New York Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Syracuse, New York
Thinking about starting a business in Syracuse, New York? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Syracuse.
Syracuse, New York Demographic Information
Syracuse has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Syracuse demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Syracuse.
Businesses
As a new Syracuse entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Syracuse 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 Syracuse Business?
If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in New York. Follow that link and you might discover several good businesses for sale in Syracuse.
Before buying a business, be sure to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.
Naming the Company
A good company name can give a big boost to a new startup. It might seem like an easy thing to do, but there are many things to consider when naming a business.
Company names should be fun to say, and they should help people to understand what you do and how you differentiate yourself in the market.
Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Naming a Business.
There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are planning on starting a business in Syracuse, it's very important that you make sure no other New York company is using the business name you want to use.
Forming a Company in Syracuse, New York
It's very important 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 popular way to form a business. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in New York, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in New York. In fact, you are allowed to incorporate in the state of your choosing. 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 are many nuances to forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Pre-Incorporation Agreements. You may also want to seek the advice of an lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Syracuse, New York, our information on Incorporating in New York may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in New York.
Don't Forget to Create a Business Plan
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. Not having a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
If you want more information on writing business plans, we recommend reading Business Presentations. You can also get free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in New York.
The Art of Selling
Being able to sell is essential to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Syracuse or are selling to customers throughout New York, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.
So what does it take to bring in more prospects and close more business? Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.
Selling on the Phone is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.
Never Give Up
You have a dream -- starting a business in Syracuse. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
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 Syracuse and throughout the United States . 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 Syracuse, New York
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Syracuse.
- Resources for Syracuse, New York Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Syracuse entrepreneurs.
- New York Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in New York.
- New York Small Business Development Center - The New York State Small Business Development Center delivers high quality business counseling and training to New Yorkers who want to start a business or improve the performance of an existing business.
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