Washington Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in Pasco, Washington

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

Are You Ready for Entrepreneurship?

Before quitting your day job, take inventory of your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.

With so much at stake when you start a business, we strongly recommend you do the following before you proceed:

  • Talk to other entrepreneurs in Pasco. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
  • We recommend reading Should You Become an Entrepreneur?. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
  • Have a candid conversation with friends and family. 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.

Which Business to Choose?

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. To stir your creative juices on what kind of business to start, take a look at Business Ideas That Don't Make Sense.

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 Cylinders Rebuilding & Repairing Business guide or our Starting a Scanning Services Business guide.

Remember that starting a business in Pasco has some implications. Some businesses will do better in Pasco than others. Study Pasco demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.

Pasco, Washington Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
1758
5-9 Employees
776
10-19 Employees
453
20-49 Employees
309
50-99 Employees
81
100-249 Employees
27
250-499 Employees
12
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
3
All Pasco Businesses
3419

As a new Pasco entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Pasco 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
Aircraft Manufacturing
1
Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering
3
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
3
Apprenticeship Training
2
Architectural Services
3
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
2
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
11
Automotive Transmission Repair
3
Baked Goods Stores
1
Beauty Salons
3
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
2
Boat Building
1
Boat Dealers
1
Bowling Centers
1
Building Inspection Services
1
Business Associations
4
Car Washes
2
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
3
Caterers
1
Cement Manufacturing
1
Charter Bus Industry
1
Child Day Care Services
24
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
1
Civic and Social Organizations
5
Claims Adjusting
2
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
1
Collection Agencies
2
Community Food Services
1
Construction Sand and Gravel Mining
1
Consumer Lending
1
Convenience Stores
6
Cosmetology and Barber Schools
1
Couriers
5
Credit Unions
3
Curtain and Drapery Mills
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
2
Drafting Services
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
5
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
6
Electrical Contractors
19
Electronic Shopping
2
Engineering Services
9
Environmental Consulting Services
1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
1
Family Clothing Stores
6
Family Planning Centers
1
Farm Management Services
1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
8
Finish Carpentry Contractors
4
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
1
Floor Covering Stores
5
Flooring Contractors
2
Florists
1
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
1
Food Service Contractors
2
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
1
Full-Service Restaurants
30
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
2
Furniture Stores
4
General Automotive Repair
22
General Freight Trucking, Local
10
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Warehousing and Storage
2
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
5
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Graphic Design Services
2
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
3
Hardware Stores
2
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
1
Homes for the Elderly
4
Household Appliance Stores
3
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
9
Interior Design Services
1
Internet Service Providers
3
Interurban and Rural Bus Transportation
1
Jewelry Stores
1
Kidney Dialysis Centers
1
Land Subdivision
3
Landscape Architectural Services
1
Landscaping Services
17
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
2
Limited-Service Restaurants
25
Machine Shops
2
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
1
Marketing Consulting Services
1
Masonry Contractors
7
Meat Markets
2
Media Representatives
1
Medical Laboratories
1
Miscellaneous Intermediation
1
Mixed Mode Transit Systems
1
Mobile Food Services
4
Motor Vehicle Towing
2
Museums
1
Nail Salons
2
New Car Dealers
4
Newspaper Publishers
2
Nonresidential Property Managers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
1
Office Administrative Services
2
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
4
Offices of Chiropractors
8
Offices of Lawyers
10
Offices of Optometrists
3
Offices of Podiatrists
2
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
5
Optical Goods Stores
1
Packaging Machinery Manufacturing
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
7
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
4
Photography Studios, Portrait
1
Pipeline Transportation of Crude Oil
1
Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas
1
Private Mail Centers
1
Professional Organizations
1
Radio Networks
2
Radio Stations
7
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
1
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
3
Refrigerated Warehousing and Storage
1
Residential Remodelers
7
Retail Bakeries
2
Savings Institutions
4
Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation
3
Securities Brokerage
1
Security Guards and Patrol Services
1
Septic Tank and Related Services
1
Shoe Stores
4
Siding Contractors
2
Site Preparation Contractors
9
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
5
Solid Waste Collection
4
Solid Waste Landfill
1
Spice and Extract Manufacturing
1
Sporting Goods Stores
1
Sports and Recreation Instruction
1
Tax Preparation Services
4
Taxi Service
2
Telemarketing Bureaus
2
Telephone Answering Services
1
Television Broadcasting
1
Testing Laboratories
1
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
1
Tire Dealers
4
Tobacco Stores
2
Translation and Interpretation Services
1
Travel Agencies
1
Truss Manufacturing
2
Used Car Dealers
9
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
4
Vending Machine Operators
2
Veterinary Services
5
Video Tape and Disc Rental
5
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
4
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems
3
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
2
Wineries
5
Women's Clothing Stores
4

Is Franchising a Better Option?

As you drive around Pasco, you'll conclude that many business owners have opted to buy a franchise, rather than starting a business on their own. But is franchising the right option for you?

Our advice is to evaluate the possibility of your buying a franchise opportunity. We have many articles on franchises, such as Questions to Ask Franchisors. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.

To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.

Representative franchise opportunities include Pathetic Medic and Cash Plus, Inc.. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Franchises that Serve Liquor and Hair Styling Franchises.

Note on Pasco Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Pasco.

Company Formation in Pasco, Washington

It's very important that you form your business as a legal structure. Doing so will protect 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 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 Washington, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Washington. 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 may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Pasco, Washington, our information on Incorporating in Washington may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Washington.

Don't Forget to Create a Business Plan

A business plan is vital to the health of your new business. Simply put, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Failure to write a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

If writing a business plan is on your to-do list, be sure to read Business Plan Contests. You can also get free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Washington.

Never Give Up

You have a dream -- starting a business in Pasco. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.

If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Pasco 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 Pasco, Washington

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

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Washington

Starting a Business in Othello
Starting a Business in Pomeroy

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

 

 

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