Contemplating starting a business in Brenham, Texas? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Brenham.
What Type of Business Should You Start?
An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading How to Evaluate a Business Idea.
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 Opening a Continental Cuisine Restaurant guide or our How to Start a Construction Clean Up Contractors Business guide.
Always keep in mind that your new startup will be located in Brenham. Some businesses will do better in Brenham than others. Make sure you fully understand Brenham demographics before you lock in on your business idea.
Brenham, Texas Demographic Information
Brenham has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Brenham demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Brenham.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
1089 |
| 5-9 Employees |
513 |
| 10-19 Employees |
276 |
| 20-49 Employees |
201 |
| 50-99 Employees |
66 |
| 100-249 Employees |
39 |
| 250-499 Employees |
15 |
| 500-999 Employees |
3 |
| 1000+ Employees |
0 |
| All Brenham Businesses |
2202 |
As a new Brenham entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Brenham 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 |
| Appliance Repair and Maintenance |
3 |
| Architectural Services |
4 |
| Automotive Exhaust System Repair |
1 |
| Automotive Glass Replacement Shops |
3 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
5 |
| Barber Shops |
1 |
| Beauty Salons |
4 |
| Bed-and-Breakfast Inns |
3 |
| Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers |
2 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
3 |
| Blood and Organ Banks |
1 |
| Book Stores |
1 |
| Bowling Centers |
1 |
| Broadwoven Fabric Mills |
1 |
| Business Associations |
3 |
| Cable and Other Program Distribution |
1 |
| Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services |
1 |
| Cemeteries and Crematories |
1 |
| Child Day Care Services |
6 |
| Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores |
1 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
4 |
| Claims Adjusting |
1 |
| Computer and Software Stores |
1 |
| Computer Systems Design Services |
1 |
| Consumer Lending |
4 |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities |
2 |
| Convenience Stores |
3 |
| Credit Unions |
1 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
1 |
| Cut Stock, Resawing Lumber, and Planing |
1 |
| Drafting Services |
1 |
| Drilling Oil and Gas Wells |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
1 |
| Drive-In Motion Picture Theaters |
1 |
| Electric Power Distribution |
2 |
| Electrical Contractors |
10 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
1 |
| Engineering Services |
4 |
| Exam Preparation and Tutoring |
1 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
2 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
3 |
| Fine Arts Schools |
1 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
2 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
4 |
| Flooring Contractors |
4 |
| Florists |
3 |
| Food (Health) Supplement Stores |
2 |
| Framing Contractors |
2 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
22 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
2 |
| Furniture Stores |
4 |
| General Automotive Repair |
10 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
1 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
4 |
| Glass and Glazing Contractors |
1 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
1 |
| Hand and Edge Tool Manufacturing |
1 |
| Hardware Stores |
1 |
| Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores |
1 |
| Home Centers |
4 |
| Home Health Care Services |
4 |
| Home Health Equipment Rental |
1 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
1 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
2 |
| Ice Manufacturing |
1 |
| Industrial Launderers |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
15 |
| International Trade Financing |
1 |
| Internet Service Providers |
1 |
| Janitorial Services |
3 |
| Jewelry Stores |
2 |
| Kidney Dialysis Centers |
1 |
| Landscaping Services |
12 |
| Lessors of Other Real Estate Property |
2 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
25 |
| Machine Shops |
7 |
| Mail-Order Houses |
1 |
| Manifold Business Forms Printing |
1 |
| Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers |
1 |
| Masonry Contractors |
2 |
| Mattress Manufacturing |
1 |
| Meat Markets |
3 |
| Meat Processed from Carcasses |
1 |
| Men's Clothing Stores |
2 |
| Miscellaneous Intermediation |
3 |
| Motorcycle Dealers |
3 |
| Musical Instrument Manufacturing |
1 |
| Nail Salons |
1 |
| Natural Gas Liquid Extraction |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
6 |
| New Housing Operative Builders |
2 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
1 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
6 |
| Office Administrative Services |
1 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
1 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
2 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
2 |
| Offices of Dentists |
11 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
12 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
6 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
3 |
| Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
1 |
| Packaging and Labeling Services |
1 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
2 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
6 |
| Passenger Car Rental |
1 |
| Payroll Services |
1 |
| Pet and Pet Supplies Stores |
2 |
| Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals |
3 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
6 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
3 |
| Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas |
1 |
| Portfolio Management |
4 |
| Professional Employer Organizations |
1 |
| Quick Printing |
1 |
| Radio Stations |
1 |
| Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing |
2 |
| Real Estate Credit |
3 |
| Real Estate Investment Trusts |
1 |
| Residential Remodelers |
2 |
| Retail Bakeries |
1 |
| Reupholstery and Furniture Repair |
1 |
| Roofing Contractors |
3 |
| Sales Financing |
1 |
| Savings Institutions |
1 |
| School and Employee Bus Transportation |
1 |
| Securities Brokerage |
2 |
| Septic Tank and Related Services |
2 |
| Shoe Stores |
2 |
| Siding Contractors |
1 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
3 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
2 |
| Solid Waste Collection |
1 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
4 |
| Sports and Recreation Instruction |
4 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
2 |
| Telecommunications Resellers |
1 |
| Temporary Help Services |
2 |
| Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters |
1 |
| Tile and Terrazzo Contractors |
1 |
| Tire Dealers |
2 |
| Title Abstract and Settlement Offices |
4 |
| Travel Agencies |
2 |
| Travel Trailer and Camper Manufacturing |
1 |
| Used Car Dealers |
1 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
3 |
| Vending Machine Operators |
1 |
| Veterinary Services |
4 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
3 |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services |
1 |
| Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters |
1 |
| Water Supply and Irrigation Systems |
3 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
6 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
2 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
3 |
| Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing |
1 |
Should You Buy an Existing Brenham Business?
We've created a handy website page for those who want to Buy a Business in Texas. Follow that link and you can assess several good businesses for sale in Brenham.
For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: Buying a Business.
Forming a Company in Brenham, Texas
A critical step is ensuring that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. 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.
Incorporation 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 Texas, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Texas. As it turns out, you can incorporate wherever you want. 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 fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Avoiding Personal Liability in Business. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Brenham, Texas, our information on Incorporating in Texas may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Texas.
Don't Forget to Create a Business Plan
Creating a business plan is vital to the health of your new business. In effect, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Failure to write a business plan
To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. You can also get free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Texas.
Raising Money for Your New Venture
Getting your Brenham business the capital it needs to succeed is not an easy task. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.
Take advantage of our many articles on securing funding, such as 504 Loans.
For Brenham entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, browse our List of Texas Angel Investors and our List of Texas Venture Capital Firms.
How to Improve Your Entrepreneurial Abilities
Good entrepreneurs recognize that they don't know everything.
Given that you are starting a business in Brenham, Texas, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Texas universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Brenham entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.
What's Next?
You have a dream -- starting a business in Brenham. 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 Brenham and throughout the United States . 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 Brenham, Texas
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Brenham.
- Resources for Brenham, Texas Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Brenham 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.
- Brenham, Texas Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Brenham, Texas newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Brenham area.
- Brenham, Texas Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Brenham, Texas area radio stations.
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