Starting a Business in Bronx, New York

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

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

Most new companies don't make it, in part because the founder did not have the perseverance and abilities that are necessary to succeed. So, before you start your business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.

While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:

• Speak with other entrepreneurs in Bronx. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
• You should read Business Failure. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
• Involve a spouse, family member or trusted friend in the decision. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.

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 Evaluating Your 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 Starting a Dance Club guide or our Starting a Tatoo Parlor guide.

Always keep in mind that your new business will be in Bronx. Some businesses will do better in Bronx than others. A critical consideration is whether Bronx demographics mesh well with your startup concept.

Bronx, New York Demographic Information

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

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

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

Have You Considered Franchising?

Browse the Yellow Pages for Bronx and it becomes clear that purchasing a franchise is a common way to get started as an entrepreneur. Is there a franchise opportunity out there that makes sense for you?

Our advice is to evaluate the possibility of your buying a franchise opportunity. We have many articles on franchises, such as How to Franchise a Business. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.

You can find franchise opportunities by browsing our Franchise Opportunities Directory.

Sample franchise opportunities include Subway Franchises and Starbucks Franchises. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Accounting Franchises and Moving Franchises.

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

Should You Buy an Existing Bronx Business?

An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in New York. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Bronx.

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

Choosing a Company Name

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.

Company names should be fun to say, and they should help people to understand what you do and how you differentiate yourself in the market.

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

As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are starting a business in Bronx, it's imperative that you check now that your company name has not already been claimed by another New York business.

Company Formation in Bronx, New York

A critical step is ensuring that you are forming a legal entity that operates independently from you. The main advantage of forming your new business as a legal entity is that it separates your business liabilities from your personal liabilities.

When forming a company, you will pick from many company types, such as 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 New York, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in New York. As it turns out, you are allowed to incorporate wherever you want. 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 Offshore Company Formation. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Bronx, New York, our web page covering Incorporating in New York may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in New York.

Do You Need a Business Plan?

Writing a business plan is vital to the health of your new business. Simply put, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Starting a business without a business plan will greatly reduce your chances of business success.

If writing a business plan is on your to-do list, be sure to read Business Plan Mistakes. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in New York.

Raising Money for Your New Venture

Raising money to fund your new Bronx business will be harder than you might expect. To obtain business financing, you will need to hear a lot of rejections before you finally find a funding solution that works for you.

To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Getting a Small Business Loan.

For Bronx entrepreneurs who need startup capital, check out our List of New York Angel Investors and our List of New York Venture Capital Firms.

Letting the World Know You Exist

Whether your goal is to attract Bronx customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you need a excellent marketing plan.

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Advertising in the Yellow Pages discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.

Building Up Your Sales

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

Good selling involves demonstrating that your wares meet your customer's needs. Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.

Mastering the Complex Sale offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.

Learning More About Entrepreneurship

Good entrepreneurs know that they need to continually improve.

As an entrepreneur who lives in Bronx, New York, you should check out some of the learning programs at local New York educational institutions. You should also check if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Bronx entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

Next Steps

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

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

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Bronx and elsewhere to achieve real success. 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 Bronx, New York

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

• Resources for Bronx, New York Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Bronx entrepreneurs.
• New York Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in New York.
• New York Small Business Development Center - The New York State Small Business Development Center delivers high quality business counseling and training to New Yorkers who want to start a business or improve the performance of an existing business.
• Bronx, New York Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Bronx, New York newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Bronx area.