that isn't too generic. If you do a search engine search for your proposed name and a billion results come up, you may want to reconsider the name. It's much easier to come up in the search engines when your name is fairly unique.
To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Naming a Business.
As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are starting a business in Hopkins, it's very important that you make sure no Missouri company has already registered the company name you have selected.
Company Formation in Hopkins, Missouri
A critical step is ensuring that you are forming a legal entity that operates independently from you. Without a legal structure for the business, you can be held personally liable for the actions, debts and obligations of your company.
When forming a company, you will decide among many company types, such as a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.
Incorporating is a very popular way to form a business. 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. Just because you are starting a business in Missouri, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Missouri. As it turns out, you can 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's a lot to know about forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Registered Agents. You may also want to seek the advice of an lawyer. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Hopkins, Missouri, our web page covering Incorporating in Missouri may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Missouri.
Where to Get Money to Start a Company
Obtaining startup financing for your Hopkins business is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.
On the bright side, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled 504 Loans.
For Hopkins entrepreneurs with great ambition but a shortage of investment capital, check out our List of Missouri Angel Investors and our List of Missouri Venture Capital Firms.
Now It's Up To You
You have a dream -- starting a business in Hopkins. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.
We are here to help Hopkins businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Hopkins entrepreneur who is just getting started or you are already up and running with your new venture.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Hopkins, Missouri
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Hopkins.
- Resources for Hopkins, Missouri Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Hopkins entrepreneurs.
- Missouri Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Missouri.
- Missouri Small Business Development Center - Missouri Small Business Development Center business specialists are uniquely qualified to help small businesses get started, develop and thrive.
More Business Startup Guides for Missouri
Starting a Business in Hollister
Starting a Business in Houston
Browse All Business Startup Guides for Missouri
Starting a Business Guides for Other States
Share this article
Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs