Start a Business in Aransas Pass, Texas

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

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

Before announcing to the world that you are going to start your own business, consider your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.

Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.

• Talk to other entrepreneurs in Aransas Pass. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
• We recommend reading Should You Become an Entrepreneur?. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
• Have a candid conversation with friends and family. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.

What Type of Business Should You Start?

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. If you are struggling with what type of business to start, read Free Business Ideas.

If you still are not sure what type of business to start, peruse the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our How to Start an Aquariums & Supplies Retailer guide or our Starting a Corporate Gift Services Business guide.

Remember that Aransas Pass is the place where you are starting a business. The business you want to start may already be well-represented in Aransas Pass. Only by spending some time analyzing Aransas Pass demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.

Aransas Pass, Texas Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	423
5-9 Employees	162
10-19 Employees	105
20-49 Employees	57
50-99 Employees	3
100-249 Employees	15
250-499 Employees	9
500-999 Employees	0
1000+ Employees	0
All Aransas Pass Businesses	774

As a new Aransas Pass entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Aransas Pass 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	3
Baked Goods Stores	1
Beauty Salons	1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores	1
Boat Dealers	4
Bowling Centers	1
Business Associations	1
Cable and Other Program Distribution	1
Carbon Black Manufacturing	1
Cemeteries and Crematories	1
Child Day Care Services	1
Civic and Social Organizations	2
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners	1
Computer Systems Design Services	1
Consumer Lending	1
Convenience Stores	1
Convention and Visitors Bureaus	1
Drilling Oil and Gas Wells	1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	3
Electric Power Distribution	1
Electrical Contractors	2
Employment Placement Agencies	2
Family Clothing Stores	1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers	1
Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers	2
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	4
Florists	1
Fruit and Vegetable Markets	1
Full-Service Restaurants	13
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services	1
General Automotive Repair	3
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	1
General Rental Centers	2
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	1
Glass and Glazing Contractors	2
Grantmaking Foundations	1
Hardware Stores	2
Home Centers	2
Home Health Care Services	1
Home Health Equipment Rental	1
Industrial Building Construction	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	1
Kidney Dialysis Centers	1
Land Subdivision	1
Landscaping Services	2
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property	2
Limited-Service Restaurants	11
Meat Markets	2
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers	1
Navigational Services to Shipping	1
New Car Dealers	3
New Housing Operative Builders	1
Newspaper Publishers	1
Nursing Care Facilities	1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores	1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	1
Offices of Chiropractors	2
Offices of Dentists	2
Offices of Lawyers	4
Offices of Optometrists	1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores	1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals	3
Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas	1
Quick Printing	1
Real Estate Credit	1
Recreational Vehicle Dealers	1
Residential Property Managers	1
Retail Bakeries	1
Roofing Contractors	1
Shellfish Fishing	10
Ship Building and Repairing	1
Site Preparation Contractors	1
Solid Waste Landfill	1
Sporting Goods Stores	1
Sports and Recreation Instruction	1
Testing Laboratories	2
Tire Dealers	2
Travel Agencies	1
Used Merchandise Stores	1
Veterinary Services	2
Video Tape and Disc Rental	2
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters	1

What About Franchising Opportunities?

As you drive around Aransas Pass, you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. But is franchising the right option for you?

We highly recommend you consider franchising as an option. On our site, you can read many articles about franchising, such as Franchising and Veterans. 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.

Sample franchise opportunities include Oogles n Googles and Play It Again Sports. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as B2B Franchises and Financial Services Franchises.

Note on Aransas Pass Franchise Opportunities: To find out if a franchise you are interested in is available in Aransas Pass, you will need to get in direct contact with the franchisor.

Naming the Company

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.

Company names should be fun to say, and they should help people to understand what you do and how you differentiate yourself in the market.

For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Naming a Company.

On a final note, given that you are opening a business in Aransas Pass, it's very important that you make sure no other Texas company is using the business name you want to use.

Raising Capital for Your Business

Getting your Aransas Pass business the capital it needs to succeed is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. The reality is that there is very little funding available for new small businesses, and you have to explore every possible alternative.

The good news is this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled 504 Loans.

For Aransas Pass entrepreneurs who need startup capital, you'll want to take a look at our List of Texas Angel Investors and our List of Texas Venture Capital Firms.

Marketing Your New Business

To grow your Aransas Pass business, you need a solid marketing plan.

We have some excellent resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Marketing Basics is a good read to get your marketing creativity flowing. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.

Next Steps

You have a dream -- starting a business in Aransas Pass. 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.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Aransas Pass and throughout the United States . We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Aransas Pass 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 Aransas Pass, Texas

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

• Resources for Aransas Pass, Texas Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Aransas Pass 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.
• Aransas Pass, Texas Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Aransas Pass, Texas newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Aransas Pass area.

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