Iowa Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Atlantic, Iowa

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

Will You Be a Good Entrepreneur?

Running your own business is demanding, and can be orders of magnitude more strenuous than working as an employee. Are you positive you want to start a business?

To determine whether you have what it takes to run a business, we recommend these three steps to help you decide:

  • Speak with other entrepreneurs in Atlantic. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
  • 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. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.

What Business Are You Starting?

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. To stir your creative juices on what kind of business to start, take a look at Good Business Ideas.

For step-by-step instructions on starting a variety of business types, visit the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Opening a Bath Soaps Business guide or our Starting a Fasteners Wholesale & Manufacturers Business guide.

Remember that starting a business in Atlantic has some implications. The business you want to start may already be well-represented in Atlantic. Don't forget to review Atlantic demographics to see if there's a market for what you want to sell.

Atlantic, Iowa Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
1176
5-9 Employees
354
10-19 Employees
276
20-49 Employees
150
50-99 Employees
54
100-249 Employees
30
250-499 Employees
12
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Atlantic Businesses
2052

As a new Atlantic entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Atlantic 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
Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
3
Baked Goods Stores
1
Beauty Salons
4
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns
1
Business Associations
2
Cafeterias
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Child Day Care Services
2
Civic and Social Organizations
5
Clothing Accessories Stores
1
Community Food Services
1
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
1
Credit Unions
1
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
1
Discount Department Stores
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
2
Educational Support Services
1
Electrical Contractors
3
Emergency and Other Relief Services
2
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
2
Farm Management Services
2
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
3
Fine Arts Schools
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
1
Floor Covering Stores
1
Flooring Contractors
1
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
1
Framing Contractors
2
Full-Service Restaurants
8
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
2
Furniture Stores
1
General Automotive Repair
5
General Freight Trucking, Local
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
2
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
2
Hardware Stores
3
Home Health Care Services
2
Homes for the Elderly
1
Household Appliance Stores
2
Industrial Building Construction
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
13
Investment Advice
2
Janitorial Services
1
Jewelry Stores
2
Kidney Dialysis Centers
1
Landscaping Services
5
Limited-Service Restaurants
5
Materials Recovery Facilities
1
Meat Markets
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
1
Motorcycle Dealers
1
New Car Dealers
2
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
4
Offices of Chiropractors
4
Offices of Dentists
5
Offices of Lawyers
6
Offices of Optometrists
1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
1
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
3
Photography Studios, Portrait
2
Professional Organizations
1
Radio Stations
2
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
2
Residential Remodelers
2
Roofing Contractors
3
Savings Institutions
1
Securities Brokerage
4
Septic Tank and Related Services
1
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
1
Shoe Stores
2
Site Preparation Contractors
2
Soft Drink Manufacturing
1
Solid Waste Collection
1
Sporting Goods Stores
1
Tax Preparation Services
2
Taxi Service
1
Telemarketing Bureaus
1
Tire Dealers
1
Used Car Dealers
1
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
1
Veterinary Services
1
Video Tape and Disc Rental
1
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
3
Women's Clothing Stores
2

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.

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.

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

On a final note, given that you are planning on starting a business in Atlantic, it's critical that you ensure that no other Iowa company is using the business name you want to use.

Forming a Company in Atlantic, Iowa

It's very important that you form your business as a legal structure. Doing so will shield you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.

The entity you form can be a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.

Incorporating 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 Iowa, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Iowa. In fact, you can incorporate in the state of your choosing. 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. To learn the basics of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as C Corp Versus S Corp. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Atlantic, Iowa, our information on Incorporating in Iowa may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Iowa.

Marketing Your New Startup

To rise above the crowd in Atlantic and advance your business, you need a great marketing plan.

We have some great resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Bus Bench Advertising Costs is an article that will generate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

What's Next?

As an entrepreneur in Atlantic, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.

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

We are here to help Atlantic 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 Atlantic, Iowa

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

  • Resources for Atlantic, Iowa Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Atlantic entrepreneurs.
  • Iowa Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Iowa.
  • Iowa Small Business Development Center - The Iowa SBDC conducts research, counsels, and trains business people in management, financing, and operating small businesses. They provide comprehensive information services and access to experts in a variety of fields. This is a great resource for Iowa entrepreneurs!

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Iowa

Starting a Business in Armstrong
Starting a Business in Audubon

Browse All Business Startup Guides for Iowa
Starting a Business Guides for Other States

 

 

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