Iowa Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Perry, Iowa

Thinking about starting a business in Perry, Iowa? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Perry.

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

Most startup businesses do not succeed, in part because the entrepreneur did not have the tenacity and/or the skills to succeed. So, before jumping into the world of entrepreneurship, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.

While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:

  • Talk to other entrepreneurs in Perry. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
  • 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. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.

Perry, Iowa Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
5187
5-9 Employees
1638
10-19 Employees
741
20-49 Employees
585
50-99 Employees
312
100-249 Employees
234
250-499 Employees
0
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
39
All Perry Businesses
8736

As a new Perry entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Perry 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
Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
2
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
1
Bowling Centers
1
Business Associations
2
Cafeterias
1
Car Washes
1
Child Day Care Services
2
Civic and Social Organizations
2
Community Food Services
1
Construction Sand and Gravel Mining
1
Convention and Trade Show Organizers
1
Credit Unions
1
Dental Laboratories
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
2
Electrical Contractors
3
Engineering Services
1
Farm Management Services
1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
2
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
1
Florists
1
Food Service Contractors
1
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
2
General Automotive Repair
7
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Rental Centers
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
3
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Hardware Stores
1
Heating Oil Dealers
1
Home Health Care Services
1
Household Appliance Stores
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
8
Interior Design Services
1
Iron Foundries
1
Janitorial Services
2
Landscaping Services
1
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
5
Marine Cargo Handling
1
Marketing Consulting Services
1
Men's Clothing Stores
1
Museums
1
Nursing Care Facilities
3
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
1
Offices of Chiropractors
3
Offices of Dentists
6
Offices of Lawyers
4
Offices of Optometrists
2
Offices of Podiatrists
2
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
1
Periodical Publishers
1
Photography Studios, Portrait
1
Portfolio Management
1
Radio Stations
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
1
Real Estate Credit
2
Residential Property Managers
1
Savings Institutions
1
Secondary Market Financing
1
Securities and Commodity Exchanges
1
Securities Brokerage
4
Shoe Stores
1
Site Preparation Contractors
3
Tire Dealers
2
Tobacco Stores
1
Used Car Dealers
1
Veterinary Services
1
Video Tape and Disc Rental
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
2
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
1

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Perry Business?

We've created a handy website page for those who want to Buy a Business in Iowa. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Perry.

For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.

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.

Pick a company name that isn't too generic. If you do a search engine search for your proposed name and a billion results come up, you may want to reconsider the name. It's much easier to come up in the search engines when your name is fairly unique.

For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Naming a Company.

As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are planning on starting a business in Perry, it's imperative that you check now that no other Iowa company is using the business name you want to use.

Forming a Company in Perry, Iowa

It's very important that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will protect 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 popular way to form a business. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in Iowa, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Iowa. In fact, you are allowed to incorporate in the state of your choosing. 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 ESOP Formation. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Perry, Iowa, our information on Incorporating in Iowa may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Iowa.

Where to Get Money to Start a Company

Getting your Perry business the capital it needs to succeed is not an easy task. To obtain business financing, you will need to hear a lot of rejections before you finally find a funding solution that works for you.

Fortunately, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled SBIR Funding.

For Perry entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, we have assembled a List of Iowa Angel Investors and our List of Iowa Venture Capital Firms.

Next Steps

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

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Perry and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Perry, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Perry, Iowa

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

  • Resources for Perry, Iowa Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Perry entrepreneurs.
  • Iowa Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Iowa.
  • Iowa Small Business Development Center - The Iowa SBDC conducts research, counsels, and trains business people in management, financing, and operating small businesses. They provide comprehensive information services and access to experts in a variety of fields. This is a great resource for Iowa entrepreneurs!

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Iowa

Starting a Business in Pella
Starting a Business in Peterson

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Starting a Business Guides for Other States

 

 

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