Washington Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Tacoma, Washington
Thinking about starting a business in Tacoma, Washington? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Tacoma.
Tacoma, Washington Demographic Information
Tacoma has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Tacoma demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Tacoma.
Businesses
As a new Tacoma entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Tacoma 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 Franchising a Better Option?
As you drive around Tacoma, you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. Should you be giving franchising serious consideration?
We highly recommend you consider franchising as an option. On our site, you can read many articles about franchising, such as Why Franchises Fail. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.
A comprehensive list of franchisors is available via our List of Franchise Opportunities.
Sample franchise opportunities include The Johnny Rockets Group, Inc. and Circle K / TMC Franchise Corporation. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Sports Restaurant Franchises and Auto Rental Franchises.
Note on Tacoma Franchise Opportunities: To find out if a franchise you are interested in is available in Tacoma, you will need to get in direct contact with the franchisor.
Is Buying an Existing Tacoma Business a Good Strategy?
We've created a helpful website page for those who want to Buy a Business in Washington. Follow that link and you can review several good businesses for sale in Tacoma.
If you are headed down the path of buying a business, you may want to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.
Do You Need a Business Plan?
A business plan is vital to the health of your new business. Indeed, 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.
To learn more about business plans, read The Art of the Executive Summary. You can also get free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Washington.
Startup Financing Basics
Raising money to fund your new Tacoma business will be harder than you might expect. If you don't have a rich uncle to fund you, you'll need to be creative in how you approach your fundraising efforts.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Business Incubators.
For Tacoma entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, check out our List of Washington Angel Investors and our List of Washington Venture Capital Firms.
Learning More About Entrepreneurship
Successful business owners recognize that they don't know everything.
Given that you are starting a business in Tacoma, Washington, you should investigate some of the many programs available at nearby Washington universities, colleges and community colleges. You should also check if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Tacoma entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.
What's Next?
You have a dream -- starting a business in Tacoma. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
We are here to help Tacoma businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Tacoma 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 Tacoma, Washington
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Tacoma.
- Resources for Tacoma, Washington Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Tacoma entrepreneurs.
- Washington Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Washington.
- Washington Small Business Development Center - Washington Small Business Development Centers promote economic vitality by providing advice, training and research to Washington entrepreneurs and existing Washington businesses.
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