Start a Business in Bellevue, Washington

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

Bellevue, Washington Demographic Information

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

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

As a new Bellevue entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Bellevue 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.

Should You Franchise?

As you drive around Bellevue, you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. Should you be giving franchising serious consideration?

Our advice is to consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as Buying an Existing Franchise. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.

To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.

Sample franchise opportunities include CertiRestore and It's a Grind Coffee Shop. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Frozen Yogurt Franchises and Kid Friendly Franchises.

Note on Bellevue Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Bellevue.

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Bellevue Business?

We've created a useful website page for those who want to Buy a Business in Washington. Follow that link and you can assess several good businesses for sale in Bellevue.

For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: Buying a Business.

Company Formation in Bellevue, Washington

A critical step is ensuring that you choose the right legal structure for your new entity. The principal 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 traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.

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 Washington, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Washington. In fact, you can incorporate in the state of your choosing. However, if you do incorporate in another state, you'll have to register as a foreign corporation in your home state.

There's a lot to know about forming a company. To learn the fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Where to Incorporate. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Bellevue, Washington, our information on Incorporating in Washington may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Washington.

Getting Money to Start a Business

Getting your Bellevue 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 Bellevue entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, check out our List of Washington Angel Investors and our List of Washington Venture Capital Firms.

Building Up Your Sales

Being able to sell is a key enabler to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Bellevue or are selling to customers throughout Washington, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.

Good selling involves demonstrating that your wares meet your customer's needs. Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.

Compensating Sales People is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.

What's Next?

You have a dream -- starting a business in Bellevue. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.

If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Bellevue and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Bellevue, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Bellevue, Washington

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

• Resources for Bellevue, Washington Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Bellevue entrepreneurs.
• Washington Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Washington.
• Washington Small Business Development Center - Washington Small Business Development Centers promote economic vitality by providing advice, training and research to Washington entrepreneurs and existing Washington businesses.
• Bellevue, Washington Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Bellevue, Washington newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Bellevue area.
• Bellevue, Washington Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Bellevue, Washington area radio stations.