Minnesota Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota

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

Which Business to Choose?

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. If you are struggling with what type of business to start, read Business Ideas That Don't Make Sense.

For step-by-step instructions on starting a variety of business types, visit the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Opening a Health Associations Business guide or our How to Start a Livestock Consultants Business guide.

Remember that your new startup will be located in Sleepy Eye. Some businesses will do better in Sleepy Eye than others. Make sure you fully understand Sleepy Eye demographics before you lock in on your business idea.

Sleepy Eye, Minnesota Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
255
5-9 Employees
87
10-19 Employees
69
20-49 Employees
33
50-99 Employees
21
100-249 Employees
3
250-499 Employees
0
500-999 Employees
3
1000+ Employees
0
All Sleepy Eye Businesses
471

As a new Sleepy Eye entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Sleepy Eye 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
Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
1
Beauty Salons
3
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
1
Bowling Centers
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Child Day Care Services
1
Civic and Social Organizations
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
3
Commodity Contracts Brokerage
1
Computer Systems Design Services
1
Construction Sand and Gravel Mining
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
5
Electric Power Distribution
1
Electrical Contractors
4
Elementary and Secondary Schools
3
Engineering Services
1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
2
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
2
Florists
1
Fruit and Vegetable Canning
1
Full-Service Restaurants
3
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
1
Furniture Stores
1
General Automotive Repair
5
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
Hardware Stores
1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
1
Home Health Care Services
1
Homes for the Elderly
1
Household Appliance Stores
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
3
Masonry Contractors
1
Museums
1
New Car Dealers
1
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nitrogenous Fertilizer Manufacturing
1
Nursing Care Facilities
3
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
1
Offices of Dentists
2
Offices of Lawyers
2
Offices of Optometrists
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
1
Plate Work Manufacturing
1
Public Relations Agencies
1
Retail Bakeries
1
School and Employee Bus Transportation
1
Securities Brokerage
1
Site Preparation Contractors
4
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
1
Software Publishers
1
Solid Waste Collection
1
Tax Preparation Services
1
Video Tape and Disc Rental
2
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
1

Have You Considered Franchising?

Examine a list of Sleepy Eye businesses and you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. 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 Common Franchisee Mistakes. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.

To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.

Sample franchise opportunities include Red Kangaroo and Wall Street Institute. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Travel and Leisure Franchises and Child Safety Franchises.

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

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Sleepy Eye Business?

We've created a useful website page for those who want to Buy a Business in Minnesota. Follow that link and you might discover several good businesses for sale in Sleepy Eye.

Before buying a business, be sure to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.

Raising Money for Your New Venture

Getting your Sleepy Eye business the capital it needs to succeed will be harder than you might expect. 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 504 Loans.

For Sleepy Eye entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, check out our List of Minnesota Angel Investors and our List of Minnesota Venture Capital Firms.

Marketing Your New Business

To rise above the crowd in Sleepy Eye and advance your business, you need a solid marketing plan.

We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Newspaper Advertising Costs is a good read to get your marketing creativity flowing. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Moving Forward

You have a dream -- starting a business in Sleepy Eye. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Sleepy Eye and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Sleepy Eye, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota

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

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