Are you starting a business in Bay City, Texas? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Bay City.
Will You Be a Successful Entrepreneur?
An entrepreneurial life is hard work, much more arduous than working as an employee. Are you certain you have the stamina and skills to succeed on your own?
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 Bay City. 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.
Which Business to Choose?
There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading Good Business Ideas.
For in-depth how-to guides on how to start specific businesses, browse our Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our How to Start a Private Tennis Courts Business guide or our Starting a Telecommunications Management Services Business guide.
Don't forget that you are starting a business in Bay City. Think about what needs are currently being underserved in Bay City. Don't forget to review Bay City demographics to see if there's a market for what you want to sell.
Bay City, Texas Demographic Information
Bay City has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Bay City demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Bay City.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
3828 |
| 5-9 Employees |
1380 |
| 10-19 Employees |
840 |
| 20-49 Employees |
384 |
| 50-99 Employees |
84 |
| 100-249 Employees |
48 |
| 250-499 Employees |
12 |
| 500-999 Employees |
0 |
| 1000+ Employees |
0 |
| All Bay City Businesses |
6576 |
As a new Bay City entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Bay City 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 |
| Ambulance Services |
2 |
| Automobile Driving Schools |
1 |
| Automotive Glass Replacement Shops |
1 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
6 |
| Automotive Transmission Repair |
1 |
| Baked Goods Stores |
3 |
| Beauty Salons |
5 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
5 |
| Boat Dealers |
2 |
| Bowling Centers |
1 |
| Business Associations |
4 |
| Cable and Other Program Distribution |
1 |
| Cafeterias |
1 |
| Cemeteries and Crematories |
1 |
| Child and Youth Services |
1 |
| Child Day Care Services |
4 |
| Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores |
2 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
1 |
| Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners |
2 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
2 |
| Commercial Screen Printing |
1 |
| Concrete Pipe Manufacturing |
1 |
| Consumer Lending |
5 |
| Convenience Stores |
2 |
| Credit Unions |
2 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
2 |
| Dental Laboratories |
1 |
| Diagnostic Imaging Centers |
2 |
| Discount Department Stores |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
7 |
| Electric Power Distribution |
2 |
| Electrical Contractors |
3 |
| Emergency and Other Relief Services |
1 |
| Environmental Consulting Services |
1 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
1 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
2 |
| Farm Management Services |
1 |
| Farm Product Warehousing and Storage |
1 |
| Fine Arts Schools |
1 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
2 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
1 |
| Flooring Contractors |
1 |
| Florists |
4 |
| Food (Health) Supplement Stores |
1 |
| Footwear and Leather Goods Repair |
1 |
| Fruit and Vegetable Markets |
1 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
20 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
2 |
| Furniture Stores |
3 |
| General Automotive Repair |
8 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| General Rental Centers |
4 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
2 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
3 |
| Hardware Stores |
2 |
| Home Centers |
1 |
| Home Health Care Services |
2 |
| Home Health Equipment Rental |
1 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
1 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
3 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
16 |
| Internet Publishing and Broadcasting |
1 |
| Janitorial Services |
3 |
| Jewelry Stores |
2 |
| Kidney Dialysis Centers |
2 |
| Land Subdivision |
1 |
| Landscape Architectural Services |
1 |
| Landscaping Services |
8 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
18 |
| Linen Supply |
1 |
| Machine Shops |
1 |
| Mail-Order Houses |
1 |
| Media Representatives |
1 |
| Museums |
1 |
| Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores |
1 |
| Nail Salons |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
3 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
1 |
| Nonresidential Property Managers |
4 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
1 |
| Office Administrative Services |
3 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
6 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
4 |
| Offices of Dentists |
7 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
15 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
1 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
1 |
| Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
1 |
| One-Hour Photofinishing |
1 |
| Optical Goods Stores |
2 |
| Outdoor Power Equipment Stores |
1 |
| Paging |
2 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
1 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
1 |
| Payroll Services |
1 |
| Pet and Pet Supplies Stores |
2 |
| Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services |
1 |
| Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals |
1 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
5 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
1 |
| Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas |
2 |
| Radio Stations |
1 |
| Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing |
1 |
| Real Estate Credit |
2 |
| Residential Property Managers |
3 |
| Residential Remodelers |
5 |
| Securities Brokerage |
2 |
| Shoe Stores |
1 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
7 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
3 |
| Special Needs Transportation |
1 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
1 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
2 |
| Taxi Service |
1 |
| Tire Dealers |
2 |
| Title Abstract and Settlement Offices |
1 |
| Tobacco Stores |
1 |
| Travel Agencies |
3 |
| Used Car Dealers |
6 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
2 |
| Vending Machine Operators |
1 |
| Veterinary Services |
3 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
2 |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services |
1 |
| Water Supply and Irrigation Systems |
1 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
2 |
The Role of the Business Plan
A business plan is essential in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Indeed, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Failure to write a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. You should also take advantage of free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Texas.
Getting Money to Start a Business
Getting your Bay City business the capital it needs to succeed will be harder than you might expect. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.
On the bright side, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled Business Credit Evaluation.
For Bay City entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, we have assembled a List of Texas Angel Investors and our List of Texas Venture Capital Firms.
Letting the World Know You Exist
Whether your goal is to attract Bay City customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your beating the competition.
There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Marketing Versus Sales is an article that will stimulate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just a taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Bring in Revenues
Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Bay City business, you need to focus on sales.
Good selling involves demonstrating that your wares meet your customer's needs. The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.
Closing Sales is worth reading, as it may give you some good ideas on how to sell your products or services. We have many more good articles on selling that you may enjoy reading.
What's Next?
As an entrepreneur in Bay City, 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.
Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Bay City and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Bay City, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Bay City, Texas
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Bay City.
- Resources for Bay City, Texas Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Bay City 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.
- Bay City, Texas Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Bay City, Texas newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Bay City area.
- Bay City, Texas Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Bay City, Texas area radio stations.
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