Arkansas Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Searcy, Arkansas
Thinking about starting a business in Searcy, Arkansas? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Searcy.
Are You Sure You Want to Do This?
Being an entrepreneur is hard work, much more challenging than working as an employee. Are you sure you are ready to take on this challenge?
While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Searcy. 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.
Searcy, Arkansas Demographic Information
Searcy has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Searcy demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Searcy.
Businesses
As a new Searcy entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Searcy 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
Is a Franchise Opportunity Right For You?
As you drive around Searcy, you'll see that franchises make up a large percentage of local businesses. Would going with a franchise be a good idea for you?
Our advice is to consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as Understanding Franchise Contracts. 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 Cinnabon and Pizza Inn, Inc.. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Employment and Staffing Franchises and Auto Repair Franchises.
Note on Searcy Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Searcy.
Company Formation in Searcy, Arkansas
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 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. Just because you are starting a business in Arkansas, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Arkansas. In fact, you can 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'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 Avoiding Personal Liability in Business. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Searcy, Arkansas, our information on Incorporating in Arkansas may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Arkansas.
Where to Get Money to Start a Company
Getting your Searcy business the capital it needs to succeed is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. To obtain business financing, you will need to hear a lot of rejections before you finally find a funding solution that works for you.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Business Line of Credit.
For Searcy entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, we have assembled a List of Arkansas Angel Investors and our List of Arkansas Venture Capital Firms.
Letting the World Know You Exist
To rise above the crowd in Searcy and grow your business, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your succeeding.
You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Local Search is an article that will stimulate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Next Steps
As an entrepreneur in Searcy, 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.
We are here to help Searcy businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Searcy, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Searcy, Arkansas
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Searcy.
- Resources for Searcy, Arkansas Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Searcy entrepreneurs.
- Arkansas Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Arkansas.
- Arkansas Small Business Development Center - The Arkansas Small Business Development Center (ASBDC) is a University-based economic development program which provides assistance to entrepreneurs and small businesses throughout Arkansas via a statewide network of seven offices.
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