Virginia Business Startup Guides
Start a Business in Reston, Virginia
Are you starting a business in Reston, Virginia? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Reston.
Do You Have What It Takes?
Most startup ventures don't make it, in part because the entrepreneur did not have the perseverance and abilities that are necessary to succeed. So, before you open a business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.
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 Reston. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
- We recommend reading Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. A support network of family and friends can be a great sounding board for good advice before you decide for sure to go into business.
Reston, Virginia Demographic Information
Reston has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Reston demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Reston.
Businesses
As a new Reston entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Reston 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
Have You Considered Buying an Existing Reston Business?
An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Virginia. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Reston.
For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: How to Buy a Business.
Company Formation in Reston, Virginia
A critical step is ensuring 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.
When forming a company, you will pick from many company types, such as 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 Virginia, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Virginia. In fact, you are allowed to incorporate in any state you would like to. 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 Dissolving a Corporation. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Reston, Virginia, our web page covering Incorporating in Virginia may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Virginia.
Make Sure You Have a Business Plan
A business plan is essential in laying a solid foundation for your business success. Indeed, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Starting a business without a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
If you want more information on writing business plans, we recommend reading The Art of the Executive Summary. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Virginia.
Marketing Your New Venture
To grow your Reston business, you need a excellent marketing plan.
You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. National TV Spot Advertising Rates discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
How to Improve Your Entrepreneurial Abilities
Good business owners know that they don't know everything.
With your business being located in Reston, Virginia, you should investigate some of the many programs available at nearby Virginia universities, colleges and community colleges. You should also check if there are any Reston networking organizations.
Now It's Up To You
Most new Reston businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Reston and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Reston, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Reston, Virginia
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Reston.
- Resources for Reston, Virginia Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Reston entrepreneurs.
- Virginia Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Virginia.
- Virginia Small Business Development Center - Virginia Small Business Development Centers offer professional business counseling, training and information resources to help grow and strengthen Virginia businesses.
More Startup Articles for Virginia Cities
Starting a Business in Radford
Starting a Business in Richlands
Browse All Business Startup Guides for Virginia
Starting a Business Guides for Other States
Share this article
Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs