Starting a Business in Armada, Michigan

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

Will You Be a Good Entrepreneur?

Most new ventures don't make it, in part because the business owner did not have the tenacity and/or the skills to succeed. So, before you start your business, 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:

• Talk to other entrepreneurs in Armada. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
• We recommend reading Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
• Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.

Armada, Michigan Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	258
5-9 Employees	81
10-19 Employees	39
20-49 Employees	18
50-99 Employees	12
100-249 Employees	0
250-499 Employees	0
500-999 Employees	0
1000+ Employees	0
All Armada Businesses	408

As a new Armada entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Armada 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
Automobile Driving Schools	1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores	2
Barber Shops	1
Beauty Salons	1
Broadwoven Fabric Finishing Mills	1
Caterers	1
Child Day Care Services	1
Commercial Photography	1
Continuing Care Retirement Communities	1
Drywall and Insulation Contractors	2
Electric Power Distribution	1
Electrical Contractors	2
Engineering Services	2
Exterminating and Pest Control Services	1
Fine Arts Schools	1
Finish Carpentry Contractors	2
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	1
Flooring Contractors	3
Food Product Machinery Manufacturing	1
Food Service Contractors	1
Full-Service Restaurants	3
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services	1
General Automotive Repair	1
Graphic Design Services	1
Hand and Edge Tool Manufacturing	1
Hardware Stores	2
Home Health Care Services	1
Industrial Mold Manufacturing	1
Institutional Furniture Manufacturing	1
Janitorial Services	3
Jewelry (except Costume) Manufacturing	1
Land Subdivision	1
Landscaping Services	7
Leather and Hide Tanning and Finishing	1
Limited-Service Restaurants	1
Local Messengers and Local Delivery	1
Marking Device Manufacturing	1
Masonry Contractors	2
Mobile Food Services	1
New Housing Operative Builders	1
Newspaper Publishers	1
Nursing Care Facilities	1
Office Administrative Services	1
Offices of Chiropractors	1
Offices of Dentists	2
Offices of Lawyers	1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers	1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors	2
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services	1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	1
Precision Turned Product Manufacturing	1
Residential Remodelers	3
Siding Contractors	2
Site Preparation Contractors	1
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars	1
Solid Waste Collection	1
Used Car Dealers	1
Veterinary Services	1

Picking a Company Name

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.

Companies like Starbucks, Apple, Target, Microsoft and Intuit all have strong company names that are easy to remember and have become well-loved brands. Wouldn't it be nice if your new company name got on a similar track?

To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Branding Advice.

As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are starting a business in Armada, it's imperative that you check now that no other Michigan company is using the business name you want to use.

Raising Money for Your Venture

Getting your Armada business the capital it needs to succeed is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. If you don't have a rich uncle to fund you, you'll need to be creative in how you approach your fundraising efforts.

Fortunately, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled 504 Loans.

For Armada entrepreneurs who need startup capital, check out our List of Michigan Angel Investors and our List of Michigan Venture Capital Firms.

Building Up Your Sales

Mastering the art of selling is a must if you want your new Armada business to do well.

Clever sales techniques can transform any business from good to great. Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.

Anticipating Prospect Responses is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.

How to Improve Your Entrepreneurial Abilities

The best entrepreneurs recognize that they need to continually improve.

Given that you are starting a business in Armada, Michigan, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Michigan universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also beneficial to see if there are any Armada networking organizations.

What's Next?

Most new Armada businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.

We are here to help Armada businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Armada, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Armada, Michigan

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

• Resources for Armada, Michigan Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Armada entrepreneurs.
• Michigan Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Michigan.
• Michigan Small Business Development Center - This organization supports 12 regional offices and over 30 satellite offices, each providing counseling and training to Michigan small business owners and entrepreneurs throughout the 83 counties in Michigan. Services to entrepreneurs are offered through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
• Armada, Michigan Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Armada, Michigan newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Armada area.

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