Contemplating starting a business in Coos Bay, Oregon? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Coos Bay.
Which Business to Choose?
An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. We recommend that you read Free Business Ideas.
For step-by-step instructions on starting a variety of business types, visit the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Starting a Fountains Wholesale & Manufacturers Business guide or our Opening a Steel Straightening Business guide.
Don't forget that Coos Bay is the place where you are starting a business. Some businesses will do better in Coos Bay than others. Study Coos Bay demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.
Coos Bay, Oregon Demographic Information
Coos Bay has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Coos Bay demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Coos Bay.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
1153 |
| 5-9 Employees |
492 |
| 10-19 Employees |
363 |
| 20-49 Employees |
207 |
| 50-99 Employees |
54 |
| 100-249 Employees |
27 |
| 250-499 Employees |
6 |
| 500-999 Employees |
6 |
| 1000+ Employees |
0 |
| All Coos Bay Businesses |
2308 |
As a new Coos Bay entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Coos Bay 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 |
1 |
| Appliance Repair and Maintenance |
1 |
| Architectural Services |
3 |
| Audio and Video Equipment Manufacturing |
1 |
| Automotive Glass Replacement Shops |
1 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
5 |
| Automotive Transmission Repair |
2 |
| Beauty Salons |
2 |
| Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers |
2 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
2 |
| Boat Building |
1 |
| Boat Dealers |
2 |
| Business Associations |
4 |
| Cable and Other Program Distribution |
1 |
| Car Washes |
1 |
| Caterers |
1 |
| Cemeteries and Crematories |
2 |
| Child and Youth Services |
2 |
| Child Day Care Services |
7 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
5 |
| Coffee and Tea Manufacturing |
1 |
| Collection Agencies |
2 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
2 |
| Construction Sand and Gravel Mining |
1 |
| Consumer Lending |
1 |
| Convenience Stores |
4 |
| Couriers |
1 |
| Credit Unions |
2 |
| Cut Stock, Resawing Lumber, and Planing |
2 |
| Dental Laboratories |
1 |
| Direct Title Insurance Carriers |
3 |
| Discount Department Stores |
1 |
| Document Preparation Services |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
9 |
| Drywall and Insulation Contractors |
1 |
| Educational Support Services |
1 |
| Electric Power Distribution |
1 |
| Electrical Contractors |
5 |
| Electronic Shopping |
1 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
1 |
| Engineering Services |
4 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
1 |
| Finfish Fishing |
3 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
2 |
| Fish and Seafood Markets |
2 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
4 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
3 |
| Flooring Contractors |
2 |
| Florists |
2 |
| Food Service Contractors |
2 |
| Fresh and Frozen Seafood Processing |
4 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
23 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
3 |
| Furniture Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Furniture Stores |
2 |
| General Automotive Repair |
12 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
4 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| General Warehousing and Storage |
1 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
2 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
1 |
| Graphic Design Services |
1 |
| Hardware Stores |
2 |
| Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores |
1 |
| Home Centers |
1 |
| Home Health Care Services |
3 |
| Home Health Equipment Rental |
3 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
7 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
1 |
| Ice Manufacturing |
1 |
| Industrial Launderers |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
14 |
| Investment Advice |
2 |
| Janitorial Services |
4 |
| Jewelry Stores |
1 |
| Kidney Dialysis Centers |
1 |
| Land Subdivision |
3 |
| Landscape Architectural Services |
2 |
| Landscaping Services |
6 |
| Lessors of Other Real Estate Property |
2 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
17 |
| Linen Supply |
1 |
| Logging |
22 |
| Machine Shops |
4 |
| Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers |
1 |
| Marine Cargo Handling |
1 |
| Marketing Consulting Services |
1 |
| Masonry Contractors |
1 |
| Media Representatives |
1 |
| Medical Laboratories |
2 |
| Motor Vehicle Towing |
1 |
| Motorcycle Dealers |
1 |
| Museums |
1 |
| Natural Gas Distribution |
1 |
| Navigational Services to Shipping |
3 |
| New Car Dealers |
6 |
| New Housing Operative Builders |
1 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
1 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
2 |
| Office Administrative Services |
2 |
| Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
2 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
10 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
3 |
| Offices of Dentists |
14 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
19 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
2 |
| Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
1 |
| Optical Goods Stores |
2 |
| Outdoor Power Equipment Stores |
1 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
3 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
4 |
| Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services |
2 |
| Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals |
2 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
2 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
2 |
| Portfolio Management |
3 |
| Professional Organizations |
1 |
| Quick Printing |
1 |
| Radio Stations |
3 |
| Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing |
2 |
| Real Estate Credit |
3 |
| Recreational Vehicle Dealers |
2 |
| Remediation Services |
1 |
| Residential Property Managers |
3 |
| Residential Remodelers |
7 |
| Roofing Contractors |
2 |
| Savings Institutions |
4 |
| Sawmills |
3 |
| School and Employee Bus Transportation |
1 |
| Securities Brokerage |
3 |
| Security Guards and Patrol Services |
1 |
| Shellfish Fishing |
1 |
| Ship Building and Repairing |
1 |
| Shoe Stores |
2 |
| Sign Manufacturing |
1 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
3 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
6 |
| Solid Waste Landfill |
1 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
3 |
| Support Activities for Forestry |
3 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
2 |
| Taxi Service |
1 |
| Television Broadcasting |
2 |
| Temporary Help Services |
5 |
| Temporary Shelters |
2 |
| Testing Laboratories |
1 |
| Timber Tract Operations |
4 |
| Tire Dealers |
4 |
| Title Abstract and Settlement Offices |
1 |
| Tobacco Stores |
1 |
| Used Car Dealers |
5 |
| Used Household and Office Goods Moving |
2 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
1 |
| Vending Machine Operators |
1 |
| Veterinary Services |
5 |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services |
4 |
| Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters |
3 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
1 |
| Window Treatment Stores |
1 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
4 |
Selecting a Name For Your Venture
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.
We strongly advocate that you make sure the ".com" domain name is available for your company name. Every business needs a strong Web presence these days, and having a non ".com" domain means somebody else may outrank you in the search results for your own company name.
Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Naming a Company.
On a final note, given that you are planning on starting a business in Coos Bay, it's critical that you ensure that no other Oregon company is using the business name you want to use.
Don't Forget to Create a Business Plan
Writing a business plan is essential to the health of your new business. Indeed, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Failure to write 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. You should also take advantage of free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Oregon.
Raising Money for Your New Venture
Getting your Coos Bay 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 Business Credit Evaluation.
For Coos Bay entrepreneurs with great ambition but a shortage of investment capital, browse our List of Oregon Angel Investors and our List of Oregon Venture Capital Firms.
Selling Tips
Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Coos Bay business, you need to focus on sales.
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.
Sales Prospecting is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.
Moving Forward
As an entrepreneur in Coos Bay, 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 Coos Bay 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 Coos Bay, Oregon
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Coos Bay.
- Resources for Coos Bay, Oregon Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Coos Bay entrepreneurs.
- Oregon Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Oregon.
- Oregon Small Business Development Center - Oregon Small Business Development Centers use a client-centered approach to deliver counseling, training, information and technical assistance in all aspects of small business management. There is no fee for their assistance.
- Coos Bay, Oregon Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Coos Bay, Oregon newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Coos Bay area.
- Coos Bay, Oregon Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Coos Bay, Oregon area radio stations.
- Coos Bay, Oregon Payroll Services - This list includes Coos Bay, Oregon payroll services, national payroll services for Coos Bay, and helpful information on choosing a Coos Bay payroll service.
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