Wisconsin Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Washington Island, Wisconsin
Thinking about starting a business in Washington Island, Wisconsin? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Washington Island.
Are You Ready for Entrepreneurship?
Most startup companies do not succeed, in part because the entrepreneur did not have the perseverance and abilities that are necessary to succeed. So, before jumping into the world of entrepreneurship, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.
While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Washington Island. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
- We recommend reading Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. Ask them directly: Do I have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Listen carefully to their answer, as they presumably know your strengths and weaknesses.
Washington Island, Wisconsin Demographic Information
Washington Island has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Washington Island demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Washington Island.
Businesses
As a new Washington Island entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Washington Island 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 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.
Before you decide on a company name, run it by some prospective customers and see what they think. If they don't like it, it's probably a good idea to go back to the drawing board.
For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Naming a Business.
On a final note, given that you are planning on starting a business in Washington Island, it's imperative that you check now that no other Wisconsin company is using the business name you want to use.
Make Sure You Have a Business Plan
A business plan is essential in laying a solid foundation for your business success. Indeed, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Starting a business without a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
If you want more information on writing business plans, we recommend reading Reasons to Write a Business Plan. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Wisconsin.
Raising Capital for Your Startup
Getting your Washington Island business the capital it needs to succeed is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.
The good news is this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled Getting a Small Business Loan.
For Washington Island entrepreneurs with great ambition but a shortage of investment capital, we have assembled a List of Wisconsin Angel Investors and our List of Wisconsin Venture Capital Firms.
The Art of Selling
Mastering the art of selling is essential if you want your new Washington Island business to do well.
The key to selling is to set sales goals goals and monitor your progress towards those goals. Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.
Landing Big Customers is worth reading, as it may give you some good ideas on how to sell your products or services. We have many more good articles on selling that you may enjoy reading.
Never Give Up
Most new Washington Island businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Washington Island and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Washington Island, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Washington Island, Wisconsin
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Washington Island.
- Resources for Washington Island, Wisconsin Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Washington Island entrepreneurs.
- Wisconsin Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Wisconsin.
- Wisconsin Small Business Development Center - Wisconsin Small Business Development Centers offer a variety of educational services to small-businesses. The low-cost courses, seminars, and workshops cover both basic and complex topics, from marketing to management techniques to business plan development.
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