Iowa Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Clinton, Iowa

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

Clinton, Iowa Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
36747
5-9 Employees
12393
10-19 Employees
9072
20-49 Employees
5103
50-99 Employees
1944
100-249 Employees
1053
250-499 Employees
729
500-999 Employees
162
1000+ Employees
81
All Clinton Businesses
67284

As a new Clinton entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Clinton 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
Art Dealers
2
Automobile Driving Schools
1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
2
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
8
Baked Goods Stores
1
Beauty Salons
12
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
4
Boat Dealers
1
Book Publishers
1
Book Stores
1
Business Associations
1
Cable and Other Program Distribution
1
Cafeterias
1
Car Washes
2
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
3
Casinos (except Casino Hotels)
1
Caterers
1
Child Day Care Services
1
Civic and Social Organizations
9
Clothing Accessories Stores
1
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
2
Collection Agencies
2
Commercial Bakeries
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
1
Construction Machinery Manufacturing
1
Consumer Lending
2
Convenience Stores
1
Credit Unions
7
Custom Computer Programming Services
1
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
1
Discount Department Stores
3
Dog and Cat Food Manufacturing
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
18
Electric Power Distribution
3
Electrical Contractors
7
Electronic Shopping
1
Elementary and Secondary Schools
2
Emergency and Other Relief Services
2
Engineering Services
2
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
2
Family Planning Centers
2
Farm Product Warehousing and Storage
1
Fine Arts Schools
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
3
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
5
Florists
4
Folding Paperboard Box Manufacturing
1
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
2
Food Service Contractors
1
Formal Wear and Costume Rental
1
Fossil Fuel Electric Power Generation
1
Framing Contractors
2
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
3
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers
1
Furniture Stores
5
General Automotive Repair
12
General Freight Trucking, Local
5
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Rental Centers
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
5
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
3
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Graphic Design Services
1
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
2
Hardware Stores
1
Hazardous Waste Collection
1
Home Health Care Services
3
Homes for the Elderly
2
Household Appliance Stores
4
Industrial Gas Manufacturing
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
19
Internet Service Providers
1
Investment Advice
1
Jewelry Stores
2
Land Subdivision
2
Landscaping Services
6
Limited-Service Restaurants
25
Machine Shops
1
Marinas
1
Marketing Consulting Services
1
Medical Laboratories
1
Men's Clothing Stores
1
Metal Window and Door Manufacturing
1
Miscellaneous Intermediation
1
Motorcycle Dealers
1
Museums
1
Musical Groups and Artists
1
Navigational Services to Shipping
2
New Car Dealers
5
New Housing Operative Builders
2
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
2
Office Administrative Services
3
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
1
Offices of Chiropractors
16
Offices of Dentists
14
Offices of Lawyers
21
Offices of Optometrists
1
Offices of Podiatrists
2
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
1
Optical Goods Stores
2
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
3
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
5
Payroll Services
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
6
Photography Studios, Portrait
3
Precision Turned Product Manufacturing
1
Professional Organizations
1
Radio Stations
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
1
Rendering and Meat Byproduct Processing
1
Residential Property Managers
1
Residential Remodelers
13
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair
3
Roofing Contractors
4
Securities Brokerage
6
Security Guards and Patrol Services
1
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
1
Shoe Stores
3
Siding Contractors
3
Site Preparation Contractors
4
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
2
Solid Waste Landfill
1
Spice and Extract Manufacturing
1
Sporting Goods Stores
4
Sports Teams and Clubs
1
Tax Preparation Services
3
Telemarketing Bureaus
1
Temporary Help Services
3
Tire Dealers
3
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
2
Travel Agencies
1
Used Car Dealers
3
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
2
Used Merchandise Stores
3
Vending Machine Operators
1
Video Tape and Disc Rental
4
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
2
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems
1
Wet Corn Milling
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
1
Zoos and Botanical Gardens
1

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Clinton Business?

An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Iowa. Follow that link and you can assess several good businesses for sale in Clinton.

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

Choosing a Company Name

A good company name can give a big boost to a new startup. It might seem like an easy thing to do, but there are many things to consider when naming a business.

Companies like Starbucks, Apple, Target, Microsoft and Intuit all have strong company names that are easy to remember and have become well-loved brands. Wouldn't it be nice if your new company name got on a similar track?

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

There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are starting a business in Clinton, it's imperative that you check now that no other Iowa company is using the business name you want to use.

Don't Skip the Business Plan

Writing a business plan is vital in laying a solid foundation for your business success. Simply put, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Not having a business plan will greatly reduce your chances of business success.

Before you start writing a business plan, we suggest you skim Business Plan Contests. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Iowa.

Getting Money to Start a Business

Getting your Clinton business the capital it needs to succeed will be harder than you might expect. The reality is that there is very little funding available for new small businesses, and you have to explore every possible alternative.

Take advantage of our many articles on raising capital, such as 504 Loans.

For Clinton entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, check out our List of Iowa Angel Investors and our List of Iowa Venture Capital Firms.

How to Improve Your Entrepreneurial Abilities

Successful business owners know that they don't know everything.

Given that you are starting a business in Clinton, Iowa, you will want to take advantage of the learning programs at local Iowa educational institutions. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Clinton entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

Never Give Up

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

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

We are here to help Clinton businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Clinton, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Clinton, Iowa

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

  • Resources for Clinton, Iowa Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Clinton 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!

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