Minnesota Business Startup Guides

Opening a Business in Moorhead, Minnesota

Contemplating starting a business in Moorhead, Minnesota? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Moorhead.

Moorhead, Minnesota Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
3579
5-9 Employees
1635
10-19 Employees
1188
20-49 Employees
729
50-99 Employees
261
100-249 Employees
117
250-499 Employees
36
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
9
All Moorhead Businesses
7554

As a new Moorhead entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Moorhead 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
Advertising Agencies
1
Architectural Services
4
Armored Car Services
1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
4
Automotive Transmission Repair
1
Baked Goods Stores
2
Beauty Salons
14
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
3
Beet Sugar Manufacturing
1
Boat Dealers
2
Bowling Centers
1
Business Associations
3
Car Washes
2
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
2
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Charter Bus Industry
1
Child and Youth Services
1
Child Day Care Services
8
Civic and Social Organizations
7
Claims Adjusting
1
Clothing Accessories Stores
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
2
Commercial Screen Printing
2
Community Food Services
6
Construction Sand and Gravel Mining
1
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
1
Convenience Stores
1
Cosmetology and Barber Schools
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
1
Custom Roll Forming
1
Discount Department Stores
2
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
8
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
5
Electrical Contractors
14
Elementary and Secondary Schools
1
Employment Placement Agencies
1
Engineering Services
6
Family Planning Centers
1
Farm Product Warehousing and Storage
1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
4
Fine Arts Schools
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
2
Floor Covering Stores
1
Flooring Contractors
5
Florists
2
Flour Milling
1
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
1
Food Service Contractors
1
Footwear and Leather Goods Repair
1
Framing Contractors
3
Freight Transportation Arrangement
1
Full-Service Restaurants
14
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
2
Furniture Stores
1
General Automotive Repair
13
General Freight Trucking, Local
2
General Warehousing and Storage
2
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
4
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Graphic Design Services
1
Hardware Stores
2
Heating Oil Dealers
1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
2
Home Health Care Services
1
Homes for the Elderly
3
Household Appliance Stores
3
Human Rights Organizations
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
27
Investigation Services
1
Janitorial Services
7
Jewelry Stores
4
Land Subdivision
2
Landscaping Services
13
Lead Pencil and Art Good Manufacturing
1
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
2
Limited-Service Restaurants
21
Malt Manufacturing
1
Marketing Consulting Services
3
Masonry Contractors
9
Metal Window and Door Manufacturing
1
Miscellaneous Intermediation
1
Mobile Food Services
1
Motor and Generator Manufacturing
1
Museums
3
Musical Groups and Artists
2
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
1
Nail Salons
1
New Car Dealers
5
New Housing Operative Builders
1
Nonresidential Property Managers
2
Office Administrative Services
3
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
3
Offices of Chiropractors
12
Offices of Dentists
15
Offices of Lawyers
14
Offices of Optometrists
2
Optical Goods Stores
3
Packaging Machinery Manufacturing
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
3
Periodical Publishers
1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
6
Photography Studios, Portrait
3
Plastics Bottle Manufacturing
1
Professional Organizations
1
Radio Stations
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
1
Real Estate Credit
1
Residential Property Managers
1
Residential Remodelers
8
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair
1
Roofing Contractors
5
Rooming and Boarding Houses
1
Satellite Telecommunications
1
Savings Institutions
3
Securities Brokerage
5
Security Guards and Patrol Services
1
Shoe Stores
3
Siding Contractors
1
Sign Manufacturing
2
Site Preparation Contractors
5
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
2
Solid Waste Collection
1
Spice and Extract Manufacturing
1
Sporting Goods Stores
5
Sports and Recreation Instruction
2
Tax Preparation Services
3
Telemarketing Bureaus
1
Temporary Help Services
1
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
2
Tire Dealers
3
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
1
Tobacco Stores
3
Travel Agencies
2
Truss Manufacturing
1
Used Car Dealers
4
Used Merchandise Stores
2
Video Tape and Disc Rental
3
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
5
Voluntary Health Organizations
3
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
2
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
3
Women's Clothing Stores
8

What About Franchising Opportunities?

As you drive around Moorhead, you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. But is franchising the right option for you?

We advise the entrepreneurs we work with to evaluate the possibility of your buying a franchise opportunity. We have many articles on franchises, such as Credit and Franchise Purchasing. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.

A comprehensive list of franchisors is available via our List of Franchise Opportunities.

Representative franchise opportunities include Radiance Medspa and Biggby Coffee. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Closet Design and Construction Franchises and Fast Food Franchises.

Note on Moorhead Franchise Opportunities: To find out if a franchise you are interested in is available in Moorhead, you will need to get in direct contact with the franchisor.

Company Formation in Moorhead, Minnesota

It's very important that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Among other things, forming a legal entity for the business limits your liabilities.

When forming a company, you will select one of many company types, such as a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.

Incorporating is a very popular way to form a business. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. Just because you are starting a business in Minnesota, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Minnesota. In fact, you are allowed to incorporate wherever you want. 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's a lot to know about forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as LLC Advantages. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Moorhead, Minnesota, our web page covering Incorporating in Minnesota may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Minnesota.

Marketing Your New Startup

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

You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Exhibiting at Tradeshows discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.

Bring in Revenues

Mastering the art of selling is a must if you want your new Moorhead business to do well.

Why should customers buy from you instead of buying from competitors? Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.

Landing Big Customers 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.

Increase Your Entrepreneurial Knowledge

The best entrepreneurs know that they don't know everything.

Given that you are starting a business in Moorhead, Minnesota, you should check out some of the learning programs at local Minnesota educational institutions. You should also check if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Moorhead entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

Never Give Up

Most new Moorhead businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

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

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Moorhead, Minnesota

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

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Minnesota

Starting a Business in Monticello
Starting a Business in Moose Lake

Browse All Business Startup Guides for Minnesota
Starting a Business Guides for Other States

 

 

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