Wisconsin Business Startup Guides
Open a Business in Appleton, Wisconsin
Need help starting a business in Appleton, Wisconsin? We've got the information you need to open a business in Appleton.
Do You Have What It Takes?
Most new ventures do not succeed, in part because the founder did not have the perseverance and abilities that are necessary to succeed. So, before jumping into the world of entrepreneurship, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.
With so much at stake when you start a business, we strongly recommend you do the following before you proceed:
- Speak with other entrepreneurs in Appleton. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
- You should read The Entrepreneurial Personality. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
- Reach out to a trusted acquaintance. A support network of family and friends can be a great sounding board for good advice before you decide for sure to go into business.
Appleton, Wisconsin Demographic Information
Appleton has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Appleton demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Appleton.
Businesses
As a new Appleton entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Appleton 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 Buying an Existing Appleton Business a Good Strategy?
An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Wisconsin. Follow that link and you can review several good businesses for sale in Appleton.
Before buying a business, be sure to read this article: Buying a Business.
Choosing a Company Name
A big decision when starting a company is choosing a company name. Believe it or not, choosing a good company name can be a big contributor to your business success.
Pick a company name that isn't too generic. If you do a search engine search for your proposed name and a billion results come up, you may want to reconsider the name. It's much easier to come up in the search engines when your name is fairly unique.
To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Naming a Business.
As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are starting a business in Appleton, it's imperative that you check now that no other Wisconsin company is using the business name you want to use.
Company Formation in Appleton, Wisconsin
It's very important that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. The main advantage of forming your new business as a legal entity is that it separates your business liabilities from your personal liabilities.
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. Just because 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's a lot to know about forming a company. To learn the fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as How to Incorporate. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Appleton, Wisconsin, our information on Incorporating in Wisconsin may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Wisconsin.
Letting the World Know You Exist
Whether your goal is to attract Appleton customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you need a excellent marketing plan.
There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Holiday-Powered Marketing discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.
Now It's Up To You
Most new Appleton businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Appleton and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Appleton 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 Appleton, Wisconsin
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Appleton.
- Resources for Appleton, Wisconsin Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Appleton 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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