Washington Business Startup Guides
Opening a Business in Yakima, Washington
Contemplating starting a business in Yakima, Washington? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Yakima.
Yakima, Washington Demographic Information
Yakima has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Yakima demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Yakima.
Businesses
As a new Yakima entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Yakima 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 a Franchise Opportunity Right For You?
As you drive around Yakima, you'll conclude that many business owners have opted to buy a franchise, rather than starting a business on their own. Should you be giving franchising serious consideration?
Most business experts recommend that you consider franchising as an option. This site has dozens of articles on franchising, such as How to Franchise a Business. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.
A comprehensive list of franchisors is available via our List of Franchise Opportunities.
Sample franchise opportunities include Tilden Car Care Centers and CarX Muffler & Brake. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Wedding Franchises and Food and Drink Franchises.
Note on Yakima Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Yakima.
Forming a Company in Yakima, Washington
It's essential that you form your business as a legal structure. Without a legal structure for the business, you can be held personally liable for the actions, debts and obligations of your company.
The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.
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. If you are starting a business in Washington, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Washington. In fact, you can incorporate wherever you want. 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 fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as How to Incorporate. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Yakima, Washington, our information on Incorporating in Washington may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Washington.
Don't Skip the Business Plan
A business plan is critical in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Simply put, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Failure to write a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. You can also get face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Washington.
Where to Get Money to Start a Company
Getting your Yakima business the capital it needs to succeed 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.
Fortunately, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled Business Credit Evaluation.
For Yakima entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, check out our List of Washington Angel Investors and our List of Washington Venture Capital Firms.
Promoting Your New Venture
To rise above the crowd in Yakima and build your business, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your doing well.
You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Making the Most of Trade Shows is a good read to get your marketing juices flowing. That's just a taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Improving Your Entrepreneurial Skillset
Successful business owners recognize that they need to continually improve.
As an entrepreneur who lives in Yakima, Washington, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Washington universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking organizations for Yakima entrepreneurs.
Now It's Up To You
You have a dream -- starting a business in Yakima. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.
We are here to help Yakima businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Yakima, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Yakima, Washington
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Yakima.
- Resources for Yakima, Washington Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Yakima 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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