Illinois Business Startup Guides
Start a Business in O'Fallon, Illinois
Are you starting a business in O'Fallon, Illinois? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in O'Fallon.
Are You Ready for Entrepreneurship?
Being an entrepreneur is hard work, much more challenging than working as an employee. Are you certain 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:
- Reach out to other entrepreneurs in O'Fallon. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
- Peruse Why Small Businesses Fail. This is one of our more popular articles for folks who want to go into business for themselves.
- Get feedback from somebody whom you trust. 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.
Have You Considered Buying an Existing O'Fallon Business?
If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Illinois. Follow that link and you might discover several good businesses for sale in O'Fallon.
If you are intent on buying a business, you may want to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.
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.
Before you decide on a company name, run it by some prospective customers and see what they think. If they don't like it, it's probably a good idea to go back to the drawing board.
Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Naming a Business.
There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are planning on starting a business in O'Fallon, it's critical that you ensure that no other Illinois company is using the business name you want to use.
Forming a Company in O'Fallon, Illinois
It's essential that you are forming a legal entity that operates independently from you. The main 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.
Incorporating 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 Illinois, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Illinois. In fact, you are allowed to incorporate in any state you would like to. 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. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as How to Incorporate. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in O'Fallon, Illinois, our information on Incorporating in Illinois may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Illinois.
Startup Financing Basics
Getting your O'Fallon business the capital it needs to succeed is a difficult chore. If you don't have a rich uncle to fund you, you'll need to be creative in how you approach your fundraising efforts.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Getting a Small Business Loan.
For O'Fallon entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, check out our List of Illinois Angel Investors and our List of Illinois Venture Capital Firms.
Never Give Up
As an entrepreneur in O'Fallon, 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 O'Fallon businesses to be successful. 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 O'Fallon, Illinois
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in O'Fallon.
- Resources for O'Fallon, Illinois Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist O'Fallon entrepreneurs.
- Illinois Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Illinois.
- Illinois Small Business Development Center - Illinois Small Business Development Centers located throughout the state provide assistance to new and existing small businesses.
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