Texas Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in La Porte, Texas

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

What Business Are You Starting?

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. If you are struggling with what type of business to start, read Free Business Ideas.

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 Opening a Crankshaft Grinding Business guide or our Starting a Digging & Hoisting Buckets Business guide.

Always keep in mind that you are starting a business in La Porte. The business you want to start may already be well-represented in La Porte. Don't forget to review La Porte demographics to see if there's a market for what you want to sell.

La Porte, Texas Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
2166
5-9 Employees
1125
10-19 Employees
837
20-49 Employees
801
50-99 Employees
315
100-249 Employees
288
250-499 Employees
90
500-999 Employees
27
1000+ Employees
9
All La Porte Businesses
5658

As a new La Porte entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in La Porte 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
Alumina Refining
1
Automobile Driving Schools
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
4
Barber Shops
1
Beauty Salons
5
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
2
Boat Dealers
1
Business Associations
1
Cafeterias
1
Car Washes
2
Child Day Care Services
9
Civic and Social Organizations
2
Computer and Software Stores
2
Computer Facilities Management Services
1
Computer Training
1
Consumer Lending
1
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
1
Convenience Stores
10
Couriers
2
Credit Unions
1
Custom Compounding of Purchased Resins
1
Document Preparation Services
1
Drilling Oil and Gas Wells
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
3
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
3
Electric Power Distribution
1
Electrical Contractors
8
Elementary and Secondary Schools
1
Environmental Consulting Services
3
Explosives Manufacturing
1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
3
Facilities Support Services
1
Fine Arts Schools
2
Finish Carpentry Contractors
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
2
Floor Covering Stores
1
Florists
2
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
1
Food Service Contractors
1
Fossil Fuel Electric Power Generation
2
Framing Contractors
1
Freight Transportation Arrangement
3
Full-Service Restaurants
14
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
1
Furniture Stores
1
General Automotive Repair
9
General Freight Trucking, Local
5
General Rental Centers
1
General Warehousing and Storage
1
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Hardware Stores
1
Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal
1
Home Health Care Services
1
Homes for the Elderly
1
Industrial Building Construction
4
Industrial Gas Manufacturing
5
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
7
Investigation Services
1
Janitorial Services
12
Land Subdivision
2
Landscaping Services
3
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
2
Lime Manufacturing
1
Machine Shops
3
Marinas
1
Marine Cargo Handling
2
Marketing Consulting Services
1
Metal Heat Treating
2
Metal Tank (Heavy Gauge) Manufacturing
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
1
Museums
1
Navigational Services to Shipping
2
New Car Dealers
2
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nonresidential Property Managers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
2
Office Administrative Services
3
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
4
Offices of Chiropractors
2
Offices of Dentists
7
Offices of Lawyers
5
Offices of Optometrists
1
Offices of Other Holding Companies
1
Optical Goods Stores
1
Payroll Services
1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
4
Photography Studios, Portrait
2
Pipeline Transportation of Crude Oil
1
Plastics Plumbing Fixture Manufacturing
1
Political Organizations
2
Refrigerated Warehousing and Storage
2
Remediation Services
2
Residential Property Managers
1
Residential Remodelers
1
Retail Bakeries
1
Roofing Contractors
1
Savings Institutions
2
Security Guards and Patrol Services
3
Septic Tank and Related Services
1
Shoe Stores
1
Sign Manufacturing
1
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
2
Solid Waste Combustors and Incinerators
1
Tax Preparation Services
4
Temporary Help Services
2
Testing Laboratories
5
Tire Dealers
3
Tobacco Stores
1
Used Car Dealers
1
Vending Machine Operators
1
Veterinary Services
3
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
1
Women's Clothing Stores
1

What About Franchising Opportunities?

As you drive around La Porte, you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. Is there a franchise opportunity out there that makes sense for you?

Our advice is to evaluate the possibility of your buying a franchise opportunity. We have many articles on franchises, such as Benefits of Owning A Franchise. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.

To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.

Sample franchise opportunities include Pretzel Time and Fabrion. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Embroidery Franchises and Pet Franchises.

Note on La Porte Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in La Porte.

Have You Considered Buying an Existing La Porte Business?

We've created a helpful website page for those who want to Buy a Business in Texas. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in La Porte.

For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: Buying a Business.

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.

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 La Porte, it's very important that you make sure no other Texas company is using the business name you want to use.

Raising Money for Your Venture

Getting your La Porte 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 securing funding, such as Getting a Small Business Loan.

For La Porte entrepreneurs with great ambition but a shortage of investment capital, you'll want to take a look at our List of Texas Angel Investors and our List of Texas Venture Capital Firms.

Marketing Your New Venture

Whether your goal is to attract La Porte customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your beating the competition.

You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Marketing Basics is a good read to get your marketing juices flowing. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Now It's Up To You

You have a dream -- starting a business in La Porte. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

We are here to help La Porte businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in La Porte, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in La Porte, Texas

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

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Texas

Starting a Business in La Grange
Starting a Business in La Vernia

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