South Dakota Business Startup Guides

Open a Business in Pierre, South Dakota

Need help starting a business in Pierre, South Dakota? We've got the information you need to open a business in Pierre.

Choosing the Right Company to Start

There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? To stir your creative juices on what kind of business to start, take a look at Good Business Ideas.

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 Opening a Roofing Contractors Business guide or our Starting a Moravian Church guide.

Don't forget that starting a business in Pierre has some implications. Some businesses will do better in Pierre than others. Don't forget to review Pierre demographics to see if there's a market for what you want to sell.

Pierre, South Dakota Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
1125
5-9 Employees
420
10-19 Employees
222
20-49 Employees
171
50-99 Employees
42
100-249 Employees
12
250-499 Employees
6
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Pierre Businesses
1998

As a new Pierre entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Pierre 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
Ambulance Services
1
Apprenticeship Training
1
Architectural Services
1
Art Dealers
1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
4
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
6
Automotive Transmission Repair
1
Beauty Salons
6
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
1
Bowling Centers
1
Business Associations
22
Cafeterias
1
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
2
Casinos (except Casino Hotels)
1
Child and Youth Services
2
Child Day Care Services
8
Claims Adjusting
2
Clothing Accessories Stores
1
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
1
Collection Agencies
2
Commercial Lithographic Printing
1
Computer and Software Stores
3
Computer Systems Design Services
2
Convenience Stores
1
Couriers
6
Credit Unions
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
3
Discount Department Stores
2
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
6
Educational Support Services
1
Elementary and Secondary Schools
4
Emergency and Other Relief Services
1
Engineering Services
5
Family Clothing Stores
3
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
3
Fine Arts Schools
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
1
Floor Covering Stores
1
Florists
3
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
2
Food Service Contractors
1
Framing Contractors
2
Freight Transportation Arrangement
1
Full-Service Restaurants
12
Furniture Stores
3
General Automotive Repair
3
General Freight Trucking, Local
1
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Rental Centers
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
3
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Graphic Design Services
1
Hardware Stores
6
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
2
Home Health Care Services
2
Home Health Equipment Rental
1
Homes for the Elderly
3
Household Appliance Stores
2
Hunting and Trapping
3
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
18
Internet Service Providers
1
Investigation Services
2
Investment Advice
2
Janitorial Services
6
Jewelry Stores
2
Landscape Architectural Services
1
Landscaping Services
6
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
2
Limited-Service Restaurants
14
Machine Shops
1
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
2
Marinas
1
Miscellaneous Intermediation
1
Motion Picture and Video Production
1
Motorcycle Dealers
2
Museums
1
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
1
Natural Gas Distribution
1
New Car Dealers
3
Newspaper Publishers
3
Nursing Care Facilities
1
Office Administrative Services
3
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
3
Offices of Bank Holding Companies
2
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
7
Offices of Chiropractors
4
Offices of Lawyers
16
Offices of Optometrists
2
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
1
One-Hour Photofinishing
3
Packing and Crating
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
4
Passenger Car Rental
1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
2
Photography Studios, Portrait
2
Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas
1
Political Organizations
3
Professional Organizations
12
Quick Printing
2
Real Estate Credit
1
Remediation Services
1
Repossession Services
1
Residential Property Managers
1
Residential Remodelers
12
Roofing Contractors
1
Savings Institutions
1
School and Employee Bus Transportation
1
Securities Brokerage
4
Security Guards and Patrol Services
1
Shoe Stores
5
Siding Contractors
2
Site Preparation Contractors
2
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
4
Sports and Recreation Instruction
2
Tax Preparation Services
2
Telemarketing Bureaus
1
Temporary Help Services
1
Temporary Shelters
1
Testing Laboratories
2
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters
1
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
1
Tour Operators
1
Used Car Dealers
2
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
1
Used Merchandise Stores
3
Vending Machine Operators
1
Veterinary Services
4
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
2
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
4
Women's Clothing Stores
5

Should You Franchise?

As you drive around Pierre, it's apparent that franchising has become a very popular way to start a business. Should you be giving franchising serious consideration?

Most business experts recommend that you consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as How to Get More Franchisees. 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 Garage Floor Coating.com and Doggy Dreams Groomobile. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Carpet Care Franchises and Leisure and Entertainment Franchises.

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

Make Sure You Have a Business Plan

A business plan is essential in laying a solid foundation for your business success. Simply put, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Not having a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Outsourcing. You should also take advantage of face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in South Dakota.

Getting Money to Start a Business

Finding the funds to fuel the growth of your Pierre business will be harder than you might expect. If you don't have a rich uncle to fund you, you'll need to be creative in how you approach your fundraising efforts.

Recognizing this challenge, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled 504 Loans.

For Pierre entrepreneurs who need startup capital, browse our List of South Dakota Angel Investors and our List of South Dakota Venture Capital Firms.

How to Sell

Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Pierre business, you need to focus on sales.

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.

Tips on Customer Referrals offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.

Moving Forward

As an entrepreneur in Pierre, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.

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 Pierre and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Pierre entrepreneur who is just getting started or you are already up and running with your new venture.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Pierre, South Dakota

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

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