New York Business Startup Guides
Start a Business in Oneonta, New York
Are you starting a business in Oneonta, New York? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Oneonta.
Oneonta, New York Demographic Information
Oneonta has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Oneonta demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Oneonta.
Businesses
As a new Oneonta entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Oneonta 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
Is a Franchise Opportunity Right For You?
Visit the business district of Oneonta and you'll conclude that many business owners have opted to buy a franchise, rather than starting a business on their own. So, it probably makes sense for you to consider franchising too.
We advise the entrepreneurs we work with to look into purchasing a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as How to Find Financing for Franchises. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.
A comprehensive list of franchisors is available via our List of Franchise Opportunities.
Sample franchise opportunities include Young Chefs Academy and Keller Williams Realty. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Employment and Staffing Franchises and Auto Repair Franchises.
Note on Oneonta Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Oneonta.
Naming the Business
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.
We strongly advocate that you make sure the ".com" domain name is available for your company name. Every business needs a strong Web presence these days, and having a non ".com" domain means somebody else may outrank you in the search results for your own company name.
For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Branding Advice.
There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are planning on starting a business in Oneonta, it's very important that you make sure no other New York company is using the business name you want to use.
Forming a Company in Oneonta, New York
It's essential that you form your business as a legal structure. Doing so will insulate you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.
The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.
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 New York, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in New York. In fact, you can 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 Corporate Formalities. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Oneonta, New York, our information on Incorporating in New York may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in New York.
Don't Skip the Business Plan
Having a business plan is critical in laying a solid foundation for your business success. Indeed, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Not having a business plan makes you more prone to becoming a business failure statistic.
Before you start writing a business plan, we suggest you skim Business Plan Contests. You can also get free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in New York.
Marketing Your New Venture
Whether your goal is to attract Oneonta customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your successs.
There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Internet Advertising is a good read to get your marketing ideas flowing. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Next Steps
You have a dream -- starting a business in Oneonta. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.
Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Oneonta and throughout the United States . 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 Oneonta, New York
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Oneonta.
- Resources for Oneonta, New York Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Oneonta entrepreneurs.
- New York Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in New York.
- New York Small Business Development Center - The New York State Small Business Development Center delivers high quality business counseling and training to New Yorkers who want to start a business or improve the performance of an existing business.
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