Washington Business Startup Guides
Open a Business in Walla Walla, Washington
Need help starting a business in Walla Walla, Washington? We've got the information you need to open a business in Walla Walla.
Are You Sure You Want to Do This?
Before quitting your day job, assess your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
With so much at stake when you start a business, we strongly recommend you do the following before you proceed:
- Reach out to other entrepreneurs in Walla Walla. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
- Peruse Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. This is one of our more popular articles for folks who want to go into business for themselves.
- Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.
Walla Walla, Washington Demographic Information
Walla Walla has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Walla Walla demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Walla Walla.
Businesses
As a new Walla Walla entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Walla Walla 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?
Browse the Yellow Pages for Walla Walla and you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. Is franchising maybe a better way for you to start your business?
We highly recommend you investigate buying a franchise. This site has dozens of articles on franchising, such as Franchisees Versus Licensees. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.
To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.
Representative franchise opportunities include ExxonMobil Corporation and Interstate Batteries. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Blind Repair and Sales Franchises and Flooring Franchises.
Note on Walla Walla Franchise Opportunities: To find out if a franchise you are interested in is available in Walla Walla, you will need to get in direct contact with the franchisor.
Company Formation in Walla Walla, Washington
A critical step is ensuring that you choose the right legal structure for your new entity. Doing so will shield you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.
When forming a company, you will decide among many company types, such as a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.
Incorporating is a very popular way to form a business. A key decision is whether to form and S-Corp or a C-Corp, and you also must decide in which state you will incorporate. Just because you are starting a business in Washington, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Washington. In fact, you are allowed to incorporate wherever you want. 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's a lot to know about forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Company Formation. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Walla Walla, Washington, our web page covering Incorporating in Washington may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Washington.
Make Sure You Have a Business Plan
Writing a business plan is vital to the health of your new business. Simply put, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Not having a business plan will greatly reduce your chances of business success.
If you want more information on writing business plans, we recommend reading Business Plan Mistakes. You can also get free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Washington.
Startup Financing Basics
Raising money to fund your new Walla Walla business will be harder than you might expect. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.
Take advantage of our many articles on securing funding, such as Getting a Small Business Loan.
For Walla Walla entrepreneurs on the hunt for startup funding, we have assembled a List of Washington Angel Investors and our List of Washington Venture Capital Firms.
Next Steps
You have a dream -- starting a business in Walla Walla. 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.
We are here to help Walla Walla businesses to be successful. 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 Walla Walla, Washington
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Walla Walla.
- Resources for Walla Walla, Washington Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Walla Walla 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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