Michigan Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Kalamazoo, Michigan
Thinking about starting a business in Kalamazoo, Michigan? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Kalamazoo.
What Type of Business Should You Start?
An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. If you are struggling with what type of business to start, read How to Evaluate a Business Idea.
To view an extensive list of business types, complete with startup instructions, spend some time in the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Starting a Diesel Equipment Retail Business guide or our Opening a Wheels & Wheel Covers Retail Business guide.
Always keep in mind that you are starting a business in Kalamazoo. Some businesses will do better in Kalamazoo than others. Don't forget to review Kalamazoo demographics to see if there's a market for what you want to sell.
Kalamazoo, Michigan Demographic Information
Kalamazoo has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Kalamazoo demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Kalamazoo.
Businesses
As a new Kalamazoo entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Kalamazoo 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 Kalamazoo Business?
An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Michigan. Follow that link and you can review several good businesses for sale in Kalamazoo.
If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: Buying a Business.
Do You Need a Business Plan?
Writing a business plan is vital 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. Starting a business without a business plan will greatly reduce your chances of business success.
To learn more about business plans, read Free Business Plan Templates. A great resource for business planning assistance is the face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Michigan.
Getting the Word Out About Your New Company
Whether your goal is to attract Kalamazoo customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you need a excellent marketing plan.
We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Branding Advice 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 taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Learning More About Entrepreneurship
Good entrepreneurs know that they don't know everything.
With your business being located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, you should investigate some of the many programs available at nearby Michigan universities, colleges and community colleges. Another way to keep up on your learning is to investigate Kalamazoo networking organizations.
What's Next?
Most new Kalamazoo 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.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Kalamazoo and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Kalamazoo, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Kalamazoo, Michigan
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Kalamazoo.
- Resources for Kalamazoo, Michigan Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Kalamazoo entrepreneurs.
- Michigan Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Michigan.
- Michigan Small Business Development Center - This organization supports 12 regional offices and over 30 satellite offices, each providing counseling and training to Michigan small business owners and entrepreneurs throughout the 83 counties in Michigan. Services to entrepreneurs are offered through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
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