Minnesota Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Lake City, Minnesota
Thinking about starting a business in Lake City, Minnesota? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Lake City.
Are You Ready for Entrepreneurship?
Before announcing to the world that you are going to start your own business, take inventory of your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Lake City. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
- We recommend reading Should You Become an Entrepreneur?. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Have a candid conversation with friends and family. 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.
What Type of Business Should You Start?
An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read Evaluating Your 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 an Antiques Restoration Supplies & Hardware Business guide or our How to Start a Publishers' Representatives Business guide.
Always keep in mind that Lake City is the place where you are starting a business. If Lake City already has plenty of the kind of business you want to start, you might want to change your plans. Make sure you fully understand Lake City demographics before you lock in on your business idea.
Lake City, Minnesota Demographic Information
Lake City has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Lake City demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Lake City.
Businesses
As a new Lake City entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Lake 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.
Businesses
Have You Considered Franchising?
As you drive around Lake City, you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. But is franchising the right option for you?
We advise the entrepreneurs we work with to consider franchising as an option. On our site, you can read many articles about franchising, such as Franchising Mistakes. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.
You can find franchise opportunities by browsing our Franchise Opportunities Directory.
Sample franchise opportunities include CIM Commercial Industrial Mold USA, Inc. and Genghis Grill. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Asian Restaurant Franchises and Environmental Testing Franchises.
Note on Lake City Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Lake City.
Raising Money for Your New Venture
Raising money to fund your new Lake City business requires strong organization skills and perseverance. In fact, financing your new business may be the hardest challenge you ever face.
Fortunately, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled Angel Investors.
For Lake City entrepreneurs on the hunt for startup funding, you'll want to take a look at our List of Minnesota Angel Investors and our List of Minnesota Venture Capital Firms.
Selling Tips
Being able to sell is critical to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Lake City or are selling to customers throughout Minnesota, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.
Good selling involves demonstrating that your wares meet your customer's needs. Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.
Mastering the Complex Sale is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.
Never Give Up
You have a dream -- starting a business in Lake City. 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.
Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Lake City and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Lake City, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Lake City, Minnesota
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Lake City.
- Resources for Lake City, Minnesota Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Lake City 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 Lake Benton
Starting a Business in Lake Crystal
Browse All Business Startup Guides for Minnesota
Starting a Business Guides for Other States
Share this article
Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs