North Dakota Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in Lakota, North Dakota

Are you starting a business in Lakota, North Dakota? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Lakota.

Do You Have What It Takes?

An entrepreneurial life is difficult, much more arduous than working as an employee. Are you positive you have the stamina and skills to succeed on your own?

Because entrepreneurship is not for everyone, we recommend you do the following to help you assess whether you should move forward with starting a business:

  • Grab a meal or cofee with other entrepreneurs in Lakota. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
  • Take a look at Business Failure. It's a short article but it's a good reality check for those are about to jump into the world of entrepreneurship.
  • Involve a spouse, family member or trusted friend in the decision. A support network of family and friends can be a great sounding board for good advice before you decide for sure to go into business.

Lakota, North Dakota Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
204
5-9 Employees
12
10-19 Employees
24
20-49 Employees
0
50-99 Employees
6
100-249 Employees
0
250-499 Employees
0
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Lakota Businesses
246

As a new Lakota entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Lakota 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
Civic and Social Organizations
1
Credit Unions
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
2
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
1
Florists
1
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Hardware Stores
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
3
Janitorial Services
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
1
Newspaper Publishers
1
Offices of Dentists
1
Offices of Lawyers
2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
1
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
1
Residential Remodelers
1
Tax Preparation Services
1

Naming the Business

Making the right decision when choosing a company name is very important. There are many decisions you'll make now that you can change later, but changing a company name years down the road is not very easy. So, choose a good company name at the outset.

Companies like Starbucks, Apple, Target, Microsoft and Intuit all have strong company names that are easy to remember and have become well-loved brands. Wouldn't it be nice if your new company name got on a similar track?

Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Naming a Business.

On a final note, given that you are opening a business in Lakota, it's critical that you ensure that no other North Dakota company is using the business name you want to use.

Forming a Company in Lakota, North Dakota

A critical step is ensuring that you choose the right legal structure for your new entity. The principal advantage of forming your new business as a legal entity is that it separates your business liabilities from your personal liabilities.

The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.

Incorporation 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. If you are starting a business in North Dakota, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in North Dakota. In fact, you can incorporate wherever you want. However, if you do incorporate in another state, you'll have to register as a foreign corporation in your home state.

There are many nuances to forming a company. To learn the fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Corporate Formalities. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Lakota, North Dakota, our information on Incorporating in North Dakota may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in North Dakota.

Promoting Your New Company

To grow your Lakota business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Newspaper Advertising Costs is an article that will stimulate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.

How to Sell

Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Lakota business, you need to focus on sales.

Good selling involves demonstrating that your wares meet your customer's needs. Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.

Tips on Customer Referrals is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.

Now It's Up To You

As an entrepreneur in Lakota, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

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

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Lakota, North Dakota

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

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