Wisconsin Business Startup Guides
Start a Business in Madison, Wisconsin
Are you starting a business in Madison, Wisconsin? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Madison.
What Business to Start
Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading Free Business Ideas.
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 Starting a Grain Dryers & Equipment Service & Repair Business guide or our How to Start a Rollers Industrial Business guide.
Always keep in mind that you are starting a business in Madison. The business you want to start may already be well-represented in Madison. Make sure you fully understand Madison demographics before you lock in on your business idea.
Madison, Wisconsin Demographic Information
Madison has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Madison demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Madison.
Businesses
As a new Madison entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Madison 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
Should You Franchise?
Examine a list of Madison businesses and it's apparent that franchising has become a very popular way to start a business. Should you be giving franchising serious consideration?
Most business experts recommend that you consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as Franchise Due Diligence. 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 eCommercials and Europcar Group Australia. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Candy and Chocolate Franchises and Fitness Franchises.
Note on Madison Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Madison.
Have You Considered Buying an Existing Madison Business?
An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Wisconsin. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Madison.
Before buying a business, be sure to read this article: Buying a Business.
Naming the Company
A big decision when starting a company is choosing a company name. Believe it or not, choosing a good company name can be a big contributor to your business success.
Even if the name doesn't do it by itself, many naming experts believe there should be a story behind the name that ties into your company mission.
To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Naming a Business.
There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are opening a business in Madison, it's critical that you ensure that no other Wisconsin company is using the business name you want to use.
Forming a Company in Madison, Wisconsin
A critical step is ensuring that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will shield you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.
The entity you form can be a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.
Incorporating is a very common way to legally create a business entity. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in Wisconsin, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Wisconsin. In fact, you can incorporate in the state of your choosing. For example, it's very popular to incorporate in Delaware, and incorporating in Nevada has become very trendy as well. Don't forget, though, that you will have to register as a foreign entity in all states that you do business in.
There are many nuances to forming a company. To learn the fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as How to Incorporate. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Madison, Wisconsin, our information on Incorporating in Wisconsin may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Wisconsin.
Bring in Revenues
Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Madison business, you need to focus on sales.
Why should customers buy from you instead of buying from competitors? Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.
Closing Sales is worth reading, as it may give you some good ideas on how to sell your products or services. We have many more good articles on selling that you may enjoy reading.
Moving Forward
As an entrepreneur in Madison, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Madison 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 Madison, Wisconsin
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Madison.
- Resources for Madison, Wisconsin Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Madison entrepreneurs.
- Wisconsin Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Wisconsin.
- Wisconsin Small Business Development Center - Wisconsin Small Business Development Centers offer a variety of educational services to small-businesses. The low-cost courses, seminars, and workshops cover both basic and complex topics, from marketing to management techniques to business plan development.
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