Iowa Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Iowa City, Iowa

Thinking about starting a business in Iowa City, Iowa? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Iowa City.

Are You Ready for Entrepreneurship?

Before quitting your day job, assess your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.

With so much at stake when you start a business, we strongly recommend you do the following before you proceed:

  • Talk to other entrepreneurs in Iowa City. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
  • 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. Ask them directly: Do I have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Listen carefully to their answer, as they presumably know your strengths and weaknesses.

Iowa City, Iowa Demographic Information

Iowa City has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.

To give you a better feel for Iowa City demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Iowa City.

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
2582
5-9 Employees
1197
10-19 Employees
780
20-49 Employees
570
50-99 Employees
150
100-249 Employees
78
250-499 Employees
24
500-999 Employees
3
1000+ Employees
15
All Iowa City Businesses
5399

As a new Iowa City entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Iowa City 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.

Business Type
# of
Businesses
Advertising Agencies
1
Ambulance Services
1
Amusement and Theme Parks
1
Amusement Arcades
1
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
2
Armored Car Services
1
Art Dealers
5
Automobile Driving Schools
2
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
2
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
9
Automotive Transmission Repair
1
Baked Goods Stores
1
Beauty Salons
30
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
3
Blood and Organ Banks
2
Book Publishers
2
Book Stores
6
Bowling Centers
1
Building Inspection Services
1
Business and Secretarial Schools
1
Business Associations
10
Business to Business Electronic Markets
1
Cable and Other Program Distribution
1
Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores
2
Canvas and Related Product Mills
1
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
1
Caterers
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Child and Youth Services
1
Child Day Care Services
39
Civic and Social Organizations
11
Claims Adjusting
2
Collection Agencies
1
Commercial Gravure Printing
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
3
Commercial Photography
1
Commercial Screen Printing
3
Commodity Contracts Brokerage
1
Community Food Services
1
Confectionery and Nut Stores
1
Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers
1
Construction Sand and Gravel Mining
1
Consumer Lending
1
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
3
Convenience Stores
3
Convention and Trade Show Organizers
1
Credit Unions
4
Custom Computer Programming Services
13
Dental Laboratories
4
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
1
Diet and Weight Reducing Centers
1
Digital Printing
1
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
2
Discount Department Stores
3
Display Advertising
2
Document Preparation Services
1
Drafting Services
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
28
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
7
Educational Support Services
6
Electrical Contractors
20
Electronic Computer Manufacturing
1
Electronic Shopping
2
Elementary and Secondary Schools
2
Employment Placement Agencies
2
Engineering Services
14
Environmental Consulting Services
2
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
5
Family Clothing Stores
1
Family Planning Centers
2
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
4
Fine Arts Schools
5
Finish Carpentry Contractors
6
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
9
Floor Covering Stores
9
Flooring Contractors
5
Florists
4
Fluid Milk Manufacturing
1
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
1
Food Service Contractors
2
Footwear and Leather Goods Repair
1
Framing Contractors
12
Freight Transportation Arrangement
2
Full-Service Restaurants
71
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
2
Furniture Stores
5
General Automotive Repair
19
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
3
General Warehousing and Storage
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
8
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
4
Grantmaking Foundations
5
Graphic Design Services
1
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
1
Hardware Stores
2
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
5
Home Centers
3
Home Health Care Services
8
Home Health Equipment Rental
1
Homes for the Elderly
1
Household Appliance Stores
5
Industrial Building Construction
1
Interior Design Services
1
Internet Service Providers
1
Investigation Services
1
Investment Advice
9
Janitorial Services
10
Jewelry Stores
5
Landscaping Services
17
Limited-Service Restaurants
49
Limousine Service
1
Luggage and Leather Goods Stores
1
Machine Shops
4
Mail-Order Houses
5
Manifold Business Forms Printing
1
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
1
Marketing Consulting Services
3
Masonry Contractors
4
Medical Laboratories
1
Men's Clothing Stores
3
Mobile Food Services
1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
3
Motion Picture and Video Production
3
Motorcycle Dealers
3
Museums
1
Music Publishers
1
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
3
Nail Salons
1
Natural Gas Liquid Extraction
1
New Car Dealers
10
News Dealers and Newsstands
1
Newspaper Publishers
4
Nonresidential Property Managers
5
Nursing Care Facilities
3
Office Administrative Services
6
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
3
Offices of Bank Holding Companies
1
Offices of Chiropractors
9
Offices of Dentists
33
Offices of Lawyers
44
Offices of Optometrists
4
Offices of Other Holding Companies
1
Offices of Podiatrists
4
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
4
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
2
Packing and Crating
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
4
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
7
Passenger Car Rental
1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
2
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
5
Photography Studios, Portrait
1
Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas
1
Plastics Bottle Manufacturing
1
Political Organizations
2
Polystyrene Foam Product Manufacturing
1
Portfolio Management
2
Professional Organizations
4
Radio Networks
1
Radio Stations
2
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
1
Real Estate Credit
4
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
1
Refrigerated Warehousing and Storage
1
Reinsurance Carriers
2
Residential Remodelers
16
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair
3
Roofing Contractors
4
Rooming and Boarding Houses
16
Sales Financing
1
Savings Institutions
3
School and Employee Bus Transportation
1
Security Guards and Patrol Services
5
Setup Paperboard Box Manufacturing
1
Shoe Stores
3
Siding Contractors
4
Sign Manufacturing
1
Site Preparation Contractors
1
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
15
Solid Waste Collection
2
Sound Recording Studios
1
Sporting Goods Stores
8
Sports and Recreation Instruction
7
Tax Preparation Services
5
Taxi Service
1
Telemarketing Bureaus
2
Temporary Help Services
10
Temporary Shelters
4
Testing Laboratories
1
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters
2
Tire Dealers
4
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
3
Toilet Preparation Manufacturing
1
Used Car Dealers
5
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
4
Used Merchandise Stores
20
Vending Machine Operators
1
Veterinary Services
7
Video Tape and Disc Rental
6
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
3
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
10
Window Treatment Stores
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
3
Women's Clothing Stores
8

Naming the Company

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.

Before you decide on a company name, run it by some prospective customers and see what they think. If they don't like it, it's probably a good idea to go back to the drawing board.

To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Branding Advice.

As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are planning on starting a business in Iowa City, it's very important that you make sure no other Iowa company is using the business name you want to use.

Raising Funding for Your Venture

Getting your Iowa City business the capital it needs to succeed is a difficult chore. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.

Take advantage of our many articles on raising capital, such as Business Cash Advances.

For Iowa City entrepreneurs with great ambition but a shortage of investment capital, browse our List of Iowa Angel Investors and our List of Iowa Venture Capital Firms.

Selling Tips

Being able to sell is critical to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Iowa City or are selling to customers throughout Iowa, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.

Not knowing how to sell can result in lost customers and minimal market share. Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.

Compensating Sales People is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.

Improving Your Entrepreneurial Skillset

Good entrepreneurs recognize that what they know now may not be enough to ensure their future success.

Given that you are starting a business in Iowa City, Iowa, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Iowa universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also beneficial to see if there are any Iowa City networking organizations.

Never Give Up

You have a dream -- starting a business in Iowa City. 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 Iowa City 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 Iowa City, Iowa

Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Iowa City.

  • Resources for Iowa City, Iowa Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Iowa City entrepreneurs.
  • Iowa Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Iowa.
  • Iowa Small Business Development Center - The Iowa SBDC conducts research, counsels, and trains business people in management, financing, and operating small businesses. They provide comprehensive information services and access to experts in a variety of fields. This is a great resource for Iowa entrepreneurs!

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