South Dakota Business Startup Guides

Open a Business in Watertown, South Dakota

Need help starting a business in Watertown, South Dakota? We've got the information you need to open a business in Watertown.

Choosing the Right Company to Start

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading Free Business Ideas.

To view an extensive list of business types, complete with startup instructions, spend some time in the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our How to Start a Venetian Blinds Business guide or our Starting a Chemicals Wholesale & Manufacturers Business guide.

Remember that your new business will be in Watertown. If Watertown already has plenty of the kind of business you want to start, you might want to change your plans. Study Watertown demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.

Watertown, South Dakota Demographic Information

Watertown has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.

To give you a better feel for Watertown demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Watertown.

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
12536
5-9 Employees
5584
10-19 Employees
2856
20-49 Employees
1920
50-99 Employees
528
100-249 Employees
336
250-499 Employees
96
500-999 Employees
48
1000+ Employees
0
All Watertown Businesses
23904

As a new Watertown entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Watertown 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.

Business Type
# of
Businesses
Advertising Agencies
1
Aluminum Die-Casting Foundries
1
Amusement Arcades
2
Architectural Services
1
Art Dealers
2
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
7
Automotive Transmission Repair
1
Baked Goods Stores
1
Beauty Salons
8
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
4
Boat Dealers
1
Book Stores
3
Building Inspection Services
1
Business Associations
4
Cable and Other Program Distribution
1
Car Washes
4
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
2
Casino Hotels
1
Casinos (except Casino Hotels)
6
Child Day Care Services
7
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
1
Civic and Social Organizations
7
Claims Adjusting
1
Clothing Accessories Stores
2
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
2
Collection Agencies
2
Commodity Contracts Brokerage
1
Community Food Services
1
Computer and Software Stores
1
Computer Systems Design Services
2
Construction Machinery Manufacturing
2
Construction Sand and Gravel Mining
1
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
2
Couriers
3
Credit Card Issuing
2
Credit Unions
3
Curtain and Drapery Mills
1
Dental Laboratories
1
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
1
Discount Department Stores
3
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
16
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
3
Electric Power Distribution
2
Electrical Contractors
10
Elementary and Secondary Schools
2
Engineering Services
2
Ethyl Alcohol Manufacturing
1
Family Clothing Stores
1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
5
Fine Arts Schools
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
8
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
6
Floor Covering Stores
2
Flooring Contractors
3
Flour Milling
1
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
1
Food Service Contractors
1
Framing Contractors
3
Freight Transportation Arrangement
1
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
1
Full-Service Restaurants
23
Furniture Stores
5
General Automotive Repair
11
General Freight Trucking, Local
12
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Rental Centers
1
General Warehousing and Storage
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
7
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Hardware Manufacturing
1
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
1
Hardware Stores
4
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
3
Home Centers
1
Homes for the Elderly
2
Household Appliance Stores
5
Human Rights Organizations
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
25
Interior Design Services
1
Internet Service Providers
1
Investment Advice
2
Jewelry Stores
5
Landscaping Services
10
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
2
Limited-Service Restaurants
16
Linen Supply
1
Livestock Merchant Wholesalers
1
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
1
Mail-Order Houses
1
Masonry Contractors
3
Meat Markets
1
Medical Laboratories
1
Motorcycle Dealers
5
Museums
3
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
2
New Housing Operative Builders
3
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nonresidential Property Managers
2
Nursing Care Facilities
1
Offices of Bank Holding Companies
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
6
Offices of Chiropractors
10
Offices of Lawyers
17
Offices of Optometrists
5
Offices of Podiatrists
1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
4
One-Hour Photofinishing
1
Optical Goods Stores
1
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
6
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
3
Photography Studios, Portrait
2
Political Organizations
1
Polystyrene Foam Product Manufacturing
1
Precision Turned Product Manufacturing
2
Professional Employer Organizations
1
Professional Organizations
1
Quick Printing
3
Radio Stations
2
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
2
Real Estate Credit
2
Residential Property Managers
1
Residential Remodelers
12
Retail Bakeries
1
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair
2
Roofing Contractors
3
Savings Institutions
2
Scheduled Freight Air Transportation
1
Securities Brokerage
8
Security Guards and Patrol Services
1
Septic Tank and Related Services
1
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
1
Shoe Stores
7
Sign Manufacturing
3
Site Preparation Contractors
5
Solid Waste Collection
2
Sporting Goods Stores
5
Tax Preparation Services
2
Taxi Service
1
Telemarketing Bureaus
1
Telephone Answering Services
1
Temporary Help Services
1
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters
1
Tire Dealers
5
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
2
Tobacco Stores
1
Travel Agencies
3
Used Car Dealers
4
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
1
Vending Machine Operators
2
Veterinary Services
4
Video Tape and Disc Rental
3
Voluntary Health Organizations
1
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
7
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
3

Don't Skip the Business Plan

Writing a business plan is essential in maximizing the prospects of your new company. In effect, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Failure to write a business plan will greatly reduce your chances of business success.

To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Outsourcing. A great resource for business planning assistance is the face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in South Dakota.

Raising Money for Your Venture

Finding the funds to fuel the growth of your Watertown business requires strong organization skills and perseverance. 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 Credit Evaluation.

For Watertown entrepreneurs on the hunt for startup funding, you'll want to take a look at our List of South Dakota Angel Investors and our List of South Dakota Venture Capital Firms.

Ramping Up Sales

Mastering the art of selling is a must if you want your new Watertown business to do well.

Not knowing how to sell can result in lost customers and minimal market share. The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.

Closing Sales is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.

How to Improve Your Entrepreneurial Abilities

Good entrepreneurs recognize that they don't know everything.

With your business being located in Watertown, South Dakota, you will want to take advantage of the learning programs at local South Dakota educational institutions. We also recommend you look into networking organizations for Watertown entrepreneurs.

Moving Forward

Most new Watertown businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.

We are here to help Watertown 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 Watertown, South Dakota

Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Watertown.

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