Wisconsin Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in Antigo, Wisconsin

Are you starting a business in Antigo, Wisconsin? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Antigo.

Antigo, Wisconsin Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
671
5-9 Employees
300
10-19 Employees
198
20-49 Employees
117
50-99 Employees
33
100-249 Employees
33
250-499 Employees
3
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Antigo Businesses
1355

As a new Antigo entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Antigo 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
Amusement Arcades
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
2
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
6
Automotive Transmission Repair
1
Beauty Salons
12
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
1
Boat Dealers
1
Book Stores
2
Business Associations
2
Cable and Other Program Distribution
1
Car Washes
2
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
1
Charter Bus Industry
1
Cheese Manufacturing
1
Child and Youth Services
1
Civic and Social Organizations
2
Construction Machinery Manufacturing
1
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
1
Credit Unions
2
Cut Stock, Resawing Lumber, and Planing
1
Dental Laboratories
1
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
1
Electrical Contractors
8
Electronic Shopping
1
Family Clothing Stores
1
Family Planning Centers
1
Farm Management Services
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
4
Floor Covering Stores
1
Framing Contractors
2
Freight Transportation Arrangement
1
Full-Service Restaurants
14
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
3
Furniture Stores
3
General Automotive Repair
8
General Freight Trucking, Local
4
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Hand and Edge Tool Manufacturing
1
Home Health Care Services
1
Homes for the Elderly
3
Household Appliance Stores
4
Industrial Building Construction
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
10
Jewelry Stores
3
Landscaping Services
5
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
10
Logging
2
Machine Shops
1
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
1
Meat Processed from Carcasses
1
Medical Laboratories
1
Men's Clothing Stores
1
Metal Heat Treating
1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
1
Motorcycle Dealers
1
Natural Gas Distribution
2
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
2
Offices of Chiropractors
7
Offices of Dentists
5
Offices of Lawyers
4
Offices of Podiatrists
1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
2
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
1
Photography Studios, Portrait
1
Plastics Bag Manufacturing
1
Political Organizations
1
Public Relations Agencies
1
Quick Printing
1
Residential Property Managers
1
Residential Remodelers
4
Sawmills
1
School and Employee Bus Transportation
1
Securities Brokerage
2
Shoe Stores
1
Siding Contractors
1
Sign Manufacturing
3
Site Preparation Contractors
4
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
1
Special Needs Transportation
3
Sporting Goods Stores
2
Tax Preparation Services
4
Temporary Shelters
1
Tire Dealers
2
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
2
Used Car Dealers
6
Veterinary Services
1
Video Tape and Disc Rental
1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
2
Women's Clothing Stores
1

Is a Franchise Opportunity Right For You?

Visit the business district of Antigo and you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. But is franchising the right option for you?

Our advice is to consider franchising as an option. On our site, you can read many articles about franchising, such as How to Find Financing for Franchises. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.

To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.

Representative franchise opportunities include Atlantic Mower Parts & Supplies and Verlo Mattress Factory Stores, LLC. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Children's Fitness Franchises and Party Supply Franchises.

Note on Antigo Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Antigo.

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.

For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Branding Advice.

As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are opening a business in Antigo, it's very important that you make sure your company name has not already been claimed by another Wisconsin business.

Forming a Company in Antigo, Wisconsin

It's essential 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.

When forming a company, you will decide among many company types, such as a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.

Incorporation is a very common way to legally create a business entity. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in Wisconsin, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Wisconsin. In fact, you can incorporate in any state you would like to. 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 Piercing the Corporate Veil. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Antigo, Wisconsin, our web page covering Incorporating in Wisconsin may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Wisconsin.

Where to Get Money to Start a Company

Raising money to fund your new Antigo business is a difficult chore. In fact, financing your new business may be the hardest challenge you ever face.

To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as 504 Loans.

For Antigo entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, you'll want to take a look at our List of Wisconsin Angel Investors and our List of Wisconsin Venture Capital Firms.

Marketing Your New Business

Whether your goal is to attract Antigo customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.

You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Seven Marketing Ideas for Your Small Business 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.

How to Improve Your Entrepreneurial Abilities

The best entrepreneurs recognize that they don't know everything.

With your business being located in Antigo, Wisconsin, you should get information on some of the many programs available at nearby Wisconsin universities, colleges and community colleges. You should also check if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Antigo entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

Now It's Up To You

You have a dream -- starting a business in Antigo. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

We are here to help Antigo 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 Antigo, Wisconsin

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

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