South Dakota Business Startup Guides
Opening a Business in Timber Lake, South Dakota
Contemplating starting a business in Timber Lake, South Dakota? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Timber Lake.
Are You Sure You Want to Do This?
Being an entrepreneur is hard work, and can be orders of magnitude more strenuous than working as an employee. Are you certain you have the stamina and skills to succeed on your own?
While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:
- Speak with other entrepreneurs in Timber Lake. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
- You should read Business Failure. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
- Involve a spouse, family member or trusted friend in the decision. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.
What Business Are You Starting?
An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read Finding Your Niche in Life.
For in-depth how-to guides on how to start specific businesses, browse our Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Opening a Bowling Equipment Service & Repair Business guide or our How to Start a Helicopter Dealers Business guide.
Don't forget that you are starting a business in Timber Lake. Some businesses will do better in Timber Lake than others. Don't forget to review Timber Lake demographics to see if there's a market for what you want to sell.
Timber Lake, South Dakota Demographic Information
Timber Lake has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Timber Lake demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Timber Lake.
Businesses
As a new Timber Lake entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Timber Lake 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
Naming the Company
A big decision when starting a company is choosing a company name. Believe it or not, choosing a good company name can be a big contributor to your business success.
Companies like Starbucks, Apple, Target, Microsoft and Intuit all have strong company names that are easy to remember and have become well-loved brands. Wouldn't it be nice if your new company name got on a similar track?
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 starting a business in Timber Lake, it's critical that you ensure that your company name has not already been claimed by another South Dakota business.
Forming a Company in Timber Lake, South Dakota
A critical step is ensuring 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.
When forming a company, you will select one of many company types, such as 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. If you are starting a business in South Dakota, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in South Dakota. As it turns out, you can incorporate in any state you would like to. However, if you do incorporate in another state, you'll have to register as a foreign corporation in your home state.
There are many nuances to forming a company. To learn the basics of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as ESOP Formation. You may also want to seek the advice of an lawyer. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Timber Lake, South Dakota, our web page covering Incorporating in South Dakota may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in South Dakota.
Getting Money to Start a Business
Raising money to fund your new Timber Lake business 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.
Take advantage of our many articles on raising money, such as Business Incubators.
For Timber Lake entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, check out our List of South Dakota Angel Investors and our List of South Dakota Venture Capital Firms.
Next Steps
As an entrepreneur in Timber Lake, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Timber Lake and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Timber Lake, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Timber Lake, South Dakota
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Timber Lake.
- Resources for Timber Lake, South Dakota Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Timber Lake entrepreneurs.
- South Dakota Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in South Dakota.
- South Dakota Small Business Development Center - The South Dakota Small Business Development Center (SBDC) helps new South Dakota entrepreneurs realize their dream of business ownership and assists existing businesses in their efforts to remain competitive.
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