Wisconsin Business Startup Guides
Start a Business in Westby, Wisconsin
Are you starting a business in Westby, Wisconsin? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Westby.
Is Becoming an Entrepreneur Right for You?
Most new ventures do not succeed, in part because the business owner did not have the entrepreneurial skills and traits needed 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 Westby. Get their take on what it's really like to be an entrepreneur.
- We recommend reading Should You Become an Entrepreneur?. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Have a candid conversation with friends and family. That's the best way to get a truly objective assessment as to whether others think you have what it takes.
What Business Are You Starting?
An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. We recommend that you read Good Business Ideas.
For step-by-step instructions on starting a variety of business types, visit the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Opening a Household Bar Fixtures Business guide or our How to Start an Inventory Services Business guide.
Don't forget that starting a business in Westby has some implications. The business you want to start may already be well-represented in Westby. Don't forget to review Westby demographics to see if there's a market for what you want to sell.
Westby, Wisconsin Demographic Information
Westby has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Westby demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Westby.
Businesses
As a new Westby entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Westby 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
Making the right decision when choosing a company name is very important. There are many decisions you'll make now that you can change later, but changing a company name years down the road is not very easy. So, choose a good company name at the outset.
Even if the name doesn't do it by itself, many naming experts believe there should be a story behind the name that ties into your company mission.
To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Naming a Company.
On a final note, given that you are starting a business in Westby, it's imperative that you check now that no other Wisconsin company is using the business name you want to use.
Forming a Company in Westby, Wisconsin
It's very important 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.
The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.
Incorporation 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. If you are starting a business in Wisconsin, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Wisconsin. In fact, 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. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Dissolving a Corporation. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Westby, Wisconsin, our information on Incorporating in Wisconsin may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Wisconsin.
Don't Forget to Create a Business Plan
A business plan is essential in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Indeed, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Not having a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Wisconsin.
Promoting Your New Venture
To grow your Westby business, you need a excellent marketing plan.
You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Dealing with Angry Customers discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Moving Forward
Most new Westby businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.
Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Westby and throughout the United States . We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Westby 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 Westby, Wisconsin
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Westby.
- Resources for Westby, Wisconsin Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Westby 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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