Florida Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Anna Maria, Florida

Thinking about starting a business in Anna Maria, Florida? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Anna Maria.

Are You Ready for Entrepreneurship?

Before you get too far along in the process, consider your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.

While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:

  • Reach out to other entrepreneurs in Anna Maria. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
  • Peruse Why Small Businesses Fail. This is one of our more popular articles for folks who want to go into business for themselves.
  • Get feedback from somebody whom you trust. 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.

Anna Maria, Florida Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
138
5-9 Employees
21
10-19 Employees
15
20-49 Employees
6
50-99 Employees
6
100-249 Employees
0
250-499 Employees
0
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Anna Maria Businesses
186

As a new Anna Maria entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Anna Maria 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
Art Dealers
1
Boat Dealers
1
Cafeterias
1
Child Day Care Services
2
Commercial Photography
1
Computer Systems Design Services
1
Family Clothing Stores
1
Full-Service Restaurants
7
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
1
Homes for the Elderly
1
Human Rights Organizations
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
1
Landscaping Services
2
Marketing Consulting Services
2
Offices of Podiatrists
1
Public Relations Agencies
1
Repossession Services
1
Residential Property Managers
1
Residential Remodelers
2
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
1
Women's Clothing Stores
2

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Anna Maria Business?

If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Florida. Follow that link and you might discover several good businesses for sale in Anna Maria.

For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: Buying a Business.

Forming a Company in Anna Maria, Florida

It's essential that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will separate 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.

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 Florida, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Florida. 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 Nevada Incorporation. You may also want to seek the advice of an lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Anna Maria, Florida, our information on Incorporating in Florida may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Florida.

Make Sure You Have a Business Plan

A business plan is essential in laying a solid foundation for your business success. Simply put, 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 Find Sample Business Plans Online. You can also get free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Florida.

Marketing Your New Business

To rise above the crowd in Anna Maria and advance your business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.

We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Pros and Cons of Advertising is a good read to get your marketing creativity flowing. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Never Give Up

You have a dream -- starting a business in Anna Maria. 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.

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Anna Maria and elsewhere to achieve real success. 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 Anna Maria, Florida

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

  • Resources for Anna Maria, Florida Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Anna Maria entrepreneurs.
  • Florida Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Florida.
  • Florida Small Business Development Center - The Florida Small Business Development Center Network (FSBDCN) is a statewide economic development partnership between higher education and other stakeholder organizations dedicated to providing entrepreneurs and established businesses with the assistance needed to start, grow and succeed, contributing to the Florida economy.

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