Michigan Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in South Lyon, Michigan

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

South Lyon, Michigan Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
969
5-9 Employees
264
10-19 Employees
171
20-49 Employees
63
50-99 Employees
30
100-249 Employees
9
250-499 Employees
0
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All South Lyon Businesses
1506

As a new South Lyon entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in South Lyon 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
Ambulance Services
1
Architectural Services
3
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
3
Baked Goods Stores
1
Barber Shops
1
Beauty Salons
5
Bowling Centers
1
Business Associations
1
Car Washes
1
Caterers
1
Cement Manufacturing
1
Child Day Care Services
5
Civic and Social Organizations
2
Commercial Screen Printing
1
Computer and Software Stores
1
Computer Systems Design Services
1
Convenience Stores
2
Court Reporting and Stenotype Services
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
2
Dental Laboratories
1
Display Advertising
1
Document Preparation Services
1
Drilling Oil and Gas Wells
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
1
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
3
Educational Support Services
1
Electrical Contractors
8
Environmental Consulting Services
3
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
1
Fine Arts Schools
2
Finish Carpentry Contractors
6
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
2
Floor Covering Stores
1
Flooring Contractors
3
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
2
Framing Contractors
5
Full-Service Restaurants
10
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
1
Furniture Stores
1
General Automotive Repair
4
General Freight Trucking, Local
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
1
Glass and Glazing Contractors
2
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
4
Graphic Design Services
1
Hardware Stores
2
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
1
Home Health Care Services
3
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
8
Investment Advice
1
Janitorial Services
5
Jewelry Stores
3
Land Subdivision
2
Landscaping Services
22
Libraries and Archives
1
Locksmiths
1
Machine Shops
3
Mail-Order Houses
1
Marketing Consulting Services
6
Masonry Contractors
4
Meat Markets
1
Metal Heat Treating
1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
1
Motion Picture and Video Production
1
Motor Vehicle Metal Stamping
1
Nail Salons
1
Narrow Fabric Mills
1
New Housing Operative Builders
2
Nursing Care Facilities
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
4
Offices of Chiropractors
2
Offices of Dentists
11
Offices of Lawyers
5
Offices of Optometrists
3
Offices of Podiatrists
1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
3
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
5
Payroll Services
1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
4
Photography Studios, Portrait
1
Precision Turned Product Manufacturing
1
Professional Employer Organizations
1
Public Relations Agencies
1
Real Estate Credit
3
Remediation Services
1
Residential Property Managers
1
Residential Remodelers
14
Sales Financing
1
Securities Brokerage
1
Septic Tank and Related Services
1
Siding Contractors
3
Site Preparation Contractors
10
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
3
Solid Waste Collection
3
Sports and Recreation Instruction
2
Tax Preparation Services
2
Taxi Service
1
Testing Laboratories
1
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
1
Tire Manufacturing (except Retreading)
1
Travel Agencies
1
Used Merchandise Stores
2
Veterinary Services
4
Video Tape and Disc Rental
3
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
2
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
1
Women's Clothing Stores
1
Wood Window and Door Manufacturing
1

What About Franchising Opportunities?

Browse the Yellow Pages for South Lyon and you'll see that franchises make up a large percentage of local businesses. But is franchising the right option for you?

Our recommendation is that you consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as Multi-Unit Franchising. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.

A comprehensive list of franchisors is available via our List of Franchise Opportunities.

Sample franchise opportunities include Pak Mail Centers of America, Inc. and Personal Training Professionals. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Consulting Franchises and Health Franchises.

Note on South Lyon Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in South Lyon.

Make Sure You Have a Business Plan

Writing a business plan is critical in laying a solid foundation for your business success. Simply put, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Not having a business plan will greatly reduce your chances of business success.

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

Raising Money for Your Venture

Getting your South Lyon business the capital it needs to succeed is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. The reality is that there is very little funding available for new small businesses, and you have to explore every possible alternative.

On the bright side, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled 504 Loans.

For South Lyon entrepreneurs with great ambition but a shortage of investment capital, we have assembled a List of Michigan Angel Investors and our List of Michigan Venture Capital Firms.

Marketing Your New Venture

Whether your goal is to attract South Lyon customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Marketing Research is an article that will stimulate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just a taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Bring in Revenues

Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new South Lyon 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.

Cold Call Selling is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.

What's Next?

As an entrepreneur in South Lyon, 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.

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in South Lyon and elsewhere to achieve real success. We have a wealth of experience in business start-ups, financing, marketing, sales and more...and we've made all of our knowledge available to you.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in South Lyon, Michigan

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

  • Resources for South Lyon, Michigan Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist South Lyon entrepreneurs.
  • Michigan Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Michigan.
  • Michigan Small Business Development Center - This organization supports 12 regional offices and over 30 satellite offices, each providing counseling and training to Michigan small business owners and entrepreneurs throughout the 83 counties in Michigan. Services to entrepreneurs are offered through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

More Business Startup Guides for Michigan

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Starting a Business in Southfield

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