Open a Business in Albany, Texas

Contemplating starting a business in Albany, Texas? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Albany.

Are You Ready for the Challenges of Being an Entrepreneur?

Before quitting your day job, take inventory of your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.

To determine whether you have what it takes to run a business, we recommend these three steps to help you decide:

• Reach out to other entrepreneurs in Albany. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
• 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. 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.

What Business Are You Starting?

There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? If you are struggling with what type of business to start, read 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 Blinds Installation, Cleaning, & Repair Business guide or our Opening a Cattle Buyers Business guide.

Always keep in mind that starting a business in Albany has some implications. Some businesses will do better in Albany than others. Make sure you fully understand Albany demographics before you lock in on your business idea.

Albany, Texas Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	3240
5-9 Employees	855
10-19 Employees	495
20-49 Employees	315
50-99 Employees	45
100-249 Employees	0
250-499 Employees	0
500-999 Employees	0
1000+ Employees	0
All Albany Businesses	4950

As a new Albany entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Albany 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
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores	1
Book Publishers	1
Business Associations	1
Civic and Social Organizations	1
Computer Systems Design Services	1
Convenience Stores	1
Drilling Oil and Gas Wells	1
Electric Power Distribution	1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers	1
Fine Arts Schools	1
Finish Carpentry Contractors	1
Florists	2
Full-Service Restaurants	2
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services	1
General Automotive Repair	2
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	1
Hardware Stores	1
Home Centers	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	2
Iron Foundries	1
Janitorial Services	1
Landscaping Services	1
Libraries and Archives	1
Limited-Service Restaurants	2
Machine Shops	1
Men's Clothing Stores	1
Metal Tank (Heavy Gauge) Manufacturing	1
Miscellaneous Intermediation	3
Museums	1
Newspaper Publishers	1
Nursing Care Facilities	1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	1
Offices of Lawyers	1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	1
Residential Property Managers	1
Site Preparation Contractors	2
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars	1
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters	1
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices	1
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems	1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers	1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers	1

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Albany Business?

We've created a helpful website page for those who want to Buy a Business in Texas. Follow that link and you can assess several good businesses for sale in Albany.

If you are headed down the path of buying a business, you may want to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying 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.

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 Albany, it's very important that you make sure no other Texas company is using the business name you want to use.

Forming a Company in Albany, Texas

A critical step is ensuring 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 corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.

Incorporating is a very popular way to form a business. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in Texas, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Texas. In fact, you can 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 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 Pre-Incorporation Agreements. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Albany, Texas, our information on Incorporating in Texas may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Texas.

Raising Money for Your New Venture

Getting your Albany business the capital it needs to succeed is not an easy task. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.

To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Bank Credit Lines.

For Albany entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, check out our List of Texas Angel Investors and our List of Texas Venture Capital Firms.

Never Give Up

You have a dream -- starting a business in Albany. 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 Albany 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 Albany, Texas

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

• Resources for Albany, Texas Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Albany entrepreneurs.
• Texas Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Texas.
• Houston, Texas Small Business Development Center - Serving 32 counties in Southeast Texas through 14 business consulting and training centers, the Small Business Development Center Network contributes to the growth and prosperity of the Texas Gulf Coast communities.
• North Texas Small Business Development Center - The NTSBDC Network promotes small business success by providing management education.
• Northwest Texas Small Business Development Center - The Northwest Texas Small Business Development Center was established with Texas Tech University in 1986. This regional program serves over ninety thousand square miles including ninety-five counties with a population base of approximately 1.8 million people. This region is serviced by six centers located in Lubbock, Amarillo, Midland/Odessa, Abilene, Stephenville, and Wichita Falls.
• South-West Texas Border SBDC Network Texas Small Business Development Center - The South-West Texas Border Small Business Development Center (SBDC) provides consulting and technical assistance to the small business community.
• Albany, Texas Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Albany, Texas newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Albany area.

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