Utah Business Startup Guides
Open a Business in Salt Lake City, Utah
Need help starting a business in Salt Lake City, Utah? We've got the information you need to open a business in Salt Lake City.
Will You Be a Successful Entrepreneur?
An entrepreneurial life is hard work, much more challenging than working as an employee. Are you sure you have the stamina and skills to succeed on your own?
Before you move forward with starting a business, be sure to do these three things:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Salt Lake City. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
- We recommend reading Why Small Businesses Fail. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Get feedback from somebody whom you trust. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.
Salt Lake City, Utah Demographic Information
Salt Lake City has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Salt Lake City demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Salt Lake City.
Businesses
As a new Salt Lake City entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Salt Lake City 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
Should You Franchise?
Visit the business district of Salt Lake City and it's apparent that franchising has become a very popular way to start a business. But is franchising the right option for you?
Our advice is to consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as Selling A Franchise. 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.
Sample franchise opportunities include Silver Cross and The Grout Medic. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Hotel and Motel Franchises and Kitchen Design Franchises.
Note on Salt Lake City Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Salt Lake City.
Have You Considered Buying an Existing Salt Lake City Business?
If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Utah. Follow that link and you might discover several good businesses for sale in Salt Lake City.
If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: Buying a Business.
Company Formation in Salt Lake City, Utah
It's essential that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will shield 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 common way to legally create a business entity. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. Just because you are starting a business in Utah, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Utah. In fact, you can 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 Nevada Incorporation. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Salt Lake City, Utah, our information on Incorporating in Utah may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Utah.
Don't Forget to Create a Business Plan
Having a business plan is critical in laying a solid foundation for your business success. In effect, 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 makes you more prone to becoming a business failure statistic.
To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. You should also take advantage of free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Utah.
Letting the World Know You Exist
To rise above the crowd in Salt Lake City and build your business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.
We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Newspaper Advertising Costs is an article that will stimulate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
What's Next?
As an entrepreneur in Salt Lake City, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
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 Salt Lake City and throughout the United States . We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Salt Lake City 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 Salt Lake City, Utah
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Salt Lake City.
- Resources for Salt Lake City, Utah Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Salt Lake City entrepreneurs.
- Utah Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Utah.
- Utah Small Business Development Center - The Utah Small Business Development Centers will lead the way in entrepreneurial education, advocacy, and business development statewide.
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